‘Gasman’ By Lynne Ramsay and ‘Wasp’ by
Andrea Arnold are both short films based on regional identity. Gasman is built
around a family in Glasgow in the 1970s whereas Wasp is built around a single
parent of four living in East London in the modern day.
During wasp, the camera is mostly hand held
and always moving which creates a realistic feel, made to make it seem as
though you are there whereas in gasman, more formal camera shots are used such
as a lot of close ups and tracking shots; this is to give the short film a
serious tone. There is also a lot more editing in Gasman which makes it look
more cinematic rather than realistic. As
Gasman uses more formal shots than Wasp, there isn’t as much dialogue, which is
typical to a film, produced by Lynne Ramsay as she tends to use the camera
shots to tell the story rather than using speech. For example, at the start of
the short film there are a lot of close up shots where we do not see the faces
of the characters, only their clothing, their home and the occasional line
which only shows the characters accents. This not only creates a sense of
mystery as we do not know who the characters are but also gives us an insight
into their lives and where they are from as we see that their home is not of a
high standard and they appear to be a working class family from Glasgow.
However, the clothing that they wear suggests differently as they are making an
effort to appear wealthier than they are in order to impress someone.. This
method is effective as it allows the viewer to make their own assumptions of
the family without knowing much about them.
During the beginning of ‘Gasman’ there are
close up shots of what appears to be a young boy playing with a toy car in
sugar/salt. This not only shows the year that the film was set in as there is
no sign of any technology but it also shows the simplicity and innocence of the
child as he seems to be happy in a bubble, playing with his toys whilst his
parents are shouting in the background. This may be relatable to many parents
that view the film as they can understand the struggles of having children and married
life. The opening of Gasman sends a similar message as the opening of wasp,
however, ‘Wasp’ by Andrea Arnold is set in a more modern day in what seems to
be a council estate in Britain. Instantly the audience gets the idea that the
family is short of money and that it is likely that the woman is a single
mother as she leaves her house in her pyjamas without dressing her children.
She also makes one of her young children (who appears to be around 5) hold her
baby sister while she fights with another parent about hitting her child. This
shows the bond between and mother and daughter no matter what circumstances
they may be living in as we see that the mother clearly cares for her children
and wants to protect them although she struggles to care for them.
There
is a lot more dialogue in the beginning of ‘Wasp’ than there is in ‘Gasman’.
This is because from the very start, wasp has a very busy script and a story to
follow whereas in gasman the storyline takes a while to build and it does not
show the audience the general hook of the film until further in. The accents
and slang in both of the films are different as in gasman, the characters
appear to have a Glaswegian accent whereas in wasp they have a typical London
accent. This also shows the contrast between different cultures in one country
as the Scottish family seem to be of a higher status than the family with a
single mother.
