SHORT FILM RESEARCH - OPERATOR
Genre: Drama/action
Narrative:We see a phone operator at a fire station as she talks to a woman whilst the fire brigade is on its way. She helps the woman to stay calm. The film ends with us hearing that the woman and her child are saved from the house but the line is cut. A new call is then connected and the operator starts again. There is a linear narrative but it feels cyclical as the operator must repeat everything over and over.
Audience:The viewer is positioned there with the operator in her office. There is a focus on how the events are effecting her instead of the events happening on the phone. We are bing shown her at her job but we are also shown how exhausting it is.
Microelements:
- Diegetic sounds of keyboards and phones ringing in background to place us inside the office
- Held close up of the operators face throughout in shallow focus to highlight her emotions and what we are hearing on the phone
- Acting of the operator makes the film as she keeps viewers engaged
Representation:The film is showing how emotionally and physically draining the work of the operator is as people rely on them so heavily and then they are gone. The operator gets hardly any thanks but must go straight from call to call having to hear horrible and distressing things whilst remaining calm.
Aspects I liked:
- How the diegetic sound is muffled out during the phone call to focus on the action
- The dialogue is simple yet effective as it doesn't feel dragged out or slow
- How the viewer was not allowed to see any of the action going on on the other side of the phone. This is so effective as we are placed in the same shoes as the operator, who knows nothing about the people she is trying to save.
Aspects I disliked:
- I liked the majority of the aspects of this film, it is hard to fault
- More movement of the camera would have increased tension even more, but I think the held camera was more effective as we focus more on the operators words and we are almost forced to imagine the scene going on inside the house
Aspects I may develop:
- I will look into how possible it is to take out certain back ground sounds as this is good to create an eerie effect
- Close ups of peoples faces to show more concentrated emotions
- The fast paced and natural nature of the dialogue which doesn't feel forced
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