"The Stairwell" - Shane Meadows

Shane Meadows produced this short film on a mobile phone and was created to promote the Nokia shorts competition in 2005. Meadows exhibits his recognisable style straight away in this short film as he places the credits upon the wall of the location, adding a grittier element. The dark urban non-diegetic music is mixed with diegetic light sounds to keep with the realistic theme. Although the short is just a man and a women running down the stairs to eventually bump into each other, it is made more exiting by Meadows’ use of shots. He uses steadycam on both the protagonists so that we can see their expressions. However, their faces are hidden by hats denoting that they are dark, demurring characters. Low angle close-up shots are used of the hand gripping the rail, and establishing shots are used to illustrate the environment.

These various shots help to build the tension and suspense along with the non-diegetic music. The location is a dark, gritty council estate also helping to convey the types of people the protagonists are. The protagonists finally collide and the music is brought to a halt. The fact that they bump into each other and exaggerate the bump, standing there looking angry, keeps to the stereotypical judgement of someone who lives on a council estate. The short piece is very effective as the suspense is brought to its height and leaves the audience on a cliff-hanger, we don’t know how they solved the situation, and did they argue about whose fault it was? Carry on with where they were going? Call the police? Who knows!