This assignment was to create a short presentation on analysis of a short film. The film my group had to analyse was called Adam – an animated film created in Unity.

The first thing I did after watching the film was to go through it scene. by scene and note down the aspects of the film which stood out to me and what film techniques were used.

These are the points I came up with:

Camera

-Wide angled establishing shot – long take – blurred focus creates an air of mystery around the characters

-low angle shots while they are trapped in – creates claustrophobic feelings – helps to create a feeling of panic

-camera emulates handheld camera technique – panicked feeling – rushed and creates a chaotic atmosphere

-constantly shifting focus brings us into the characters feelings and their loss of awareness and shock at the situation

-mostly longer takes – creates a sense of realism

-mostly medium to long shots when they go outside – allows us to take in the surroundings – puts us in shoes of the character

-canted high angle shot while men shooting – shows the power the men have over the robots – makes the robots seem weak and small

-camera quickly cuts to the character dropping to the ground – shaky handheld camera and constant focus shifting – creates a sense of panic and chaos – almost seems like the camera is a POV of a robot

-all one long take as they look up to the men – low angled creates a sense of power and making them seem intimidating

-side long shot of characters staring at each other as the 2 new ones are introduced is held for a slightly uncomfortable amount of time – makes us feel wary as these characters are properly introduced – taller than main character until they come down to their level

-close up of the hand – focus pulls to the face – creates a sense of curiosity as we wonder what’s happening

-camera slowly walks towards the robots as they are “hacked/freed?” – gets uncomfortably close as it walks between the 2 mysterious characters – building suspense for what happens to them i.e the “hack”

-wide long shot as the robots are all walking away creates an atmosphere of mystery as we wonder where they are going, and who the 2 mystery characters are

Editing

-continuity editing – editing is invisible – nothing that really stands out – match on action is very prevalent – keeps the audience engaged without making them aware of storytelling techniques – Hitchcock

Lighting

 

-start is very low key and high contrast lighting – coming close to chiaroscuro (Painting with light book) – helps with the chaotic and claustrophobic feeling

-outside scenes – natural lighting – contrasts previous lighting – creates a sense of freedom as the lighting helps to open up the space

Mise-en-scene

-characters in prison outfits – possibly being freed from prison?

-characters actions are clumsy and stumbling – getting used to a new body perhaps?

-“Mystery characters” seem to be the same robots but

After some talking on discord we decided on what parts we would each do. I choose to analyse the lighting of this film as I thought it was an interesting aspect to look at. The following is my analysis of the lighting

The film opens up with a halo-like lighting behind the silhouettes of these 2 characters. This creates the idea that these characters are possible saviors. It highlights the mysterious atmosphere they create.

To me, this scene in the prison cell is the most interesting when it comes to lighting. The lighting is low key and extremely high contrast. The lighting in this scene is almost chiaroscuro lighting – similar to lighting seen in the film noir genre. This creates a dark menacing atmosphere and the sheer darkness of the scene creates a claustrophobic nature. The bright light streaming in from behind creates a sense of hope for the character and makes the audience desire a successful escape.

Additionally within this scene we see the use of coloured lighting. This red coloured lighting creates an immediate idea of danger within the audience. This sense of danger helps to rationalise the characters behavior as it creates an urgent sense of intimidation as the red colour stands out within the dark corners of the cell.

This sense of danger is immediately contrasted by a surge of hope, as a bright light emerges from the end of the corridor. This light reduces the character to just a silhouette, which ultimately enhances the erratic movements of the character.

This sense of hope is driven by this flash of light that engulf the screen as the character escapes. This blinding light helps to signify to the audience the possibility of a new beginning. This creates a natural transition into the the exterior environment as the character starts to experience the possibility of freedom which is strengthened by the comforting sight of the familiar blue skies.

The rest of the short film makes use of nearly only natural lighting. This natural lighting creates an immersive sense of realism for the audience. It makes the concept of the film more believable in their eyes as there is no use of outlandish extreme lighting setups within the last scenes. This realism helps place the audience within the film and allows them to connect more with the characters through this realistic atmosphere.

References:

Alton, J. (1949) Painting with Light. New York: Macmillan.

This book gave me some insight on how the classic cinematographers used lighting to create atmosphere and suspense.

Overall this assignment allowed me to deepen my knowledge of the techniques used in film especially in the area of lighting.

Presentation: ADAM PRESENTATION.pptx