Short film NEA.

1. Evaluation
My shortfilm,‘Amber’isbasedaroundthe titledprotagonist.Herpregnancyisaccidental,andAmberis
indecisive aboutthe course of actionshe wantsto take.Much of myfilmislocatedin her sister,Charlie’s
house,andtheyare discussingheroptionswithoutactuallyusingthe relevantwords;the spectatoris
made aware throughbody language,gesturesandsubtlereferences.Mynarrative washeavily
influencedbythe shortfilm,‘The Arrival’where ayoungwomanisfacingthe same dilemma.The
structure of ‘Amber’wasinspiredby‘Over’,which unravelled ashockingeventinreverse chronological
order.I believethisstructure iswhatintriguedme the mostof thisfilm, andsoI wantedto create a
structure whichwouldshockthe spectatormore too.I incorporatedtwoseparate scenarios,both
technicallyoccurringatthe same time and eachwithone minordifference. Amberisnaïve inthe tactic
she usesto decide thismajorlife decision;dependentonspecificnumbersonadeckof playingcards.
The single differenceof one numberpracticallydetermineswhatwill happen,andmyaiminthiswas
originallylinkedtothe butterflyeffect.Echowasthe filmwhichinfluencedmydecisiontobase a
narrative arounda vulnerable femalewithapersonal issue.ItisinquestionforbothCaroline,the
protagonistof thisshortfilmandAmber,whethertheyshouldbe sympathisedbecauseof theirjuvenile
methodsof decisionmaking.All three of these short filmscontainedelementswhich
influencedandhelpedme tocreate my ownshortfilm.
From havingwatchedthe shortfilm‘Echo’,Iobservedspecificallyhow effectivethe
use of close-upshotswas.The narrative wasunravelledinchronological orderand
verycleverlybeganbyportrayingthe protagonist,Carolineasa vulnerableteenagerin
a troubledsituation.Myshortfilmwas influenced fromthisshotbecause of how
much itengagesthe spectatorintoherfranticresponse.Intermsof the preferred
readingin‘Echo’,the spectatorhas beentrickedbyCaroline’svulnerability,andI
believethistobe enhancedthroughacombinationof herperformance andthe
extensive use of close-ups.Ibelieve myfilmtriggersanegotiatedreading,arguing
whetherAmbershouldbe sympathisedforherpersonal situationtoo.Throughoutmy
short filmIusedbothclose-upsandextremeclose-upsof myprotagonisttodraw into
heremotionsandgenerallytogenerate apersonal perspective.Thisisthe element
whichinspiredme the mostfrom‘Echo’as it capturedherterror inthat momentand
herwhirlwindof emotionsduringatime of isolation.Furthermore,Caroline’s
performance isthe showcase of the film, andasignificantpartinmakinghercurrent
state believable.However,herdrasticchange inpersonawasthe cause for the
spectator’s subversionfromsympathytoshock,butit isambiguousthroughoutthe
majorityof the filmforthe reasoningof herscam. So,I decidedforthere toalso
containambiguityinmyprotagonist’spersona,because whenaroundhersister,
Amberpretendsasthoughshe doesn’tcare abouther pregnancy,butthe spectator
thenviewsherreal emotionwhenshe isalone.Again,forthisreasonIusedclose-ups
to accentuate hersadnessandto capture momentssuchas crying or
daydreaming.

