In Depth Analysis:

Uncanny
Valley
A short film by 3Dar

Analysis
Points about mise
en scene =yellow
Camera/ special
fx /editing=blue
Sound=green

Our establishing shot shows a possibly middle eastern

woman looking off camera mournfully, clearly she is
afraid and upset by whatever she is looking at. We
hear the ominous sounds of desert winds and a few
short seconds later her face appears to distort
digitally as though it were this is accompanied by non
diegetic audio glitch sound effect immediately
establishing
themes
about
technology
and
computers.
The woman's face begins to further distort until there
is a smart transition effect which converts the visuals
of the last shot to the title screen, which appears to
show the title floating glowing purple in a very dimly
lit cave as the wind from the last shot is replaced with
a non diegetic low hum. Both the sound and visual
elements of this shot set the tone for the rest of the
film; it is genuinely quite an unhappy, even
depressing
and
mysterious
film
which
is
communicated by the low key lighting and low hum. A
few
seconds into the title screen and the voice of our
to me is the only reality A large amount of emphasis is placed
main
saying;
reality
on thischaracter
line as the chimes
line Thein
only
realityvirtual
echoes non
diegetically

several times after he has spoken it. This highlights one of the main
themes of the film about how people can become so attached to
technology and the virtual world and how badly addiction to the
virtual world can impact quality of life, this character claims that it is
his only reality Our character; a short, thin blonde man enters a
strange halls lined with pillars with dozens of candles at the foot of
each pillar almost like a shrine. The mise en scene of this shot
perhaps communicates how technology and virtual reality are
somewhat worshipped and beloved by mankind.
This shot is
appropriately accompanied by a low, slow and quiet chime as our
character wonders these mysterious halls.

The shot cuts to him sitting on a dilapidated arm chair in a filthy rotting apartment
talking to someone off camera as though being interviewed in a adding a
mockumentary style to the film. This introduces us to our main characters reality
snapping us out of the hauntingly beautiful shrine he was walking through
(supposedly in the virtual world) showing that he uses virtual reality as a method
of escaping his miserable life of clear poverty. He says to (Id imagine) an
interviewer I remember the first time I tried it I thought to myself wow im
never gonna be bored again The character is very hesitant and slow in what he
says and he hunches over, looking exhausted as though he were sleep deprived,
hair messy, unwashed and beard overgrown indicating that he is perhaps insecure
and unhappy in the real world while his unhygienic appearance, living quarters
and tattered clothes communicate his lack of productivity in daily life this can all
be attributed supposedly to his VR addiction. Then the shot cuts back to him in the
candle lit hall as a massive fiery explosion blasts through the wall sending him
flying through the air . The obviously high budget special effect of the explosion is
accompanied by a drum and bass soundtrack kicking in to communicate the
We are then introduced to another character; an over weight (once
amount of excitement he felt at that moment to the viewer. The shot then slows
again
indicating
health
problems
which
could on
bethis
blamed
lack
down until
almost pausing
completely
to place
emphasis
momenton
when
he of
exercise
due
addiction)
man
a bland rotting apartment,
first tried VR;
this to
wasVR
the moment
that had
himinhooked.

another virtual reality addict who discusses his experiences with VR

very positively saying 17 hours of combat a day 100 kills about
8 10 deaths 5 senses support, 360 degrees immersion, enhanced
pain, I wake up, check all my rankings and go straight to the
battlefield This tells us just what VR is in this dystopian future
imagined by 3Dar we can infer from what he is saying that it is an
exciting combat simulator in which players compete for scores. This
shot is quite brief as the film begins to pick up pace and is
accompanied by a non- diegetic low electronic beat.

As the interviewee describes VR the shot

cuts to an extreme close up of the tiny
nose ring VR device showing just how
advanced this future is and how small and
probably
inexpensive
this
kind
of
technology has become. This scene is
drawn to a close by a very brief shot of a
soldiers
hand
firing
a
side
arm
accompanied by a non diegetic gun shot
and similar low key lighting to what we

