Kira Moore

Coursework Evaluation

I set out hoping to achieve a psychological sci-fi short about a woman delivering a speech
about her having achieved peace between two indiscriminate races. It would explore themes
such as communication and subjective reality through a narrative twist.

One of the key stylistic elements I used to create this blur in the lines between what is real
and what isn't was derived from watching 'La Jetee'. This short uses completely still images
to show an experiment where a man's consciousness is sent through time. I took particular
notice of how entirely visual the narrative was; wires and covered eyes clearly differentiating
what was happening in 'real life' and in the past/future without exposition. This is what I
endeavoured to do by simply having the object of a VR Headset, as part of the mise-en-
scene, speak for itself. Without outright saying that the Woman is reliving her own memory
over and over it is implied through this similar iconography. Adding an adjustment layer to
the ‘Explosion Scene’ in the first edit to make it purposefully grainy hinted at the difference
between what is real and what is the forced memory she is experiencing. As this was such
an obviously traumatic event the memory would likely be corrupted (grainy) and jumpy. I
included an out of focus shot of the flower petal to hint at the fact that this was where the
bomb was hidden before it is actually revealed in the following memory sequence.

Another of the short films I took influence from was 'The Gunfighter'. I enjoyed how it
manipulated diegetic and non-diegetic sound and utilised this in my own piece in the
‘Explosion Scene’. I was originally also going to include a short voiceover segment but found
that the raw audio I had was enough to give the illusion of voiceover. “Father’s last pat on my
back.” Etc. Overlaying the repeated close-ups from the opening sequence. As well as this,
instead of having the classic, expected ringing ear sound effect I decided I would have the
short sequence after the initial blast completely silent. Then, once it became clear the
explosion had happened, I faded the ear ringing in and carried it through to ‘real life’ to blur
what is memory and what isn’t. This was one of the very effective things that came out
during the edit and had the impact I wanted it to; to draw the audience to the emotion of the
scene and also help to imply how the event isn't taking place in present day. In the edit, for
the 'Clinical Room' scenes, I also added an ambient engine humming sound effect to add to
the superficial reading of the sci-fi elements along with the line "wouldn't have missed it for
the worlds." The overall stylisation of ‘The Gunfighter’ was also something I pulled from.
Having the start be deceivingly straight forward before developing to have a narrative twist
and a slightly different stylisation. In 'The Gunfighter' this is the voiceover becoming the
driving force behind the plot and in 'The Speech' it's our initial understanding behind the
reality of the scene becoming distorted. The repetitive nature of the shots within 'The
Gunfighter' was also something I hoped to utilise. Sally was repeatedly cut back to in long-
shot and the Henderson Boys in two-shot. I used this simplistic stylisation during the 'Clinical
Room' sequences to show how dull and sterile 'real life' is compared to the life and vibrancy
of the theatre. In addition to this influence I sought to enhance the effect by applying an
adjustment layer to the 'Clinical Room' scenes as part of the first edit. I slightly increased the
contrast and brightness so it reflected the harshness of her environment. This also increased
the contrast I was trying to show through the costume colouring making the white the
Woman is in a lot harsher and the black the Stranger is in a lot deeper. I used these more for
a demonstration of Strauss’ theory of Binary Opposition than to show innocence or guilt. I
wanted to create ambiguous characters representative of concepts and two different races
so the film can be read in different ways. On one hand there's the literal interpretation of the
Woman advocating for an alien race but this could also be interpreted as any kind of conflict
throughout the history of the human race. In extension to this interpretation, it is then a
criticism on human nature and the primitive need for violence and conflict.

Similarly to this I took a strong stylistic influence from 'Elephant'. This contains nearly no
dialogue and is a series of sequences where different people are murdered. I noticed that in
 Kira Moore

