Echo (2011) - Third Set Work Review

Title: Echo 
Year: 2011
Director: Lewis Arnold
Running Time: 17 minutes
Genre: Personal Interest/True Story

When we look at these short films, we are asked to give our expectations of it based off only the key information that I state at the top of all these review posts. For Echo, I'm going to draw attention to genre (as was the case with my previous review for The Ellington Kid). The exam board states the genre of Echo to be Personal Interest/True Story. However, when it came to viewing Echo our expectations for a True Story film weren't obviously met; it seemed more apt to label it as perhaps a social realism (supported by the use of ambient sound, lack of music and the restricted colour pallet), or even maybe a coming of age film, with the inner workings of a teenage mind being one of the main focuses of the narrative. So it was interesting to then watch the director talk about the inspiration behind the film, and how actually, once you know the background information, all the labels given by us and the exam board are completely valid.

The idea for Echo was sparked from the writer having witnessed a girl performing a very similar con to the one we see in the film. Off the back of wanting to replicate this, the film then developed through a series of discussions about how best to structure a narrative, and the influence of the personal experiences of the director (covering the genres of Personal Interest and True Story). The con centers around a phone call; they decided they wanted to structure the film around three phone calls, each performed and shot in a different way to show different perspectives and states of being; moving between the objective and the subject to show the emotions of the main character and to affect the audience's view of her; careful use of editing and camera work (jump cuts, repeating compositions, different frame rates etc.) create a sense of repetition throughout the film to visually portray the feelings of the main character, the reasons why she carries out this con and just how many times she does it. I think technically it's very well executed, and the narrative is intriguing, well balanced and gives a interesting, active experience for the audience.

Looking at influence on my own work, I'd look at the structure of Echo closely. 
Thinking back to the practice scene I wrote, this short film links in some ways to the theme; looking at mental states, and possibly both falling into the genre of 'coming of age', so I could also look at Echo's approach to this.

I enjoyed Echo and would recommend the watch, especially if you've the means to a discussion about it after; it's definitely one that gets you thinking.