Get off my land 

Get off my land is a short film directed by Douglas Ray. It is about a couple who stroll on to private land and have to suffer the consequences. The short film is a within the drama and thriller genre. The drama within this film is the emotional and relational between the male character and the female character. A drama relies heavily on real life type of issues therefore the couple having an argument about something is a real life problem meaning that this is a drama. It’s a thriller film because it has elements of enigma. We don’t why the farmer did what he did. We don’t know if they were actually crossing private land. We are lead to believe that that it is private land but at the end the audience isn't assured that it is. A thriller heavily depends on enigma codes so therefore by having these questions UN-answered it puts this film in to the thriller genre. The themes of the film are conflict, violence and power. The theme conflict is through out the whole film with the couple having an argument and the farmer and the couple having the argument. Violence is portrayed when the farmer shoots the man and then shoots the woman. Power is displayed throughout the film and it is seen through the couple and when the man and farmer have a stand off. 

The mes en scene within the first shot tells the audience a lot of information about the male character. It shows that the male character is wearing white shoes and they are very muddy. Suggesting that he was not ready for this walk and could mean that he is from the city or from somewhere where there is not a lot of grassland. The mid shot of the female character shows us that she is wearing hiking boots, a dark pink thick coat and black trousers. This is highlighting that she is more prepared than the male character and shows the audience that she is from the countryside or somewhere where there is lots of grassland. The shot of the Land Rover defender immediately tells the audience that a person who knows the land well or a farmer has arrived.  It then cuts to a mid shot of a male character who is wearing a flat cap, big long green jacket, dark trousers, hiking boots and has a beard. All of this attire suits a farmer very well or its suggesting that this person knows the land very well and it very prepared. I believe that the mes en scene in this film short is very good because it shows and tells the audience what the characters are like.  

The performance conveys the theme power very well. The part where the farmer pulls out the shotgun it keeps the camera one the male characters face. The facial expression on the man's face shows it all. His facial expression is scared and surprised.  The man immediately goes quiet and doesn't say a word. His mouth opens and his brow has lowered. This shows how he is utterly speechless. The fact that The male character goes quite shows that he is weaker than the female character. He says a lot of words but until it comes to the real thing he is scared. The part where the man is shot and it cuts to a mid shot of the woman shows the audience that she is terrified. The woman has an opened mouth but has and looks into the distance. This shows that she is so scared and surprised that she is motionless and emotionless. The woman slowly starts to look down at his body and shakes. Almost like reality has caught up with her that is why she is shaking.  The proxemics between the farmer and the woman creates tension because the audience thinks what is this farmer thinking and it creates lots of questions inside of the audience's head. I believe that the performance was great from the actors because it showed us how distraught and it was able to construct questions without the plot actually creating the question.  

In conclusion I believe that these two micro features really sold it for me. The mes en scene and performance both conveyed and constructed question. They created questions which the narrative didn't create.