The Gift

BLR VFX

Sound
Many emotions and themes are conveyed throughout The gift through the
sound, sound fx and dialogue. The first is the non diegetic sound of the subway
as our supposed protagonist sits quietly, hunched over on one of the passenger
seats then as the film cuts to him walking through the deserted subway station
making the echo of his footsteps quite a prominent sound, creating feelings of
anticipation as he continues his journey clutching the mysterious present. He
walks past a strange autonomous cat where we hear the sound of its motors
and robot parts animating as it struts past. In summary, the films opening is
very quiet and tranquil perhaps symbolising a calm before a storm reinforcing
senses of anticipation throughout the first couple minutes or so. The complete
lack of dialogue and non diegetic sound fx or music makes for an effective build
up towards the films climax.
Just before the receiver of this strange box drops a hair into a passage at the top
to unlock it a heartbeat sound effect plays to once again play on anticipation
and expectancy.
The plot takes a turn for the worst when the main character stabs an elderly
man in the neck which called for the addition of non-diegetic, post production
sound fx such as the knife piercing the mans flesh and the sound of blood
jetting out causing the victim to choke the violence immediately changes the
tone of the film and invokes feelings of mystery, confusion (as it is not revealed
why he stabbed him) fear and excitement. As soon as he deals the killing blow
high pitched violin music plays quite quietly to convey the shock caused by the
abruptness of the murder and deep drums sound as he steals back the box and
leaves.
The old mans servant droid (whom we meet earlier) notices the suspicious man
leaving in a hurry and as he goes to follow him we hear his motors and servos
sounding deeper than the cats probably due to his size. Viewers can
immediately associate such electronic sounds with technology and machinery.
And his footsteps sound like heavy metal hitting concrete like deep clinks. Then
we start hearing the sound of police sirens as the scene has attracted the
attention of the law sirens of this type are often associated with trouble or
danger. Later on as a chase ensues between the android and police we hear
rapid gunshots as the police fire out of their car windows at the suspect
representing far more alarming levels of violence. This chase scenes soundtrack
is one of fast paced drums and percussion invoking adrenaline and excitement
when coupled with the action packed visuals.
The intense sound and music ceases once the droid crashes his bike and

Camera, Editing and VFX

The opening shot immediately links to the films title as it is a close
up of two gloved hands clutching a neatly wrapped present. A
panning shot later follows as the character passes a small security
force at the subway station where the camera pans around the
three men as though it is moving with him as he passes them
making it almost a POV shot. This type of camera technique allows
the audience to experience what the character does as he passes
the subjects in frame, in this case they would feel fearful and
intimidated by the masked officers. The same cinematographic
technique is used again later as he crosses paths with a bizarre
robotic cat except rather than to convey a mood this shot is rather
more atmospheric in that it establishes the strange future that this
film is set in, in which there are various life forms that are now
entirely robotic. As the receiver of the mysterious gift unties the
bow there is an extreme close up as he does so. This, coupled with
the sound and music builds on the tension an suspense of the
scene as extreme close ups are an effective way of doing so in
most films of the thriller genre. As the plot heats up the camera is
used to film wider angle shots, panning shots are faster and more
aggressive and shots are spliced together in a more fast paced and
exciting way such shot changes are often prompted by match on
action in this more action packed scene of the film. For example,
as the droid dodges between two intercepting police cars the shot
switches to different perspectives several times rapidly. These
editing and camera techniques are used to invoke excitement and
adrenaline.
As the protagonist robot crashes and is launched over the handles
of his bike the shot is slowed down majorly as he hits the asphalt
and his casing is shattered to pieces. The slow motion places
emphasis on this part of the film as it is the point in the plot in
which hope is lost and the tragedy of the droids impending demies
is marked.

Mise en scene
Mise en scene plays a key part in establishing the films genre,
establishing setting, plot and communicating emotion in this
particular film. First we see a neatly wrapped present with red floral
patterned paper and a golden bow tie this both links back to the
title and juxtaposes with the films graphic and dark plot as well as
contrasting with the man carrying the present who is dressed in
cold winter clothing with colours consisting of various browns
mostly. The obviously unhappy and blandly dressed man carrying
such a delicately wrapped, colourful present already implements a
peculiar vibe to this films opening. The setting of the film, judging
by the various landmarks looks to be the inner city of Moscow in
Russia. From the shot of him in the square we can infer that this is a
futuristic version of Russia which is heavily policed. This is further
reinforced by how heavily armed the many police officers are who
wear bizarre helmets, gas masks and are armed with assault rifles.
Some are positioned next to what looks to be a massive drop ship or
hover craft thus, showing the firepower they possess to its full
extent. Their gas masks and strange computerised voices make
them seem almost inhuman and further unnerve the viewer. The
robotic servant; who turns out to be an unexpected main character
has a very human face in which he cannot move any feature
besides his eyes which makes his character appear constantly
tranquil and calm, demonstrating the idea that AIs will not and
cannot feel emotion and so there is no need to express it. His casing
and plates are white with a light blue floral pattern covering them
looking like a piece of painted china, conveying themes of delicacy
and value while his tranquil facial expression and human
appearance we associate with intelligence. Most of the more
demanding pieces of scenery and characters (such as the crash
scene, droid, autonomous cat and drop ship) are computer
generated models .