memories

my analysis on the short film memories

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85HDu87TGy0

 

 

 

Mise en scene

 

 

We immediately see that his surroundings are very dull and quite low key this may suggest this man has a very dull and low life with a boring lifestyle to match. we also see that he is an old man and in some points of the clip high key light is used to highlight is facial wrinkles to make it obvious to the audiencce what age group he is in. He is wearing a black coat which means he doesnt stand out from the scene and doesnt look aobnormal. He is also wearing a stripy scarf. As he starts finding film i think the scarf may also be linked to this as the scarf vaguely looks like film with its black slots for an image. His memory is a bright sepia coloured frame and this indicates he has a happy bright past the body language of the boy and facial expressions also suggest this as he is smiling. The little boy in the memory is wearing a black coat which is an immediate link to the old man and the little boy suggesting that the little boy is him when he was younger. We are then back to his present life as the scene becomes dull again however when he finds another memory it is the same colour as the first one a sepia bright coloured clip. In this clip there is a middle aged man with a women the man is wearing a stripy scarf and a black coat this again is an immediate link to what the old man is wearing and suggests this is also him when he was a middle aged man. We then in the next memory see a man in a stripy jumper which matches the stripy scarf wich the old man is wearing indicating again this is the same man. The man smiles at the memory so we get a sense of recognition as he keeps finding the memories. We see him dragging the film up a hill this may indicate that he has a huge collection of memories which he may have forgotten about. it may also suggest that his memorie are a burden on him. His home is also quite badly lit and dull looking suggesting that he is low in his life now. He goes to look at his memories but the pictures turn black this may suggest of him loosing his memory. This could indicate anything from dementia to death as his life 'flashes before his eyes'. The clip ends by turning into a slit which may reprisent his eyes and seeing him drag his hand across the book which may suggest him clinging on to the last of his memories before the frame turns completely black which may suggest he has lost himself or his life.

Editing

At the begining of the clip the title of the film fades in. An action match is used as he walks across the road this is to make the action look more fluent and gives us two perspective and angles to what him crossing the road and makes us feel like surrounding poublic who are in the street this keeps the audience engrossed into the film and story. An eye line match is used to the film around his leg so we can see that the film is supposed to be a main focus point. The other clip is a cut away and is edited to look like an old bad quality film to suggest that it is an old memory. There is then another cut away used to another memory which looks the same suggesting this is also an old memory of the mans. His face fades in so we can gain gradual focus onto the mans face and see his facial expression. Short takes are used when he is finding all the film strips to suggest he is making quite a collection and each scene fades into the other to make a smooth transistion and makes is easy for the audience to follow the story and establish what is happening. A fade in is also used to when he has his photo album to suggest he is in a different enviroment and to introduce this new setting to the audience slowly so they have time to see where the character is.The photo's begin to fade by first going to white then black this suggests his memories are fading away and that he forgetting his past. The screen then goes to a slit which looks like an eye lid so it allows the veiwers to see things from the mans persepctive and makes the viewers more involved in the story and also makes to story feel more personal to the veiwer. We then see more memories that take up the whole frame as we see them fading into white again suggesting his memory is fading away. The clip ends by fading into black suggesting this man cant fade anymore and his life has been forotten into the darkness.

sound

At first we hear the diagetic sound of the cars and him crossing the road so we are aware of this reality and recognise the everyday life noises. We then hear the diagetic sound of the film getting caught onto his leg so the audience becomes curious to what his has just walked through and creates curiosity between the audience and the man. When he see's the first memory we instantly hear the piano begin to play. This is a soundtrack by the Silence called Runalong and is the acoustic version. Although through out the clip he is smiling at his memories the music sound quite sad and suggests an emotional connection and even sorrow. The lyrics of the song are also quite sinister and upsetting as the first lyric is ''you may cast of your skin'' which may suggest the man doesnt want to be who he was in the past but he has forgotten all the good times he had in his past. This soundtrack then continues throught the clip and acts as a soundbridge throughout the clip linking the scenes together. We still hear the diagetic noises of the footsteps and the street so we are still aware of the real worl and its reality. When the short takes are happening a piano solo takes place i think this is because the piano makes an emotional connection to the audience and suggests emotionall connection between the man and his film with memories on them. When the end of the clip is near the piano sounds almost like a heart beat as it begins to slow down suggesting he is dying and loosing his hope and past. A loud sting is then used to empasise the drama of the blackness.

camera angles and movement

At first a wide angle shot is used to we can see the main character and his surroundings. A panning shot is then used at he walks across the road this is so he becomes the main focus point as we follow him. There is then the use of a close up on his face when he walks into the film so we clearly see his confusion. There is then a close up on the film to state its significance. A high angle is used on the film as he holds it up i think this is to make the audience feel like a peeping tom as were trying to see what it is. A deep shot is used so we see the main character but also subjects in the background and cars so we are still aware of the reality. Then the camera zooms in on the film till the picture becomes the whole frame and the clip begins to play this is so the audience feel drawn into the pictute and are then really intrigued when the clip begins to play. There is then an extreme cclose up onto the mans eyes because this is what we use to express emotion and we clearly see from his wrinkles he is smiling and happy to have seen the memory. Rolling shots are used often in this clip i think this is to make the audience feel like a member of the ongoing public who are passing him by in the street and creates more of a connection between the storyline and the audience as they feel more involved. The depth of field changes as he sees another film it goes from a shallow depth of field to an extended depth of field this is so they both become in focus and suggests they both have significance. One of his memories finishes with a close up of a mans face this then fades into a close up of the older mans face suggesting this is who he was and shows the audience who he is now. A  horizontal tilt is used to show the man looking at the film this is so we can follow this camera movement nd be aware of what he is looking at. Close ups are used on his hands to show him grabbing the different pieces of films i think this is so we can see him reach out for his past and clutching another memory to watch. A wide angle shot is used to see him dragging the film so again we feel as a veiwer like a member of the public and we can establish the settings around him. A crane shot is used to see him reading and looking through his album in his home making us feel again like a peeping tom looking over him. An estreme close up is used on his eye before his flashback i think this is to suggest we are about to see what this man hs seen throughout his life.