The document provides an analysis of the short film "2am Smiling Man". It summarizes that the film follows a man walking alone at night who is stalked by an strange man with a disturbing smile. Throughout the film, the protagonist runs away from the antagonist but cannot escape when the antagonist suddenly reappears at the end. The analysis then discusses how the film uses its two characters, isolated location, lighting, shots and sounds to create tension and build panic in the audience.

1. Harry Cross
2am Smiling man analysis
Narrative
structure
It islate at nightanddark whenthere isa man walkingdownthe roadalone,
the man meetsa strange manwearinga peculiarsuitandhas a verystrange
posture.Thismanconstantlyhasa verydisturbingsmile andhiseyesare
alwayswide open,whichcausesthe manitbecome concerned.The man
walksawayin hopesof avoidinghimbutsuddenlythe strange manstartsto
run towardshimchasingaway the now sprintingyoungman.The youngman
thinksthathe issafe and that he has escapedwhenthe camerapansto a
close upof the smilingmaninfrontof the youngman.
Narrative theory The narrative theoryforthisis horror/thriller.
Genre The reasonthat 2 am smilingmanisa horror isbecause the mainplotis the
stereotypical monsterchasinganseeminglydefencelesscharacter.The short
filmitself isalsoshotatnighttime whichfurthersuggeststhatthisismeant
to be aimedat a horror audience.The manysoundssuchas the sirenare
disturbingandraise tensionandare constantthroughoutthe film.The film
couldalsobe consideredasathrillerbecause of the curiositysurroundingthe
strange man and hisactions.
Genetic
conventions
2 am smilingmanisa horror filmbecause itisbasedarounda monster.The
wayin whichthe monsteracts isremonstranttothe wayin whichthe
monstersinMichael Jacksonsthrillerare withthe strange movementsand
actions.It isalsodark and there isa seeminglyinnocentandhelpless
character inthe darkon theirownwiththe monster.
representations There couldbe a representationthatthe monsterispossiblythe victimof
mental illnessfromtheirmovementsandappearance.The viewerdoesget
the impressionthatbecause of these featuresthatthe monsterhasithe is
not mentallystable.
Mise en scene The monsterin2 am smilingmaniswearinga cleanyellow suit,suitscanbe
associatedwiththe stereotypical badguyoutfit. The wayhow the smiling
man isjustwanderingaboutinthe dark smilingraisessuspicionshow the
character isdangerousas itsnot normal forsomeone tobe doingthat.
Editing There are frequentreverse shotsin2am smilingman,whichare apparent
whenthe man isrunningaway.There isa suddencut whenthe youngman
glancesupat the smilingmanatthe endof filmwhichisverydisturbing.
Sound Throughout2 am smilingmanthere isabuildingtensionthroughoutandthis
islargelycomplimentedbythe sound.Forexample atthe start of the filmthe
musicand soundeffectsasthe youngman iswalkingdownthe roadare quite
calm andsimple,butasthe filmdevelopsandtensionriseslike whenthe
youngman isrunningawaythe musicintensifiesandsoundssuchasthe
sirensappeartocreate a sense of fear.Atthe veryendof the filma heart
beatis playedtoreallybuildsuspenseatthe final shotof the smilingman.
Cinematography There isa varietyof shotsinthe film, theyrange frommidshotslongshots
and close-up’sonboththe youngmanand the smilingman.Anexample of a
close upcan be seenat the verylastshot there isa close upon the smiling
mans face.The camera will occasionallyfollow the youngmanasitshows
panic.
2 am Smilingman overviewandanalysis

2. Harry Cross
2am smilingman showsaman whoiswalkingaboutlate at nightanda strange ‘smilingman’starts
followinghim.The smilingmanhasa wide menacing smileonhisface anddoesn’tmake eye contact
withthe protagonist (ayoungman) until the endof the shortafterhe chaseshimdownthe street.
The protagonistrunsaway fromthe smilingman,whobythispointthe audience recognise asthe
antagonist.Whenthe protagonistfeelssafe andcan’tsee the smilingmaninsight,he stopsrunning.
Howeverthe final shotasa close up he turns back aroundthe antagonistreappearsrightinfrontof
him.
There are onlytwocharacters usedthroughoutthe durationof 2 am the SmilingMan.The
protagonististhe firstcharacter to be introducedtothe audience.He isrepresentedasannormal
person,makinghimrelatable forthe audience.He isshowntobe the protagonist,asthe audience is
drawnto himfrom the start withthe longtakesof himwalkingdownthe street.The protagonistis
representedasisolated,ashe isthe onlyone walkingthe streetsthatlate atnight,whichcreatesa
mysteriousatmosphere.
The insanityof the antagonistisenhancedthroughthe low lighting,andthe mysteryatthe start of
not beingable tosee the whole of the antagonistsface.The audience alsobecomesmore tenseas
there are close ups usedof the protagonist,meaningthe viewercansense panicandbuildan
emotional response tothe characterand can empathise forthem, bybecomingconcernedforhis
well being.The longshotsinterspersedwithmediumshotsof the antagonistmeansthe viewercan
sense the characteris definitelythe antagonist,ashe seemsthreatening.
The onlylocationusedthroughoutthe filmisashort street,itcreatesan eerie andgloomy
atmosphere,throughthe use of low lightingasitis filmedatnight.The isolatedroad,withnoone
drivingpast,showsthatno one can save himfrom the antagonist .This enhancesthe panicamong
the audience.The use of the opposite sidesof the streetshowsthatwhenthe antagonistisonthe
same side of the road as him,he feelsthreatenedandunsafe.Itshowsthe clearcontrastbetween
beingsafe andnot.This couldrepresenthow youshouldn’twalkaroundlate atnight,creatinga
moral to the story.Thisalsomakesit more realisticforthe audience.
Whenthe antagonistturnsoff the main streetandentersthe nextroad,itis completelypitchblack,
suggestingthere isnohope left.The use of the antagonistreappearingatthe endsuggestshe can’t
escape hisfate.The locationisalsousedto reflectthe charactersemotionsandactions.The
antagonistusesthe atmosphere of the locationtoenhance hiscreepycharacteristics,to make the
audience feeluneasyandtense.The locationisalsousedtoenhance the panicof the protagonist,so
that the audience immersesthemselvesinthe textbybuildingarelationshipwiththe characterand
relatingtohim.