Reflections on my Film Still (BLK)

Q1. Describe your shot and identify in what way it could be described as representing your chosen genre

My shot is a CU of a young male who is sitting directly behind an open window with his hands perched on the windowsill. He is looking above and past the right side of the camera which suggests that he is either in deep thought or wishing for an escape. There is a sense of entrapment which is signified through both the character’s expression and the use of the windowsill. His expression looks quite sad but yet holds the slight hint of hope. It is clear that he is being held back because he is positioned behind the windowsill, which is acting as the physical barrier stopping him from escaping whatever he is unhappy about.

Behind the character we cannot see anything as it is pitch black, this connotes that he wishes to forget/ cast a shadow on whatever he has just come from. He is looking into the ‘light’ which suggests that he wishes for much bigger things. The CU and the darkness behind him create the idea of isolation because the audience cannot see anything about his surroundings and it connotes that he is very lonely.

The lighting outside of the window is very bright as the source is natural daylight, in some ways this adds a light-hearted effect to the still because of the brightness it adds. All of these factors create the genre which would be a children’s adventure/drama because of the young male sitting at an ordinary window hoping to become successful.

Q2. What did you actually do to achieve the effect?

To achieve the CU and ensure that there were no other obstacles in the frame I used the zoom on the camera. In order to remove any sign of tables, etc. behind the character we pulled the curtains behind him, in turn this cut out the light from the room which created the darkness behind him therefore isolating him from the rest of the world.
We purposely positioned the subject’s hands on the edge of the windowsill so that focus is drawn to it and makes it clear that it metaphorically and literally stands as a barrier. To further this effect we had the character stand behind the window while the camera was stationed outside looking in. A sense of innocence is created because of the brightness from the daylight.

Q3. Identify what is successful about your shot

I think that in this shot the framing and composition works well because it successfully tells the tale of this character’s loneliness and isolation from his world. By cutting out all other obstacles and only having the character and windowsill in the frame it demonstrates that he is his only company.
The character’s expression is successful in making it clear to the audience that he is currently unhappy and is waiting for something big to happen. The way he is looking to the sky represents a sense of hope and ‘wishfullness’.
Q4. What would you do differently in hindsight?

In hindsight I would have experimented more with the different modes on the camera, for example, night-shot. This is because in the still the composition and the lighting clash strongly which makes it slightly uneasy on the eyes and can cause confusion in the way the audience interpret the intentions. By using night-shot I would still be able to keep the innocence created because the character’s expression would still have the child like expression. But it would add further meaning and would add to the effect of wishing for an escape because it would create the ‘wishing on a star’ atmosphere.

I would also improve this shot by having the camera positioned at a higher angle in order to further the idea of isolation as it would make the subject seem inferior and therefore more intimidated.