The Grandmother mind map
at 29:30 stop motion is used as we witness the grandmother wildly fly about the room, flashing from one place to another. The extremely quick cuts of her flying across the room, present her second death as extremely violent and therefore showing the difficulty and pain the boy feels at losing her a 2nd time. It has a very chaotic effect on the spectator as well again mirroring the internal chaos the boy feels at the grandmother's 2nd death, as the grandmother fly's across the room so quickly through theses extremely quick cuts, the spectator is never allowed to focus on one image or one moment from this sequence, instead we experience a sequence of flashing images showing the extreme trauma the boy is facing as his thoughts and the grandma similarly flash around chaotically. - EDITING
The use of stop motion is interesting way to explore the medium of film, I could similarly use stop motion in my short film to convey extreme trauma e.g. a closeup of bare feet on a white rug with an expanding spot of red to exaggerate the symbolism of the blood and to stagger its gradual movement slowing the action down as though the trauma continues to slowly build.
Lynch's main use of mise en scene in this short film is through his use of colour palette, more specifically his tight control of it. Most of the short film uses an intentional black and white colour palette, which gives an overall effect on the spectator of unease, it places the spectator in an abnormal world void of colour. It also gives a haunting portrayal of the characters, as Lynch uses a high contrast the whitest whites and the blackest blacks with little in between. This gives the characters connotations of being something undead or vampire like and overall just abnormal. Lynch's tight control of colour palette also works to emphasise the importance of certain images, such as at 4:25 when Lynch presents a large orange spot on the boys bed which is emphasised by its highly contrasting colour. The spot itself could show the boy has urinated in his bed, a very child like action highlighting his innocence and therefore emphasising his parents cruelty as they mistreat him. The way Lynch uses this orange also places importance on it, as urinating on a bed wouldn't leave a bright coloured mark, so Lynch uses orange to exaggerate this action of urinating the bed so therefore exaggerating his child like innocence, however, the orange colour could imply some corruption of innocence as this is an unusual colour for urine. - MISE EN SCENE
Use of mise en scene is also seen in Lynch's use of costumes. The boy is usually smartly dressed in sharp contrast to his parents who dress in more casual attire; this creates a binary opposition of civilised vs uncivilised in the short film working to emphasise both theses qualities in the characters through the juxtaposition of clothing using mise en scene. The boys clothing are also very symbolic in the fact that his smart attire could be considered funeral clothes, showing the boys continual mourning at the death of his grandma. The boy also at times wears pyjamas which shows his child like innocence.
While I might struggle more to tightly control colour palette I will attempt to use it in a limited way to exaggerate certain colours and there fore symbols, such as an extreme close up on a bright blue eye to convey a persons humanity or emotion in that moment, or to connect that person so an idea through that use of colour, such as the ocean through the similarly blue colour to connote that persons more wild uncontrollable nature or suggest something more at peace dependent on how the sea is portrayed. Clothing is essential in establishing characters so i will undoubtedly carefully pick clothing to fit a character, for exampl clothing on a character that resentfully wears it implies discontent at filling a certain role that may of been forced on them
during the dinner, scene beginning at roughly 17:00, a series of close ups on the parents emphasise their animal like qualities, as the atavistic action of eating with their hands is exemplified as they rip and tear the food then stuff it in their mouth, directly juxtaposing the passive boy who sits smartly dressed on the end of the table eating nothing, also working to exemplify the animal like traits the parents posses. The parents also fill the frame in these close ups, dominating the frame like they dominate the boy and his life, while the boy is mostly framed more so in the distance behind his farther appearing much smaller and weaker emphasising how much he is dominated by his abusive parents.
I would also like to use close ups throughout my short film to emphasise emotion or suggest particular qualities in my characters, such as using a series of close ups on multiple audience members in conjunction with stop motion animation, to A: show the performers trauma at this event as we fly from one face to another mimicking how he remembers or sees only flashes of faces, evoking a disorientating feeling as well to help the spectator empathise with the performer/ protagonist and B: to show the shared disapproving mocking looks on the faces of the audience to create a visual semantic field of humiliation as well as to show the audiences cruel apathetic nature.
