The Stairwell - Shane Meadows

"The Stairwell" is filmed on a mobile phone camera, which means it is handheld. However, Shane Meadows has obviously put together some kind of 'Steadycam'-like contraption to keep the mobile phone camera static throughout the short film. He uses a mixture of high and low angle shots to show the location he is filming in, which is a British-looking, 'gritty' stairwell with a dark mise-en-scene. He also starts the film off with a canted shot, with a light switch. The film challenges the expectations of the audience as it is just a very simple idea. All it is, is two people crashing into each other where two sets of stairs meet. The title sequence makes it seem as though the film will be longer, but it lasts for less than a minute. The music in "The Stairwell" is very foreboding and ominous, its as though Meadows tries to create tension for something so anti-climatic. To begin with, the audience sees a character from behind, he is very mysterious as we don't see his face. A 'Steadycam'-style experiment is used to show the front of the man as he runs on the stairs, which means the camera looks up at his face with a low angle shot. It is distorted from the low-quality camera and dark due to the lack of lighting. His short journey is shown with creative shots, and the music building up. A woman is introduced next, on the other set of stairs, and both characters smash into each other by accident, with the use of creative shots. They stand there for a moment before the film ends. "The Stairwell" ends with a light switch, just like it started, contradicting the darkness of the film.