'The Bargainer' Full Evaluative Analysis
I made a horror film about an enigma called 'The Bargainer'. It follows a man who is slowly corrupted by a mysterious spirit- the Bargainer. It invades his life, warping his mind into that of a cannibal and degrading the man into nothing. I attempted to implement experimental aspects however I would refrain from saying it's entirely experimental as it follows a relatively linear narrative and a series of events. Despite this, I did take visual inspiration from David Lynch's 'The Grandmother' whilst also still adding my own artistic flair. My goal with the film was to make an ambiguous tale about corruption and greed that active spectators may be able to interpret from the film.
'The Gunfighter'
The first film I was influenced by is 'The Gunfighter'. 'The Gunfighter' uses intricate mise-en-scene to immerse the spectator in a 'Western' setting. This is a professional aspect of film making although, as I have made a film on a minor budget, I knew this was something not affordable; instead I used a set that I already had, my house. This was not an issue as horror films are normally set in common locations so that spectators can project themselves onto the characters and empathise with them to evoke more emotion out of the film. In spite of this, I would've liked to have the budget for a more professional set as I could've made the mise-en-scene a lot more meaningful.
The use of a shallow depth of field in the opening shots is effective as the shot focuses around one character, separating them from their surroundings to give a personal connection. As the gunfighter enters the bar, the use of background characters helps to produce a busy atmosphere and makes it feel like it is a thriving world despite the focus on the main character. In 'The Bargainer' I used the opposite effect; I eradicated most of the background motion as to make the world feel more static and lifeless, enveloping spectators further in an eerie atmosphere. I would've liked to add a shallower depth of field to give spectators more of a connection with the man and thus feel more immersed. In my film, I feel disconnected from the man which is likely due to a lack of character building, something that is was hard to do in a 5 minute film while keeping a flowing narrative. I would've liked to focus more on characters and use mise-en-scene as a vehicle to convey at least the minimum that spectators should know.
'The Grandmother'
'The Grandmother' influenced me most due to its uncomfortable atmosphere created by a lack of saturation, frequent jump cuts and a fragmented narrative. The mise-en-scene of the boy is disturbing was he wears white makeup on his face, making him look gravely ill and there's makeup around his eyes and lips, giving a feeling that he's bleeding. His over-acting makes his performance very creepy and thus the character that we would normally project ourselves onto seems to have a striking disconnect with spectators. I took inspiration from this; the man begins relatively monotone and over time, his facial expressions increase until the end where he is gasping over the woman's carcass, giving a graphic performance with blood around his mouth, referencing the lips of the boy from 'The Grandmother' whilst also giving the same disturbing effect but more explicitly.
The choice of making 'The Grandmother' a silent film was influential to me as it seems that in a horror film, dialogue can be incredibly difficult to add whilst still fitting the tone. 'The Grandmother' relies on expressionism and the elaborate mise-en-scene to carry the narrative, an aspect that I used by exaggerating a lot of the man's actions. I did the opposite for the Bargainer, making his movements subtle and mysterious, however this may have been a negative deviation as it makes his movements harder to read and therefore it may be more complex for more passive spectators to understand and thus they may take an oppositional reading.
The film uses unsaturated pallets with either strong, saturated colours like the boys urine or a darker, more intricate mise-en-scene like the black fluid near the mother to create disturbing enigmas. I used this aspect for the mise-en-scene of the first scene where the bedroom is gloomy and unsaturated with a red glow that fills the scene when the Bargainer arrives. I then took this strong saturation/ blur of colour and then developed it further than 'The Grandmother', enveloping the entire shot with it for the dream sequence. I believe this was effective as not only did it give a disorientating atmosphere, it also conveys pretty well that this isn't reality as everything seems askew. I was inspired by Franz Marc who painted with distorted colours used for his paintings of nature, making everything seem close to reality but partially elevated to a more surreal level.
