1) The document analyzes and summarizes the filmmaker's short horror film called "The Chalet". 2) The film tells the story of three teenage friends who go to make a film near an abandoned house based on a supposed murder that occurred there. They soon discover their imagination has become a dark reality. 3) The analysis discusses how the film uses techniques like sound, editing, and cinematography to build tension and establish its horror genre. Elements like ominous music and isolating the characters contribute to its unsettling aesthetic and align the viewer with the characters' fear.

1. Evaluation Mabel Whall 4137 Alleyn’s School 10802
Short film can be defined as 'a motion picture not long enough to be considered a
feature film'. The Academy determine short film as having ‘a running time of 40
minutes or less’. However, short film can also be defined by vocational tool, by form
or ‘other’, i.e. a completely different genre to other films, or an open-ended film
like Slap – what will happen to Connor? My short film is closed-ended, reflecting
Barthes’s notion of open and closed endings; however, it is uncertain – the ending
aligns the spectator with the perspective of the scared and confused characters.
Good short films must involve a unique, creative way of grabbing the audience’s
attention, because the same amount of plot and character development in a feature
length, can’t be fit in. They allow for more creative ideas to spill into the film industry
– and is defined by Gareth Evans as ‘crystalline creations of precise, prismatic
intensity’.
To summarise my short film, The
Chalet, April, Dylan and Sally start
creating a film near a house, based on a
‘true’ murder that happened in it.
However, they soon discover that their
imagination has become a dark reality.
Similarly, Tight Jeans (left) includes a
group of three teenage friends, however
their hilarious debate differs from the
sinister discussion in my film. My film
contrasts with Operator, in the way that tension is high throughout, unlike in The
Chalet, where tension is gradually built aided by the use of micro-elements such as
the underlying menacing non-diegetic sound used to create a sense of foreboding.
This sound accompanies the presentation of my title, and although the viewers
should expect the film to be about a house with its unambiguous title, similar to The
Fly, the music should align them to expect there to be an element of horror to the
story. My use of the Ken Burns effect here also emphasises the title and the gate’s
significance in the film.
Genre is defined by Steve Neale as ‘systems of orientations, expectations and
conventions that circulate between industry, text and subject’. Words such as
‘murder’ and ‘dark reality’ in my summary suggest my film is going to fall into the
horror film genre. Post production revealed how important soundtrack would be to
contribute to generic conventions of a horror film, transforming my film into one with
an ominous aesthetic. Aesthetic is the ‘look, style, or feel of the film’. Over creates a
mysterious aesthetic, equally the enigma of ‘The Chalet’ itself creates the same
unsettling feeling. Alternatively, the characters’ approach to crime is less solemn in
The Ellington Kid creating more of an overall light-hearted aesthetic. The Blair Witch
Project inspired me, consisting of hand held, found footage of three filmmakers,
parallel to the end of my film, when spectators begin to view the three filmmakers
through the lens of April’s camera. The hand held ‘authentic’ cinematography further
depicts the story as being real, despite the fantastical story or fabula. The rest of my
film, however, uses fly on the wall, documentary style of filming and natural lighting
to create a naturalistic aesthetic.

2. Evaluation Mabel Whall 4137 Alleyn’s School 10802
Fig 1. The Blair Witch Project Fig 2. The Chalet
Aristotle explained narratives using the concept that they have a beginning, middle
and end. My film’s narrative structure conforms to this typical three-part structure.
The insighting incident in my film is a shot of April waiting for her friends to make a
film. A clear, laid back beginning is created, before the complication happens, by
Dylan’s sarcastic opening line, ‘do you want to get mugged!’. Structuralist Todorov
introduced the notion of 1. Equilibrium 2. Disruption of the Equilibrium and 3. New
Equilibrium. My film follows this structure, for example, despite an unhappy
equilibrium, it is restored when Sally does not return from the courtyard of the house.
The fundamental micro-element shaping my film’s narrative is editing. Intertitles
chronologically structure my narrative into three days, polar opposite to Over’s
reverse chronological order of crime scene events.
Fig 3. Over Fig 4. The Chalet
Sound and setting compliment my structure; diegetic sound of cars, and the wide
main road at the beginning gives way to more natural, contrasting sound of trees and
birds, and compressed setting of overgrown trees drooping over a narrow lane. This
indicates the gradual, dooming isolation of the characters. It further shows how
sound ‘bridges’ the visual edits, ensuring temporal continuity – an example of my film
conforming to the continuity editing concept. To ensure spatial continuity, I follow the
180-degree rule, however the shot from a different perspective inside the courtyard
breaks it, incorporating a feeling that the characters are not alone. Narrative space is
created by simple straight cuts and characters fundamentally walking towards the
camera. I also use cinematography to show the growing significance of the gate; the
camera moves closer to the house in every shot of it, and the average shot length is
longer at the ending of the film, showing how the house has become more of a
serious focus for the girls, differing from the more flippant and general discussion

