'A terminally ill man glimpses a phantom face in his lung x-ray and spends his final days flyposting an etire city in a desperate search for its owner..'I very much like the concept of this short film, with its original and innovative narrative that explores death and desperation as well as being slightly chilling through use of fast, rapid shots of the 'phantom face' which are used in various points throughout the film. These edited shots are so quick they almost blur into one which could represent the confusion of the whole situation as well as the franticity and desperation. I also find these rapid shots quite frightening, as the actual poster looks rather child like, immediately making it appear much more sinister as its a subject that shouldn't or isn't thought of to be assosiated with young children. The fact that it looks childlike also highlights the capabilities of the dying man, as it is poorly constructed yet appears to have taken everything out of him to create it emphasising the dark situation and his utter feebleness.
The way the character is styled is something I particularly like about this film, appearing unkept and fragile which not only emphasises his ill, weakened state, but also makes him metaphorically invisible, as no passer-by stops to help him or shows concern as he stands grief stricken on the pavement clutching his flyers. This creates a sense of helplessness and sympathy for the character and emphasises how utterly desperate and almost tragic his situation is. Much like the previous short film his costume also depicts realism, with stubble showing a rough, rugged character that is relatable and likable in the sense that the audience wants to help him and wants to see him succeed. The make-up that has been used to style the character emphasises his woeful appearance, with large bags under his eyes and frown lines on his forehead, it gives the audience clues to the kind of restless, frantic lifestyle hes leading in spite of his poor condition which to me makes the character almost admirable through his detirmination.
The location is another stylistic feature I particularly like, as the director has chosen to situate the film in generic areas which represent the mass of the British population, busy dual carriage ways and graffitied street walls. The busy main road I feel is particularly effective, because it represents that no matter how dire your situation, the world continues on, as is shown through the man standing at the road side, watching the busy traffic race past oblivious to his desperate pleas. These kind of representations portray powerful messages, which is something I want to include into our film as I feel most effective dramas will evoke emotion and during a short film its important to achieve this almost instantaneously to grip the audience with a well thought out narrative.
The lighting is very much natural, with no ehancements made. However the director chose to film on a day on which the weather is miserable, dark grey and gloomy with puddles from rain on the ground, adding to the depressing, miserable atmosphere and representing the emotions of the character as he feels bleak.
I particularly like the non-diegetic voice over, of the man narrating and expressing his opinions and thoughts. I find this particularly effective becasue it gives the audience an in-sight to the characters irrational mind, and allows you to become involved within the story. The way his thoughts are repetitive when talking about the phantom face depicts the way his mind is rapidly becoming more and more frenzied and insane, constantly questioning everything around him and creates sympathy for the character. This is something I think would be good to use in our short film, because it gives the character real depth and not only allows you to witness his events and travels, but also hear his emotions and thoughts, seeing the progession as he becomes more desperate near the ending of the film. As we want to create a drama, narration from our main character is something to seriously consider as I want to make it shocking and gripping, almost uncomfortable to watch.
At the end of some of the scenes, like the scene on the train, the camera blurs out of focus to move onto the next which could represent the confusion of the situation, and the way that things are moving on quickly, both in terms of the mans illness and within the real world as the population bustles by, and the man is getting left behind in it all, completely overwhelmed. This creates a strong sense of helplessness and panic as time is running out for the man and the audience immediately sympathise with him. The blurs could also represent how the man has become so obessed with discovering the phantom face, that is always on his mind, its all he cares about and his days just blur into one because he is constantly fretting about and doing the same thing. I think the idea of obession is something I could encorparate, as it really portrays the state of mind of the character and the fact that hes powerless to resist against himself.
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