The document provides an analysis of the short thriller film "Orpheus" and discusses techniques used in its camera work, sound, editing, and mise-en-scene. The camera work uses point-of-view shots and close-ups to visualize what the main character sees and how he sees it. Sound design uses heavy breathing and a woman's voice to convey the character's panic and hint that someone may be ill. Flashbacks and subtle clues are edited together to reveal the film's twist ending without showing everything explicitly. Mise-en-scene contrasts the character's professional clothing with changing settings to suggest he has two sides.

1. Orpheus – directed by James Button
A short thriller film

2. Camera Work:
The beginning is filmed in a handheld style, very unsteady, just as it would be
like in the car, slightly exaggerated. A close up shot is shown of the young man
in the rear view mirror, we can see a slight concerned look in his face as he
looks back. This is very subtle but suggests some concern for what is going on
around him, a worry for the safety of himself and any passengers.
The director films a large majority in point of view, from the main character. A
really effective technique for visualising what the character is going through,
what they are seeing and how they are seeing it. As the camera follows his
hand through into the deserted setting, we track his confusion of the new
setting and all the well placed objects around him. The extreme close up of
the book burning is ominous, as if he is trying to destroy memories, a story
that he no longer wants to know or remember. This concept is reinforced
when the main character is frantically trying to get rid of the necklace found in
his hand. There is a whole idea of trying to forget these moments in his life,
however he does need to know why he wants to forget this. This complex
cycle is key in all thriller films, they play on the idea of the human memory and
a journey the character goes on to discover what he is fearing, through the
flashbacks and recurring nightmare theme.

3. Sound:
As the film begins with the vintage, old style shots, there are non-diegetic
sound effects of a film reel starting at a cinema, so the start of the film
Orpheus. As the young male is struggling to find his way through the
white sheets there is a lot of emphasis on his heavy breathing, suggesting
panic and fear, he feels lost and doesn’t know what he is doing. When the
main character arrives in the new setting, ambient sound is used to build
up the anger the male is feeling, it is almost an echo noise that is always
around. This builds up until he lets out all his anger in a loud, continuous
scream, but a sudden stop into silence as he instantly arrives in another
setting. Throughout this scene there is a woman’s voice calling out to him,
as if trying to coax him into remembering what has happened. However,
whilst this woman enters the scene as a voice, so does a heart monitor
which holds negative connotations of pain, illness and vulnerability. As an
audience we automatically connect the voice to this heart monitor, that
whoever is trying to talk to him is either ill or no longer alive. This is
another feature we could include in our film, without using dialogue have
subtle hints as to what is going on with a muffled voice, or sound effects.

4. Editing:
The editing in this short film is key in fitting to the codes and conventions of
a thriller film. Orpheus begins with quick cuts, short sequences, not so much
as a frantic effect, but lots of frames to build up to a sudden still shot. There
is also an effect over the shots to create a vintage, old film reel look, this is
used to suggest a memory in the past, not so much an old time period
because of the car driven. The editing becomes essential when suggesting
the feeling that the main character is being watched, by showing him
watching the television on the television screen. As the reality hits in with
the male, he begins to remember more, which we see in flashbacks. These
flashbacks build up, more frequent, until the shot finally goes straight into
the event which has traumatised him so badly. During this we see a small
subtle shot of the necklace on a woman, from this we understand why he
was trying to get rid of the necklace so badly. This is common for a thriller
film, the twist to be right at the end, which fully concludes the film without
literally showing everything that has happened. This is what we should
include in our film, cut out the bits you don’t necessarily need to see in order
to understand the storyline.

5. Mise-en-Scene:
The main character is dressed very professionally in a suit and
tie, which we relate to well respected career people. Many
characters in thriller films are males and are in a highly
respected job. This idea always becomes ruffled and we see this
in the change of setting. The film begins in a setting full of white
colours, connoting innocent, clean themes which is juxtaposed
with the next scene of a dirty, run down area, with burning
books and rubble all around. This is where the audience get the
sense that there is two sides to the young man. This is
something we could include in our film, there is usually a
character who has two sides to them, which is not revealed fully
until the end with the twist. We can use subtle hints throughout
like the setting, colours used and object placement, like in this
film the burning book.