This short film follows the conventions of a psychological thriller/horror genre. It begins with an introduction showing a car crash and establishing the character of Emily who was critically injured. After her death and funeral, strange events start occurring involving Emily's stuffed animal. This leads the protagonist, Emily's brother, to believe her spirit has returned. The film builds tension through the use of lighting, music, and jump scares. It climaxes with the brother encountering what appears to be Emily's ghost, establishing that her spirit has not found peace. Overall the short film tells a story of grief and the supernatural through an effective use of cinematic techniques.

1. Short Film “The Return”
Thisshort filmissimilartooursas it couldbe seenas a psychological thriller,asthere are twistsin
the plot.However,thisfilmismore likelytobe seenasa horror film, asitis more intense andscary.
Thisshort followscodesandconventionsof othershortfilms,suchasthe lengthof the film, use of
the Mise En Scene andnarrative structure.
The introduction:
The short filmbeginswiththe productionsintroductiontothe film, whichpromotesthe production
company.Thisismade eye catching,sothe audience canrelate toit and know whichcompanythe
filmbelongsto.Thisopeningshotshowsacollisiononthe road,whichmayindicate the storyline of
the filmor the beginningtothe narrative andwhatitis about.Followingfromthis,we see a
crumpledcar on the side of the road. Thisisto highlightthe importance andthe possible resultof
the crash. Withinthisopeningsequence,there isnone diegeticmusicplayinginthe background,this
may be suggestive tothe narrative asthe musicis creepyand fitsthe genre of a psychological thriller
or a horror.Thischallengescodesandconventionsof ashort filmalready,asthe normal equilibrium
(balancedstartto the film) isnotbalancedanda problem/climax startsthe film.Thenthe resolution
follows.Thischallengesthe theoryof equilibriumbyTordovandchallengesVladimirPropp’s
narrative structure theory.Filminformation,suchasthe ProductionCompanyandmaincast credits
appearat the beginningtointroduce the filmtothe audience. Thisscene isgrippingandgrabsthe
audience’interest
Thisfollowsontothe nextshotsof newpapers,reviewingthe car crash,in whichthe audience have
justwitnessed.Thisistointroduce possiblecharacters,suchas“Emily”whois saidto be in critical
condition.Thisleadstoaudience prejudicesoverEmily’sconditionsandmayguessthat she hasdied
or will die,due tothe crash. Thisalsoleads tothe storybeingbuiltuparoundthe character of
“Emily”leadingtowhoEmilyisand whethershe isalive,whichfitstothe film’stitle“The Return”
Thisis similartothe ideasof our film. Thisshotalsogivesatime reference toshow the passingof
time whichshowseffectivedetailinthe shortfilmthathelpsthe audience understanding. The
audience ismade clearthatthischaracter has diedfromthe crash as the line onthe

2. electrocardiogramappears. The title fades,whichisatransitionswe hope touse,wheneditingour
filmasit isa simplistictransition.The title isredandblackand all capitals.Thisshowsthe use of
semiologyasredmayrepresentdangerandthe blackrepresentsthe darknessthatcouldbe shown
ina horror film.
The nextshotis a highbirdseye angle,whichestablishesthe locationof the shot,whichlookslike a
memorial centre/graveyardthismayindicatethe of the character“Emily”semiologycanbe derived
fromthe use of the birdseye angle,asif Emily’scharacterislookingdownatthe people atthe
gravestone,whoare likelytobe herclose family members.The coverage of snow mayspecifythe
seasonislikelytobe winter,whichagainshowsthe passage of time asitwas sunnyonthe day of the
car crash.
The nextshotconfirmsthe deathof Emily,asshe iscarried awayin a coffin.Thisisa nice shotand
lookseffective fromthe use of framingandthe highangled,directbirdseye shot,connotingthe
same semiologythatshe maybe lookingdownonthemandmay be seenfromherperspective.
