Soft is a short film by Simon Ellis made in 2007 . The short film Soft is dramatic, violent and explores some of society prominent issues. Due to its hard hitting issues and parallels with reality Soft won an International Film Prize in the social realism genre.

The short film begins with a black background with the word soft written in white. This could have been done to show the complexities of everyday life which can result in a monochromatic mood. The first bit of film action of running we see is filmed from hand held camera, which is significant as it shows a modern use of technology. The modern use of technology gives us an indication about what type of character will feature in the film. Also, the medium of technology used would be comfortably used by a youth, making the film seem more realistic.

A youth in school uniform getting beaten up by boys in tracksuit in an alley appear on the screen. The director has deliberately put the victim in school uniform and the inflictors in tracksuits as it distinguishes between types of youths, while also highlighting the stereotype that youth boys in tracksuits are dangerous. Also a particular boy is emphasised by being the only boy in a white tracksuit, which automatically draws your attention to him, which also signalised him as the instigator. The close up on the victims face shows his emotional stat and also the damage caused which is effective as we are able to interpret how he is feeling.

The camera type changes along with the screen size becoming 16:9. Pedestrian diegetic sounds are used to show everyday life with the shot being a bird’s eye view of a middle class suburban town.  This shot is effective as it gives a good indication of location.  A mid shot shows a middle age man gets out his car and goes into his house. The director’s intentions might have been to show the contrast between the youths in tracksuit, with the area they hang in, to the place where the middle aged man lives.

The location changes to inside of the house, with dialogue being exchanged between the middle aged man and a boy upstairs. The assumption is that it is a father-son relationship. More dialogue is exchanged. The dad leaves the house to walk the shop. This is effective as it’s a non-stereotypical representation as you would expect the younger boy to go and do errands. The director is doing this to show role reversal. On the dads walk to the shop, different camera angles such as mid shots and long shots are used to show the setting while also showing his emotions. Pedestrian sounds are heard in the background, used by the Simon Ellis to show normality in the film. The same youths who beat up the boy earlier are seen hanging around the shops. The music intentionally changes to loud non diegetic music when the youths appear on the screen. This use of juxtaposition to show the contrast relates to the theme of the film, showing how reality can be façade and not what it actually seems. This is effective as it builds up tension quickly with the music switching quickly between both tracks.

The location of the long shot stays the same, showing the youths and the middle aged man. Youths begin to heckle the man, which they do to intimidate him. Inside the shop, there is a point of view shot from the man’s perspective. This could have been done to show how the father would like to shut the youths out. The youths shockingly hit the man, knocking him to the ground, which is shocking to see he as by age he is superior to them. The father doesn’t react, with the youths following him to his house. I think Simon Ellis intentions for father not reacting was a message relating to the theme of social realism. The hitting shows the lack of respect from youths in the modern day.

An establishing shot shows the house,where it becomes clear that the same youths beat up him and his son. This link in events could have been done to show how every single moment can have an impact on the future. A long shot then shows the youths outside the house from inside the house, making us feel a sense of danger. This could have been done on purpose by Simon Ellis in order to show how the youths in the modern society can have a negative effect, intimidating older people. The dad tries to confront the youths, with the camera being switched to a hand held, which reminds us the prevalence of social media in current society and the ways it can be misused in a negative way. Surprisingly, it’s the son who saves the day with the help of a baseball bat hitting the youth in the white tracksuit .This is significant as it shows a change in power. The camera type changes, and shows the father and son return inside, the change in camera type is effective as it shows the return to normal life.

Soft is a short film which shows the reality of violence and how violence can occur anywhere, even in a nice suburban neighbourhood. It also shows the extremes people will go to protect their loved ones.