Evaluation

1. My film,“The Gatekeeper”is acomedyshortabout a teenager,Aaron,dyingandwakingupinHeaven,
where he isinterviewedbya gatekeeperandquestionedonwhyhe shouldbe allowedintoheaven.At
the endof the film,Aaron’sgooddeedsjustbarelyoutweighhisbaddeedsandhe isallowedinto
heaven.
To beginwith,cinematographywasakeymicro elementof the shortfilm
whichwastakenintoaccount whenitcame to planningandshootingthe
film.Firstly,throughoutthe majorityof dialogue inthe film,Idecidedto
use mediumshots ateye level whichwere takenindeepfocus.Ihadmade
thiscreative decisionas Iwantedtoviewerstofocusmore on the dialogue
insteadof givingall of theirattention onvisual aspectsof these shots. The
use of deepfocusinthe shotswasincludedasthe backgroundof the shots
were nottoo complex,soIbelievedthat itwouldbe lessof anissue toa
spectatorregardinganydistractions.Inspirationfromshotssuchasthese
came fromthe short “TightJeans”,inwhich the majorityof shotsare
mediumangles,takenateye line.Ibelieve thatshotssuchas these are
usedas itallowsthe spectatorstofocus more on the dialogue andfacial expressionsof the characters,
whichcan allowthe shortto fall more intoplace inthe comedy genre.
Mise-En-Scenewasanotherkeyelementwhichwasconsideredwhen
planningandshootingthe film. Inthe maindialoguebetweenbothAaron
and the Gatekeeper, there isalmostnofactorsinMise-En-Scene otherthat
the characters and whattheyare interactingwith.Furthermore, onAaron’s
side of the room, there isliterallynothingtolookat,as itis complete
darknessbehindhim. Thislackof Mise-En-scene,inmyopinion,createsanunusual andunfamiliar
aesthetictothe scenesandmay catch the spectatorsby surprise,asitis a peculiaradditiontothe
narrative whichcouldworkinattracting the spectatorstowatch more. Aside fromthis,the lackof Mise-
En-Scene inthese sequencescouldalsofurtherhelptopushthe shortintothe genre of comedy,as it
allowsthe spectatorstofocusmore on dialogue andthe bodylanguage of the characters.
Editingis alsoone of the mainmicro elements thathelpedtopushthe filmfurtheraesthetically.To
beginwith, inpost-production, variouslightflashesandswirlswere usedtocreate asomewhatdreamy
aesthetictothe transitionsbetweenscenes.Forexample,afterAarondies,
the filmcutsto black andlightswirlsbegintoappearonscreen.I believe that
by addingthese effects, the spectator’s responsetothe filmcanbe slightly
manipulatedmore tothe film’spreferredreading,asitaddsan extralayerof
unusual visualswhichthe spectatorwouldnotsee indaytoday life.
Anotheraspectof editingwhichIbelievedaddedmeaninginmyfilm are the montagesandflashbacks
whichcut back and forthwiththe dialogue.Forexample, afterthe gatekeepergetstothe “sinful
obsessionwithyoghurt”whichAaronissaidtohave,the shortcuts to a small montage of Aaron
enjoyingtwopotsof yoghurt andthencuts back to the two talkinginthe
room.I believe thatthese cutsbackandforth helpthe filmtobe more
comedicas due to thisnon-linearnarrative structure, the filmcandomuch
more regardingprogressingthe actual narrative itself, andcanallow both

