#stem-a

Hello,My name is Vyeniah Glory Arquines, yeah I know my name seems so difficult how to pronounce but i find it unique that’s why I proud of it.I’m 16 years old live in Antipolo City. I’m in Grade 11 now a stem student at World Citi Colleges. I have 2 sisters and 1 brother and I’m the eldest.I love to read some stories specially wattpad.I also like to play some online games and watch movies.

                 The short film “Limang Libo” by Ice Adanan is a representation of the lives of Susan; a midwife who had a dilemma of having debts and she lives by herself, and Manuel; a kindhearted man but he was forced to commit a unlawful act for his pregnant wife.

To shoulder the emotions of the story, it used camera techniques such as:

Medium Shot, Close Up, Long Shot, Establishing Shot and Lighting.

Symbolic codes: a telephone, a cutter and a cellphone.

 ANSWERS:

1: Susan is crying because she has a lot of debts to pay and she is stressed because of her financial problems.

2: No, they were complete strangers until Manuel takes her wife to Susan because of the accident that may harm their offspring.

3: Manuel used a cutter.

4: She is expecting her Son to come home early in the morning.

5: Manuel earned 20 or 50 pesos a day, and some coins. He put some coins in the thin can of the guitarist.

6: Manuel witnessed an unusual exchanged of a cellular phone for money.

7: The man who knocked the door of Susan is in charged of handling her bills. The viewers met Susan’s son while he’s drinking with his friends.

8: A not so strong relationship between a parent and a child. His friends stated that he is his Mama’s boy but he denied it. The cellphone symbolizing Susan’s unconditional love for her son.

9: Manuel and his wife was in Susan’s home while Susan was in their dining room. She’s anxious because of her bills that she needs to pay but the money for it was used to the cellular phone that she gave to her son.

10: Their lives crossed because of Manuel’s pregnant wife that will gave birth to their child.

11: Manuel had blood stains in his clothes as he carried his wife to Susan’s wife. She’s thinking of her bills so she asked for 5,000 php.

12: It’s the portraying of their roles accordingly.

13: They’re parallel because of their same situation in life. Manuel tried to snatch and killed Susan’s son and then karma reacted quickly so his newborn died. In the end, none of their problems was solved.

14: It connects based on the storyline and based on the problem or situation.

15: Susan is crying because of her debts and bills to pay. And Manuel had his blood stains because he’s assisting her wife to give birth.

16: The social issues that was showed in the film were poverty, unemployment, and crime.

17: It gave viewers emotional feedbacks because of the dramatic feels of the film.

18: The film used different camera techniques.

19: The film can be a true to life story, it showed us similarities of the people in the film.

20: To show or clarify the true message behind the story.  

WATCH LIMANG LIBO HERE: https://www.viddsee.com/video/five-thousand/biq9j?locale=en

OVERVIEW

“Limang Libo” is a film about two people who lead normal lives and are unaware of each other’s existence; Susan, a midwife who is bound to her debts and Manuel, a scavenger who lives a simple life with his pregnant wife. Their paths cross when Manuel takes his wife to Susan’s home because of an accident that will endanger their child, letting Susan take charge of the whole situation. Both faced with unfortunate circumstances, both Susan and Manuel will be forced to act against their instincts.

SUMMARY

The story begins with a quick glance of Susan and Manuel’s lives.One night, Manuel’s pregnant wife experienced labor pains because she will gave birth he decided to bring her to Susan.

Due to her financial problems, Susan saw it as an opportunity to pay all her debts so she asked P 5,0000 as a fee in exchange for the help she will give to Manuel’s wife.

Desperate to save his wife, he went out and attempted to rob Susan’s son without knowing that it was Susan’s son in the first place. However, Manuel ended up killing Susan’s son.

Meanwhile, back in her house, Susan was successful in getting the baby out of Manuel’s wife’s womb. However, the baby died.

Unfortunate for both, in the end they became each other’s antagonists.

ANALYSIS

To convey the emotions and the message of the film, it used various technical codes such as camera techniques. Moreover, the lighting throughout the film is essentially dark to emphasize the tragic events in it.

SYMBOLIC CODE

Cellphone and the Money 5,000 pesos

TECHNICAL CODES: CAMERA TECHNIQUES

#1 CLOSE UP AND EXTREME CLOSE UP

An extreme close-up shows us objects and people differently than we see them. It calls attention to the subjects, making them more memorable visually.

The extreme close-up shot of Susan is used in the short film to allow the viewers to enter her intimate space, revealing certain characteristics and emotions that would otherwise go unnoticed from afar.

#2 MEDIUM SHOT

Medium shots are favored in sequences where dialogues or a small group of people are acting, as they give the viewer a partial view of the background and also shows Susan’s facial expressions in the context of her body language.

#3 ESTABLISHING SHOT  

An establishing shot is usually the first shot of a new scene, designed to show the audience where the action is taking place. It is used in the first scene of the short film.

