Short Film - "Kidnap"

Link to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjNJIxYEUek (Part One)
                    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es1Ldwg8E-Q (Part Two)


"Kidnap" is a two-part short story film written and directed by Matt Littler who also starred in the film. It tells the story of a grieving family suffering the recent loss of a beloved wife and mother. The father of the family has to deal with his rebellious children skipping school and staying out late when all he really wants to do it grieve the loss of his wife. The children, Sophie (12/13) and Peter (18) avoid their father at all costs and seem to be running riot around the town, perhaps as a way of coping with the loss of their mother. Their father arranges for them all to have dinner at a restaurant but when only Sophie turns up, he is somewhat disheartened. He leaves to try and contact his son and upon his return, he finds that Sophie to has left him. Peter arrives only to be shouted at by his father and left alone. Sophie's father confronts her the next day and claims that he will be taking her to school to ensure that she goes, much to her protest. Sophie hurries up to her room to get changes, but instead flees out of her window and runs away. 


The scene then re-opens with Sophie and her father in the dining room having a full-frontal confrontation. When the phone begins to ring, the father picks it up and listens. The speaker on the other end of the phone, notably male claims that he has taken his children hostage. The father soon become angered as his daughter is sitting right in front of him and hangs up the phone. The phone then rings again. The mystery man explains that he has his daughter sitting in front of him for a reason and that he is in control of everything they do. Sophie explains the situation to her father and poses him with the dilemma of saving his children. He must either keep Sophie safe and allow Peter to die, or allow Sophie to come and retrieve Peter for a ransom. Puzzled with his dilemma, he instructs Sophie to go and find her brother. Sophie flees the house and begins to run to the place where her brother is being held. She runs out into the middle of the road and is struck down by an oncoming vehicle. The scene fades to black, reopening at the scene of the accident. Sophie is lying on the floor, unmoving and bloody whilst the driver of the car reports what has happened to the emergency services. The scene then closes and the words "To Be Continued" fade onto the screen before the credits begin to roll. 


Things to consider in relation to my media production...
The topic's of interest in both my own media product and that of Littler's are very similar. I therefore thought that I would be able to gain some inspired insight into how to write and direct a kidnapping in order to make it believable. 


1) I like how in Littler's "Kidnap" that he has first addressed the current situation, that being the confrontation between Sophie and her father. However, the scene is cut short to when the phone rings. This leaves the audience feeling as though something bad was going to happen as a result of that phone call. The scene then retracts to five days previous of that situation to explain what had happened each day leading up to the phone call, answering any lingering questions in the audiences mind. The first scene is then repeated in the middle of the film, building to a climax. Using this type of technique presents a very traditional story-telling method that ties all lose ends in the storyline and allows the audience to feel like part of the experience. 
2) I also thought that is was very effective how the mystery man seemed to have so much control over the structure of the story although we actually never get to see what he looks like. Stripping a villain of their identity increases the tension and fear within the audience as they do not have any awareness as to who the 'bad guy' actually is and therefore, accusations are made.
3) The use of flashbacks when Sophie is confessing to her father about her's and her brother's situation is also very effective as it gives the audience a reminder of incidents that they have seen from the father's point of view and switched to the viewpoint of the children, explaining the reasons for why they did what they did. Littler has also emphasised that the flashbacks are not part of the present scene by changing the editing to a black and white mode which depicts the past from the present. 
4) It is also never actually seen how the kidnapping took place, Sophie only ever talks about what happened. I think this is an effective way of dealing with such a sensitive subject as witnessing a kidnapping take place can be quite disturbing to a viewer. However, actually giving the audience an opportunity to witness the kidnapping taking place raises the intensity of the situation. Which approach will be the most suitable to undertake in my own short film must be considered based upon the intended target audience, viewing time and channel.


Details 
                  
There is no information about the release dates, budget, gross etc. as there was no profile for "Kidnap" on the IMDb (International Movie Database) website.