DepicT! Analysis 1

The Day Bob was saved by modern technology- Johan Kramer

DepicT! '02 Shortlist

Firstly I will be looking at ‘The Day Bob was saved by modern technology’ which was made by Johan Kramer. This interesting short is about an old man who has trouble with his motorcycle brakes as they fail, there is then a journey to finally coming to a stop.  The narrative structure of this short is quite simple and fits the ‘classic realist’ narrative structure as it has the normality at the start as he rides the motorcycle, the enigma is created as the brakes fail and then the rest of the short is about the pathway to resolution, this is finally resolves in the closure as his friends hold a mattress up to stop and save him from injuring himself. This narrative structure is enhanced with many features such as building the suspense in the pathway to resolution.

Some techniques of the suspense are demonstrated through the editing pace which speeds up after we see a close-up of Bob realising the brakes have failed as he tries to use them, there is also a car that is broken down and this creates some suspense as it is foreshadowing what is going to later happen to Bob.  Even though there aren't any extreme close-ups to show suspense in the face there are a few close-ups which really showcase what is going on in Bob’s face or even the failure of the brakes but there are mainly medium and long shots that are used and they do the suspense job just as well as we see a range of long and medium shots which are pieced together with a quick editing pace (linking back to the previous paragraph) and this quick pace really works well with the shots. There are also a fair amount of close-ups which are used to add more suspense to the story like the shot of the brakes failing and the close-up of the motorcycle wheel as it spins round showing how fast Bob is really going. Finally I think that the point of view shots really make us connect with Bob as we are put in his view and we can create some emotional identification as we begin to worry whether or not he will be safe. I find all of the techniques really add to the suspense of the short.

To further develop and help us identify with the Bob and the short there are techniques used like the use of a close-up, as I mentioned earlier there are only a few and the main one is used when we see Bob playing around with the brakes to realise they don’t work, not only that but there is a medium shot which zooms into to a kind of close-up of Bob’s face as he realises the brakes are gone, this could also be a reaction shot, as we see how he feels and his expression tells us exactly what his thoughts are about the current situation. There is also a point of view shot after where it Bob quickly looks down this narrow road to see that he can’t come to a stop, this shot gives us more identification with Bob as we are put in his shoes. Back to the reaction shots, there is another in the short as when Bob reaches the two old ladies holding the mattress there is a reaction shot of the women on the left as she sees Bob about to crash into the mattress, this really makes us connect with how these two new characters then feel about the situation.

When we see the start of the short, there are intertitles of the name of the short; there is then a graphic match of Bob riding on his motorcycle as he rides though the ‘O’ in Bob. After this we see Bob ride from right to left and the camera pans to the right and Bob is riding from left to right, this breaks the 180˚ rule (above images). These are parts of the continuity system, as we have various ways to help the audience understand the relation one shot to the next, but as we can see multiple times across the entire short the 180˚ is broken various times and this makes it confusing for the audience, not only that but linking back to suspense I think that this emphasises the issue at hand because there are multiple edits which mismatch maybe creating tension in the dilemma that is about to happen and does happen.


A further aspect of the continuity system is the way that establishing shots are used; at the start I would class that as an establishing shot (after the graphic match) as we see this old man riding his motorcycle calmly which is rode off screen, there is then a re-establishing shot when Bob reaching a cross-road and this is when we first start or pathway to resolution and this sets where Bob is and the two cars that he has just encountered and had to make brake (it’s a good thing both cars brakes work) I would say in my opinion they are the only two establishing shots in the short as most other shots don’t set the scene or anything, as the use of the long shots piece nicely together without confusion or need for re-establishing shots.

Not only this but I find that sound is very important in this short, especially the bell as we repeatedly hear the ringing as Bob tries to get people to move out of the way; no dialogue is spoken in this entire short and the bell is a brilliant way of trying to be the shouting or distress that Bob would be saying if there was dialogue. Not only that, but there are various ambient noises as he rides around, like the car horns and the band that play, though when we first hear the band they aren't on screen, this is a sound bridge as we then later move onto the visuals of the band playing. Across the whole short there is the overriding sound of the motorcycle engine with has probably been enhanced in post-production, this is the main sound element that is heard. To finally conclude it all when Bob is finally saved there is a tweeting of a bird which makes things seem more uplifting and positive that he has just been saved and things are better.