This short film, directed by Patryk Rebisz, is composed of entirely 2,000 still images. It entails the story of a young woman who takes pictures of every detail of her life. When an horrendous attack causes her to leave behind her beloved camera, a man must attempt to track down the mysterious woman with only the clues of the camera's pictures.
Analysis
Dominant: Our eyes in this picture is attracted to the only character in the shot. The woman positioned a little to the left of the mid-center. She is posing as she takes a picture of herself in her house as she starts her day.
Subsidiary contrasts: The main eye stops after taking in the dominant is the camera itself and the woman's hands. They both take up the remaining room of the image. We usually look for animated things, not stationary. It's interesting to see the woman through her camera screen because its a new perspective choice.
Angle: In the image above, the angle of this shot is neutral or eye level. We are looking at the protagonist directly at her as she is taking a picture of herself. Also, in the picture below is a high angle of the second protagonist, the man, who is trying to find the home of the woman to return her camera.
Lighting Key: The lighting has a high key. The rising sun is the source of the light and gives the shot a bright glow. There is a high contrast between the brightness of the sun and the dark figure of the woman. She is almost silhouetted out because of we cannot see the light on her directly.
Shot and Camera Proxemics: As we see the character's morning routines, there is a small camera proximity. The shot of the woman spreading peanut butter on toast is a close up. The proxemic is demonstrating the intimacy the audience is developing for the characters as they get to know their habits and personalities. In contrast, the camera has a large proximity during the assault scene with the young woman. Because of the lack of intimacy and violence, the director chooses to shoot the scene in a extreme long shot. This portrays the helplessness of the woman as the audience feels far away from the action.
Color values: What is the dominant color? Are there contrasting foils? Is there color symbolism? The dominant color of the picture above is mainly black and brown. These are gritty colors and symbolizes evil and corruptness. The assaulter has evil intentions of taking advantage of the helpless young woman.
Lens/ Filter/ Stock: A still image camera was used to create the short film. Although the film was jumpy, it was fluid enough to avoid being distracting. It added a uniqueness that complemented the storyline. A wide angle lens was used throughout.
Density: Throughout the film, there is moderate visual information packed into the image. Mostly, the visual information consists of the character(s) and/ or the background of the city/ what action they are doing. The texture is moderate in the film.
Composition: In the film, there are mostly horizontal lines as the characters look in certain directions. Characters are usually in the center or side of the shot in CUs.
Form: The form is open. The image suggest a window that arbirarily isolatees a fragment of the scene in the visual elements are carefully arranged and held in balance.
Framing: The framing in a way is restricting. Because of the use of still images, the characters have to be in all the shots, forming the framing to be tight The characters have room to move around as the camera moves with them and continues taking pictures of the actors.
Film Style
According to David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, there are four general steps when analyzing film style in a film or of a director.
1. The film has a basic three story act in the narrative and story is linear.
2. The director and cinematographer uses still images to portray the story. He used a total of about 2,000 still images. The cinematographer used a lot of CU shots, pans, high angle shots, and action shots (moving with the actor and actress).
3. The wide variety of shots exemplifies the distinctness of the city. The use of close ups help create a intimate relationship between audience and character. The "pans" and high angle shots help show the aesthetic beauty of the environment. The action shots help emphasize the quickness of the characters' lives.
4. The rapid use of still images to tell the story shows the fast-paced lives of the characters. Although in the city life doesn't slow down, the young woman takes the time to stop and take pictures of her surroundings. This appreciation of life is what makes capturing the moments on film unique.
