Unit 3: Analysing Short Films

Alone

Three Act Narrative

Setup - The film starts in an office with the protagonist receiving a phone call from what appears to be his girl friend or wife. We then discover that it is actually all a dream (that is a flashback from something that happened previously). Then once he is awake we discover, through him explaining his situation through voiceover (us hearing him think). We find out that he is the only person left on earth, after an apocalypse.

Confrontation - The problem that arises is the fact that this man is feeling so lonely being on earth by himself. He finds himself not talking for weeks at a time. The only company he has is playing a voice mail saved in his phone from his girlfriend/wife over and over.

Resolution - In the closing scene of the film we see the man walking down the empty road. A light then switches on in a house at the side of the road. This makes us (and him think), maybe there is someone else?

Characters and Dialogue

Co-worker in the office comes in says one line about a report as he hands paper to the protagonist. This has been done purely to show how life was once normal.  

Main character is the man who ends up being the last man on earth. We hear very little on screen dialogue from his as he has no one to talk to/ no reason for him to speak. We hear a voiceover of him that represents the thoughts going through his mind.

There is also an off screen character (the protagonists wife/girlfriend), we only hear her over the phone/voice mail.

Sound & Music

There is very little music in this film, instead we hear the character moving around and natural sounds. This has been done to show how empty the earth is, how alone the protagonist is. The quietness represents the nothingness.

Editing & SFX

It is edited so that the camera always follows the movements of the main character. It is filmed with a very shallow depth of field and the camera is always very close to the character. This will be done again to represent how he is the only thing there is, the only thing 'worth' seeing.

The Silent

Three Act Narrative

This film doesn't really follow a three act narrative. It is instead just a collection of jump scares that keep the viewer gripped (as they want to know what is coming next) and random incidents. There is some kind of story, something to do with the girl having nightmares and them coming true in real life. But it doesn't really have a resolution.

Characters & Dialogue

The main character is a young girl, we see her playing in different places although most of the time she is stood there, looking scared.

There are other characters included, such as the girls mum and other mysterious men. However these only appear briefly, never say anything and usually are something the girl is scared of. They are there to make up the jump scares and create the scary things.

Sound and Music

In this film there is a mixture of silent/quiet moments that usually turn into moments were music and sound effects build. This is all done to build tension and create the jump scares.

Editing and SFX

The whole film has a flat and cool colour grade. This makes things look dark and unfriendly which creates a strange atmosphere which sets the mood for the film. There are also some rapid jump cuts between some shots to let the viewers see a glimpse of something (but not clearly or properly). This helps to build the suspense because we wonder what that thing is and whether this could develop later in the film.