Five Minute Analysis By Lucy Davies.

LOVEFIELD (Short Film by Mathieu Ratthe)
For my own choice of a short film analysis, I focused my decisions on finding a film that had a running time of 5 minutes, also including a twist at the end. These were the prime factors I decided to revolve my film choice around, as I thought it would give me and my group a better implication to how a 5 minute film could fit a storyline and a twist in it, without making it too difficult.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4meeZifCVro







Shot 1- Striking opening of overexposed lighting to immediately capture the audience’s attention, but then the lighting decreases revealing the production of the film. The music begins (Piano is the main instrument at this point creating an eerie effect).

Fade out

Shot 2- Fade in to an extreme long shot of field full of crops which informs the audience of the set in which the film is taking place. (Slightly looking over the field) The title ‘LOVEFIELDS’ fades in and out of the shot, establishing the link to the film and the title. Crane shot panning down towards the field, ending with the camera in the crops. Music builds tension using a crescendo of violins. Non-diegetic sound of wind added blowing through the crops which creates an isolated atmosphere, which is another technique used to capture the audience’s attention.

Shot 3- This is a clever shot that is used throughout the opening sequence. Mathieu uses the same shot as before, however, the top and the bottom thirds of the screen is blurred, emphasising the middle section. This shot is used to gradually build tension.

Shot 4- Dissolve effect is used, overlapping the previous shot of the crops with another shot of the crops. This creates a wipe, as if it had happened over a period of time. Panning is used right to left. Crops are still on the shot, continuing the use of the non-diegetic sound to create wind, however, another non-diegetic sound is added being the squeak of a sign being blown in the wind. This creates a ghostly atmosphere and alerts the audience immediately as an unexpected noise is used. The camera pans to the sign, making the crops blurred as it pulls focus on the sign. The camera the pans upwards to the top of the sign revealing a crow sat on top.

Shot 5- Close up shot of the crow, as it squawks several times, still with the squeaking of the sign in the background.

Shot 6- Cuts to another shot of the crops. Shallow focus is used, leaving only a few of crops are in focus. This is a medium long shot as the camera pans so the audience can just see over the crops. This shot shows how secluded the area is. Non-diegetic sound of the crow and sign is still used.

Shot 7- Close up of crow again.

Shot 8- Cuts to the crops again, using the same shallow focus as before. Camera pans down into the crops. Crow and sign sound are still used in the background, however, another non-diegetic sound is added, which is a beeping noise. When the sound is introduced, the audience don’t know where it is coming from, but it indicates that someone is there leading the audience to believe that something is going to happen, which is another technique used to keep the attention of the audience.

Shot 9- Another dissolving effect is used, using two different shots of the crops again, however, the second shot is a close up of the crops near to the ground. This makes the beeping noise louder implying that the beeping noise is getting closer. The camera pans to a close up of a mobile phone using a shallow focus, so that the main object on the screen is the mobile phone. The camera then continues to pan backwards on the ground leaving the phone out of focus (beeping noise decreases) and making scattered on the floor the main focus. A woman cries alerting the audience that there is most definitely something wrong. The camera continues to pan leaving the scattered money out of focus. Suddenly, a woman’s hand comes into the shot using a close up, as she grasps some straw on the floor, indicating that she is in pain. The woman cries louder. Her hand leaves the shot as the camera pans further backwards, as it pulls focus to a piece of womens underwear on the floor ( at this point there is no sound apart from the woman’s cry) The camera then pans even further backwards pulling focus to a womans foot as it is moving. The camera stops moving when it is on a close up shot of the bare foot. The woman scrunches her toes to suggest that she is in some sort of pain. Crescendo of violins is used again to build tension as the woman is struggling and crying. All of a sudden, the music stops and her foot stops moving giving the impression that she has been killed. The shot is very quite so the audience are less prepared for the next bit which is a sudden strike of loud music and a males hand stabbing a knife into the ground, in front of the woman’s foot. Immediately, the audience presume that this male is a murderer as his hand is covered in blood and the music becomes more dramatic suggesting that something bad has just happened.

Shot 10- The shot then goes back to a close up of a crow squawking. The piercing sound of violins is used to create tension.

Shot 11- The camera pans a male from the side of his waist to his head. It begins by showing the audience the blood on his hands, and then gradually coming up to his shoulder, emphasising a tattoo. This makes the audience nervous as the tension is built up tremendously, as no characters have been introduced properly in the film at this stage, and the fact that the first character being shown is the ‘murderer’ makes the watcher on edge. Finally, there is a close up of his face looking worried. The male looks behind him to look at the sign and the crow on top. There is a long pause of the male looking at the crow, giving the impression that he is wanted help or advice on what to do next. At this point, the music becomes less dramatic as the camera pulls focus to the sign and crow. (Non-diegetic sounds are added again).

Shot 12- Close up of crow again.

