Short Film analysis

The film begins by setting the scene with an establishing shot showing us an isolated peaceful field, with the title ‘LOVEFIELD’ shown in white lettering over the landscape. We hear diegetic wind effects which very much fit the titles as they drift on and off screen, followed by typical thriller type music with an eerie feel which is played throughout the majority of the film varying from low to high pitches to create suspense giving the film a harsh feel. The wide shots in the introduction show us that civilization must be far away, meaning that there wouldn’t be many people around. After exploring different depths of the corn fields we reach a road sign squeaking with the wind, the camera then slowly pans up the sign creating tension, to reveal a black crow in a close up shot which could mean it is important to the film. Crows are often used in films to

show trouble or death and the fact that the crow is shown and heard a lot througho

ut the film could give us an indication that the film makers are trying to portray that something bad has happened. The camera explores the corn fields even more to hear a constant beeping noise from a phone of what could be a phone line cut off which gets louder as the camera becomes closer to it without the item being shown creating intensity.

The camera then shows the phone as well as money scattered on the floor as well as a blood stained tissue emphasizing danger and creating confusion to the audience. We suddenly hear shrieks from a person followed by seeing a clenched foot giving the impression of pain, which instantly makes you think of the worst. The music then reaches a higher pitch as does the yelling, which then comes to an unexpected silence giving the impression of death. Suddenly we then see a hand which looks like it would be that of a male digging a sharp object which looks to be a knife covered in blood into the ground, scaring the audience and making them jump which adds to the genre of the film. The sound of the crow and the music is introduced again but this time at a faster pace with the music reaching a very high pitch. A pan up a man’s body occurs which we presume is the owner of the knife, which reveals a tattoo o

f a skull on his arms which may be another sign of death and danger. His ragged working style clothes and baseball cap and the fact he looks quite sweaty makes him look slightly suspicious. An over the shoulder shot is then shown with the man looking at the crow as he squawks faster where a pull focus is introduced. We then see the man looking around which may be to see if anyone else is around then suddenly begins to run, the hand held show if his legs makes us presume that he is running away, whereas he is actually running towards a car. Instead of getting in his car and driving away, the man nervously try’s to open the boot with a set of keys, the fact that he doesn’t know which key to use to open it suggests that it isn’t his car, but his victims. The crow in the background begins to get louder and more regular, as if it is wanting help keeping the audience at unease. After opening the boot of the car we see a mid-shot from the inside of the car to the man followed by the man rummaging through the boot. A tapping noise is made on the top of the car, here he looks up onto the roof to see the crow, the man looks very

confused but then carries on and pulls out a cloth.


He walks back to the mysterious body lying on the floor which we presume is either hurt or dead, where cuts from the man to the crow occur where they match eye contact. A low angle shows the man dropping to his knees with the music becoming harsher with more violent strings, which you think is preparing you for the horror you are going to see. However, a new born crying baby is presented with the woman who we thought to have been dead holding it in her arms. The facial expression on the man goes from nervous to relief he smiles and says ‘it’s a boy’ a close up of the mother is shown emphasizing her smile whispering ‘thank you’ which is the only dialogue in the film which very much keeps y

ou in suspense and concentrating on the film. The film ends with crow creating a much happier squaring sound, with uplifting music and a brighter picture giving it a neutral feeling. An establishing shot then shows the corn fields, a tractor and the care along with a police car arriving, which explains the phone at the beginning.

I really enjoyed the unexpected twist in the film which makes the audience suspect something really bad has happened such as death; however it was the opposite that had occurred- birth. I think the film is very conventional short film due to the few characters which works well, the fact that even though it is a short film it still has a beginning, middle and end as well as the minimal dialog creating the music playing a very big part in the film. It also has conventions of a drama such as the music that creates suspense, unrevealing shots, build up in the narrative as well as the child birth and police intervention taking you on a ‘roller-coaster ride of emotions’. The film also challenges stereotypes as the man who seems like an evil killer is in fact a helpful farmer, sending across a message not to judge a book by its cover and that everything may not always be as it seems.