Film Analysis: Hybrids (Short Film)

8/10/2019 Film Analysis: Hybrids (Short Film)

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Characters

There are several characters we see in this

short, with one main female heroin, the

protagonist of the film, who faces an

antagonistic force of aliens.

The first characters we see are two aliens

talking about their urgency to find a key. Close

up and over-the-shoulder-shots are used and

from these, such as the one on the right, we can identify that the shape of the characters

skulls are abnormal to humans. Furthermore, the colour and texture of the skin are

different. This gives us the reading that because they are strange life-forms, they must

be extra-terrestrial beings: aliens. Therefore this

must be a sci-fi film.

If you look at this long shot of the aliens we can

also see that theyre very tall and have a bone

structure obviously very different to humans. The

elongated skull is a key identifier that these are

aliens since conventionally aliens skulls extend

backwards.

One of the stock characters we see in this short,

features during the protagonists flashbacks. In the long shot on the left is a young girl.

We can see that as part of her costume she is wearing a white, possibly lace, dress.

White connotes innocence and purity: associationstypically given to children. On her feet are black

plimsolls which are built to be practical for childs

play. We get the reading therefore that this girl

must be, if anything, an innocent character in this

film

We see the protagonist in this film twice, featured to

appear in two contrasting ways. I took a screenshot

from the flashback she keeps experiencing throughout the film. In the medium long shot

the woman is holding onto one of the beams from an illustrious house. As a quick note,looking at the building we can assume that because of its stature and appearance as

being big and clean we get the reading that the protagonist and her daughter are quite

wealthy. Considering their garden is expansive and filled with lots of healthy plants this

confirms our reading.

The protagonist here is wearing very feminine

clothing. The top and skirt she is wearing both have

a floral print on them. Flowers, connote beauty and

fragility. This shows she is conforming to the

feminine stereotype. Skirts are also a piece of

clothing that in the media, women are stereotyped


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as wearing. Thus she further conforms to the feminine archetype. The presentable and

fashionable hair style and presence of make-up (which we see in a later close up shot)

gives the reading that this character cares about what she looks like and so conforms to

the feminine stereotype in this way.

Our reading of this character dramatically changesas soon as the first flashback cuts to the present

scene and a close up shot reveals the protagonist

in a different light. In the shot we can immediately

see that the character is holding a gun, a weapon of

violence, power and authority. As a binary

opposite to how we read her character at the start

of the film, this shows she subverts the feminine

stereotype. Behind this is rubble, suggesting that she is in an area which has been

destroyed by artillery power. This then implies she must be in a war zone. While the

woman still wears make-up, shes also had make-up added to make it seem as if shesgot bruises and dirt on her face. This suggests shes involved in warfare and part of

combat. We can just about see her costume is made up of dark colours. Often these are

seen as making up military uniform so soldiers can blend in with the environment they

find themselves in. This shows she has practicality and independence as well as

resilience to fight. Her hair has also been tied up, also connoting practicality and thus

showing she subverts the feminine stereotype.

As for the genre-specific stereotype for sci-fi films, the character, as said, appears to us

as being independent, strong and ready to face anything. Her facial expression implies

she is alert and focused. The fact she hasnt beenpresented as being cleanalso leads usto confirm that she conforms to the stereotypical sci-fi protagonist. Ive often alluded to

the fact she is a protagonist and I say this because she is fighting the aliens who we

learn have taken over the planet, killing and destroying everything in their path. This

thus makes the aliens antagonists.

In addition, we also see stock characters, all dressed

as soldiers, in black gear and helmets, ready to defend

themselves, and prepared for combat. We get the

reading therefore that because of their numbers and

their costume, they are a police force or at least partof the army. Defending the Earth, we see them using a

machine to kill the aliens who run across the shot to

get away from the humans. The fact this robot/

machine is show as being used for the militarys aid,

this film must be set in the future. Therefore we

get the reading, from such a shot as this long

shot, that this is sci-fi film.

Settings/ locations

There are only a few locations in this film. In theshot on the right is an idyllic house centred in a


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rural area. The enormity of the house size

informs us that the two characters, mother and

daughter, have a lot of money, so they are fairly

wealthy. The fact that this scene has just been

cut into from a scene where aliens were talking,

we get the impression that something will

happen to ruin this tranquil time, which is in fact

a memory. The house and way the two dress also

seems quite old-fashioned which suggests this scene is set in the past. In other shots of

the house we also see the gardens when the camera tracks the characters running

through them. These gardens are elaborate, being familiar to the gardens youd find

which are part of upper-class estates. This informs us that the scene is set in a rural

environment, the countryside, or at least a rural village, which makes the scene even

tenser as we wait knowing that this elated, happy

scene cant of course last-something horrendous islikely to happy, as is a convention of all sci-fi films.