Shot 13- Medium long shot of the male stood in the crops looking around to see what he can do. This shot was used so the audience can see the anxiety in his facial expression and body language. After he looks around (music fairly calm) he looks down at the floor giving the impression that he is looking at his victim, making the audience curious to see.

Shot 14- Cuts to a medium shot of his knees to his waist as he is walking back from whatever he looked at in the previous shot. The music becomes more dramatic. In this sequence, the audience are anxious to see what the man is going to do. The man begins to turn around.

Shot 15- Continuity editing is used in a medium length shot. The male continues to turn around and runs forwards.

Shot 16- Sudden cut back to the crow.

Shot 17- Cut to a full length shot of the back of the male running towards the car through the crops.

Shot 18- Continuity editing used as he leaps out of the field and runs around the side of his car. The car door is open, and he hesitates (as if he was panicking and not knowing what to do) He then leans into the car. The camera pans the males but slightly moving away from the car. This technique was used so that it gave a full length shot of the car, enabling the audience to see where he was and what he was doing.

Shot 19- Camera suddenly cuts to another close up shot of the crow. These quick cuts to the close up shots of the crow creates a slight confusion towards the audience as it gives a variety of unexpected shots making more things happen in the film rather than just having similar shots of the male.

Shot 20- Cuts to a medium shot of the males shoes as he gets out of the car and runs to the boot of the car.

Shot 21- Continuity editing is used in a medium length shot of the man coming to the boot of his car.

Shot 22- Cuts to a close up of the man trying to open the boot. There is an emphasis on his hands shaking as he is panicking to chose the correct key.Blackout

Shot 23- Using a wiping technique from the bottom to the top of the screen, the camera is set at a low angle looking up at the man using a medium close up (this shows the man looking around in the boot of the car for something)

Shot 24- Cuts back to a shot of the crow.

Shot 25- Cuts to an extreme long shot of the back of the male, still searching in the boot of the car. The road is also in the shot showing that there are no cars or people around.

Shot 26- Extreme close up. Hand held shot on top of the car. Slightly at a low angle shot. Nothing is really shown on screen but the audience can make out that it is the back of the car boot and the man and the man is on the other side looking for something. This builds tension because the audience is restricted to what he is trying to find.

Shot 27- Cuts back to the crow.

Shot 28- Cuts to a close up shot of the man pulling out some plastic bin liners. This is taken from the side.

Shot 29- Cuts to a medium long shot of the man pulling out the bags. Non-diegetic sound is added. (which is a loud tapping noise) This alerts the actor and the audience.

Shot 30- Cuts to a close up of the man peering over the boot door. Music becomes more intense. The audience can’t see what the man is looking at, making them feel more on edge.

Shot 31- Cuts to a shallow focus shot of the crow on the roof of the car suggesting that the crow is making him feel bad for what he did. This is another technique used to make the audience believe that he has just murdered a young woman.

Shot 32- Cuts back to the close up shot of the man. This shows the man sweating, emphasising the worry in his eyes.

Shot 33- Cuts to a long shot of the car. Slightly at a low angle shot, showing the crow on the roof of the car. The crow begins to tap again on the roof with its beak, revealing where the tapping noise was coming from.

Shot 34- Close up shot of the crow from the back. Shallow focus used, although it is till obvious the man is still peering in the background. The camera then pulls focus to the male. The music is high pitch. He suddenly puts the car boot door over his face so that he can carry on his search. Music then changes more dramatic when this happens.

Shot 35- Cuts back to the low angle shot of the man looking in the boot (as if someone was looking at him from the boot)

Shot 36- Like shot 25, an extreme long shot is used as he continues to find something. The road is still in the shot to show isolation. Violins are used dramatically. Male pulls out a blanket to give the impression that he is going to use this to cover the body.

Shot 37- Hand held shot used by someone in the car as it pans the males walking from the boot of the car to the front at a slightly high angle.

Shot 38- Continuity editing used as it changes to a long shot of the man walking around the front of his car. Shot showing the back of the male as he looks to his left and suddenly stand to a halt. Non-diegetic sound of squawking added.

Shot 39- Cuts to a medium close up shot of the crow sat on the top of the sign again.

Shot 40- Cuts to a high angle shot in the crops, using a shallow focus with the man in focus as he walks towards the womans body. Her feet are in the shot so the audience know she is still there, even though they aren’t in focus. The man walks to the body and stops at the womans foot. Shot 41- Cuts back to a close up of the crow.

Shot 42- High angle shot of the man. Medium length shot is used of his top half as he kneels next to the body. He lifts the sheet up as if he is going to cover the body. Crescendo used to build tension to the extreme and the audience are captured during this time.

Shot 43- Cuts back to the crow.

Shot 44- Male continues to put the sheet over the camera using the same shot as 42.

Shot 45- Cuts back to the crow as it shows that it is still watching what the male is doing. The music has suddenly stopped at this point, implying that something has happened. This leaves the audience in suspense as nothing is happening but they know something serious is going to happen.

