Analysis of the camera
- 1. The Camera • • o o o o o o o • o o o o o Director / DP / Editor / Composer / Colorist / Sound Designer / Foley: Peter Lewis The short film has not won any awards but has gone around the circuit of short film festivals including: DC Shorts Film Festival Surrey International Film Festival Winner, Fandana Film Festival "Best of Fest“ Festival du Film de Vacances Low Country Indie Shorts Choice Cuts (London) Write.Shoot.Cut It has also been reviewed by websites and magazines: "Perfect in its simplicity, beautiful and haunting in its visuals, The Camera is a reminder that a great film is in everyone's grasp, as long as he/she has the creative capacity and appropriate willpower to drop pretension, and quite simply, make something." —Short of the Week "From its delicate shot composition to an emotionally stirring score, Peter Lewis's The Camera is a crash course in great filmmaking." —Film School Rejects Short Film of the Day "A compelling example of what's possible when perseverance and resourcefulness meet." —DirectorsNotes.com "Awesome ... 'The Camera' proves that beautiful movies can be made simply and makes you want to get out and make your own!" —Mitch Aunger, planet5D Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Js3jOLKcjU
- 2. The film opens with a long shot and a character in the middle. This shot sis used to establish the setting and show how big it is in contrast to the character. This is to signify that the character is alone on the beach. Beaches are usually represented as busy places with lots of people where as this isn't. This connotes that society has left this beach which may be a reflection of her personality where society or family has left her. A floor shot is used to keep her identity hidden but still show she is their. This adds enigma coding to the scene and questions the audience to keep them intrigued. She is wearing a white dress. This signifies innocence. It also almost makes her look like a ghost, as she is alone on this calm “heaven like” beach, this could signify that she is actually not alive and in the afterlife. A low angle shot is used to connote power or scale. This is used to effectively show the audience that she has discovered something big or unique, almost like an explorer.
- 3. An over the shoulder shot is used to signify a personal connection between the woman and the house. This almost gives the audience the idea that she is interacting with the house on a human level. The house is also obscured by a grass hill. This connotes that their Is an element of mystery to the house as if it is hiding something sinister within. The title is in white where as the background is a binary opposite, black. This Is to add emphasis to the title which is further backed up by the block capitals used. The black could signify a sense of depression or loss which is reflected by the previously shown desolate beach where a woman appeared to be lost. The white text which is the focus of the audience, is white which could connote hope or discovery of something new. As she enters the room, a sofa Is seen that has been covered up. The connotes that the house has been abandoned for a long time which further gives the short film a hollow and desolate feeling. The light shining through the windows is blinding and gives a heavenly aura to the place. This connotes that the place has something special to it,
- 4. The chest in the room is partially obscured by the bed and the door which his partially open. This connotes that the woman is peeking into the room withy the box as her focus. This I due to her being in the shot but out of focus where as the box is, depth of field. On closer inspection, the chest is old which signifies that its contents could also be from a long time ago which further adds enigma codes to the scene and puzzling the audience. By this point they are likely on the edge of their seats, wondering what the contents of the box is. The light pouring in from the window behind the box connotes that it is “Heavenly” with some powerful or magical object in it. magical objects are conventions of fantasy films which help define the genre.
- 5. The object in the chest appears to be a an old Polaroid camera. This connotes that the previous owners of the house may have abandoned it along time ago due to the old technology. She begins taking photo’s and starts by taking a photo of the empty bed. When the image prints out and the fades into colour, a figure (presumably a member of the family who previously owned the house) is shown. At first this shocks her, essentially having a portal viewer and see people from the past (or future?). This is backed up by the close up of her face which has connotations of shock and anxiety. Her eyes are wide and her lips are parted which are conventions of a shocked response. At this realisation the slow playful piano music becomes a bit more focused and aggressive. With deeper notes being repeated in a sequence to hold the tension in the atmosphere.
- 6. After taking more shots and finding more people, she begins to enjoy her new discovery. This is proven by her first smile in this short film, almost as if she has found what she has been looking for, people. This connote that she may in fact be a lonely person in search for society, with her being lost on then beach at the beginning. After a while however, she realises that people are no longer in her photos. This leads her to becoming depressed and desperate. Her facial expression connotes that she has lost her only hope, looking down which signifies that she is looking back into the past when her magical item worked and cherishing that moment. This causes her to become desperate and start taking photos outside the house. She catches glimpses of people and moves further up the beach until she reaches the sea front. This connotes that she is starting to feel lonely again and trying desperately to find society. The music also decreases just to a few piano key presses on the highest note. This is to signify that the woman is loosing hope and the situation is going wrong for her.
- 7. The scene then cuts to her pointing the camera at herself . This is an over the shoulder shot. This connotes that she has built up an emotional connection to the camera and is currently addressing it as if it were human. She makes the decision to take a photo of herself. The flash blinds the audience and she disappears. The camera slowly zooms across the desolate beach to a single picture of her with the people she wanted to meet. At this point the music also stops. This connotes that her journey is finally over and although she is reunited with the people she wanted to see, she may actually just be trapped in a photo.
- 8. From this short film, I have learned that using wide open spaces can be excellent for creating an atmosphere of loneliness. This means that for my short film where I want to portray a lonely character, I will use open or empty spaces which I believe reflects the characters neglect from, society. I could also use lighting to my advantage, covering my magical object in my short film in light to give it a “Heavenly” look with connotations of power. This would add emphasis to the object and allow the audiences to identify it as unusual and not just a normal household object. I could also use basic piano melodies along with my open spaces to further create these lonely atmospheres for my short film. This connotes that I would be able to attract my audience into the narrative and successfully created a smooth flowing short film. I could also use the over the shoulder shot used frequently in this short film. This signifies that a character can have a personal connection to a non living object on a human level. This is because using an over the shoulder shot with my protagonist and his magical object could show a real emotional connection which is what I have been striving to find. Finally, this film had a budget of $50 dollars which really has inspired me to contact people and their resources instead of buying everything or not due to having a low budget. This means that I could essentially build something very cinematic with just a few contacts rather than spending masses amounts of money. In other words I could try new creative ways of thinking to achieve a cinematic feel instead of not due to budgetary constraints.