Wreck-it Ralph Trailer Review

Saw this movie a couple weeks back, but I knew I'd be buying a ticket when my friend linked me to a trailer months before the release. Loved the movie, so I thought I'd look a little more into this trailer which sold me long ago. 

The narrative conveyed in this trailer surprised me now after giving it a second look. It opens with a voice-over, which I thought was outside of the film itself, and placed for the sake of the trailer. It soon reveals that the voice-over was actual dialogue from a scene within the film. The purpose of the voice over was to give some backstory into the film, introducing a character and his conflict. Simple as that. 

The mis en scene of the film amazed me, as I was when I saw the film. There's one shot of Game Central Station, which shows all the tiny characters walking around. Some could even be made out to be references to some popular existing games. The finer details of this shot makes it even more intriguing to watch. The depth of the shot makes the station seem almost endless, which in correlation could make the viewer assume the film itself has endless amounts of entertainment.

The cinematography was interesting as well, with well executed close-ups for characterization of Ralph and other main characters. I saw some quick pans that were used to transition between two shots. One part that I liked in particular was the whole first-person scene in Hero's Duty. It immerses the viewer into the game with a standard first-person shooter display. The viewer sees much of the action, with little comedic parts of Ralph running around for his life.

For the edit of this trailer, I realized the use of titles was effective to moving along the trailer narrative. Although there was no signature "movie trailer voice", you could already hear it in the back of your head anyway. The pacing of the shots increased when "Some Nights" by Fun. started playing. It was if the trailer provided coverage of the film's story line, while also building on the characterization of Ralph.

Speaking of soundtrack, the sound design of the trailer was significant as well. First off, the trailer is made of dialogue taken from the film itself, there was no external voice-overs or anything like that. It was the choice of dialogue that made an impact on the trailer. Each section of dialogue further characterized whomever spoke it. As we got deeper into the trailer, the dialogue became more revealing and left you with just enough knowledge about the film to understand it, yet not enough to want to know more. Then near the end, the soundtrack led to an increase in shot pacing, and made it feel almost like a montage of content. The choice of music was interesting and represented that "wanting to be someone else" kind of feeling. 

Documentary Pitch

Purpose: make people aware of a SF-run organization named “United Playaz” and how it reaches to troubled youth in order to strengthen their self-confidence and also strives to teach young adults how to make smart decisions in violent situations.

Contacts:
Misha Olivas - (415) 573-5138
main building - (888) 975-2929
misha@unitedplayaz.org
Rudy Corpus - (415) 573 6219

Interview Questions:
workers/leaders/supervisors:
Can you tell us about yourself?
Where is United Playaz located? (background of neighborhood filled with deliquants)  
What is United Playaz and what does it offer in terms of opportunities/aid to kids?
What inspired you to join/be a part of United Playaz? (what are your contributions?)
What is your role in running United Playaz?
How has United Playaz changed people’s lives? Has it changed you?
What do you have to say about children going through rough times right now?
Personal stories you’d like to share?
***ask to take us around places of the building/streets. showcasing historical significance or location of some of the areas.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
teens/adults/parents:
History of life before outreach programs such as United Playaz?
What does United Playaz mean to you?
What have the people here done for you?
How does it affect the community? Are you glad United Playaz exists?


Shot List- What images do I need to make the visual part of the story work? Interviews use mostly Close-ups, Waist shots, and B-roll. Background should also be considered. Usually at least 5 to 10 different shots are combined for a sophisticated piece.

Interviews - MCU/CU/MS (depending on space)
Opening:
LS of cars
ELS of citizens
LS Crane/Tilt-Pan of United Playaz building
Handheld walkthrough of building (sped up)


B-Roll
LS Kids playing around or whatever
MS Workers interacting with children/at desk
CU of back of t-shirt “It takes the hood to save the hood”


General Flow:
beginning - shots of streets of San Francisco. Police Cars. Homeless. Stores. Streets with Graffiti. Cars buzzing by and children waiting or standing on the block. Voice-over of one of the employees explaining where United Playaz is located. Explaining the crime and bad influences of the city life on people. Hip-hop track? Then transition to what UP strives for and goals. Middle - interviews with UP employees/kids.
Shots of the places around the SF including inside of UP.
personal tour of the streets along with one of the creators of UP.
B-ROLL.
Ending - The main director of the group speaking positively about their work towards improving the lives of children. Personal statement that is inspiring and motivational. Ending shot of the crew helping children or just them having fun with the children, or a child holding up a sign of United Playaz. Oh or maybe a still positioned camera that switches between all the individuals who are in UP. ideasideasideas.
Scripts: This is the written portion of your piece that is included either for the broadcast script or for a voice over that pulls the different interviews together.