2. Narrative structure formy shortfilmwasinspiredbythe film
‘Over’,whichisinreverse chronological order. Time isrelevant
throughoutthe filmbecause itplaysalarge part in buildingup
the tensiontoan event. The suspense comesfromthe gradual
unveilingof hintsastime runsbackwards,whereasinmyshort
film, the time isimportantindistinguishingtwopossible
outcomesfromthe same time.The three numbersthatappearon
each card Amberchoosesare relevantandlinktotime startinganoccurrence. Over’sstructure inspired
me to be more experimentalwithmyown.Whenwatching‘Over’,Ithoroughlyobservedthe small
detailswithineachtimeframeandhowtheycreatedanimpact afterithad finished,soone of my most
significantfeaturesof mise-en-scenewasaclock fora similareffect.Time isveryimportantinmyshort
filmbecause ithelpsgainsuspense,andsoIusedthisprop inthe backgroundof manyof my shotsto
remindthe spectatorof the build-uptoanevent. Mise-en-scene wasavital aspectof creatingmy short
film,especiallyprops,because of the meaningtheyhadandwhattheysymbolised.A deckof cards was
a prop whichtriggeredaresponse forthe protagonist’sdecision.Thiscouldpresentherasjuvenile and
irresponsible,oritcouldportray heras afraidand isolated.
In termsof sound in myfilm,Iwantedto maintain minimal non-diegeticsound andonlyuse musicto
graduallyincrease adramaticoccurrence. However,Iincorporatedmany
diegeticsounds,suchasbirdschirping,traffic, acar screechinganda
heartbeat.This allowsthe spectatortosinkfurtherintothe realismof the
filmandthe normalityof herunluckysituation. Anexample of ashortfilm
whichincludeddiegeticsoundforrealismis‘Echo’. Immediatelyinthis
short film,the noise whichsurroundsCaroline,isthe trafficandbustle of
civiliansinabusytowncentre.Thissetsherup in a natural locationwhere
she isalone and ina hecticenvironment. The simple combinationof thisbusy
societyandherphone suddenlyringingalreadytriggersthe spectator’s
response toan upcomingevent,andalthoughthere isnothing visually
occurring,it issuggestedthroughthese noises.Effectivelyusingdiegetic
soundinmy short film,Ibelieve increased andsymbolisedeachemotion
my protagonisthadat some pointor anotherduringthe scenes. The
impact‘Echo’ hadin portrayingdifficultiesof dailylife throughaDrama
inspiredme to create a filminthe same genre, because itwas relatable
usingrealisticaspects of everydaylifeand bringingvariedemotions toit.
Caroline issupposedtobe sympathisedwithatthe beginning,butonce
hertrue personaisrevealed,itcausesinnerconflictfor the spectatoras
to whethershe isa badpersonor simplyavulnerable teenager.Thisisenhancedthrough multiple
noisesin a busytown enclosingherintoanisolatedstate. The build-upinmyshortfilmisfromthe

3. contrast of my protagonist goingfroma tranquil,rural locationtosomewherechaotic.Thisisa
subversioninAmber’sstate of mind andfrustrationisherfinal emotionafterhavingexperiencedstress.
The short film‘The Arrival’promptedmyideaforadeeplife decisionhavingtobe made forthe
protagonist.There isthe negotiatedreadingbecausefor mostof her thoughtprocess,herdecisionisnot
to keepherunbornbaby,whichmaytriggersome spectatorsto react negativelybecauseof morals
againstabortionwhichwoulddetachthemfromher.However,Ibelievethe preferredreadingisforher
to be a relatable characterwithwhomthe audience cansympathisewith. One specificelementwhich
influenced myshortfilmwasthe lowkeyandhighkey lighting(sometimespossible chiaroscuro)andthe
variedtonesusedto accentuate an emotion ormood. I usedbrightertonesinmyfilmwhenmy
protagonistwas feelingcalmandmellow,butwhenshe showedmore emotionsuchassadnessor
frustration,Iuseda cooler,darkertone. Usingthese differentcoloursof lighting enticedthe audience in
more towardsthe character’s thoughts,especiallythe deepermomentswhichtendtobe enhanced
throughthe darker tones.
My original aimwasto create ambiguityastowhetherAmberherself shouldbe viewedasasympathetic
protagonist. Editingwise,Iwantedtocreate these twoscenarioswhichwere almostthe same,running
simultaneously intime,butwithone minordifference.Ithinkthiscame across,butto make it clearI
addeda rapidreverse of some of my previousshotstoportraythat the scene wasbeginningagainatthe
same momentinhersister’shome. Before beginningtofilm, Iwas seton close-upsbeingamajorpart in
enhancingmyprotagonist’semotionsabouthersituation,andIalsobelieveit drawsin the spectator
furtherintoherstory,enclosinghersomewhatfromthe outsideworld. Iaimedtohave the ending
slightlyambiguous forthe spectatorintermsof the linksbetweeneachsectionof the film until working
out the connectionof the numbersonthe cards and the clock. Mise-en-scene alsohadtobe done
correctly,because of the significantuse of props. If Iwere tochange anythingfrommyfilm, one
elementwouldbe transitionsbetweenshots,asIfeel asthoughsome may be unclear. Iwouldfocus
more on editingcuts, andpossiblysoundlevels fromintendedbackgroundnoise.Overall, the
cinematographyand mise-en-scene werethe mostsuccessful elements andenhanced important
momentsof the narrative whenrequired. Itwasimportantforthe spectatorresponse to feel Amberin
the endbecause of her fearof the situation whichgrew throughoutthe film.