Drama Short Film Analysis 2

The Cyclist

Again The Cyclist looks like a professional piece of work, and even won the Cineworld 'Dream to Screen' initiative. I have chosen to analyse it due to it's narrative simplicity but thought-provoking depth. There is a distinct arc that the protagonist follows, and by the end of the short film he has undergone a profound change. 

To sum up, the film explores the life of a routinely office worker. Everyday he wakes up, has breakfast, cycles to work and doesn't enjoy his job. We get the impression he has become detached from his partner and isn't content with his lifestyle. However one day he arrives at work, hesitates, and cycles off in a hurry. He cycles into the countryside, appreciating the idyllic scenery and racing a child on her own bicycle. After this he arrives at a vast lake and sits down, thoughtfully. The trip has given him a new outlook on life. While his partner frets about him and goes out to see where he is, the cyclist returns, dismounts his bike and kisses her. A car then carelessly reverses over the bike, and the cyclist goes inside, thinking his day had gone so well until then. The next morning he gets up and realises he has to walk to work. As he wanders outside his partner is waiting with two new bikes, ready to go. The Cyclist is overjoyed. 

Dialogue

It seems to be a recurring convention that drama short films use minimal dialogue, instead relying on the visuals and the continuous soundtrack to establish the mood. There is background chatter while The Cyclist is at work, which serves to demonstrate how he is more of an outcast and not as socially involved as his colleagues are. The only other time we hear dialogue is when he is cycling in the countryside, as two hikers shout encouragement and the little girl shouts 'bye'. This short film is an example where less is more. Because the narrative is quite basic, there is no need for elaborate explanations. Instead the filmmakers have relied on the visuals and the score to tell the story. 

Camera Shots/Angles

• Wide Angle: While cycling in the countryside we can identify a lot of wide angles being used to display the colour and emphasise the pastoral setting. It presents the idea that the cyclist is out exploring and having an adventure into self-discovery. 
• Low Angle: There is a shot whilst the cyclist is in the countryside that frames him from below, giving him an imposing figure. The low angle shot acts as a way of varying the montage-like sequence of him cycling along, capturing him from an unusual position. 
• Tilt Shot: As the cyclist sits and admires the lake, the camera tilts upwards from his bike to reveal him sitting and looking outwards. From starting with an image of the bike to tilting up and exposing the beautiful natural world, it connotes that the bike has enabled him to discover all of this, creating a relationship between the character as a human and the character as a cyclist. 
• Pull Focus: The start of the cyclist's routine involves him waking up to the sound of his alarm. During these shots the camera uses pull focus; the alarm clock is clear in the foreground and the cyclist is out of focus in the background. It helps to emphasise how his daily life is predetermined, everything he does is the same. 
• Zoom: At the start of the film when the cyclist is sat eating his breakfast, the camera slowly zooms outwards to give us a wider look into his domesticity. It feels empty and largely predictable. The zoom out may also be an allusion to the emotion of the character. He is slowly fading away, the zoom could be embodying how he feels further and further out of touch with who he is. 
• Mid Shot: The best example of the mid shot in this film is where the cyclist is stood in his workplace over the photocopier. He is in the centre of the frame, while all around him the workers are talking and throwing paper planes at each other. This shot serves to establish the isolation of the character, and by framing him directly in the middle, it presents him as surrounded by the pressures of work life. 
• Wipe: This isn't a shot or an angle, more of a transition. At the point of 1:10-1:11 in the short film, the camera creates an illusion of a pan. The cyclist rides out of shot and appears to ride onto the next shot, moving from a setting of urban industry to a setting of rural nature. However these are two separate shots which cleverly create a cohesive transition. It has the effect of showing how the cyclist has leapt from one reality into another. I particularly like the effect of this editing, and will be something I keep in mind for my own short film. 
• Pan: As the cyclist approaches the two campers, our expectations are subverted as the soundtrack stops and the cyclist comes past at a very slow speed, contrasting the vibrant energy he seemed to have moments before. This is done for comedic effect, and a pan is used to follow his slow, dragged out ride past the campers. 
• Although not a shot in itself, I think that it is important to acknowledge how there are a series of shots that are repeated throughout. Waking up to the alarm clock, sitting at the kitchen table and reaching for his bike gear as he leaves all frequently recur. This has the effect of tedious repetition, mirroring the cyclist's feelings about his job and routine.

Editing

I would say that the editing varies at different points. It appears relatively slow at first to match the repetitiveness of his daily routine, but switches from slow cutting to fast cutting as the momentum builds while he cycles. There are very few cutaways inserted into the story, apart from when focusing on his partner waiting curiously for his return. This serves the purpose of presenting the dynamic of their relationship. By not including many cutaways the audience are drawn into the cyclist's journey, and this reflects how for once in his life he is feeling carefree and doesn't need to think about anything else. 

Diegetic/ Non-Diegetic Sound

As I found in the first short film I analysed, there is a significant importance placed on the non-diegetic score. The light-hearted yet emotional tone of the soundtrack is played continuously and evokes the emotions that complement the visuals. Worthy of note is that the moment when the cyclist rides past the campers, the soundtrack stops. Although done for comedic effect, it represents how in his head the cyclist is on an epic adventure whereas in reality he is just having a slow cycle in the countryside. Diegetic sounds like the background conversation, the alarm and the toothbrush are all used as a way of juxtaposing the natural world. On top of this I believe that the bike bell is an essential part of the diegetic sounds. The first time we hear it is when the cyclist decides not to go to work, and so it symbolises the start of the epiphany he is having. 

Mise-en-Scene

The most notable feature of mise-en-scene here is the immersive landscapes. The green and vibrant outdoors are used in juxtaposition to the dullness of his everyday life. I think that the brightness has been lowered in the post-production to make his house seem dark and uninteresting, and so his trip into the country hills are like a metaphorical transition of emerging from the darkness into the light. I also like how the film ends with his partner dressed in the same visibility jacket and helmet, because it shows cohesion and the strength of their relationship. 

Ideologies/Themes

This film is clearly about self-discovery and being yourself. The character arc of the cyclist demonstrates the change he undergoes from conforming to the pressures of society to reclaiming his identity. It conveys the impression that identity is constantly at risk of being crushed under the pressures of domestic or professional life, but the film subverts this and chooses to focus on the cyclist's willpower to change that. Work life, and in particular office jobs, are stereotypically portrayed as stressful and unenjoyable environments. I think that this helps the audience to resonate with the film because many people would have been through a similar situation, and The Cyclist personifies the belief that we all have the power to change who we are, we just need to take a leap of faith. 

Review

I like The Cyclist because it focuses on the everyman. The protagonist is nothing special by the standards of society, but he has a revelatory experience that makes him realise that he is special, a bit like the film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The soundtrack perfectly mimics the tone of the film, and I like the simplicity of the bike alluding to a much more complex psychological shift. Again the effect of minimal dialogue makes the short film more visually engaging because it allows us to take our own unique meanings from it.