Analysis of a Short Film.

Clouds

Narrative
The film is about a man who has an illness and is dying and is feeling sorry for himself about him life. He has lost his memory and forgot who is son is. His son spends most of his time looking after his father. The son then goes to the doctors and is told that he has a tumour on his stomach. He also speaks on the phone to a girl who he likes however she knows that he needs to look after his father and therefore nothing happens between them.

Cinematography
A high angle is used at the beginning of the film to show the boy running along the street and the camera follows him as he goes along the road, this is called tracking. A long show is used when the boy walks up to the door and opens it, this is used to show the location of where the boy has arrived and is used at the beginning of the film so the audience can recognise who the character is and what the character is wearing.

 A close up is used to show the cigarette in the ash-tray to show the audience that he has now finished with his cigarette. 



 
A close up is then used on the characters face to show his facial expressions and his emotions. This is used so that the audience can see that the character is sad and can see his emotions clearly on his face. 

A medium shot is also used so that the audience can see the characters hand gestures, the audience can also see some of the background and are able to work out where the character is located. A pan is also used while the girl is on the phone to the boy.

An extreme close up is also used to show the facial expressions on the boys face when the doctor tells him he has a tumour on his heart. 


Editing

A fade in/out is also used to show a passive of time, this is used to show that the man has changed location and is not sat on the sofa instead of on a chair around a table. A deep focus is also used when the boy is laid on the bed and the photo is blurred to show the boys facial expressions. Shot reverse shot is also used when the boy is speaking to the girl on the phone, this is used to show both their facial expressions throughout the conversation.


Mise-en-scene

The main setting in the film is the house which they both live in. The props which are used in the film are cigarettes and the book which the man reads. The facial expressions on the boys faces shows that he is sad and going through a hard time looking after his father and then the man looks sad as he knows that he is dying and that he has forgotten who his son is due to his illness. Low key lighting is used as the film is filmed in black and white to give is a depressing theme and both the characters are unhappy, therefore the lighting portrays the emotions shown in the film.

Sound
Diagetic sound is used at the beginning of the film when the man moves the the next page in his book, this is diagetic as the character can hear the noise. Non-diagetic sound is also played throughout the film and is a range of instruments and sound clips which add tension and emotion to the film. During parts of the film dialogue is also used when the man and the boy speak to each other. Synchronous sound is also used at the beginning of the film when the man is tapping his fingers on the arm chair at the same time we can hear the tap so therefore the action matches the sound. Incidental music is also used in the short film when the man is talking about his life and how he is unwell, the music is very sad and depressing and fits in with the dialogue. 


What is in the title sequence and credits?
 The credits are shown at the end of the short film. It begins with the name of the film in the middle of a black screen and then goes onto who starred in the film, edited and sound at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. The writing is white with the background black. This matches as the whole film is filmed in black and white throughout.