Short film evaluation (Lapse)

I have chosen to evaluate the short film Lapse as it has unexpected twists and turns and keeps the audience interested throughout. Lapse is a stereotypical of a horror film. The most important setting for a horror film is isolation which this film clearly portrays as Rose is often left wandering around by herself in the lonely corridors. Claud Levi Strauss talked of the theory of binary opposites, for example young vs. old, Lapse (in my opinion) shows an excellent example of this as the cleaner Rose is fighting with the young security guard and doctor in order to get them to believe she is telling the truth. Todorov (1977) invented the theory of narrative structure, meaning that all films have a equilibriums (beginning), disruption (middle) and resolution and new equilibrium (the end), Lapse conveys with this theory as in the equilibrium Rose is working at the hospital, the disruption is that she tries to help the elderly lady, which then backfires on her because she is left locked in the building, and then she isn’t believed when she tells workers of her identity, and the resolution and new equilibrium is that Rose is then interrogated and taken in as a patient. The enigma in this film is Rose trying to make the security guard and doctor believe her that she is not an actual patient at the hospital. The target audience is a variety of ages, however it is most probably aimed at 20-35 year olds, the mode of address has been used as it is only available on the internet and stereotypically it’s a younger generation who uses the internet, by it being available on the internet however can be seen as an advantage as it allows a wider audience to access it. Mise en scene has been used in order to create the setting and also so that when the audience sees a particular character they immediately associate what their role is in the film, for example Rose is an older character and so her costume is therefore ‘comfortable’ meaning she is in a light brown jumper with a blue jacket, she isn’t too concerned with what she is wearing as she is working she just wants to be comfortable. Her hair is a mousey brown/ grey colour, this is showing her age but showing she is younger than Liz. The elderly lady (Liz) is wearing a pale cream nightgown and blue dressing gown, these colours have been used to try and create the image of Liz being vulnerable and frail. She also has white hair which helps to show us her age, most people would tend to trust someone of her age and vulnerability and I believe that is where the director cleverly lures both Rose and the audience into believing she is a good character. The security guard is wearing all black, this is because black connotates strength and power, the smart white shirt and black trousers and tie help portray him as a figure of importance. He is purposely taller than Rose so it makes her look weaker in comparison to him. The doctor is in a smart purple shirt and black trousers, the purple shows that she is feminine and has a more softer character than the security guard. She speaks with a soft, rather patronising tone as she believes Rose is a patient at the hospital and therefore believes her to be mentally unstable.
The film begins with the main character (Rose) humming a song, it then jumps straight into an establishing shot of the corridor the set the scene and establish where the film is taking place. The establishing shot is held for a few seconds, and then the audience sees who was humming in the introduction as the character walks onto the scene. A close up shot is then used to draw the audiences attention to the security badge around the characters neck, it emphasises the importance of this one object. The shot pans out so we get to see fully the main character as she opens the door and then jumps to a medium close up of her in the room, an insert shot of the security badge is then used, this is deliberately done to highlight the importance of the object. The camera then cuts to being outside the door, panning in as though someone is looking at the character, this adds intensity, it then cuts into the room a medium close up of the characters back (her back being turned adds vulnerability), as she turns round we immediately get a medium close up of Liz (the elderly lady) which adds tension and is done in order to make both the main character and audience jump and grab their attention. An extreme close up shot of a hospital wrist band is then used to help the reader further understand the setting and what is about to talk place. The desperation on Liz’s face is incredibly important because it is this that makes Rose sympathise with her and help her, this is why an elderly character has been used because stereotypically we trust them more and believe them to be innocent, if it was a 18 year old male the audience would not necessarily believe the storyline. The majority of the camera shots as Rose is walking around are medium shots but it is taken from the back so as to create the feeling that she is being followed or watched. When the doctor is trying to make Rose understand she isn’t a cleaner, close up shots are used so the audience can see Rose and the doctors emotions. It is also used to show the anger on the security guards face when Rose hits him, it then cuts to a long shot where we can see the security guard hurting Rose. A large proportion of the shots are two shots and medium shots, this allows us to see the characters and who they are talking too. Continuity editing is used in the film as it continues with the same piece of storyline. The most common editing in this film is cutaways and shot reverse shot structures, these help to juxtaposition two different images, but by placing them next to each other the audience can understand the relevance. Ellipsis is used after the doctor has inserted a needle into Rose because we don’t need to see them lifting her and putting her in a bed as it is not relevant, so the ellipsis cuts out time and allows the audience to only see what is important. Due to the film being made on a small budget, no special effects have been used or were needed, the film relies heavily on the mise-en-scene such as the costumes and props in order to create the desired effect.
The lighting is an essential part in any film as it helps the audience to understand what type of mood the film is, for example in Lapse, it is continuously dull and dark with colours like grey being used regularly, this is done so as to add an eerie feeling and further add to the feeling of isolation.
The music is very important in the film from the very beginning when Rose is humming to herself, this is showing she is rather content, she believes she is alone, further on the film she hums when she is waiting for help unlocking the door, once again she isn’t too concerned about what is happening and doesn’t believe there is a problem. Diegetic sound is used throughout the film, meaning that the sound comes from within the narrative and both the characters and audience can hear it. All of the characters accents are Australian which leads us to believe the film is set in Australia, although we never actually see outside of the hospital. As in all films, the dialect is incredibly important as it is this that does the exposition. No field specific lexis is used in the film, this is purposely done because it is not needed, the doctor doesn’t use any complicated terms because she believes she is speaking to a patient and so therefore has a slightly patronizing tone. The film ends in silence. This is so as to further emphasise what has just happened and to keep the audience on tender hooks.