Double Take Film Analysis

Double Take is a short film written by Toe Stappard, it was funded by BBC Talent and the production company is called Calling The Shots, the short film is about an opportunist thief who finds himself on the receiving end when the tables are turned. Double Take was commissioned for 'Mini Masterpieces' and produced during the Bristol Brief Encounters Short Film Festival in 2003. The script was selected a week before the festival and cast travelled to Bristol for the first day of the festival, the plan of the film was that they found locations on, shot the material, edited it the following day and on the final day screened it to the Closing Night.

Double take was part of the Mini Masterpiece showcase at Brief Encounters Short Film Festival in 2003, Bradford Film Festival 2005 and Cardiff Screen Festival 2005.

The short film is a 6minute drama that has an a bright natural glow throughout the streets that the camera is focusing upon, when the camera then settles onto the main character we realise he is in dark attire which makes us assume he is the antagonist of the film. The story depicts a middle-aged man who is a thief and goes to public, busy places and steals handbags and ruck sacks from the citizens and what happens is that he steals the wrong bag with a camcorder in it with film of the man robbing and entering his home. The audience understands that he is potentially going to get what he deserves.

This short film caught my eye because of the use of the point of view camera work along with the tracking video technique which added realism to the story along with minimal dialogue which created a tense and anxious atmosphere. The consistent cutting from the man recording to the criminal watching increases the audience's anticipation and keeps them engaged as they try to figure out why and who was recording him for so long but happened stage by stage as the criminal did which makes it a linear narrative. Many close long shots are used which brings emphasis to the entire body language and depth of the criminals emotions as he comes to realise that he has a stalker that could possibly be in his house, the emotions he makes also create a realistic feel through some of the use of hand-held camera work. For example, when the man was taking the stolen goods out of the bag he was being followed and recorded as the stalker hid behind cars to hide away from him. It makes the scene look very quiet and docile because the streets become empty as the man becomes alone in this spiralling drama. Much of the short film is filmed in high key lighting helping the audience establish who the antagonist is and increase tension. The low budget is clear throughout but is important in creating realism.

The characters are kept to a minimal with only the antagonist face being noticed which make the world seem isolated and alone throughout the film adding the anxiety to the audience which makes them ask the questions such as what is going to happen next, who is following the man, what are they going to do to him. Furthermore, the unknown actors make the entire emphasis on the cinematic characters without interferences of reputations or previous known films.