Evaluation

Comparison with professional short films

My short film ‘HEX,’ Influenced by the traditional narrative structure of ‘SLAP,’ following a linear structure to avoid convoluting the film’s story. Although other professional short films use unique narrative structures to create a compelling story, such as ‘Over’ which has a circular narrative structure, my short film benefits from its cohesive narrative. 'HEX’ can be compared to ‘The Ellington kid’ with my film loosely being influenced by Witchcraft and the concept of unknown otherworldly forces, like ‘The Ellington Kid’s contrived story of an ‘urban myths.’ I was influenced by the ‘mystery’ factor of the film which is why I chose to centere my film around the supernatural, a highly debated topic of whether it is real or not. ‘The Ellington kid’ straight away created an uneasy atmosphere, with its opening shot being of a knife being sharpened. This inspired me to begin my short film with an establishing shot of my protagonist's house. cutting to shots closer to the window eventually looking in at the protagonist, giving the impression my charter is being watched which creates an unnerving feeling within the audience.

Going into the technical aspects of my film, to heighten the levels of mystery and ominous tone I wanted to set, I was inspired by the low-level lighting of ‘Operator,’ how it used shadows to add drama and suspense, with only the face of the operator being lit up by her computer screen creating an isolating and sinister feeling. As my film’s stakes increased, I used less lighting to add that same sinister feeling to make my film ‘antagonist’ seem far more threatening.

Cinematography is used in 'ECHO’ to create a sense of panic within the audience, emulating what Caroline seems to feel during the first phone call. The fast paced cuts between wide shots and mid shots panning around Caroline, the chaotic sound scape of the busy street, simulates the panic and chaos she's supposed to be feeling during that moment. I’ve emulated this in my film using a variety of mid and close up shots of my protagonists face, highlighting their fearful expression, as they franticly look around the room, cutting from different angles montaged together, to convey to the audience the panic they character is also feeling in that moment. Inspired by ‘The Fly,’ minimal dialogue was used, opting to focus on characters frustration towards the fly through his physical performance, I wanted to incorporate the ‘show do not tell’ technique to highlight my protagonist’s horrified reaction to emphasis to the audience how terrifying this unknown entity is. In terms of representation in my film, I went in a unique direction with my character, compared to the professional short films I have looked at. I did not want my character’s gender to be the focal point of my film unlike ‘SLAP,’ which is why it is left open for the audience's own interpretation. Different forms of gender expression should be integrated into media without it being the main topic of conversation to normalize and show that they are more than just one dimetional character.

Critical approaches

My film fits with Todorov’s narrative theory, the structure to my film is very important as it keeps the pacing of my film cohesive to build the suspense which in turn makes the end of my film much more impactful. The films equilibrium sets up the introduction to our elusive main protagonist, casually reading on their sofa listening to music, adding a slight unease to the atmosphere as the audience waits for something to occur. The disruption, the doorbell ringing, being significant because we can tell from our protagonists’ facial expressions, they are not expecting anyone. On the other hand, you could argue that my short film in a way goes against this theory, as the disruption could have occurred when the suitcase was opened, releasing the demon which causes; the lights to flicker, door to slam, curtains to shut and eventually attacking our protagonist. Furthermore, since my characters ambiguous background in witchcraft the disruption might have already occurred having been in an altercation which led to the suitcase being left on their doorstep.

The recognition is crucial to the narrative as it's during the film’s most intense and fast paced scene, our protagonist is being dragged by the demon, grabbing the book on ‘Witchcraft’ (the book they were reading earlier) finally realizes that they are being tormented by a demon. The repair is our protagonist using the book to recite an incantation to banish the demon, which is a key moment for our character as it shows growth going from terrified to brave. I wanted to leave the new equilibrium to my film open to interpretation, with the final shot being of the protagonist walking off screen with the suitcase, further highlighting how mysterious our protagonist is. Leaving the audience to speculate what they’re going to do with the suitcase.

Steve Neale’s theory can also be applied to my short film; ‘HEX’ as my influence from traditional horror films are often tropes found in the horror genre. The supernatural is a common narrative trope found within horror films. The concept of the supernatural exude a sense of uneasiness as the as the concept of a much more powerful force threatens us humans, which is why I chose this as the focal point of my film. Some of the micro elements used in the horror genre is minimal lighting, many short films set their films location during the night, what I have done, to create an unsettling atmosphere for the audience, which is what I wanted to exude in my film. I also used the common tropes of using POV shots, as they put us in the perspective of our character during key moment. In my film I used a POV shot at the start of my film to reveal the blue suitcase on the doorstep which establishes that this is a significant object in the film. Incorporating these tropes into my short film segments that ‘HEX’ is part of the horror film genre.

Preferred and alternative readings

The key aspect of my film that I wanted to make clear to the audience is the fact that my character is in fact a Witch. It is made abundantly clear through the film’s micro elements. I Emphasised the importance of the book through my film’s cinematography, by using specific close-up shots on the title ‘Witchcraft’ which obviously indicates that my protagonists a witch. Within my films mise-en-scene I specifically put my character in an outfit that mimics the look of a witch, but updated to a contemporary audience, with the long black jumper reminiscent to a witch’s cloak, the gothic colour scheme, natural uncut hair cascading down their shoulder’s. I also incorporated the diegetic song ‘Rhiannon’ by Fleetwood sung by Stevie Nicks who’s often associated with witchcraft further associating our character with witchcraft. Although audience members who have an extensive

knowledge of Witchcraft could have an oppositional reading to the film looking through the films over exaggerated themes.

To create a suspenseful atmosphere during the middle of my film, when the stakes of my film start to heighten, I used a verity of different micro elements. Tension is increased with the use of misdirection, using a close up of the protagonists face to exaggerate the anxious feeling they have as they open the suitcase then cutting a low angle shot of the empty suitcase. The minimal sound is used makes the room feel isolating, suspense if built because the audience are waiting for something to suddenly happen. The lighting of the film is dark and gloomy, with the darker shadows being intensified to make the room feel unwelcoming.

It was also important to get a across to the audience how much of a threat this demon is. During the climax of my film I used a series of by using a series of fast paced shots edited together to show the demon attacking the protagonist just as they're about to escape.