For The Birds (2000) Analysis

For the Birds was made by Pixar. It is about a group of small birds who are perched together on a telephone wire. A much larger and awkward-looking bird arrives, the smaller birds reject him with taunts and insults. But he persists in trying to win their friendship, until at last the smaller birds decide to shove him from their perch but soon discover that there may be a problem with this plan.

For the Birds lasts approximately three and a half minutes and won an Oscar for the best short animated film in 2002.



MES
The short begins with the creaters logo and name on screen where a lamp jumps across the screen and replaces the 'I' in the companies name which is 'Pixar'. The sky is then shot with a telephone wire across it and with a few clouds in the background. The picture is very bright which puts the audience in a good mood. A bird lands on the wire which establshes the characters on the screen. Another bird joins and starts fighting with bird, others join to make a total of ten birds who then start fighting. This portrays the birds as mischief and annoying which in some ways builds tension and makes the audience wonder what the rest of the short film will bring. Another bird is also in the short film but is considerably bigger than the others which shows he is different to the rest of them and maybe an outcast.

Sound
In the title scene there is only diegetic sound. This may be because it makes the audience focus more on the companies name. The music throughout the short film is happy and jolly which is good because it interests the audience and encourages them to keep watching because happy music will put them in a good mood. The noises which the birds make are high pitched and loud. This is done to show the contrast between the bigger bird and the smaller birds because of the difference in the sounds they make. This highlights the fact that the birds are different. The loud chirping of the small birds makes the audience feel uncomfortable and builds tension because it makes the audience wonder how or what will make the birds stop chirping which therefore draws the audience in. The story ends with the big bird laughing which adds a commical effect to the story which is done to put the audience in a good mood.

Camera
The short film opens with a pan of the sky which sets the scene. The title travels with the pan which highlights the name of the film. There is a long shot of the sky which establishes the location and surroundings. Mid shots are used as the small birds enter the frame. This is done to show the importance of the birds and to show how close they are to eachother. A long shot is used to show the bigger bird. This is used to show the distance between the small birds and the big bird. This shows the audience that the big bird is an outsider and is the odd one out. Mid shots are also used to show the small birds feelings towards the big bird adding to the fact that he is an outsider. A close up is used of the big birds feet on the wire. This is done to highlight the fact that his feet are key to the plot and to build tension of what will happen next.

Editing
A few cut shots are used in the short story to add a fast pace to it and to keep the audience interested. A shot reverse shot is used to show the distance in which the small birds are traveling in order to get away from the bigger bird. This also highlights the fact that the bigger bird is an outcast. The continuity of this short film was very good because it was set in one location and very lengthy shots are used.