Textual analysis of 3x3

Title: 3x3
Director: Nuno Rocha

Narrative
This short film tells the story of two characters. First we see a security guard playing basketball, practising his shooting. A caretaker comes along sweeping the floor and the Security guard shows off his ability looking very smug. The security guard goes to his office, pours a cup of coffee and starts watching the security screens. The caretaker remains on the court and has a go playing basketball. However he is not very good, missing the shot every time. The security guard is watching and laughing from his office. The caretaker stops playing and get his ladder out and take measurements of the hoop and makes very complicated calculations. In the end the caretaker make amazing shots and the security guard still watching from his office can't believe his eyes. The guard runs to the court but the caretaker has resumed sweeping the floor. The film ends as the security guard returns to his office to find a package containing sports clothes and the caretaker wearing basketball gear waves to one of the security cameras, knowing the guard would be watching.

Enigma codes

• Do the characters know each other?
• Why is the security guard playing basketball?
• Was the cleaner always secretly good at basketball?

Characters

There are two characters is this film, the caretaker and the security guard. 

The security guard is represented a the antagonist in the film. He is a smug character who underestimates the caretaker due to his status. The slow motion shot of this character laughing at the caretakers failed attempts accentuates the idea of him being a spiteful person. 

The caretaker is the protagonist. Underestimated by the caretaker this character challenges representations and preconceptions. He turns out to be a very intelligent person as opposed to the unskilled worker the audience and the security guard perceives him to be.  

Locations

The only two locations in the film are the hall with the basketball court and the Security guards office. The film could be set overall in a school or a sports centre. I like how the film is set in everyday and in a way mundane locations, it makes the film more relatable and easy to identify to.  I think the film is set at night because the locations are deserted apart from these two people, this allows the characters to do what they want as no one is there to judge them apart from each other. This in turn allows the caretaker to challenge the stereotypes that surround him.                                       

                                                                        

Cinematography

The shot types vary throughout the film to create different effects. 

• Low angle shots - During the first scene it shows the hoop, presenting it an intimidating entity. This also foreshadows it as a major subject within the narrative of the film, which it is: it is the thing the characters want to 'conquer' as it were.  

• High angle shots - Shows the caretaker celebrating after he misses the lay up shot for the final time. The high angle shot conveys him as smaller and lesser than the net and perhaps the other character. This reflects his failure of the shot despite his celebrations. 

• Close up shots - used to show actions of the characters such as the caretakers immensely complicated equations. Showing this so close up emphasises the complexity and introduces the idea that there is more to this character, that he doesn't comply to the stereotypical representation of cleaners being just cleaners. 

Editing techniques

• Slow motion - This builds anticipation, particularly when use in the caretakers run up to the hoop. Prolonging the action raises suspense, the audiences expectations rises and in this case are not fulfilled.

• Match on action - Matches the pace of an action over more than one shot, shown here when the guard throws his napkin into a bin. He throws it in the first shot and we see the napkin falling the bin on the next shot. 

• Eyeline match - Used when the guard is looking at the security screens to show the audience what he is seeing. Along with Match on Action these continuity techniques help the sequence appear uninterrupted and like a continuous action.   

Sound

There is no dialogue in this short film and yet the audience understands the narrative completely. Simply through the use of cinematography, editing and the facial expressions of the actors the story makes sense. I think this is such a skill, one which Rocha has exhibited very well. 

The non-diegetic music plays over certain points of the film. What sounds like a clarinet or oboe plays a simple tune when the caretaker is taking measurements of the hoop and the court. This simple melody stir a feeling of intrigue within the audience.

During the slow motion sequence of the caretaker running towards the hoop the sound of the ball bouncing echoes as if leading to a triumphant shot. It builds suspense along with the slow motion. 

Titles

The titles are in a simple white font, firstly the directors name overlaid on the shot of the hoop followed by the title of the film '3x3' in a different, more brush stroke font. I'm not entirely sure of the meaning behind the title, it may be a Basketball term I am not familiar with or a reference to the maths involved in the caretakers calculations. The credits roll at the end of a black background in the same simple white font as the directors name accompanied by the same tune played within the film. All of the titles are simple and do not distract from the narrative.

My thoughts

There are several points about this short film that really appeal to me. I like how there is no dialogue an yet the story is conveyed so effectively. This is down to the effective use of shot types and editing along with the simplicity of the story. The nature of the story also really appealed to me, I like how it plays with preconceptions of the characters as well as how the action stemmed from a seemingly normal situation which, for the characters, is their normal work environment.