Analysis of the short film Love Field by Mathieu Ratthe

Lovefield combines elements of horror, suspense and drama to create a story that takes the audience on a roller coaster ride of emotions. After watching this short film I was able to have a better understanding of how signs and codes relating to the conventions of a typical horror, work together in order to build fear and suspense in a piece.

The film begins with an introduction to the producers.

After a brief pan of the corn field the title fades into centre screen. The long shot of the corn field and no one present in shot shows the element of isolation, a common convention of a horror film and therefore indicates the genre in the establishing shot.

The silence of the accompaniment at this point with only the swinging of the sign and the bird’s screech create an eerie tone to the opening of the scene. The ‘crow’ is a common convention of horror films playing on people’s knowledge of horrors and therefore appealing to a specific audience.

The accompaniment of eerie orchestral sounds is on a crescendo up until the silence before the action of the next screen shot. The shot of the woman’s foot appears far away originally as the camera moves slowly along at ground level passing her possessions which are strewn across the corn field. This poses a suggestion of some kind of struggle or an element of violence. Although we cannot see the woman, the polysemic sign of a scream allows the audience to believe the worst.

This shot ends a short silence as the hand slams down the knife into the ground and a loud cutting sound happens along with the re-joining of the accompaniment. Blood on his hand a sign of danger and the close ups create curiousity among the viewer as we cannot see exactly what is happening.

Male character introduced at a medium shot within the corn field. Scruffy appearance and large build creates fear towards him as the audience, shot from slightly below so her is the superior.

Shot from floor suggesting he has control in the situation. Blood on woman’s foot again suggests danger and violence has taken place.

Smiling faces and change to the accompaniment as it is now more relaxed with a happy vibe indicates that our suspicions were wrong from the very beginning. The baby presented shows that the woman has just given birth.

The long shot a change from many close ups of the whole piece allows us to now understand the scene to be a farmer who has stopped to help a pregnant woman and is not the villain we assumed him to be. Sense of isolation is lost as most people at one point are present in the scene; ambulance driver, farmer, woman.

The accompaniment throughout is eerie with this builds fear and tension. I felt from watching this that the accompaniment was the main factor which shaped my expectations as to the ending. I will keep in mind the importance of the buzz track when creating my short film.

End credits typical of all films to accredit the production team on a more personal level.