"Sleepover" - Short film analysis

The Opening shot is an establishing shot- a pan across the contents of underneath a bed. The props used convey the feeling that the upcoming film is going to be a horror. This is due to item such as the white mask and creepy doll. This shot is accompanied by non-diegetic music which is very eerie, only a few instruments are used and it is very slow paced. Also the lighting in this shot is vey low key. It is dark and dingy but light enough that we can see clearly what the props under the bed are. This altogether lets the audience know what they are in for and sets the scene.

We then hear dialogue for the first time when meeting the characters. They are checking under the bed, we assume for monsters. Then a woman walks in and she askes them weather they have checked under the bed and the cupboard. This indirectly tells us that they may have a fear of something being under there and it is routine to check.

 When she leaves we get a Birdseye shot of the boys lying down and here we get a real picture of what the boy is like due to the shot type, composition in the frame and dialogue.
Firstly he says "thanks for coming over, its been a while since I've had a neighbour" this lets the audience know that he is quite lonely, may not have any friends and the neighbourhood is not a desired place to live in despite their nice house. Also the dark haired boy seems very childish as the has a typical child's bed (shown by the bedhead) and his duvet has cartoon dinosaurs printed all over it as well as other accessories in his room. All of this is very opposite from his friend. Their costume tell us that they are very different, as the slightly more immature boy is wearing a pyjama set with blue and white stripes. The other boy hasn't even got changed to go to sleep, instead he is wearing a hoodie and jeans. Although they are still very childish colours, which shows there is still some immaturity about him. The other boy also displays older behaviour by wanting to rebel and stay up late and is disgusted by the fact the other boy wants to go to sleep. Also he uses a lot of adult language through out the film.










There is a shot reverse shot of the two boys having a conversation, in this the blonde haired boy is at a higher angle, conveying a more confident and dominant stance on their friendship. During this talk we find out that the woman is their babysitter, and fast asleep, leaving the two boys in danger. Also during this conversation the dark haired boy brings up "The Slasher". The angles then change, the blonde boy is now sat down giving the brown haired boy the dominant position and power as the convocation takes a turn. Through out this the shot distance gets closer and closer starting with almost a medium shot and ending up with close ups as the conversation about "The Slasher" gets more intense.

Also throughout this conversation the editing pace gets a lot faster to create the sense of panic and anxiousness the dark haired boy is feeling. They then start to argue and the blonde boy gets up to leave. Throughout this scene non-diegetic sound is very cleverly used to convey different emotions, such as building tension then suddenly stopping the music to turn it back to fun.


https://vimeo.com/51541324