Still Frame Analysis

As you can see, the character in this shot is in a dark area of the shot. This could signify the emotions of the character. An example of this could be the feeling of loneliness and he is at this point battling against the words of other people. This could also connote that mental health is deep, dark, emotional matter than leads people to feel lonely and take their life.

In contrast, the rest of the room has been lit up by the what appears to be the sun. The difference between the dark area and the light shows the difference in atmosphere. This could also signify that despite having a mental problem, there is a light at the end of the tunnel that can be reached with help.

The positioning of the character shows that he is sitting down which could be considered to be weak. Furthermore, the positioning of the head was facing down which signifies the emotional state he is in. Furthermore, the character is the dominant in the frame.

In addition, the shot uses low key lighting. This signifies to the audience the mood and the atmosphere of the shot. Its also used in this shot to isolate the character. This can connote the life of someone that is affected by mental health. Also, low key lighting is used to make the shot feel more dramatic. This makes the short film more enjoyable to watch for the audience. It also makes the shot dark which could signify the characters mind.

This shot was taken in a different short film however its still based on mental health. This shot is a close up the character that has been affected with mental health. A close up shot provides the audience the facial expressions of the character. In this case, the eyes are dominant in the frame. From this the audience can see how the characters emotion are. His eyes seem as if he is in a blank feeling. You can imply that he seems shocked with something as his emotions are plain faced. Furthermore, the shot has low key lighting. Just like in the last shot it signifies that it isolates the character and makes the shot feel more dramatic. Depth of field has also been used in the shot whcih signifies that the focus is on the character in the shot. This could connote that everything else is distant from him as its difficult to see the background. This would relate to the state of emotion a person with mental health problems may have. The frame is very tight as it only focused on the eyes.

For this page, i will be analysing the still shots from other short films that are related to our film of mental health. I will analyse the shots with the lighting used, the dominants in the frame, depth of field, the framing and discussing the mise en scene and how its use in the shot affects the audience.

Nadia

One of the first shots of this short film shows the camera position behind a student and the backgorund of a classroom. We know this because the mise en scene presents itself with a whiteboard, tables and chairs. These are common objects situated in a school classroom. In terms of camera, its positioning shows that the perspective of the girl to her classmates and teacher. At this point she is caught on her phone and she is centre of attention. The medium long shot shows standing above the pupils and the camera is below him. Remembering that the camera is the student's perspective, this signifies that the teacher has the power in this shot. Furthermore, there is a depth of field on the girl. This could signify the isolation of the girl to her classmates. In contrast, her classmates are in focus and there are positioning to be starring at her which connotes that they too seem to have more power than she does.

The next shot is low key lighting with minimal light used. You can barely make out the character walking in the middle of the frame. Using the addition of rule of third, the light in the frame is the first attraction to the audience. The director has used this because the audience will be able to see the character walking through the light and into darkness.This not only could signify that the girl may be having her troubles but also has been positioned for the audience to notice this.

The next shot is low key lighting with minimal light used. You can barely make out the character walking in the middle of the frame. Using the addition of rule of third, the light in the frame is the first attraction to the audience. The director has used this because the audience will be able to see the character walking through the light and into darkness.This not only could signify that the girl may be having her troubles but also has been positioned for the audience to notice this.

Lastly, this shot shows the a member of staff of the school thinking about something. At this point in the film, this teacher is having a flashback to what the girl is going through currently. The realtion between the characters creates a warm emotion to the audience. This is because the out of focus depth of field shows a building that can be made out to be a school and secondly, the expressions of the characters face signifies that he is thinking. Thanks to the close up shot, his face is blank and stern with little emotion. This could connote he may be feeling anger towards someone or something. Furthermore, the lighting has been projected onto him signifying that he is the focus of the shot.

Steven Assuncao

Ape

Ape is a short film directed by Josh Hutcherson. The short film is about a mentally sick guy which has to fight against hallucinations which are constantly crossing his mind. It is also shows the development on the entire situation through small actions which can be seen throughout the short film.

The camera angle used here is a worms eye medium close up which acts to show that the main character has a sense of power and that the audience and everyone in the scene is below him. This use of camera shows the definite power difference between the character in question and the characters affected by the power which is held by the character in the image.

The face which the main character pulling shows a sense of disgust however could be a little misleading as it could also be a face of confusion or realisation of what could have happened. In addition the difference between half of the face being light and half the face being in the dark. Could represent the difference between the light and dark in his life and what he has done, For example the dark side may signify all the bad that has happened but also the negative things which he has done or could do. And on the other hand the light can signify the remorse and regret for all the negative things which have happened. In addition this could be the difference between the good and the evil which is crossing through .

In the image you can see that there is a contrast from dark to light coming from the top and bottom edge of the image and also the aim to contain darkness in the character in the centre of the image. The contrast of light can show the battle between the good and evil within his head which can fit into the theme of the mental illness that the good person within the main character is still good however the evil side is more profound seen as though the majority of the image is dark rather than light.

Mateusz Starak

This is a medium shot showing a male and a female both wearing all black outfits. The change of colour from the previous scene shows that he has submitted to the ‘‘dark side’’. This connotes that his personality has changed as a subsequent of him relating himself to the female, he has lost his moral compass.

This is a medium shot showing a male wearing a white shirt and a female wearing a black shirt. The connotations of white are purity, innocence,light, goodness, cleanliness and is seen as a positive colour.

The connotations of black are power, elegance, wrong doing/ illegal, formality, death, evil, and mystery. Black is a color associated with fear and death. It usually has a negative connotation.

They are both equally leveled in the shot signifying that she hasn’t got any superiority over him. The change in contrast of the colours could be representing his conscious as currently he is morally good but could submit.

This is a medium-close up low angle shot. This shows that at that moment in time the criminals are superior as the camera is looking up at them. The black male out of focus in the background this signifies that the white male in focus has the most power and is the leader of the criminals.

The mise en scene of clothing are black pieces with a bandana to cover their mouths. This connotes that they don't want to be identified as they know what they're doing is wrong. The leader is pointing signifies that his intent is to cause harm to whoever stands in his way.

This is a long shot. The reason for this is to show the shift in power as everyone is the same level in height. The facial expressions of the criminals signify that they are a bit scared and confused as ordinary civilians would run away when someone points a knife at them.

The owners of the chicken shop are protecting the injured teenager, This shot is a standoff between the two groups. The owners are wearing a red shirt, this signifies blood,death and harm. This connotes that only one group is making out alive. Most of the characters are holding weapons this reinforces that it’s a fight to the death.