The Ellington Kid

 The Ellington Kid

Narrative structure

• Possibly sinister undertones to the beginning sharpening of the knife creates an unsettling background noise however the negative assumptions are averted when we see the man frying chips implying he just works at a fast food joint
• Familiar setting of a kebab shop with very normal looking characters
• The premise is set up by Nathan telling beefy not to eat the burger which causes him to begin telling the story (the beginning)
• Nathan becomes the narrator of a flashback cutaway sequence
• Middle: workers of kebab shop lock the door all armed with knives presumably ready to fight the gang
• Conclusion: “why do you think I’m only eating the chips” implies that they were killed and made into burgers but revealed as a joke however smirk and knife sharpening from the worker implies the story is true
• Twist/open ending very common of short film endings

Narrative techniques

• Continuity through the images we are shown and what we are hearing from the narrator

Representation

• Nathan and beefy are perceived as relatively oblivious beefy more so they are shown as good friends gossipy spreading rumors
• Kebab shop workers showed as quite mysterious we are only shown the face of the man sharpening the knives nearer to the end and they have no dialogue compared to the other characters
• The gang are perceived as faceless thugs and not the smartest as they argue allowing the Ellington kid to get away quite aggressive hence shouting at the worker but not very brave as they seem scared when the door gets locked
• The Ellington kid is shown to be the victim and quite vulnerable possibly not to be involved really

The genre of the film

• British thriller: set in England British accent and kebab shop and knife crime suspenseful dark plot driver

How are we positioned as the spectator?

• Aligned with beefy as we are as oblivious as he is and third person as if we are seeing this as it is going on like in beefy imagination further shown when he doesn’t know what happens next because Nathan has not told him

Microelements

• Sound: sinister knife sharpening echoey noise when Ellington kid is stumbling away shows what he would have been hearing disorientated due to being stabbed suspenseful score builds the aspect of the thriller short film voices quieted by score further showing disorientation of the kid who has been stabbed
• Editing: greyish hue on the flashback allows for the audience to distinguish between what is happening currently and what is happening in the flashback slow-motion further brings weight to what we are seeing and further shows the disorientation of the kid build up in score then sudden cut allows for comical relief at a time of immense suspense
• Performance: shiftiness from the gang when the workers pick up knives and lock the door showing they are nervous obliviousness from beefy allows us to follow along with the story with him
• Mise en scene: balaclavas covering the faces of the gang show they are trying to hide their identity as they are committing a crime kebab shop is very local very relatable
• Black costume vs red shows who is on who’s side the kid in a grey tracksuit shows he is in a grey area belonging to neither
• Cinematography: lots of close-ups allows for micro expressions to be seen close-ups on blood on the floor add the extremities of the situation shot reverse shots show character other character original characters' response  over the shoulder shots positions us with whoever is listening beefy or Nathan
• handheld camera in the kebab shop fight scene gives more of a hectic feel to the scene as opposed to the fixed shot when Nathan and beefy are talking