All That Remains.
Dialogue
The dialogue is quite minimal with the main character and others, he comes across as a very irritated and egoistical person, most probably since the catastrophe occurring - it made him this way. He is a man of very few words and has a very serious tone, showing that he has to be to survive. With lack of words it makes the film very suspenseful as you are not sure what is going to occur next. However, he can seem to be nice and generous to some people he comes across, such as when he says to someone else 'Do you have any water', and then gives a stranger water. But he also comes across as harsh when someone asked him if he could follow him, and he replied a short and blunt 'No'. He is a very difficult character to get a sense of with very little dialogue. However, dialogue is not needed that constant as the short film is mainly about his journey and fights with other gangs, the action makes up for the limited words.
Sound Effects
There are many sound effects used which helps the overall short film seem more intense and overwhelming. Obviously they are using sound effects for the gun shots, but they found gun shots which seem very fitting and perfect for each gun. Moreover, there is slashing sound effects when they stab someone with a knife which makes it sound more Gorey and entertaining and when the knifes connect there is added noises which sounds great. They also add in sound effects when they are simply moving or grabbing items which would be quiet in real life so adding the sound effects make it a better experience for the audience. They also add in screams and grunts to make the fighting intense and extreme, if it was silent it would not be enjoyable to watch at all. Lastly they have added some simple ambient sounds that make it seem more life like such as the wind in the background and bird noises. Overall they did a great job with sound effects and I am very impressed.
Non-Diegetic Sound
Intense music:
They have added intense music within the fighting scenes which makes it more exciting to watch, and gets us grabbing onto our seats to see what happens next. Without music it would be a very dull fight so this is a great technique they have added.
Calming music at end:
Juxtaposing to the intense music, right at the end after a legendary fight, they play calming and gentle music right after. Showing the protagonist is finally at peace whilst walking off into the distance. It is a great scene and they have pulled it off extremely well.
Dark sounds:
When a scenario is silent they have added dark sounds such as low piano sounds to get rid of the awkward silence which is a smart and effective technique.
Camera movements, angles and shots
Tracking shot:
At the very beginning we see a tracking shot, following the action of the of a guy going backwards for his life then gets trapped both ways. It makes the scene more inetense as there is a lot more movement and makes it more pure, making us feel like we are there in the scene with him.
Tilt shot:
At the beginning we see a tilt shot going upwards at a character, this makes the audience feel smaller as we are looking upwards at him whilst the camera is going upwards gradually. This makes the character feel very superior and the audience on the other hand powerless as he is looking down at us with a very noble pose.
High Angle:
Then a high angle shot is shown, this makes the character who just had a tilt shot of him more significant and the captured human a lot less. It is shot over his shoulder so he has the upper ground looking below the captured human, giving the audience an impression that he is worthless compared to him.
Extreme Long shot:
Later on, an extreme long shot is used. This is used to show the setting around him, of what kind of area he is in. The land is very basic, with no life seen at all. The colour correction of black and grey make the surrounding seem even more dead and the rusty boat shown in the shot expresses what the post-apocalyptic world has resulted to, everything is slowly dying.
Low angle:
Then whilst the fighting is happening below ground, the protagonist, another character from the beginning, comes along on a high ledge. We see a low angle which increases the height of him, and makes him feel more dominant and us and the other characters powerless. The background is plain, being the sky, which focuses us on him.
Close up:
After the fight they show a close up of the protagonist. He shows that he didn't care by saying he cant follow him, even though he just saved him. However, we see he has an even more generous whilst is a close up of his face saying 'Walk with the sun to your back, that will lead you to a village'. The close up gets the audience to see his real emotion, that he does have a very charming side also. We see that he does care. The shot focuses on him with a blurred background, which magnifies himself and shows how important he is and skillful.
Editing
Slow motion:
Slow motion is used many times throughout, when the protagonist is walking alone by himself. When something is slowed down, it brings our vision in higher focus. slow motion makes the scenario more intense as it allows much of us to be taken in. This is done when he is alone so we get sympathy that being in a post-apocalyptic setting is a very lonely place that you can not trust anyone. It makes it extremely more effective than being in normal time pace.
Dissolve:
At the end of the short film we see a dissolve overlapped when he kills the significant character shown at the beginning of the film. We see his head drop dissolving over whilst he walks off into the distance, showing he is at peace. This is very popular to use at the end of scenes and is a very great ending as it is a very effective technique.
Blood:
They add in blood when someone gets shot or stabbed which make it look very surreal which I love. Without these added effects it would look very stupid and unnatural but they seem to pull it off well, making the blood direction and amount very realistic.
Colour Correction:
They have colour corrected it extremely well. Making the overall short film very dark, dull and bland. They have colour corrected it so they have made the short film yellow, with browns and blacks giving it a sort of mad max feel about it. Making the colour correction in this way makes the audience feel very depressed so it has worked very well.
Mise-en-scene
The costume design of the characters are amazing. Typically in short films they are not that great and focused less on costume design, however in this it amazes you. It is very similar to the professionalism of mad max. In other short films you generally see camouflaged outfits, which is very overdone - so it is nice and welcoming to see something different. They all wear scarfs, expensive skull masks, googles, old fashioned bags, gloves, bland jacks and other clothing which all look old and wearied down which adds to the surrealism. Moreover, they also use many props that look realistic and make the short film that much more enjoyable. Within the short film we see many guns, bow and arrows, telescopes and other objects that make the short film entertaining and real life like. Not a lot of make up is used as it is not necessary as most wear scarfs or masks. You can see some make up that simply makes them look dirty and like they have been in fights and not had showers for a while. The expressions on there faces are very professional as they all keep a serious face throughout and there gestures are more and less very surreal also. The setting is perfect for a post-apocalyptic setting as it has barley any life within it and the trees and plants look like they are dying also, a long with human life. They have done a very good job with the colour correction and lighting as it looks very depressing and old by using very dark colours, using grays and yellow. This makes the overall situation even more depressing and miserable.
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