Making thisa POV (pointof view) shot.The musicisstill nondiegetic.However,the moodof the
musichas changedto a more mellow,touchingandemotional sound.Thisrepresentsthe sadness
the characters are facingandallowsthe audience tofeel empathyforthe character that are grieving.
The camera movementisaffective asitis,whatlookslike handheld,makingthisscene more
effectiveasitlooksmore natural and lesssetup.The camera moves,the same directionasthe
people.Makingthe audience feelmore involvedastheystaywiththem.There’savarietyof shots
and cameraangles,makingeachshotdifferentiate,maintainingthe audience’sinterest.
The nextshotis of the priest,whilstburyingthe girl.Thisisamedium, low angle,wormseye shot,
whichcouldconnote thatthe character inthe coffin,isbelow thisman,againlookingupfromher
perspective andthe priestisabove groundandabove her.Thisshowspowerthroughgenderrolesas
the male isalso seenasdominantformthisshot.
The nextshotthenturns froma mediumshottoa low angledshotof the priestwalkingoff onhis
ownand thenjoinedbythe othercharacters.The camera at this pointstaysstill,connotingthatthe
deadgirl is leftbehindasthe still cameraconnotesthatthisisstill seenfromherperspective.As
theywalkoff,the priestthenplaceshishandonthe characters shoulder.Thisisa goodexample of
the use of Mise En Scene,as the use of the priestsbodylanguage,helpsthe audience understand
the characteristicsof anothercharacter. The use of Mise En Scene makesthe audience focusfirston
the priest,ashe isthe onlyone in the shot.However,whenthe othercharactersjointhe shot,the
audience isstill focussedonthe priest,ashe isplacedinthe middle.Thisalsoshowsthe
understandingof placement,fromhowthe producershave placedandframedthe characters.
Although,the focusmovesawayfromthe priest,andtowardsthe character walkingtothe leftof
him.Thisis because of the use of bodylanguage andMise En Scene,asthe priestplaceshishandon
hisshoulder.Thisconnotesthatthisspecificmayhave beenthe closestone tothe character who

3. died“Emily”andthe audience canunderstandthathe is mostlikelytobe mostvulnerable. Thismay
alsosuggestandintroduce the protagonistof the film.
This isthe nextshot,whichisof the girls“favourite stuffedanimal” Thisshotshowslinktothis
character and Emily,aswhatwas hersis now inhishands.This show an effective use of propswithin
the film.Fromthisshot,the camera pansup naturallyfroma hand heldcamerato hisface to a close
up shot.The camera movesthentoshow her grievingparents.Fromthe use of thisshot,the
narrative becomesclearerasthe audience understandsthatthe maincharactersare the teenage
boyin thisshot,whoportrays Emily’s(girl whodied) brother,andherparentsnexttohim.The
audience nowunderstandwhichcharactersthe filmisfocussedon.
Thisendsthe openingsequenceandthe equilibriumisnow balancedafterthe funeral asthe family
are readyto move onand the storyline ismade clearandcharacters have beenintroduced.The use
of Mise En Scene,inthe shotof the parentsshowsthat the male character(father) hasthe most
poweragainstthe female (mother) andrepresentsgender roles.Thisismade clearfromthe body
language ashe iscomfortingher and supportingher,asshe iscuddledintohimaskingforemotional
support.
The use of Mise En Scene isusedagainto show the bondbetweenhimandEmilyashisbody
language leantdowntoherlevel sohe couldbe closerto herto talk;this showsthe closenessof
theirrelationship.The use of dialogue,helpsthe audience understandthathe iswhotheythoughas
we nowknowfor sure that he is Emily’sbrotherfromthe line “love yousis”Alsothe name “Emily”is
on the headstone,whichlinkstothe name inthe newspapersbeinginacritical condition.All of this
clearsthe audiencesunderstanding.
