The Blue Umbrella Reading Log

The Blue Umbrella Reading Log

By Sarah McKenzie

Short Film written and directed by Sanchez Unseld (2013) in the USA. Watched on Thursday 3rd March and log written Friday 4 March- Thursday 17 March.

Plot Summary

A blue umbrella with feelings is brought out on a rainy New York day. Falls for a red umbrella but then gets blown away from his owner. Gets hit by a truck but owner finds him. Ends with red and blue umbrella in La Parapluie (The Umbrella) cafe.

Personal Response A- Sounds and Music

The sounds and soundtrack in the Blue Umbrella are very dynamic. The diagetic sounds of footsteps, rain and general bustle builds to the start of a soundtrack that is very fitting for the film. These sounds set up the mood of the whole video and I think that the type of instruments and tone of he music helps to guide the video through the Blue Umbrella's journey. The absence of dialogue throughout the whole film almost forces us to watch the character's actions and feelings than we would if they were talking. For example: instead of the Blue Umbrella announcing to everyone that he is happy at the start of the film, we infer his hopefulness and happiness through colour, facial expression and the mood of the music.

Person Response B- Characterisation
The characters in The Blue Umbrella and the makers' personification of them is very effective and clever. In particular, the colours and style of the animation rally gives life to the umbrellas as well as the other objects with faces (traffic lights, post box etc.). The blue represents the main umbrella's masculinity as well as his hopefulness in comparison to the red umbrella's femininity and attractiveness; and all of the black and darker-toned umbrellas show dullness and the gloominess of the setting. The cute animation and style of the film helps to give expressions to the characters, the simply made city objects with just two eyes and a mouth make them likeable yet still realistic and the absence of humans helps us to focus on the personified features of the characters and the realism of the story.

Personal Response C- Editing and Cinematography
I think that the way that the film has been put together, with long, romantic shots in the lovey-dovey scenes and fast-pasted choppy shots in the action scenes is very fitting. The fast cuts and varied angles at the start of the movie show the busyness and bustle of the city. Slow scenes and lots of two shots convey love and romance. The editors also use features such as fade to black for specific purposes- e.g. to show when the umbrella is unconscious. The shots and angles used by the animators are effective, and despite the fact that the film is not acted by real people, the cinematography still plays a part in the film.

In conclusion, I would definitely recommend The Blue Umbrella to students my age because it has a great soundtrack and sound effects and the characterisation of inanimate objects makes the movie interesting and easy to imagine in real life. The film is cute and I could recommend it to any lovers of a fun, romantic story.