There is no embed link for this video, sorry. Please copy the link Below to view it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/filmnetwork/media/shorts/A3440387?size=16x9&bgc=C0C0C0&nbwm=1&bbwm=1&nbram=1&bbram=1
The film starts with a high angle establishing shot (most likely filmed using a crane) displaying a long road running through empty fields as the titles start to roll, all you can hear is the digetic sound of the wind blowing the grass, it is a dark gloomy day with a dark cloudy sky. Then we hear the digetic sound of a motor nearing, a car dives past the camera down the road and the camera starts to rise up higher. The combination of the silence, types of shot and movement and location combined already create a sense of danger or uncertainty which draws the viewer in. The shot lasts for about 25 seconds then we see more shots of the car as it carries on through it's journey. Within these shots we see the car pass a pale blue van where the shots lasts a little longer than the others and we hear the digetic sound of a hand saw coming from inside the van as it shakes on the outside, this shows that the van or whoever is inside it has some significance in the story.
We then start to hear sheep as the car carries on driving through the field, there is a non-digetic soundtrack which starts to play, a somewhat comical whistling tune to liven up the situation, from here we know that there will be a sense of comedy in the story.
We are then introduced to the first and main character of the story through a mid-shot as he drives through the field of sheep irritated by their sounds.
He then comes to a stop and we see another high angle crane shot which pans from left to right as the car passes to the side and makes a stop, there is a short non-digetic bass sound which comes to a stop and ends the fading whistling tune. Then we see a few quick shots of the man viciously eating an apple looking around for something.
Then we see a an extreme long-shot of him waling up the side of a cliff where we see a steep drop through an over shoulder shot.
Then more short shots of him finishing off the apple then spitting and tossing it of the cliff.
The shots carry on in this style as the man returns to his car where he regularly checks to make sure no one is looking while he opens his boot to remove a shovel, there is a non-digetic metalic wipe sound effect used which adds significance to the shovel. The man then proceeds to the back door of the car where he opens the door and we see a woman which seems to be dead but when he looks at here we see a flash back of her lying in a bed smiling. The flash back then ends and the man looks sincerely at the body but then has a short shock memory which we see through a few very short flash transitioned shots, then he starts to throw up. This view of the man being sick creates a feeling of sickness but also confusion for the audience which may make them turn away in disgust but keep them wondering what will happen.
He carries on having these short shock memories and throwing up in the same style of quick shots as before which create continuity by speeding up the time.
We then see a long shots of the blue van from before approaching and the man tries to close the door but the woman's foot is in the way, he forces it till it closes while we see parallel editing from the van to the man and back as it nears. He finally closes the door and goes to the front as he slips on his vomit then starts to drive away. The quick editing again creates tension keeping the audience glued to the action.
We then see a point of view shot from inside the van as the man drives away. When he comes to a stop he realizes he forgot the shovel where the van is which we see through another quick flashback shot. He decides to go back and retrieve it.
We then see him quietly sneaking to the van where he looks under and we hear the shing sound again as he spots the spade. He is then surprised by a detached arm covered in blood which drops to the ground and a non-digetic sound of a heart beat starts which adds to the tension. He grabs the spade then pulls it quickly making noise but manages to escape. However this does not go unnoticed by the man in the van. We see a close up shot of the fist of the detached arm symbolizing the man's anger then he dumps the arm in the van and proceeds towards the other man with the spade.
We then see a long shot of the main character arriving at his car with the spade but again throwing up in disgust even more than before which creates the same effect as before on the audience. When he gets back into the car he sees a dark shadowed figure of the woman in the back and flees out into the field but slips on his vomit again falling flat on his back. The man from the van then appears and knocks him unconscious with his own spade. Then to our surprise the woman gets out of the car sneaks up towards the man from the van like a zombie and knocks him unconscious then spits on the man from the car showing her revenge.
At this point the story turns quiet comical again and the audience keep stay glued in agitation as a new story unfolds.
We then see the main character waking up in the car with the woman as she looks at him with an angry lifeless expression on her face, there is also the whistling tune soundtrack playing again as the two characters exchange looks then the woman brakes on a hard frame knocking the man unconscious again, we then see another flash back of the woman in the bed.
It carries on to a point-of-view shot of the sky from the eyes of the man from the van as he gains consciousness again seeing his toes through a blurred shot as he wiggles them.
The we see a similar thing with the man from the car as he wakes up. We see a close up of his face then another shot at an obscure up-side-down angle of the woman digging a hole in the field. It carries on to some quick parallel editing exchanging shots between the two characters as the man rolls the car down the hill and gets in only to find that there are no keys. Again there is a repetition of the story, his actions do not go unnoticed by the woman and he gets out of the hole to go after him. Then the man in the van shows up. He gets out to attack the woman but she knocks him unconscious again and hijack his van to go after the other man with the car. At this point it seems to be like a wild goose chase between the three characters and starts to become repetitive although there will be no more.
The woman drives towards the man with the car at high speed as he struggles to push the car down the road. We see a panning shot from the van to the man pushing the car showing direction without a stop which hints the idea there is going to be a collision. The heart beat sound starts playing again as we see more parallel editing of quick shots between the man and the woman in the car with tears forming in her eyes. The tension should start to build again, although at this point I found the situation quiet amusing due to the longitude of the story and the constant repetition. I knew what was coming. Then through a direct long shot aimed at the man pushing the car the woman screams and crashes him ending both their lives. Or maybe not.....
This fits in very well with the conventions of a short film as there is no dialogue, all information was conveyed through movement and gestures, significance of props towards the characters and narrative and additional sound effects combined with a combination of directive shots and fast and slow editing. this forms an overall successful short film which ended exactly where it should leaving the audience satisfied with the conclusion. As well as this the idea was quiet unique and amusing and it holds similarities to aspects of narrative and semiotics we found with other short films we have analyzed such as the quick directive shots and cuts in the editing in the films The Black Hole, Strangers and The Sound of Silence.
By Naji
Showing posts with label Short Film Analysis by naji. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Short Film Analysis by naji. Show all posts
Monday, 14 September 2009
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
