A Hero

A Hero is a short comedy about a man who believes he has supernatural powers, the sequence follows a linear narrative and all though its structure is fairly simple the narrative is very comical. The short film is also a documentary/biography which constructs a socially realistic atmosphere and in my opinion is the true fact as to why it comical.

The first shot after the title shot is a MCU of a male character through dialogue, facial expressions and body language we can tell he is trying to move a glass from one position on the table to another, telekinetically. The structure of dialogue connotes a positive and comical perspective on the characters behaviour as opposed to a negative and offensive one. The desaturation of colour could possibly connote that the character isn't connected with reality and this, represented through the desaturation, as a normal human beings perspective of the world is coloured. The camera then cuts to a CU up of the class on the table, to no one's surprise it isn't moving and the whole situation is made humorous by his hopeless attempt to move the glass purely using his thoughts.

In the second scene we are presented with a BCU of the characters face accompanied by a narration in the background asking the 'hero' if he claims that he has super powers. The camera is focused on one quarter of the characters head, allowing us to only see his left eye, left check and left side of his hair. This is an unusual angle but seems to connote this particular characters unusual personality.
As the sequence progresses we are shown in more detail the absurd and entertaining claims that the 'Hero' has. For example one scene shows the 'Hero' at a CU with his forehead pressed against a brick wall. The unknown voice that has been narrating and documenting the entire account ask the 'Hero' if he was trying to look through the wall all though the answer is an abrupt and simple, "Yeah". It is still effective and again supports the comical environment.

In the final scene we can see the 'Hero' in the same situation he was in the initial seen, he is once again trying to telepathically traverse the glass across the table. When he realises it isn't working he leaves in frustration, the camera cuts to a CU of the glass very similar to the initial scene and it is placed up right on the table. Shortly after the Hero's mother enters the frame and turns the glass from upside down back to up right, implying that the Hero had in fact supernaturally manipulated the glasses position. This sudden twist to the narrative is very common in short films and difficult to execute effectively but in this particular sequence it connected smoothly and successfully effected a humorous finish.

In my view this short film was very successful and has become one of my personal favourites. One subtle connotation I believe has been inserted into the sequence is the name of the film, in my opinion it appears to be a play on words as it is clear he doesn't possess stereotypical, iconic super powers that most members of the audience would associate with hero's, however his ignorance is almost admirable as he convicted that he possesses super powers.