Time Persists:

The dialogue in this short film is sparse, virtually none in the first half with more in the second half. It is delivered methodically because most of the story is told through visuals. The dialogue in the first half is simple, being spoken alongside childish laughter and slow music. Meanwhile there is no music once the second half (when the adults in black show up) begins. Everything is laser focused on the stand-off between the two groups, the camera is already trained on each character for a second before dialogue is spoken, things are going at a slow burn.

The final charge between the two sides uses a short fast paced drum roll to exaggerate the hectic tension of the split second scenes. The sound focuses in on playful sounds, giggling, playing with army men, and playing the Xilophone are heightened to show off the childlike nature of the characters while the sounds of nature around the actors is muted. These contribute to the dreamy childlike atmosphere of the opening sequence.

The Xilophone at the beginning of the film plays an instrumental version of “Hush Little Baby” which is then reprised in the credits with a mournful tone. The juxtaposition of a calm, loving song meant to comfort a child being sung in such an eerie way signifies the inevitability of “Time Persisting”, that no matter how much we fight it we eventually are forced to grow up, and any comforts we surround ourselves with to deny that are, like the credits rendition of Hush Little Baby, rings hollow.

Joe:

There is no dialogue over the course of this film, yet sound is the most important medium of telling this short films narrative. Instead of dialogue, character personality is established through their movement and sound effects, with cuts happening most of the time when a character changes their movement or when another character enters the scene.

Everything that could possibly make a sound in this film makes one, often times exaggerated in terms of volume. Every single step the main character makes is heard clearly, constantly reminding the audience of their existence even when they are not in frame and maintaining a solid connection between them and the main character. Sitting down, moving something, every sound is immediately made the draw of the audience’s attention. This is aided by the complete lack of color in the film, casting everything in a constrained black and white that forces the audience to reply more on the audio for details. This restriction and amplification of which senses are stimulated gives the whole film a weird “vibe” making everything feel both sterile (with the black and white” and hyper sensitive (the sound), perhaps cluing the audience in on the main character’s mental state and how he perceives the world around him.

There is a small about of music played at the beginning and end of the film. The music is a light slightly happy tune played on the harmonica. This tune also comes alongside him shinning his shoes. This music sets up two ideas at once. One: The happy tone of the sound accompanied by his shoe shinning establishes a connection between a mood, an action, and an object. These shoes, and by extension the act of cleaning them, bring happiness to their wearer. Meanwhile the music’s choice of instrument implies something extra. Harmonicas have one very common connotation accompanied with them. Imprisonment. Look at any wild west movie jail and you find a harmonica player, this subtly sets up later pieces of the films setting. It combines with the restrictive colors, lack of dialogue, and overall bland environment to get across that this character is in a confined lifestyle. And what brings him joy in this dreary life? Shinning his shoes. This intro and outro music sets up both the underling problem in the narrative and the silver lining within it.

• Saved: A3, Lab1