Up until now,the equilibriumof the filmhasbeenfairlybalancedandthe climax istofollow,which
happensjustat the endof the graveyardscene asthe teddybearmovesinthe lastshot,referring
that Emily’sspiritmay“return”Thisisalsoan extreme close uptomake the scene more intense and
can leave the audience feelinguncomfortable oronedge.Thisbuildsaudience interestasitgrabs
theirattention.Anotheraspectthataddsto the intensityof the shotisthe use of non-diegetic
music,as itgets more excitinganddramatic,andthenstopssuddenly.Thisshotisthenaquick cut as
no fadingisusedas the shotjustturns to black.

4. Thisshot showssimplisticfamilylife andthatnothinghashappenedsince the graveyardscene.
However,othermessages canbe derivedfromthis,suchasthe lossof two othercharacters,as the
youngestdaughterEmilyhasdiedandthe motherisn’tcopingwell and“isstill inbed”whichisasign
she isnot copingwell withthe deathof Emily.The space inbetweenthe twocharactersisdesolated
and makesthe shotlooksemptyandlonely.Thisis createdfromthe use of leadroombetweenthe
twocharacters. Thiscouldalsoexplainthe distance betweenthesetwocharactersrelation.Thisalso
showspeace as the shotis quite withlittletonone dialogue atthe beginningof the shot.
Close upshotsare alsousedto vary the shotsso the audience don’tlose interestandgetbored.We
mustconsiderthisas a bigfactor duringfilmingourshortfilmasour filmisheavilydialoguebased;
meaningwithoutthe varietyof shots,the same shot couldbore the audience asnoactionis taking
place awayfrom the scene otherthandialogue.Close shotscanbe useful forshowingdetail andcan
alsobe usedasa cut-in,whichitisinthisshot.
The shot of him crouchingdowntopick the object(unknownatthispoint) upisfamiliartoa shot
whichhas alreadytakenplace inthe film, remindingthe audience of whenhe wascroucheddownto
hissistersgrave.Thisisbecause of the type of cameraangle isthe same,low angle,reminding
people of Emily’ perspective.Thismayconfuse the audience astowhatis leftonthe door stepas
the intensityof the shotrisesasgrippingmusicplaysnondiegetic,inthe background.
The shot increaseswithintensityandbecomesmore grippingasan overthe shoulder shot,shows
the teddyhe leftonhissistersgrave,arrivingbackonto hisdoor.However,the shotismade more
grippingasdiegeticsound (girl whispering“staywithme”isadded tothe shot.This startsto portray
the horror aspectof the short film.Alsothe cameraatthis pointishandheld,meaningthatthe
scene appearsshaky,thismayalsoleave the audience feelingonedge.The teddyisnow seenasthe
linkbetween the protagonistandhissister,andisknownasthe scary elementof the filmasit
representsthe returnof hisdeadsister.Anoverthe shouldershot showshisfeelingsandemotions
and looksat the situationsinhisperspective.Thisintense musicrisesasthe situationdoes.This
showsandpresentstothe audience how the characteris feeling,whichisscaredandconfused,as
are the audience atthispoint.
As the pressure risesinthe film,the non-diegeticmusicdoestooand,leavingthe audience onedge
withanticipation.The change of camerashotsleadto excitementasstayingin the same place,may
bore/disinterestthe audience.The lockingof the doorshowsthathe knowsthisbearisn’tnormal
and the situationhe isinisn’tsafe,he isprotectinghimself andfurthershowingvulnerability.This
alsoshowsa transitionshotto varyand prolongthe narrative andtension.
The camera is setas the teddyisplaceddownand thenthe camera movesaway.Thisshowsthe
teddymoving,asitis an inanimate objectandshouldn’t,the audience wouldbe scaredand
emotionsmaychange.Thisteddystill showsthe linktohisdeadsister,meaningthathissisterEmily

5. may be hauntinghimandwhose spiritismostlikelyto“return”.Thisiseffectiveasthiscamera
movementplayswiththe audience,asitpansoutslowly,makingthe audience waitin anticipationas
theywantto see whatis happening,whereas,theywouldwanttosee itstraightaway.Thisisa good
wayto buildexcitementandtensioninafilm.Anextremeclose upof the bearisthe nextshot,
whichisintense andmade shock/spookthe audience andtomake themunderstandthatthe bear
representshis deadsisterandthingaren’tatpeace and a problemismostlikelytooccur.This
indicatesthe beginningof the climax of the filmandisinthe run of the film.Thishighlightsthe
runningupto the disequilibriumtothe film.
