The Sound Of Silence

The Sound Of Silence - Short Film

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/media/shorts/bb/A3884682_16x9_bb.asx

The film starts off with a short title sequence and somewhat comical soundtrack along with the digetic sound of a typewriter. The first shot is and extreme close up of a typewriter then another displaying the title he types "The Epilogue", this is the last chapter of a piece of work. We are then introduced to the main character through the first mid shot of him sitting down in his chair typing. He is wearing a plain white shirt, has a stubbly beard with squared reading glasses and a focused look on his face. The mid shot is a deep focus with some household objects blur ed in the foreground, this makes you feel comfortable and acquainted with the situation. We can automatically tell that the character is a writer of some sort which is good as we understand what is going on right from the start.

There is then some parallel editing between the main character and two neighbours who move into the flat above. We see consecutive short still and handheld shots of the neighbours moving their possession into their flat making allot of noise and the main character's confused and disturbed reaction, the amount of sound and movement gradually increases from the moment the man hears the the keys of the removals van which we can clearly identify by the bold text on it. We then see an aerial shot of the main character before any of the mayhem starts with lots of newspapers and other rubbish left on the floor, even a plat of food which seems to have been left on his desk. This makes us feel like he has almost tried to segregate himself from the rest of the world in order to seek solitude so that he can finish his work which is the main objective in the story. As the neighbours carry on to move their possessions we only see shots of their feel and hands moving and placing their stuff in their living room. In between we see another Ariel shot of the main character as he gets out of his chair looking and the ceiling then a point of view shot looking at the ceiling, both shots look as if a fish eye lens has been used to round the image which creates a sense of confusion for the audience allowing them to understand the main character's feelings. He finally reaches a point where he can't stand the noise anymore that he decides to get out of his room and find out what is going on but to his surprise he sees the couple just leaving and waving goodbye, he decides not to say anything.

Later at night as he gets ready to sleep he hears a banging sound gradually increasing followed by a woman moaning as the couple above have sex. we see a shot of the light hanging and starting to shake back and forth as this happens while the man reacts with a disgusted look on his face. He struggles to fall asleep and ends up stuffing his face with his pillow to mute the noise.

We then see an establishing shot of the city outside combined with the digetic sound of drills and other shots and sounds of fire engines traffic and a dog barking as the mayhem and disruption in the man's life carries on.
We are then introduced back to the main character with a mid shot of him stretching before he starts his work. Just as he settles down to get started there is a group of kids outside fighting and then we are drawn back to a short silence with a zoomed shot through the window into his room and close up of a calender displaying the day before the final day of the deadline for his work then a close up of him biting his lip afraid he wont finish in time because of the disruption.
Again he tries to take action and sticks his head out of the window shouting "Shut Uuuuuuup!!!!!"
He carries on battling with the world and tries to seek solitude in a park but is interrupted by a dog. Then as he walks along the street he passes a music store where an old record floats out of a box of records shining in light, there is also a non digetic sound of sprinkling stars which adds to the magical feel. We see the cheap price tag of 85p through a close up shot and he decides to buy it. these small discreet shots help draw the viewer's attention and allow them to create a bond with the character letting them understand their feelings.

When he gets home we see him playing the record anxious to find out what kind of sound will be played but to his surprise we hear complete silence. We see more closeups of him turning the volume up and down but still no change in the sound. He turns the record off and hears the digetic sound of the tea pot whistling, after turning it back on he realises the advantages of using the record to suit his needs. The record stop and we see a close up shot of the title on it "The Sound Of Silence". This introduces the main story about silence. The audience may sense a trigger of danger as they realise what the record does as there could have been a dangerous accident had the man not heard the tea pot and turned it off.
There is a fade transition and we come to the evening where the man is trying to carry on writing. This transition allows the feel of continuity to be kept.
The man is working and again he hears some surprising loud noises which turn louder and louder with people speaking and music vibration along his ceiling. At this point the man's short fuse kicks off again and he takes look outside his door and sees that his new neighbours are having a party and have invited a bunch friends.
He can not stand the noise so he goes back into his apartment and and starts to move a tall cabinet to. The audience may become quiet confused of what he is doing but are still well acquainted in what's going on thank to the quick consecutive short closeup shots displaying each step of what he does, and the wonder is good because it keeps them thinking instead of being fed all of the facts which could make the situation turn bearing.
We finally see him placing speakers at the top of the cabinet by the ceiling and we know exactly what he has planed which is quiet amusing. He turns on the record as the neighbour is about to make a speech which we see through some parallel editing, then suddenly there is complete silence. the people are at first making fun but then start to become confused and scared which we see through lots of erratic moving handheld camera shots which adds to the feeling of fear of the situation.

Now the man finally has his peace so that he can carry on his work and we see more consecutive close-up and mid-shots shots between fade transitions displaying him working, pages turning (which represent time passing and a new chapter coming) and him working again focusing until he finally reaches the day of the deadline where he has completed his work. There is a non-digetic soundtrack playing throughout this series of shots, it is the same soundtrack which was played during the opening of the film its ends at a high note which fades down in volume quickly with him having a sigh of relief as he finishes his work. This soundtrack along with the several shots of whats going on and the fade transitions also allows for continuity which keeps the audience in their seats anxious to see what happens next as the story nears it's end.
This last scene starts with a short shot of the calender on the Finlay day followed by another shot of the record playing then the man waking up. The record then stops and to the man's surprise the sound of the noise of the city outside starts again.
Now he uses his magical record to mute the world outside by playing the speaker out of his window then he goes back to sleep with a small relaxed grin on his face.
But it isn't over. The record starts to burn forming smoke which sets off the alarm but of course the man is not aware of anything as the record mutes all the sound and he is asleep, then the images fades into black rolling the credits and the comical music soundtrack from the introduction.

This film contains similar traits to the Black Hole story, whatever goes around comes around. The film again is isolated and set in one setting, which arises the tension further more before exploiting the cliff hanger ending.

It fits in well with the conventions of a short film through the use of semiotics using, quick cuts in the editing as well as the small locations of the man and his neighbour's houses and the outside of a shop which allows the audience to pick up vital information quickly to convey the simple idea and narrative in a short time span.

By Naji