Another location we see is taken from the present

day. In the long shot on the left the camera has

been placed low to the ground, to observe the

protagonist moving about the environment from

ground-level. In this shot we can see lots of rubble

which would have been a result of explosions, fired to attack the aliens. It looks as if the

protagonist is looking for aliens by the docks of a river. This is in fact the case,

confirmed when we see the bridge and river. Since the aliens are congregating by the

docks, they must be using the docks to transport supplies into the area or could be

attacking the ports because it is one of the main areas where theyre most likely to find

humans arriving there. Thus the trap is set in place where the aliens would have the

vantage point to slaughter what is remaining of the human race.

Themes

Apocalyptic/ post-apocalyptic future

First contact

Military

Science fantasy

Genre Iconography

One icon crucially associated with the sci-fi

genre is weapons. In this short we see the

protagonist using a blade, with a blue

resonating glow inside of it. Conventionally,

weapons in sci-fi films give off a blue glow

and since this film utilises such a weapon we

get the reading that this film must be a sci-fi

film.


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Another icon which acts as an indicator for the

genre is the hologram of the woman which we see

at the end of the film. In the shot on the left is the

protagonist observing the destruction of

skyscrapers within the city. The protagonist is

looking on at them burning while her hologram

flickers in the foreground. When she presses a

patch on her arm the hologram disappears. Since

we dont have the technology to have holograms

and as they are something we think of when someone tells us to conjure up an image of

the future, this icon so to speak,tells us that this film is based in a technological future.

Thus it must be a sci-fi short.

Camera Shot/ Angle/ Movement

There are a variety of shots and movements used throughout this film, implemented fordifferent effects. Tracking, zooming, panning and tilting are all movements used in this

short. Along with this we find that rather than simple still shots being used, the camera

shakes when focusing on the scene. Point-of view shots are used when we see the

protagonist surveying both the area where the aliens are supposed to be hiding and

when she stares on to find and see that her daughter dead.

I picked out a few shots from the film which I thought

were particularly effective. On the left is one of these. As

a shaky medium shot of the footprint, we can see that

the imprint isnt human, instead it seems more pre-

historic. Immediately we get the reading that the film is

dealing with something not found in our modern day.

This is our first clue, from this particular scene, that the

protagonist is hunting down aliens.

In this shot the graphics on the screen have been added

to make it look as if we are peering through the scope of

the protagonists gun, to mimic her actions also. By

doing this we get a closer insight into what the

protagonist is experiencing and so gives the effect we

are following her every moves. Allowing us to connectwith the character as well as enhancing the realism of

the film, this shot is extremely effective.

When the protagonists daughter goes missing, close up

shot of the daughtersshoes are used to impact us in

the way they confirm that she has been taken. Using a

shallow focus close up shot of the daughters second

shoe, dramatic effect is created as the shot highlights

the power behind the image making us think more


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about what we see. We know that in seeing this, the woman will find it and discover

something terrible. I think its a really powerful shot that I would definitely like to

consider using in my own film.

On the right is a close up shot of the

protagonists necklace, the one which wasaround her daughters neck when she was

murdered. This is a really important shot as the

character uses this icon to spur her on and give

her a reason to need to fight the aliens. Through

focusing on this, the camera is highlighting the

importance of it. This is definitely something

which I could use in my own film.

Editing

This film effectively uses lots of editing techniques to create a great short film. One of

these examples includes montage editing, applied both at the start and end of the film

where we have a flashback of the woman and her daughter. In the beginning sequence,

cross fades are used to show that the memories the protagonist has of her daughter are

merging into one, almost implying shes already forgetting the joy she felt before her

daughter was killed.

Lots of blackouts are used for dramatic effect, to

create suspense for the audience. Lots of these are

used in the fight scenes which use some of the best

editing techniques this film has to offer. Quick cutsof shaky camera movements heightens the speed of

fighting and so makes it tenser. The blackouts are

used in these to represent the punches thrown by

the protagonist. Before this and during the end

when the protagonist blows up the building, the footage has been slowed down to show

the characters considered and decisive plan unfolding before we even have time to

comprehend what the woman is actually going to do.

