'BLACK HOLE' - Alex

MEDIA LANGUAGE
'The Black Hole' (Diamond Dogs, 2011)
'Black Hole', the 2008 short film opens with additional credits showing the short film's label release. This is uncommon in short films, but shows us that this particular film had a production company/official release. The additional credits only last for 5 seconds as the length of a short film is important.

In this short, the titling lasts for only 4 seconds - again, this is something to consider in editing as every second counts. This particular title shows an office setting being zoomed in on through a pin-hole to reveal the opening scene - this particular type of editing could be a wipe or a reveal. The title is positioned in the centre with a white font - this is to contrast the black background as we zoom in. Once fully zoomed in, there is some font overlay on the film but the type is not integrated into or important to the scene progression. There are also diegetic sounds playing as the office setting is revealed - all very mechanic sounding, and appropriate to the scene. The first sound is a printer - which later become a key prop to the scene.

We are then introduced to our main character using a camera pan - the character is positioned centrally. Straight away, his mannerisms and body language his characteristics. His unkempt appearance (top button, scruffy hair), slouched shoulders and lack of emotion indicates that he is bored or depressed. This works in-conjunction with the colours of the room - the setting is very monochromatic and looks visually dated, and there is a sense of desaturation in post-production. We, as the audience, can already tell that we are dealing with a character who is bored of his office job within 14 seconds of the film beginning.

This particular shot (figure 4.) is used to show the isolation this character is experiencing - isolation can be very enigmatic if used correctly. This shot was also used as the printer breaks - through visual references and the diegetic sound effects of the printer beeping, we can tell that this is when the narrative actually begins. The editing pace also picks up around here, as we get 3 straight cuts within 2 seconds. Various angles/heights are used to show his frustration (figure. 5)

The most important prop of the film is displayed on screen for 3 seconds to indicates its importance. Meanwhile, there is no dialogue and just consistent mechanical noises (mainly from the printer) - this could also be described as a general atmos track for an office setting.

This particular shot (figure. 7) is taken using an up angle and could have been dealt with in two ways. The more impractical way would be to use some sort of cut-out over black card and position it in front of the camera. Or, the more practical way of filming something like this would be to use an overlay in post-production. While this shot is used, a strange metallic, sound effect is used - the particular sound is something we could expect in the sci-fi genre. The sound is also echoed to give a sense of depth to the audience as it's already clear that we are positioned looking up from this printed black hole. The straight cuts in sound editing also give the impression that the office and the black whole are two separate rooms - the atmos tracks for both settings don't overlay at all.

By now, the main character has realised what the black hole is capable of and begins to play with it.

This clever use of pre-production editing gives the impression that this piece of paper has a depth big enough to put his arm through. Using shadows, and cropping the footage in a particular way, the character looks as if he is putting his arm into oblivion. This kind of effect can be achieved through after-effects, which would be within our capabilities as beginner film students.

The narrative continues as the character steals chocolate out of a vending machine.

The short also relies on reaction shots and body movements as there is no dialogue involved. Figure 9 shows where the narrative takes a dark turn - the lighting also proves this as the previous shots were considerably lighter. This shot also shows how the character's mood has increasingly improved - this black hole has given him a bit of excitement in his dull office job.

This is also where greed gets the better of him.

As the character climbs through the hole into a safe with stacks of money, the piece of paper falls - trapping him inside.

This genre looks particularly at the consequences of greed on a major scale, and has a real social message on what happens if you take things for granted. 'Black Hole' doesn't really have a definite 'genre', but definitely uses  dark humour lightly with a vague audience. I feel that the film works well with all ages as it serves different purposes - younger ages would see it more as comedy as this greedy man gets stuck in a safe. Older audience will see it's social message, and dark impression of what happens if you try and escape your work routine.

WHAT CAN I TAKE FROM THIS?
- Straight away, I loved the idea of having no dialogue - it really proves the director's skill in telling narrative through body movement, camera angles and setting. I also liked the creative usage of lighting to display the mood/feeling - shooting in the dark is a skill I would like to develop in the future and this is good reference.