#4 LONG SHOT

Long shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or, and to remove ambiguity it will be called a, wide shot) typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings. The scene were Manuel robbing a student who is unfortunately Susan’s son is a long shot.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

QUESTION #1: THIS IMAGE BEGINS AND ENDS THE FILM. WHY IS SUSAN CRYING?

Susan is crying because she has a lot of debt to pay and her financial problems makes her life miserable.

QUESTION #2: THE VIEWERS WILL MEET SUSAN AND MANUEL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIS WAY. DO THEY KNOW EACH OTHER?

No, they don’t know each other but their paths cross when Manuel takes his wife to Susan’s home because of an accident that will endanger their child, letting Susan take charge of the whole situation.

QUESTION #3: MANUEL IS A SCAVENGER. WHAT IS THE TOOL THAT HE USES FOR HIS WORK?

 As a scavenger, Manuel uses cutter for his job.

QUESTION #4: DESCRIBE SUSAN’S SETTING? WHO IS SHE EXPECTING TO COME EARLY IN THE MORNING?

Susan is implied to have an impoverished life so she lives in a small house in a squatters area. She is expecting her son to come early in the morning.

QUESTION #5: HOW MUCH DOES MANUEL EARN FOR WHAT HE DOES? WHAT DOES HE DO WITH THE COINS OF THE BLIND GUITARIST?

Manuel earns at around 20 pesos a day and some coins or “barya”.  He places some coins of the blind guitarist inside of a tin can.

QUESTION #6: WHAT DOES MANUEL WITNESS WHILE HE IS ENJOYING THE SONG OF THE BLIND GUITARIST?

He witnessed a suspicious way of of trading a cellular phone for money.

QUESTION #7: WHO IS KNOCKING ON SUSAN’S DOOR? WHERE IS HER SON, AND AT WHAT DIEGETIC TIME OF DAY DO THE VIEWERS MEET HIM FOR THE FIRST TIME?

The person who knocked on Susan’s door was a person who is in charged of handling the bills to the residents. The viewers met Susan’s son one evening while he was drinking with his friends.

QUESTION #8: WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP DOES SUSAN HAVE WITH HER SON, ACCORDING TO HER SON’S FRIENDS? WHAT DOES THE CELLPHONE INDICATE ABOUT THIS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUSAN AND HER SON? IN WHAT WAY DOES THE CELLPHONE ALSO FUNCTION AS A SYMBOLIC ELEMENT IN THE NARRATIVE?

Susan and her son has a not so strong mother and son relationship, because he is described by his friends as a “mama’s boy” but he denied it. 

The cellphone symbolizes the unconditional love and sacrifices of Susan for her son. Despite of all the debts and bills she had to pay, she still gave her son a brand new cellphone.

QUESTION #9: WHILE SUSAN’S SON IS OUT DRINKING WITH HIS FRIENDS, WHERE ARE MANUEL AND SUSAN? WHY IS SUSAN SO ANXIOUS? WHAT IS SHE READING AND FUSSING ABOUT? WHAT DOES HER ANXIETY HAVE TO DO WITH HER SON’S NEW CELLPHONE?

Manuel is with his wife, who later woke up due to his wife experiencing labor pain. Susan, on the other-hand, is in her house managing all the debts and bills she had to pay.  The cellphone is related to Susan’s dilemma maybe because the money that she is supposed to use to pay the bills went to buying her son’s new cellphone instead.

QUESTION #10: HOW DO SUSAN’S AND MANUEL’S LIVES CROSS? OTHER THAN CROSSING PATHS, IN WHAT OTHER WAY ARE THEIR LIVES PARALLELING EACH OTHER? HOW DO THEIR PARALLEL LIVES CORRESPOND TO THE PARALLEL EDITING USED BY THE FILM?

Susan and Manuel’s lives cross with each other when Manuel brought his pregnant wife to Susan, who is a midwife. Aside from  that, they are both in need of money.

QUESTION #11: WHY DOES MANUEL HAVE BLOOD ON HIS SHIRT IN THIS SCENE? WHAT WAS SUSAN THINKING WHEN SHE TURNED HER HEAD AWAY FROM MANUEL? WHAT DID SHE LOOK AT BEFORE ASKING FOR P5,000.00 FROM MANUEL?

The blood on Manuel’s shirt came from his pregnant wife because he was assisting her in giving birth. On the other angle, Susan looked to all the bills and payments she had to made thinking that this could be her chance to get money resulting to asking Manuel for 5,000 pesos to help her wife to gave birth.

QUESTION #12: HOW DOES THE EDITING CONNECT THE SPACES OF SUSAN AND HER SON, THROUGH THE GESTURE OF SUSAN’S TURNING HER HEAD? HOW DOES EDITING MANIPULATE TIME, SO THAT SUSAN ENDS UP LIKE SHE IS TURNING TO LOOK AT BOTH HER SON AND MANUEL WITH HER SON?

The editing gave the impression and message that Susan is looking to both Manuel and his son.