Sound

When the icon appears no sound is used at all. Suddenly a short sentence providing a

clue as to the plot of this film, quickly fades into shot, along with the sound of a non-

diegetic, dull explosion of a distant bomb. This instantly establishes that the film

involves combat and has a militaristic theme. Whats most difficult toidentify with sci-fi

films is the sounds associated with them because weve become accustomed to what

sounds reveal the genre. Yet these cant easily be describedin terms of whether they

have a doleful tune or an uplifting beat. When the next shot fades in, we hear the

grumbling dialogue of the aliens voices. Behind this is the diegetic sound of bombs

going off and the non-diegetic sound of incidental music building until we have a non-

diegetic whooshing sound (similar to the sound of a space-ship flying past). Together

from the sounds we get the reading that this is a sci-fi film, since it uses sounds


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associated with space. Since we hear artillery being fired, we get the reading a war is

happening which leads us to think that perhaps a war is what this film revolves around.

Non-diegetic synth sounds are used when the title appears. Non-diegetic music then

comes in along with a voice-over by the main character. Throughout the scenes where

the protagonist is hunting for the aliens, the diegetic sound of the gun and her shifting

movements across the ground can be made out. These are there to ensure the

verisimilitude of the film is achieved to an effective and successive degree. The diegetic

sound of gunfire resonates in the background. The clicking and rasping diegetic sound

of the aliens making noises plays throughout the film, creating tension for the audience.

Some other sounds audible in the film includes the diegetic sound of metal dropping

onto the ground and a sonic flashback of the protagonists daughter laughing, which

intensifies the pathos we feel for the protagonist. This laughter echoes, suggesting the

sound is coming from the past. Moreover, sound bridges are used a lot in this film when

the protagonist has flashbacks of her daughter.

Lighting

In the flashback high key lighting is used to create a euphoric and pleasurable mood/

atmosphere. A darker filter has possibly been used when the scene cuts to shots of the

protagonist searching for the aliens. This creates a foreboding atmosphere which is

often an atmosphere presented in sci-fi films which deal with themes of destruction and

battles between a protagonist and antagonist force.

Typography


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Even before the

title appears the

ident fades in

and out. What

we can see of the

ident is that is

shows a merman

holding a trident.

Since I know

about the film already, having watched it, I know

that this image does not correlate with the genre.

This is, however, still important to mention

because the production companies should always

be mentioned in a film, whether its a short or not.

However, as I haveseen in other

shorts and full

length features

alike, it isnt essential to create an ident althoughits

essential to at least name them. As soon as a short

declarative sentence come onto the screen, an echoing

non-diegetic boomsounds. The words are all in upper

case letters and set in a metallic, grey/white colour.

What we get from this line is that planet Earth must have been invaded by something.

The fact its stating their arrival rather than simply pointing out it was a siege, causesus to presume that the things that arrived must be some extra-terrestrial being: aliens. I

have also seen in a lot of sci-fi film, that the typography implements a metallic colour

and uses capital locks. These are both applied to convey the genre in the way capital

letters reflect violence and action which is something we do see in sci-fi films. In

addition, the metallic colour reflects technology and the type of metallic element we

might associate with such films. The typography is used for the credits also which we

find fading in and out at the end of the film. Slowly as they come forth, non-diegetic

sound effects of faint, echoing explosions can be heard. Presumably these are used to

uphold the drama which the audience is left feeling suddenly aware of. Its also used to

sustain the audiences reading that this film deals with the military aspect of sci-fi. Thusthe typography and sound equipped with it, is used to convey the genre. Interjected

with these credits are illustrative sketches of scenes documenting what is happening to

Earth: a battle between humans and aliens for superiority and reign over planet Earth. I

think the only purpose of them being here is to show the audience that this is battle is

not over yet.

As for the title, this appears only at the start of the film, once we see the aliens for the

first time. Each letter slowly flickers in and out, along with a sound effect resembling the

sharp, quick sounds we usually associate with technology in sci-fi films. The text glows

also which gives it a superior quality and just like the futuristic devices conventionally


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found in sci-fi films, which glow also, the text helps to reflect this, therefore informing us

of the genre.

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Film Analysis: Hybrids (Short Film)