1Biii

REVIEWING YOUR CHALLENGE

The following is a review I’ve written on my short film that I produced to demonstrate my special effects capabilities and improvements I’ve made to create a scene through a whole film that makes the effects feel real and drives the narrative rather than feel like an unnecessary feature. I talk about all the techniques I used to set up the scenes and create the atmosphere I did to build up to the climax which involves the visual effects. I state my design choices, processes, and also what went well and why. I also have some written feedback by others demonstrated at the end.

I had a key intention which I wanted to achieve in my short film ‘Pulse’, I wanted it to be emotional and endure the audience’s attention throughout the entirety of my piece. With this in mind I placed my film in the Drama genre. However, I wanted my film to have elements of surprise but it was important that these elements would not distract from the emotions contained within the short film. I later decided and finalised that I would place my film in the Sci-Fi Drama hybrid genre as it would contain elements of codes and conventions from each to create a situation which allows the audience to become emotionally attached but also leave them to question the final events and leave it open to interpretation with the use of enigmatic codes.

I used several codes and conventions from the drama genre in order to achieve the desired effect. The dramatic narrative I attempted to achieve in ‘Pulse’ was carefully thought through with an important and impacting beginning, middle and end (or an equilibrium, a climax and then a resolution). However, during the film’s climax, I wanted a hint of shock for the audience which is where the Sci-Fi sub-genre came in.

In addition to the narrative, I believed that the music score was one of, if not the most important aspect to my short film in order to gain the emotional response I hoped for. I spent many hours listening for the right soundtrack. The important factors to the score which suited the conventions of a drama was that it should be slow paced throughout the entirety of the film. The score should also be soft and pleasant, whilst also being quite sad but inspiring, making use of instruments such as a piano and violins (which are a typical element in a piece with a dramatic and emotional effect) and it should reflect the narrative structure with a great increase during the climax created with gradual crescendos which allow the score to increase alongside the narrative up to the point when the climax occurs.

In the end I decided on a score from Atmostra, part of the Atmostra III series by BubaProductions. I chose the song “Rose” composed by Zdravko Djordjevic. The song fit perfectly, it contained emotional piano and violin elements and increased throughout, leading to a climax in the music which I timed the climax of my film to start, and ends abruptly to reveal the solution at the end of the film.

Knowing the challenges ahead with this film I took some action in order to get the best piece I could which would be full of emotions and meaning for the audience. I took great inspiration from the film ‘Explosions’ as the style and emotions that were gained in that short film where similar to what I wanted to achieve, and it was also silent with no narrative that relied on its score for effect. After researching more into the film I found that cinematography was key so I planned and produced a shot list where I carefully chose camera angled that would have the most affect at specific scenes in my film’s narrative. I also knew I would be filming in the middle of the night and therefore needed a camera capable of filming in these conditions, whilst keeping good quality and feeling quite warm and light. I therefore went out and bought a new lens with a larger aperture for my camera which would let more light onto the camera’s sensor allowing the picture to be lighter at night time.

Cinematography was something I wanted to focus on the most in my film; I wanted the end result to be visually stunning as well as emotional so that they worked in unison for the desired dramatic effect. In order to plan this, I had produced a shot list which included outlines for important shots to plan ahead before I actually shot my film. The first shot had always planned on being a wide, establishing shot to let the audience view the location and understand key parts to the film, being that the lamppost is framed to be of significant important and that the time of day is at night:

The lamppost actually subtly flickers in the shot which right away sets up an enigmatic code, to draw the audience’s attention and question what is happening and why? This was actually achieved during the post production side but was a cinematic choice which had always been planned in order to set up a situation to straight away gain the audience’s attention from the beginning.

Through the use of cinematography, my next step was to establish a loving connection between my two characters. In a directing sense I made sure that my actors did certain actions to establish this and show this to the audience. I wanted the characters personality to also show through the actions which I directed my actors to do. With the female character, I made sure she followed slightly behind the male at all times to suggest that the male character takes care for his partner and appearing as the ‘protecting’ role towards the female, as what is expected in a loving relationship. I also included actions such as the holding of the hands and the eye contact, especially by the female character that looks up to him as a kind of ‘guardian’. This is further emphasised through the cliché “jumper over the shoulders” to show that he cares for her and the audience witnesses this to feel happy for the characters and gain a connection to them. I personally believe that there is nothing wrong with a cliché because they are a cliché for a reason, because they work!

In a cinematography sense, I also emphasised this connection with many close-ups, especially on the actions such as the holding of the hands, the eye contact and the jumper of the shoulders as this brought attention to them and allowed the audience to relate to the characters and gain an emotional connection to them, feeling happy for their loving relationship. This entire establishment into the characters’ relationship was key in order to manipulate the audience and make them feel certain emotions that will later be broken and therefore, feel a more dramatic reaction alongside the characters themselves.

Throughout the beginning ‘equilibrium’ scene I also inserted cut-ins to view the lamppost and remind the audience of its flickering and give it importance, this keeps the audience wondering about that as well and should want them to wonder why it is happening and what may come from it.

I really wanted great emphasis to be put on the lamppost through my cinematography so that a clear link was made with the situation that next occurs. As the two characters lean in for a kiss, I filmed this from a low angle so that they both seem ‘powerful’ together; in such a way that nothing could bring them apart. However, this angle also allowed for the lamppost to be in the background, positioned between the two as though it is an interference getting in the way. This all helped to witness the light eventually going out and causing the actions to freeze just before the characters could kiss. The sudden difference in light because of this also allows for a great contrast that occurs instantly and is quite a shock as the film goes from being happy and loving, to quite dark and sad where the audience are now confused and are left wanting to know what happened.