At 29:12 cinematography is used to help us empathise with the boy, as the farther violently shakes his son the camera shakes as well evoking a similar feeling in the spectator as in the boy, as we to are violently thrown around. It also mirrors the chaos he is feeling internally as the grandmother is dying and he is helpless to prevent this. This reminds of the camera movement used in the shining when Jack violently swings his axe at the door his son and wife are behind, emphasising the violence of this action as we feel each hit the door takes, which David Lynch also does in this scene through violently shaking the camera as the farther does the boy causing the spectator to feel as though they are being shaken.
This is a tool that works effectively to help the spectator better empathise with the protagonist and or characters that I could use in a similar way to show the protagonists disorientated feelings, as he faces internal chaos caused partly by external circumstances, the camera could almost rotate or spin instead of shake to show the protagonists growing disorientation internally, as well as the physical effects of this as his vision spins.
POV is also used in the dinner scene as a way to make the spectator empathise with the boy as is abused by his parents. at 18:26 a POV close up shows the boys farther as the farther grabs and shakes him violently and spits the only dialogue of the short film "mutt!". The farther in this shot is terrifying and repugnant, we get as close to him as the boy does witnessing the fathers hollow black eyes, his greasy shining forehead and his discoloured yellow teeth with dark red gums that through use of colour emphasise the fathers animalistic nature. This animalistic nature is emphasised through his lack of human features, a face vaguely takes form as part of it is shrouded in darkness leaving the features of his face amorphous therefore he lacks human features but most importantly his eyes, which can be said to be the most human feature of the face with its implications of emotion is absent, as they are replaced with hollow black pits. Instead of human features we are left with the most animal of features on the human face, the teeth which like an animal he bares threateningly displaying the deep red of his gums and yellow discolouration of his teeth highlighting them as the only colour in the frame showing how he only displays animalistic behaviour. The teeth are representative of the animal within man, our more atavistic nature. The scariest part about this POV however is the fathers eyes, or rather absence of as staring back at the boy can hardly be said to be a farther past the biological sense, staring back at the boy is nothing, the implication that behind all this abuse their is no reason or explanation for the actions of the parents, its that inexplicable fear of nothingness that scares us as as humans we seek to understand, but what if their is nothing to understand? - CINEMATOGRAPHY
A haunting and surreal soundtrack pervades through most of this short film, reinforcing the themes of fantasy in the short film and creating a sinister tone at times.
Hyper real sound of a watering can mixes with the diegetic sound of a thunder storm to effectively link the boys action of resurrection with nature, possibly implying he is angering god or nature through his efforts to rebirth his grandmother. It implies a corruption in his actions as he utilises nature in a corrupt way, as tho nature is angry at him. I would also like to utilise sound in a similar way, such as using the diegetic hyper real sound of a crowd jeering layered with the non diegetic sound of his mother disapproving, to link the two events.
At times diegetic sound is the only sound focusing the spectators attention on the cause of that specific sound and therefore the action. This is seen at 12:28 when he waters the grotesque alien like pod his grandmother his birthed from, this focuses the spectator attention on the mise en scene of the shot through the use of a focused and singular diegetic sound, it helps establish meaning in the action; for example it shows the boy as nurturing and caring for his grandmother as she grows from the soil but it also shows the corruption of his fantasy to rebirth his grandmother as the source of the sustenance (the water) is poured from a man made watering can, showing his attempt to control nature through his defiance of death in rebirth. The diegetic sound of the watering can also evokes rain, connoting the theme of nature which he attempts to control. - SOUND
I could similarly use diegetic sound in a very singular and isolated way, by for example having the only sound be the slow drip of blood emphasising the symbolism of this
The characters are presented as animalistic, directly compared to dogs in some cases in this short film. They perform animalistic actions and this is used to show their abusive nature against the son. The characters in this short film also have many enigma codes surrounding them, as they are left very ambiguous and perform very bizarre actions, such as the grandmother who whistles
Narrative
The story sees a boy try to escape this abusive parents through the fantasy of his dead grandmother. In terms of narrative theories this short film can be said to present a plethora of enigma codes evoked from its abstract imagery, such as the orange stain on the boys bed, is it from a wet dream or a nightmare? ultimately making us question the boys maturity which is helped through the use of colour, orange not clearly signifying to be either it keeps it vague and open to interpretation. A three act structure can also be argued for, as the boy is set up in an abusive house hold with parents likened to dogs, the confrontation sees the boy confront his reality as the fantasy of his grandmother abruptly and violently dies and finally the resolution can be said to be when the boy finally accepts the grandmothers death and the reality of his delusion.
