Student Analysis – Nocturnal Windows

Nocturnal Windows

This student production is established as a thriller through key features such as chiaroscuro lighting, characters, sounds, shots and general mise-en-scene. The production opens with a high angle panning establishing shot; this immediately sets the scene and makes the viewer aware of the location. The shot shows many different doors which implies there are perhaps many places to hide, it connotes the idea that there is perhaps someone lurking in one of the many doors thus reinforcing the mystery surrounding the scene, and the thriller genre. There are then several fades to black connected by left to right panning movement showing the location and establishing that the house is apparently empty, however the emptiness has an eerie effect on the audience as it would be a lot more threatening/frightening if someone were to appear. Also the panning is slow which creates suspense we almost feel as if we are looking for someone this connotes a menacing atmosphere that something or someone may be looking.  There is then a dissolve to an exterior of the house, it looks rather old reinforcing the eerie feel of the thriller, the fact that it is at night time (we can infer this through the use of chiaroscuro lighting) ultimately makes the victim more vulnerable as the villain can lurk in the shadows and pounce at any given time. The characters walking towards it signifying that they are approaching the house we’ve can infer this because the interior shots were shown before the exterior shots. 

Alongside the opening shots, there is mysterious non diegetic music with piano notes being played, this creates a sense of apprehension building tension and mystery and it reaches a crescendo and stops as the shot fades to the exterior action. There are then diegetic sounds of footsteps and the door being open and then locked. The camera focuses with a medium shot of the door being locked and a close up on the character locking the door. The light switching off acts as an ellipsis fade which creates irony as the viewer knows that something may be inside the house with them, and they have just locked it in.
There is then an ellipsis into the bedroom, where both the characters are in bed. There is a medium long shot of the bed. The room is lit by a lamp, again there is chiaroscuro lighting establishing the opening as a thriller. The light next to the girl is lit, however the light next to the male is off, this could represent binary oppositions of life and death, as he dies shortly after. As the girl talks there is a medium close up on her face, this emphasizes the scared, nervous tones in her voice. The bedding is a bold red colour; this connotes blood and death which may foreshadow a later event that may take place. The male character reacts reluctantly to checking the house for his girlfriend, and in the end it can be assumed that he gets killed, this fits in with other thrillers we have watched as usually the person who is reluctant but brave enough to check dies.  The use of dialogue and continuity editing establish narrative themes.
As he walks upstairs there is a medium to long shot, we hear the diegetic sound of his footsteps as the shot fades to black, the sound of his footsteps fades away too. The fade to black denotes and ellipsis but could represent the uncertainty of his life.
The music starts again as she is walking upstairs in the dark with only a torch lighting the way. The darkness surrounding her and the torch is unsettling as it suggests something is hiding in it.  Here the lighting could have been better for example having the lights on, however that would not have created the same atmosphere. There is a low angle tracking shot of her as she walks up the stairs, the camera uses a night vision effect to highlight the darkness the character is seeing. The camera tracking behind her makes the viewer empathise and identify with her vulnerability at this point, wondering what lies ahead.  Non diegetic music starts again as there is a close up of her hand opening the door and the torch is shining on it, implying that this room is significant.
There is a non-diegetic sharp high pitched string sound as she witnesses what’s inside the room, and then a close up on her face showing her shocked, disbelief expression. We cut to a medium close up of her dropping the torch in slow motion which signifies the loss of life or falling into a hellish situation. The diegetic sound of the torch dropping on the floor is emphasized to make the viewer feel her shocking impact of the discovery even though we don’t see it.  Here there is a change of pace with faster edits and use of quicker tempo music.
The camera is hand held, with an extreme close up on her face as she runs which creates a sense of urgency and panic. Here, the music is faster than before although we feel it is not fast enough as it needs to create a greater sense of urgency.  It would have been more effective if the music had a faster tempo and sharper notes. There is a cut to a low angle shot of a mysterious pair of feet dressed in black, we don’t see his face which creates more mystery. As she reaches the door she is frantically looking for the keys which we knew were placed on the hook from the earlier medium close up shot but now they have gone, the killer closely planned this. The camera quickly pans round behind her and shows a black figure coming towards her with a knife. The music reaches crescendo as the camera focuses on a close up of the knife.  A splatter font is used as ‘Nocturnal Windows’ appears as a full screen title hinting at disruption and blood/violence.