Student example film: Calamity
Characterization
Protagonist
She is represented as someone who is mourning the lost of her partner. She is seen to be visibly upset and traumatised by the lost. She portrays a sort of empty feeling to the audience which matches the mood of the film.
Mike
Mike is represented as a memory, we later find out that he was her partner but sadly passed away. We learn about him through the protagonist as she takes a walk down memory lane. We actually learn more about him and his habits compared to what is known about the protagonist.
Narrative
3 ACT structure
ACT1: We are first established with a medium close up shot of a man (Mike), smoking a cigarette, this gives the audience context that will build up for later on in the film. We are then introduced to the protagonist. She is seen going through a box of Mikes old things, which she then comes across his lighter. This gives us a link to the establishing scene at the start of the film. The use of going through his old stuff reflects a feeling of bring back old memories to the protagonist.
ACT2: The colour and tone of the film has changed compared to the first act, which reflect a warmer and more lively feeling. The protagonist is seen outside, which has a brighter and more lit up emotion to the scenes. However, this is contrasted by sudden flashbacks that she has of him at different locations. The flashbacks has a less saturated colour to it, mirroring the idea of memories.
ACT3: We are presented with a series of presents and flashbacks, which gives the audience context to how Mike passed away.
Sound
The film consists of no monologue which makes it relay heavily on background sounds and sound effects to help carry and emphasis the mood of the narrative. For example, light high major key music is presented at the start of act 2, which is presented alongside the visuals of nature , mirroring a feeling of freedom and growth which contrasted the low and cold scenes at the start of the film. Diegetic sounds of bird chirpings are also used with the footage of nature which creates a dreamy and realistic feeling to the film.
Mise en scene
costume
Protagonist
At the start, she is seen wearing all black, which reflects the mood of the film. However, as the film progresses and the focus shifts to outside, the film aesthetic is seen to be more vibrant, and so are her clothing. As she is seen wearing a green flannel, which can reflect the coordination of her and the green surrounding she is in, and the colour green can be used to symbolize growth, which we can see the protagonist go through.
Prop
Mike's cigarette lighter is a significant and repetitive prop that is seen through out the film. The lighter gives a sense of connection between the protagonist and Mike as she is seen fiddling with it as she thinks about memories of him. This creates a feeling of absent and indicates a sense of lost that the protagonist is feeling, this mood and emotion is carried through out the film.
Mike's shoes. This prop was seen for only a few seconds, however, it has a long lasting effect on the audience as it not only gives the audience context, but it also mirrors a strong feeling of absent and emptiness, which makes it a powerful prop as it indicates the main feelings of the film.
Cinematography
The film contains a good amount of mood shots, which indicate and manipulate the audience to feel what the film maker wants them to film. This is done through shots like the static shot of the wet window and the static shot of the blue sky .These two shots alone both portray very strong emotions. For example, the wet window shot indicates that it has been raining, which sets the atmosphere of that scene to miserable and cold, the use of the wet window can also be used to metaphorically compare to tears, which links to how the protagonist feels as she is mourning the lost of her partner. However, the shot of the blue sky reflects a fresh feeling, which could be used to interpret how the protagonist is trying to feel. This makes mood shots very significant as they portray very straight forward, but powerful feelings to the audience.
The film has a mix of close up shots, wide shots and medium shots. The close up shots indicates the importance of something in that scene, whether it is the cigarette lighter or flashback montages that occur. This highlights the strong emotion of missing someone and emptiness. The film also uses wide shots to portray the feeling of isolation and loneliness. They accomplish this by compositing the protagonist in one side of then scene, creating emptiness around her.
The film also uses very distinctive colour pallet to portray a certain mood. For example, at the start of the film, the colour of the scenes were very fade and not saturated at all, the faded colour screamed sadness and perhaps even death. This indicated the main feeling of the film. However, the colour pallet dramatically changed to a more vibrant and saturated aesthetic, which perhaps can represent how she wants to feel . The film's aesthetic is also used to represent flashbacks and present time as the flashback
are presented with a fader colour scheme compared to the present imagery.
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Flashback
The use of using visuals such as mood shots to convey certain feelings is very impactful and straightforward, it also helps with the aesthetic as well. How is it lockdown safe? Filmed outside and inside but only has one-two actors which minimises the amount of people on set |
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