QUESTION #13: HOW DO THESE SCENES – WITH SUSAN HELPING MANUEL’S WIFE DELIVER A BABY AND MANUEL UNKNOWINGLY STEALING THE CELLPHONE OF SUSAN’S SON – PARALLEL EACH OTHER? HOW DOES THE DEATH OF MANUEL’S SON IRONICALLY PARALLEL THE DEATH (?) OF SUSAN’S SON? CONSIDER THE VISUAL COMPOSITION OF THE SCENES.

This scenes were parallel to each other because we all know that both of them are in need of money and they are searching for solutions to solve their own problems. 

For Susan, she forced Manuel to pay 5,000 pesos for her service. And for Manuel, she steal the cellphone of Susan’s son to get money. But in the end, none of their problems were solved.

QUESTION #14: HOW DOES EDITING CONNECT IMAGES THAT ARE GRAPHICALLY SIMILAR OR CONNECTED?

Editing connects images that are graphically similar or connected by conveying messages and impressions in the film.

QUESTION #15: THE VIEWERS SEE SUSAN AND MANUEL FOR THE LAST TIME IN THIS WAY. DO THEY KNOW EACH OTHER? WHY IS THERE BLOOD ON MANUEL’S SHIRT? WHY IS SUSAN CRYING?

In the last scene, Susan and Manuel now know each other but not personally though. Susan is crying because of all her problems financially and emotionally. On the other-hand, Manuel has a blood stains on his shirt because he is assisting her wife in giving birth.

QUESTION #16: WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL ISSUES BROUGHT FORTH BY THE FILMMAKER ON BOTH SIDES OF THE HYPERLINKED STORY?

The social issues that were emphasized in the short film were poverty, unemployment and crime.

QUESTION #17: WHAT IS THE OVERALL EFFECT OF DRAMATIC IRONY, OR THE FACT THAT THE VIEWERS KNOW MORE THAN THE CHARACTERS, ON THE SOCIAL ISSUES BEING BROUGHT FORWARD?

The effect of dramatic irony in the film gave the viewers more  emotional impact.

QUESTION #18: HOW DOES THE FILM MANIPULATE TIME AND SPACE TO SHOW THE INTRICACY OF HOW PEOPLE’S LIVES ARE INTERTWINED? 

The film didn’t use the typical chronological order to convey a story. Instead, it used camera techniques and different settings.

QUESTION #19: HOW DO LITTLE DETAILS AND GESTURES IN THE FILM ADD UP NOT ONLY TO TELL A STORY BUT TO COMMUNICATE THE THEMES?

Little details and gestures in the film help communicate its theme and genre. And to convey its real message to the viewers.

QUESTION #20: WHY IS THE FILM STRUCTURED LIKE A CIRCLE, ENDING WHERE IT OPENED?

This short film was one of the first films that have caught my attention. The plot was really interesting and the way they executed it was amazing. The film was more about a dramatic side thus using an environment with lighting that wasn’t bright. Medium and Close up shots were used.

The film depicts the life of two people, Susan and Manuel. They were poor so they are struggling with money. They weren’t able to finance their needs thus leading to the problems they had in the story.

Technical, Symbolic, and Written Codes:

Technical

Different camera shots were used during the movie. This includes Medium shot (0:13 – 0:49), Long shots ( 6:40 – 6:45) and Close up (0:51 – 0:57). Lightings were also used in the film like the Key Light Technique.

Symbolic 

The symbolic codes that I recognized in the film was the telephone, a cutter, and a mobile phone. This three items represented meanings like the principle Chekhov’s gun, they were essential to the outcome of the story.

Written

I don’t know much about the written codes of the film. However, I think the one written code was the title of the story. “Limang Libo” which represented the reason why one of the main character snatched and killed.

Answers for pages 131-136:

She was crying because of the financial problems they are facing plus she is worried thinking about her son.

No, they didn’t know each other.

Manuel uses his cutter for work.

Susan was expecting her son to come home.

He probably earns 50 pesos or less. He placed it on the blind guitarist’s can.

He witnessed the transaction of 2 guys.

The mailman who was carrying their bills. Susan’s son was introduced in the film by the time it was getting dark.

The son was mocked as a “mama’s boy” in the story. As you can see, their relationship is very close. The cellphone symbolizes their intimacy.

Manuel and Susan was together in the dining area while she is reading all their bills. Because of the money which was used to buy the phone, it would have been the payment for their bills. 

Their lives crossed because of Manuel’s wife is about to give birth.

Manuel’s wife is already in labor and when he carried her the blood got stuck in his shirt. She wanted to use the money he asked to pay their bills.

It is by placing them in the right position according to the scene they were doing.

They were parallel due to the reason that the problem they were facing was similar. They both needed money and in order to do so, they were faced with a choice. Manuel ended up killing Susan’s son to get the money needed and in the end, the same thing happened to him. 

It is based on the situation that is assigned to each character.

They do not know each other. The blood was from Manuel’s wife or maybe from Susan’s son. Susan is crying because of her bills.

Poverty, underemployment, and crime.

It gave an emotional impact to the viewers. Thus earning their sympathy.

They both faced the same issues and that’s why their lives were connected.

It makes the story more dramatic.

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