The Insomniac

 An Evaluation of My Surrealist Film

My short film centred around an insomniac illustrating the repetitive cycle of insomnia and the effects it has on people. 

I used non-diegetic music throughout the short film to create an ominous and eerie atmosphere. I experimented with creating parts of the soundtrack myself which I thoroughly enjoyed and will continue this further with future projects. As the insomniac falls into the abyss of complete tiredness the music switches and the camera start to spin this is to cause discomfort and unease in the spectator as well as them feeling as if they are falling under the spell of tiredness too. The music is parallel to the feelings of the insomniac. Its strained melody and lack of energy is reflective of the insomniac’s lack of energy and paralysing tiredness. 

Before creating my film, I first recorded all my initial ideas of what I could explore. I played with different ideas before drawing a conclusion on what idea to further explore. After researching other surrealist projects, I further developed my ideas and decided to talk about the issue of insomnia. In pre-production I did further research on insomnia so that all sequences in the film had a link whether it was clear or not. I feel this made my film more sophisticated with clever links. I first created a narrative with no surrealist element. This allowed for my film to not lose the spectator’s interest. I then started to adapt the narrative adding in surrealist moments to confuse the spectator but not completely throw them off track. Before any filming occurred, I thought carefully about creating atmosphere. I knew this was going to be a key part in articulating my message as well as setting the tone and mood of the whole film. I also had to make sure that the aesthetics were consistent throughout. This meant that I did trial shots to ensure that the lighting was right, and the location was ominous. Since I wanted my film to have chiaroscuro and very low lighting. I needed to make sure that it was dark enough on screen to create the right atmosphere but not too dark that nothing showed up on camera. 

The key thing I learnt from the film making process and constructing a narrative of a short film is how much work is in pre-production to get the film to flow neatly and have a consistent look. Every aspect of the film can affect the tone, mood and narrative which is why lots of planning is needed. 

My favourite moment is the fish-eating scene. Arguably the most surrealist shot of the film. This scene shocked and disturbed those who viewed it which is successful as that is a convention of typical surrealist cinema. The cross cutting in this sequence sets a nice flow as well as an unpredictability of what the character will do next. I selected the mise en scene carefully for this shot. For example, I chose a goldfish due to its bright colour. Due to the dark nature of the film this brightened up the screen as well as being parallel to the lighting which is also a warm yellow linking all micro elements together. I also focused on composition of the scene to direct the spectator’s focus on the fish to make sure they can see what the character eats. The fish also links to insomnia. As a result of my research, I discovered that fatty fish is one of the foods that helps people sleep. I took a surrealist approach to this fact where a living fish is eaten. This contributes to the surrealist comedy of the film. This is conventional of the surrealist genre as comedy is used to lighten the otherwise dark and disturbing film. 

I experimented with composition to create unbalance. Due to his tiredness a dutch angle and unbalanced composition reflect the insomniac’s unsteadiness. This also makes the spectator unbalanced and uneasy while watching it. I also experimented with a bit of camera movement. The tilting of the camera from side to side creates a feeling of dizziness in the spectator which is reflective of the insomniac’s decline state as he slowly is taken over by sleep. 

Overall, I think the cinematography was successful especially lighting. I feel that the lighting was the strongest part of my film and many of those I spoke to agreed saying it really added to the atmosphere of the film. The lighting was motivated throughout with the harsh lights being intense of both the insomniac’s eyes as well as the spectators. I feel I skilfully manipulated light in my film to enhance the quality of it. Sound was also very successful in my surrealist short film. Again, an area people thoroughly liked as it “paired nicely with the mood of the film,” and was parallel to what was seen on screen. I think I have well captured an atmosphere which is dark and solemn, and this is consistent throughout. 

The hardest shot to film was the final scene. The camera had to be propped up on the dashboard of the screen making sure there were no obstructions in the frame. This was hard as I could not properly see what was in shot. This scene took the most takes to get right. Especially since the camera had to be the correct focus: not crystal clear but not completely out of focus. I wanted a slight blur to show that sleep is about to take over. I also had to climb into the back and be the hands in the back of the car. I am happy with the result of this shot and it was worth it in the end. The car light was a nice touch to the look of this scene. The fate of the insomniac does seem to be unknown leaving an unsettling and confused feeling in the spectator. 

I am also very pleased with the performance. The body language clearly communicates to the spectator the message of the film. The movements add to the unbalance and the unease within the character. The insomniac’s wellbeing is clearly articulated. The performance evokes empathy from the spectator. I also chose to have a change in costume from a grey hoodie to a full suit. I chose these colours so the switch was noticeable especially since it further demonstrated the surrealist theme of lack of cause and effect but also lack of time and order. 

The editing process allowed for the film to flow nicely as well as being to manipulate the ordinary. I particularly like the clock moving anti-clockwise showing how slow time moves when you are trying to get to sleep but also following the conventional theme of surrealist cinema of lack of time and order. As well as the duration of the extreme close up on the clock again making time seem so long and insufferable.   This is further explored with the cars travelling backwards. For these I reversed the clips to create this surrealist effect. I experimented with transitions such as cross dissolves, fades and match on action. This allowed for the film to have a clear flow and not appear blocky. In editing I also blurred the edges of the film to create a dream-like look which links to the common definition of surrealism and at times a soft black vignette. Some clips I increased the duration which helped decrease the pace of the film to get it to match the movement of the insomniac: slow and fatigued. The slow montage at the start also allows for context of insomnia and the importance perhaps overwhelming for some. I also added a quote from Leonard Cohen as an intertitle. The quote is confusing to most of the spectators who have viewed the film adding to the surrealist nature of the film. I feel this further helped incorporate the surrealist genre. 

One spectator said, “it has a clear message which is good, but you still manage to stay true to the surrealist genre.” I feel my film did incorporated elements of the conventional surrealist genre through comedy and confusing the spectator. However, I feel I could have done this more successfully. I feel the narrative was slightly too neat for the surrealist genre. Perhaps when making it I should have referred to more of the French Surrealist films I studied would have allowed for me to shock my spectators further. I found it hard to not create a link between the events of the film which resulted in it being less surrealist than it could have been. In terms of the brief ‘The Insomniac’ partially meets it. In terms of creative development, I have found my style that works for me and learnt that surrealism does not work for me. 

My film addresses the important issue of insomnia and raises awareness on the experience of those who have experienced it. It illustrates the importance of sleep and the consequences of not having the proper amount. It also criticises some methods recommended to help such a profound problem showing that you have to break the cycle repeatedly. It also helps communicate this issue to people who do not suffer from insomnia and shows the confusion and hallucination of reality when the mind is not fully rested. 

Compared to films I have made in the past this one I feel is the most impressive in an aesthetics point of view. It is the most professional looking film I have made and is consistent throughout. I have learnt lots more on developing a narrative and positioning an audience. Although I didn’t enjoy the surrealist element it did make me think about things I haven’t thought about before in pre-production. For when I make my next film the skills, I learnt from this project will benefit me greatly.