TEXTUAL ANALYSIS- 2AM THE SMILING MAN

Character Representation:

There are only two characters used throughout the short film. The protagonist is the first character to be introduced to the audience. He is represented as an average person, making him relatable for the audience. The audience is drawn to him from the start with the long takes of him walking down the street. The protagonist is represented as isolated, as he is the only one walking the streets that late at night, which creates a mysterious atmosphere.

The craziness of the antagonist is enhanced through the low-key lighting, and the mystery at the start of not being able to see the whole of his face. The audience also becomes more tense as there are close ups used of the protagonist, meaning the viewer can sense the panic. The long shots and medium shots of the antagonist means the viewer can sense the character is threatening.

The way he moves in the scene shows that he is a strange and unusual character. He is also represented as mysterious, as he is introduced walking from the dark shadows into the light of the streetlamp, so it is unclear to the audience who he is and whether he is aggressive or not, this builds up the suspense, especially with the sound effects of the footsteps creeping up on the protagonist.

Locations:

The only location used throughout is a street; it creates an eerie and gloomy atmosphere. The isolated road, with no one driving past, shows that no one can save him from the antagonist. This enhances the panic among the audience. The use of the opposite side of the off the road as him, he feels threatened and unsafe. It shows the clear contrast between being safe and not.

When the antagonist turns off the main street and enters the next road, it is completely pitch black, suggesting there is no hope left. The use of the antagonist reappearing at the end suggest he can’t escape his fate. The antagonist uses the atmosphere of the location to enhance his creepy characteristics, to make the audience fell uneasy and tense.

Editing Techniques:

The eye line match used when the protagonist notices the antagonist builds suspense among the audience. As they are already placed in a gloomy atmosphere and are unaware of the events that are going to occur. The shot/reverse/shot, between the two characters, show the reaction to the antagonist and enforces what emotions the audience should be feeling in their position. When the protagonist notices him he stays calm, however he begins to look increasing concerned, which raises an unsettling feeling amongst the audience.

The continuous cuts between the shots show that the antagonist is constantly focused on the protagonist, which raises the suspense, as the audience don’t know what he is going to do to him. It also represents the realisation the character has that the antagonist is behind him.

The long take used after the dialogue, ‘what the hell do you want?’ shows the antagonist facing him, however he turns to walk away. This long take enhances the nervousness of the audience, relating to the panic of the protagonist. There is also a long take on the protagonist’s reaction to this, which shows him looking down and then walking away as well, this encourages the audience to feel tense and suspense is raised as the viewer would expect a jump scare from the shot.

Sound:

The non-diegetic sound used at the start of the shot reinforces the eerie and gloomy atmosphere. The silence with just diegetic sound of his footsteps also shows how the protagonist is lonely and isolated on the street with no one to help him. 

When he notices the antagonist, all you can hear are footsteps from the character. The percussion beat used when the protagonist spots the antagonist on the other aide of the road signifies the immediate sock experienced by the character, creating a sense of panic. The constant ambient sound of the wind in the background emphasises the silence.

In the long take of the antagonist, the sound becomes more intense, with the high and low pitches being interspersed with each other to build tension among the audience. This sound also becomes more suspenseful, as the silence before hand makes it more sudden and unsettling. When the sound stops, the audiences becomes more anxious that something might happen. The dialogue ‘what the hell do you want?’ emphasises the protagonist being scared, which causes suspense to be built. The silence then turns back to the walking footsteps after the dialogue is used to enhance this tension. This makes the audience feel slightly relieved as they feel the antagonist is leaving. These footsteps could represent the protagonist’s heartbeat slowing down, and when the antagonist turns back and chases him the change in the tempo with these fast paced footsteps could be the heartbeat increasing.