The first shot is an establishing shot to
reveal the setting which is a field of wheat. The setting has very low-key
lighting, which creates a dull and gloomy atmosphere, reflected by pathetic
fallacy, as the sky seems to look stormy and grey. This also sets up the
equilibrium, as everything seems normal, due to the way the camera pans down
and over the field, using cross fades to emphasise how desolate the area is. A
cut to a close up of the wheat is used to slowly tilt up the creaky sign that’s
swinging in the wind. Again, this suggests how deserted this place is, and the
diegetic squeaking sound of the sign emphasises the lack of life and noise in
the area. The camera continues to pan up the swinging sign to reveal a crow;
this creates a sinister atmosphere, as crows are usually associated with death.
The camera then focuses back on the wheat,
and uses close ups and cross fades to emphasise how we are going further down
into the wheat. The camera slowly pans across a phone lying in the wheat, and
the diegetic beeping sound adds greater enigma in terms of Barthes theory of enigma
codes, due to the way it causes the audience to wonder where the owner of this
phone is. It's clear that someone has been cut off mid conversation due to the diegetic beeping sound, which raises a lot of questions as to why, perhaps this person has been attacked. The camera continues to pan its way across the field floor as it
reaches another object, which is someone’s handbag with money sprawled out
across the floor. This amplifies the enigma as the audience begin to raise even
more questions about whose personal belongings these are. The camera continues
to pan across, and suddenly a hand enters the frame and grasps hold of some
wheat, suggesting this person is in pain, which is confirmed by the diegetic
sound of a woman screaming. The camera then reveals some bloody underwear which
increases the tension and raises the enigma as we begin to wonder what’s going
on. The camera then pans across to a dirty looking foot which is squirming
about, this along with the diegetic screaming, conveys that this person is in
severe pain. The use of restricted narration means we don’t get to see who this
foot belongs to, which raises the enigma even more, in terms of Barthes theory,
as we continue to wonder what’s happening to this women. The fact she has no
shoes on and her personal belongings are scattered, suggests to the audience
that she’s been robbed and left to die. In terms of Todorov’s model, this is
the disruption phase, as the normality and loneliness of the field is disturbed
by this woman that’s in pain. It also suggests to the audience that this woman
is the hero, in terms of Propp’s theory of Folk Tale, as she’s seeking pain
relief and most likely some help. The squirming and wriggling of her foot
suddenly stops, which conveys that she’s died, however, her identity still
remains hidden as restricted narration is sustained.
A knife is suddenly thrust into the ground
into the same shot as the motionless foot, this is accompanied by a sudden
burst of sinister non-diegetic music, which conveys that something very bad has
just happened, and it also follows Thriller conventions as the tension is
maximised to generate anxiety amongst the audience. The hand is also covered in
blood, which suggests that whoever this hand belongs to, has something to do
with the woman’s fate. The camera abruptly cuts to a medium close up of the
crow again, which emphasises the assumption of death. The camera then cuts to a
medium close up, and the camera slowly tilts up an unknown character’s body,
revealing a farmers costume, consisting of dungarees and a white vest, which is a stereotypical 'Hillbilly' character. The camera
also displays a tattoo, suggesting that this character is somewhat dangerous.
Danger is also conveyed by the way in which the camera tilts up the character
at a low angle; it makes this character seem threatening and dominant, perhaps
suggesting a villain character in terms of Propp's theory of Folk Tale. Once
the camera finally reaches the face, it’s confirmed that this character is a
male. His hair is long and scruffy, and another part of his costume consists of
a hat, making him seem rather messy and dirty. The camera then uses shallow
depth of field to focus on the crow in the background; this makes the male
character seem guilty as he acknowledges the crow watching him. The camera then
displays a long shot positioned behind the male character and we are positioned to believe that he's peering around
the field to check that no one else is present. A cut is made to a low angle,
slight worms eye view shot of his legs as he runs away from the woman,
conveying that he’s guilty of something, and therefore suggesting that he’s the
bad person, and that the woman was the good person, in terms of Strauss’ theory
of binary oppositions. The camera then turns around with the man as he turns
and runs. This is also the recognition phase in terms of Todorov's theory as he
realises what’s happened and runs away. The cuts become fast paced as he
fumbles around in a car, perhaps looking for something. The camera constantly
refers back to the crow which caws non-stop as if trying to alert someone and
get help. The non-diegetic music builds up to a high tension point as the
camera displays a close up of the man holding a black sack, which insinuates to
us that he’s going to put the woman’s body in the sack, which again confirms
that he’s the villain in terms of Propp’s theory of Folk Tale, but also
suggests that this is the Confrontation phase in terms of Todorov’s model, as
the man tries to hide and confront what’s happened. The non-diegetic music then
comes to an abrupt stop and a diegetic thump sound erupts into the scene. The
camera cuts to an extreme close up of the man’s eyes peering over the open
bonnet to see what made the noise, which creates enigma in terms of Barthes
theory of enigma codes as we don’t know what made that noise either.
The non-diegetic music becomes very tense
as he stares at the crow tapping the car. Shallow depth of field is used to
demonstrate the stare off between the man and the crow causing suspense. The
man eventually stomps away from the car with a pink blanket, which is followed
by a low angle shot which uses shallow depth of field to highlight the man
coming towards the body and causing tension. Worm’s eye view is used as the man
kneels down over the body with the blanket as if he’s going to place it over
her face, which is when the non-diegetic music stops and diegetic sound of a
baby crying begins alongside sympathetic non-diegetic music that completely flips
the tense atmosphere to an affectionate atmosphere. A medium close up displays
the woman handing over the baby wrapped up in the pink blanket to the man whose
facial expression changes from serious to delight at the sight of the new born.
The camera sweeps to the right slightly, revealing the sweaty woman who’s
obviously just given birth, and also revealing the new equilibrium in terms of
Todorov’s model as it differs from the starting equilibrium being a normal
field of wheat and now being the birth place of a child. It also stops the
restricted narration, and allows unrestricted narration to show the audience
the face of this female character and what happened to her.
The camera cuts to a close up of the woman
as she says “Thank you” to the man, which reveals that this short film has
completely misled us to believe that the male character was the villain and bad
person in terms of Levi Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions and Propp’s
theory of Folk Tale, due to the way the non-diegetic music and camera movements
constructed the way in which the audience see the man. Contrastingly, he’s
actually the good person and the hero in terms of Levi Strauss’ theory of
binary oppositions and Propp’s theory of
Folk Tale, as he aided the woman in giving birth and successfully delivered her
baby, this is also confirmed by the end establishing shot that shows his
tractor abandoned in the field that belongs to him, and the car that belongs to
the woman that was clearly driving by when she suddenly went into labour and
luckily stumbled upon a farmer who helped her.
Diegetic music of sirens begins playing;
conveying justice and help, creating a happy ending for the short film which
was completely unexpected due to the carefully constructed themes.
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