Dir. Shannon Harris
THREE birds is the first in a planned three-part series of shorts by Shannon Harris loosely bound by playing upon or, as Harris prefers to say, ‘riffing on’ a well-known saying. Thus, the challenge for the writer/director is to uncover an aspect of the human experience in a commonplace—even trite—idiom. Three birds riffs on the expression ‘killing two birds with one stone,’ which ordinarily implies efficiency and control, but Harris shows us the limitations of this approach to life.
Walking briskly to the Library, Stella, the main character played by the director, mutters to herself ‘two birds’ (24:02); she is in a hurry to get the book she had requested and get on with her other tasks. However, in a clever use of the title card, the two is replaced by a three (33.25):
Stella is not in control; something unexpected is about to happen.
The film’s playful tone is accentuated by the use of contrast in the mise-en-scène, framing, and editing. Though impatient to get her book, Stella holds the elevator for an older man to get on. The film cuts from her impatient look to an MCU of the shoes of the older man slowly inching his way into the elevator:
The use of the P.O.V shot reinforces Stella’s view of the situation; the spectator’s tendency then is to empathize with Stella’s sense of frustration and impatience. In addition, the difference between the two characters is accentuated by the costuming: an older white man dressed in a drab brown sweater and old bluejeans, a young black woman dressed in a bright white/blue outfit:
In this shot, in particular, the contrast between the two is further enhanced by the framing. Known as ‘ the magnetism of the frame’ effect, the technique of placing two characters in conflict close to the borders of the frame instead of along the lines of the rule of thirds increases the visual, hence dramatic, tension.
This moment is also significant because it complicates the time of the narrative. Stella encounters the older man in front of the elevator three times: the first time, she is on her way to the third floor and holds the door for him (Stella Holds the Door ); the second and third times are two versions of the same event (Stella Meets the Older Man On Her Way Out at 0:02;34,04 and 0:02;49.22 ), but with different resolutions.
The message of the film is also reinforced through the editing. THREE birds has ‘bookend’ narrative/visual sequences, which provide closure and enhance the unity of the narrative. The opening sequence, Stella Walking to the Library, is edited in four crisp jump cuts (at approximately 0:14,0:17,0:19, and 0:20) followed by a ‘false’ match-action cut as she enters the library, false because the cut is from Stella’s hand pulling the handle of the first door to her coming through the second door. The jump cuts dramatize her impatience as she wants to get things done. The ending sequence, Stella Leaves the Library, expresses her sense of a newfound approach to life, with a ‘true’ match-action cut (5:09) as she walks out the door, two dissolves (5:13, 5:17) and fade-out into the ending credits. The accompanying music also incorporates contrast from a quick, clipped beat at the beginning to a mellow jazzy rhythm at the end to show her change of attitude.
Even at this early stage in her career, Harris’ directing style demonstrates close attention to visual/aural design. In an email, she explains that the choice of costume for the main character undermines the stereotypical image of the ‘mammy’ in a number of ways:
“I’m particularly upending historical representation, particularly, of dark-skinned black women as asexual mammies (Aunt Jemima) – vis-á-vis the short skirt (incidentally with blue-black fishnets); colorful, stylish headwrap; and natural but flattering daytime makeup look with red lip. Likewise, she is gainfully employed outside of the service industry.”
In large part, it is this attention to the complex implications of the mundane that characterizes her style and links her to a long tradition of Black writing and filmmaking.
The full film is available at: