Meadows has been making short films since 1994 over 40 short films. Some of these were promotional music videos, some were documentaries and some were films. He has also directed eight feature length films, his most famous, 'This Is England' winning him the British Independent Film Award 2006.
Meadows suffered from bullying when he was at school after his father was suspected of killing a child that he discovered something that comes across in some of his films.
Despite having made it in the feature length films, Meadows continues to create short films as he stated in an interview that he would never forget what got him to where he is, something that some Hollywood Directors originating from short films seem to forget.
'The Stairwell' Shane Meadows' shortest film lasting 39 seconds and was filmed on a mobile phone. It features two people walking on a staircase, one heading up the other heading down, until the meet by violently bumping into each other.
It is a very simple situation, that happens to everybody. However, Meadows has created huge tension in the build up to the incident and has made the incident more violent than you would think by the huge reaction by the two actors.
The use of the shots when the two characters are walking up the stairs seem as though the characters are gliding like ghosts, but this may be the way Meadows has attached the camera. It may be on a pedestal or attached to the actor itself.
This all adds to the tension of not knowing what is going to happen, and the lighting helps to achieve this also.
As mentioned above, Martin Scorsese started out in the short film area. One of his most famous films, 'The Big Shave' was a six minute film produced in 1967. It features a gentleman shaving away his hair, then his skin in an increasingly bloody and graphic bathroom scene. A number of film critics have interpreted the process of self-mutilation as a metaphor to the "self-destructive involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War," which was prompted by the film's alternative title, 'Viet '67.' This was considered due to idea that this man is continuing to shave, when it isn't necessary, similar to that of the US being in Vietnam when it wasn't necessary.
The very graphic dripping of blood into the very white sink can also be linked to the metaphor of the Vietnam War. The blood was staining the sink, but this person continued without even hesitating, whilst people were dying in Vietnam and it didn't seem to bother the US.
Unlike Shane Meadows, Martin Scorsese didn't return to making short films after his success with feature length films such as 'Taxi Driver' and 'Goodfellas'.
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