LO2: Creation of Meaning in my Short Film

My original intention for the meaning of the short film was to show the 'insensitivities of police towards suspects who acted unwillingly.' As it turns out, this changed quite a lot. While writing the script, I found that taking the narrative in the direction felt very unnatural and so I decided to build upon Ethan's character trait of acting without much thought, or acting too quickly. After turning that into a narrative, I found that the meaning had shifted from 'police insensitivities towards suspects who acted unwillingly,' to 'how acting too quickly, or without enough thought can completely tear lives apart.'

The best way I found to infuse this meaning in my short film is through the use of colour temperatures. In the earlier scenes in Ava and Ethan's living room, I use a warmer light in order to show that the living room is a place of comfort for the main characters. However, later on in the narrative, while Ava is in the living room, calling the police on Ethan, I use a cold lighting as this shows that the comfortability and safety has been destroyed due to Ethan's actions. I really like how this effect creates meaning, and I will be enhancing it with colour grading and colour correction. Further examples of this can be seen in the scenes between Ethan and Marcus, as well as the interrogation scenes.

With my narrative being heavily conversation based, well edited shot-reverse-shot structures are incredibly important. More specifically the framing of characters. In the conversation between Ethan and Ava where Ava is saying what Marcus did to her, she is always shown from eye-level and high angle. This allows me to show how subordinate Ava's character is, especially in this scene. Juxtaposing this, Ethan is always show from a low angle to show that he is in control of the conversation. This is furthered by the two shots of them talking looking more towards Ethan than Ava. Due to the early enigmatic nature of the narrative, I found it necessary to use quicker cuts to reveal a bit about the crime committed without giving too much away. An example of this is the quick cut to the gun in the opening scene. Furthermore these quick cuts, reflect the meaning of making decisions too quickly.

Music and sound effects also help to enforce the meaning of my short film. The best example of this is the first/ opening scene of the film where Warwick arrests Ethan. This scene is made by the fact that the sound sets the mood without it needing to be said. The rapid heartbeat, heavy breathing and high-pitch, tinnitus-like noise help to represent the stress and regret of the scene while remaining enigmatic.