Operator (Bartlett, 2015) - Short Film 5
Operator (Bartlett, 2015)
Narrative:
We follow an emergency service operator during a night shift in a fire control room. The emergency operator gets a call from a young mother, Gemma, who has accidentally fallen asleep and was awoken by a room full of smoke. Panicking Gemma tells the operator that her child is trapped upstairs as the flames block her path, the operator tells the young mother not to panic and that the fire brigade is on its way but the mother insists on getting to the child. Gemma manages to get to their child just as the fire brigade arrives to save them. The operator in this story is constantly trying to clam Gemma, telling her that shes 'doing so well' to keep her calm, giving us an interesting perspective of this type of situation.
Representation:
The film looks into a group of essential workers within the emergency service industry that are often overlooked. We are shown the importance these people have when it comes to the emergency services being essential when it comes to saving someones life.
Micro Elements:
Cinematography:
- A shot of the operator between two computer monitors is purposefully done to isolate the operator from their surroundings and to focus the audiences attention on the phone Gemma's situation.
- Close up shots of the operators face continue isolate the operator from her surroundings and make the audience feel more involved. We can see the panic and worry that the operator is feeling i that moments and we can see that shes doing everything she can to help Gemma.
- The camera doesn't deter from Laura's face, with this unique framing of this narrative we see this fire only through the perspective of the operator. The vividness of the situation alerts us, as we cant clearly make out what's going on, on the other side of the phone.
Sound:
- A non diegetic high frequency sound can slowly be heard after Gemma is heard screaming, Laura (the operator) tries to get a response from Gemma repeatedly saying "hello?". The high frequency sound causes a sense of urgency within the audience much like what the operator is feeling within this moment.
- Gemma's scream "There's a fire in the house" signifies the start of the main conflict, compared to the other operator calls this seems more urgent which gauges the audiences attention straight away.
- We can hear the sounds of the house on fire, with Gemma raising her voice constantly, a constant sense of urgency throughout the situation, which makes the audience feel on edge.
Mise en scene:
- Laura (the operator) is dressed in a uniform like the rest of her colleagues we see towards the start of the film. We can establish that Laura's a professional at her job and that she knows what she's doing.
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