The Gun Fighter is clearly in the Western genre, which Kissack has shown clearly in the film using key conventions such as cowboy hats, a saloon setting, very hyper-Americanized accents and the props of guns. The short-film has maintained a traditional mise-en-scene of a western film, therefore it clearly follows genre conventions and is easily identifiable.
They follow key western genre character types; bartender, the woman (a whore or lady of leisure), cowboys, a hero gun-fighter. Gives a sense of predictability to the film. The music also adds to this, we start with tense music, so the audience already knows that at some point in the film it's going to end with a shoot-out as it is following a formulaic narrative as most western films do.
The narration is a very unique, interesting aspect of the film- it is non-diegetic as we can not see it, it is not present in the film world physically but both the audience and the characters can hear it, which helps to create a strange interaction with the viewer and the characters. It also helps create a comedic sense, making a funny approach in contrast to the other, typically suspenseful senses of western films. This makes the film stand out more, as it has a more memorable feeling- the narrator is viewed as an actual character, potentially a voice of god?
It is very narrative driven, which seems to be an important key aspect for short films, as they need to be quick, concise and have an understandable ending, with no enigma codes left. It keeps the story restricted and predictable for the audience. The film does this perfectly with the gun fight being resolved and the knowledge that, the next day, everybody who was in the saloon will be dead. A clear, conclusive ending.
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