9046 Niamh Durkin NEA Evaluation

Niamh Durkin 10802 NEA Evaluation
The most significant, obvious difference between short and feature-length films is the length.
The Academy defines a short film as “an original motion picture that has a running time of 40
minutes or less”. My film, at around 5 minutes, conforms to this convention. When looking at
the prescribed short film examples, we see they all fit between 5 and 25 minutes, with ‘Slap’
standing at around 25 minutes while ‘The Ellington Kid’ and ‘Arrival’ are both around 5 minutes
in length. Kenneth Branagh stated that “short films often contain an originality, a creative
freedom” that feature-length films may lack. I personally agree, seeing this in the set films, like
‘Arrival’, where the whole film is focused on a single shot of a woman and her internal
monologue, which would not hold the audience’s attention in a feature length film.
Adopting this concept of creative freedom within my own film, I wanted to touch upon a story I
enjoy and make it accessible to a wider audience through comedy. Many people are not
typically exposed to classical literature, such as Homer or Virgil, so I wanted to bring a more
humorous aspect to make a story that interests me, interesting to a larger group of people,
through satire.
In ‘Trojan Box’, three friends (AJ, Archie, and

Phoebe) attempt to prove to their schoolfriends
(Paige, Norman, and Dominic) that they are
wrong in their thoughts on how the Trojan War
should have ended. The title, ‘Trojan Box’ allows
the audience to make some assumptions about
the narrative, as the term ‘Trojan Horse’ is used
as an infamous example of trickery, even by
people who may not know the detail of the
original epic. Throughout the development process the title never changed, as I always wanted
it to half reveal the subject of the film while also leaving some questions to be answered, like
the eventual reveal of the box trick, as it adds to the comedic nature of my film.
While some of the set short films, such as ‘The Fly’ and ‘Tight Jeans’, are of the comedy genre,
none really displayed the over-the-top tone I had imagined for my film, leading me to draw
inspiration from other sources. By using different, over-exaggerated semantic and syntactic
elements within my film, I tap into Neale’s theory of difference in repetition to create an
engaging short film. Combining the comedy genre with an epic genre narrative creates this
intriguing difference, while simultaneously placing the film in the comedic sphere.
Aesthetically, ‘Trojan Box’ takes inspiration from Edgar Wright films such as ‘Baby Driver’ in the
attention paid to how music and action line up, such as when Phoebe drops the box into frame.
‘Baby Driver’ also inspired my use of sound bridging, for example with music continuing from the
scene where the ‘Greek’ group select their weapons, to them making their way to the ‘Trojan’
house, reflecting their unwavering determination to win the battle. Wright’s ‘Scott Pilgrim VS The
World’ inspired my use of comic borders and titles and his use of sound in the ‘Unspoken Telepathy
Gun Fight’ from ‘Spaced’ inspired my juxtaposition of sight and sound for comedic effect, utilising
actual sword sounds when either toy swords or hockey sticks are used.
The aesthetic of
my film is
relatively
realistic, utilising
naturalistic
lighting and
settings. I use
eight settings,
which is quite
unusual as many short films, such as ‘Operator’ or ‘Tight Jeans’, only use one. I used
different locations to make my narrative concepts obvious to the audience in the short
amount of time available, displaying the two trios in different places to reinforce the
oppositional concept. While using realistic settings and lighting, my editing patterns, such as
the comic borders, create a more stylistic comic book aesthetic. This was always the
aesthetic I had imagined for my film, so as to create an enjoyable, accessible, and humorous
adaptation.
The narrative follows the typical three-part structure, as theorised by Propp to be included
in all narratives. Similar to ‘The Ellington Kid’, I used a flashback to advance the viewer’s
understanding, giving them narrative context. The argument displayed during the flashback
foreshadows the ending, in which the discussed ‘dirty strategy’ is utilised by the ‘Greek’
team to succeed. This ending is also found in ‘Troy’, the movie the ‘Greek’ team agreed to
watch prior to the plan taking shape, working as another example of foreshadowing the
plot.
My casting of same-age peers was also decided upon from the beginning, for comedic
effect. It is amusing for the viewer to see
teenagers, who typically attempt to appear more mature than they are, playing imaginary
games like younger children.
The opening works to set up the narrative,

