Soft was written and directed by Simon Ellis. Soft won 18 awards in total including the Best British Short in 2008. It’s about a farther and son who are confronted by a gang of thugs who enjoy vandalising and terrorising neighbourhoods.

 

The short film starts off the audio then the visual; this was most likely used as to draw in the audience as they could hear what was going on, but not sees it. A title comes on, being in the centre, in all caps and very small; connoting the idea of being vulnerable and the centre of focus which this movie delves more into later on. We see handheld shots of three characters running in a secluded alleyway in broad daylight. It is also an over the shoulder shot where the character in front and the character in the middle can be seen, the character at the back is the one recording the incident, making it also a POV shot. The quality is intentionally poor as to convey the idea of one recording a video, since this is connected to multiple incidents of assault and bullying, it could also convey ideas of social media and its abuses. The quality of the video and the handheld shots are also used to instantly identify the antagonist, linking to the idea of the antagonist being of poor quality in person. Along the way the sound heightens and becomes louder as we see a crowd surround one person, and one person assaulting him. The one being assaulted is wearing a school uniform, making him seem like a normal child who goes to school and our likely protagonist. The one assaulting is wearing all white clothes including trainers, jacket, trousers and shirt, since everyone else is in the video is generally wearing dark colours, mostly black, and this character is the one assaulting the protagonist, we find that this is the antagonist.

 

There is a sudden cut and a transition, again sound being first, then visuals second. We hear the sound of birds chirping and a car. This again draws the audience in while changing the tone of the film. We get a high angle establishing shot of a suburbia with everything seeming peaceful and quiet, the car parks next to a house. The high angle shot connotes the idea of being weak or looked down upon. We are cut to the interior of the house, where we hear some sort of EDM playing in the background and our protagonist walks towards the top of the stairs that we are seeing. After that we hear the door knob turn and see the boy run back. The focus is now pulled down the stairs where we see the father enter into the house, since this is up the stairs we are looking down at him which means that this is a high angle shot as well. The high angle shot is to show that the father is weak before the plot thickens where we see his struggle against teenage boys. We are cut again to where the father goes into the kitchen where he makes himself a drink. This shot shows us more of how the family is very middle class and links with the idea of the typical British family. The father finds that there is no milk; he leaves the kitchen to ask his son to buy some milk of which he hears no answer. This shows more of how the father cannot earn the respect of his child as his child simply ignores his father. The father leaves the house, again with a high angle as to show that he is weak.

 

He leaves the house and we again hear the idyllic sounds of the suburbia and see a neighbour make a conversation, further connecting to the idea of a peaceful and friendly community. We track the farther as he goes along the journey, seeing only his back. As he turns a corner we are cut to the poor quality handheld shot, again seeing our antagonist and someone else in the shot. The thugs are beat boxing into what we can assume is a stolen traffic cone, further connoting the idea of them being thugs. We cut back to a long shot of the father walking down an idyllic road, with the added sound of church bells. We are again cut back to the poor quality handheld shot of someone playing around with a balloon, potentially linking to the idea of the thugs being immature children while also juxtaposing to them being thugs. It again cuts to our antagonist hiding behind a telephone box to scare a women walking by, further displaying them as thugs. We also hear a church bell strike in the video, which shows that the father walking to get a pint of milk is connected to these thugs terrorising people. We hear the same bells strike in a wide shot of the father walking along the road, showing that he is getting closer. Cut back to the poor quality handheld shot of the boys messing around with a balloon again. Cut back to a long shot of the father crossing the street, but now we hear the thugs and can just see the tops of their heads, showing that the father and the thugs have now met.

