Textual Analysis - Tick Tock

Camera ·         Low angle shows significance of the box ·         Tracking shot – intensity ·         Hand held shot - disequilibrium	Editing ·         Long take – no time to think, death ·         Subtitles – help to decode narrative ·         Credits at the start – reverse chronology
Sound ·         Heart beat – adrenaline ·         Synchronous sound – closed ·         Tik tok – link to change in equilibrium	Mise en scene ·         Clock – visual representation of the reverse of time ·         Morpheme pills and box helped to drive the narrative

            


                    Todorovs theory of equilibrium was not evident in the short film Tik Tok as it didn't follow a conventional, linear story arc. Instead, a reverse chronological narrative was established through the use of editing. For example the subtitles help to decode the narrative as otherwise we would be unable to understand what is going on due to the reverse of time. Also the use of titles such as "cowardess" personify the new equilibrium which is being created. The credits at the start of the film are also a giveaway of the narrative as it can show that the film is in reverse chronology by reversing the order of the film. The use of a long take throughout the short film suggests that he has no time to think as death appears to be imminent for the character.


                   The short film has a closed narrative, as theorised by Barthes, as the meaning is clear and resolved at the end. Barthes also theorised that an enigma code is crucial in engaging an audience in a narrative which is created through the use of sound. For example the use of syncronous sound in Tik Tok links to Barthes' theory of a closed narrative as ther is only one obvious ending which is him realising it was all a joke and that he is not dying. The sound tik tok which is being made by the clock engineers a link to Todorovs Equilibrium Theory as there is a change of equilibrium in the short film. The non diagetic heartbeat which is used as the character panics can be seen as an effect of the disruption in the equilibrium as he is stressing thus pumping him with adrenaline.


                   Bordwell and Thompson state that a narrative is the product of a cause and effect relationship, and this can be seen through the use of key props used in the mise en scene such as the morphene pills. The pills are a cause that lead to the effect of him running through the campus which helps to drive the narrative and help reach a conclusion. The box can aslo be seen as a prop which helps to drive the narrative as he pursues a desire to give the box to his girlfriend. Also the clock which is ticking anti-clockwise can be seen as a visual representation of the reverse of time - visual evidence of the use of reverse chronology in this short film.