many of these the same shot sequence was repeated (long-shot tracking of person walking,
long-takes and leading up to a close-up of the dead body). This is something I took heavy
influence from however to less of an extreme. I tried to utilise the stylisation while taking
away the predictability. The simplistic nature of the ‘Clinical Room’ sequences and, in
addition, the literal repetition of the very beginning reflected this. A series of close-ups to
focus on the tummy-tingling, lip-biting, knee-shaking sensation of public speaking. This, I
think, was completely effective and worked almost exactly as I had hoped it would. I edited
the original clip and then duplicated the sequence and inserted it at the very end to create
my cyclical narrative. What really created this subjective reality is that I changed a shot in the
repeat for the Woman receiving the flowers. Bringing the friend into focus and adding in a
shot of the bomb/light in the flowers to clarify the events. This, again, feeds into the
possibility for the alternative readings. On the one hand, often when we return to memories
we notice something we didn't the first time; on the other the memory could've been altered
by the Stranger. Take this in addition to slowing the shot of the Friend’s face, a detail the
Woman would remember more clearly, and not including the speech as she wouldn't
remember it properly and I believe my intention was clearly conveyed. The final sequence is
perhaps the most important in conveying this intention clearly. It what is presumed to be real
life I insert pieces of the memory we've already seen but then I added a shot that I hadn't
previously been used. This shot is of the sister mouthing "wouldn't have missed it for the
worlds" as the Woman later says. This is a very important phrase but by placing the shot at
this point it furthers this ambiguity. Is it the woman imagining it as she places her head in her
hands? Or is she losing her grip on her own reality? Or is everything she's experiencing part
of a further simulation?

The final of the short films I took influence from was 'Stutterer'. This seemed an obvious
choice as one of the key themes of my film is speech/voice and lack thereof. This is exactly
the same in 'Stutterer'. One of the first things I noticed was the extreme close-up shots of
mouths and words. This is a shot I applied to my own film both in the opening sequence and
just before the explosion (a shot of the sister about to speak before cutting to black). The
Sister never actually gets to speak which attests to the underlying message of
communication and the struggle to find peace I tried to convey. The context of my film is
deliberately ambiguous so that it could apply to any struggle for power and peace throughout
human history. Granted, I create the undertone of science-fiction but the 'alien race' could be
symbolic for any number of prejudices the human race has endured in history. This message
of communication is also ever-present in 'Stutterer'. It tells the story of a modern-day human
connection and how, sometimes, words aren't what is needed to communicate yourself
clearly. This is what I sought to do in 'The Speech' through the facial expressions of
characters showing their true intentions, not dialogue. During editing there were also several
points at which the ambience or audio volume changed between takes. As such, I had to
isolate the audio of certain points and place them over the pieces of film where the audio
was corrupted. While this was mostly effective I think, during the opening segment, it is
noticeable that the audio has been altered. At several points I had to cut it completely and at
others edit separate audio onto shots. The plan was for this complete cutting in audio at
points to show the breaks in communication that lead to the bombing while also reflecting
the stylisation of ‘Stutterer’. However, this is not always clear. It’s not distracting from the
narrative or overall stylisation but it’s not perfect either.

There are some further aspects of the film that didn’t look as I would’ve liked them to. Such
as the singular shot during the penultimate 'Clinical Room' scene where boxes and
equipment can be seen in the background. This is the only take I did of that particular shot
and I moved all the boxes for all of the others slates. Hence, using this shot was unavoidable
but, as it is in the background, it doesn't distract from the action taking place. This happened
in the same sort of way when filming the explosion scene. The sheet I had the actors lie
down on is visible in a singular shot however, as the lighting is so low-key, it too doesn't
distract from the action. In the same scene the camera I used didn't have the capacity to pick
 Kira Moore

up the slow-motion shot of the petal in the dark or effectively pick up the camera flash as
part of the photography. This reduced the cinematic effect I was trying to achieve as it is less
clear that this Woman is important as the flash of the Press' camera isn't clear. Another point
surrounding the overall cinematic quality is that there is a shot of an actor in the background
breaking the 4th wall as the Woman accepts congratulations. Another instance of this I left in
deliberately where the Friend looks directly at the camera while giving the Woman the
flowers. Creating a sinister tone; linking to the Friend’s deceit. The final thing I wasn't
completely happy with was the cut from the Woman opening her mouth to speak to the
applause. I would've liked to cut to black for longer to show a clearer gap in the memory, the
speech has taken place and time passed. However, due to time constraints I was unable to
do this. All the other cuts to black were completely essential to the narrative so the cut after
the extreme close-up was removed. It doesn’t distract from the sense of verisimilitude I was
trying to include but is a stylistic choice I would’ve liked to act on.

Overall, I was very pleased and proud with the finished film. There were several things that
had to be changed from the original script I produced but the narrative was clear and
preserved as much as possible from the original.