Shot 46- Side on shot using a medium close up of the man looking downwards slightly. Everything is silent as he continues to look. The twist is revealed when a baby in handed to the man in the sheet he collected from the car. For the music, a piano is used to uplift the mood. Man is smiling and laughing. Everything changes to a happy mood. The camera pans slightly to the left so the woman, man and baby are all in the shot. Medium close up is still being used.

Shot 47- Close up of a woman showing her smile as she holds her baby.

Shot 48- Cuts to a side on shot of the man using a medium close up shot, as he smiles too.

Shot 49- Cuts back to the crow.

Shot 50- Crane shot from the crops to looking over the field as a police car comes down the road and the man runs to get its attention. Extreme long shot used to get a shot of the whole scenery.

Throughout the film, the audience are lead to believe that the woman who was crying at the beginning had been raped and killed. Due to the characters used, it gave the impression that the male was the stereotypical type of person to do something like that. Furthermore, Mathieu cleverly persuaded the audience to believe that the woman was dead and he was trying to get rid of the body. Right through the film, the crow played a main part. In shot 4, the crow was first introduced making the audience wonder why a crow was sat on top of a sign. With the immediate close up of the crow that followed (shot 5), the audience are given the impression that the crow is in the film for a reason. With the cuts from the crow to the crops then back to the crow, this enhances the importance of the crow as it gives the impression that it is looking at something. Skilfully, Mathieu used the crow throughout the film implying that it knew what the man supposedly did (which was rape and murder in the audiences point of view), suggesting that he did something wrong, making the male act more nervously during the film. I furthered my research to see why the crow was such a prime factor in the film, and I found that Steven King wrote several short stories that Mathieu produced into films, which included the crow. Close ups were used throughout the 5 minute film to show facial expressions and emotions (an example is shot 30), which is a technique we will use in our film. It also includes full length shots so the audience can establish what the main character is doing and get a better understanding of what is happening. The long opening at the start of the film leaves the audience in suspense until they can hear suspicious noises. This is a technique we want to use in our film, so that the audience’s attention is captured throughout the 5 minute film.

A Crescendo of violins was used to gradually build tension in several parts of the film, also using a piercing high pitch sound to alert the audience that something was wrong. Furthermore, in certain parts of the film it would become silent, so that the audience were less prepared for the ‘jumpy bit’ that was to follow (like at the end of shot 9 when the males hand strikes the floor with a knife). Non-diegetic sounds were added at the beginning of the film creating an eerie effect, also giving the impression that no one was around to inform the audience that the area was isolated (Meaning, there were no traffic noises or people speaking in the background, only the non-diegetic sounds being the crow and the sign squeaking were used).

Throughout the opening sequence of the short film, the shots were panned slowly creating a calm atmosphere. (This technique was shown in shots 2 to 4). At this point in the film, nothing was revealed leaving the audience confused and in suspense. The shots that were used in the opening sequence were extremely similar as the same shallow focus and dissolving techniques were used when panning the crops. With the shots used, the audience are drawn in by the tension that is built up as they are eager to see what is to happen. In shot 8 to 9, new, unexpected noises were introduced which implied that the film was about to become more dramatic. As the camera pans, emphasising the different objects and underwear covered in blood scattered on the floor, a woman begins to cry, enabling the audience to start making their own decisions on what is happening so far in the film (This technique is cleverly used to make the twist at the end more unexpected, as the audience make their own minds up). In shots 14 to 29, the music became more dramatic and different shots of the man and crow are used more frequently and rapidly to make the audience feel tense and anxious to see what is about to happen. In some sense, it makes out that the situation is serious, leading the audience to become more concerned and attached to the film. A variety of different shots were used to make the scene more frantic, for example shot 20 and 22.

As the audience were given the impression that the woman was killed, the twist is made more unexpected leaving the audience in shock when they found out what actually happens. In shot 46, the twist is revealed and the mood of the film changes totally with the use of soothing music and content facial expressions used in close ups to create a sense of relief for the audience as the actors are holding the baby. As a group, we wanted to use this technique so that the audience would be surprised when our twist was made known. Overall, I thought the film was produced perfectly. It left me in suspense till the very end of the film, and I was in total surprise when the twist was revealed, which I thought was truly inspirational, which is why I chose to analyse this 5 minute film, because the basis of the film is similar to ours, and we are wanting to use techniques, like the close up shots to show emotion and how suspense was carried throughout the film. Having it been set on a sunny day, the use of natural lighting complemented the scenes and actors very well. I was impressed with the use of varied camera shots, to change the mood as well as making the audience feel more involved in the tension that was built throughout the film. Furthermore, I believe that the music chosen proved that it can have an effect on the way the audience feel when watching a film. When I watched ‘Lovefields’ for the first time, the music had a great impact on me and I felt that if the music wasn’t used in the correct way then the film could have been less impressive. All in all, this has given me important factors that I wish to use in our group film. This has given me a better insight to how a short film should be produced!