Scene 1 - Ballet Studio
The short film begins with an establishing shot of the dance studio. There is complete darkness to begin with, until Sophie switches on a light in the corridor outside of the studio. Light filters in. We hear the diagetic sound of her footsteps as she walks. The camera cuts to the corridor. There is an over the shoulder shot which depicts Sophie walking down the hallway. We hear the the tinny sound of modern music blasting from her headphones and she struts. She opens the door to the dance studio and slams it shut, where the name of the film - 'Flight' appears. When she enters the studio the lighting is low, the only source of light coming from the door. The light which is pouring in is unnatural. We see Sophie's silhouette as she enters the dark studio. We hear the diagetic sound of her sighing. It then cuts to show her stretching, preparing to dance. The use of fragmentation shows the confusion of Sophie's identity, and emphasises the fact that she is torn between completely different lifestyles. Seeing parts of her body adds to the enigma which surrounds her character. The ballet shoes which she is wearing allows the audience to know that she is an aspiring ballet dancer. The camera then pans upwards to show Sophie dancing. The non-diegetic music then begins to play. As she dances the camera follows the movements of her limbs. This shots will primarily be close ups. Throughout her dance routine, she pauses and looks at herself in the mirror. The close up allows the audience to see her determination to dance, yet the conflict in her lifestyle. After this is a collage of her dancing. As the shots progress they show an ellipsis of time. The scene ends with Sophie turning off the lights and exiting.
Scene 2 - Sophie's Bedroom
The audience hear the same music which was heard clearly before, coming out of Sophie's radio. There is a close up of Sophie turning the radio off. The camera then shows Sophie looking out of the window. There is then a Point of View shot, and the Sun causes a lens flare. Sophie then puts some ballet music on and practises some basic movements. These are, again, mainly fragmented, close up, shots. A long shot follow, which shows Sophie taking off her ballet shoes. There is a close up of her putting them in her 'Ballet Box'. Sophie takes out a photo of her as a child with her mother and slips it into her pocket. There is a medium close up of Sophie putting on make-up in her mirror, from the back. It cuts to another medium close up to show her putting the make up on from the front. She blinks and turns to leave, satisfied with her image.
Scene 3 - The Street
The first shot is a low angle. The camera remains stationary as Sophie walks down a dimly lit street. The camera cuts to a close up of her walking with a bottle in her hand. Another close up follows showing Sophie drinking from it. Several jump cuts follow as she walks down the street, symbolising her detachment. The camera cuts to a long shot, showing her walk down an alleyway. Sophie purchases drugs from a silhouetted drug dealer - this is shown by a mid shot, and then a close up of the drug itself. Sophie's hands are shown by many close ups in this scene - a parallel to the fragmentation shown earlier in the short film. There is no dialogue between the two characters. More jump cuts follow as Sophie walks into public toilets.
Scene 4 - The Toilets
The final scene opens with a close up of Sophie's feet as she walks into the toilets. The toilets are dimly lit, yet brighter than outside, and have a 'gritty' feel to them - a completely different atmosphere from the one shown in the dance studio. There is a mid shot of Sophie splashing her face with water. There is a mid shot of the photograph of her falling out of her pocket, followed by a close up of the photograph. There is a shaky, over the shoulder tracking shot as it follows Sophie walking into one of the cubicles. The hand-held camera effect makes the audience feel uneasy, yet it also involves them into the narrative. The are more jump cuts which are placed closely together, creating an almost animation effect, showing how uneasy she is about making this decision. The door slams shut with a loud bang and the film ends.
No comments:
Post a Comment