The film I studied with my group was the ‘Attack of the Potato Clock’ (1) by JI Young and Victora Lopez. While studying this film I focused on the Mise-en-Scene which includes basically everything happening in front of the camera including set design, characters, actors, and lighting. (2) I really enjoyed how the use of these aspects helped portray a sense of horror and constant wondering about what will happen next in this film. At first, I was confused about what exactly to do but my group began discussing the film and I began working.
There is a lot I can talk about in the opening of this short, the camera work is effective and well thought out, for example, the field of view shows the school on a hill, elevated above the sign to convey the importance of its location, that this is where the film takes place. This is followed by an eary zoom that leads the viewer toward the school. The use of perspective in the camera angles shows the school to be taller and towering over the POV, suggesting this school is a lot darker than assumed. I noticed the lighting is dull, dark, and evident that it is night time so no children are present. The overhead lightning immediately forces the theme of horror due to its scary direct unusual angle, it strikes into the school, clarifying the location. The sign outside the school reads ‘elementary school’, this comes to help later on in the film as the character ‘Potato Clock’ would make sense in this setting as a young innocent child’s science project come to life.
The potato is a slumped-over vegetable, weighed down by a clock. The design of this character is extremely effective in many ways. The Large yellow teeth protruding from its mouth allow it to grasp onto a knife, this also helps with expressions that are exaggerated and comedic which is perfect for this comedy horror short. The clock attached to the back of the potato forces it to slump over and it reminded me a lot of a zombie or Frankenstein(3) which relates to horror. The weight of the clock is perfect to portray a ‘back from the dead’ look that I’ve seen in shows like the walking dead (4) where the zombies are slow and slumped.
The lunch lady is instantly recognized as such due to her dull blue uniform, harsh movements, tied-up hair, short nails, and overall demeanor. Her character design reminded me of Ms. Trunchable from matilda. (5) Her character is broad-chested, long-faced, and sharp-featured. These allow the audience to draw a conclusion about what kind of person she will be and how her fate is sealed before she has the chance to prove otherwise. The lunch lady holds a knife from her initial introduction which conveys the power she holds, a weapon is near her at all times, for example, the peeler and slicer machine is always kept at the edge of the counter which allows the potato easy access. Her apron hangs and flows throughout the majority of the short which eventually seals her fate when being sucked into the slicer machine. During the fight scene between the lunch lady and the potato, the camera is at a level that shows the lunch lady at the same level as the potato, indicating they are equal in their fight, even though the potato’s weapon is only a plug. By the end of the fight, the potato is now looking down at the lunch lady, it is now at a higher position and this is when she is killed.
By the end of the film, the camera angles change dramatically. They are now lower to the ground, suggesting the potato holds all the power. The camera leads down the hallway which reminded me that even after a brutal murder it is still a children’s school, the camera level also conveys the height of the children that would usually walk the corridors. We cut to a chalkboard showing drawings on how to slice open a potato for another school project. This allowed me to realize that the teacher sitting below will be the next victim of the Potato Clock. She is equipped with a weapon but in a much friendlier position and posture than the lunch lady, she reminded me of Ms. Honey from matilda. (6) The potato’s shadow flashes in an evil posture next to the teacher causing forced perspective which is used in films such as The Lord of the Rings (7). By placement of camera blurring and deblurring, it suggests the potato won’t give time to play this time as he had done with the lunch lady.
I had a lot of fun with this project and my group was really interactive. I missed a class or two because of personal reasons but I could contact them via discord and figure out what I had to do and we didn’t start preparing the presentation till I was back in class. The workload was very even and divided equally after that which has been a huge difference from other groups I’ve been in the past. The short was funny and effective, I enjoyed being able to study something enjoyable like this and I look forward to doing it again.
References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rTaLgjxT78&t=2s (1)
Shelly. Mary Wollstonecraft (1797-1851) The modern Prometheus (frankenstein)(3)
Curtiz, M. (1936). The Walking Dead. Warner Bros (4)
Dahl . R (1988) Original character Ms Trunchbull in the book Matilda (character) (5)
Dahl . R (1988) Original character Ms Honey in the book Matilda (character) (6)
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1991). The lord of the rings. HarperCollins (7)