Sticky Situation | a silent film short

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Explaining "Sticky Situation" ...

This silent short features a character becoming frustrated with a poster on his wall. Eventually, he comes to find out his rookie mistake. In terms of the video's setting, I wanted viewers to understand the dedication of this character, as the collage wall required great effort from him. This sort of establishes why the character becomes so involved with solving the minor issue - he would hate for any inconvenience to stump his effort. This, of course, adds to the comedic value of the short as a whole, since the issue at hand appears small to the viewer, but of greater frustration to the character. A prop that activated the narrative is the fan because the concluding moments of the short establish the fan's role in leading the character into a "sticky situation." The viewer doesn't understand the significance of the fan (appearing in the first shot and randomly throughout) until the end of the film. It not only activated the narrative/propelled the actions of the character, but it also effectively pulled everything together. I didn't dabble with too much costume/makeup design for this project, but my abnormal turtle neck and sweat pant combo offers some level of comedy. Because of this, we don't know whether to sympathize with this character, or make fun of his poor taste in fashion in the wider, revealing shots. The lighting begins quite "full" or "flat," but eventually transitions to a more "spotlight" or "suspenseful" look. I wanted to move from a more traditional, expected look to one that elicits curiosity/suspense, as I feel that it establishes/heightens the comedic premise of the entire short. The scene in which I'm battling with the tape features a "spotlight" lighting effect. I did this to emphasize the tension between the character and the tape, ensuring that the viewer was not going to be distracted by other, background elements. I also feel that this directorial decision adds a level of comedy, making these moments appear a bit more dramatic than they really are. I would describe the style of performance as dramatic and over-the-top, especially considering the underlying reason for why the character acts in this way.

- Carter C.

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