Evaluative analysis

My short film 'Switch Off' centres around an inventor who is being chased by an unknown figure in a dead forest. We are instantly dropped into the action with Terry running from the strange figure in the woods. The film is a horror, sci/fi and thriller with the dead forest adding to the sci/fi element. This is because before the events of my film, there could off been a nuclear war going on which resulted in the forest becoming devastated and dead. There is certainly a horror element especially towards the end when the android tears some skin off Terry's shoulder to reveal a switch proving he too is an android. I will use fake blood when this happens and fake skin. Right at the end of the short film, there is a reveal that there is a whole army of androids instead of just three with them all looking alike. There is then a mysterious hand shown to be burnt that grabs the lever to release all these androids. The mystery of who the hand belongs to is open for interpretation as it could be Stevie as he was supposedly killed by the Androids laser or it could be that he's in-fact a traitor and was working for these androids all along.

One of the short films I took inspiration from is the 2006 film 'High Maintenance' directed by Phillip Van. I used a twist ending similarly to the one from the film where we find out one of the characters is an android. There will also be hints along the way like the clunking of metal. I included a twist ending in my short film very similar to the one in 'High Maintenance' with a switch on the necks to show the film's antagonist is an android. There are several close up shots in 'High Maintenance' of mouths while the characters are eating. This is to hint at them being androids with the clunking metal noises of the fork. In my short film, there will also be a close up shot of Terry's mouth when he speaks a short line of dialogue to hint he may not be human. An effect will be added, perhaps by slowing the dialogue he speaks or by not quite having the dialogue match the way his mouth is moving. For my reveal of the switch on Terry's neck I will have it buried underneath the skin so the Android has to tear some skin away to reveal it. This is to avoid any questions in the viewer wondering why Terry does not suspect he may be an android.

Terry is our main protagonist as he's the one who is creating these killing machines and the one having to try and escape from them during the course of the film. It is Stevie who is shown to have the hero role as he saves Terry from being killed by the android pursuing him and comes along when Terry is most in danger and in need of help. Stevie takes him away to a hideout in the woods to escape the android. The android is the antagonist here as its only desire is to kill anything different from itself. 

David Lynch's 1970 short film 'The Grandmother' also inspires my short film with the use of colours. The bright red lips of the boy from 'The Grandmother' against the dark background makes it stand out and makes you focus on this character more. This idea will be transferred to my short film as there are three androids in total and they have to wear different coloured hoodies [one is yellow, one is red and the other one is purple] to distinguish them from each other. This will contrast very well with the dark forest and the eerie background. The reason I'm making these androids wear hoodies is to not conform to the usual design of an android. Instead, these androids look more human and trendy. It could also take place in the future with these androids having a more futuristic look. At the start of the chase scene, strange, spooky noises will be played over the sequence in the same way disturbing and sinister sounds are heard at the start of 'The Grandmother' when the boy is coming up through the roots underground. 

The 2011 short film 'Pitch Black Heist' directed by John Maclean is another influence on my short film 'Switch Off'. It involves a group of bank robbers planning a heist. The complete heist is done in darkness and a lot of the atmosphere in 'Switch Off' is created by shooting the film at dusk, at night and at dawn: when Terry and Stevie are planning to escape the android it is set at night, in the woods and this adds to the unease they feel as the android could be hiding in the dark in the trees or undergrowth. 'Switch Off' has a twist ending in that the protagonist of the film ends up being used as part of a setup. This is also true of my short film, in that Terry is unaware that he is an android and is the created, not the creator. We may even suspect that he has been led to the woods thinking he is escaping when really he is running to his own death. The character of Stevie is also ambiguous as there is a chance he may be part of the conspiracy. There is a hand flicking a switch to release the androids at the end of my short film, and this could belong to Terry, Stevie or another android as it is burnt from what could be the use of a weapon. The twist endings in my film 'Switch Off' can be left open to interpretation. 

I want to leave the twist endings uncertain in my film as it makes a bigger impact on the viewer. One major twist in 'Switch Off' is that Terry is an android. This is not ambiguous and is a fact as we see the switch buried under his skin being revealed. Another twist comes after the first android is destroyed and another follows. There is a third android as well and so the idea of an army shown in the film's final scene is hinted at by these initial plot establishing scenes. Having a more ambiguous ending allows the viewer to make up their own minds abut also leaves the ending open to be made into a feature length movie which is often the purpose of short films. The idea that the android or androids in my short film keep coming back despite being destroyed is similar to the character of Jason Vorhees in the Friday the 13th movies which also has a woodland setting and has also been of some inspiration to 'Switch Off'.

A binary opposite in 'Switch Off' is Humans vs Machines. It could also be Humanity vs Technology as shown in the sequence where Terry is shown to be an android: here technology is revealed to exist within organic human flesh and blood. This reveal is the major twist of the movie but also the central shock sequence that takes the mystery and sci-fi themes into horror. This technique was also used by Robert Rodriguez in the 1996 movie 'From Dusk Till Dawn' where a crime thriller turns into a vampire horror movie halfway through. 

A cinematic influence on the ending of my short film was the ending to 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' when the character of Leatherface is dancing and waving his chainsaw about with the sun reflecting off the surface of the chainsaw. This links to my film with the androids walking out of the bunker collectively as an army and the sun is reflecting off their armour. This contests with the rest of the film, within the dark forest. The twist at the end of my film with Terry being revealed to be an android and was actually created by these androids is similar to the tv series and film Westworld and the Terminator films. For the effect of the laser beam striking Stevie, I could use a torch in the Androids sleeve to give the illusion there are laser weapons as part of the Androids design with sound effects from my phone being played over it.

The location of my short film will be set in a woodland area in Westerham. There is a cave with a locked gate by the entrance. I will show Terry and Stevie running into this 'underground bunker' to escape the Android following pursuit. The cave will be used again, at the end when we see the army of android caged in, waking up from their long rest which could of been years since there has been no one to reactivate them... until now. The hand will release the switch an we'll see the army marching out of the cave. I will use a side view shot when they begin to march as I can't show the gate coming up. Since there's a whole army of androids all in one place instead of just three, it will become harder to get more actors to play these minor roles so I could just hire friends to play them. The sound of traffic and background noise will confirm that it is set on Earth in a public place and not on an alien planet where none of the characters are human. This is an advantage as if I decide to extend the film, the androids could bump into dog walkers or members of the public.

If this film was made feature-length, I could have flashback scenes in Terry's laboratory where he first designed these androids. As well as Stevie researching Terry's past work in a flashback scene as he already knows about his previous creations. It could also have the androids marching Into town and smashing shop windowsAn example of a short film that was developed into a feature length is the horror movie 'Lights Out': the short film version directed by David Sandberg was made in 2013 and the feature length released in 2016.