As the lightsflicker,the filmhashitthe disequilibriumof the narrative,thisbecomesclearasthe
musicisat itsmost intense andstopsinsynchronisationwiththe music.Thisleadsthe audienceto
thinkthere will be ajumpscene straightaway;however,the filmhascreatedafalse sense of
securityasthe filmthencarriesonwiththe narrative.Althoughthe audience canunderstandthathe
ispanickingas he rushestoget the lightsbackon.
Lightingonhis face isusedas itis filmedinpitchblack,aswithoutthe light,the audiencewouldnot
emphasise the jumpscene orexperience astheywouldn’tknow ahandhas appearedonhis
shoulderorhissister’sghostwasbehind.The use of the lightalsoshowsthe expressiononhisface,
leadingthe audience torelate tohiminthissituation.The musicstartsassoon as the jumpscare
hits,addingtothe intensityandshockfactor.
The filmthenshowsthe Emily,hisdeadsisterinawhite dress.She lookspale andghost-like.They
have createdthislookbycostume.The white dressmayconnote a spirit/ghost,asthisisthe usual
connotationforghostsas audience relate the colourwhitewithheaven,aswell aspurity,which
couldbe anotherconnotationforEmily’scharacter.Innocence maybe derivedfromEmilycharacter
as the colour whitcan portrayinnocence andpurity.She alsolooksyoung,innocentandvulnerable,
whichshe waswhenshe was leftona critical condition.Bodyposture hasbeenusedtomake her
character lookcreepyandscary as her headisloweredandlooksdead. Herhaircoversher face,
makinghercharacter seemsuspiciousandscaryas the innocence islost.She remainshiddenand
spooky,lookinglike ahauntingspirit.Thiscomesacrossaschillingtothe audience astheyaren’t
expectingitastheyknowshe isdead.Furthermore,thisshocksthe audienceintoafurtherfalse
sense of security.We will have toconsiderhow tomake Eve inour filmlooklike thisandspiritlike
and considerthe importance of costume andmake up,as Emily’scharacterlookspale.Thisis
anotherreference tobeingaghostlyfigure asthe audience canrelate todeadpeople normally
turningwhite.Brightlightingisalsousedbehindher,whichmakesherblendinandreducesher
opacity.Thisaddsto the spiritlike lookof Emily’scharacter.Asthe lightsflicker,she thendisappears
and the teddyreappears,thisisdone sothe audience know thatthe bearcarriesher spiritandwill

6. alwaysbe relatedtothe dark side of Emily’sspirit.Thisalsoplayswiththe audience’headsspooks
them.
This isthe climax of the filmotherknownasthe disequilibrium. The nextshotisfilmedfromatilted
angle andis out of focus.Thisis a fastmovingseriesof clips,whichhighlightsthe panicandtension
of the horror film.Atthispoint,the genre hasbecome verycleartothe filmandthe audience are
hopingfora resolution.
A highangledbird’seye shotisusedalsoasa close up,to show expressionandthe panicthatthe
protagonistisexperiencing.Thisalsovariesthe shotsandthe durationof the shots.Thisisa longer
durationshotthan the previousshots. Thisgivesthe audience abreakbyspacingout the film.This
may alsoindicate there ismore of a climax tocome as the situationmaynothave calmeddownyet.
By varyingthe durationof the clips,the filmspace isnot to slow ortoo fast andcan leave the
audience togetto termsof theiremotionsinrelationtothe film.
