Ben Mongardini - Black Hole Media Language

‘The Black Hole’ begins with a Looney Tunes style title intro, with a black circular border retreating with the title in white sans-serif font in the centre, soon to fade away. Right away this reveals a diagonal Tracking movement through the desks, towards the character, stopping right in front of him. This shows both him and the office setting. This Setting is confirmed with the cubicle like desks, with computers, desk lights and what may be a fax machine. The character (John for convenience as no name is given), is composed in the centre of the frame with a Medium Close Up. Sound-wise there is not much yet, largely ambient office machine sounds. Clicking and beeping printer with buzzing ceiling lights, all being Diegetic with no Non-Diegetic sounds heard in the entire except perhaps for the black hole itself.

 

Right away we can see from John’s costume is a white shirt with rolled up sleeves and a tie with a loose collar. This with his messy hair, tired and distant facial expression and somber, dark setting shows he is likely working late hours. The low lighting connotes a late hour, most likely after dark. This is due to the grey overtone and the fact that despite all the ceiling halogen lights being on, the corners are dark and the general light is soft. This may show John’s possible sleep deprivation as he battles to concentrate under what should an evenly and brightly lit office. John’s first action is a sigh just as the camera frames him in the centre. A very small sigh, with a very small lift of the shoulders. The office sounds purposefully diminuendos to make it audible. If not, John wouldn’t be on the same level with the audience. The famous line, “I can’t hear myself think” is a lie. Of course we can hear ourselves think, we can hear ourselves sigh, and if we can’t hear John over a printer, why should we worry about him being tired?

 

The next shot is a Close Up, High angle of John’s hand pushing a button on the printer. The camera being on the inside of his right arm simulates a Point Of View shot. I say simulate as the camera is more on his mid torso than his eyes. This is to preserve a wide enough frame while keeping the subject of the shot (i.e. the button) to a decent size. The printer then makes a three tone beep followed by silence. Assuming by John’s frustrated facial expression and the repeated it can be well assumed that it is not working. In what could be called a Reverse Shot to the printer, John hammers the button a few more times shown at Eye Level in a Big Close Up, all the while, the same Diegetic beep can still heard. A Cut shows a kick to the printer with a small, hollow plastic diegetic thud being made in Medium Close Up. This then moves to reveal the main plot device, the Black Hole, sliding in from the top of the frame from the printer output, clearly showing its importance. The lighting is directed so that the Black Hole, once in the middle of the frame, is nice and bright compared to its surroundings, adding to what the audience should already know, will be an important piece to the story. After John picks it up, we cut to a Close Up of John’s face. This is to show his immediate reaction and facial expressions in detail upon inspecting the Black Hole. He appears confused as to why a black circle was printed. This is shown by his neutral mouth and squinting eyes, really trying to understand what he is holding.

While trying to do this, the shot frequency suddenly increases for 4 shots, holding averagely 2 seconds for each shot. While this may seem rather slow, compared to the previous 4-6 seconds per shot, it is a rather sizable increase. This series of shots, begins with the aforementioned puzzled look in a wonderful Close Up. Second, is a cut outwards to a Medium Shot, the camera is still placed directly ahead of John. This is done to show John’s action of putting the Black Hole down clearly. If this was shown in the previous Close Up, all that the audience would see is John’s head move to the side, with no clear reason why. Fitting the scene, diegetic sounds of rustling paper can be heard as John handles the Black Hole. These are most likely recorded as Foley in a sound treated studio due to how crisp and clean they sound. The next shot is from the side and a little wider but still a Medium Shot with no camera movement. The quickest of all the shots, John opens the scanner atop the printer, most likely checking if the Black Hole was simply photocopied on accident. With the camera positioned to the side we are able to see with John that the scanner is empty. Opening the printer also starts the very same sounds that have been Crescendo-ing and Diminuendo-ing on and off throughout. Aside from slight ambiance, beeps and clacks from the printer are still the only Diegetic sounds made. As of yet there are no Non-Diegetic sounds. The final shot Cuts to a Medium Close Up is used to again show his facial expressions, as this shot size is good at doing. He first has his eyebrows are close together in a frown, still trying to make sense of the printers odd behaviour. An Off-Screen green light is then shone on the John’s face, dazzling him. This is meant to be the light of the scanner. We can see he is dazzled in the wonderful Medium Close Up because of, once again, his eyes and eyebrows. John quickly blinks as his eyebrows rise up, however this is typically seen as the facial expression for surprise or somewhat more extreme, disbelief. What he believed was an printer/scanner error turns to be have no apparent reason. This look has also serves to slow the pace of the film and frequency of the shots back down to what it was before.