 

The thugs terrorise the father as he tries to enter the corner shop by popping the balloon. The thugs laugh and the farther sarcastically and aggressively laughs with them, raising tensions between the two. The popping of the balloon could also be connected to the idea of the immature childish play being ended and now the terrorising beginning. We get a close up of the father entering the shop. The camera pans as he goes to get his milk, and he is visibly angry. You can also hear the thugs banging on the windows of the shop, which means that they are more vocal and more active in their terrorisation. The camera pans again and we see the antagonist blocking the door, which shows that the antagonist is now confrontational and is almost declaring war on the father. The father just asks him politely to move aside, showing that the farther is still polite even though he is angry, further connecting to the idea that the majority of British citizens are overly polite. The antagonist moves away from the door and the father walks through it. We cut to the poor quality handheld again to see the farther walk away but the antagonist calls to him, walks up to him, verbally assaults him and then physically assaults him, the father just walks off. The band of thugs celebrate as to show that the “Thug” culture are people who delight in terrorising, the antagonist also does some sort of dance move. We cut to a tracking wide shot of the dad walking around a corner and back to his house, this time we see his face and expression. The focus is pulled as we also see the thugs following him around a corner but blurred out, meaning that the confrontation hasn’t ended and the plot thickens. There are a few cuts of the father’s back where we see his top back slightly wet and we see him agitated as he rubs the top of his back, he is visibly angry and scared. We get flashbacks of the physical assault done to him; the very fast cuts increase the tension. We get a mid-shot to close up of the father, seeing him agitated, angry and fearful; we also see that the thugs are still quietly following him which is foreshadowing the later terrorisation.         

 

We get a tracking wide shot of the father going around a corner and walking down the street to his house, we then end with a quick long shot of the thugs walking down the street. We get a close up of the father entering the house; cut to a mid-shot of the son (our protagonist) looking to his left, the sound of the door overlaps the shots. This is to show that the father is home and the son knows it. We get cut back to mid-shot to close up of the father checking his mouth in the mirror. The heavy breathing is also the most audible thing in the scene, showing the father’s distress. We get a close up of the mirror, showing more of his expressions. Cut to a mid-close up of the father checking his back, very quick scene as we are cut back to the wide shot of the son on the couch, cut to a close up of the son’s expression, showing distress. Cut back again to the father checking his back, further cuts of close ups of him rubbing his head. The sound returns to the idyllic setting, as to connect back to the idea of peace. The use of many cuts is to show anxiety and fear in both the father and the son.

 

We get the wide shot of the son on the couch but this time the father walks across the room to go to the kitchen. We get a close up of the father while pulling focus away from the son who is in the background, we get to see the father’s expression and again hear the heavy breathing but it is competing with the sound of the TV and the tap, making it less audible and making it seem like less of issue. The son greets his dad but the dad simply carries on with what he was doing without replying. The camera gets a close up of the son as he enters the kitchen and gets the milk to make himself a drink. We only see one side of his face, the other side being kept a visible secret. The son anxiously greets his dad again, we get the close up of the dad, pulling the focus away from the son again, and he simply tells him to put the milk away when he is done. This shows that the father is upset and the son knows it. We get a close up of the son as he is about to leave the room, he turns to his dad and we see that he has been in a fight and has been badly bruised. We get a wide shot of the dad doing something (probably washing some dishes), making this a POV shot. We also see the son nervously put the milk away as he looks at his dad again, sensing his tension and being afraid. We cut back to the close up of the dad with the son’s focus being pulled away, the son asks when mom is coming back and the father turns around to see his son bruised, the focus is now pulled away from the father and onto the son, showing the realisation from the father’s point of view that his son has been in a fight. We get an over the shoulder shot of the father moving in and seeming shocked, the son just says that he got into a fight. We flip to an over the shoulder shot but viewing the son, the son doesn’t make eye contact with the father while explaining what happened, the son is also visibly and audibly distressed. The son tells his father that he got into a fight with some lads. We flip back to the over the shoulder shot of the father, still shocked, asking which lads. The answer overlaps with a cut into the over the shoulder shot of the son, only the dialogue is audible as it draws most of the attention on the expression of the characters and the dialogue been spoken. We flip back to the over the shoulder shot of the father, the father is still shocked and asks if his son fought. The father answers for him after a pause, implying that he didn’t. The son confirms that he didn’t fight, saying that his own father told him not to fight. The father’s response overlaps again into the next shot (over the shoulder shot of the son), which also shows the son’s reaction. It quickly cuts back to the over the shoulder shot of the father, moving towards the sink to get a cloth to clean his son’s wounds. A few cuts of close ups to extreme close ups of the son’s reaction as his dad cleans his wounds, audibly and visibly showing the son’s pains, making us empathise with the son. When the father inspects his son’s teeth, the son comments on his hands shaking, showing that the son suspects his father being scared, the father dismisses it as being frightened by his son’s wounds. We cut to an over the shoulder shot of the son where he again says that he was told not to get into fights. We cut to an over the shoulder shot of the father where we visibly see his cognitive dissonance, he tells his son that that was then and that he should man up, which is hypocritical of him. The son leaves into the lounge, we then cut to the close up of the father as he turns his back and seems conflicted. We get a close up of him washing his hands of the blood, hesitating as to show him still in shock. We cut to a close up of the son, then cut to a close up of the father as he walks out the kitchen and into the lounge, apologising. We cut back and forth from the close up of the son and his expression and the mid shot of the father and his explanation; it ends with him saying that his son should stand up for himself.

