Surrealist Short Films Research
Air
I chose this surrealist film to analyse as I am interested in the fact there is a strong and powerful message behind it. This makes the film engaging and captivating. It is not just a sequence of random clips put together with no narrative whatsoever.
The most stand out thing about 'Air’ is the cinematography. I particularly like how lighting is manipulated which makes the film more polished and professional. The filmmaker has thought about composition which makes the film more engaging for the spectator. As well as this the filmmaker has created a clever narrative as each scene follows nicely into the next while keeping the surrealist lack of time and effect. The filmmaker incorporates an appropriate colour palette for the film. It lacks bright and vibrant colours to perhaps be illustrating the dullness of the world as it has been destroyed. This makes the film very sophisticated. It also articulates to the spectator the emptiness of the world. This is further done through the emptiness of the room and the use of extreme long shots when outside. This also shows the scale of the destruction. The spectator sees little nature and no animals which makes the world look a dull and sorrowful place. While creating an uneasy feeling of where they have gone.
I like that the film has a strong message which is hinted to in the film which is to stop air pollution. The gas mask acts as a motif for this message and also demonstrating the seriousness of pollution. This does create meaning to the film as a whole but does not disrupt the scenes being random and having that surrealist touch. For my own surrealist film, I like the idea of there being an overall context to the film, but the scenes individually are random and lead to the spectator being confused but not too much that interest is lost.
'Air' has demonstrated that surrealism can be an abstracted view of reality but not so abstract that the possibility of it happening is impossible. It uses the abstracted reality to support their message that air pollution is very hazardous and needs to be fixed before it is too late. For my own surrealist film, I would like to carry forward this idea of an abstracted reality but has a justified and clear context as to why random surrealist things are taking place.
Sound is used throughout, especially non-diegetic, to create a dark and unsettling atmosphere. From the start there is heavy rumbling music which sets a tense and unnerving tone for the rest of the short film. It reflects similar features to a horror film especially with the high-pitched screeching. I also liked that they used motivated light which gave the impression of light manipulation. This has encouraged me to think more about making my film more interesting with motivated and properly used lighting. Therefore, I will do a series of trials to ensure I am maximising the use of light in my short surrealist film.
A key element of the surrealist genre is lack of time and order. I feel that this short film has successfully incorporated this. The filmmaker has used overlays which illustrate the manipulation of time. The fact time is not operating as it should. It could be also conveying the idea that the world is glitching. As well as this the time it is set is unclear. The quality of the film and it being in black and white give it a more vintage look. His costume also confusing. It is old fashioned, but the cars then contrast this by being modern. I feel the filmmaker has distorted time effectively and I want to explore this when I make my short film.
I feel the character lacked emotion and depth which ultimately resulted in a lack of intrigue on the character’s fate. It has led me to think further on how to articulate to the spectator how to feel about the lead character of my short surrealist film. I did like that the character had a more expressive walk. It was slow and awkward which made it seem something was off about him. Perhaps the different versions of him in different dimensions has made him glitch. Cinematography also positions us at a distance from the character most of the film which prevents us having a connection or feeling toward the character. In my surrealist I plan to articulate emotional depth so you are sided with the character’s suffering which I feel will make the film engaging. As it seems the film was made by one person who acted in it while also filming it, it did lack cinematic elements such as camera movement. I feel this would have further made the film have an uneasy and unsettling atmosphere which would have made it more engaging.
I though Dimensions Apart well explored the surrealist genre and incorporated many themes which are conventional in surrealist film such as lack of effect, meaning and time. It also has a surrealist narrative as the opening ended ending doesn’t answer any questions and even creates more. It has given me ideas on how to manipulate setting to leave the spectator with many unanswered questions. It has also made me think more about light manipulation as well as positioning to ensure my message is articulated to the spectator.
I did enjoy the manipulation of time which was done through editing. I feel I will include slow motion in my surrealist film to articulate confusing and fatigue. This film was well edited which made it look professional. The colouring of the film made it look put together and uniform, this I will also try do in my own surrealist film.
I did enjoy the use of camera movement. The most rememberable being the quick pan from the intertitles to Gordon. I thought it was very clever and further help distort the spectator’s perception of setting. Extreme close ups create a closer connection between the spectator and characters. Overall, the film used a diverse use of camera shots and movement.
The sound in Gordon made it more professional and neater. The diegetic sound was clear and didn’t have an echo. This has encouraged me to look further into how to improve sound in film. I have been looking into microphones to make sure sound is picked up as well as considering adding diegetic sound in post-production by matching it. I also enjoyed the use of non-diegetic sound e.g., the music. I have been exploring songs that are related to the theme of my film add more excitement to the film. It creates a variety in sound.
I feel Gordon would have been improved if the narrative was more in keeping with the surrealist genre. The ending was predictable and closed which left the spectator with no confusing or questions. The narrative could be more random and unexpected which would have been relating to the theme of lacking cause and effect. In L’Age D’Or and Un Chien Andalou the ending creates more questions and leave the spectator confused and unsettled.
Gordon gave me a more comprehensive understanding on how to make a successful short film in general but not a surrealist short film. The narrative was too linear for a surrealist film and needed an unexpected twist to confuse and unsettle the spectator. The film was very successful cinematically which has inspired me for mine. It has also made me think more about the narrative to make sure it is shocking.
The film uses extreme close ups at the start to conceal information from the spectator. This creates confusion and uncertainty in the spectator. I also like the use of camera movement. There is a lot of camera movement at the start which creates unease and instability. The filmmaker has also put a lot of effort into considering composition. There is lots of negative space which could be showing the scale of his loneliness. For my surrealist film I will put lots of consideration into composition.
I also thought the quality was very clear which has caused me to consider filming on my camera rather than my phone. Therefore, I will do a trial on both my camera and phone to decide which would be most effective when filming.
Sound is cleverly used for example the film uses asynchronous sound when the male character screams. This manipulates emotion and narrative given the film a more surrealist touch. The film also distorts diegetic sound. Then the character speaks the spectator is unsure of what is trying to be said. Makes it seem like reality is glitching.
The performance in ‘Reality’ is strong and articulates to spectator the character’s struggle and discomfort. We are positioned to be sympathetic towards him as it seems to be some sort of emotional torture. However, at the end when the character breaks the fourth wall the spectator is unsettled by the creepy grin on the character’s face.
I do also like the repeating object of the juggling ball. It is seeming to have some sort of significance but to the spectator the reason as to why is has significance is misunderstood.
This confuses the spectator and leaves many possibilities on why it could be of any significance, perhaps it could be a motif for something.
I enjoyed elements of Reality. I felt it gave me a greater understanding of the surrealist genre as it had a confusing narrative and lacked cause and effect. The narrative kept the spectator engaged while still concealing lots of information. Although a successful surrealist film, I personally didn’t like the disturbing and horror like tone. Therefore, for mine I have been inspired by elements of this film but will give them my own twist so they are in a style I like.
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