Comedy

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. Also, films in this style typically have a happy ending (except the one below). One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies. Comedy, unlike other film genres, puts much more focus on individual stars, with many former stand-up comic transitioning to the film industry due to their popularity. While many comic films are lighthearted stories with no intent other than to amuse, others contain political or social commentary.

“The Black Hole” is a short film directed by Philip Sansom and Olly Williams created in 2008 is a british short comedy featuring the main character, a sleep-deprived office worker who accidentally discovers a black hole leading to greed getting the better of him.

NARRATIVE CONTEXT

A man waits at a printer at work to receive some items,  but the printer is faulty; he gives the printer a kick for encouragement, and is greeted by a printed image of a single, large black circle. Initially, the man thinks nothing of this, and ignores the sheet of paper – this is, until he places his cup down on the paper and it disappears into the black circle. Once this man is over his confusion and fascination of this strange object, he puts it to the test; after testing the ‘black hole’ on a vending machine to retrieve a free snickers bar, he unlocks a door and blutacs the piece of paper to a vault, and starts to steal heaps of money. However, after stealing a few batches the man climbs into the vault to obtain more money, but once he gets inside the paper with the black hole falls down – and the man is trapped in the vault. 

ENIGMA CODES

At the start of the short film, the question that is most likely running through the audience’s mind is “What is that sheet of paper and what is its purpose?“.  This is because the black hole is not clear at first, because the purpose is to create curiosity and to engage the viewer. Other questions that could be raised could include “What will the man do with the black hole?”, “Why is he stealing?”, “How will he get out of the vault?”.

HOW CHARACTERS ARE ESTABLISHED AND REPRESENTED

There is only one character in this short film, which is a male character. At the start of the sequence the audience can see that this man does not enjoy his job much, as the camera moves into a medium shot of his dull, unimpressed facial expression at the start, and himself heaving a heavy sigh. However, once he discovers the black hole his face lights upwith curiosity and excitement, considering it is an extreme change from his daily routine at work and how unusual this object is. The audience also learns that the character is quite greedy and selfish towards the end, considering that he uses the black hole to commit the crime of stealing money. The audience can see that he is a working man shown by his location and costume, and around the age of 30. His costume tells the audience that he works in a type of office-based job. 

LOCATIONS

This sequence is filmed in a workplace, most likely an office. The audience can recognise this as the man is dressed in a typical work uniform of a white shirt, tie and smart trousers. A large printer surrounded by desks and computers is also presented in the first few shots, which also tells the audience that this is a workplace or an office. Throughout the film the location does not change from this workplace, but varies in what room in the building the character is in.

EDITING TECHNIQUES AND THEIR EFFECTS

The most defined editing technique is the black hole itself, and how a sheet of paper is transformed into something that the man and objects can pass through. This then gives the effect that the piece of paper actually is a black hole which can allow things to pass through it. There are also several shots when the black hole first makes its appearance which there is a frame used that makes it seem as though the audience is looking through the other side of the black hole up at the man.

CAMERA TECHNIQUES AND THEIR EFFECTS

At the very start the camera quickly pans across the room towards the man, which establishes the location of the film so the audience can understand what his job is and what might happen in this film.

USE OF SOUND

At the start of this short film whenever the man goes near the black hole there is a non-diegetic mysterious noise, signifying that this object is mysterious and strange, and could possess some ‘powers’ or something as equally unusual. There is a lot of diegetic sound in the film which is produced from the surroundings in the office, including the loud printer at the start of the sequence. There is no dialogue in this sequence, considering that there is only one character presented so he does not have anyone to converse with.

ICONOGRAPHY

The black hole itself is iconic, as a 2D image of a circle coloured black indicates darkness and depth, like looking down into a well. 

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS

Comedy is the most prominent genre that is associated with this short film. This is shown by the character’s exaggerated facial expressions and movements, which also make up for the lack of dialogue, as well as when the character gets trapped at the end. There is also asupernatural or sci-fi element in this short film as a black hole is found in Space. 

INTENDED TARGET AUDIENCE AND SIGNIFIERS

Considering that the genre is comedy, the target audience is for anyone who likes comedy films/short films, but can also be anyone interested in an element of sci-fi, fantasy or the supernatural, considering the black hole. Since this man dislikes his job the audience can be widened to people who also dislike their jobs, possibly also people who are of the similar age and have a similar job.

FONT, COLOUR AND POSITIONING OF TITLES

There is only one title in this short film, which is the title itself – The Black Hole. This, conventionally, appears at the start. This title has a transition that makes it seem that the audience is entering a black hole (as shown below), evidently fitting well to the title and plot.

WHEN, WHERE AND HOW THE TITLES ARE PRESENTED IN RELATION TO THE ACTION

The title of the film The Black Hole is presented at the beginning of the short to show the audience what this film will be about.