The Apology Line

The Apology Line

Length: 10 Minutes

By: James Lees

This popular is a phone line where members of the public can anonymously confess anything and everything. It was based on the original apology line project in New York. The apologies are all really different in regards uncomfortableness, rudeness or comedy.

I found this really interesting. I thought it was a nice idea for people to do this. The apologies are so different and fascinating that it keeps the viewer watching to find out what these people have done, it may give you the fear of your apologises or give you confidence in your own experiences to feel that you are sorry for something. It's a strong message which is presented really well.

I like the juxtaposing shots used. For example when the girl rings up the line and says she cheated on her boyfriend and 'didn't give a fuck', it shows this shot (an unfocused shot for the lack of apology?):

It actually makes you feel mad or weird about that apology, because it isn't really an apology, she's saying she doesn't care. The sound quality is kept clear with the 'phone feel/atmosphere' with it so the audience can clearly understand that these people are ringing up a 'help line' to confess.

I also love that you don't see any faces in the piece. Usually any form of line, whether it be a helpline or the apology line, it's anonymous, so you don't know who the information is coming from. The film has reflected this in showing it's anonymity and reflecting the idea of sound to it's visual. I love this fact, it's cleverly created to stay unknown, even the actions aren't shown it's that secret. 

The lack of sound works well in this piece. It's good because it's set in a night scene (shots of the city at night) [shown above] throughout the piece. It's usually when you'd expect people to ring this type of line, which I think has cleverly been thought about to create the realism of the piece. The sound is silent under the phone calls because realistically, that's what would happen. No music makes you tenser, makes the calls centre of attention, therefore the apologies the centre of attention. It's cleverly made eerie/disturbing sometimes, but the change in apologies makes the mood change throughout the piece, so no music is used to distract you from the moods the calls are creating.

Overall I liked the piece. I feel it was cleverly put together and I love some of the shots used! :)