Intro: (voice over) short spiel over how rugged and how looming the streets of SF can be. talk about the influence of gangs and police activity in the street and how United Playaz is stationed. desired to help the youth and prevent a life of wrong choices.
Closing: (voice over) over all the shots of UP workers helping people or forming strong relationships with one another and their guests.

Known Universe: Alien Contact - Review

Known Universe: Alien Contact

Aliens. A question that has been among the minds of many for many years. Are we alone? Does alien life really exist within our galaxy? This documentary effectively demonstrates the possibilities of discovering alien life and the efforts mankind has taken to make it happen. 

This material within this National Geographic documentary was used effectively to attract and interest the audience. After a quick display of flashy b-roll, this documentary starts with a voice-over that introduces the audience to a narrator. This voice-over uses a hook to attract the audience, while also providing a bit of backstory to the purpose of the documentary. The narrator proposes the question about whether we are alone or not in space. It even samples a bit of the interview, and this sampling hooks the audience, as they are curious to know the responses from a scientist's perspective.

For the interviews themselves, they seemed a bit cliche, but well executed nonetheless. Interviews in this documentary were filmed at a standard medium shot from the waist up. Nothing too fancy or artsy, but the visual attraction came from the background, not the interviewees. The background of most of the interview pieces comprised of either still frames or animated images of something relevant to what is being said. On other interview pieces the background consists of a static yet convoluted setup of scientific gear and gadgets. This vague confusing scientific equipment catches the viewers eye and interests them.

Although visuals are interesting, the sound design in the documentary deserves much credit as well. As I watched this myself, I noticed that the volume of the soundtrack increased as the narrator was making summaries of his final points. This happens right before the documentary goes to a commercial break, and then brings up a new point when resuming. 

As for the soundtrack itself, I found it entirely fascinating. The score is comprised of fast-paced, epic, and adrenaline-pumping drum beats, accompanied by a smooth, slowly rising orchestral section. As ironic as it sounds, it works well. See 28:00 for reference. This type of music is used when either summarizing a point or introducing a new one. This method typically keeps the viewer interested as the narrator finalizes an idea and proceeds onto a new one. As for what goes in between these pieces, the sound takes a kind of subtle, eerie tone, when describing the vague unknowns of life in space. The score accompanying this documentary was definitely outstanding.

Outside of the voice-overs and interviews, the documentary takes the interview even further, by placing the audience in an actual situation. For example, when the documentary introduces the vertical gun, instead of giving an interview about the experiment and supplying animated still images or small video clips of the test, the filmmaker goes on-site and records almost all instances in where the experiment is being executed. He films the setup of the gun, the reactions of the scientists, and even the moment of truth when the bullet hits the sand. This sort of interaction is what makes a documentary a good documentary, and that it makes good efforts to keep the viewer interested and amazed.

Overall, I was certainly interested in this documentary and it definitely did not disappoint. Being past midnight, I amazingly found myself still awake at the end of the documentary. The visuals were astounding, and it even managed to make still-frame images look amazing. The interviews were great, very coherent. The score was simply fantastic and the design on the placement and manipulation of audio was definitely captivating. Lastly, there was much viewer interaction with the documentary, which kept me intrigued throughout the entire documentary. It's great, 5/5

"The Man With a Movie Camera" VS "Bicycle Thief"

"The Man With a Movie Camera" VS "Bicycle Thief"

Comparing and Contrasting the elements of Realism VS Formalism

Compare

Realism and Formalism were both revolutionary film editing styles in their time. However being both revolutionary, there is little to compare between the two. Bazin states that film should encompass a wide variety of perspectives and forms of story telling. These two films were criticized for using such strange concepts of editing. They both utilized more of an open ended method to convey story. Most of it was based on the audience's perception of the film and how they saw the story being portrayed.

