Short Film Research
Emily's research:
‘Letter’ is a psycho thriller short film in which a man narrates a letter he has written to his wife who has hurt him somehow. He does so whilst driving his car before stopping. Things suddenly begin to take a dark turn when he lifts his wife’s body out from his boot and throws her from a height into water before the film ends.
Camera angles:
The majority of the film was shot from inside the car. There are plenty of close up shots of the guy’s face in order to show his facial expressions, or rather lack of them, as he is portrayed as being calm despite what he is planning.The camera also often focuses on his hands on the steering wheel, showing they are steady, which implies he doesn’t feel guilty about the revenge he has planned.
A wide shot of the car pulling up to the fence where he throws the body from is shown to ensure the audience know exactly where he is, plus, it creates more suspense as, throughout the film we get the impression that he is going to be the one to kill himself, therefore the audience expect him to jump but are surprised when he goes to the boot.
As he opens the boot, the camera is strategically placed in front of him, creating more tension as the viewer doesn’t see what he is seeing straight away. Also, one shot of him looking in the boot is filmed from underneath him-a low angle shot, showing how he is looking down on the body inside the boot and he is ‘superior’ to her because he is in control.
Finally, as the man prepares to throw the body into the water, the camera angle is wide and films him from behind to give a clear view of what he is doing. However, just before he lets go of her, the camera pans left back towards the car before the screen fades to black. Therefore, we don’t actually see the body fall into the water but, instead, hear a splash. This leaves the film on a slight cliff-hanger but the audience can work out for themselves what has happened.
This is an idea that we could incorporate into our own film. For example, when somebody is shot, we won’t film the actual gun shot and will just cut to the next day in the office, yet the audience will just hear a bullet being fired. This is a good way of showing them what’s going on instead of telling them directly.
Mise en scene:
Sound:
There seem to be religious items placed in his car, presenting him as innocent and not capable of murder. The main character wears a shirt, watch and glasses and has his hair neatly styled, presenting him as being rather smart and collected.
Despite there being many shot of the man’s surroundings, it still isn’t clear exactly where he is as the road looks pretty average, creating ambiguity.
There are only two main sounds in the film, the narration of the letter and the final splash when the body hits the water. The narration is non-diegetic sound as we don’t actually see the guy speaking and the splash is pleonastic as it will have been exaggerated seeing as though it’s a really poignant noise and tells the audience how the film has ended.
Editing:
The entire film is in black and white. This creates a sense of mystery and ambiguity as it gives little away about the character and the location.Finally, ‘Letter’ is a really slow pace throughout. There are no jump cuts or montages, which emphasises the calmness of the man and how he doesn’t seem to be stressing out about the fact that he is about to kill his wife.
Emilys second film analysis of the short film 'Guilt'.
Olivia's research:
'Echoes' follows a days events of a young woman who is revealed to be mentally ill.This film details how her illness affects her and the damage that it can cause to herself and those around her.
Camerawork:
Sound:
Mise en scene:
Editing:
The short film ended by cutting to a black screen.This is called a fadeout and creates a mystery about the ending of the film and what happened to the main character-A Cliffhanger
Olivia's analysis of the short film 'Alone.
Lucy's research:
This is the analysis done by Lucy on the short film "The Come Up", about a Production Assistant who isn't quite what he seems.
This is Lucy's second short film analysis on 'The Commuter', about a man whose journey to work doesn't quite go to plan.
Alice's research:
This is the analysis done by Alice on the short film "Soft", it is about a man and son being tormented by a gang and their response.
Alice's second short film analysis of 'Interpretation' about three men reading 'The Art of War' who try to attack a couple.