'Sign Language' Review

Title: 'Sign Language'

Directed By: Oscar Sharp (2010)

Length: 4:56 

Sign Language follows Ben, a man from London who holds signs for a living. We're introduced to Ben straightaway as he tells his stories of the streets, his job, his work friends and his last day. 

When the film first open ups, you are shown a black screen with dialogue. We don't know who is talking, but since it's the first thing we experience of the film, we believe the person the voice is coming from is important, and probably the protagonist, which it is. We're introduced to Ben through dialogue and immediately know he's an important character within the piece, it shows how powerful sound can be within a film, straight away from the black screen intro!

Whilst Ben is on the bus and introduces himself, we can hear bus ambience behind his dialogue and there is also a use of natural light throughout the piece, which creates a realism from the start, however the film then goes onto break that realism with several techniques. 

First of all, Ben breaks the fourth wall within the film, and looks straight into the camera. This makes the audience feel more involved and part of the film, as the character is talking directly to them. Ben is the only character to do this throughout, so if it wasn't obvious before, the importance of his character is shown from this technique as well. 

As the story begins, were introduced to where the film is set 'Oxford Street'. It's a straight-to-the-point shot, because it isn't really important, the audience know it's in London, so they can assume it's going to be busy and where the piece is set without going too much into describing the location. 

Near the beginning once again, as the audience, we are given the 'love interest' theme within the piece between Ben and the girl. They use picture techniques well for this, for example, they use extreme close ups of Ben's face as he talks about her, showing his emotion, which he believe is that hidden crush feeling.

Another powerful shot I think that has been used is the focus pull between the two characters:

I feel this shot establishes the connection between these characters, which poses an enigma to the audience whether something will happen between them, and if so, is it a happy or sad ending for Ben? The empathy is for Ben to be happy and win over the girl.

Another important feature was the comedy produced through the dialogue. As Ben starts talking about his friends, we're shown a shot of another sign holder who he says is 'the joker, the cheerful one' and the shot shows the exact opposite expression, which makes you laugh because of the irony. The comedy brings forth the light-heartedness of the piece straightaway - because the character is so optimistic, it automatically makes you feel empathy and happiness for him being that way. 

The fashion shows that the character fits his job. He's working class, the weather is cold. So he plays 'a person of the street' in the right style. With layers for warm and a hat and scarf. However they've also been playful with the fashion by making his gloves multi-coloured and almost childish, signifying his innocence in regards to his optimism. He's a genuine happy working class guy who loves his job.

The shots are filmed with a steady hand held camera. I feel this gives the work a more informal and personal feel, so the audience can appreciate the contents and familiarise themselves with the character. The informal shots make it easier to connect and understand the character. 

Another scene I really enjoyed was the ending, which starts with a whistle coming from the off-screen space, which makes you think, who whistled and why? And you follow Ben's point of view to reveal the 'Love Interest' ending shown on all the signs, linking to the theme even further. I think it was a really clever idea to bring the themes together at the end, it made the piece emotional to watch and you wanted him to do as the signs say and have a happy ending, which if you watched the credits, he seems to get!

Overall, I really enjoyed the piece. It was light-hearted and cleverly constructed. The sound was strong, it had music throughout which gave off a lot of emotional for the piece. It did give off a documentary feel at some points, however it's a strong piece with a lot of important features.