Wilhelmina Denness

Characters

It’s a convention of many films, where if you there’s no initial scene showing characters different to the main ones (usually where the antagonists are involved with something that is likely to affect the protagonist later on in the film) then there is a high likelihood that the first character you are introduced to is the main character. This film is no exception. Immediately a close up shot of a young man shows us that he is dressed smartly in what looks like an office environment. In the background plays the diegetic sound of people talking and phones ringing. Later in the scene, synchronous diegetic sound is used when we see the man typing onto a computer keyboard. If we were to stereotype an office environment, these would be the sounds to associate with it. Therefore this informs us that the character works at a company with a main focus on admin tasks. If you look closely at his make-up and costume you can see he has been presented as being clean-shaven. He also wears a clean, white shirt with a grey/blue striped tie. This implies he is smart, professional and what we can stereotype as being an astute and hard-worker, as opposed to a stereotype of an unprofessional and disorganised worker who might be seen as having a crumpled shirt, a crooked tie and a long, flowing beard (I only mention this as office workers are stereotyped as having no facial hair, so it would be a subversion of the stereotype if this character were to have that). The fact he is wearing a suit, which is an icon of power, informs us that his job is an important one, suggesting he is in a position of authority. What we learn of this character is that he is experiencing a flashback, a dream of what once was.

This shot is very unusual since we are never given the viewpoint by which we would be able to see the character’s face. As a medium close up shot we see him walk into the room, holding paper-work for the main character. The diegetic sound of the door being knocked alerts us of his presence. In this shot the character is wearing a smart, black shirt, belt and beige trousers. Similarly to the main character, he is dressed smartly which connotes professionalism and power. When he hands over the papers he addresses the main character as ‘sir’ which suggests that this man is working for the main character. This then confirms our reading that the main character is in a position of authority, which is also further strengthened when we see that the two characters’ costumes are different, with the protagonist’s costume being more professional, by the fact he wears a white shirt and tie. Conventionally it is the ‘norm’ for people in admin jobs or any specialised jobs to wear white, which is seen as the smartest choice of clothing. Another point to add, is that as the character’s face isn’t shown in this film, we get the reading that this character isn’t significant and is in fact, inferior to the main character.

Wilhelmina Denness

Two other minor characters we are introduced to are done so through their voices alone. One of these is the monotone answering machine voice which is there to sustain realism in the film when we watch the main character listening back to his voicemails. During this scene and at the beginning when we get the first idea that something has gone wrong, is a female voice we assume is the man’s partner, whether it be his girlfriend or spouse we cannot know, however it is from the use of words such as ‘babe’ we get this reading.

I’ve mentioned previously how we learn that this is a flashback/ a dream. Once the call goes through that people are dying, the shot cuts to a close up of the main character jumping from his bed. This is the sign of a bad dream and instantly gives us the reading that what we just saw was a memory.

On the left is a medium shot of the main character walking past his car. In it, we get a

substantially different reading of the character than the former representation of him in the office environment. Here, we see he is wearing a casual blue, short sleeved shirt. Along with this is a backpack. In this scene he appears dramatically, a lot less professional. Typically in sci-fi films, an apocalyptic future results in the characters having to live sometimes in squalor, and in other cases we see that in terms of make-up and costume, they appear as if they have been living on the streets for months on end. Although the man isn’t as dishevelled as we might expect, by seeing that he has gone from smart to casual in such a short time has a profound effect on us and really grasps the concept that something has happened to cause his status and power within society to wither. This character is, after all, the last man on Earth so it can be presumed however that he is still just as likely to be able to wear nice things and look presentable because he has the whole planet to scour for the supplies.

Settings/ locations

I have mentioned before how we have been able to interpret the first location we know of, as being set in an office building. Some of the other locations we come across in this film includes the house the main character looks in to search for food, as well as his own home and the street he lives on. On the right is a deep focus medium shot of the man looking in the cupboard for food. What we can see scattered across the counter are lots of bags of different products. It looks as if cleaning products are also stood up upon this which would suggest that even though the character is the last person on Earth, he still cares about making the house tidy, informing us that as a character he likes things to be neat.

Wilhelmina Denness

Another of the locations, as mentioned is the street he lives on. In this extreme long shot the man is walking in the centre of a wide, empty road, manned on either side by trees. From this we get the reading he must live in a rural area of his town/village. By seeing the street so empty we understand that this man has nothing to fear because the streets are abandoned and empty of other people, just like the rest of the world. This establishes that therefore this film must be a post-apocalyptic film because there was a source which later caused the near extinction of the human race.