'Meshes of the Afternoon'
With 'Meshes of the Afternoon', the mise-en-scene of the mirror-faced figure was influential for the appearance of the Bargainer. Using a cloak to mask the figure and evoke mystery out of spectators was a factor I wanted to replicate. To improve, I could have added more intrigue to the Bargainer's face as the figure from 'Meshes of the Afternoon' has a mirror on their face which is a great enigma as it made me wonder why specifically a mirror was used. With the Bargainer, I tried to add a red glow to his face that I thought would be an interesting detail that would add mystery as to what is inside the hood however this was not conveyed well in shots and therefore didn't work as I had hoped.
The lack of dialogue creates an unnerving silence that is reflected through the still mise-en-scene. Another good feature are the main close-ups that use peculiar camera angles. The lack of camera shots angled at eye-level makes actions feel more anonymous and help to disconnect the spectator from the character which was something I did, especially in the dream sequence.
The use of repetition is a common feature in experimental film and it also can be used to some extent to distort the atmosphere. The repetition in 'Meshes of the Afternoon' can be confusing however I was able to utilise it in 'The Bargainer' during the dream sequence by having a lot of repetition- the man is constantly walking throughout each dream he has. This repetition also adds in elements of experimental to my film as experimental cinema often can replicate real life and therefore there is a lot of monotony and repetition.
'Night Fishing'
'Night Fishing' was influential through its oddities. It firstly imitates a music video, as is evident through the use close ups of instruments and performers, odd visuals that slightly relate to the song and frequent jump cuts. This aspect of experimental film is something I added somewhat subtly; I didn't show instruments like in 'Night Fishing', however I did time-sync parts of the dream sequence and added a variety of shot types including close-ups on the man and the environments he walks in. This in tandem with the repetition in the dream sequence makes the whole scene feel experimental.
The disturbing use of close-ups can make parts of the film feel unnerving despite it not seeming intentional as there are close ups on things such as a worm being hooked but the lengthy shot duration makes it feel uncomfortable. I created a parallel shot that occurs in both the beginning and the end of the film; the man eats ham in the beginning and then later there is a parallel shot of him eating the flesh of the woman, showing how far he's fallen since the Bargainer has corrupted him.
My favourite aspect from 'Night Fishing' is the use of enigma. The constant shift in mood creates so many mysteries that it's difficult to interpret the story but the ambiguity and intrigue of it makes it interesting to create your own interpretation from the implicit dialogue and mise-en-scene and craft your own meaning from the story. This is something I have used as I wanted people to be able to make their own interpretation with passive spectators perceiving it as a confusing creepy short film and with active spectators being able to understand more of the meaning behind 'The Bargainer'.
Other Cinematic Influences
A strong cinematic influence for me has been Studio Ghibli's 'Spirited Away'; the implicit meanings and dark undertones of the film are heavily inspirational. The mise-en-scene of the Bargainer was also influenced by Kaonashi, a representation of greed. Similarly, I tried to shape the Bargainer to be a representation of greed and corruption and be the driving force to the man's tragic descent into insanity. I named him the 'Bargainer' because the name itself links to greed. He Bargains with people, offering a gift in order for his services but bargaining with him slowly corrupts you into his puppet. The 'Mystery/Fantasy' genre interested me as I thought that in tandem with the dark implicit nature, it would work well as a horror film with some hyper-realistic elements to give that 'Fantasy' atmosphere.
Creating Meaning
'The Gunfighter'
The first film I was influenced by is 'The Gunfighter'. 'The Gunfighter' uses intricate mise-en-scene to immerse the spectator in a 'Western' setting. This is a professional aspect of film making although, as I have made a film on a minor budget, I knew this was something not affordable; instead I used a set that I already had, my house. This was not an issue as horror films are normally set in common locations so that spectators can project themselves onto the characters and empathise with them to evoke more emotion out of the film. In spite of this, I would've liked to have the budget for a more professional set as I could've made the mise-en-scene a lot more meaningful.
