surrender

1. Short FilmAnalysis
Name: My Analysis Supporting Images
Cinematography&
Camera
Techniques
The film“Surrender”comesunderthe genre of warwhich
suggestswhaticonographyyouwouldexpectwithinthe film,
thisalongwiththe style of cinematographysuchasthe use of
close ups,trackingshotsand mediumshots.Firstlyisthe use of
Low andHigh angle shotswhichare usedat the openingof the
filmwhenthe twoGermansoldiersare discussingsurrendering,
the use of cinematographywasuse veryeffectivelywithinthis
scene as itis usedtoshowauthoritybetweenthe twosoldiers.
Firstis the Low angle shotwhichlooksdownonthe soliderwho
despisesthe ideaof surrendering,the cameraangle wasused
specificallytoshowhowinferiorthischaracteriscomparedto
the otherGerman soldier,the secondwasthe highangle shot
whichwasusedon focusof the commandingofficerinorderto
showauthorityandsuperiorityoverthissoldier,italsoshows
us as the audience thathe isa character notto be reckoned
with. Nextwouldbe the use of an establishingshotwhichis
usedto establishthe viewerwithinthe sceneanditisalsoused
to setthe location,thisbeingthe easternfrontof Herbst
(1944). Thistellsusas the viewerthatthe filmissetwithinthe
Worldwar due to the darkthemesof locationalongwiththe
use of the textwhichindicatesduringthe war.Ibelievethis
doesworkin favourof the short filmthoughitisnot essential
for beingtoldthe time periodthe filmissetin. Ibelieve the
cinematography thatwaschosenforthisfilmdoesbringout
the realismandimmersesthe viewerinthe experience,there is
alsothe use of additionof close upswhichwere usedtoshow
the expressionsof the soldiersduringthe war.We are able to
see the miserable expressionsof the soldierswhichhave fought
for yearsduringthe war,this issomethingwe wouldn’tbe able
to clearlysee withanyothershotwhichiswhyclose up was

2. Short FilmAnalysis
chosen.Nextwouldbe the use of the longshotof the two
Russiansoldierswhichthe loneGermansoldierspots,thiswas
usedto give little detail andfocuslessonthese soldiersas
opposedtothe German soldiers,Ibelieve thiswasusedto
showhowbaron the landscape hasgottendue to the war and
the impact thatwar has causedon the local landscapes.Lastly
isthe use of Two Shotwhichis a shotthat onlyfeaturestwo
actors, thisisan effective wayof featuringtwocharactersas
otheralternativesinclude eithermediumorlongshots, though
I believetwoshotisthe mosteffective overall.Inthisfilm,itis
useful forportrayingmultiple characters’ atone time insteadof
requiringswitchingbetweenmultipleclose upshots.
Colour Scheme The filmhas a dark andlowsaturatedcolourscheme all
throughoutthe film,thiscouldbe due tohighlightthe dark
themesof war.Thisallowsthe viewertoexperience the
realisticaspectof warand howwar has causeddark timesfor
everyone,itisgoodthatthe directorincludedthiswithinthe
filmbecause withoutthisthenitwouldbreakthe illusionof
realityandnot showcase the darktimesof war.I believe this
colourscheme workssuccessfullyinportraying the Second
WorldWar insuch a small budgetfilm,itallowsthe audience to
experience the survival andthe horrorssoldiersfaced andthis
issomethingwhichisnotcommonwithinthe filmindustry,
whichisall supportedbythe colourscheme.
Genre
Conventions
There are manyfilmgenre conventionsinwhichaudiences
expecttosee Inwar situatedmovieswiththisfilmbeingan
example.One keyconventionisseeingweaponiconography
whichbestrepresentsthe time period,weaponiconography
symbolisestowardsaudiencesthatthe filmwill include aspects
of violencehoweverwhenitcomesdowntothe iconography,
the filmshouldincludeweaponswhichsituate aroundthe time
period,suchas worldwar2 in thiscase.Withoutthis,Ibelieve

3. Short FilmAnalysis
it wouldruinthe illusionthatthe filmistryingtoshowto the
audience andtherefore wouldresultInthe audience losing
interestinthe film,otherelementsinclude showingthe
audience the extentof the warand the impact that ithas had
on the soldiers,Ibelievethatthisfilmisakeyexample of thisas
the soldiersare exhaustedandwantto surrenderinorderto
put an endto thisfight.
Narrative Usingthe three partnarrative structure and applyingittothis
film,Iwill be able toanalyse the filmandbreakitdown into
three parts.The firstpart isthe introductionwhichiswhere the
directorintroducesthe charactersas longwiththe plotwhichis
presentwithinthisfilmaswe are introducedtothese German
characters whojustwant to putan endto thiswar. The next
part is the confrontationinwhichthe protagonistsmeetthe
antagonist(RussianPatrol) andthisconfrontationbegins,even
thisisjust a short confrontationinwhichthe protagonists
attemptto surrenderbutishalteddue toanotherGerman
soldierfiringuponthem,itisstill seenasa confrontation.
Finallyisthe resolutioninwhichthe filmcomestoanend.In
thiscase,it isthe conflictbetweenthe GermanandRussian
soldiersinordertoescape.The soldiershadnochoice to fight
as theyonlywantedtosurrenderandnot to die,howeverthis
inflictstheirdecisiondue tothatGermansoldierfiringuponthe
Russians.The filmendswith the conflictendingandthe
Germansoldiersrunningintoanotherconvoyhoweverthe film
endswiththe tank aimingtowardsthe soldiers,whichleaves
the audience insuspense.
EditingTechniques There weren’tmanyformsof editingthatwere implemented
intothisfilm,thoughthe mostnotable wouldbe the Computer
GeneratedImageryandinmy opinionIbelievethisiswhat
ruinsthe film.Itdoesnot lookrealisticinthe slightestandthis
iswhat letsthe filmdown,thoughasthisdoeslooklike asmall
budgetmovie usasthe audience cannotexpectmuchinchoice

4. Short FilmAnalysis
professionalEditing,the visual effectslookabove amateurlevel
whichisexactlywhatthisfilmissoyou have to give the post
productionteamcreditforit.
Title Credit Design There wasnot much choice intitle creditsbesidesthe opening
introductionandthe endcredits,though Ibelievethisdidnot
impactthe filmasa whole.The introductionwasaproduction
creditso that doesnotaffectthe genre overall,thoughthe next
title creditwhichisusedtoestablishthe scene couldbe
considerrelatable tothe genre of waras thisis a stylisedtext
that isusedto standout. Lastly,I believe the titlecreditsatthe
endof the filmbestrepresentatype writersince these were a
commonway of typingupemails,thisiswhyI believe thatthe
directorhad chosentoinclude thisstyle of font,thoughthe
onlydownside aboutthe fontishowthe fontisnot consistent
throughoutthe film,thisseemsunprofessional intheir
standard.