BLACK HOLE (CURRENTLY NO PICTURES AS THEY WOULDNT INSERT).

Media Summer Homework 2015                                                        

Black Hole

Media language – write an in depth textual analysis of how the 4 technical codes (Sound, Mise en Scene, Camera and Editing) communicate meaning.

The film Black Hole is all about self greed and how it can get the better of you if you’re not careful.

I’m going to explain how they have made this come across to us as an audience and the techniques they have used to achieve this.

 

So, if we start with our title sequence; it starts essentially having the title within a ‘black hole’ which is already symbolising the short film.

The text is then faded on top on the moving image which could also represent the black hole taking it in. Which is then when we are introduced to our main character, panning in from the left.

Our main character appears to be very un-kept. His costume is well constructed to make him seem careless, with the top button undone along with his messy hair shows he doesn’t take time within himself to get ready when going to work.

There is diegetic sound all the way through, beeping from the printer (which would make sense within the office setting) and also ambient sound from being in a quiet room. This can all come across as quite irritating if you’re bored, and as for our character, the first thing we hear is a sigh; the glum look on his face along with the glum, desaturated lighting all suggests he isn’t having a very good time.

 

He progressively gets more angry in his setting. The close ups of his hands and feet show his frustration as he starts tapping the button on the photocopier/printer, and then decides to kick it when it doesn't respond, leaving him with a piece of  paper with a black circle on it. This sequence is clever because we get to know what our character is like by his body language. 

This shot has been filmed at exactly the same time which would mean its discontinuity editing (the audience notices a cut). We get a feel of the setting more with the second cut; however, the high angle shot has vignette top corners, which suggests it’s inside the “black hole”. This also means its unrestricted narration. From the film title and what we’ve just seen, we can already start, as an audience, to piece together the rest of the story, for instance, we know we’re looking at him from inside the black hole, whereas he has no idea that the hole is even there.

In the second image, it is more noticeable that he is alone in his workplace, with all computer screens off and chairs facing their desks; this suggests it could be night shift work – which would also conclude as to why he is so un-kept. The lights are still gloomy, but we see plenty of light sources; one being the lamp on the desk, the other being the source above his head, which we can see is a ceiling light in the first shot.

This is the part of this film where our character figures out what this printed sheet of darkness actually is. The fact it’s been captured at different angles suggests he is finally realising it’s not just a figment of his imagination. A sci-fi kind of sound appears whenever he puts his hand near or in the hole, which suggests almost it going to a different dimension. This is where it’s finally restricted narration (where we know as much as the character, although we don’t know his thoughts). From the 3^rd screen grab in this sequence, his facial expression looks very devious, suggesting he’s got an idea. The high angle shot suggests he now holds all of this power which is making him seem superior.

The surrounding area around the vending machine is nearly black, which is changing the way the light has been previously, it seems to be more concentrated on the black hole and vending machine rather than the setting. Our character seems to know that stealing is bad, from his facial expression and body language, but he does it anyway, which is where we learn a trait our character has; greed.

Now we are introduced to an editing method called an “eye line match”. This is when your given a shot of somebody who is looking at something, and then the camera takes you to what they’re looking at.

The door is what our character is looking at, which reads “keep out” – suggesting it is locked at all times.

The 3^rd frame is a silhouette of the man, which gives him a very sinister outlook. We can see from the shot that he is slightly looking down (looking at the door handle)

meaning there is another eye line match from his side of the door. When he enters the forbidden room the lights are flickering on and off showing an evilness to which this man has become. The door makes a slamming noise on the wall as he whacks it open, shows eagerness to do whatever it is he has in mind. 

These two shots are from different point in the film, but I thought I’d pick up on the fact that it’s repeated. The fact that he’s always looking over his shoulder reveals he knows what he is doing is wrong, when dealing with the vending machine, he looks over ever so slightly, but when stealing from the safe, he looks all the way round, even though he’s supposedly “alone” suggesting he’s already dealing with a guilty conscience.

An extreme close up on the tape holding up the black hole is essential to see because it already appears to be peeling off, this detail wouldn’t be captured with a mid shot or long shot. We also the have a close up of the bottom of his shoes as he climbs into the hole, this is important as we can see the handle besides him which is clearly locked. When the paper falls off of the safe, it is immediately silent and the camera takes 3 shots to pan out, showing its deserted, and nobody’s around.