The use of a shallow depth of field in the opening shots is effective as the shot focuses around one character, separating them from their surroundings to give a personal connection. As the gunfighter enters the bar, the use of background characters helps to produce a busy atmosphere and makes it feel like it is a thriving world despite the focus on the main character. In 'The Bargainer' I used the opposite effect; I eradicated most of the background motion as to make the world feel more static and lifeless, enveloping spectators further in an eerie atmosphere. I would've liked to add a shallower depth of field to give spectators more of a connection with the man and thus feel more immersed. In my film, I feel disconnected from the man which is likely due to a lack of character building, something that is was hard to do in a 5 minute film while keeping a flowing narrative. I would've liked to focus more on characters and use mise-en-scene as a vehicle to convey at least the minimum that spectators should know.
'The Grandmother'
'The Grandmother' influenced me most due to its uncomfortable atmosphere created by a lack of saturation, frequent jump cuts and a fragmented narrative. The mise-en-scene of the boy is disturbing was he wears white makeup on his face, making him look gravely ill and there's makeup around his eyes and lips, giving a feeling that he's bleeding. His over-acting makes his performance very creepy and thus the character that we would normally project ourselves onto seems to have a striking disconnect with spectators. I took inspiration from this; the man begins relatively monotone and over time, his facial expressions increase until the end where he is gasping over the woman's carcass, giving a graphic performance with blood around his mouth, referencing the lips of the boy from 'The Grandmother' whilst also giving the same disturbing effect but more explicitly.
The choice of making 'The Grandmother' a silent film was influential to me as it seems that in a horror film, dialogue can be incredibly difficult to add whilst still fitting the tone. 'The Grandmother' relies on expressionism and the elaborate mise-en-scene to carry the narrative, an aspect that I used by exaggerating a lot of the man's actions. I did the opposite for the Bargainer, making his movements subtle and mysterious, however this may have been a negative deviation as it makes his movements harder to read and therefore it may be more complex for more passive spectators to understand and thus they may take an oppositional reading.
The film uses unsaturated pallets with either strong, saturated colours like the boys urine or a darker, more intricate mise-en-scene like the black fluid near the mother to create disturbing enigmas. I used this aspect for the mise-en-scene of the first scene where the bedroom is gloomy and unsaturated with a red glow that fills the scene when the Bargainer arrives. I then took this strong saturation/ blur of colour and then developed it further than 'The Grandmother', enveloping the entire shot with it for the dream sequence. I believe this was effective as not only did it give a disorientating atmosphere, it also conveys pretty well that this isn't reality as everything seems askew. I was inspired by Franz Marc who painted with distorted colours used for his paintings of nature, making everything seem close to reality but partially elevated to a more surreal level.
'Meshes of the Afternoon'
With 'Meshes of the Afternoon', the mise-en-scene of the mirror-faced figure was influential for the appearance of the Bargainer. Using a cloak to mask the figure and evoke mystery out of spectators was a factor I wanted to replicate. To improve, I could have added more intrigue to the Bargainer's face as the figure from 'Meshes of the Afternoon' has a mirror on their face which is a great enigma as it made me wonder why specifically a mirror was used. With the Bargainer, I tried to add a red glow to his face that I thought would be an interesting detail that would add mystery as to what is inside the hood however this was not conveyed well in shots and therefore didn't work as I had hoped.
The lack of dialogue creates an unnerving silence that is reflected through the still mise-en-scene. Another good feature are the main close-ups that use peculiar camera angles. The lack of camera shots angled at eye-level makes actions feel more anonymous and help to disconnect the spectator from the character which was something I did, especially in the dream sequence.
The use of repetition is a common feature in experimental film and it also can be used to some extent to distort the atmosphere. The repetition in 'Meshes of the Afternoon' can be confusing however I was able to utilise it in 'The Bargainer' during the dream sequence by having a lot of repetition- the man is constantly walking throughout each dream he has. This repetition also adds in elements of experimental to my film as experimental cinema often can replicate real life and therefore there is a lot of monotony and repetition.
