Reel/Unreel - response

     Movement is so central in this piece. There's constant movement. I think the continuity here relies on the fact Movement is so central in this piece. There's constant movement. I think the continuity here relies on the fact that there are two boys, connected by this roll of film between these two film reels. No matter where the boy in the front runs to, we know the other is not far behind. This lets Alys show the reel moving through various different environments without confusing us about where either of the boys are at that moment. Another aspect of the continuity is how when, for example, one boy is shown running along the screen to the right, the other boy is also filmed moving from that same direction. Whenever there's a switch in the direction or whenever they move down a different path, there's a shot showing this. Despite the crazy amount of different movements through a maze of alleyways, streets and crowds, we never feel lost. Alys also chooses to keep the focus on the two boys for most of the film, interspersing these wider kind of establishing shots to give us more perspective of the whole area. We're also focused mainly on the reels themselves, and not really on the boys' faces for the most part. The boys are apart of most of the shots, but the focus really is the combined movement of them with the reels. Despite the focus staying on the reels, the background of each shot shows the environment being moved through. These are often really intimate shots, so the wider shots we get between them are more impactful. One of the most impactful shots here is near the very end when we see a view of the entire town that’s just served as the maze for these two boy’s game. It’s much bigger than it seems just from the shots within the town, but we’ve also mainly seen things from the boys’ perspective.

    The use of color is really interesting here too. I can imagine that the choice to use bright red and blue film reels was intentional to make them pop out in these kind of beige, tan colored environments that the film was set in. We get so used to seeing the mostly colorless environment that we’re really drawn to these bright pops of color, and they further keep us focused on the reels as they're moving through this environment. I'm curious as to whether the occasional bright shirt color of a person walking by was intentional as well. Another moment that was kind of surreal, but I liked a lot was a moment when a man with a bunch of balloons casually walked through the chaos of the children running after the film reel.
    

 The use of sound worked nicely too. As we're with the two boys and the film reels for most of the film, the main sounds we’re hearing are the sound of feet moving through all the different environments, as well as the rolling of the film reel across these different terrains that make up this town. As with the different shots, we also get some of these moments of wider perspective, where we hear the movement and chatter of other people, as well as different vehicles as the boys move into busier areas. There was also some much more quiet moments where we really get a feel for an area of the town, such as some of the alleys, where the occasional bursts of laughter and yelling from the group of children really stood out. The sound changes were just as seamless as the changes of shots, as quiet alleys turn into busy streets. We’re with the boys and the reels the whole time, so we feel like we’re on a journey through these different areas too.