Week 7 H/W - Film Analysis

Breathless

This shot is a close-up of a half-naked lady being handcuffed by a dominant figure. Perhaps this suggests she is dangerous which most Thrillers include (danger) to keep the audience's anticipation of 'what will happen?' to grow. 

This 2-shot is presented to show the intimacy between the two characters. This may show the close relationship the two-characters have. Moreover, both characters are in bathing suits which suggests that they will partake in 
aquatic-activity.

Low angle shot is used to show the character is powerful and dominant. This shows that the character in this scene will lead this performance/take action to do something interesting in this scene. 

High angle shot is used to show the character is inferior or vulnerable. The female character in this shot is seen holding her breath under water. She seems to be at high risk of danger if she is short of breath and does not return to the surface in time, which could result in her suffocating. The lighting in this scene is quite dull and gloomy which is associated with 'badness and death'. Perhaps this shows that she may die on account of what she is doing in the scene. 

It is revealed in this shot that the male character has placed a cement block on top of the female character which is important to the plot of the short film as it could reveal that the duo are stunt performers or just daredevils. This creates an eerie effect for the viewers as they are unsure if she will be able to pull of the stunt. 

The male stares at the female performing the stunt as he wait for her to succeed the risky act. A close-up is used to show his anticipation for her success. Continuity is shown throughout the production as each cut shot links to next shot/scene to show that the production 

A close-up is used in this scene to show the characters emotion as the female seems as if she is in an intense state.  The character is now in danger as she is drowning in a bath. The lighting of this sign is very blue-ish to create an effect as if she is sinking in a ocean with no chance of survival - this allows the audience to believe there is no hope for her. During this scene the editor(s) cuts to the shot from her being seen drowning in the ocean-like-bath to a black screen repeatedly. This reveals that her life is flashing before her eyes before she dies, this allow the audience to know that she was also surprised at the fact that she couldn't pull off the stunt. 

At about this time, the male looks at his watch to see how long it is taking her to perform the stunt. However, the editor has made this scene go in slow motion as the male may still believe there is time for the female to successfully perform and survive the stunt. The director of this production has made the decision to shoot a level shot in the next scene to make the audience feel as if we are in the same situation as the male character in this scene. At this point of the production the male character has placed a heavy cement block on top of the female character in a bath filled with water, I believe he was timing her to see how long it will take her to uplift the block and return to the surface for air. However, she fails to do so and drowns which shocks the male character, leading him to drop his watch. Perhaps this could show that the timing of what the female character's stunt was deadly - but the dropping of the watch now gives the audience info and a feel that the watch is irrelevant as the female character has drowned. This may also allow the audience to feel the same displeasure the male character is feeling at about this time.

In this scene a close-up is aimed at the concrete being lifted off the female character in the bath tub who has by now drowned to death. This scene is important as the concrete is the key factor of her death. 

A low angle shot is taken in this scene as the male character lifts the female character out of the bath tub and places her on the floor. This makes him seem like a hero. However, the shade of lighting on his body is dark which may suggest he is bad; as he could of saved the female by removing the concrete of her body as soon as he saw her suffocating below the water. 


The male character begins to resuscitate the female before it's 'too late'. A close-up is used to show his desperation for her survival. It allows the audience to know that she is important to him. 

Another close-up is used for this shot as the female is seen conscience and the director wanted the audience to see her grand facial expression as she realizes she has in fact died. She lies on the floor as a ghostly figure and stares at her lifeless body.



In this final screenshot the close relationship between the two characters is shown once again in the 2-shot angle as the man comforts the dead lady. Moreover, this is also a tilt shot as the situation is unfortunate it creates and unpleasant feeling for the viewers to clearly visualize what has just taken place. 

In conclusion to the film analysis, the main lighting effects used in this production are natural room lighting so that the viewers feel that the plot is realistic. Furthermore, as the female suffocates, a slow motion edit is added to the scenes to create a tension for the audience as it causes them to speculate if she will survive or not. The pace of cuts start of at a medium pace as everything is fine for a very short while in the film, however, the pace then slows down as the woman struggles to return to the surface for air. This creates a dramatic effect as it allows the audience to feel what the male character is feeling; anxious and worried for here stunt performance. However, the pace swiftly speeds up as the female begins to drown as it shows everything is happening so fast in her perspective also to show that death is approaching her quickly.  Continuity is shown as each scene links to the next scene correctly time-wise. The narrative is linear and non-realistic as each scene is in a correct start to middle to end, order and it was not based of a true story or realistic as the lady was shown at the end of the short film as a ghost. The proudction is a single drama as the plot will end in the this short film with no conituation. Lastly, there are not many special noises in this production as they wanted the plot to be very realistic. However, an eerie tune is released when the lady begins to suffocate meanwhile the splashes of water drown out quietly. Continuity is shown as each scene links to the next scene correctly time-wise.