Examining an Experimental Film

Hi blog reader! I decided to watch an experimental film called "Wake Up". It begins with the girl waking up in the hospital. She is disoriented and wants to leave. Once she escapes, she is amazed by the world around her, especially the fact that people are consumed with technology. People are pretty much unaware of her existence because they are so mesmerized by their screens. At the end of the film, we see the girl viewing a girl get hit by a car who was looking at her phone. It is the same actress. Since the film is experimental, it's not confirmed who the girl that got hit by the car is. The girl is waking up from the coma but she is also waking up to the notion that people need to be less engaged in their screens. 

The film utilizes sound to help portray the girls feeling as she escapes from the hospital.  In the hospital, a song plays that is very mellow and elevator-music like. When she escapes, the beat dramatically drops to show her feeling of happiness. At one point in the film, the girl approaches a collection of people on their laptops. The sound of multiple people typing can be heard in the background. There were so many people typing all at once that it sounded like a swarm of cicadas. I thought that was a unique way to highlight the idea that people were not doing their own thing, rather collectively just immersing themselves in another world. Towards the middle of the film, the girl
dangles herself off a ledge and in the background, you can hear diegetic car sounds that help explain the danger of the situation. There was also a repetitive, anxiety-inducing sound in the background to help convey the seriousness of the situation. Another sound aspect I liked from this film is when the girl is walking and you can hear all the thoughts in her head. It's a bunch of incessant whispers repeating reminders over and over. It showcased how all of our worries are in our own head. 

The sounds used in the film really stuck out to me. They aided in making me feel the emotions the girl was feeling. Also, I noticed how important it is to have a good actor. The girl's acting was extremely good and made the film feel more "real'. Elly and I better take some online acting lessons. Anyway, I'm glad I watched this short film because it opened my eyes to a new type of film making.