The nextclipshowsthe adjustingof the focus.Adjustingthe focusinthe rightwaymeansthe object
closerto the camera showsthe actionismore importanttothe thingbehinditthat if notin focus.By
havingsomethingthatisinfocus,drawsthe audience’sattentionintothatfirst,understandswhatis
happeningandwill thenbegintolookatother aspectsanddetailsaroundthatshot.This isknowna
pull focus,asthe focusmovesfromone thingto another.Thisisdemonstratedinthisshot,asthe
focusis onthe drawas it ispulledoutandthenfocussesonhisexpression.Thisdeterminesthatthe
audience canfull see the drawbeingpulledoutbefore noticingthe protagonist’s reaction.
As the protagonistgoestosleep,the audience cansee the time passesasthe nextshotis pitch black
meaningitmaybe the middle of the night.Fromwhatseemtobe calmand as the audience thought
that the disequilibriumwasoverandthe returnof Emily’sspirithadgone,avoice appearsand says
“I’m back” thisimmediatelyraisesthe tensionasthe audience will ow expectajumpscare scene of
Emily.However,there isamomentof silence anddarknessbefore anythinghappenedtobuildeven
more tension.
The nextshotshowsthe appearance of the teddy.Thisinstantlyindicatestothe audience that
Emily’sspritisthere inthe roomas the teddyisa representationof her.Thisbuildtensionasthe
audience isnowanticipatingEmily’sarrival. However,the filmluredthe audience intoafalse sense

7. of securityagain,asEmilyisseentojustwalkpast and pickher teddyupto thenreappearina jumpy
scene.Asthe audience wasnotexpectingthis,itwouldmake themjump.
The nextclipisthe protagonistburningthe teddy.However,thisshow connotesthatbydoingthis,it
isputtinghiminfurtherdangeras he isplacedbehindthe flamesindicatingwhatmighthappenif he
carriedon, thisisalsoon a tiltedangle,whichgoesagainstthe conventionsof filming.
The nextshotis of the house of the protagonist.Thisleadsthe audience tobelieve thatthe
disequilibriumhasbeenresolvedasthe dangerhasbeenpotentiallyremoved.The lightgoesout
whichindicateshe isreadyforbedand to move onfrom thisevent. However,anothertwistoccurs
as, the burntteddyisseeninthe nextshot,whichcoonotesEmily’sprescence,meaningthatthe
familyare possiblystill indanger.Thisgoesagainstthe narrative structure,asthe plotkeepstwisting
and the resolutiondoesnotcome straightaway.Again,the producershave show time passing,by
filminginthe eveningandgettingthe streetlightinshot,toprove thatit islate enoughforthe
streetlightstobe on.
The nextshotis a call to whatlookslike anemergencyservicesradio,inwhicha femal voice explains
“There isan uncontrollable housefire”atthe protagonistshouse.Thisisadifferentwayaround
filmingthissituationsasitisa lowbudgetfilm, theywouldnotbe able toshow a house fire,sothey
filmeditdifferently,butstill hadthe same affectasto showingthe house onfire.Thisgivesusan
insightasto sceneswe maywant to film, asthere maybe thingswe cant actuallyfilmbutwe can still
representtomake itlooksimilar.
To furtherrepresentthe house fire,theyhave usedflickeringlightingtorepresentflamesand
orange lightingtorepresentthe ire.The lightisalsoreflectedinthe beardseyes,tomake itlooklike
there isa fire.Asthe shotflashesbackto the bear(whichisa representationof Emily’scharacter) it
connotesor suggeststhatEmily’sspiritmayhave hadsomethingtodowiththe fire as she mayhave
causedit. Which isthenconfirmedwithEmily’svoice oversaying“Now we canbe a familyagain”
the camera pansinto the teddy,whichfitsthe genre of ahorror, as mosthorrors are basedupon
one objectthat maybe the reasonfor the horrificevents.The use of anycameramovementsmakes
the shot more effectiveasitaddssomethingtothe shotand prolongsthe intensity.