Short FIlm Analysis. Daddy

Daddy

Title
The title 'Daddy' looks ghostly as it disappears  and has a slight transparency so we can see partially though it. This ghostly effect on the word gives a chilling feeling and also sets up the theme for the film as a whole. I am going to use this title by using a similar effect that will allow the words to go in and out of being completely opaque and transparent. This will start the film on a spectral essence.
The font is basic and uncomplicated, making it easy to read, sans-serif.
The opening shot shows a blank corridor, the white walls similar to that of a mental institution, planting the idea of insanity in the audience, which is later shown in the main character. However in my film the main character is not insane, he is suffering from depressed caused by loss meaning I will have to find a way to show depression and not insanity.

Mise-en-scne
The inside of the bedroom is also very bare and has  a simple double bed. The bed however only looks slightly used and the man sleeps in a very unnatural position, this  including hi facial make-up (bags under the eyes) gives feeling of unrest. I will use this make-up style to make the main character seem uneasy and ill.
The girl first enters the film; she looks very typical to what we expect a little girl to look like; pigtails and a bow in her hair. This costume is very old fashioned in its style, which initialy implies that the character is very old fashioned and almost ghostlike. This ghostlike feel of the costume, old fashioned pig tails and dress, makes the audience feel very uncomfortable with the character, instantly causing a distrust and distance between the characters. This feeling is enhanced when we see the fear in the mans eyes, the man being a character we feel we can trust. We feel this because of the bland colourless in his skin and cloths, which implies that he is frustrated and distressed. All of these things make the audience feel empathy for the man. This empathy for him makes the audience agree with his fear of the girl.
'Daddy' is single room as a setting for the vast majority of the short film, apart from the opening shot. Ths is because it makes the film feel very enclosed and that the man himself is almost stuck in that room. This isolation is shown in his distressed look and aesthetics, it is also shown because he is lying on the bed by himself. This is similar to mine because I am going to use a single location; but using many different rooms because of the narrative being explosive and emotional it would not work in one single room.
The lighting for the whole film is very dark with a strong contrast between black and white with the other colours being slightly subdued.  This allows for very strong shadows to be cast which then brings the tone down of the film and makes it more tense. I will use this lighting technique as it gives a good effect and creates a strong atmosphere. Although  I will place the shadows carefully to create a more emotional atmosphere than it being tense.

Cinematography
The cinematography varies throughout the film.
The opening shot consists of a moving shot going through a clear corridor t. This sets up the rest of the film , but also allows the viewer to feel as if they are entering the film. I will use this technique to start my film because it gives a good effect, but also that I can cross-cut between the camera moving toward the main room, then cut to a close up birds eye shot of the main characters face on the bed. I will do this because the
film uses this finishing on a closeup of the mans face breaks tension and creates a small jump.
One of the major effects used in the cinematography 'Daddy' is the use of close up shots of the characters faces. This is seen in the opening shots of the characters. The first man is introduced useing a close-up that looks down on him sleeping, this shot initailly presents the man as frustrated and tierd because of his facial expressions, which we assume is caused by the girl saying 'Daddy'. The little girl is then introduced with a mid-shot of her at the end of the bed, this is because it introduces her as distant, but also makes her seem remarkably creepy. We then see a few extreme close-ups of the little girls hand as she tries to get the Dads attention, but more importantly we see an extreme-closeup of the mans mouth as he breathes in. This is used to build tension as people don't inhale like that without there being a problem. We also see slighlt shakes in his neck which could dennote fear. This extreme-closeup could also build tension to make the audience have more fear toward the little girl as the next shot we see of her is very close. This shot makes the girl seem very powerful and like she is getting uncomfortably close to the dad, the man that we trust and is showing signs of fear. All of these shots are to build tension, something I am going to have to do if I want my film to have an emotioal impact on my audience, as to be able to put someone in an emotional state they have to be hightened with tension.
The close-up shots are used throughout, when they are used it is normally to show the main characters facial expression. the first time we see the mans face is when we see a shot looking down at him from a birds eye view.
All of these shots allow the audience to see the mans face; which shows his exhaustion/terror. I will use this to show the characters emotional state.

Sound
The film opens with a single piano playing a tune using minor chords which immediately provokes a melancholy emotion.  It's tempo is slow which also reinforces the gloomy feeling, it fades to silence.  The dialogue of the young girl breaks this, by calling out "Dadd.  His heavy breathing is then the only sound the audience can hear, which brings attention to it .
As the sound of the breathing increases, so does the tension.  A tone creating suspense gets louder, as does the music that was heard at the beginning.  The volume increases until he sits up and takes a deep breath.  The music is now his ringtone of his wife, the helper of the story according to Propp's narrative theory.
This is what I want to do to get my audience to have the same emotive response that the audience gets from this film.  I also intend to be able to make the music blend in with the diegetic sound as it would make the sound more fluid. There are more tense sound effects as the jump scare is about to happen, but I do not think that I will use this as I Will make more of a drama than a (shock) horror film.

Edit
The opening shot of the film is very long in duration and moves through the corridor and into the room in a single shot. This slows down the film and makes it seem more relaxing. This will be something I want to avoid in my film as I want an emotional reaction for the younger brother so I will have to put the audience on edge straight away. This will then make the emotional reaction in my film more powerful compared to the reaction I would get if the audience are relaxed. I will do this by cross-cutting between the slow opening shot and a paniced dream. However I will tend this cross-cutting sequence by quickly cutting to a similar shot as used in 'daddy' when the camera is looking down at the man. This will instantly create and break tension.
The rest of the short film however uses wuick cuttings between the man and the little girl. For example after we hear the little girl say 'Daddy' it cuts to a mid shot of her. However it cuts during the silence, givng it a more organic feel that I want in my film. It continues to cut like this, between he man and the little girl, sometimes they use sound bridges where it cuts on someone saying something, however more of the cuts are done on silences as it makes it feel more organic and real.
The major cut from this fear building tension is the quick cut to the phone call, something that breaks the tension that has been build during the sequence. I want to use this kind of false scare, as it places the audience in a false sense of security, making the final effect a much more powerful one.