Short films

The Grandmother (1970, David Lynch)

Cinematography

– lowkey lighting and shadows

– close up shots on the people

– handheld shaky, zoom in shots add to the chaos

Mise en Scene

– Dark rooms with a bed in the middle or an object

– the people have pale skin and red lips, almost supernaturaland like a vampire and from the clothes and house objects it seems set before the time it was made

Narrative

– use of enigma and lack of speech and sound, leaves the viewer to interpret in their own way

– theme of nature, naturistic visuals and sounds

Sound

– eeriness created through noises, high-pitched noises and strange screaming and no speech

– when the parents speak it doesn’t sound human, suggesting the disconnect the boy feels to them

– static whistling noises during chaotic scenes

– the grandmother and boy whistle as communication, almost like a baby bird and a mother

Editing

– jump cuts creating a sense of chaos

– fade outs of scenes

– shots sped up to create chaos

Themes

Family, nature, child abuse

What are the characters like? Do we like or dislike them?

The boy seems innocent and we seem him grow up in an abusive household where him and his parents don’t understand eachother. We sympathise with him and dislike his parents as they appear scary and aggressive by shouting at the boy and jeering at him. When the grandmother comes we like her as she immediately connects with the boy as we see them both come from nature, and he grows her himself. None of the characters seem human and are maybe supernatural as they look pale and make weird noises, as well as come from the ground.

High Maintenance

Cinematography

– close up shots of them at the table as the conversation becomes heated

– over the shoulder shots aligning with the characters

– close ups of the switch on the neck

– high key lighting except for in the office when she is on the phone, suggesting dark intentions

Mise en scene

– appear like normal people but are packaged up and wheeled away like furniture and have on/off switches

– dining room table creates distance between the man and woman

Sound

– close sonic perspective of eating and drinking – uncomfortable for viewer

– static noise at tense moments when the button on the neck is shown

– slow high pitched music plays in the background

– knocking is loud and intrusive

– at the end close sonic perspective of the woman breathing, becomes more tense

Narrative

– woman replaces her husband, starts off as a womans world- the person on the phone is a woman and the delivery people are women when typically and stereotypically that would be men, but this has a plot twist when she also turns out to be a robot.

– man referred to as ‘series’ and able to design an ideal man, a dystopian world

Themes

– dystopia, control, robots

When the day breaks

Cinematography

– pictures shown like flicking through film

– slow motion (ambulance driving away) and fast paced contrast (pig running home)

– see POV of pig in the shop, and in her kitchen. shaky vision shows the anxiety she felt

Mise en scene

– lemons on the ground shows us the chicken is the one to get killed

– all animal characters, wear human clothing and walk like humans yet don’t speak other than through song

Sound

– music in line with how the pig feels, begins happy and upbeat and ends up being classical sad music. and no music when it is tense

– ambulance sirens and car screeching shows theres been an accident offscreen

– close sonic perspective of eating and fast-paced breathing

Editing

– animated/ illustrated stop motion

– montage of pictures of chickens heritage, showing his life and what the pig is thinking about/feeling guilty for

Narrative

– ‘when life gives you lemons’ or ‘the chicken that crossed the road’