letting us know that the group previously
had a debate on the Trojan war. I also set up
the trajectory of the film by hinting at the
later fight sequences through the movies AJ
suggests watching. 'Star Wars’ references
the lightsaber toy which Phoebe will use.
‘Iron Man’ suggests the team will use
makeshift weapons, as Tony Stark does in
the film, in order to fight their battle. And
‘Troy’ sets up the ‘Trojan Horse’ tactic which
weaves its way thematically throughout the
film.
My use of cartoon titles to introduce the

characters in the opening, as well as the
cartoon sound effects when they appear,
works to set up the humorous, cartoonish
aesthetic I wanted in the film. In contrast to
the titles, a form of verisimilitude is also
created here in the realistic setting and dialogue, helping to ease the viewer into the more
stylistic aesthetic presented later in the film.
The flashback sequence also introduces the concept of the two opposing teams supporting a
different side of the original myth’s conflict. Here, I start including more expressionistic
cinematography, such as obvious zooms to express Phoebe’s shock, or the shots getting
progressively closer to the speaker in order to express their growing investment in their side
of the disagreement being the ‘right’ side.
The zoom in on AJ as we move back to the

present time also presents my desired
satirical aesthetic. Echoing the way that
action films use slow zooms to make the
hero look heroic or determined, here I use the same idea to explore the absurdity of the
situation, that these teens are invested in being the hero of their ridiculous plan.
The sequence where the ‘Greek’ team select their weapons utilises sound for comedic
effect, as real weapon sounds are used in juxtaposition to the obviously fake toy weaponry.
The non-diegetic sound also creates satire, as the music is similar to something one would
hear in an action movie, while the on-screen action is anything but.
In the second part of the film, I introduce jump cuts in order to break the verisimilitude,
leaning more into the comic style aesthetic, as comic books quickly jump from one
illustration to another. This can be seen when AJ is suddenly in the box immediately after
winning rock-paper-scissors.
The fight sequence then begins with

the ‘Trojan’ team playing Cluedo.
This choice is intentional and ironic,
as they are oblivious that they have
just fallen for a trick. The dramatic, orchestral non-diegetic music of the battle sequence and
the real sword sound effects create juxtaposition, as what we hear is exaggerated, not
aligning with the absurd, on-screen action. Finally, the soundtrack in Archie’s ‘death’ is
intentionally satirical, with melancholic music contrasting with Archie’s performance,
laughing as he ‘dies,’ so the viewer can tell he is obviously alive. A jarring end to the music
then occurs as Paige draws the viewer back to reality, ending the drama of the Trojan story
by complaining of hunger.
The film ends with a slight lack of resolution, as we don’t see Archie reunited with the
others inside, drawing upon Barthes’ theory of open and closed endings. While this
unfinished ending may not obviously provide a feeling of completion to the narrative,
humour is created through the cyclical device of Archie alone, eating biscuits, subtly
recalling his earlier vow to ‘risk it for a biscuit’.
‘Trojan Box’ does not intend to

shape the audience’s opinions
about the Trojan war or war in
general. It was made to be an
amusing, enjoyable piece of
media to provide relief in what
can feel like a depressing world.
While some short films, such as
‘Slap’, address important personal
and societal issues of our time, my short film was developed to create an accessible piece of
comedy from a legendary, classical story. However, in doing so, I also found myself
commenting on the easily distracted and impatient nature of today’s youth, shown in
Phoebe’s swift recovery from the battle and Archie’s fake death. As a short film in a world
where short-form media is becoming the norm, I used my young cast to comment on such
matters in an implicit way. The Trojan war lasted for a decade; our protagonists don’t even
last the afternoon.
Word Count: 1493 Words

9046 Niamh Durkin NEA Evaluation

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Niamh Durkin 10802 NEA Evaluation

In ‘Trojan Box’, three friends (AJ, Archie, and

The opening works to set up the narrative,

My use of cartoon titles to introduce the

The zoom in on AJ as we move back to the

The fight sequence then begins with

‘Trojan Box’ does not intend to

Word Count: 1493 Words

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