Textual Analysis- Student Work

Captive
Captive is an AS Media production made by Kieran Panchal, Josh Manley, and Isaac Randall. It focuses on a young man, strapped to a chair in an abandoned broken building, who sees a demonic child holding a toy doll. The production is two minutes long, and has many good effects, and just a few negatives. One positive that is present throughout is the quality of the camera. It produces an HD quality films which creates a brilliant effect for the whole of the film. At the start, when blood is dripping down the boy's face, it's made to look very realistic due to the camera being able to focus on several different details. The make-up and camera combined make a more powerful intro to the production. This is because of how well done the make-up is. The blood dripping out of his mouth looks stiff, as if it's been in his mouth for a long time. The boy's face looks battered and bruised too, which suggests that he has been in a fight. We only see flashbacks of all that happened before he got to the chair. It appears that he was acting as a photographer or journalist, and got captured whilst on the job, he was then held Captive, hence the title of the movie. The title of the movie pulls you in, as with one word, it's more powerful, and really gives you an insight to what it is about. It's relevant to the content of the film too.
There is limited dialogue in this production. The only words said are "HELP", which shows the desperation inside of him. These words are screamed, making the whole scene more intense, as it happens towards the climax of the film. The rest of the production is rather quiet, with tension building music planted into it, which has a very good effect on the production, as it makes it clear it's a horror film. There are a variety of different shots used in this production, ranging from extreme close ups to long shots. Most of them are close ups due to the fact that the whole thing takes place in one small area, bar the flashbacks. The flashbacks themselves may have been implemented so that the producers of the film could shoot more scenes from different angles. Without them, the film would be very empty, with very few memorable moments. The guy acting didn't have to do much that required a lot of skill, however what he does act is done well, and is believable throughout. The use of CCTV looking cameras is exceptional, as it suggests that him being there is all set up, and the antagonist planned for somebody to end up there. We also don't see any weapons around, therefore we can only be left to guess what will happen to him.
Despite all of these positives there are some negatives of this production. Whilst the shots are good, as is the camera quality and make-up, the actual content leaves a lot to be desired. The shot looking out of the window is good, when you see the possessed child. However, besides that nothing much really happens.

- Charlie Ball