The short film 'A Message From Fallujah'
The majority of this short film is Linear however some short scene are Non Linear as the person being held captive (Daniel) has flashbacks of his wife and his family when they were all together in the past. The storyline of this film is similar in some ways to ours, the story line of this film is set in war-torn Iraq, this short film centers on Daniel Crane, an American civilian engineer who is kidnapped by an extremist group and held ransom in a tiny room. In an impossible situation, he manages to escape his captives but finds himself in a nightmarish realm outside his prison. This is similar to our film in ways such as our character is kidnapped and is held in a tiny room and won't be released until the ransom money is with the kidnapper.
A screen shot of Daniel having a flashback of his wife:
The characters in this film aren't exactly similar however Daniel who is held ransom is put in the same situation as our character who is held ransom, he is helpless alone and is oblivious to where he is and knows there is very little chance of escape. Also the character is shown to be very inferior to his kidnappers, which all above is similar way our character who is kidnapped is shown to look in our short film he is held in a room with no idea where he is and how he has got into the situation. The kidnappers in this short film are all superior characters and have a lot of control which is the profile that the kidnapper in our film has he is very superior and has control over the character who has been kidnapped destiny.
Title sequence in this short film is very simple it has a black background and all the credits coming up are white font and small in size. This is very simple however shows the genre is a thriller as the black background connotes things such as darkness, mystery, tension which are all aspects of Thriller genre. Also the simplicity of it can also draw your attention more to the credits and the names of the actors/actresses, directors and producers etc. as the black background and white font makes it more bolder and the audience may notice this more and not be distracted by anything else coming up on the title sequence such as images as this title sequence doesn't include images or videos on it. The sounds/music on the title sequence are effective and still relate to the film as the beginning of the title sequence begins with a woman who appears to be addressing an audience informing them of the situation in Iraq where the movie was based which reminds the audience of the theme of the film until the end then the music begins slowly building over the voiceover until the title sequence has finished.
Editing in this film is used effectively to relate well to the genre and theme. There is a lot of fast paced editing used through jump cuts which are essential in keeping the scenes looking dramatic and chaotic which can be confusing for the audience to understand the situation however this a positive as it keeps the audience intrigued and interested throughout the scene. Flash backs also are used within this short film helps the audience understand what has happened in the past to Daniel (the character kidnapped) as he has flashbacks back to memories he shared with his wife and son which shows the audience he was a family man which helps the audience relate to Daniel and also feel more emotions to him in his situation as they know some of his past.
Variety of Cinematography methods is used throughout this film. The first shot being an establishing shot to allow the audience to get an understanding and know the location of the film, the establishing shot looks over a town in Iraq. Plenty of Mid shots and Shot Reverse shots are used throughout the film when characters are engaging in conversation in the first few minutes of the film this is so the audience can see who the characters are and establish who is who in the film. Shot Reverse shots are effective when the men are in conversation and allows the audience to see which characters are speaking to each other. A few of the shots in this film are at a canted angle to show the audience that the situation the character is in isn't right and is very strange and possibly dangerous. This is an unusual awkward camera shot. Long shots are also used in the short film to allow the audience to see characters in full length to show what position they're in what they're wearing. Also a lot of high angles are used on Daniel (the character kidnapped which shows the audience he is inferior to his kidnappers and that the kidnappers have dominance over him and the situation and that he has no control what so ever.
Misenscene in this short film is similar to how it is in other Thriller films based around the theme of Kidnap/Ransom. Low lighting in this short film is used when Daniel is being held captive this is essential within these types of scenes allow the audience to understand that what is happening in this scene is very dark, negative, dangerous and even scary. It makes the audience feel the situation is dangerous for Daniel. The general colors used when Daniel is kidnapped are also dark and quite dull, these colors make the scene seem sad or scary and make Daniel the character appear lonely. The costume wore by the kidnappers in this short film is military/army style showing they are powerful characters are they in a force and show they have power and are superior to Daniel. The props used in this short film are mainly weapons such as guns and knives which are deadly and dangerous weapons however are really powerful which show that the holders of these weapons are dangerous yet dominant characters. The makeup of Daniel in this short film is minimal however makeup has been put on Daniel that is made to look like blood and scratches/grazes on his face, to show he has been a victim to some violence by his kidnappers. Also the makeup that Daniel has on makes him look pale, which is effective in the scenes he's held captive as it shows the audience how mentally and physically hurt Daniel is.
An example of the low lighting used in the film:
An example of the Misenscene ( costume and makeup on Daniel. )
Sound/Music in this short film the music builds a lot of tension when there's a situation that is occurring that is dangerous, suspense or scary. The music usually begins soft and slowly builds as more things begin to occur usually building up to a big event then as the event is about to happen the music gets louder and more fast paced, once the event/situation has happened the music begins getting quieter and comes to an end. This film has quite chaotic scenes and the music added to the scenes makes it feel even more chaotic as the music is fast paced and quite loud. Some of the sounds once Daniel has been kidnapped and is shown in quick shots being attacked and stuck in a room are non diagetic sounds like electric tools which make the audience assume he has been attacked with one of these and also gun shots which make the audience think he has been shot or may even be dead. Also you can hear diagetic sounds of Daniel screaming which indicates he is in severe pain.
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