3. Evaluation Mabel Whall 4137 Alleyn’s School 10802
surrounding it at the beginning. Costume also shapes my narrative – on the last day
April wears all black, the dark colour creating a feeling of ‘mourning’ and that
something bad is going to happen. A moment of ambiguity in my film is when Sally
screams off camera, leading the viewers and the characters to question whether she
was acting, or if it was a genuine scream. Similarly, in Echo, Caroline’s performance
creates ambiguity, however only for the viewers, when she asks the cab driver to pull
over when she ‘desperately’ needed to go to the hospital.
Fig 5. Gradual isolation
Fig 6. Breaking the 180-degree rule
Fig 7. Walking towards the camera
Moments created by characters, such as ambiguity, can link to the use of other
narrative patterns in my film. Propp created the theory of ‘spheres of action’, based
on ways of grouping characters and their actions into eight broad character types.
My three characters don’t conform to many of Propp’s ‘character roles’, for example,
there is no ‘Father’ or ‘False Hero’. The character in The Arrival also doesn’t conform
to these, especially as the focus of the film is only on her and no other character.

4. Evaluation Mabel Whall 4137 Alleyn’s School 10802
However, the representation of each of my characters is different – April and Dylan
are represented as fearless, in opposition to Sally, and Dylan is represented as the
most laid back and jokey of the three. Representation might be understood as ‘the
process by which social groups and ideologies are represented through their
appearance in discussion and media texts’. My characters’ younger age may present
them as vulnerable, however Sally is the most timid of the three. Her performance
shows this, such as her concerned facial expressions, and the close up shot of her at
the beginning insinuates she has significance in the plot. The grave music
accompanying this also forebodes her fate. Levi-Strauss’s notion of binary
oppositions can be seen with Dylan and April’s conflict with Sally, because the
dialogue, such as ‘if you’re going to be sarcastic about it, you can do it’, shows how
they become fed up with Sally’s fear of going near the house.
Fig 8. The Arrival Fig 9. Close up of Sally
My audience should be positioned to
feel tense and intrigued by my film’s
subject. As well as sound, other micro-
elements shape audience response in
this way, such as the importance of the
mise-en-scene of the positioning of the
gate (left). The fact that it is at the very
end of the lane allows the audience to
be drawn to the relevance of the gate,
and the fact that the house cannot be
seen adds the element of mystery
behind it. When viewers watch my film, they watch it with seriousness, and have
commented that they were ‘nervous’ while watching it. However, alternate readings
could be more of a light-hearted relief of the slightly more ‘PG’ version of The Blair
Witch Project, or amusement at the few ‘comical’ lines in it such as ‘why don’t we go
poke our heads over the top of that creepy, deserted house? Check it out, cop the
vibe’. I conform to ‘the camera’s eye’ approach – the cinematography controls ‘the
look’ of the spectator, focalising the film from the three girls’ perspectives and
aligning the spectator with what the girls experience. However, I reject other critical
approaches such as ‘the male gaze’. Equally, the use of the camera isn’t voyeuristic
in any of the other set short films, especially Tight Jeans and The Fly.

5. Evaluation Mabel Whall 4137 Alleyn’s School 10802
In conclusion, my film falls under the
‘horror’ genre and follows the three-
part narrative and Todorov’s concept
of the ‘equilibrium’. Editing and
sound have been the dominant
micro-elements which have shaped
my narrative and genre. Additionally,
Barthes ‘codes of action’, in
particular the enigma code is used in
my film, such as the scripts which go
missing, portraying a mystery that
draws the audience in. Similarly, in
Over, enigma codes used such as the water washing blood of the pavement (left)
without any explanation, creates mystery. These narrative patterns, as well as the
use of micro-elements, have all contributed to my short film The Chalet.
Word count: 1488.