Recently, we've been trapped. So, I'm doing English work so I can do something useful with myself. The following paragraphs are centred around varied film aspects shown in the short film 'The Albatross'. This is the final work before I look at introductions and conclusions and then begin my essay. I will show a slideshow and then have the text written below in order to assure myself that there is proof and yes, yes, I did do my work regardless of whether or not technology wants to work with me.
The motif of the bird shown in the short film ‘The Albatross’ has an extremely important role to the plotline. We see the bird on five separate occasions. At the very beginning when the elderly man takes the alcohol, when the man is sailing out into the water, after he has lost his fishing rod, when it appears on the shoulder of the creature and close to the end when it flies onto his shoulder. This makes the audience understand that the bird is important. It often appears when the man drinks or is close to alcohol. The bird is what the audience sees as the other option. The creators did this to represent a choice for the man. He can choose the option that the creature reflects is horribly affecting him, or he can choose the bird. When he chooses the bird we see the empty bottle of alcohol dropping to the bottom of the ocean. Coinciding with this is the sound we hear when the bird is shown. There is only the tweeting of the bird and soft music. Contrasting this was the sound when the creature was seen with the bottle of alcohol. It is deep and the creatures harsh voice was terrifying. This aspect can be contrasted to a motif shown in James Mangold’s ‘Walk The Line’ where the phone is a motif representing the character missing out on something or someone.
In the short film ‘The Albatross’ the use of symbolism through the colour orange was used expertly. This is demonstrated through the two objects that we see the colour orange in. These objects are the bottle of alcohol and the feathers of the bird. This makes the audience feel that these are the most important features of the film as they are recurring throughout the film from start to end. The purpose of the colour orange to highlight the aspects that are considered his options. The man has the choice between the bird and the alcohol. Coinciding with this was the contrasts made between the objects. The bird is small and round, while the alcohol has a rigid and rectangular shape. However, the shape of the alcohol bottle can be contrasted to the features of the body of the creature. The alcohol bottle and the creature have ridged edges, but by the end, they are both empty. This reminds me of how the colour orange was used in the film ‘The Godfather’. It allures people through romantic shades but slowly turns red throughout. As the red becomes more prominent, more is revealed in the criminal underworld.
Camera movement is used effectively in the short film “The Albatross’. We see this during the climax of the film. The camera ceases to simply be slowly tracking the subjects and begins to move at a quicker pace and tilting. This shows the audience how drunk the man and the creature are becoming. They are losing their grip on what reality is. This was done in order to show the creature and how the alcohol just passed through him, but he still got drunk. This contrasts to how we see the man take in the alcohol and he still becomes drunk as well. This worked well with the angles we get to see them both from. The angles become more and more tilted as the climax progresses. The creators also used sound well. They distorted different sounds heard throughout the scene and allowed others to be more prominent. An example being the cracking of the creature’s body. This aspect can be compared to the camera movement shown in ‘Limitless’ wherein a scene where Eddie and Melissa discuss her side effects the camera is never still. The camera is always focussed on the two of them, but shaking and it is representative of their drug-affected states.
Music is used amazingly in the short film ‘The Albatross’. Similarly to camera movement, music is seen particularly in the climax of the film where the audience gets to see the creature and the man drinking the alcohol. The music is deep at first, before becoming eerie and high pitched. The high-pitched tones heard in the music are comparable to the sounds heard when the creatures body cracks and we hear the alcohol sloshing. The music is becoming prominent compared to the other features during this portion of the film. This makes the audience think that horrible things are approaching. The purpose of this music was to contrast against the music we hear when the bird is shown on screen. While the music is still high-pitched, it is now a quiet, soft piano tune rather than the harsh, loud and scary music associated with the creature. Coinciding with this is the camera angles shown when focussed on the varied subjects. When on the bird, the audience is looking down onto the bird. It is small and non-threatening. When on the creature, the audience is scared and sees how large the creature is from the low camera angle. This aspect can be compared to one found in video games such as ‘Undertale’. When approaching a threatening creature, the music changes in order to accommodate the creature encountered. It becomes quick-paced, similar to the music we hear during the climax of the film.
That honestly looked like a lot fewer words in the slideshow and I'm sorry if you really did read that. It would not be set out in this format when properly used in an essay. It would instead seem like it is a continuation, rather than every paragraph seemingly being a stand-alone product.
Wednesday 1 April 2020
English Group Work and Critical Literacy Questions
These Critical Literacy questions are focussed around this film named 'The Albatross'. The goal of this task is to learn about film aspects and how they contribute to the creation and the visual and sound effects of the film.
What is the text about? How do we know?
This text is a short animated film titled 'The Albatross' that is just under seven minutes long. It is about a lonely, elderly man and his struggles with alcohol. The man is never seen talking or communicating with anyone besides the creature featured within the film. Even then, communication is simply a bond shared through their desire to drink. He is seen to finish an entire bottle, leading to my conclusion about him struggling with alcohol. The creature featured in the short film is meant to represent a reflection of the elderly man and his only desire to drink himself away. The film has a sweet ending though. The bird that represents the man's other choice is eventually chosen and the creature has left him to die alone.
Whose allowed to speak? Who is quoted?
The only one who is seen talking is the creature while he communicates with the man, but receives no response. This is seen as a representation of the man's inability to say no to the struggles he has or the insistence of others.
What does the author of the text want us to know?
The creators of the film want us to know that there are other options. In the end, the man chose to overcome the creature and what he was forcing him to do by choosing the bird instead. The bird is that other option. While he does not know what may come of him by choosing the bird, he has left the demonic creature behind and is shown to defeat him. The ending credits show the empty bottle being dropped to the ocean floor, *COUGH COUGH* LITTERING *COUGH COUGH* representing how he has dropped everything the demon wanted him to do for something as small as the bird.
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