Film Analysis: The Shift (Short Film)

8/10/2019 Film Analysis: The Shift (Short Film)

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Wilhelmina Denness

Characters

There is only one character we see in this short and that is a female character. Speaking

to the camera as if another person is with the girl we get the idea that the second

character involved in this film is us, the audience. Effectively, we are made into an

essential character in the plot, centrallyinvolved with what’s happening in the film. It’s

also through the way the main character also

gives hints and distinct facts about who she’s

talking to, that characterisation is built and we

become part of the story, in the same way you

feel you’ve become the central character in a

first-person-narrative novel.

In the close up shot we can see that the

character is wearing a plaid flannel shirt which hangs loosely on her body. While thisdoes little to inform us of the girl’s character and the state which she has found herself

in, the hair and make-up speaks differently. Her hair has been styled to look messy and

either wet or greasy. From this we get the reading that she has been living rough for

days on end. The fact that it’s matted suggests it could have got caught in something or

at least had a reason to be messed up and this then suggests that she might be stressed

and on the run/in hiding from someone or something because something will have had

to cause the hair to become tangled in such a way. In apocalyptic/ post-apocalyptic films

it is conventional to present characters in a disarray, with a matching, messy

appearance. This is because we are likely to stereotype people who are presented as

looking disorderly and ‘rough’ as being a character trying to survive in an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic world.

Other than the basic form of make-up on the character’s face, make-up has been used to

make it seem like she has dirt and/or bruises on her face. This further confirms our

reading that she must be subscribing to the apocalyptic survivor stereotype found in

sci-fi films. The mud implies she’s been in wooded areas or at least somewhere where

she might have found herself crawling near the ground, suggesting she must be in

hiding from something. The bruises, if our reading is correct, could imply that the girl

was involved in some conflict or that after having tried surviving in the unforgiven

world that she lives in now, she could have tripped while running, like I said, to showshe’s on the run from something. Thus the way the character has been presented

provides the reading that she must be part of an apocalyptic film and thus she

subscribes to the stereotype for the main characters we see in this apocalyptic sub-

genre.

Settings/ locations

The main location in this film is the room where the main character is addressing the

camera. The walls are bare and it looks like a bannister or a table leg is to the left of her,

however I can’t be sure of this. The simplicity of the location however is good because it

means that when compared with the intensity of the character, it detracts attentionfrom the background.



Wilhelmina Denness

The first shot we see in this film is a still, close up

shot of a forest floor, in shallow focus. It’s from here

that a voice-over begins and we see a boot crunch

on the surface of the forest floor and a young

woman walks into the background (the main

character). Woods are often used in apocalyptic/

post-apocalyptic films as they can connote mystery

and are large enough to hide the most sinister of

things. You’ll find that in a lot of horror films, the

woods are used because they can look quite ominous and in the dark, are home to evils

such as gothic creatures and supernatural beings. So by immediately beginning the film

in such a location our reading of the film is that it will be associated with something

dark and twisted.

The main location of the film is a house. The

first shot to establish this is the long shot of agarden and shed which fades in from black.

The fact the shot is canted at a low angle,

creates an eerie effect which is slightly

unnerving and foreboding of something bad

that is likely to happen later in the film.

Another setting we see in this short is the

interior of the house and one of the shots we

see in this includes this close up shallow focus

shot of the door handle and the hallway behind

it. The light streams in ominously and is

blurred to create an unnerving atmosphere

and heighten the fear we already feel as an

audience. It also helps to emphasise the fact

that this is an empty house. What I’ve found in

short apocalyptic films is that the buildings can

be either be clean or very rundown. This film

moves towards the former representation.

However this subverts the locations usually found in apocalyptic/ post-apocalyptic

films as it’s conventional to find that the buildings have been destroyed in some way as

a result of something that has happened earlier on in the plot.

Themes

Good vs Evil

Virus (post-apocalypse)

Survival

Genre Iconography

There aren’t many prop that we see in this filmwhich are icons typically associated with this



Wilhelmina Denness

genre, however what we do see is one essential piece of iconography that is used in

almost all post-apocalyptic films. That one important icon is a backpack. But before we

see this, the main character pulls out a box of matches (shown in a close up shot). The

box doesn’t have many matches left which tells us that the character must have been in

hiding for a while now which has led to supplies running low. The match is used to light

a purple candle which we can only assume is being lit to retain some light because it’s

getting dark. The candle has evidently been used before. It’s in this shot that we see the

backpack beneath the character’s hands. This is where we presume she stored the

matches and candle and this then implies that she has been carrying around essential

supplies in the bag. The fact it’s a hiking bag shows its purpose is to hold lots of items

and is therefore useful for survival. This icon of the genre ergo shows that this film

conforms to the post-apocalyptic genre.

Camera Shot/ Angle/ Movement

The use of shot, angle and movement in this film is veryrestrictive because of how similar the film is. However

what I can comment on are two shots that conveyed

different meaning and added a something more

complex to the film.