We are then introduced to yet another character once again a VR

addict being interviewed. He is introduced in a way that allows us to
quickly judge his character. From the mise en scene of this shot we
can infer that he lives in possibly even worse conditions than the last
2, surrounded by discarded waste and lying on a trashy mattress
covered in junk and dirty clothes, rags and blankets. He says My life
off line is simple, I float there (referring to VR use) sleep there, the
bathrooms there and thats it, havent left this house in quite a few
years He looks almost guilty upon saying this as though he is aware
his life is improper but is unwilling to do anything about it. There is
also the echo sound effect again as he admits to confining himself in
the house for years placing emphasis on the fact that the addiction
seems
completely
detatch you
society.
Anothertodigital
glitchy transition
(with from
the same
drumThis
and scene
base asis
accompanied
quiet,
recurring
high
to convey
the
the explosionbyinathe
shrine)
similar
to pitched
the onechime
from the
first shot
equilibrium
stage
of the where
story. we see our first character eating a
takes us to
a scene
sandwich from a prop machine that reads food printer yet again
reinforcing the films message about how technology risks lack of
productivity. We also see in the mise en scene of this shot; another
man (another addict I assume) lying against a dilapidated fridge
showing that this once was a place where these or other inhabitants
used to make their own food still (they were once somewhat capable
of basic day to day skills) but these are times past and technology
has allowed them to regress even further in terms of basic survival.
Also the presence of another man in this shot shows that he lives
with others
and
that perhaps
is even awith
part the
of a drum
small community
There
is yet
again
another he
transition
and base
of squatterspiping
and VRupaddicts
living
in absolute
soundtrack
and then
quieting
downpoverty.
again and we meet a
character with a bit more of a back story which demonstrates a
positive of VR and video game violence. He says I had trouble with
the law in the past, with VR I feel like I can express my self
express my anger in a way thats not dangerous. I feel like I can
be myself and not go to jail for it I find this character to be far
more sympathetic than the others; he was a criminal and has
become hooked on VR at his own cost because he feels as though it
will keep him from hurting any one in the real world and keep him
out of trouble with the law. This is built upon by the actors body
language and dialogue; he is very hesitant and nervous like the
rest, suffering from social isolation. He is clearly made very
uncomfortable by the presence of the alleged camera crew and this
is shown by his constant fidgeting with his hands, and the
numerous gang tattoos and markings present on his hands which

There is then another very brief shot of a

soldier firing a sub machine gun rapidly (non
diegetic sound effect) and yet another quick
loud drum and base sound track getting
louder and quieter. This brief shot does make
the VR game these characters are so
obsessed with look very appealing . There is
a wide array of high contrast colours and
lighting which strongly contrasts with the
The last character we meet is different to the others in that she is a functioning
bleakness
ofset inthe
world
and
their
member
of society. The
this shotreal
is very different
to those
that involve
the
VR addicts in that she sits in a orderly, tidy office, she is clean and well dressed
miserable
house.
and
seems to be midway
through filling in a document and working unlike any
other characters in the film. Her first line is my job is to provide psychological
assistance in VR dependent neighbourhoods thus revealing to us the scale of the
problem and the fact that there are entire neighbourhoods who depend on VR.
Clearly she is of use to the inhabitants of said neighbourhoods who, judging from
how their characters are represented do indeed have psychological problems
caused by the VR addiction. This is followed by a slightly shakey handheld
camera tracking shot of her walking through the house, smiling and kneeling
down to speak to one of the squatters. Now, she is wearing a sort of nurses outfit
with the blue short sleeved shirt, black formal trousers and sterile gloves which
stereotypically shows her character to be kind and caring. She later states to
be honest, they dont seem to manifest any interest in being part of society and
looking at their present conditions I dont think they would have a place either
Her dialogue differs from other characters in that she is calm, professional and
confident
in herthen
speech showing
contrast
normal people
VR
The film
cuts the
back
to between
a mid-shot
ofandthe
addicts. Her line also reinforces my point earlier about how some of them are
interview
with the
main
character,
like the criminal
aware of their problems
but aren't
willing
to fix them.

he fidgets and hesitates nervously saying I don't

feel comfortable around people I dont really know
what I should say or do gameplay its just
simpler there are no people, just targets This
reinforces the psychologists point about their
mental conditions, they are completely introverted
and isolated despite living in a densely populated
house. This line is once again emphasised by the

