The Gunfighter - JD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYP-2UCS5nY

Genre: Western Comedy

Directors Name: Eric Kissack

Year of Release: 2014

Length of Film: 9 Minutes

Key Elements:

• Sound:

  • Synchronized Music (Used to underscore the emotional intent)

  • At the start, we first see the Gunfighter alongside tense music as he walks into the Saloon. This indicates that the Gunfighter will bring conflict.
    

• Mise-En-Scene:

  • The Gunfighter is wearing a black cowboy outfit which connotes death, foreshadowing the end of the short film.

  • There is use of Natural Lighting to focus on the Gunfighter, indicating that he is the protagonist.
    

• Cinematography:

  • Uses many different shot types. These include:

    • Two-Shot

    • Close-Up Shot

    • Mid-Shot

    • Wide-Shot

Conventions of The Western Narrative:

• Overall, the film follows many of the Western Conventions. This includes:

  • Location (Saloon)

  • Character Types

  • Mise-En-Scene

Narrative:

• Narrative is restrictive/predictable and is driven by conflict, largely due to the narration used in the film. By the end, it must be resolved. Even though by the end, only one character has survived the gunfight her conflict has been resolved.

What will I take from this Short Film?

Overall, the way the short film uses sound to drive conflict is something I will be adopting in my short film. Furthermore, I will also look to adapting Mise-En-Scene in my short film to also foreshadow character types in my film.