Short Film Research - Lovefield

After watching this film I was very impressed because the producer’s intention was to trick the audience into thinking that someone was being murdered or tortured when that was not the case at all. It was about a woman giving birth in a corn field with the help of a farmer. At first I certainly did not think this was going to be the case and the producer’s intention worked with a false scare especially seeing a crow at the very beginning of the film. Throughout the film the camera is used very cleverly in restricting the view for the audience with not really giving them enough information to make a decision of what is going on. I would expect an implied target audience for this film to be older adults to a middle aged audience. This film contains scenes that would not really suit a younger audience and that is why I would suggest a certificate of a 12A so they are accompanied by an adult. The film does have scenes with a lady giving birth and implications of murder but they are very brief and not strong enough to have a higher certificate. This short film can be watched on the internet and has been distributed to film festivals in order to showcase the talent involved in the film.

The film has two key characters which are the lady giving birth and the farmer who is their helping her. For the first three quarters of the film you do not actually see the woman who is giving birth which plays a big part in tricking the audience. As an audience you instantly think that the women is being murdered with the camera showing blood stains and a bag laying on the floor with a phone looking like she has been attacked. The other main character (farmer) is first seen looking very guilty and looking about to see if there is anybody about but that’s the trick as he is looking for help.

This film is set in the countryside down a long lonesome road which adds to the distressing fear that they are alone. From first looking and seeing this setting instantaneously as an audience we think that bad things are going to happen because of how deserted it is. Even know the camera is restricted quite a bit at the beginning you can still tell they are in the middle of nowhere. The soundtrack that the film carries is very typical horror material with first of starting with a crow squawking which indicates straights away that something negative is on the horizon. You also hear the phone beeping which tells us that it’s been hung up which adds to the trick that she has been attacked. The most defying sound effect is the lady screaming which instantly tells us that something awful is happening but to be tricked yet again. The music used throughout the short film mainly consists of stringed instruments with high pitched sounds making the film more eerie. In parts of the film the sound gets louder indicating that something bad is about to happen which builds a lot of suspense. When the camera reveals that the woman is actually giving birth the music then changes to signify happiness and relief. The last shot is a slight crane shot with the music becoming louder with the credits appearing.