Suddenly we are thrown into the VR game with a brief shot of

a soldier being shot down and an over the shoulder mid shot
of his team member returning fire. The set appears to mainly
be computer generated and is comprised of low key lit caves
and rocky terrain covered in mist where the little colour there
is is exaggerated. Similar to a laser tag arena. A point of
view shot follows which shows the soldier looking down on
his deceased team mate with a heads up display that we
could associate with a first person shooter game. We hear
the players communicating through radios like real soldiers
lets try to get our formation back, theres another stampede
coming
We are then introduced to the targets that the

main character was referring to which are referred

to by the players as wraiths or ghosts zombie
like humanoids covered in rotting flesh which
glows various bright colours this wide angle shot
shows them on top of a hill staring down at the
soldiers menacingly appearing to make growling
noises. This shot looks to be almost entirely 3d
rendered and all its special effects added post
production.
Then follows a far more intense and action
packed scene in which one of the soldiers goes to
confront them by firing a lot of rounds rapidly but
is quickly over come. There is a panning/ tracking
shot of the wraiths sprinting down the hill as a
unit growling loudly
as one by one they
disappear to then reappear closer to the soldiers
and get the jump on them. This scene invokes
feelings of fear in the way the mysterious
creatures behave and their sheer aggression
towards the players as well as the general high
speed pacing of the scene.

Once the fight scene is over and the last

ghost is killed there is a wide angle
landscape shot of the men walking
through the environment which is a
fantastical desert type terrain laden with
boulders and volcanoes thus reminding
us of the appeal of VR.
One of the soldiers begins wondering from the
squad having spotted something strange in the
game environment; a rock is floating strangely and
jerking to the side occasionally as though it were
lagging then this shot follows as curiosity gets the
best of him (and the viewer) and he begins firing at
it causing the glitch to become more severe. This
wide angle shot slowly zooms out as he begins to
fire more rounds at the glitch the non-diegetic
gunshots get louder as the glitch gets more intense
A point of view shot follows so that the viewer can
invoking excitement in the viewer.
experience the strange occurrences in the characters
shoes. Meanwhile his team mates are trying to get
through to him on his radio wondering what he is
doing as their voices become more intense and
begin to distort as he enters the mysterious doorway
created by the glitch his HUD begins to glitch out
bringing us to a potential crisis point in the story.
This all builds up to create a very intense and
confusing atmosphere which is broken by a sudden
moment of calm as he leaves the doorway.

The protagonist is then violently

ambushed by a stray wraith who
damages a device on the back of
his helmet upon executing the
ghost the device displays a series
of errors in red writing before
reading removing filters The
atmosphere once again heats up as
Music becomes louder and more
he
pants
loudly
intense
and
then dietetically.
the sound seemingly
disappears completely as the virtual
world around him abruptly disappears
leaving him staring down at a pair of
worn robotic hands holding a sidearm
standing on cracked, dry mud leading
The
wind from he
the first
as he
looks of
up
us ominous
to believe
is shot
in returns
osme
sort
and takes in his surroundings the robotic sound of his
dessert.
servos
we immediately associate with machinery and
robotics. He looks up at a woman standing over a mans
body revealing the thrilling plot twist that the game they
were playing was actually just a cover for controlling droids
to fight wars in distant countries. The scenery clearly
shows a desert village almost completely reduced to rubble
by war. The quiet and ominous mood is broken when our
confused protagonist yells at the civilian his voice loud and
robotic Who are you? Hey! HEY! at this point there is a
close up of her face in which she looks up at him
despairingly. A POV shot follows as his HUD acts up again

He looks up at a ruined flat block as a

zooming wide angle shot shows his team
mates using sniper rifles to kill the villages
inhabitance (human) soldiers the fast zoom
in creates an atmosphere of heightened
stress and tension. The film quickly picks
up pace again and chaos ensues as the
snipers begin wiping people out. A loud
fast paced drum and violin soundtrack
3Dar clearly composed this shot to sustain the strong
reinforces the panicked atmosphere.
sense of panic and chaos in this part as the camera
arch's around the protagonist going from a medium close
up of the robot to walking round him (keeping him in
centre frame) to an over the shoulder. Then the
unintentional ferocity of the other players is shown when
they run past him and gun down an unarmed man fleeing
from them this is done in a way that makes the civilians
seem even more defenceless against the droids as the
two of them both simply jog without tiredness or fatigue
while their victim sprints exhaustedly and is shot in the
back making it seem like more of an execution or
It is revealed
that these hovering robots
slaughter
than a battle.

float around scanning corpses to ensure

they are dead. The robots bright red eye
make them seem evil and un feeling. The
mise en scene of this shot reinforces the
sense of slaughter and murder that is
occurring as the bodies of unarmed men
and women litter the rubble which leads
us o infer that the area has also been

