'Stranded' - Alex La Riviere

For this post, I will analysing another existing A2 Media short film, this film being 'Stranded', a thriller produced by Alex La Riviere. I would say its one of the weaker existing A2 Media short films that I've seen, but its still a good example to look at to get a sense of the other films out there. Well what is this film about? Its about 3 girls who drive out into the middle of nowhere and then end up with their car breaking down on them. One by one, all 3 girls are taken away by a mysterious hooded murderer. 

      I will textually analyse this film by looking at the sound, editing and camera work. First of all you can watch this film below. 

Editing

To reflect the intensity of the situation, quick-cut editing is used when the 2nd victim is attacked (at about 3:35). The girl is calling for her friend as she has gone missing and as soon as she turns around she meets her fate in the form of the hooded murderer as the screen goes black. This use of the quick cut edit reflects the brutal and sudden nature of the murder; as well as the girl being caught by surprise, we are also caught by surprise, leaving us on the edge of our seats.

Camera work

At the beginning of the film, a number of extreme wide shots are used to set the scene. This use of this type of shot establishes the location of the 3 girls, as well as showing the size of the landscape and also highlighting that they are in the middle of nowhere and they are very lost. When the the 3rd girl is attacked at the end of the film, a medium close up shot is used and it is filmed from the back of car on the inside and it shows the murderer and the shocked looking girl, before it cuts to black. 

Sound

When the driving girl gets out of the car and goes off to get a signal for her mobile phone, dark and eerie non-diegetic sound begins to play in the background, making the viewing audience feel like something dreadful is going to occur. This background music leaves you feeling tense and makes your mind think scary thoughts. This is typical of most horror and psychological thriller films and in this film I would say it is not as effective but it is still there and therefore it makes it fit in with the genre.

Mise-en-scene

This film is set in the English countryside, and its supposed to look like its in the middle of nowhere but unfortunately in this film, there are plenty of sign posts and houses dotted around that the director of this film has clearly not seen, anyway, this remote location certainly reflects the feeling of loneliness and helplessness of the 3 girls who are stuck in the 'middle of nowhere'; I didn't know there were houses there to be honest, but I could be wrong.