Analysis of a short film

Short film analysis: Unwind

The film takes place in the United States, after a civil war somewhere in the near future. After a civil war—known as the Second Civil War or the Heartland War—is fought over abortion, a compromise was reached, allowing parents to sign an order for their children between the ages of 13 and 18 years old to be unwound—taken to "harvest camps" and having their body parts harvested for later use. The reasoning was that, since 100% (actually 99.44% taking into account the appendix and other "useless" organs) was required to be used, unwinds did not technically "die", because their individual body parts lived on. In addition to unwinding, parents who are unable to raise their children to age thirteen for retroactive abortion have the option to "stork" their child by leaving it on another family's porch. If they don't get caught, the "storked" baby then becomes the other family's responsibility.
The short 6 minute film begins with a short description of what the story is about, which helps the audience to understand what is going on throughout the film as the film itself is mainly sci-fiction s therefore it would've been confusing without the beginning description. The opening sequence is an up-close of the top section of a young girls head. you can see her eyes in focus and she looks really scared and confused. She begins to ask questions and wants to find out whats going to happen to her. As she keeps loosing focus in her eye sight you can see her finding it difficult to stay awake and also you can in a way feel her pain as the nurse is talking to her and telling her to calm down. The middle section of the film is where the nurse injects the young girl and she is waiting for the medication to kick in. And eventually in the end once the doctor has dissected the relevant parts of her body the young girl finally dies.




1. cinematography

Cinematography in this film is good but could have been better, as only a selection of shots have only been used a multiple times throughout the film. I do understand why only a few shots have been used, it’s made the film feel more relatable to the audience as most of the time the camera shot is from the young girl’s p.o.v therefore the audience sees what’s going on from her perspective. The extreme close-up of the young girl’s eyes throughout the film portrays her fragile imposture and her emotions that are reflected through her eyes. These extreme close ups also creates tension and anxiety as the audience doesn't know what the doctor and nurse are doing to the young girl. A mid shot is used usually straight after the extreme close up, the mid shot usually is of the nurse talking to her, this helps the audience to connect with the pain and confusion that the young girl is going through. These extreme close up shots will be used in our film, especially the beginning of the film, when Lola wakes up in the hospital, I think the reason why the film used this shot for the beginning part is because you see the reaction of the character and it also introduces who the main character is, so using this shot will signify these elements. Mid shots and overview shots will also be used in our film, these shots allow the audience to see the body gestures of the characters while they are speaking which makes it easier for the audience to see the emotion that the characters are feeling, the overview shots will help in introducing where the film is being set and the audience will feel a sense of belonging as our film will be a local film so the audience will feel connected to the film in a community aspect. 

2. Editing

Editing techniques such as blurriness have been used straight after the extreme close up shot to portray the dizziness but also the emotion that the main character is feeling. This allows the audience to feel empathy for the young girl as she is getting teary and she wants to be safe and alive. This effect will be great in our film Lola as our film aswell has similarities with the uncertainty of what is happening to them, and Lola in this case is dead so when she has flashbacks blurriness can help portray how faintly she remembers the incident and it becomes like a jigsaw as she pieces bits together so the blurriness becomes clear once she realises things. Other editing techniques such as the control of the lightning in the room has helped to portray the idea that it’s a hospital room. Fade in and out is also used throughout the film, especially towards the end when she closes her eyes, the camera fades out from her p.o.v suggesting she is on the verge of dying, i think this editing technique made the ending sequence more exciting as it made the audience wonder about if she would survive or not, which in her case she did not.

3. Mise-en-scene 

The characters in the film neglects the stereotypical norms as the nurse speaks in an innocent manner however takes part in practically murdering the young girl alongside the doctor who is a male, his character is stereotypical and the way the young girl attached to the operation bed is also stereotypical as she is naïve and more fragile than a man would be in her situation. The age range again is a big difference between the characters, I think by doing this they have gained a larger and wider target audience, this film is quite similar to the lovely bones therefore I would say the age certificate for this film is 12/A as similar disturbing scenes are shown with non-diagetic sounds and the climax will not be suitable for a child below age 12 unless they a parent or a guardian is there with them. The costumes that the characters wear easily portrays their status in the film, the doctor and the nurse has more power over the working class girl who is also the one undergoing the surgery, the blue outfits that the doctor wears suggests this as well as the nurse. However the camera shot and angles do not show what the young girl is wearing, but the props used on the set such as the gas mask that the young girl uses suggests that she is sick but the contrast of it being irrelevant is shown at the end as the doctor and the nurse knows that she is going to die eventually so there is no need for the mask. The setting is in a hospital room, an overview shot has not been used therefore we can’t be exactly certain, however through the props and the characters we can guess that it probably is a hospital room. The lighting used in the film is constantly bright white, I think they did this on purpose to contrast it with death as the screen goes pitch black once the young girl eventually closes her eyes and dies. The bright light is disturbing along with the disturbing sounds, I think this helps to build the story up to a climax. I think the mise-en-scene overall has been used really well for the films genre as it all creates a sci-fiction/drama outlook. 

4.Sound 

In the short 6 minute film, sound effects have been used to give it a more surrealism nature. Sound motions such as diagetic and non-diagetic effects have been used. I think that the non-diagetic sound at the beginning of the film of the heart monitor is great, it portrays the genre of the film more clearly but also makes the audience tense as they are unsure of whose heart they can hear. Other non-diagetic sounds such as the spade machine roaring at the end of the bed creates anxiety for the audience as they know what the doctor is going to do with it but because the thought of it is too gruesome we tense when the sound of meat/bones being torn by the machine takes over. Because the camera angle is a p.o.v it makes it difficult to see what is going on as the young girl is tied down to the bed, the non-diagetic sound therefore makes it more realistic and easier as the sounds creates a moving image in the audiences imagination, without actually having to show the machine cutting the girls leg. I really like the heart monitors non-diagetic sound in the beginning of the film, and I think that would go well with our beginning film as our film is also introduced in a similar way in a hospital room. Diagetic sounds such as the doctor talking behind the face mask creates more tension as her voice is so calm and collected even though she is about the practically kill the young girl. 

5.Themes

The theme to this short I would say is death and acceptance but also tragedy, I think these three themes are the key ones that takes a greater significance and meaning in the storyline. In the beginning of the film the young girl looks so fragile and unsure about whether or not she will survive the operation, after her constant questions she begins to realise that there is no way of her making it through the surgery, she pleads the nurse that she wants to live, I think that scene really touches the audience as it is not a norm to see a young girl to go through an operation were her vital organs get taken out, so when you see her pleading it makes the audience wanting the young girl to survive and someone to rescue her. Therefore I would say the theme of death and acceptance is not only valid for the character herself but also the audience to accept death which is unstoppable, people need to stop being so scared and just learn to accept it as part of the mother nature. This film is great in that aspect, as it is almost like a lesson for the audience to learn from after watching it.