Analysis of Short Film #2: Forest

Forest is an example of a short film that delivers, despite the fact that not much happens. A poetic piece about nature and the magic of the woods, Forest uses spellbinding cinematography and animation in order to create something that is atmospheric and attention grabbing. Take a look:



The film starts with a wide, panning shot of the forest, in order to engross the audience within the setting. In terms of mise-en-scene, the moonlight casts a really interesting lighting on the forest, reinforcing the idea that the forest has this magical, secretive quality. The slowness of this shot, coupled with a lack of cuts in the opening shots runs parallel with the non-diegetic music, a slow-paced piano which sounds childlike, adding to the magical tone of the piece thus far. Long cuts of the moose and the bird identify the film's central characters; this is supported by the way in which they are centralised within the frame. In terms of camera-work, wide shots and long shots are used frequently to emphasize how alone they are amongst the quiet forest; the editing (or lack of) adds to the quietness of the short. A wide shot of the two protagonists is used to identify how these two animals look at each other as equals. A slow, tilting shot is used as they look up towards the moon, asking the audience too, to 'look up' as well. In terms of muse-en-scene, there's clearly a fantastical element to this short, as demonstrated by the flower on top of the birds head and the leaves on the antlers of the moose, perhaps suggesting the idea that these characters are well and truly a part of nature.

The film then moves into a series of long, wide panning shots of the nature as things begin to happen. The slowness of these shots encourages to engage with the intriguing nature of the animation. The fantastical creatures, coupled with the glowing blue colour palette, adds to the awe-striking nature of the film as a whole. Also, a fade transition is used a t one point in order to add to the slowness of pace, making the audience reflect on the imaginative landscape, having an almost trance-like quality. The camera then zooms into a close-up of the moose's antlers, the pace of the edits quickening temporarily to add to the anticipation of this momentous event within the context of the film. The bird then flies onto the moose's antler, symbolically connoting the togetherness of nature. The climax of the piece is reached as a slow tilt shot moves upwards to look at the moon, casting it's eerie glow on the animals, moving into a fade-out, leaving the audience to reflect as the screen goes to blank.

Many could argue that the films lack of events and ambiguous meaning comes across as pretentious. However, I believe that this a tale told well; its ambitious animation coupled with enchanting non-diegetic and inspired story-boarding make it a fascinating short film. This short in particular has taught me that good short films don't necessarily need to be heavy on characters and plot, and that a more artistic approach can lend itself to an equally brilliant short film...