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| POV shot of newborn kid |
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| POV shot of old man in hospital |
This short film, "Last Day Dream" directed by Chris Milk, tells a story in less than one minute. Although only being 42 seconds long, it reveals to us the life of an individual (whom we'll refer to as "viewer") from birth to death, showing only a few frames at a time. Because of this, each shot serves great importance. It must be composed in a form in which the audience is able to relate and understand what is going on in the shot. It is immediately communicated to the viewers that the video is about this child that is born. We know this because the placement of the camera makes it seem that we are experiencing life through the eyes of the viewer. This is otherwise known as a point of view, or POV shot. The opening shot is important because in the end, the shot reappears. The blur effect indicates a lack of focus through the eye of the child. The visual balance of the two parents show that they both have a significant role. The last shot is to have the greatest impact on the audience because it marks the end of the journey through this individual's life. The audience is supposed to understand that this the set-up of this shot is nearly identical to the beginning. The lighting in the final shot is seemingly duller and blurrier than that of the beginning.
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| The use of the rule of thirds highlights importance |
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| A lower exposure was probably used to shoot these shots |
The composition in the film is stays simple. It uses the rules of thirds constantly to highlight importance, which is usually another individual interacting with the viewer. They are mostly placed on the higher right side intersect. There is no significant z-blocking shown in this film. In this shot where the father is playing with the viewer on the swings, it reveals a background of trees influencing the depth of feel. The lighting is also simple, using mainly the light from the sun. During this shot, along with others that are directly pointing at the sun, the exposure was most likely turned to a lower setting, allowing less light to enter the lens. This is apparent in the darker edges. The illusion of looking through this person's eyes is further enhanced with the lack of focus in order to indicate movement.
The film uses a lot of close ups and extreme close ups to increase that feeling of safety and reminiscence. These life experiences are to be related to and therefore the feeling of closeness must be created. Shots like these show us the a togetherness with the other individual. This shot in particular
uses a shallow focus in order to reveal importance in the viewer's wife. By not focusing on the background, it draws attention to the women who we presume is the individual's wife. The cutoffs are on the forehead and around the shoulder area. If the cutoff were to be above the top of the head, the wedding veil would become another point of interest. The cinematographer may have considered this when deciding how the shot would be set up.
