Sophia Garvey's Blog

Sound design plays a central role in building suspense and shaping spectatorship. Diegetic sounds- particularly the amplified buzzing- are used to heighten tension and draw attention to the protagonist’s heightened awareness, while also introducing a layer of dark comedy that reinforces the film’s premise. Silence is deployed strategically, creating moments of awkward tension, especially within the confined space of the car, and making the buzzing increasingly intrusive. In addition, a subtle, eerie non-diegetic score underpins the action, quietly intensifying the film’s unsettling tone. Cinematography Tight framing is used to powerful effect, generating a strong sense of claustrophobia. This is essential to the film’s impact, as it amplifies tension and makes the fly appear far more threatening than it would in an open setting. Close-ups focus attention on the protagonist’s facial expressions, while also emphasising the limited space, positioning the audience alongside him as his disc...

Cinematography Over predominantly employs wide, landscape shots, which enhance its sense of realism. This perspective makes it feel as though the audience is viewing events from a distance - similar to witnessing a police scene in person or through a news broadcast. These wide shots also contribute to a subdued, sombre atmosphere, working alongside the sound to reflect the film’s narrative. As the story is based on real events, it is essential that the tone conveys a sense of tragedy and restraint, which the choice of framing successfully achieves. Naturalistic lighting further reinforces this realism, while the grey, overcast conditions mirror the bleakness of the event and deepen the emotional impact. Sound Sound is used sparingly yet effectively to shape atmosphere and guide audience response. The film relies heavily on silence and natural diegetic sounds to maintain realism and convey the sadness of a story grounded in real events. These sounds complement the wide shots, with dista...

Cinematography The slow, deliberate camera movements reflect the protagonist’s internal conflict, allowing sound and visuals to work in tandem to immerse the spectator in the film’s mood. A combination of wide shots and close-ups, alongside central framing of the protagonist, draws the audience into her emotional experience and maintains alignment with her point of view. This makes the eventual revelation - that she has deceived both the audience and other characters - feel even more striking. Low-key lighting and a muted colour palette further support the film’s bleak, naturalistic tone. Sound Lewis Arnold’s short film makes effective use of diegetic sound to establish a strong sense of realism. This is crucial to its emotional impact on the spectator, particularly in relation to the plot twist, as the narrative is grounded in believability up to that moment. The phone calls, despite the absence of a voice on the other end, are especially powerful in generating both emotion and suspen...

  Title:  Blue Note The title  Blue Note  works on several levels - musical, emotional, and visual. Musically:  A  blue note  is a note that falls slightly off-pitch — not wrong, but intentionally imperfect. It’s what gives jazz its soul. That’s the tone of this film: controlled but human, elegant but unstable. The tension comes from what’s just beneath the surface, slightly out of tune. Emotionally:  The “blue” carries the film’s undercurrent of melancholy — the loneliness of suburbia, the quiet sadness that lingers even in violence. It’s not a loud story; it’s one that simmers, cool and precise. Visually:  The colour blue defines the film’s palette — night streets, the metallic gleam of knives and cars. It’s the visual language of calm before blood. It is also a call to the song used in the opening act, What I'd say Pt. 1 &2 by Ray Charles, a prominent example of the use of a blue note. In the end,  Blue Note  isn’t just about...

How the Three Things About Vincent Vega in  Pulp Fiction  Apply to my protagonist:  1. The car she would drive Vincent Vega drives a Chevy Malibu. The Woman, though younger, shares that taste for timeless things. She’d drive something that looks like it’s been pulled straight from a lost photograph - a lightly battered 1967 burgundy Ford Mustang. It’s nostalgic but not flashy; she doesn’t drive for show. Her car hums like part of the soundtrack - something that glides, not roars. 2. What she would order in a restaurant   Vega orders his steak “bloody as hell.” The Woman is far more deliberate - she performs normalcy like it’s part of a script. She’d sit alone in a roadside diner, a cigarette burning low, and order black coffee and slice of blueberry pie. It’s simple, unfussy, American. The kind of order that doesn’t draw attention, but when she says it, the room seems to listen. Her food is less about indulgence, more about control - a moment to pause, to recali...