Themes

Since this is an analysis on the apocalyptic/ post-apocalyptic sub-genre, I cannot define it as any more than its own genre. However in identifying some of the themes and ideas put across, the case is still just as difficult to pin-point, as what we see in this film is no combat, no good vs. evil, nor romance. But what can be said of it, is that it shows resilience of character since this is the last man on Earth and the predominant theme of this is thus survival.

Genre Iconography

One of the most common pieces of iconography associated with apocalyptic sci-fi films are weapons. These can be both futuristic (glowing or being powered by some unknown force which is found in several of the shorts I have analysed) or similar/ the same as the weapons we find today. In ‘Alone’ the main character finds a gun and in this medium close up shot he is surveying the gun. This allows us time to acknowledge that this is a weapon and a weapon which we find today, not something you would expect from the future. The reading we get from this is that this film is set in the relatively present day because the technology is no more superior than what is available to us now, including artillery power. As an icon of violence, the gun is something often used in post-apocalyptic/ apocalyptic sci-fi films as in most cases, these films involve combat and show the conflict between a force of antagonists and protagonists. Yet in this film, although we do see the gun, it isn’t used by the man because he has no primary purpose for it. That primary purpose would be survival but survival is only an integral thought when applied to a situation where there is a risk of danger- which of course isn’t shown in this because the character is the last man on Earth.

Another piece of iconography which isn’t touched on heavily in apocalyptic/ post-apocalyptic films is a first aid kit/ survival kit. It seems obvious that one would be included considering it’s essential to have one, when

Wilhelmina Denness

knowing that there is an impending apocalypse. In this film the character makes a quick comment about how the kit is incredibly important and fundamentally useful for him, while before it was seen as something that was useless. This goes on to his point about how impractical the presence of money is.

Another icon we see is the character’s back-pack. For an apocalyptic/ post-apocalyptic sci-fi film it is essential to have this piece of iconography as it is an integral tool the characters can use to collect resources that will enable them to stay alive. Even in this film we see the man carrying around his bag collecting supplies, something very conventional of short sci-fi films to show and involve.

Camera Shot/ Angle/ Movement

This short demonstrates an effective and diverse range of camera shots, angles and movements, all used for different effects. A lot of close up shot are predominantly used in this short, particularly at the start when the character is just getting up and preparing breakfast. Furthermore we also see high and low angles used to take on the perspective of the object the character is looking at. One really effective shot is this close up shot of the man looking through a cupboard. In this, we take on the perspective of the jars, watching from the inside as the character cringes from the smell/miasma of one of the substances. I really like this shot; it’s intuitively chosen and used to make the film much more interesting so that instead of simply getting one viewpoint of this man we get it from different perspectives- much like a point-of-view shot but from the back of the cupboard.

In relation to movement, we find that this film makes use of panning, tracking and tilting. One example of an effective use of camera movement is at the start when the camera pans right across from the mouse to the man typing. From this we get the fluid

action of the camera showing us that there is a unity between the mouse and keyboard (computer) and suggests that there is ease in what the man is doing, such as the fact he might be completing work simple for him to keep track of.

Focus pulls and blurred shots are very common in this short. In the close up shot on the left, half of the man is hidden while the other half is on view against a blurred

background. The effect of this is that it means we are drawn to the character and the voice coming from the other end of the phone. Heightening the drama of the piece, this is a really interesting and effective shot.

Although the screenshot isn’t as clear as in the short film, this close up (almost over-the-shoulder-shot), shows deep focus which causes us to draw our attention to the light in the window- a pivotal point in the

Wilhelmina Denness

narrative. From this, not only is the character’s attention concentrated on but also ours is, so by using deep focus it’s almost as if both perceptions, character and audience, are merged into one.

Editing

There are several edits we see in this film. Cuts are used with a form of continuity editing this film transpires with. We also see that when the man is gathering supplies from another household, the footage is sped-up to show the passing of time. By editing in this way, shooting time is being saved so that the scene can be kept more interesting by which point we hear the character say he should be getting back before it’s too dark. Thus it helps to lead us onto the next scene. Another form of editing we see in this film are flashbacks. At the start the man is dreaming of a memory from before whatever happened which left him alone. Another is when he reminisces over the freedom and comfort he had doing everyday things. With the help of the voice-over which describes this, the shot is also bordered with white, dissolving into the shot. This conveys to us that this must be a memory because the image isn’t as clear as it would be if the man wasn’t bringing up a memory.

