Short film research: Larry

  Conventions within the film:

Often cuts to new camera angles. The camera is positioned either inside the booth to show how small the space is, or outside portraying how vast and empty the area around the booth is. Eyeline matches of the main character looking out the window to see what they are seeing. 

When he opens the window, the camera starts outside the booth. Then it slowly zooms in on the man until it is right where the window used to be. This represents the two areas, inside and outside, converging. 

When he is looking up from under the desk, the camera is panning upward at a low angle, still staying true to the eyeline match.

The sudden sound of the couple walking by disrupts the tense atmosphere with only non-diegetic ambient sound and heavy breathing up until that point. 

The use of the window is mainly to portray safety throughout the film. The scene with the window opening is the part where the man is the least safe. He is also the most fearful for himself in this scene as he hides under the desk. This feeling is mutual for the audience, as the climax later on doesn't happen until another tense moment. 

This film makes use of building up tension and faking out the audience multiple times. The tension, including ambient noise and camera angles, rises and falls during significant points in the scenes. The ending catches the audience off guard, as you would expect a jumpscare to be at peak tension. But instead it comes out of nowhere and leaves the audience surprised right before the credits. This makes use of not only the jumpscare part of the horror genre, but also the tense moments, both things that contribute to the horror experience.