2. characters to build overorreact to whattheyhave seen,whichcan be
slightlycomedicattimes.Imade thisdecisionineditingdue the shortfilm
“The EllingtonKid”,inwhichtheyalsocutbackand forthin a non-linear
narratuve structure,inorderto tell the story whilstalsoallowingthe
characters to simultaneouslyreacttowhatis happening.
Lightingwasalsoa keyaspect whenitcame to shooting“The Gatekeeper”.Once Aarondiesandwakes
up inheaven,he isgreetedwithanabyssof darknessaroundhim.Thislookwasachievedbylightingthe
character inthe foregroundandkeepingall lightsawayfromthe background,inordertomake It seem
as if there isnothingbehindhim.
Anotheraspectof LightingwhichIbelieve couldbe notedisthe use of itat
the endof the short. At the endof the film, once Aaronopensthe “door”,he
isgreetedwithashininglightinhisface.Ibelieve thatthe use of thishelped
to create meaningas it allowsthe resolutiontobecome more believable to
the spectator,and can allowthemtoadopt the preferredreadingof the short
more as, as saidpreviously,itmakesitseemmore believable.
Performance wasalsoa keyelementof the short.I believe thatthe
performance of bothAaronand the Gatekeepercontributedheavilytothe
fact that the filmfallsintothe comedygenre.Tobeginwith,boththe clumsy
and curiouspersonalityof Aaronandthe strict,no-nonsense approachof the
Gatekeepercanbe seeninthe sequence inwhichAarontriedtofindthe
Gatekeeper’shalo. Inthissequence,Aaronplaysaroundveryimpulsively whilstthe Gatekeepersitsin
awe at what he is seeing,toonlythenreactina strict almostviolentmanner.Ibelieve thatdue tothe
performancesof these contrastingcharacters andthe waythat theybehave,the filmonce againfalls
furtherintothe genre of comedy,as the representationsof bothcharactersare pushedtoextremes,
whichcouldbe seenas funny toa spectator.
Soundwas alsoone of the keyelementswhenitcame tocreatingmeaninginthe film.Tobeginwith, the
filmitself isheavilyrelianton diegeticsound,inthe formof the dialogue spokenbybothcharacters.
Both characters,like inperformance,clashwithone anotherinspokenword.Forexample, whenAaron
firstwakesupand beginstospeakwiththe Gatekeeper,he doesnottake inanythingthathe issaying,
insteadignoringitcompletelyandaskinghisownquestions.Ibelieve that thishelpstocreate meaning
inmy filmas,as saidpreviously,the factthatbothcharacters can be represented aspolaropposites
couldcreate a slightlyhumoroussituationforthe spectatorto witness.
Anotherwayinwhichsoundwasusedto create meaning inmy filmis
throughnon-diegeticsound.Throughoutthe film, thereisalmost
alwaysdiegeticsoundused toshowcase the dialogue between
characters.However,there isalmostalack of non-diegeticsoundin
the majorityof these dialogue
sequences.The reasonImade this
creative decisioninmyfilmisthat Iwouldpreferif the spectatorwould
focusmore and rely on the diegeticsound tocarry the narrative
forward,withoutthe assistof non-diegeticsound. Thisdecisionwas
inspiredbythe short“The Fly”,in whichthe spectatorwatchesa man

3. become increasinglyagitatedbyaflyinhiscar. In thisshort,there islittle tono non-diegeticsound,
aside froma small drone whichcan be heardunderneath all othersounds,whichIbelieveisusedto
create an increasingsense of tension.ItookinspirationfromthisasIbelievethatthe lackof an actual
score allowedthe spectatortofullyfocusonthe driverandhisbody language,ratherthananythingelse.
In conclusion,Ibelievethatmyoriginal aimstomake a comedyshortbasedon an interview inheaven
were met,as boththe contrastingcharacters andthe dialogue theyshare,inmyopinion,comesoff as
comedicandworks well withnootherdistraction.Furthermore,Ialsobelieve thatmydecisionsin
editingandcinematographyalsoaidedme tocome to thisconclusion.However,Ibelieve thatif given
the chance,I would addvariousadditionstothe Mise-En-Sceneof some shotsinorderto furthercreate
an otherworldlyaesthetictothe film.Inadditiontothis,Ialsobelievethatthe filmcouldalsobenefit
fromsome more non-diegeticsounds,inplacessuch asthe openingsequence where there isnoreal
needfordiegeticnoise exclusively. Finally,Ibelieve thatsome variationinthe cinematographycould
benefitthe filmgreatly,asthe back-and-forthPOV shotsfromthe charactersare notsufficientand
makinga more excitingsequence,andthingssuchastwo-shotscouldbe addedinordertoachieve this.