  

Moving on, a Match on Action of John closing the scanner cover Cuts from a Medium Close Up to a Medium Shot. A quick check of his watch and a drink from his empty plastic cup Prop cuts John’s camera to a shot from inside the Black Hole. A Medium Close Up in a Very Low Angle, with small curved black edges in the top corners of the frame.Furthermore, after the transition, the sounds of the scene diminuendo suddenly to mute. A new Sci-Fi Foley sound is played in the gap. A low artificial hum, sounding like a floating UFO or Star Trek style anti-gravity technology. This sound clip may have been from a stock sound repository, or it could have been recorded as a Foley and been significantly altered to sound the way it is. The camera angle, plus the curved vignette seems to connote that this is a POV of the Black Hole. John being composed in the frame to the side with the camera on his right corresponds with where he placed down the Black Hole. However, this is only a short 1 second shot, nowhere near long enough for the audience to come to this conclusion, perhaps an inkling, but what would confirm it is the next few scenes of John placing his cup inside the Black Hole.

 

A simple Match on  Action shows the cup being placed towards the Black Hole followed by rustling plastic Foley and the Sci-Fi hum from before begin right on the Cut, making them Off Screen. Other than the auditory cue, John’s Body Language gives another clue that something of interest has happened. All the previous Diegetic printer Ambiance Diminuendos to something almost inaudible. John stumbles back, in way I could only compare to expecting to have reached the bottom of a staircase but instead being greeted with a sneaky extra step. Something unexpected happens and after his small tumble stops, he looks down at his still outstretched arm. This quickly confirms where the ‘something of interest’ has happened in this Restricted Narrative. This is a Restricted Narrative because we are given information at the same time as John discovers it. Finding more information, we Cut back to inside the Black Hole, but this time John is staring directly into the camera in a Medium Close Up. His Expression is that of shock with a wide open mouth and eyebrows as flat as a ruler.

 

As the Diegetic printer Ambience continues, John moves left to examine his new discovery. In a Close Up, Eye Level, Medium Close Up, Eye Level and Medium Close Up, Slight High Angle (in that order) his experimentation process is shown, in which we learn of the powers of the Black Hole. The first Medium Close Up, has John composed in the centre with the bleak, overhead Key lighting shining onto his head. He has knelt down to the Black Hole’s level with a similar but yet different facial expression than before. His eyebrows are relaxed, and his eyes are focused solely on the Black Hole. his mouth is still open in disbelief but relaxed open. This Expression seems to be saying, ‘Okay, now what do I do?’. And what he does is move his right hand over it, slightly twitching as he does, to test if it really is a hole. The moment the Sci-Fi hum is heard, John suddenly pulls back his hand and widens his eyes in disbelief. Furthermore, he checks over his shoulder, quickly and frantically, putting further points on disbelief. This is shown with a Cut to a  wider Medium Close Up frame. The camera is also offset to the left slightly, which, with the machine setting Prop in front of him, gives a rather claustrophobic feel. This camera position also allows better view of the head turn. On the Cut back to the previous camera position (like a Shot Reverse Shot), John tries again with his hand. This time, the camera is higher and wider than before. This gives a better view of the Black Hole than before, something rather important for what is about to happen. As John moves his hand into the Black Hole, the very familiar Sci-Fi hum Crescendos as John’s hand begins to fall right through.

 

 

At the Edge of where John’s hand meets the Black Hole, there is a slight discolouration of black. A small gradient of darkness shown here just above his wrist. Just below it is where the hand was cut off in Post Production. A black edge corresponding with the edge of the circle. This may have been done with an entirely CGI forearm. Alternatively, there could actually be a hole cut into the paper and the office machinery. A Special Effects editor would then merely need to apply a black circle onto the required surface, making sure the actors arm is not covered by it until the point of entrance. Either could be done and there most certainly are more ways to do this, it just depends on the budget and equipment available. With a small plastic rustle Foley sound, John then proceeds to take his plastic cup prop out of the Black Hole. At the exact moment his hand is outside, the Sci-Fi hum Diminuendos to nothing, while the printer Ambiance Crescendos back to previous levels. John’s Facial Expression upon his discovery says it all. In many ways it is exactly the same as his previous disbelief, open mouth and wide eyes but this time his face is more relaxed. It’s the same with his body language with his low shoulders. Furthermore, he is leaning back slightly which, combined with the arms held up at the elbows shows John is taken away by what he has just seen. It could also mean that he is considering doing something with the arms up in perhaps a state of readiness. The Medium Shot here is better choice than a Medium Close Up or smaller because the Body Language can be seen clearly. The smaller frame sizes are typically used for Facial Expressions and specific details.

