Research into exsiting products: Short Films (Lynne Ramsay)

Lynne Ramsay

A Scottish film director,writer, producer and cinematographer. Well known for her short films as well as her feature films including 'Ratcatcher' and 'We need to talk about Kevin'. Her films often focused on children and young children and young people with recurring, unsolvable emotions and themes of grief, guilt, jealously, death and its aftermath. Usually low in dialogue, she instead uses the camera, editing, mise-en-scene and sound to express these themes therefore making the plot of the film very unsettling for the audience.

Gasman (1998)

 
This short film is set during the Christmas season and the main storyline is about a girl called Lynne and her brother who go with their dad to a holiday party at the pub. They walk along the railroad tracks but are met by an unkempt woman and two children. Her children ( a boy and girl of similar ages to Lynne and her brother) follow behind them and Lynne talks to the girl and is fairly kind to her by holding her hand. During the party, the dad is very affectionate towards Lynne but later on the other girl is on the dads lap and Lynne becomes jealous. The girl makes remarks that Lynne's dad is also her dad and so it causes some confusion within Lynne and the two girls fight. She is angry because she feels that the girl is trying to take her dad away.Afterwards on the way back, the girls hold hands again but this time Lynne is more hostile towards her. They meet the woman again and she walks away with the boy and girl whilst the dad and brother go the opposite way. Lynne lingers behind and goes to throw a rock but decides not to at the end, possibly due to the fact that she no longer believes that it is the girls fault why she is angry but perhaps it's her fathers fault instead.

Analysis: Camera

Ramsay has used many close ups in this film to place emphasis on certain aspects including facial expressions. Many shots of legs are used to give the audience the idea that this is from a child's point of view (as they are smaller than adults and so can't see as much). Another reason why this might be could be the fact that children often know only 'half of reality/ the truth' as Lynne has no idea who these other children are but the adults ( the dad especially) do as they are also his children. The focus shifts during some scenes from focusing on the background to the foreground. This is used quite a lot to show the audience what they should be concentrating on as well as another person's opinion of ( usually shown through their facial expressions and body language and they are usually shown in the background).

Mise-en-scene

Objects that children are most likely going to look at are one of the features of the mise-en-scene for example the brother is playing with a toy car which symbolises childhood and innocence. The costumes are of a higher quality for Lynne and her brother than the other two children which shows how they are the "preferred" children of the dad as they are better of than the others. They go to meet a woman and the two children (who Lynne obviously doesn't know) on an abandoned rail road track. This is a dangerous location and could also symbolise how Lynne's life is going to be change (she will be knocked off the track).

Editing

Long takes are used often in this movie especially at the start. This is done to place emphasis on what is happening in the scene such as Lynne putting her tights and shoes on which emphasizes the normal daily things children go through. Short cuts are used during the Christmas party scenes to reflect the party spirit of the place as it increases the pace of what the audience sees.
 
Sound
 
Ambient sounds are used to make the movie realistic and reflects the everyday life of the children. they are used to hearing these sounds and so everything is at an equilibrium. The dialogue is a thick Scottish accent which helps the audience with the location/ setting of the movie. At the party, Christmas music is being played as diegetic sounds. Children are laughing and the adults are talking and the whole place has a lively atmosphere which shows the audience that this is meant to be a happy party. When Lynne realizes that the other girl is on her "daddy" her tone of voice shows that she is angry and most likely confused as well. This changes the atmosphere of the place from being happy to more hostile.