Contrasting
The Man With a Movie Camera
This formalist film is definitely on the other side of the spectrum from Bicycle Thief. The Man With a Movie Camera had quick cuts, no more than 1-2 seconds, and used a lot of juxtaposition of shots for the audience to formulate their own meaning behind the film. At first we'd see the life of rich aristocrats, then the following shot would be of a man stuck in poverty and starvation. This deep purpose behind this form of editing is that each shot would convey a different point on its own, and would compile to a deeper, more common meaning in the film as a whole. This compilation of contrasting ideas to formulate a common theme is what portrays Formalism as a crazy and chaotic form of editing.

Bicycle Thief
This film was evidently leaning toward the side of Realism, for it had long-lasting shots that had very emotional impacts on the viewer. We see long shots of this man, and then of a boy on a curb. The audience can infer that the boy is his son, through the parental feeling or vibe that the man gives off. We see very effective use of the Kuleshov effect. We see the man's face, a large collection of bikes, his son, bikers, and through this the audience can deduct that he's uncomfortable and torn between setting a good example for his son and his intense urge of stealing a bicycle. This film could be classified as realism in the sense that it is filmed and edited in a vary realistic and natural sense. The cuts are used to show a change in action or emotion and it flows so well with the film that the audience accepts it as normal. There were no surprises in the cuts, unlike in The Man With a Movie Camera.

Realism, Classicism, and Formalism in "Destiny"

Destiny

(click the picture!)

Realism
I found the beginning incorporated some aspects of realism. The film opens with a man's daily morning routine, and it seems awfully bland. We see much of this scene being bland and a bit uncomfortable. With these long, realist shots, the audience develops a weird unattractive feeling towards the man's collection of clocks. The beginning stair scene could potentially disturb a person. We could also see how passionate and precise this man is towards his clocks as we take a good several seconds to observe him synchronizing
the clock that is swinging on the wrong side.

Classicism

What stood out to me in this film was that the different editing styles almost progressed in an order, which I will point out soon. Classicism is evident when the plot is thrown into disequilibrium with the man noticing his mourning routing being replayed in front of him. Rather than an awkward series of long cut shots, the shot duration is cut by a few seconds. Evidently there are also more close-ups and angle usage compared to the man's first "life".  

Formalism

By the third life, the man realizes that his time is getting shorter and shorter and needs to act fast. This cause for action evokes more association cuts and abstract shot selections. For example, when he wakes up for the first time, the shots are really quick, and are comprised of mainly reaction shots between the man and his clock. Another instance of formalism is when the alarm clock hits the wall clock, the swinging clock hand comes to a halt in a large close up. 

Step Outline for ________

Insert Title Here:

ACT ONE Boy is seen in the middle of a girl’s room with a letter in his hand, beginning to worry. Doorknob begins to turn and boy frantically looks around the room.	Establishes our main character. Conflict is currently unknown. Current goal is that he needs to hide. Fast.
A girl enters the room and the boy is nowhere to be seen. A shift in angle reveals that he is hiding under the bed.	Boy is in quite a pickle. The obstacle is that he must escape the girl’s room, yet right now it seems impossible.
He holds the letter in his hand and flashes back to when he wrote the letter in his room.	Time is manipulated through flashback Begins to reveal backstory behind the character’s current situation
Letter turns out to be a love letter meant for a girl. Boy shoves letter in folder, tossing it away saying “Ugh, it’s hopeless.”	Backstory is further established, revealing he’s in the room because of the love letter. Also characterizes the boy as unconfident and possibly shy.
Flash forward into the middle of history class. Boy glances at the girl a couple rows away, but gets scared as she hair-flips, thinking she might see him watching her. He awkwardly continues scribbling in his notes	More characterization on the boy. It has become clear that this girl is the love-interest. Character is definitely shy, as he quickly looks away as she flips her hair. Also shows that he is awkward.
After class she asks the boy for his notes, for she was absent last week. Boy is shocked that she spoke to him. He stutters a response and clumsily reaches into his bag, grabbing the letter on accident as well. Girl laughs and thanks him.	Highlights the boy’s “love from afar” relationship with this girl. Further characterization on the boy’s awkward and shy nature. The girl’s laugh suggests they’re not distant strangers, but more so distant friends.
The boy is back home, and his room is a mess. He can’t find the letter, and is caught thinking hard until he realizes he accidentally handed it to the girl. Boy falls on his bed. “I’m so screwed.”	Shows how afraid and nervous the boy is about the letter he wrote. Doesn’t want the girl to read it, but also wants to let her know how she feels. Boy is too embarrassed to let her read it.
ACT TWO Boy asks her if she looked at his notes, and the girl replies that she hasn’t looked at them yet and she left them at home. The boy is relieved. When asked “why?” the boy denies everything.	Boy is temporarily relieved, but knows that he must think of something to stop her from reading it.
The boy is approaching a house with no cars parked in front (which we assume to be the girl’s house) and hops the fence to get in through the window.	Amusing that the boy goes to extremes (which is not like his character) to retrieve this letter. The lack of vehicles propose that nobody’s home.
The boy ends up in the girl’s room, and the same beginning sequence is repeated.	The manipulation of time finally answers the questions that the audience had from the beginning of the film. The audience discovers that the beginning of the film is this current scene, but with more backstory, the scene is clear. The boy’s goal is to retrieve the letter, and the current setting is the girl’s home.
The boy is hiding under the bed and we see a t-shirt/bra drop to the floor. Boy has a shocked, widened expression.	Boy is put in a situation where he doesn’t know what to do. He’s pushed near his limits of nervousness and an uncomfortable mood is established.
It turns out that the girl is just surfing through her drawers to find the notes that the boy had took. She then leaves the room to keep searching.	This scene consists of dramatic irony that it’s almost amusing to the audience. The boy believes that the girl’s changing, yet the audience knows it’s not that serious. The girl leaving provides a chance for the boy to escape.
The girl continues looking in the kitchen/living-room for the notes. The boy is seen sneaking around corners, trying to escape	Yet another obstacle in the boy’s path. His current and final goal is to get out safely and unnoticed.
The boy turns a corner and she is blocking the door. He notices she’s looking for the notes, and as a last-resort, he crumples up the history notes and tosses them across the room, hoping she would notice.	Establishes the boy’s one shot at success. If he can pull this off and leave, then he is home free.
ACT THREE She walks over to pick it up. The girl is definitely confused and turns around to survey the surroundings. The boy isn’t seen, and we see him running down the street.	The boy has escaped safely and his goal was achieved.
The next day, the girl returns the notes, apologizing for the crumpled mess. The boy accepts it awkwardly, like always. The two then part ways as school ends.	The boy knows he’s safe and she didn’t see the letter. However, the boy is a bit discontent that he’ll never get to show her his feelings. The audience feels sympathy for the boy.

Characterization of a 5-Tailed Fox

Characterization of a 5-Tailed Fox

Recently I watched a cute animated film called Yobi, the Five-Tailed Fox. The star of this film is Yobi, a mystical 5-tailed fox that can transform and alter her appearance as she pleases. With this power, she tries to become close friends with a few humans in a nearby delinquent camp for students. She does this by transforming into a human and enrolling in this camp. However, in befriending a human, Yobi has the ability to capture their soul and fully become a human if she wishes. A device given to her by a shady "detective" tricks her into stealing her friend's soul and Yobi adventures to great lengths to get that soul back.

Yobi is seen here in teenage girl form. Technically she is a fox that is hundreds of years old, but she takes the form of a teenage girl to communicate with the humans. She sports short shorts and a loose tank top. Sometimes she plays the role of her own mother to enroll in the camp. Here she is seen looking into a mirror where we see a fox, her true form. Yobi is generally a shy, yet energetic individual. She enjoys the life of a human, yet if she expresses too much emotion, her tail shows and has to hide it.

Full Movie:

Starting at 1:07:20 is the scene I will portray in this blog post. Up until now Geum-ie has been hiding his real feelings for Yobi, and he begins to feel love and compassion for Yobi. This causes his soul to turn blue, causing the device to almost steal the soul. Instead the fox hunter stops Yobi, and Geum-ie saves her from the fox hunter. Geum-ie then falls into a lake that leads into some kind of "spirit-world" in which souls escape to. Yobi, believing this is unjust, follows Geum-ie herself and tries to get him back. An obstacle she faces is when leaving the spirit-world to return Geum-ie to life, his soul's place is already set, and cannot leave without replacement. As a result, Yobi offers her own soul and is forced to stay behind in the spirit-world. This feat itself is a great display of character, as she gives up her dreams of being with the humans in order to let this boy gain his life back. Yobi's love for Geum-ie causes her to give up her own life for his happiness. 