I plan on using enigma codes in my short film evoked from meaningful imagery, as to make the spectator question events therefore i will attempt to make my short film in some ways vague as to give the spectator freedom to create their own interpretation and find their own meaning. The three act structure could be used to give my short film some structure and prevent it from becoming to vague or confusing by ensuring I implement an at least partly solid narrative.
The use of stop motion is interesting way to explore the medium of film, I could similarly use stop motion in my short film to convey extreme trauma e.g. a closeup of bare feet on a white rug with an expanding spot of red to exaggerate the symbolism of the blood and to stagger its gradual movement slowing the action down as though the trauma continues to slowly build.
Lynch's main use of mise en scene in this short film is through his use of colour palette, more specifically his tight control of it. Most of the short film uses an intentional black and white colour palette, which gives an overall effect on the spectator of unease, it places the spectator in an abnormal world void of colour. It also gives a haunting portrayal of the characters, as Lynch uses a high contrast the whitest whites and the blackest blacks with little in between. This gives the characters connotations of being something undead or vampire like and overall just abnormal. Lynch's tight control of colour palette also works to emphasise the importance of certain images, such as at 4:25 when Lynch presents a large orange spot on the boys bed which is emphasised by its highly contrasting colour. The spot itself could show the boy has urinated in his bed, a very child like action highlighting his innocence and therefore emphasising his parents cruelty as they mistreat him. The way Lynch uses this orange also places importance on it, as urinating on a bed wouldn't leave a bright coloured mark, so Lynch uses orange to exaggerate this action of urinating the bed so therefore exaggerating his child like innocence, however, the orange colour could imply some corruption of innocence as this is an unusual colour for urine. - MISE EN SCENE
Use of mise en scene is also seen in Lynch's use of costumes. The boy is usually smartly dressed in sharp contrast to his parents who dress in more casual attire; this creates a binary opposition of civilised vs uncivilised in the short film working to emphasise both theses qualities in the characters through the juxtaposition of clothing using mise en scene. The boys clothing are also very symbolic in the fact that his smart attire could be considered funeral clothes, showing the boys continual mourning at the death of his grandma. The boy also at times wears pyjamas which shows his child like innocence.
While I might struggle more to tightly control colour palette I will attempt to use it in a limited way to exaggerate certain colours and there fore symbols, such as an extreme close up on a bright blue eye to convey a persons humanity or emotion in that moment, or to connect that person so an idea through that use of colour, such as the ocean through the similarly blue colour to connote that persons more wild uncontrollable nature or suggest something more at peace dependent on how the sea is portrayed. Clothing is essential in establishing characters so i will undoubtedly carefully pick clothing to fit a character, for exampl clothing on a character that resentfully wears it implies discontent at filling a certain role that may of been forced on them
during the dinner, scene beginning at roughly 17:00, a series of close ups on the parents emphasise their animal like qualities, as the atavistic action of eating with their hands is exemplified as they rip and tear the food then stuff it in their mouth, directly juxtaposing the passive boy who sits smartly dressed on the end of the table eating nothing, also working to exemplify the animal like traits the parents posses. The parents also fill the frame in these close ups, dominating the frame like they dominate the boy and his life, while the boy is mostly framed more so in the distance behind his farther appearing much smaller and weaker emphasising how much he is dominated by his abusive parents.
I would also like to use close ups throughout my short film to emphasise emotion or suggest particular qualities in my characters, such as using a series of close ups on multiple audience members in conjunction with stop motion animation, to A: show the performers trauma at this event as we fly from one face to another mimicking how he remembers or sees only flashes of faces, evoking a disorientating feeling as well to help the spectator empathise with the performer/ protagonist and B: to show the shared disapproving mocking looks on the faces of the audience to create a visual semantic field of humiliation as well as to show the audiences cruel apathetic nature.
At 29:12 cinematography is used to help us empathise with the boy, as the farther violently shakes his son the camera shakes as well evoking a similar feeling in the spectator as in the boy, as we to are violently thrown around. It also mirrors the chaos he is feeling internally as the grandmother is dying and he is helpless to prevent this. This reminds of the camera movement used in the shining when Jack violently swings his axe at the door his son and wife are behind, emphasising the violence of this action as we feel each hit the door takes, which David Lynch also does in this scene through violently shaking the camera as the farther does the boy causing the spectator to feel as though they are being shaken.
