Significance of the Shot Duration (Week Five)

~ Significance of the Shot Duration ~

Hi there!

I thought that it might be a good idea to go over the significance of the shot duration in Her Slow Disappearance, You'll notice that in the film, the speed at which cuts are made and the general pacing of the film as a whole reflect the mood and emotions of Sarah throughout it. The faster cuts, can mean two things, either it is to represent the speeding up of time as a side effect of Sarah's drug use, or to represent high emotions between the character on the screen and the situation they would be presently facing. For example, in the rapid POV shots between Sarah and her mother in the beginning of the film, emotions are high, Sarah is scared and frustrated about the missing presence of her drugs - she is desperately searching for her next high -  and her mother is anxious and nervous, worried for her daughters future and questioning her decisions and beliefs as she discovers her daughters drug baggy. 

In comparison the slow, drug out single cuts -  such as the opening scene of Sarah's mother discovering her dead in the shower, aim to evoke a sense of anxiety and worry in the audience, showing the true desperation of the scene. Comparative to the quick cut scenes that represent the characters emotions singularly, while the longer cuts aim to do the same, it mainly targets the viewer.