Operator - Image through audio

Despite the short-lived nature of the narrative in this short film, I thoroughly enjoyed the few minutes of high tension and claustrophobia as we see an incredibly dramatic event unravel from the single perspective of Laura, a emergency phone operator trying to help a civilian in a burning building.


The cyclical narrative of this short gives us a representation not only of the occupation in itself, but also a strong, independent perspective of a woman. Laura tries to remain calm and reassure the woman on the other side of the phone constantly whilst trying to get as much information out of her as possible, until she successful helps her get to safety when the emergency services arrive. What is interesting about this however, is that the use of sound design throughout the film is so well done to the point that the audience vividly imagine the burning building and the distressed mother and son inside it, so when the phone call suddenly ends, the audience feel strangely unsatisfied, as if the story has abruptly ended. This is a great way of representing the everyday process Laura goes through, as she has a few moments to collect her thoughts, only then to answer the phone again for the next call. Also, we see a strong, calm female lead, as she comforts the woman on the other end of the phone whilst tactically locating her whereabouts, finding out as much as she can about the house she's in etc.




The stunning performances in this short play a huge role into the gravity of the scenario, as the operator (Kate Dickie) gives a subtle performance of trying to stay calm but underlying emotions of sympathy and maybe even empathy (she could have a son) come through as she speaks to Gemma (Vicky McClure). McClure's performance is actually also very impressive, as we are only presented with audio but she puts across such panic and distress so that we feel sympathy for her.




I think that this short film may influence the style I choose in my own short film, as it has such a great emotional wait to it, but would be incredibly simple to film, and audio can be experimented with to achieve very effective imagery. I really enjoyed the singular perspective aspect of this short, and may replicate it in my own film.