 

Straight after the father says that we see the characters see the thugs outside the window, sitting on the father’s car. The son jumps up and we see a two shot of the father and the son together, the son exclaims that those where the thugs that beat him up, also pointing towards the antagonist. We cut to a wide shot through the house’s windows of the thugs and centring in on the main antagonist, with a voice over of the father and son giving some exposition of the character (expelled from school, fifteen and mental) We also hear more of the heavy breathing from both the father and the son, showing that they are anxious again. We get a two shot of them on the couch, both of them distressed, the son wants the father to do something and he simply just wants them to wait it out. The father tries to reassure his son that he’ll leave well the thugs terrorise the neighbourhood, juxtaposing what he said and showing that he is wrong. We cut to a mid-shot through the window of the antagonist; he smugly throws a small rock at the window. We cut to a two shot of the father and son, the son telling his dad that he needs to do something and the father not following his earlier advice and just trying to ignore the thugs. We get a wide shot of the thugs and antagonist as we see him taunting the father and son. We cut back to the two shot of them, this being close ups, and we hear the thugs being more audible and another small rock hitting the window, louder this time. The heightening of audio tells us that the threat is become more of a problem and also highlighting the fear and anxiety that the two have, the father ignores the small rock hitting the window. Cut to the antagonist throwing another small rock, cut back to the two shot of the father and son, and then we hear the small rock hitting the window. The son wants to do something but the father restricts him. Another rock hits, sounding louder again, and the son tries to do something but is restricted again by his father. The sound of a car alarm going off adds to the tension of the scene. The thugs get more audible, which adds to the tension and makes it seem as if they are winning. The shot is now closing in on the father more than on the son, seeing his expression of fear again. We cut to a wide shot through the window of the house, seeing the antagonist viciously throw the rock at the window. We cut to the two shot and hear the rock loudly hit the window and the son immediately reacts by getting to the window and the father jumps up to aggressively restrict him doing so. We get an over the shoulder shot of the father closing the blinds of the window. The thugs are a little bit quieter but exclaim and laugh like they won the feud. We get an over the shoulder shot of the son; he asks his father if he is scared. We get an over the shoulder shot of the father reacting, then a close up as he looks at the thugs behind the blinds, then we get a tracking shot of him taking off his tie and looking agitated. We look behind him as we track him walking around the corner to the door, the camera loses him for a second then quickly pans back to him walking aggressively across the hallway to get to the door, he is about to open it. He stops and hesitates, the sound of the thugs and the alarms are very loud, adding to the tension of the scene. We get a close up of the son. The son seems to be crying and he asks his dad again if he is scared. The father scoffs it off as them being a bunch of kids, but he doesn’t make it seem convincing as the full body shot shows him as very scared as he leans on a wall. We cut back to the close up of the son, where he asks again if the father is scared. We cut back to the full body shot of the dad, he replies no. The Son lunges to him and tells him to tell the thugs to fuck off. The over the shoulder shot shows the son clearly agitated, angry and scared. We get a two shot of the father telling his son to sit down in the lounge; the son is very upset by this. We see a wide shot of the dad telling his son to stop being such a wet head and leading him into the lounge. In the same shot the son comes back into frame and sarcastically asks about being the wet head, the father shouts him into the other room, showing him as clearly angry and afraid. After this we get a close up of one of the thug’s penises going into the letter box, we then get a close up of the father as he seems both scared and shocked. In the wide shot we see the son run to the door and open it, the father telling him not to do so. We get a mid-shot to close up where we see that the father actually tries to hide himself away from the thugs, showing how the son is braver then the father. We get a mid-shot focusing in on the son looking at the thugs, then a mid-shot of the thug and his penis. We get a few cuts of the close ups of the son and father’s reactions. We get a wide shot of the son leaving the house and the thugs exclaiming for joy as they see him coming out of the house. We get a close up of the father’s horrified reaction.