The drums start to slow now and the violin picks

up to represent the main characters realisation
and guilt as he takes the entire scene in. A
zooming out birds eye view shot shows the
entire ruined city and the armies of droids
moving through accompanied by various tanks
and aircraft dropping more off this shows the
sheer potential power that unfeeling machines
could have in combat situations but also the
dangers
that could come from their lacking of
After realising what he has helped do there is a moment where he
the ability
tohimself
feel empathy,
crushing
enemy
almost
punishes
by ripping off
the digital the
device
at the
back
of
his
head
and
releasing
a
robotic
scream
further
showing
without mercy.

his guilt. There is one final shot of his HUD and by this point it is
bugging out violently and displays random colours and pixels this
could be interpreted as a reflection of the emotions he feels in
that situation as a human. Finally stumbling around upset and
confused before this mid shot shows him putting the pistol to his
head and as he pulls the trigger the blast blows him to the left.
This part can be linked back to when the character first tries VR.
He is blown up and the explosion is shot in slow motion as it is
happening whereas one could say another kind of explosion drew
his VR addiction to a close. They have used a mid-shot because it
shows his whole body and body language in centre frame and
then upon shooting himself he is blown out of frame to convey
that droids irrelevance now that it is disabled. This is followed by
a match on action shot of the character falling down from floating
and hitting his head having bitten his tongue from the shock of
There
theninaVR.
brief black out in which the chime
shootingis
himself

soundtrack we hear in the interviews returns

allowing us to recognise that mood immediately
and re interpret it having seen what the VR is
actually used for. There are several quick shots
of each of the interviewees commenting on
reality with the glitchy transition between each
life off line its too slow. Nothing happens. Its

The scene following the cut back to the interviews is edited in a

way that it looks like a nightmare or flashback it briefly shows one
of the body scanning, floating robots watching the droid (who is
also the main character) shoot himself with the word suspect
flashing over the grainy, buggy footage of the suicide. The editing
in this part is extremely fast paced causing the shots to flash
instead of play creating a stressful atmosphere whilst revealing
that he was caught destroying one of the droids. This shot of him
is taken after he crawls into a corner prior to waking up from VR
this shot strongly communicates themes of fear, victimhood and
helplessness as it depicts a wide angle shot of him in the corner
of the wide, deserted hall scared and alone. The care free words
he has spoken in previous interviews plays over this footage as
though to guilt trip him; to remind him that he wanted this, I
A
mysterious
HUD
is shown;
this time
is aas
different
player
an
want
it to be as
intense
as possible
as it
REAL
possible
making
alert
appears
saying selfish
Ghostand
Area,
be prepared for combat then
him seem
somewhat
ignorant.
showing a droid bursting through the doors of the hall way
bearing a firearm. As the droid bursts through the double doors,
extremely bright sunlight is let into the dim, calm building
symbolising the disturbance of peace and destruction of his
boring world and day to day life. The droid walks around the
corner in view of the main character who is still curled up in the
corner recovering from everything he just saw. This tracking midshot shows the droid striding at him in a way that is most
intimidating; this is further helped by the slow motion soundscape
and visuals in which emphasis is placed on the metallic thuds of
his foot steps creating an atmosphere that is very tense and
ominous. The main character lifts his head in exhaustion and
defeat to notice the droid coming for him but doesnt appear to
reactfinally,
as though
he isshot.
accepting
fate.
The POV
droid
has
a rather
Then
the closing
This shothis
is yet
another
shot
showing
the
striking appearance
looking
damaged
torn
with a
murderous
droids headsinupthis;
display
looking
down theand
hall war
which
is actually
appearing
as though
were in game
materialises
cornereven
(this
massive scar
like itscratch
acrossa wraith
its face
making in
it the
appear
wraith
is actually the main character but is made to appear as an enemy by
more intimidating.
who ever controls that droids VR nose ring) and is highlighted as an
enemy. I find this to be a very powerful shot which highlights the trickery of
VR in this cyberpunk future as we should bear in mind that there is another
normal man like him controlling that robot which will end his life but he
himself is being tricked into killing one of his old team mates in the real
world. This scene is actually very silent which make sit outstanding
compared to the rest of the film where there is constantly sound and noise.
Finally, the film blacks out after the enemy sign appears on the droid HUD
and the credit music begins sounding like a calm piano melody with more
electronic sounds and music building up as the song progresses reminding