'THE OPERATOR' SHORT FILM

'THE OPERATOR' SHORT FILM

Sound and editing are used effectively in this short film. At the beginning, the diegetic sound of the emergency service operator's voices overlap each other which creates an atmospheric feeling as we watch the film. The average shot length is long which makes us as an audience focus on the voices of the operator and Gemma, who is stuck in a house fire with her three year old son. If jump cuts were used, it would be harder to focus on their voices because we would have more of a visual distraction on screen. Close ups on the operator's face create a sense of intimacy and tension, as well as the continuous stress we feel and share as audience members, waiting for the firemen to arrive; for the whole five minutes, we are focussed on the face of one character and one situation with a panicked character on the other end of the phone - the fact that we can't actually see what is happening means we have to concentrate more on sound. The contrast between the soothing voice of the operator and the panicked voice of Gemma is also interesting, and there is a relief when the sound completely stops when the firemen arrive and the operator sits in her chair in silence, in relief. However, the murmuring, overlapping voices of the other emergency service operator's voices soon start again, and the operator answers another call, and we as audience members realise that she has to do that all over again, despite the tension and stress that took place within just five minutes.