Sound

As the film begins, instantly we hear the diegetic sounds associated with an office environment: people talking, phones ringing, the synchronous sound of the man clicking his mouse and typing on his keyboard. A diegetic knock at the door alerts our attention to the man walking through the door and handing the main character a document. In this moment we can faintly hear the diegetic sound of a pencil scratching onto the surface of paper. Dialogue is exchange between the characters and the next minute we hear the synchronous, diegetic sound of the man staple the papers together. The phone then rings and the man picks it up. Behind the voice which sounds afraid and tense, there is the diegetic sound of ambulances coming through the receiver. This suggests that something has happened which has caused lots of deaths and/or injuries: hence the ambulance wailing in the background. Just as the woman is speaking to the main character, a high pitched non-diegetic sound fades in and increases in volume right until the scene changes and the man bolts up from his bed, panting heavily. From this we get the reading that the dream he just had was a nightmare of a memory since the music built in intensity, putting across the character’s terror. The fact the main character is panting suggests the memory was so deeply chilling that the emotional effect it had on his ego, went on to dramatically affect him physically also.

Following on from this, the man drops his feet to the floor and from this close up, light, non-diegetic music plays in the background shortly followed by a voice-over by the man. Through this we get a constant vision of the narrative for what has happened and what is going through the character’s mind as well as what he’s feeling. The music creates a doleful mood and makes us sympathise with the character further than how

Wilhelmina Denness

we would react to his situation if up-beat, jolly music was used. Diegetic sound is one of the most predominant sounds that this film affords. This includes sounds such as the shower, the draws being opened, the man brushing his teeth, spitting toothpaste out, cooking, adding sugar to a cup etc. When the man makes his way to go look for food the music changes into something much more melancholic than before, as a piano softly plays on. A sound bridge is formed as the character has a flash back. By retaining the music’s volume and tone through this scene pathos is created for the character as it suggests that he can only look on at the past with sadness and nostalgia, just as he feels now. When the man reaches a final room where he can gather food and resources, the volume heightens and the tempo increases. This fades out and yet again we have another music change as he finds the survival kit. Non-diegetic synth sounds rise in pitch, frequently interrupted by blips. When this then fades out, the character is on his way back home. Diegetic sounds of thunder resonate in the scene and all that is left is the voice-over from the man. Suddenly cut short, the man stops the moment a non-diegetic ‘boom’ sound plays and then builds into tense music the moment we see that a light has come on in a house to his left. This then cuts out before the title sequence is then cut in. The effect of this is that it creates dramatic effect and leaves the audience on edge and wary of what is behind those doors. Instead of having finished the film with answers, as would usually occur in a full length feature film, we are left with more questions, instantly gripping our attention.

Lighting

In the most part of this film high key lighting is used to give the audience the best view of the characters. In technologically-based sci-fi films this high key lighting would be used to intentionally put across the fact that the film is set in the future, where there are brighter and more powerful lights to bask over the characters. Yet for this post-apocalyptic film it is simply used, as said, to allow the audience to see what’s happening. There are times where low key lighting is used for shots in the dark, enabled so as to sustain the realism of the film. A red filter is used when the man is looking for jars of food and when he opens up the bag and finds a survival kit. Here we see this is used to mimic the lights for the basement/garage of a house the characters has been exploring. As for when the character is walking back home. Light rains down on him from different angles, but as a way of mimicking the street lights and thus to enhance the verisimilitude of the film.

Typography

The credits and title for this film come right at the end, rather than beginning at the start to introduce the film. Forming a sound bridge over the last shot we see where we get the reading that perhaps the man isn’t the last surviving person on Earth, the title comes into the shot with a heavy beat which continues playing as the title appears, building suspense and alerting curiosity in the audience. When the title comes in, it does so as if fractured and the pieces are merging together. The shot

Wilhelmina Denness

shakes several times with the shapes quickly going out of focus several times also. This creates the effect that these pieces are flying in, like a storm, giving us the reading that not is all as it seems, leaving us questioning what will happen next to the character since now we’re left on a cliff-hanger. Behind the words flashes what looks to be stars and just as the title finally comes together to form the word ‘ALONE’ a circle flashes up behind the writing. This adds a very typically sci-fi edge to the film and helps to inform us that although we are looking at a post-apocalyptic future (which some people might at first

not understand), the title secures the reading that the film comes under the genre.

As for the title itself, it has been presented in upper case letters, using very rustic colours and a similarly rustic and incomplete font. By doing this, the title appears to reflect the post-apocalyptic genre through appearing imperfect and cracked with devastation which is now how the world has been

left, following on from what must have happened to cause the entire human race, with the exception of the man, to be wiped from the face of the Earth. Thus the title helps inform us of the sub-genre.

As the music fades out, a new, peaceful track comes in (part of the score). It’s an instantly recognisable piano solo however unfortunately I was unable to find the exact name and composer. Nevertheless, the effect of this would usually create a calming atmosphere. Although because we understand the narrative and nature of the genre, it leads on to instilling a disquieting mood- something typically found in sci-fi films.

The credits roll up quite fast and use an undesirable font, but one that is simple and reflects the simple daily routine the man has to deal with.