2. Brief Synopsis The film starts with a voice-over explaining an impulsive plan to quit his job, leave his girlfriend, pack a few essentials and travel to Las Vegas. He plans to take all his money out of his bank account and place it all on RED on the roulette table at a casino. On his way he encounters a woman that steals his camera, after going to the casino he loses the bet; and all his money. Waiting at a bus depot, the same place he met the woman who stole his camera, he see’s a photo of him on a message board. He removes it and reads the back of the photo, it gives and address, presumably the address of the woman. The Plan has a simple plot however it reveals messages to the audience surrounding freedom and taking chances.
3. Camera The short film consists of a variation of mostly close-ups and medium/long shots. The shots are positioned at eye-level to create a closeness with the character Mitch, also a few high-angled shots are used to create a better view on what Mitch is doing, showing the impulsiveness of his actions. It also connects the audience to Mitch as the protagonist because it shows the film through his perspective. In the opening of the film the establishing shot is of the road that Mitch it travelling down, this represents freedom through the open road, implying the plot and location as a big part of American culture is the idea of freedom. The camera movement is steady throughout the film, except for the scene where Mitch chases Eve past the buses' for his camera, here the camera movement is shaky creating meaning through the panic generated on screen, it also sets up the turning point for the failure that continues for Mitch from that point onwards.
4. Editing/Special Effects The film is shot in Black and White which sets the tone of the film and perhaps is there to suggest ‘not everything is black and white’ because as the film unfolds Mitch realises that taking chances doesn’t always work in your favour. The editing and sound work together to add to the atmosphere, the use of voice-over really makes the film personal to the audience because you feel more connected to the character, as if he is talking to the audience directly. The film uses music and diegetic sound at the same time, which should make the film sound quite busy however it creates a peaceful atmosphere.
5. Mise-en-Scene The Plan is set in America, which again links back to ‘freedom’ as American culture considers itself a free country. The shots of an open road with rural surroundings shows the lack of boundaries, another representation of freedom. So location has an impact on the entire film, without the use of a quieter location, free from busy cities and too many people the message of the film wouldn’t have been as powerful. The props used in the film had an impact on the plot, for example the camera was the most important prop because it creates a bond with the two characters, other props like the message board are also important to the film because they create links with characters.
6. Sound The film uses a voice-over from the protagonist to really connect him with the audience, this encourages the audience to see things from Mitch’s perspective. In his voice-over he repeats “I will go through with it” a couple of times, this creates the impression that he is not sure about his plans and he is trying to convince himself, the voice-over also gives the audience a lot of insight into the characters personality. The soft music creates a peaceful tone to the film, and when plays over diegetic sound and the voice-over it softens the negative points of the events. Although there aren’t many, the use of silences in the film is very powerful in creating a tense atmosphere and leaves more for the audiences imagination.
7. How can this help my short film? The camera angles and movement was similar to how I imagined my short film to look like, and I liked how each shot varied in angle, framing and composition. The black and white effect I thought was powerful in a short film, so I may adapt my short film to be shot in black and white. The use of voice-over made an impact on character perception and connects the audience really well, so that's another technique I would take into consideration. The simple plot line, the plot doesn’t have to be complex to get across a powerful message. The Mise-en-scene was really impactful in how each prop created meaning and is a good technique to apply to my own short film.
