FLASH

FLASH is an exploration of loneliness. Much like what I have explored in my more in-depth short film work; CHASE, DRIFT, THE BICYCLE MAN and GARGANTUA, the narratives focus' on a sole (main) character that's battling the monotony of their current life and feels isolated. In most cases they are fixated on a past event that has characterized their actions at this time in their life. In the case of FLASH, we centre on Jess who, after moving away to start her new life, sets up home in a new apartment and whilst sifting through some old possessions stumbles upon an old disposable camera. The camera houses some old memories but, what Jess does not realize, is that it will become the instrumental tool to her sanctuary when her past comes back to haunt her. In short, this is a straight-up horror/thriller/drama that adopts much from the "home invader" sect of the genre.

For the most part, FLASH is a very technical piece of filmmaking. Its primary focus was always on how it looked and would illicit emotion and tension in how it was shot. Even through its many iterations, the film retained certain visual traits that persisted through the drafts; the woman at the window, the sliding of the photos that unfold a dark series of events ad the eponymous image holding the camera that effectively saves her but reveals it's ghastly use. Everything else was from a necessity of the environment I could draw from, the location and whoever I had access to. FLASH was my third film made during quarantine and finding myself in a situation like many of the characters in my films, I drew effectively from the environment I had been confined to months. The feeling of isolation and confinement also brings about a sense of comfort within the monotony.

The main idea behind FLASH is that 'that comfort' is threatened when someone invades her personal space and manipulates for their own gains. We are not sure of the reasons behind this persons' motivation to stalk and harass Jess in the story but, for me, it didn't really matter. By not knowing or even completing the arc of the story with a hopeful resolution that sees the man 'dealt with', ready to continue his series of crimes, I found the fear to be deeper and more malicious. It's difficult in a film narrative, namely a short, to effectively wrap up that resolution so I really just decided to just not, as in life, some things are never truly explained to their fullest. Its cruel that Jess may never find peace but in the world we now live in, a total lack of compassion and empathy is commonplace.

FLASH utilized minimal shooting, as I held to my mantra of not shooting above what a scene absolutely needed. There are several oner's in the film and roaming shots that hold for long periods of time. There was a feeling that I needed to emphasize the amount of negative space within scenes. Jess had to appear as if she was alone in a big, quiet abode. The camera pushes in more often in the film as if it's closing in on her as her anxiety and tension increases. As a result of that though, by slowing everything down and focusing on these aspects that are not benefitted by a series of short, quick cuts, the length of the film increased. But really, it was a juggling act to maintain the sense of tension and how the character was feeling from scene to scene.

But the main aspect of the film, the "home invader", a mostly unseen force that really did not exist until the stills are presented at the films' climax. In that case, the film developed ways that the camera suggested that "a presence". There are a few shots, performed deliberately that suspend camera movement to allow the audience to look at a doorway or a corridor as character actions occur off-screen or off-centre as if something may be present there. Only after a few seconds, does the camera move to focus on the point of attention but its about leaving a lingering feeling in the audience by subjecting camera movement, certainly, as the movement up until those points has focused on the character centre in frame. For the most part, the films look and colors remain natural with dashes of bright primary colour highlights within certain scenes. Lit to maintain the level of dark and high-contrast within the images where each set-up used a much more dimmed, lower F-stop ratio, beginning with how dark frames were that added small pockets of light. The films' look revolves around how dark the images are, as a way of conveying how isolated Jess, as a character, becomes, as her home becomes more and more enveloped in darkness. The use of light, or lack of, is the confining factor to illicit the mood and sense of the unknown.

The presence of the "unknown" is the fundamental aspect in this film. The "stranger" is rarely explained or even shown but through the strength of the soundtrack. The stranger is effectively created through the soundtrack. The scariest aspect of the adversary in the film is that he is never seen and when he is, it's so brief that any assumption can be created. He is however, heard; in his footsteps, the camera clicking and more creepily in his breathing. By not giving the figure a voice, it immediately dehumanizes them. As a necessity of the shooting, being effectively a two-person production, there wasn't the chance to have more of the stranger in the film. The issue I have with current horror experiences is that the danger seems always present, begins as a scary thought but ends up being far too revelatory. The point was creating the fear through the use of the sound effects that this very human threat becomes an inhuman presence. It makes the threat something that appears as lacking compassion or empathy. The bigger narrative issue with the film is that Jess never receives sanctuary and resolution but more that it incentivizes that she'll continue to suffer at this person's hand. It takes the dread and anxiety of this character and amplifies it, where the story seemingly does not comes to an end with happiness, focusing on the attic opening where the man may still be living. As she walks into the doorway the sound and music drop and all we can hear is her breathing, it's almost as if she'll be living in fear for a long time to come, acting as an allegory to the present state of the world right now.