 

We see a sudden flash of light and then a tracking mid-shot of the father walking out of the house. We also get this distorted sound where the thugs laughter seems to be softer than it is supposed to. We then get another tracking mid-shot where we see the father push the son back into house and walk up to the thugs, the distorted sound gets louder and more distorted. We cut to a POV shot of the antagonist vandalising the car and the thugs mocking the father and/or recording the incident. We cut to the poor quality handheld to see the father walk up to the thugs, covering the one camera. We cut to another poor quality handheld to see him confront the antagonist, asking him to get off the car, he doesn’t and the rest of the thugs encourage not getting off the car. We cut to another poor quality handheld where we see the father drag the antagonist off the car. We cut again to another poor quality handheld to see the antagonist react angrily to the father and the father to become fearful and submissive again. The antagonist gets physical and starts pushing him, the father just asks him to stop, then the antagonist punches him in the stomach. The father pulls back out of frame and we see the antagonist do another dance before the son gets out and hits the antagonist on the side of the head. We see the antagonist fall to the floor at a high angle shot, showing how he is now weak and in danger. We see a low angle shot of the son hitting the antagonist in the face with the bat, see it hit him at a high angle shot. We see a wide shot of the son lashing out and the rest of the thugs running away, a close up of the son’s face and the father’s expression of being horrified. The camera also shakes as to highlight the chaos of the picture. We get a high angle shot of the antagonist, we see the son kick him in the head. We get a mid-shot of the father being horrified by what he saw. We then get various shots of our antagonist running off.

 

We get a wide shot of the son and father, pulling focus away from the father and onto the son, as we see him panting but seemingly calm. The focus pulls towards the father as the son turns his back on the camera, we see the father turn the car alarm off. We hear the peaceful idyllic sounds come back on, to signify peace. The son walks over to the father to hand him the bat, we get a quick close up of the father attempting to catch the falling bat, but missing as he is still in shock. We can audibly hear the heavy breathing from the father, showing us that he is still very afraid and in shock. We get a two shot of the son walking into the house and the father watching his son go into the house, the father goes to pick up the bat when the son is in the house. We end off with the same high angle establishing shot that set the scene, showing us the father picking up the bat, going inside and closing the door. The credits roll.

 

The short film uses various techniques to tell the plot. Using things like fast cuts, sound distortion and flash backs to raise the tension and tell the story. What it does most well in is using sound to build tension, such as increasing the sound of the rock hitting the window and the sound of the thugs. The acting and action in the short film was good as it was convincing, you believed that these characters were scared, angry or shocked. You also could easily empathise with these characters while hate the antagonist. There are a few points that the film might be trying to make: The conflict between the father and son could relate to the generation gap and how the future generation is heavily dependent on the older generation, which is bad if the older generation is wrong about something. In this case the message that one should not resort to violence is questioned and we see that violence does solve this particular problem, contrary to what the older generation (the father) thinks. It could also link to the idea that the mind-set that one should be polite at all times has led to people unable to fend for themselves or too polite to solve a serious problem.

 

There are a few problems with the movie: The biggest being the very large plot hole that most people would have called the police instead of just ignoring the thugs or fighting them head on. Another large plot hole is the thugs surrounding the antagonist. In real life they wouldn’t have dispersed but instead would have fough back. This leaves to an interesting message being caught in a bad execution, as in reality the son (who doesn’t have any experience with fighting and looks to be physically weaker than the rest of the thugs) wouldn’t have won and would probably been beaten horrifically, even if he had the help of his father. This leaves us with a well-made short film, with an interesting message having a poor execution.