Many would be naturally excited after discovering a loophole to all laws of Physics and Reality as we know them, and John is no exception. Upon realising what he has, ecstatically begins to think of ways to use the Black Hole. In this Medium Close Up he begins to quickly look around him as if to check if anyone saw what he just did. But not to boast and show off, rather to keep it to himself. This is evident by his slight smirk and almost glee in his eyes. In this shot, the bags under John’s eyes become more apparent. A little touch on the Make Up to show just how tired John is at the moment. But I digress. John’s first target is the office vending machine. This is shown in a Long Shot with a slow zoom Follow movement. John walks past the camera’s left side, heading toward the vending machine. Placing the Black Hole on the machine’s glass window there is a Cut to John’s left. A Medium Shot which shows what he is doing far better than a Long Shot facing his back. After the Diegetic Foley paper rustle Diminuendos to nothing, John gives a quick look behind him, making sure no one is looking on, before moving his hand into the vending machine. Just before John’s hand enters, there is a Match on Action Cut to to a Medium Close Up. This Cut would help to change the vending machine prop to one that the actor could put his hand through to then take out a chocolate bar. This Cut also shows the action better than the previous shot with its smaller frame. The same black circle void effect is applied as the last time. However, this time the dark gradient from before is not present. This may be because of the vending machine’s Practical light shining directly onto John’s arm. As the Sci-Fi hum Crescendos and Diminuendos in time with John’s hand being inside the Black Hole, another plastic rustle foley can be heard over everything. However unlikely the previous plastic cup foley, this is softer with more frequent crinkles, like a candy wrapper. The moment the chocolate bar is out, there is a cut back to the previous Medium Long Shot of John ogling at his stolen goods. Is mouth is yet again open, but this time his expression is of amazement.

 

 

John slowly walks towards the camera, eating the chocolate bar and admiring the Black Hole in Medium Close Up, Eye Level seemingly happy as Larry. His smile is only matched by the Diegetic mastication sounds, Synchronous with the movement of his mouth. To keep his composition the same in the frame as he walks towards the camera, there is a slight Tilt up that stops when John stops walking. In the next shot, a Big Close Up, his smile is even more present. But when looking around in glee he spots his next target. This is shown by the sudden drop in the smile-o-meter. A the next cut shows a door which, by comparing the general angle at which John was looking at, we can assume that this is what he was looking at with Eyeline Match. This door is very dimly lit with one overhead office light as seen in the first shot. The door itself has a distorted glass window at the top, a bronzed handle and a sign saying ‘Keep out’. This clearly suggest something forbidden to John, perhaps something he wants but was until now, unobtainable. A slow zoom in towards the door helps to magnify its current significance, as if it stands there as an obstacle. Additionally, in this shot the printer ambience is silently in the background of this shot, likely meaning a move back to the office setting or simply filling the silence in these shots. On the Reverse shot back, we can John has his game face on, with stern eyes that gives a rather menacing look and his single bite of his chocolate bar before heading off into more burglary. It’s a decisive look that says ‘I am going to do this’.

 

What he does do is use the Black Hole to open the door from the inside. This is shown at  the eye level of the door handle in a Medium Close Up/Close Up frame to show the action clearly. A cut to the the other side of the door silhouettes John in the glass just before he opens the door and turns  the room’s lights on. This light flashes and softly clicks a few times before steadily casting an ominous shadow on John’s face as he walks underneath it. This light is the same as the others, keeping the theme and look of the short film uniform. Bleak and grey with bright highlights. The shadow cast on John’s face covers his eyes and fades gradually down his face. While making him look like a super villain, it hides the emotions he may be expressing with his eyes, and with the lack of that information, his frowning open mouth seems rather wicked. The next two shots show John walking towards a safe into the room. He kneels, presses the Black Hole against the safe door and runs his left thumb up from the top of the Black Hole onto the safe, in a motion that would suggest he used sticky tape to hold the paper. This action is, like before, shown in a Close Up, both show it clearly and empathise its meaning. With a through and twitchy look behind him, we can see that John may not exactly be at his best right now and that perhaps he knows it. He knows that he really shouldn’t do what he is in the process of doing. His eyes are wide open, really trying to see if anyone could possibly catch him in the act. Yet he still puts his hand in the Black Hole to pull out a block of bank notes. His face is one of absolute glee. A wide grin from ear to ear with a wad of cash in his hand tells you John has reached his goal. The cash is originally shown in a Close Up frame which does not include John’s face. To rectify this, a simple Tilt up shows what he feeling. The frequency of the shots now increase dramatically to half a second a shot as John takes more and more cash out of the safe. Several shots are used in this scene, from the three already seen (Long Shot outside the door, Long shot inside of the safe and Close of John) there are more looking at the growing money pile next John (Close Up) and Tracking shots of John (Medium Close Up/Close Up) where the camera follows John. The main idea is that he is becoming frantic, smiling, biting his lip, panting heavily (throughout the robbery) and sweating. As this goes on, he is reaching further and further into the safe to a point where he can’t reach any more cash. John begins to move his whole body through the Black Hole. As he does, the Sci-Fi hum Crescendos to the loudest it has been so far but then stops with the Foley sound of a suction cup as John has passed his whole body through the Black Hole. The tape holding the Black Hole fails and it rustles down to the floor. A long shot of the safe is shown with the camera cutting further and further away as a soft metalic bannging can be heard. Presumably this is John inside the safe, making it a Diegetic sound. The printer Ambiance that had, until now been softly in the background, Crescendos with each cut away from the safe. It has one last hurrah with a very loud printer Foley sound that plays Synchronous with the last Cut to Black.