Echo

This film has a complete narrative arc, a story. It is similar to Operator, another short film I have studied, as the premise is a situation, however, it takes a more sinister turn. Also, similarly to Operator, there is an open ending. The film explores themes of echoes, repetition, emotion, guilt and corruption.

Caroline was a very well written character, as our perception of her changes over the course of the film. We begin by completely pitying her due to her authentic performance, but slowly as we see the holes in her story the exact same way the people interfering on the street do, we question the truth in her integrity. It takes a darker turn at the end as we question the true motives by manipulating the kindness of strangers. The film expertly uses structure to change our perception of Caroline. We are situated with her, following her perspective in cinematography, although similar to the people interfering on the street, we aren't able to understand her thoughts- we take the beginning as the truth at first glance, however, we come to realise the manipulation.

The film uses an interesting take on the three-act structure. The beginning is definitely distinct, as we assume this is a beginning of a tragic story of a girl whose dad is in a motorbike accident, however things begin to change when we see her at home, lighting a cigarette, as we realise there was no accident all along. There is no end, as the events continue, even when her brother attempts to interfere.

 It is an open ending, as we are presented that this story will continue, however, we do question what may happen next due to the interference of her brother, and also the guilt she experiences and the hint at a traumatic past. It gives a more interesting experience for a viewer, as it leaves us questioning our own judgement of characters in film based on how they are initially presented.

I would use the incredible storytelling of this film in my film, with the use of perspective leading us as the audience to do the work ourselves about what is truly occurring, by leaving us in ambiguity, our opinions constantly change about this character the more we learn- the open-ended narrative is a really interesting concept to experiment within a short film. In terms of microelements, the use of cinematography and sound are really interesting, with use of contrasting close-ups and medium shots during each 'call' really help us to understand the truth, as the closer we get to her, the more we turn from an onlooker to see her perspective and fake scenario. The sound also helps us to understand what she really feels, as the music comes in whenever we are alone with her, rather than when she is with other characters- which is filled with realistic ambience.