Applying the 5 Key Concepts to the Short Film 'Alone'
Click play to watch 'Alone'
Brief Summary
Analysis
Media Language
The short film begins with a medium close up shot at mid angle of the protagonist whose facial expression is completely visible. The spectator sees that the protagonist appears rather straight faced but not sombre. Alongside the facial expression of the protagonist one can also see his hair and make up which is neat and not extravagant with hair being kept uniformed and make up being minimalistic. A small amount of the protagonists costume is also showing, though most is cut off from the frame, what the spectator can see shows that the male is dressed in a smart and formal manner.
In the following array of close up shots at mid angle many props and décor are shown and a setting is almost established. The spectator sees the props of a mouse, keyboard and computer screen. Coupling this with the costume of the protagonist the spectator can make an assumption of the male being at work perhaps in an office. Showing the protagonists facial expression even more shows how the male appears to know what he is doing and may be finding it quite tedious, giving the impression that he does the same work everyday. When a focus pull from shallow depth of field leads to a large depth of field medium close up it creates the sense of realisation and fluidity. The panning camera movement used also assists this.
After the sound of a knock - most likely a Foley - a mid shot at mid angle is used showing the stomach of another male whose costume also suggests office worker. The restricted narration used here creates an impression of ambiguity.
When match on action is then used to show the male protagonist answering the phone prop it gives the action of answering the phone a larger build up and creates emphasis around the importance of it. The close up shots at mid angle that follow alongside the dialogue show why the phone call was so important. The sound effect of the police sirens and the hurried dialogue informing of an apocalypse over the close up shot showing the protagonists facial expression (shocked and worried) create major effect and add to the enormity of the affair. With a big close up and extreme close up soon following, its as though the information (being given through a sound bridge) is becoming more and more dramatic and getting 'inside his head', generating a sense of urgency. Promoted through the use of the crescendo.
The crescendo builds to a medium close up at mid angle after a cut transition of the male protagonist in a bedroom setting; the spectator then realises that the previous shots were a dream. When the feet of the male are shown at extreme close up at mid angle, Foleys are used as he walks away, the music soundtrack being constant over this. A range of shots of the shower prop (including one extreme sloe up at worms eye view) are then used to establish setting and décor again. The use of the worms eye view angle here is particularly interesting as it is the only shot that varies from the more commonly used angles, e.g. mid angle, low angle, etc. Whilst in the bathroom setting the spectator can read a lot from the décor and props used. The use of the masses of toothpaste tubes in the drawer suggests that the man has a long term need for the toothpaste - perhaps because he is unable to find any. When the medium close up shot at low angle of the mirror prop shows the males reflection it creates an interesting impression juxtaposed to him being alone.
Manipulation of time and space is used cleverly throughout this short film. As the males entire routine seems very procedural it manipulates the spectator into thinking that the male does this day after day; which in fact he does. Manipulation of space is used in the fact that a large amount of extreme close ups, big close ups and close ups are used which create a sense of intimacy and loneliness.
The spectator is then assisted in understanding that the male is within his thoughts as he remembers better times, shown through the misty edged effect of the shots. The shots themselves also being important with a wider range being used than in the current world, for example, the extreme long shot.
The setting then shown in reality again at extreme long shot shows the décor and props of the front yard which shows an unusable car and an alienated setting.
When the male protagonist enters the house setting the props and décor along with the mid shot are very blocked in the sense that techniques such as slit shots have been used. The panning, tilting and tracking movements add to the ordeal as the male protagonist wanders aimlessly around the house setting as though it was his own. The spider prop being used to show the seriousness of the apocalypse and how something so simple as a spider can become one of the only life forms left.
The props of the items within the survival kit add to the semantics of the short film and used in company with the other props and décor within what seems as the basement setting add to the amazement of finding this safe-haven. The tilt down movement and fast motion use both manipulate time again and add to the glory of finding the house.
After leaving the house setting the lighting is low key and the close up of the male protagonists face is rather blurry. The shadowed and silhouette effect adds to the darkness and adds to the astonishment and horror as the light goes on. After the stop in dialogue and the start of a tense soundtrack the light prop turns on and creates shock in both characters and spectators. The light is prominent, both in the darkness and in the male protagonists life.
Representation
Though representation is very hard to relate to this short film - being that there is only one character - there are some uses of representation that have been used cleverly to portray an impression.
At the beginning of the short film the use of the office setting, décor and props along with the male protagonists costume, hair and make up all suggest that the male is upper class and of a high social class.
The representation of age is the key concept to be applied to this short film, with the protagonist being represented as 'old before his time'. The flashback shots used manipulate time and assist this representation; showing his life before the apocalypse. The protagonists life before the apocalypse seems as though it is a dream and contrasts well, showing what he should be living and how he is actually living. The dialogue used helps to create a sense in the spectators mind of what the male would do before the apocalypse.