This is a tool that works effectively to help the spectator better empathise with the protagonist and or characters that I could use in a similar way to show the protagonists disorientated feelings, as he faces internal chaos caused partly by external circumstances, the camera could almost rotate or spin instead of shake to show the protagonists growing disorientation internally, as well as the physical effects of this as his vision spins.
POV is also used in the dinner scene as a way to make the spectator empathise with the boy as is abused by his parents. at 18:26 a POV close up shows the boys farther as the farther grabs and shakes him violently and spits the only dialogue of the short film "mutt!". The farther in this shot is terrifying and repugnant, we get as close to him as the boy does witnessing the fathers hollow black eyes, his greasy shining forehead and his discoloured yellow teeth with dark red gums that through use of colour emphasise the fathers animalistic nature. This animalistic nature is emphasised through his lack of human features, a face vaguely takes form as part of it is shrouded in darkness leaving the features of his face amorphous therefore he lacks human features but most importantly his eyes, which can be said to be the most human feature of the face with its implications of emotion is absent, as they are replaced with hollow black pits. Instead of human features we are left with the most animal of features on the human face, the teeth which like an animal he bares threateningly displaying the deep red of his gums and yellow discolouration of his teeth highlighting them as the only colour in the frame showing how he only displays animalistic behaviour. The teeth are representative of the animal within man, our more atavistic nature. The scariest part about this POV however is the fathers eyes, or rather absence of as staring back at the boy can hardly be said to be a farther past the biological sense, staring back at the boy is nothing, the implication that behind all this abuse their is no reason or explanation for the actions of the parents, its that inexplicable fear of nothingness that scares us as as humans we seek to understand, but what if their is nothing to understand? - CINEMATOGRAPHY
A haunting and surreal soundtrack pervades through most of this short film, reinforcing the themes of fantasy in the short film and creating a sinister tone at times.
Hyper real sound of a watering can mixes with the diegetic sound of a thunder storm to effectively link the boys action of resurrection with nature, possibly implying he is angering god or nature through his efforts to rebirth his grandmother. It implies a corruption in his actions as he utilises nature in a corrupt way, as tho nature is angry at him. I would also like to utilise sound in a similar way, such as using the diegetic hyper real sound of a crowd jeering layered with the non diegetic sound of his mother disapproving, to link the two events.
At times diegetic sound is the only sound focusing the spectators attention on the cause of that specific sound and therefore the action. This is seen at 12:28 when he waters the grotesque alien like pod his grandmother his birthed from, this focuses the spectator attention on the mise en scene of the shot through the use of a focused and singular diegetic sound, it helps establish meaning in the action; for example it shows the boy as nurturing and caring for his grandmother as she grows from the soil but it also shows the corruption of his fantasy to rebirth his grandmother as the source of the sustenance (the water) is poured from a man made watering can, showing his attempt to control nature through his defiance of death in rebirth. The diegetic sound of the watering can also evokes rain, connoting the theme of nature which he attempts to control. - SOUND
I could similarly use diegetic sound in a very singular and isolated way, by for example having the only sound be the slow drip of blood emphasising the symbolism of this
The characters are presented as animalistic, directly compared to dogs in some cases in this short film. They perform animalistic actions and this is used to show their abusive nature against the son. The characters in this short film also have many enigma codes surrounding them, as they are left very ambiguous and perform very bizarre actions, such as the grandmother who whistles
Narrative
The story sees a boy try to escape this abusive parents through the fantasy of his dead grandmother. In terms of narrative theories this short film can be said to present a plethora of enigma codes evoked from its abstract imagery, such as the orange stain on the boys bed, is it from a wet dream or a nightmare? ultimately making us question the boys maturity which is helped through the use of colour, orange not clearly signifying to be either it keeps it vague and open to interpretation. A three act structure can also be argued for, as the boy is set up in an abusive house hold with parents likened to dogs, the confrontation sees the boy confront his reality as the fantasy of his grandmother abruptly and violently dies and finally the resolution can be said to be when the boy finally accepts the grandmothers death and the reality of his delusion.
I plan on using enigma codes in my short film evoked from meaningful imagery, as to make the spectator question events therefore i will attempt to make my short film in some ways vague as to give the spectator freedom to create their own interpretation and find their own meaning. The three act structure could be used to give my short film some structure and prevent it from becoming to vague or confusing by ensuring I implement an at least partly solid narrative.
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