The next film I've decided to look at is the interestingly titled "8,336,615 (New York)". A visual monologue, it's a poetic piece: a lack of plot and more focused on the film's themes, this is a type of short film that I've been gravitating towards, as you've seen with the short's I've looked at previously. "8,336,615" can be watched below:
The opening shot neatly epitomises the central theme of the short. The camera's positioning behind a moving train emphasises to the viewer the sheer number of people travelling within each carriage. Yet, at the centrepiece of the frame is the man who is clearly on his own. The shot conveys the idea of loneliness, the length of the shot increasing a general sense of awkwardness and sympathy towards the shot's protagonist. Moreover, the title also cleverly alludes to the irony of loneliness within such a big city; the number (which is the amount of people living within New York) fades after a while, leaving only the digit of '1'. This subtlety adds to the notion that, in spite of all it's millions of people, New York is essentially a place of isolation, of people who live among this highly-populated environment yet have no one to talk to or turn to. At this stage in the short, there is no non-diegetic sound; the film-maker creates a quiet opening of a train rumbling past, further reinforcing the idea of loneliness.
The next shot is a close-up of a woman's hand tapping the elevator rail. Her impatience indexically connotes the idea that she has no one to engage with, she can only pass the time on herself. The camerawork in this shot is impressive; the use of soft focus draws the viewer closer to the woman, aligning our alliances with her. This idea is reinforced by her prevalence and her centralised position within the shot. Following this, we move into a medium shot of her gazing, seemingly drifting. In terms of mise-en-scene, her un-brushed hair and her gaunt facial expression denotes a sense of weariness, agitated by her apparent lack of relationships. Moreover, the shot is wide, revealing a lack of people on the elevator, furthering the idea of loneliness. After this, we move to a shot of people walking in New York- this shot is paramount to the film-maker's message about the city. The camera is positioned low, connoting the idea that the city is faceless, each person lacking an identity and sense of individuality. Also, the filmmaker wants to emphasise how busy the city is (note the bike and taxis: it is a place of movement), no time for movement, and the use of slow motion demands the viewer to reflect upon this. Added to this, the bold of use of naturalistic lighting gives the film a sun-kissed tone, which could perhaps explore the irony of loneliness amongst the colour and vibrancy of the city.
Next is the preacher, who has a prominent role within the film, cropping up on several occasions. This particular shot hints at the vacuous feel of New York. Again, it's ironic: on the one hand, the priest is dressed well and he's promoting a religion that promises answers and meaning. Yet, this contrasts wholly with the fact that he's giving these bold speeches in an empty train station, his affirmations scrawled untidily on cardboard. Therefore, the filmmaker wants to convey the idea that New York is a place of hopelessness, where even religion cannot act as a facade with which to hide the emptiness and hollowness of the city. This idea of 'emptiness' is conveyed literally via the use of camera and mise-en-scene; the wideness of the frame reveals the emptiness of the passageway, revealing the vast nature of the white-tiled walls, which adds to the vacancy of the picture. Moreover, the lighting is high-key and artificial-looking, adding to the vacuous nature of this shot.
After this, the shot moves to quick cuts of people being; playing drums, travelling on a train, surf-boarding. It creates a sense of vitality, movement and hope. Soft focus and high-key lighting is used to make New York appear a happy place. In spite of this, the director has purposely ensured that only one person is really at the centre of each shot, reinforcing the idea of isolation. The film covers all walks of life, from the old to the new, as seen with the shot of the newborn baby. Clearly, Riccio wants to display the multi-cultural, diverse nature of the city, putting a positive spin on the city. The director achieves this by the eclectic nature of the shots; slow motion is used to ask the viewer to reflect on these peoples lives and the diverse nature of the characters presented on screen. Shots of boxers training connotes the idea that New York has an underdog spirit, possibly harking back to the cities troubled past. As the film moves to its end, a series of jump cuts are used to emphasise just how many people walk past the preacher, reinforcing the notion of loneliness in order to create a lasting impact. An interesting shot of the New York skyline as the sun goes down lingers for a few seconds, asking the audience to reflect in its penultimate shot. Finally, we return to the woman at the start of the film- looking out directly at the audience, its an almost desperate look, provoking the audience to reflect upon the paradoxical nature of being lonely in such a highly-populated city.
The non-diegetic "tinkly" music creates a reflective, thoughtful tone that ultimately doesn't appear to be too intrusive. The voiceover monologue narrates the piece, the images on screen illustrating the narrator's ideas and attitudes effectively. Ultimately, I felt this film touched upon an interesting paradox, and whilst a plot could have been incorporated to pad out the films length, it got its message across effectively and efficiently.
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