0:0 Scene starts out in what seems to be a kitchen, with a sink, stove, pots, pans, silverware, and a countertop. It is an older kitchen, with old school fake tile floors, with white appliances and cabinets, as well as white curtains covering the window above the sink. There are no lights on and even though it is day time it is quite dark in the kitchen. The next room over looks like a mud room or a laundry room, with shelves and a rack, with what looks like to also be a towel hanging up which could be for a dog or it is a bathroom instead. There is a plant on the countertop, and everything seems to be stored neatly, as well as a water purifier on the left hand side of the scene.
0:02 The scene transitions into a bedroom, with gray sheets and pillows, wood plank walls, a lamp, some pictures, an opened book, as well as a big window or slider door with large, white blinds. There is a man who seems to be in his late 40’s to early 50’s, putting on what looks like a military jacket, white blue pants, as well as a white shirt, possibly in the United States Navy. He is also wearing a belt, his hair is cut short and it looks like he also has some facial hair, he is of African-American decent. The bedframe is also wood and somewhat matches the walls. He has a cellphone on the bed along with what looks like another belt of some sort besides him, as well as an unfinished glass of water next to the picture frame. The room is dull, with an eerie look to it. The background is dark.
0:04 The scene now transitions to an office setting, with sticky notes on the wall and papers pinned up. The walls are similar to those of the bedroom, also a wood plank style, with different shades of brown. There is one smaller window, with closed blinds. The room outside of it is dark with a similar setting, notes on the wall that are pinned up with sticky notes and thumb tacks. There is one light in the room, with what looks like a fax machine, a lot of paper work, and a few books. There is a computer as well as a sharpie on top of some more paper work. There is a box in the background as well. There is a Caucasian man in a blue jacket and red striped shirt with brown pants on, he seems to be in his 50’s, and talking to another man behind the desk who is off the screen. The room seems to also have an older look. This room is also dark, but seems to be in a different location than the original room, it gives the feeling of an abyss.
0:06 The scene is now focused outside, with three people. One, which looks like a Caucasian female with a brown hat on, blue jacket, white shirt. She is in a black sedan with the window down talking to two males, which both seem to be Caucasian as well. The male on the right side, is holding a flash light peering into the car and seems to be talking to the woman sitting in the car, he is bald wearing a black jacket. The man on the left has his hair cut short, also holding a flash light talking to the woman sitting in the car as well, they seem to be law enforcement. The setting is at night time, and it looks to be a traffic stop. The woman looks very distressed and looking at a piece of paper with the light on in her car as well. In the background, there are buildings with lights on, which look to be either office buildings or apartments. They are on the side of the road, and the lamp posts are the only other source of light besides the moon light and the two officers flashlights. The camera is slowly zooming in in the duration of these two seconds, the men holding the flash lights seem fixated on what the woman has to say.
0:08 The next scene is in another room, it is also an older looking room, with a nice finish on the walls. There is a painting on the wall, which is of an open landscape with trees, almost a valley. There is a mountain in the background with a large peak, as well as clouds in a blue sky. The walls are white with brown finish and brown wood beams going across a white ceiling. There are two couches and what looks like a tray of food on the ground. The couches are brown, and there are two desks next to them with lamps and picture frames, in the picture frame it looks to be two people taking a photo. Both lamps are turned on and the room is much brighter than the rooms previously shown. In the room, is a Caucasian man in his late 40’s. His veins are popping in his neck and forehead, and he seems to be sweating. He is red in the face and looks extremely distressed, he is bent over a little and his hands are just above his knees, with his teeth shown. He is wearing a green long sleeve shirt, as well as jeans. There is also a coffee table in the middle of the room. The room gives off an eerie vibe.
0:10 This scene is of the same man shown in 0:04, he has his hand on his face in an office setting room. The walls are also wood planks with different shades of brown, the ceiling is an older wooden tile like the ones you see in older schools. The room is dark except for one source of light from possibly a lamp, as well as a window with the blinds closed. The man has dark gray hair, wearing a blue jacket with two chest pockets and buttons along with a zipper. He is Caucasian, and seems to be stressed with his hand on his forehead, looking down with his eyes closed. The lights are fading on and off, the room seems unsettling.
0:12 In this scene, it is back in the bedroom, the man is sitting on the bed, in a black jacket with red around the collar and edges. He seems to be stressed and taking a deep breath with gritted teeth. He is buttoning up his jacket, the blinds do not keep the light from coming through the windows. In the background, on the bed it seems to be a white tie of some sort sitting on the bed next to him as he buttons up his jacket. He has ribbons on his chest as well as a medal.
0:14 This scene transitions to the kitchen. The stove is on and there are spoons and such hanging from above the stove. On the stove there is a pot with steam running from under the cracked open lid on the back left burner which is a bright red. The pot is blue with a silver handle and glass and metal lid. The stove is also a double oven with two white doors in a dimly lit kitchen, in the background is the mud room or a bathroom. The lights are again fading in and out giving off an eerie feeling to the surrounding room.
