Blog Post #3: "Reflections" (2012)

I watched “Reflections” (2012) directed by Max Lamonte, a 2 and a half minute long film hosted on Youtube. This film is driven by sound, primarily a heart beating, stilting low tones, and piercing high tones. The music drives the action, the character first reacting to the sound of knives and creaking doors, but at some points reacts to the crescendo of the music as if it exists within his world. The music also seems to drive the cuts, most notably in the beginning of the film. When the music pauses, the shot ends and a new one begins with the music starting up again. This isn't universal across the length of the film – many times the music's phrasing will encompass two or three shots. In addition to driving the pacing, the music seems to get louder during the darker shots and then lightens up again with just a heart beating (similar to the beginning of the film) nearing the end when the character comes back to the lit living room. At the end, the final piercing note is heard as the knife is lifted and the camera follows, pointing towards the shadowed ceiling. The shots themselves are all similar in quality – warm tones, soft and minimal lighting. Through the suspense, the shots gradually grow dimmer and then slowly lighten up again at the end – no shot seems too lit, too dark, or out of place because we are slowly guided through the cyclical lighting structure until the end. The shots in relation to each other are highly responsive – guy on laptop, we see what he's typing, back to previous shot of him on the couch – reaction shot to knife sound. The film as a whole is traditionally structured without much risk being taken in editing.