Analysis on a Suspense Comedy short film. BY KIERA TOLHURST

1. SHORT FILM ANALYSIS
DEATH BY OMELETTE
Produced by Sarah Arlen

2. Storyline
• When a woman's suspicions of infidelity are confirmed
through text messages she finds on his phone, she
makes her husband a killer omelette with the secret
ingredient “truffle oil.”
• Suspense occurs when he continues to receive text
messages at the breakfast table but the plot twist
finally reveals that the text messages were in fact sent
to the wrong “Ronald” and her husband is innocent. He
then tastes the omelette, which the audience thinks is
lethal, and to our surprise enjoys it.
• The genre is a suspense comedy which includes a funny
plot twist but has a sense of thrill and suspense
throughout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNMKZw
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3. Cinematography
CLOSE-UP SHOTS:
Shows a focus on a certain subject which may be significant
in the film.
For example;
1. The close-up shot focusing on the woman applying mascara
before making breakfast for her husband shows she wants
to be impressionable and look presentable.
2. The shot of the table with only the phone in focus is
significant as it highlights the object. The phone is important
in the short film as it exposes her husband’s “affair” through
the text messages she finds.
3. The close-up shot of the top half of the man’s face is
effective as it focuses on his facial expressions. The audience
are all eager to find out more about him so his
reactions/actions to his wife are clear in his facial
expressions in this shot.
4. The secret ingredient of “truffle oil” is finally revealed at the
end through a close-up shot. This shot is self-explanatory
and doesn't need dialogue or a voiceover to explain how the
short film finishes.

4. Cinematography
MEDIUM SHOTS:
Shoots from the waist up and is typically used in
dialogue scenes. It aims to capture subtle facial
expressions combined with their body language or
surrounding environment that may be necessary.
OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT:
The camera is positioned behind a subject’s shoulder
and is used for filming conversations between two
actors. This popular method helps the audience to really
be drawn into the conversation and helps to focus in on
one speaker at a time.
TONES:
The warm tones in the short film give some overall idea
about the time of the day. Because of the warm colours,
the audience can guess it is probably a summer or
autumn morning.

5. Sound
• Non-diegetic sounds were used throughout. In this
particular short film, no dialogue is included however
diegetic sounds of the onions being chopped, the omelette
being fried, the phone buzzing etc were heard.
• This could be because the main focus was on the music
which was chosen to make the film tense and thrilling.
Rapid-paced violin and piano were some forms of
instruments which added suspense. However by the end,
the short film began to be more comedic so trumpets and
flutes were used. Sound bridges are also used which means
sound from one shot continues onto another.
• Listen to the audio clip to hear the music chosen.

6. CONTINUITY: SHOTS ARE MOSTLY
CONTINUOUS, LINK TOGETHER AND
INVOLVE LITTLE ELIPTICAL EDITING.
GRAPHIC EDITING: ALL THE SHOTS
MATCH COLOUR, LIGHTING, TONES
ETC AS THE SHORT FILM IS ONLY SET
IN ONE LOCATION.
Editing
ZOOM INTO PHONE: FOCUSES
AUDIENCE ON THE SUBJECT
ACCELERATED EDITING: SHORTER
CLIPS SO THE RHYTHM IS QUICKER
AND QUICKER, LEADING UPTO A BIG
EVENT.
CROSS CUTTING: SOME SHOTS
SWITCH BETWEEN THE WOMAN
COOKING BREAKFAST TO THE MAN
GETTING READY IN THE MORNING.
TRANSITIONS: LACK OF “FANCY”
TRANSITIONS – ONE SHOT CUTS
STRAIGHT TO ANOTHER.
EYELINE MATCH: LARGE AMOUNT OF
EYELINE MATCH TO ADD SUSPENSE :
FOR EXAMPLE, WOMAN STARING AT
THE “DEATHLY” OMELETTE SHE HAS
GIVEN HER HUSBAND.

7. MISE-EN-SCENE
• LOCATION: Set in an everyday household; main shots are located in the kitchen and
dining room.
• COSTUME: Everyday clothing, the short film is naturalistic so they are wearing
normal costume. The woman is dressed in a blouse, skirt and apron and the man is
dressed in a shirt and smart trousers as he is getting ready for work.
• MAKEUP: Makeup is minimal in this short film – the woman is shot applying
mascara at the beginning of the short film however her makeup is quite natural.
The male character has no makeup.
• PROPS: The main props in the short film are the kitchen utensils which involve a
knife and scissors etc. This gives the initial impression of violence as the loud
diegetic sounds of the knife and scissors chopping the vegetables are presented in
an aggressive way to make the audience think she is taking revenge on her
unfaithful husband. The prop of the omelette is also important as the short film
focuses on this breakfast meal to apply the storyline too.
• PROXEMICS: The woman and male specifically sit at the other end of the table to
show a lengthy distance or detachment between them both; creating more tension
between the pair.
• GESTURE AND POSTURE: We get the idea of the man being unfaithful to his wife
when his gestures, facial expressions and posture becomes suspicious and guilty.
However, the woman acts sly when she hands her husband the omelette which
makes the audience guess there is something wary going on.