Straight after, the shot is left at a black screen for a few seconds, holding the suspense, and then a cut to a shot of the girl collapsing to the ground is shown as an insert before it cuts to black again. This puts emphasis on the dramatic narrative twist which is the start of the disequilibrium. As a cinematic choice I also decided for this angle to be filmed with a Dutch Tilt (also known as Dutch angle, canted angle or oblique angle) as it is a great technique often used to portray “psychological uneasiness or tension in the subject being filmed”.

The next part of my narrative needed to wrap up what happened, including realisation with the character and emotional detachment. The setting up of the connection between the characters and the audience at the beginning helps this scene to be more emotional and heartbreaking for the audience. I wanted emphasis with the cinematography to be put on the girl and seeing the emotions from her perspective (even though at this point she is not there any more). This allowed the audience to see the boy as the rescuer for themselves, as well as the character as he gets down towards us and shows through his actions that he is emotionally devastated and doesn’t want anything else but for the girl to come back. The cinematography in this short segment helps the audience to see what has happened by having focus on the girl’s lifeless body that is stationery in frame and looks down on her as she is weak and needs help.

What comes next is the change in events coming to the climax of the film which also fits the music score as a noticeable change approaches to suggest something will happen. Because of this point in the soundtrack, I also wanted the climax to be strong and powerful, with a meaningful message but also quite unexpected for the audience. I didn’t want the shock factor to ruin the emotional connection I had previously built up however, so it was important not to have it happen all of a sudden. This shot was the most important in my film as it is a visual bridge between the two genres and also, the climax of the narrative:

To achieve this I kept the girl in the foreground and had the boy begin to float up into the air, in the background, slightly out of focus so that it is only subtle what is happening, but noticeable and creates yet more enigmatic codes, which was my intention throughout the entire film.

Then comes the actual climax of the film. Here, a noticeable change in the score signifies the upcoming events. The result links back to the importance of the lamppost being the main subject in the whole film and is where the Sci-Fi comes into it. At this point, the enigmas will be answered but still open to the interpretation of the audience.

The ending clarifies the whole piece and gives the audience what they hoped for; it doesn’t exactly end on a high but has a heart-warming message behind it being that the girl means so much to the boy that he would sacrifice his own life for hers. The cinematography links the events to the girl as it slowly pans down from the lamppost, now with all its light restored, to the area where the boy was but no longer is there, and lastly to the girl on the ground, who opens her eyes to signify that she came back to life because of the boy’s sacrifice.

There were many post-production choices I needed to make.  Firstly, I had always planned on having the film play back in slow-motion; this is because I wanted to portray how the events suddenly change in the matter of a minute going from a happy relationship to a death which causes the mood to turn into the opposite. But by the events being in slow-motion, the pacing is much easier to follow and allows for the emotional suspense to hold on and feel more dramatic than if it was played in real-time. The film has been slowed down to 30% its original speed.

The only other sound that can be heard in the film is a heartbeat at the beginning which gets increasing louder up to the point when the light goes out where it suddenly stops. When editing, I also key framed the brightness of the film every time focus was being put on the lamppost to make it appear as though it was flickering. I made this flicker happen in time with the heartbeat which in turn is in time with the score. This puts emphasis on the fact that the characters, especially the female character, who is alive and well up to the point when the lamppost light does go out. The sound and flicker in sync allow for a further understanding of the connection between the girl and the lamppost.

The special effects in hand were one of the biggest challenges in the piece as they were needed to explain the ending and create the climax of the film. I needed to make the particle of light appear as realistic as possible. For this I ended up setting up a camera in my software that had the same features as the real camera I used and therefore, the depth of field and all the other properties were as realistic as possible. Here is a view of the effect I made in Adobe After Effects.

I wanted the effects to reflect the Sci-Fi feel and the involvement of light and particles worked well with this and the image it created. It looks stunning and this also helps to show how much of a beautiful gesture it is that the male character sacrifices his own life for the life of the girl.

As far as improvements go for my short film, I look back at it and see many. One of my biggest regrets is not showing the boy’s reactions to the girl right after she dies. I believe that one inserted shot looking up at the boy whilst he hold’s the girls head in his hands would be powerful itself and show that he is devastated and would do anything to bring her back. Another improvement to the film after hearing some reviews from different people are the moments when the film cuts to black. I believe that these moments may ruin the pacing slightly even though I had intended for them to be in the film for added suspense but extra shots could be added here as some people have said that they drag on slightly and in my opinion, could potentially ruin the pacing I have built up. Some mistakes I have found in the film which I would correct in a re-shoot are that the girl has a slight smile when she is on the floor lifeless which would have been better without the smile because I didn’t intend on the scene reflecting any happiness at all but instead, the opposite and this may ruin those emotions. Also, in the shot where the boy’s feet are seen floating in the air behind the girl’s body, her body is facing the wrong way and her hand is in a different position, this is a careless continuity error which should have been monitored more by myself but could easily be fixed with a re-shoot. The final improvement that I have in mind that I would correct would be the final shot to the film where the girl opens her eyes. I personally believe after seeing it a few times that it could look quite sinister as this technique is used in many horror genres. The way that this could be improved would be to have my actress perform this exactly the same but this time without looking directly into the camera as this convention is what is used by the horror genre to break the fourth wall and make the audience feel uncomfortable and at danger. If my actress where to have looked somewhere else, slightly past the camera, it would have been much more effective and less sinister. If I were to film again I would correct a few things and makes a few different choices too, I would film these points I mentioned as this would give me the extra choices and improvements I needed to correct these noticeable mistakes.

 

Feedback from others

Here are some comments I received from others on YouTube regarding my short film ‘Pulse‘: