Blur[1]
- 1. Blur Created by Rooster Teeth
- 2. Message.. This short, although focusing on comedy, is highlighting how extreme and over-the-top the media has become and what a hard task it is to keep each member of the audience happy. They did this by blurring or bleeping anything the audience may have found offensive, for example – swearing. Product placement is also a common thing used in films and television series, they show their view by mocking it and making it even more over-the-top.
- 3. Camera techniques.. The short starts with an over-shoulder shot of Matt, revealing that he is working on footage of himself on the computer, this tells the audience a little bit about their work life and what it entails. As Joel arrives, it flicks between mid shots of him and over-shoulder shots of Matt as they continue with their conversation – this has the same affect as a shot-reverse-shot. This sequence is followed by a close-up shot of the computer screen as Joel notices a blur on Matt’s shirt in the footage. This camera technique is again used as Joel realises that the blur is really on Matt’s shirt.
- 4. Camera techniques.. There is then a mid-range, mid shot as Gus enters, this is used as they introduce the new character. This then moves on to a closer-up shot of Gus as he attempts to pull off a product placement. Another mid shot is used as they introduce another new character in the short, Geoff. There is then a close-up of the ‘morally questionable guidelines’ sheet. It is noticeable that when a new character or blur is revealed, a close-up or mid shot is most commonly used to highlight their appearance and introduce them properly to the audience.
- 5. Camera techniques.. There is then a high angle shot, looking down at Joe, the cat, revealing that he is also blurred. This shot wouldn’t have been as effective if it had been used at the same level as with Matt and Joel, this way it highlights the difference in size effectively. The camera then tracks Geoff as he stumbles around the room, blinded by the blur. It finished with a long shot, looking across the office at another new character, Gav, as he realises that his shirt is also blurred.
- 6. Sound.. In this short, only diegetic sound is used – the dialogue. Non-diegetic sound such as music or a voiceover is not necessary for this storyline because everything is meant to be realistic and untouched, just as if the camera isn’t there and they are just living their everyday life. Usually in films or TV series, when swearing is bleeped out, the characters cannot hear it. However, in this short, to exaggerate the parody, they can hear their speech being bleeped.
- 7. Mise-en-scene.. ‘ Blur’ takes place in an office – the office of Rooster Teeth. This is where most of their shorts take place. This helps show the audience who they are, what they are doing and how they know each other, as well as putting them in the working environment. The audience are shown more about the characters and their lifestyle by how casual their dress code is in their place of work. This implies that they are very relaxed and comfortable.
- 8. Editing.. The shots are edited to a slow pace to fit the pace of the story. For example, if the genre was action, it would be edited to a fast pace to fit the sequence. But ‘Blur’ is a comedy and therefore the edits are slow and smooth to fit the genre.
- 9. Audience.. ‘ Blur’ is made by Rooster Teeth who have their own fan base. As well as making shorts, they have a animated series called ‘Red vs Blue’. Therefore the typical audience for their series of shorts are subscribers and fans of their other work – this consists mainly of gaming fans.