The 12 Must-Knows of Pre-Production

Traveling for Photo and Video Shoots — 12 Mission Critical Tips for Pre-Production

Scrolling through my Reader, this article from the Chase Jarvis blog caught my eye. It's a couple pointers on how to not screw up your pre-pro so your production runs smoothly. Having this blog aimed toward more bigger filmmakers/photographers, I couldn't relate to a few. However the essential points were definitely there. Tips 6 and 7 led me to huge dramatic flashbacks from the previous years I've spent in Art Of Video.

6. Keep your options open. If our team has a hard decisionchoices on any matter, for example 2 different locations or 2 different talent, I always try to reserve or hold both and cancel one later. It’s a much smarter option than being stuck with no options. Sometimes, to keep an option, you may need to pay a ‘kill fee’ or cancellation fee to be able to hold the dates as you get closer to the shoot. Balance that benefit against your budget.

7. Make up your mind. This is the polar opposite to the above, but when you can, don’t waste your time, money and energy. Just make sure that you have buy off from the client to lock in the details.

The two tips contrast each other, but a good director would know that the 2 go together so well. As I read this, I instantly thought of the past years' short films. One instance during the production of "A Soldier Apart" was when we were torn between locations. We ended up scouting one area in San Bruno Park, lugging around a light kit and backpacks, got lost, then ended up utilizing a different location anyway. As a take-home message, PRE-PRODUCTION IS KEY TO A SMOOTH PRODUCTION. Organize your film well before you go out and start filming. A planned out film is way better than one being filmed on the spot. 

When You Find Me Review

"When You Find Me"

Using the story themes/elements we reviewed from the "Project Imagination", please identify the 9 elements used in the film. Include screen shots from the film as evidence. Describe how the film incorporates each element/ theme. 

1. Character

The element of character establishes the traits of a single subject by focusing on the certain person or subject. In the film, When You Find Me, Character is established when we focus on the two girls after they come from the hospital after their mother dies. In this shot, her simple expression portrays her confusion and unknowing due to being so young and innocent.

2. Setting

Setting describes the time and location of a scene. This submitted photo inspired the broken down airplane in the film. They recreated both the interior and exterior of a broken/crashed airplane in the middle of a dense forest area.

3. Backstory

Backstory provides fuller understanding of the film or scene. This theme was not released when producing this film, therefore there is no inspiration photo. However, backstory can still be seen when we flashback to the hospital room where one daughter gets in an argument with her mother who is dying of cancer. 

4. Goal

Goal is whatever the character wants or is pursuing. The inspiration goal photo for this film depicted a girl reaching out to her window, wanting to get to some sci-fi space craft or entity. This inspired the illustrated dream sequence within the film, where the younger daughter's goal is to go into space and find her mother.

5. Time

Time represents a point within history. In this shot from the film, the context behind this is that the older daughter was finally able to find peace with her late mother after so many years by spiritually going the the place that her younger sibling had found as a child. This was inspired from this photo by Brooke Shaden where two girls are running with a lantern in a field.

6. Relationship

The inspiration relationship picture depicted a couple in a hospital with one of them hooked up to many apparatuses. Howard took this and used it to establish that the mother dies of cancer in the narrative. This shot signifies the relationship the father and children had with the mother and how sensitive of a situation it must have been to see her dead like such.

7. Obstacle

The picture of a large medieval gate represented the large cemetery gate in the film. These obstacles prevented the girl from getting to her said "spaceship". As she was about to give up, her sister offers a boost in hopes of her younger sibling understanding that she won't see mom anymore.

8. Mood

Mood is anything conveying atmosphere, tone, or emotion. In the film, the inspiration photo was recreated in order to establish emotions of loneliness or isolation, as she smokes alone in focus with the rest of the city blurred out and indistinguishable. 

