The Arrival

'The Arrival' is a short film, directed by Daniel Montanarini. The film captures a woman's internal struggle whilst deciding whether to keep her child. The film is set in a coffee shop, whilst she waits for the arrival of the man who she had a fling with, which resulted in pregnancy. The Arrival was inspired by a documentary that Montanarini was working on called All About Mothers. It followed the relationships between mothers and their children when they realised that they were pregnant, allowing for a more personal narrative. His second inspiration came from a photograph of a young woman sitting in a cafe by Alexander Nesterov. This visual inspiration sets the tone for the perfectly constructed mis-en-scene throughout the film.



The colours that are used in the film are cold, muted tones of greys and whites. These colours reflect the serious mood of the film, whilst adding a slight element of discomfort. This allows us to connect with how the woman is feeling, before she is forced to have a difficult conversation and make a difficult decision. Other elements of mis-en-scene include the presence of extras on the screen. The blocking of these extras is extremely effective in conveying the narrative of the film. For example, when she mentions a relationship, a couple are seen walking past her table with their interlocked hands standing out against the dark background. The cafe is made to look similar to a train carriage, perhaps conveying the metaphor that she is on some kind of journey to conclusion. This is emphasised by Montanarini's use of cinematography.



The camera begins behind the door, which establishes the space in the scene, allowing the audience to be constantly aware of it. For the rest of the film, the cinematography is fairly simple, allowing us to focus on the parallel between Anna's actions of contemplation, and her thoughts. However, the pivotal moment of the film does stand out cinematically. The lighting shifts to chiaroscuro lighting, as the camera zooms in on her face. This conveys the journey to her conclusion and marks the transition to her changing attitudes as she considers having the baby. The train sound effects heighten this, adding an element of disorientation and confusion to her decision. However, this moment in the film allows us to connect even more with the character, as it provides a more intimate insight into her thoughts.

Montanarini depicts his vision as wanting to "achieve something cinematic, simple and personal." He explained how, "It took a day and a half to rehearse the shoot. We recorded the voice over first and used that as a guide track for the choreography. After the first day of rehearsal the timings were worked out for the extras and lighting changes. Then we ran it until we got it right. It started to synchronise round about the tenth take." This carefully constructed production process allows for the voice-overs to be perfectly parallel to the performance. The use of non-diegetic sound in the form of voice overs allows the viewer to connect with Anna's (Emily Barber) innermost thoughts. It allows

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ellington Kid

Image
The film begins in close up, with a knife cutting some meat. This shot sets the tone for the rest of the film as it foreshadows events that occur later in the film, surrounding the topic of knife crime. The use of a close up means that the viewer can't see who is using the knife, which builds tension, whilst the use of artificial lighting mimics the bright light used in kebab shops and suggests that it is night time, which adds to the sense of unease for the spectator. The characters are seen in the centre of the frame, filmically stating that these are the main characters, with the boy on the left being the main protagonist and narrator of the film. The bright colours of the chairs and clothing, combined with a use of natural lighting, helps to create a more relaxed, daytime atmosphere. This provides a strong contrast with the flashbacks that are filmed at night, and are used to build a tense, unsettling atmosphere. The medium shot of the boys immediately creates humo...
Read more

locations recce 1

Image
One of my locations is Richmond park, which I visited in order to take these photos and videos. I chose Richmond park because it is very big with lots of open space, meaning that I will be able to film the part where Grace runs around the grass easily without there being too many other people around. I also especially like the Isabella plantation, where I will shoot some of the film as it is very cinematic. Whilst I found that in terms of sound, it is very windy and would be difficult to hear speech over the wind, the scene that I am filming here is purely voice over, which means that sound isn't an issue.
Read more

ECHO

Image
'Echo' is a short film, written by James Walker, and directed by Lewis Arnold. The narrative is inspired by a real life incident that was witnessed by the writer, James Walker, in central London. The narrative explores the devastating and prolonged effects that a father's death can have on his family. Arnold wanted the audience to "still feel like the character exists" after the end of the film. He also hoped that the audience would, "take ownership of that character in their own mind". In order to achieve this effect, Arnold had to carefully select the actress to take on the role. He therefore rightly selected Lauren Carse to play the character of Caroline. Carse would often have strangers approaching her whilst she was on set offering her help, as a result of her brutally convincing performance. The short film does cause the audience to interpret it in their own way, allowing them to ask questions such as, 'why is she reliving her experience?' ...
Read more