At the start of the film when we get a close up shot of

the forest floor a boot lands in front of the camera and

the main character walks away into the distance. In this

shot what is being shown is the quick and bold nature

of the characters actions on this only calming and least troubling shot. It’s almost as if

the screenshot is acting as a metaphor for how quick the virus came and/or the fact the

character is trying to wash away thoughts of hope and goodness in the world when all

she can say of it is that it’s God-forsaken because it’s unforgiving and has left her close

ones lost to a horrific virus.

Another close up shot I’ve chosen to look at shows the main character shining a light at

the camera, as if she’s shining into every

audience members’ eyes. By asking the

audience to point follow the torch with their

eyes and to look into the light we are being

drawn into the film and made to feel as if weredirectly involved in it. I really like this and

think it’s very effective at engaging the

audience with a film and gripping their

attention.

A final shot I chose to comment on was this

close up (nearing extreme close up) shot of the

lower right part of the character’s face. This is

used for the purpose of creating dramatic effect

(dramatic irony) which is therefore used toconvey importance. Implemented when the



Wilhelmina Denness

character says avoiding stressful situations will help with concussion, she then says “oh”

since we understand from what she’s already described, that it is indeed a stressful

situation and there is nothing that can be done about it.

When shots of the location are provided they very slowly pan to the right and tilt

upwards and this creates a suspended effect, slowing time as if to show that the solitudeand calm atmosphere we might think exists here, in fact won’t last (as after all, a virus

has spread and has affected the whole of civilisation).

Editing

A majority of the edits in this film includes cuts

and fades. Cross fades of the same shot move

uncoordinatedly when the camera puts us in the

position of walking up the stairs. This gives theeffect we are disillusioned so much that the

images are becoming separated, much like the

same way people might possibly see things when

they are drunk. Leading on from this is a black

out which cuts into the next scene where the main character says ‘we passed out’. This

explains why the images and focus on things became so disjointed. We also see this

editing technique used at the end of the film when the character loses her control on

what’s happening to her. It is common that the edit is found to show a character going

through mental turmoil.

Eye-line-match is also used when we see a long shot of a window which then cuts to a

close up shot of the main character looking from the window and rubbing her arm to

add that it is cold. This is used predominantly to create a sense of continuity.

Around the 4 minute mark we find the shot cuts to black and cuts back into shot again

and this is used, just like the start, to represent us, as a character, blacking out which is

another key way in which we are involved and made to feel engaged and part of this

film.

Sound

Much like the short film, ‘Relic’, this film uses a lot of diegetic sound to engross the

audience in the film. A non-diegetic voice-over is used at the start of the film along with

the diegetic sound of footsteps when the character walks in front of the close up shot.

Just as she walks further away, ominous, incidental music creates an unnerving

atmosphere before the shot cuts to black and non-diegetic singing begins, creating the

same atmosphere and mood which instils a chilling mood within every audience

member. This singing echoes to emphasise the empty house and ergo the loneliness and

desolation which are key themes that circulate this eerie post-apocalyptic film. When a

blackout occurs after the shot of the stairs, someone says “hey” at which point the shot

of the main character cuts in, just like how you immediately open your eyes when

someone calls your name and you’re just about to drift off to sleep.



Wilhelmina Denness

Diegetic sounds such as the character rubbing her hand against her shirt and the

synchronous sound of her lighting a match all are used to create and sustain a realistic

scene in the film. Towards the end of this, it’s useful to note that the atmosphere

becomes dramatically darker and tense as we begin to learn that shortly the main

character will be consumed by the same virus she has been trying to escape from. This

instils fear into the audience and build until a climatic point for effect so we feel drawn

into the film- something gripping and highly effective.

Lighting

Low key lighting has been used throughout the film with perhaps a blue filter, used to

create an ominous atmosphere and build tension and dread wash over the audience.

This creates a foreboding atmosphere also which leads us on to believe that something

dramatic will happen in the film.

Typography

The only typography we see in this short, other

than the YouTuber’s name, which doesn’t relate

to the film, is the title. This fades in from black

where we see a mist arising from the bottom

and spreading across the shot. Along with this

comes the faint non-diegetic sound of eerie

music, a sound motif that is low in volume yet

just about audible that it sends a chill down our

spines. The mist circling the shot creates a

physically chilling effect and is memorable of awinter’s mist which we usually find in horror films. For example, the marshes in The

Woman in Black are covered by a sea of mist which is unsettling since it brings up the

fear of the unknown, a common theme in horror films. This theme familiarly relates to

The Shift, where even though apocalyptic/ post-apocalyptic sci-fi is the central genre,

the theme of violence and survival gives reign to a plot where antagonism can be both a

physical and a mental entity.

With regard to the font and colour itself what we see here is that white is used for this

rough font which is all in upper case lettering. The use of capital locks is a general trend

for the genre, seen in many of the short films I’ve been analysing. So it is for the samereason, that I comment the use of upper case letters is implemented here to reflect the

violent and bold nature of the film’s plot. Similarly, the rough and aggressive stylised

font reflects this also as we see that the letters have been cut into the way blood

splatters onto surfaces. Thus the typography informs us of the genre.

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Film Analysis: The Shift (Short Film)