The Screen (2016-The Shorts)-Directed by Steven Dumortier-Jess Smith

I found this short film on a website called 'theshorts.com' and the title of the film got my attention, as well as the horror genre. The film is based on a single character who is haunted by a female ghost-like figure in hid house. It explores spiritual and gender power themes. The title seemed to brief for it to be a horror, therefore the only way of seeing why the title was "The Screen", was to watch it. This also allowed me to see how the horror genre can be given in a 3 and a half minute film.

Concepts:
Media Language
Representation
Audience
Narrative
Genre

The film begins in a very simple manor with a wide angled medium shot of a large, blank TV screen, placed in the centre, filling the majority of the frame. However this shot was following on from the title which appeared on a black screen in small, capital letters which were constantly flickering, almost as if they were lights which had a bad electricity cable, fitting with the diegetic soundtrack of white noise, running parallel to the title. The fact that the title has been edited this way suggests that the narrative of the film isn't clear and that the film is based on one screen. This is supported when the tv screen shot appears, 5 seconds in to film.

During this shot and zoom onto the screen, the sound of a non diegetic soundtrack beings with a soft drumming sound, creating suspense for the audience. 

Furthermore, the camera then quickly cuts to a low angled, close up of a glass up as ice is being put in. The previous soundtrack continues, giving the audience more questioning as to how this film will fit into the horror genre. The glass has been pleased in a brightly lit, kitchen environment which is clear from the wooden worktop, representing a household, therefore the audience can assume the unknown character is getting prepared to sit in front of their TV. However the soundtrack becomes deeper in tone and louder in volume as the glass is filled with coke, adding an on screen diegetic sound too. In addition, a bowl is then filled with popcorn, adding on screen popcorn sounds and is shown in a low angled close up, overall representing this character as someone who likes to relax and who is alone and is maybe comfort eating. 

Following this, the protagonist is then shown for the fist time, in a low angled, long shot. This allows the audience to see his casual tracksuit bottoms and vest top, matching is slow and relaxed body language and facial expression. The character is a middle aged male who has been represented as the protagonist is the narrative, therefore the audiences full attention will be focused on him. He is also then shown turning all the lights off with relaxing movement in the setting, clarifying he is alone in this location, further implying he is the only character in throughout the film. This conforms to the horror genre as the dark is a connotation for death and fear. This scene also conforms to gender stereotypes, as this male appears to be physically strong and brave enough to be in the dark, alone. 

Then character is then tracked from a front view as he enters his living room, sits on his sofa and begins to watch a film on the tv screen the audience have already seen. 

The room is also in complete darkness, and the only light that is being given off is from 3 small candles and the screen. This is creating a tense and mysterious atmosphere for the audience, making them feel a strong sense of foreboding. 

However there is then a cut to a behind the shoulder shot, with the screen in the right side of the frame as it scatters and becomes blurred and the picture disappears. This causes concern for the audience. The white noise on screen sound is added for this moment, along with only ambient sound, making it stand out. 
The audience then become confused when another behind the shoulder shot facing the TV becomes surreal as the man's reflection is suddenly on the screen. A new, on screen buzzing and cracking sound then begins to play, adding to the tense atmosphere. 

The character's facial expressions also appears to be confused when the camera pans around to the right to a medium, close up shot, making it clear to the audience something is wrong. 

This blocking shot also emphasizes the element of confusion to the character as he looks behind his TV which is making very unusual noises.

In addition, the horror genre is then emphasized when there is a behind the shoulder, low angle shot of the male, who is placed to the right of the frame, as he looks into the screen in confusion and a dark figure appears from behind his sofa, not far from the character. This is a very tense moment for the audience as they are now aware there is someone else in the house that he didn't know about, which is evident, due to his facial expression. The narrative has now become more clear to the audience, however is still creating a sense of enigma, conforming to Barthes theory. 








The audiences anxiety then raises when the camera cuts to a point of you shot, as he is walking towards the sofa and area where the unknown figure was seen. As he becomes closer there is a crescendo effect of the off screen soundtrack which works very well with the genre. 
However the sound drops when the black hair appears behind the sofa and there is now a very faint, soft, creepy off screen sound to the scene, representing this person as imaginary almost. 

The male then becomes very nervous in his facial expression and is breathing very fast, deep breaths after seeing this figure appear in his house. Therefore this scene is now not conforming to gender stereotypes as the male is 'supposed to be' feeling brave and ready to fight, however this character isn't being represented that way. 

As he then leans over the seat there is another crescendo into silence as he discovers the person has dissapeared, shown in a high angle behind the shoulder shot and a side angled long shot. Overall this is creating a sense of enigma for the audience and a worrying feeling as it is unclear as to where she has gone and what she wants from him. The fact that she has vanished conforms to the horror genre and panicked theme, therefore is very effective. 

Then as the character looks behind him, towards the camera the female figure is then seen in the screen in full size. The fact that is is dressed in a white dress further conforms  to the horror genre and the stereotypical perception of ghosts. The audience are currently feeling nervous and scared on behalf of the man as they are expecting the worst. 

The horror genre is further empathized during these shots as the camera pans where she appears in the screen, looking like shes being reflected, however she isn't there when he looks towards that direction, which is emphasized by the silence, in comparison to the foley sound of a breath that happens when she is seen in the screen, creating a further sense of enigma for viewers. 

However the two characters become face to face when he looks back into the TV. There is a sudden drop in the sound a sharpe knife slice foley sound occurs, shocking the audience. This 2 shot below allows the audience to see her face for the first time and it is clear she is distressed and in a bad state, due to the blood (fitting well to the genre). 

The audiences shock continues as she then grabs the male through the screen and drags in inside. This is also done with soft, yet dramatic off screen foley sounds, fitting well with the genre. 

The TV screen is then heard being turned off by the on screen sound and it turns black, leaving the audience left in silence, confused and unaware of what's happened to the protagonist, yet also being relieved it's over. 

However, just as the audience believe its over, there is a shocking close up of the girl, filling the majority of the frame. This is a very effective ending because she is looking directly into the audiences eyes, keeping them engaged to the very last second. This shock is emphasizes well with the loud bang foley sound that occurs with the face, giving an overall sense of fear and horror. 

This film conforms to the narrative theory of Ronald Barthes enigma codes and overall this film was inspiring to me because the director really captured the audiences attention and did this by conforming to the genre and creating suspense and anxiousness. After watching the film it made me think deeper whether we could create a short film with a horror genre, whereas before it seemed too hard to get those tense feelings conveyed to the audience. Following on from this, the film also conforms to the theory of Steve Neale's theory of repetition and variation and this is because they have used typical horror conventions, such as having the setting in mostly darkness and the protagonist being alone. However they have also created a variation to the typical characters of a horror and this is due to the fact that the male character is the one with the least amount of control and he is represented as very scared, whereas the female character is in charge and this goes against typical gender stereotypes, as females are usually shown as the vulnerable characters, not the men.