0:16 In this scene, it transfers back to the living room setting, there is the man in the green shirt. He has brown messy hair with facial hair and blue eyes. His veins in his forehead and neck are popping and he seems to be very stressed and crying, his eyes are not looking at anything in the room, but seem to be looking at memories instead. The man is extremely distressed, he is reliving something dark from his past.
0:18 This scene is back in the bedroom, which seems to be getting brighter every time. The man is also looking at nothing in the room, but also looking through everything at memories, he is nervous for something coming up.
0:20 In this scene, it is a dimly lit room that is very open. There is a woman sitting down on a chair. She is wearing a blue zip up hoodie with white strings, a flannel, and a black shirt. She has black hair and light skin. She is talking to someone in the background it seems and looking away from them. The room has one dull light showing all of the people sitting in the circle, and the rest of the room is completely dark. Most of the people in the circle of chairs seem distressed and unhappy to be there, but almost a sense of relief.
0:22 The scene shows the room, and you can see the Caucasian man in the blue shirt and jeans, he is sitting in a circle talking to multiple people in what seems to be a therapy session with the woman in the scene before wearing the blue zip up and flannel. There are 7 total people in the room, starting from the left is a man wearing a brown jacket, a woman wearing a grey shirt and jeans, a balding man wearing a blue zip up jacket, a black shirt, and jeans, a woman that is wearing the blue zip up jacket and flannel, the man with the blue shirt and jeans, a much older man with white hair wearing a brown jacket and jeans, and a much younger man on the right side which is almost out of view.
0:24 This is the same scene, with the words Don’t wait. Reach out written across the screen, they are all in a therapy session together talking to each other. The balding man with the blue jacket and black shirt with jeans seems to be controlling the conversation and looking at the older man with white hair. The man that is wearing the blue shirt and jeans from the previous scenes in the living room is sitting with his hands folded in between his legs, and looks to be very stressed and reliving some memories.
0:26 This screen shows a black screen with a link, saying “Find resources at VA.GOV/REACH, with the same thing written across the bottom of the screeen, from VA, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
0:28-0:30 The same screen is shown.
My practice, Slo, is to respond to your analysis as I’m reading it WITHOUT watching the video you’re describing. I’ll ask questions about anything I don’t understand or can’t visualize. I’ll also want to evaluate what you say about the director’s rhetorical PURPOSE for making the million choices she made in setting up her scenes, casting her actors, selecting their wardrobe, dressing the set, choosing props, lighting the rooms, . . . .
0:0 That’s a wealth of physical, visual detail, Slo, but I don’t get a sense of the mood. You say it’s dark (though day), but we don’t know if the room is cozy or oppressive. If a grisly murder were to occur here, would you be surprised? If a child’s birthday party were to be happening in the back yard, would that be surprising? Is this a one-second STATIC shot, or does the camera move? If WE are the camera, are we going anywhere? Is the shot straight on, angled, shot from our own eye level. Are we looking out the window through the curtains, or . . . what’s our angle? I don’t know if these things matter, but you aren’t telling me what to FEEL, so I don’t know what the director was going for. How’s the plant looking? Cared for? You say the room is dark, but there must be light from somewhere or you wouldn’t conclude that it’s day. Does the light remain constant?
0:02 Do you get the sense that the man putting on the jacket is the owner of the house we’re in? Is that his kitchen we came from? Is this the same time of day? How can you not know whether the blinds cover a door or a window? Are the kind of vertical blinds that open and close left-right? In a house, that would mean a sliding door, right? Is there any significance to the furnishings? Is the bed made? Are things neat to echo the neatly arranged kitchen? A plant in a kitchen and an opened book are humanizing touches that make a person seem responsible, capable, thoughtful, “together.” Does the man have his shit together? What’s his mood? What’s the mood of the room? Is he putting on a jacket on his way out the door? Or is he standing still, seeing how it fits, maybe looking into a mirror or at another person? Any clue what’s in the picture frame? Before I asked if a murder or a birthday party was more likely to follow. What about here? Is this an ad for how well the Navy prepares its veterans to embark on exciting new prosperous careers? Or is this an ad for Post-Traumatic-Stress survivors? Which would seem more likely from the mood the two rooms evoke?
See what I’m up to here?
The visuals are TOOLS to tell a story. They are the EVIDENCE that makes up the SUPPORT for the ARGUMENT. What’s the argument? How does the author (the director) convince us of the truth of the story (the thesis)? And, by the way, is her work effective? Is she making good choices to get us to start nodding like bobbleheads?
I’m going to leave this here. I haven’t read the rest of your work or looked at the video. I’m going to put a terrible placeholder grade in the gradebook to acknowledge that you’ve posted your assignment, a grade that will guarantee you revise. (My new strategy)
Feedback is a conversation. Let me know when you’ve re-written and want a new and much better grade.