Media Language in 'The Black Hole' - A2 - Maisie

To begin with, the editing of the title shows a circular motion move out from the middle of the screen, clearly linking to the main focus of the short film. The sound that is later shown to be diegetic is of a printer or photocopier, establishes the setting of an office.

As the camera pans, it reveals a man standing at said photocopier and it is evident from his facial expression and body language that he is tired and bored. This is reflected in the setting behind him; the colours are very bland and almost desaturated, there is low key lighting to suggest a dull atmosphere, and his clothing is simple and slightly askew as his collar and tie is loose.

The camera cuts as he presses the button. As the shot type is a CU, it suggests that this action is important. This is confirmed as it cuts to the man's confused face and then back to a CU of him repeatedly tapping the button.

It then cuts to a MS of him kicking the photocopier, and as a result, a piece of paper with a large black circle on appears. The sudden change of angle and shot gives this emphasis and immediately presents the key focus of the short film.

Once he picks it up, the shot changes from a LS to a CU, signalling change. The man then proceeds to discover what this 'black hole' can do, as specific editing techniques show that he can put his hand through it, and his facial expression first shows confusion and then euphoria.

The camera cuts to a low angle MS from inside the hole, emphasising what it can do. This is accompanied by a whirring sound effect, suggesting that it is not natural or that it's even alien. This creates an enigma as to why this black hole has appeared and where it came from. This proves to be unimportant as the man starts to use the black hole for his own gain, thus beginning to imply the moral of the short film.

As the camera tracks him towards the vending machine, the audience then realises that the man intends to use this black hole for his own gain. This continues as he eats the chocolate bar with an expression of joy and smugness on his face.

He then moves on to the safe, and the audience are now put in a position to think less of him. When he opens the door, the lighting is coming from above which shadows most of his face, giving him an ominous look.

The camera cuts to a MCU as he reaches into the safe and pans down to the wad of money now in his hands. The pan is slow and could be reflecting his slowly growing discovery and euphoria at the situation, and so carries on. The next series of shots is used to create ellipsis and to show time passing as he empties out the safe; the frequency of the shots suggests a long period of time, and multiple CUs on the ever growing pile of money confirms this.

Inevitably, at the end, the black hole falls off the safe and traps the man inside, which the audience can approve of or disapprove of depending on where they feel positioned (the majority mainly disapproving as he only used the black hole for what he wanted, therefore he is selfish).

The obvious moral of the film is that humans are only interested in personal gain and can easily be overcome by power in certain situations, which then lead to something going horribly wrong.

Key:

• Blue = mise en scene
• Red = sound
• Orange = editing
• Green = camerawork