9. Unknown

The unknown is used very effectively here as the film opens up with a shot of some obscure location with a large tree in midst of a flat prairie. The odd location and color tone arouses questions and interest within the viewers, for they want to continue watching to figure out what's happening in this scene.

10 Themes of Storytelling

Mood

Ron Howard defines mood as something conveying atmosphere, tone, or emotion. This could be elaborated into an image that has a deeper emotional meaning, or an image that gives off the feel of an emotional setting or situation. An example picture for this theme would possibly be this photograph by Kimberly M. I believe this photo conveys mood by engaging in an emotional connection with the baby and the father. What I absorb from this photo is the feeling of amazement from the baby's facial expression. One could feel calm and at peace because of the mood that the blue lighting conveys. From what I've gathered, it appears that pictures that convey mood are taken with long lenses zoomed to extreme close ups with selective focus on subtle, but important details. However mood images can also be conveyed through the use of wide shots, taking vague yet expressive photos of a certain landscape or event.

Character

The theme of character focuses on a certain person or subject in the image. One should be able to understand a few characteristics about the subject just by looking at the image. For example, in this photo by Laresa R, the obvious character is the girl with her notebook. What we can tell about her character is that she is probably an artist, because of the pastels by her side. She could possibly be using art as an escape from reality considering the image is in black and white. Character photos essentially focus on a single subject, that range from long shots to extreme close ups.

Setting

Setting describes the time and location in an image. Here we have a photo of an alluring and isolated home in Norway, taken by Justin L. What we can tell about this photo is that the house is very welcoming and inviting due to the high key lighting. The lighting makes it appear as if the house was a gift from the heavens in the middle of nowhere. Its placement among many trees suggests it's like a haven far from danger. To set setting, one would probably take long shots with a wide lens to capture much of the environment. The camera is usually either eye level or at a higher angle to keep a sense of reality in the photos. The lighting would depend on the context of the photo. Like in this example, the lighting is high-key to suggest a pleasing and delighting setting, whereas one would use low-key lighting for darker, melancholic settings.

Obstacle

Obstacle represents anything in the way of the character from accomplishing anything. In this case, we have elderly disabled people climbing several sets of stairs. The depth of this image makes the obstacle (the stairs) seem menacing and nearly impossible for our characters to surpass. The usage of the z-axis to magnify depth plays an emotional, threatening role in this photo. Obstacle shots can really vary based on the context of the photo. Most obstacles images are extreme close ups on the obstacle itself. Sometimes the obstacles are also wide shots if the obstacle is something present in the background.









Backstory

Ron Howard's definition of backstory is a history that promotes fuller understanding of the narrative. Being that these are the 10 themes of storytelling, there has to be some backstory or context to each photo. Each image needs to have the potential to describe historical or previous events that are necessary to understanding the current situation of the image. In this photo by Michiale S, we can assume the location has a romantic backstory between a couple, as given to us by the two roses attached to the bench. The purple hue of the coastline provides a calm and loving mood in the image. Backstory images are often wide shots of large settings in deep focus, so one could identify the individual details that help tell the backstory.

Relationship

Relationships exist between any two things. Images that show relationship often have emotional meaning and intimacy connected to them. In this picture by Raine A, her infant is seen with a sleeping sea turtle. The relationship between the two is one of innocence and adorableness. The image was also taken in Hawaii, and superstition exists surrounding the blessing of turtle spirits and other nature entities. Relationship shots are often framed with two subjects, either close-up or long shot. 

Goal

Goal represents something that the character strives for. When a character has a goal, the image should present the obstacle or route of action that the character must take to reach this goal. In Melissa A's picture, we see a child facing a mini-golf hole. Upon accomplishing this obstacle, he can reach his goal of surpassing the golf course. Goals should seem to be distant, and require effort to reach. This photo was taken at a high angle, to make the child seem inferior and outmatched against this hole. The graphic vector of the course causes our eyes to look towards the end of the course and emphasize the distance from our character's goal. 

The Unknown

I'm not sure if I even want to know what's going on here. The Unknown is described as anything unexpected, or a twist. This photo is definitely a big twist from what many would expect. The possibility of a goat+pig hybrid would definitely turn heads. Aside the comedic intentions of this photo, the unknown can be a surprising and sometimes beautiful aspect. Unknown photos are often wide shots of a vague event or situation describing said unexpected twist.

