Evaluation

 

Throughout the process of creating and finalizing the idea for my short film, there were a lot of different outside influences that helped inspire the narrative I chose to move forward with. The collection of short films we had to watch and analyse really helped me solidify the experimental style that I ended up going with in my own film, taking a lot of elements both narratively and form-wise from The Grandmother by David Lynch and Meshes of the Afternoon by Maya Derren. Both these films and a few other media influences that allowed me to explore different elements of film form and develop a plot that’s both interesting and ambiguous.  

The cyclical narrative of Meshes of the Afternoon made the short film stick out to me as more experimental and strange. It has an almost dream-like haze over the whole thing, and the film form and cinematography push this even further. The multiple close ups of different mise-en-scene elements, all of which play a very important role in the wider story, add a sense of mystery and almost fear as the plot develops, which helped with the suspense I wanted to portray within my narrative. The repetition of certain shots and the way the narrative loops around of itself defies the regular conventions of film form, and the lack of dialogue helps to develop a level of ambiguity that allows the audience to questions themselves, and leaves the narrative up for interpretations. This collection of elements influenced the entirety of my own plot, taking the lack of dialogue and the repetition of shots and adjusting them to fit my story. The lack of dialogue stuck out to me as it adds an eerie sense calm that lingers on even once the short film is finished.

The Grandmother has less of a dramatic influence on my narrative, but some of the film form elements did make their way into my final project. The film as a whole lacks saturation, with colour only really appearing a few times throughout the story. By choosing to do this, Lynch forces the feeling of unease onto the audience, which it does quite successfully alongside the outlandish plotline and imagery shown throughout. There are a lot of surreal, almost disturbing shots that make for a very suspenseful viewing experience, and the unclear narrative furthers this unnerving atmosphere. I combined the though-provoking use of imagery with the lack of saturation to develop the mystery I wanted to portray within my own film. As a whole, The Grandmother’s outlandish mix of narrative and film form elements effectively gives the audience a sense of understanding, whilst also allowing room for deeper analysis and further contemplation.

There are many other media influences that helped inspire different parts of my short film, the tv series BoJack Horseman being one of them. The way that this show deals with the topic of drugs really interested me, and the way it expresses drug use and its effects are very unique and captivating. A lot of the ‘trip’ sequences in BoJack Horseman play with saturation and distortions of the world around the characters, and one of the best examples of the is episode Downer Ending. Throughout the entirety of BoJack’s trip, the art style changes and distorts as he delves deeper into his drug-fuelled panic and he’s forced to face a lot of his issues head on. He then experiences what his life could’ve been like if he had made some different decisions, and this sequence leaves the audience feeling almost kind of empty, with an empathy towards BoJack that wasn’t really seen before. The scene as a whole deals with the mental effects of drugs, and how they can affect your outlook on things depending on your mental state. This inspired me to attempt a similar narrative structure by using drugs to reflect on the effects of mental health, even if they’re not blaringly obvious.

The extent of media influences can be seen within my decision to use a stylised rabbit mask within my film. In the game Bioshock, enemies called splicers wear a range of different animal-style masks to hide their disfigured faces, which inspired me to use something similar to create an unsettling decent into uncertainty. To me, the masks hide the bad parts of the other characters within my film, and they effectively help push the idea that everybody has their own inner ‘demons’, which can be seen when you remove the haze and look on with a clear mind.  

Along with this, another small inspiration was the symmetry within Wes Anderson’s filmography. This symmetry lets audiences focus on all parts of a shot equally, and notice each small change at any given time, which I wanted to replicate. By doing so, the narratives within Anderson’s films seems very fleshed out within such a small time frame, allowing an in-depth view into an obviously larger world.

I wanted to portray just how your mental state can help alter your decisions within my film, especially when under the influence of drugs. The narrative is left up for interpretation, and allows space for individual experiences to affect the interpretation of the plot, with the decisions made being very ambiguous. The range of close-up shots helps build a interest in the character, and forces the audiences allegiance and allows a further look into the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist as the plot develops. I wanted the audience to feel empathy for the main character, as well as mirror what he's feeling as things start to go south. 

As a whole, my storyboard effectively portrays each shot and the sound and lighting that go along with them, and I feel as though it does this very clearly and precisely. I did have some difficulties showing the repetition of certain shots, but I overcame this within my annotation. If I were to shoot my short film, I'd keep very close to the original storyboard and adapt certain elements to make them fit better within the story. For example, the photo in the background on the shots of the main character would probably be more of a focus as it changes between each blink. Overall, although I had my struggles with creating an adept, fleshed-out narrative through drawings and annotations, I think I did it in a clear, detailed manner which allows an easy understanding for the plot and my creative intentions.