"the Limitations of the Short Film Can Be Transformed into Strengths by a Creative Director." Discuss in Relation to Two Short Films You Have Studied in This Module.

"The Limitations of the short film can be transformed into strengths by a creative director." Discuss in relation to two short films you have studied in this module.

"The Lunch Date" is a 1980 short film directed by Adam Davidson, set in the iconic New York Landmark Grand Central Station. "Copy Shop" is a 2001 short film directed by Virgil Wildrich, set in a surreal society. The directors effectively transform the limitations of the short film, such as budget and time limitations, into strengths. This is achieved through the skilful manipulation of film techniques such as dialogue, camera angles and music by a proficient director. The directors in "The Lunch Date" and Copy Shop" have effectively conveyed the ideas of racial stereotyping, and contemporary society respectively. The versatility of the directors to be able to remould these limitations into strengths is the reason for these short films' success.

In "Copy Shop", Virgil masterfully uses his creativeness in order to exploit the budget limitation in a short film. The budget limitation is the result of distinctive lack of commercial expectation and pressure which allows a creative director like Virgil Wildrich the artistic freedom to create an innovative and experimental short film which engages the audience. Through Copy Shop, the director effectively communicates his idea of loss in individuality in contemporary society through effective use of various aspects of the film medium. For example, the difference between objective and subjective angles is that the one watching must never be directly visible in a subjective shot. In "Copy Shop" when the replicas of the protagonist meet in his room, a point of view shot of each of them is shown. Since they are replicas of each other, the same perspective can be perceived by different observers. This reinforces the sinister thematic concern of loss of individuality in contemporary society, where everyone conforms to society, with their appearance but more importantly their own individualistic perspective taken away from them. Hence the rule between the objective and subjective shots is deliberately broken in order to express this idea of conformity, and also to symbolize the short film's innovative and experimental nature. Throughout "Copy Shop", there is a deliberate rhythmic crinkling and flickering of the black and white frames to imitate and create a photocopying effect. This innovative effect allows the audience to more intimately understand the parallel between the photocopier and the protagonist's life. He later sees the whole community filled with replicas of him, which accentuates on the loss of individuality in the contemporary society that Virgil successfully portrays in this short film. Thus, "Copy Shop" shows that a limitation in the short film genre can be changed into strength with carefully chosen film techniques