Wasp short film - analysis

handheld camera
close-up shots
camera follows people as it moves
uncomfortable shots of people fighting or mouths or feet
natural daylight - realism
diegetic sound - realism
Shakespeare road - contrast
red dress - makes her stand out
depth of field - shows how the mum is putting the man first before her children

Wasp uses cinematography to ground the film in realism and makes the spectator empathise with the characters on screen. One way it does this is through the use of a handheld camera which never stays still and rarely focuses on one thing which emulates the hyper-energy of the children as they are clearly difficult to manage. The use of close-ups alongside the handheld camera add to the discomfort of the scene, zooming in on parts of the body such as mouths and feet to create a sense of claustrophobia, similar to the lack of space the family have. Complemented by natural light and, later on, natural darkness, there is nothing artificial about the film, illustrating to the spectator how the lives shown in this film are very real outside of it.

Another way cinematography is used in Wasp is to show how the mother is prioritising the man she's talking to - Dave - over her children. This is done through the use of depth-of-field where the mother and Dave are in the forefront and her daughter is in the background, each equally focused, to display how the mother is leaving her children behind to pursue a love interest. This makes the spectator understand the limitations of poverty and how it stops people being able to do what they want. This concept is explored further through the editing of the film where it cuts between the mother and Dave making out and the children dealing with a wasp which completely separates the mother and her children. This exemplifies how, in poverty, lots of sacrifices have to be made and, whilst the mother is in the wrong for leaving her children unattended in a pub car-park, the motives for her decision make sense to the viewer. 

www - great use of terminology as well as references to wider ranges of ideas and the outside world

ebi - used some clearer/specific examples from the text 


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