When the protagonist goes on to say that his life is almost repetitive it creates the representation of perhaps years rather than age being tedious, as though he is thoroughly bored of his current life. Continuing with the idea of the representation of years and time, the prop of the spice helps to visualise just how long the male has been alone, insinuating from his facial expression and body language that the spice is out of date.
Another prop that creates the representation of age as well as time is the baby picture frame, giving the sense that the protagonist is looking back at better times and remembering of when he was a baby. This creates the representation of being a 'grown up' as a negative thing and creates preference towards being a child again.
The dead flowers are the last prop that are used to show the representation of how long-going and monotonous post apocalypse times have been for the protagonist.
Audience
Identifying the target demographic for this short film is rather difficult as it is of the thriller genre but many techniques and codes are used to give the impression of the audience being young adults/teenagers.
One technique used to attract a certain demographic is the use of the character. The male protagonist is aged around 20 - 30, suggesting that the target audience could be males in their late teens or early twenties who can relate to the protagonists role and situation.
Another method used to attract the target audience is the protagonists job, as aforementioned it is an office job which is very common and he is of a middle/upper class. This could be used to the advantage of the producers in order to attract anyone who has an office job and is looking for a thrill away from reality. Or anyone of a middle/upper social class who again would like to relate to something fictional.
The flashback shots used also create another demographic which could be teenagers. The dialogue used and shots of the protagonist "driving around aimlessly", "taking walks" and "going out with friends" relate very much to a typical teenagers life. It could be assumed that the producers are targeting teenagers here as they are known to have a liking for fictional and unrealistic scenarios. By allowing the teenagers to relate to the protagonist it helps them feel more involved in the plot and story.
The costume, hair and make up of the male protagonist also add to the comparison between his character and the spectator. With young adults being able to imagine themselves as the protagonist as his costume, hair and make up is extremely similar to the generic look of a young adult.
In conclusion, I believe the target demographic for this short film is young adults. The majority of techniques and concepts used appeal most to young adults of the age of 16 - 30. Even the titling at the end of the short film is particularly appealing to young adults rather than a more formal title appealing to a more middle aged and elderly audience.
Narrative
Structure - This short film can be related mostly to a linear structure. However, at the start of the short film and in the flashback the structure could be seen to be non-linear as the plot is non-chronological. Mostly, the short film makes use of unrestricted narration, though at the beginning of the film in the dream 'flashback' restricted narration is used in the viewing of other characters.
Bordwell and Thompson - The short film only shows the plot of the story. The story is that an apocalypse has taken place, as shown through the phone call at the start of the film. The plot also has flashbacks relating to the story of which shows the protagonist driving and walking on a bridge.
Barthes - Enigma codes:
- Phone ringing (sound and prop) - who is calling?
- Toothpaste prop - why has he got so much toothpaste?
- Walking outside setting - where is he going?
- House setting - whose house is that?
- Survival kit (prop) - why was this person making a survival kit?
- Lighting at end - who is in that house?
Action codes:
- Toothpaste prop shows that he has/will be living there for a long time.
- Looking for key shows that he has done this before.
- Emptiness of setting shows that he is alone.
- Lighting at the end shows that he is no longer alone and that somebody else has survived.
Strauss: The binary oppositions in this short film don't necessarily juxtapose with the plot but rather the story and the context. There is a binary opposition made evident between the protagonist's old life compared with his new one. Going from being sane to insane is another binary opposition created within the film. The biggest binary opposition is of loneliness turning to being with someone which is shown through the lighting at the end of the short film.
Other theorists are very difficult to apply to this short film for many reasons, one being that there is only one character.
Genre
Rick Altman's Semantic/Syntactic Codes theory -
Semantic Codes
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Syntactic Codes
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Sound – Music soundtrack typical of the thriller genre.
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Dialogue – being used as though the spectator is in the
mind of the protagonist. This creates a sort of dramatic irony, which is very
common in the thriller genre.
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Props – Iconographic to thriller genre (wine bottle) and
show necessities of what is needed in apocalypse.
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Binary opposition – Many binary oppositions are used as
shown in the ‘Narration’ sector. For example, sanity versus insanity, etc.
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Lighting – Low-key lighting used towards the end
iconographic of thriller genre.
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Costume, hair and make up – Generic for a young adult,
therefore common to be used in thriller genre.
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Shots – ECU, BCU and CU very typical of thriller genre,
being used to restrict narration and create tension.
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David Buckingham's Negotiation and Change theory -
Within the short film many techniques are used that are iconographic to other films of the same thriller genre. Though, I think it is clear that the thriller genre has been adapted in a slight way to create this short film. Techniques such as low-key lighting and de-saturated colour are very common in the thriller genre but aren't used massively here if at all. This has been done to create diversity between this short film and other short films of it's genre.
Steve Neale's Repetition and Variation theory -
As aforementioned in David Buckingham's theory, this short film takes on more of a variation than repetition, varying quite largely from other short films in the thriller genre. The variation used has been done in order to create diversity between this short film and others of the same genre.
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