Virus (2002) is a psychological short film thriller directed by Simon Hynd and is a non-linear film. This is because although it does at first resemble a snap shot, the scenes cut between past and present consistently but it can only be noticed if the short film is watched closely and the clues are recognised. Doing a film with a non-linear narrative could be an idea for my group's short film as it gives space for more imagination and creativity. Virus has an open ended narrative meaning that it doesn’t have any real resolution which is a stereotypical aspect of short films since full length feature films tend to have all or most questions answered and situations resolved. Many short films tend to have open ended narratives as they have a shorter time period tfor the story to play out therefore my group will take this into consideration.
The film begins with the title over black for a few short seconds which is a typical choice that directors of short films make such as for the movie “sold” by Nadia Attia again another consideration needed to make to not use up and waste time for the title but rather use the simple over black. In this film strangely the title is seen again but over the first wide shot of a building at night. The effect used makes the camera work look like it is filmed by a CCTV camera portraying a theme of surveillance. The scenes cut between shots that show an end to a day at an office e.g. lights being turned off and garage doors being closed. The close up of the garage door closing shows a sense of being trapped or closed in again linking with the theme of surveillance as when you are being watched it can give off a claustrophobic atmosphere as you feel you are trapped and cannot hide no matter where you go.
As the scenes cut between each other there is no dialogue but rather a diagetic sound effect of a typical CCTV camera which in ways creates tension as audiences ask the questions of who is watching the building and why. Most of the shots used are seen to be point of view portraying a character watching in person as well as through the CCTV cameras creating tension and keeping the audience on edge from the beginning as though the shots are of normality; there is a sense of something not being quite right. This tension continues through the constant switch between the kinetic camera work of a CCTV camera to the point of view shots of a character in his office, as well as his point of view shots.
Low key lighting is used throughout as it shows many shadows and darkness linking in with the tension as audiences must wonder what is lurking in the shadows and gives a sense of unease stereotypically. Hynd uses close ups of the male character’s face to show his reactions when he sees the email, as it is downloading, and when he sees his assumed girlfriend/wife over the webcam. This is effective as the audience can straight away assume that there is something wrong with the situation. As the plot builds fairly quickly, the camera shots cut between each other more rapidly to mimic the events as they happen but also may be mimicking a heart beat: when there is tension or fear the heart beat gets gradually faster and faster, the same way the shots cut between each other fairly slowly at first then gradually faster and faster.
All throughout the short film there is no score or dialogue, only diagetic sound effects of the CCTV, and any movements made by the characters and its surroundings. The silence is emphasized this way, which again builds suspense as the audience must wait for the events to unroll. Finally at the end there is a scream from the male character which cuts the silence unexpectedly possibly giving a moment of gasping or shock for the audience; maybe done purposefully so that the audience are effected for a brief moment. A theme of surrealness is portrayed through all the events happening rapidly especially since the male character is assumed to be murdered yet a close up of his computer shows that the same virus email is now being sent to the rest of his contact leading the audience to ask the question of who is it?
Short films tend to be made for the purpose of promoting the director with a lower budget however this particular short film may also have the purpose of entertainment as well as making an audience think and question. The fact that the plot constantly builds and there are peak moments constantly is rare in a short film since there is a smaller time frame making it harder to build any kind of tension or suspense. However this short film seems to be doing this quite successfully.
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