'Night Fishing'
'Night Fishing' was influential through its oddities. It firstly imitates a music video, as is evident through the use close ups of instruments and performers, odd visuals that slightly relate to the song and frequent jump cuts. This aspect of experimental film is something I added somewhat subtly; I didn't show instruments like in 'Night Fishing', however I did time-sync parts of the dream sequence and added a variety of shot types including close-ups on the man and the environments he walks in. This in tandem with the repetition in the dream sequence makes the whole scene feel experimental.
The disturbing use of close-ups can make parts of the film feel unnerving despite it not seeming intentional as there are close ups on things such as a worm being hooked but the lengthy shot duration makes it feel uncomfortable. I created a parallel shot that occurs in both the beginning and the end of the film; the man eats ham in the beginning and then later there is a parallel shot of him eating the flesh of the woman, showing how far he's fallen since the Bargainer has corrupted him.
My favourite aspect from 'Night Fishing' is the use of enigma. The constant shift in mood creates so many mysteries that it's difficult to interpret the story but the ambiguity and intrigue of it makes it interesting to create your own interpretation from the implicit dialogue and mise-en-scene and craft your own meaning from the story. This is something I have used as I wanted people to be able to make their own interpretation with passive spectators perceiving it as a confusing creepy short film and with active spectators being able to understand more of the meaning behind 'The Bargainer'.
Other Cinematic Influences
A strong cinematic influence for me has been Studio Ghibli's 'Spirited Away'; the implicit meanings and dark undertones of the film are heavily inspirational. The mise-en-scene of the Bargainer was also influenced by Kaonashi, a representation of greed. Similarly, I tried to shape the Bargainer to be a representation of greed and corruption and be the driving force to the man's tragic descent into insanity. I named him the 'Bargainer' because the name itself links to greed. He Bargains with people, offering a gift in order for his services but bargaining with him slowly corrupts you into his puppet. The 'Mystery/Fantasy' genre interested me as I thought that in tandem with the dark implicit nature, it would work well as a horror film with some hyper-realistic elements to give that 'Fantasy' atmosphere.
Creating Meaning
I used editing to add hyperrealism by adding a colour filter or blurring certain shots
with colour. In the first appearance of the Bargainer, the shot blurs red. I like this effect as I had originally planned to use red lighting here but in adding a red blur, it warps the other colours to be more blue. This helps to make the world feel more cold and dark whilst giving the Bargainer himself (which is cased in red) more of a presence. Red also has connotations with lust, the exact thing that he represents as a character which is rather implicit however I believe it strengthens the character.
I added a similar effect when the man is walking through the room in the following scene. As the screen delves into red and then black, it is
evident to an active spectator that he is beginning to corrupt the man. To also make the dream sequence more evident as a dream without too much technical issue, I added bright colour filters to give the dream an element of hyperrealism and seem immediately abnormal.
At the end, I kept the same static from before. As the static effect is associated with a heart beat, it implies that the man's heart beat is fading. Although implicit, in the last shot the Bargainer assimilates the man and they become one, hence the low pitched scream and static. This is an intertextual reference to the indie game 'Slender Man' where the game ends with static over a close-up of the villain. The high key lighting provides an unnerving contrast as high key lighting has connotations with positivity whilst here it represents solely the joy of the Bargainer giving the ending a very strange feeling that leaves spectators on an enigma.
I added a similar effect when the man is walking through the room in the following scene. As the screen delves into red and then black, it is
At the end, I kept the same static from before. As the static effect is associated with a heart beat, it implies that the man's heart beat is fading. Although implicit, in the last shot the Bargainer assimilates the man and they become one, hence the low pitched scream and static. This is an intertextual reference to the indie game 'Slender Man' where the game ends with static over a close-up of the villain. The high key lighting provides an unnerving contrast as high key lighting has connotations with positivity whilst here it represents solely the joy of the Bargainer giving the ending a very strange feeling that leaves spectators on an enigma.
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