''Boy and Bicycle'' (Ridley Scott)

Ridley Scott currently has some 25 films in development but in 1965 he made 'Boy and Bicycle' as part of his MA.

The other films he has produced:

• Allen (1979)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• Thelma & Louise (1991)
• Black Hawk Down (2001)
• Gladiator (2000)
• Plus Britain's favorite advert of all time ''Bike Round'' for Hovis

As a third year student at the Royal College studying art in graphic design and TV design.

He wrote the script borrowed the camera for three weeks RCA gave him £65 to make it.

At the time he was very influenced by English film makers such as: Karel Reisz, Tony Richardson that era of social realism.

''I had no audience in mind but myself plus the challenge of making the film''.

''I didn't know any film-makers and this wasn't a film school''.

He used his brother for the actor in the film

''We humped and carried all the equipment everywhere we went. My father once drove his car with me in the trunk filming Tony behind. Very efficient and it worked great''.


How is the directors style shown?

This director has a unique style as I spotted watching the short film he created ''Boy and Bicycle''.
Ridley Scott uses lots of long shots through his short film sequence to show the setting where the narrative is taking place. The other technique I think he used well he used close-ups of the objects or facial expressions to show it's importance in the narrative. However the drawbacks was of this short film is that he uses the shot for too long more than needed which makes it boring because me as a viewer I knew what's going on but the timing of some shots were poor.

What have you learnt about how these shorts were made?

Ridley Scott filmed his brother as the main character and it he spent £65 pounds to make it.
Through this sequence Ridley Scott uses a lot of long shots to show setting to the audience, which I think I could use in my film, however not as many as he did because the audience won't interested as much and it may confuse the audience although they were used effectively.
Also this sequence apply to my short film as I am not allowed to use dialogue therefore I could use this film to pick out examples of shots and how the director tells the story without using much of dialogue.

How have shorts captured the audience?

I think it captures the audience by it's narrative as it shows a boy traveling on his bike which therefore straight away will make the audience interested to watch to see where his going. Also the range of shots and angles he used made it really interesting. The other thing the way it captures audience I think it's through the use of long shots to show the setting where narrative is taking place and also the voice-over used.

About the director:

• English film director and producer known for his stylish visuals
• Obsessed with detail
• Scott left the BBC in 1968 and established a production company
• After making television commercials in the UK during the 1970s, he move to Hollywood