Time

Time photos represent a time or day within history. These photos can be very vast in terms of technique in recording an image, considering any photo can be a time photo given a certain concept. This photo has the context of a period of time when gasoline was cheaper than nowadays. We understand this through the rustic and antique look of the gas pump. This conveys the element of time into the picture because we in our modern day would reflect onto times like this, awakening an emotional reaction within the viewer.

An INSiDE look at "INSiDE" A Short Fillm

Film Review for "INSiDE" A Short Film

"INSiDE" by Trevor Sands is a short film highlighting the identity crisis of a man with multiple personality disorder. It's a fascinating view on the struggles of people with mental-disabilities such as this. It is perceived that each "personality" is depicted as an individual person within the same room as him. Each figure has the ability to control Daniel's ability to speak, thus creating the illusion that he's talking to himself, yet in his mind, others talk for him.

The first shot in the film is of a blurred out image of what appears to be a window (Figure 1). This intentional blur and open framing allows the viewer to wonder about possibly the setting of this film. It turns out to be a door, and we see two mental ward assistants entering a room to assist our main actor to his feet. (Figure 2) The lighting in this shot applies a bit of subtle characterization for the main character. The dark, black shadows around the ring of light in which he sits in could imply he is lost in terms of his psyche. We could also relate to the isolation and emotional despair he may have been affected by during his stay here.

(Figure 1)

(Figure 2)

Here the assistants take the main character down a dimly lit hallway. (Figure 3) Again the lighting is very low-key, almost black except for the single hanging light every couple feet or so. This creates such shadows that the two figures are entirely silhouetted and the main character is exposed to the light. You could say in this case he's facing the light, a possible metaphor relating his visit with the doctor to some kind of judgment or death sentence. As they walk down the hallway, the single lights give short bursts of light, then back into complete darkness as they continue. (Figure 4) This plays as a sort of revealing/concealing tool that the director effectively takes advantage of when we see the character's multiple personalities walking among them one by one. (Figure 5, 6, 7) At the same time, we can hear indistinct chatter which can be interpreted as the different thought of each personality. However among the chatter we could also hear a doctor describing the character's case of multi-personality disorder.

(Figure 3)

(Figure 4)

(Figure 5)

(Figure 6)

(Figure 7)

The doctor's voice over serves as a sound bridge into the next scene, in where we see her addressing our character's multiple personalities. (Figure 8) The camera begins to do a slow truck and pan to reveal all the figures being represented as the different personalities. (Figure 9) In Figure 10, one of his personalities had taken control of his speech, and began making threats. This depicts our character as evil, or dark, depicted by the heavy cast shadows across his face.

(Figure 8)

(Figure 9)

(Figure 10)

The shadows across his face lessen when he makes a small connection to his true self. This is when he figures out his first name starts with a "D". He looks to the sky and attempts to ignore the other personalities which is observed when the indistinct chatter among them lowers underneath his own and the doctor's voice. Also a discreet "ding" noise is heard when the connection is made. (Figure 11) However this slowly builds into a climactic point when the chatter volume is being raised at an increasing rate. The shot lengths at this point also begin to shorten, making the film more fast-paced and upbeat. This speeds up to an abrupt halt, when the doctor slams the table and stands up, then proceeds to address the personalities, rather than our character. (Figure 12)

(Figure 11)

(Figure 12)

After a few close ups, we see another wide shot of the office. Although a very small office, the sudden disappearance of the personalities make the office seem large and empty. (Figure 13) An over the shoulder shot following their conversation reveals a man coming into the office. (Figure 14) When it turns out that this man is the real doctor, it comes back to Daniel, exposing the previous lady as another one of the personalities within Daniel's psyche. Also, the angle at which this shot was taken was very low. This makes Daniel, but more importantly the woman seem more powerful and superior. (Figure 15) 

(Figure 13)

(Figure 14)

(Figure 15)

This ends the film with an open question to the viewer. Did Daniel adapt the woman as a new personality, or was she always present within Daniel's mind? This type of directive technique makes this film superb and mind-blowing in how the exposition of events were carried out. I highly enjoyed this film and would suggest it to anyone of interest.