I thought the short film “The Elevator” was a concise and interesting piece. The protagonist is a pretty normal looking guy looks wise and weight wise, which will come back into the movie later. The crisis that the man faces is that he wants to go up to the top floor safely. He unknowingly sets off on his journey once he gets on the elevator. On the second floor, three heavyset people get on with him. On the third floor, three more large people get on. On this floor, he notices a sign that says WEIGHT CAPACITY: 100 LBS. From then on, he starts worrying about how heavy everyone on the elevator is, adding up all the estimated weights on his phones calculator. The struggle is that he doesn’t want the elevator to come crashing down and them all to die, but also doesn’t want to force everyone off and be rude. The change comes when eventually he has had enough, and forces himself through everyone and gets off. When he goes to take the other elevator up, he is delighted to see that it is full of average weight people. However, when he is already on and the doors close, the people on the elevator with him all start coughing on and around him. When they all get off on the next floor, he sees that it led to a swine flu treatment center. The “new normal” is now when he accepts that he will probably end up being very sick, thanks to his decision.
Light, color, and texture play a significant role in the short film. The change between floors is signified by the number lighting up, which is purposely slow, putting the viewer in the worried mans shoes. The elevator is originally open and bright, but as more people fill in the elevator, the man is cast in an increasingly dark shadow. Once the camera goes above him to show him pulling out his calculator, he is almost unable to be seen in the darkness apart fr0m his head. The only vibrant colors seen are mostly just the clothes of the other passengers, which stacked on top of each other shows how many people are packed in the small space. All of the images look good, and none of the camera angles are too jarring or bizarre.
The aspect ratio is probably a little smaller than I am used to seeing, but that works in the films favor, and heightens the sense of claustrophobia as more and more people pack in the elevator. The camera almost never moves, and is stationary as things happen around it. The only time I could find the screen move at all was when the elevator creaks, and the screen shakes a little bit. As I said before, the depth of the characters was well thought out, as the main character is pushed farther and farther to the back as more people crowd in.
The cinematography was deliberate and well thought out, the opposite effect would be a film that uses a lot of jump cuts and special effects. The only special effect I could find was the previously mentioned shake, where they either shook the camera and the actors moved, or they edited it in afterwards. There is also the close up of someone sneezing on the main character, which was probably done with water or some liquid. The visual style was simple, but I think that helped the movie in the long run.
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