Single Camera Critiques

Floating is easy by Graeme and Katy McAulay 
"Floating is easy"is a short film by directed by Graeme McAulay and written by Kate McAulay. The film explains the story of Alison, who has spent the last few years caring for her mother who has a severe case of Alzheimer's. Alison stops her mum everyday from leaving the house early in the morning when she forgets where she is, however one day when Alison for the first time in years sleeps in late, her mother leaves. A while later when Alison wakes, she finds the door open and "fails to raise the alarm".
 "Floating is Easy" was filmed on location in Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland and shot on HDCAM (Panasonic HVX900) by award-winning director of photography Paul Riley. The use of Camera shots in this Short, makes the story feel really personal. Using a single camera technique allows very significant moments to be caught such as when Alison is helping her mother get dressed and we watch as her mother is allowing herself to be dressed, but is also slightly fighting it as though she doesn't want to admit defeat to the illness.
 The shots that a linked together throughout the short create a story within the story of Alisons life, and that is the story of her mother. For example, when Alison and her mother are walking through the park, a lady comes up to them offering them a flyer for a spa treatment, when the mother does not take it, Alison steps in and takes it from the lady. The next shot then shows her mother watching an old lady taking part in excercise on the grass. I think that these shots were put together to convey the fact that Alisons mother has almost given up on living and trying new things, but also longs to join in with other elderly people to be normal.
 I think that the sound used in this short defines the relationship that Alison has with her mother and the outside world. With some voiceover and music including, the sound is mostly general movement sounds (i.e the door opening, bed being made, hairdryer) and only a few simple sentences are exchanged between the two. I think that this has been done purposefully to show how lonely Alison is because she is caring for her mother and does not have much to say to her. The Voiceover show a different part of the main character, the guilty side. By using sentences such as "the report said accidental death" and "means i did not kill my mother" it shows that Alison is feeling very guilty for not looking for her mum when she went missing, but is also trying to justify that it was not her fault, an emotional battle inside her. By allowing the audience to hear this at the very beggining, they watch in anticipation to decided wether or not she did kill her mother.
  The use of editing in one particular scene, the first time that we see Alison stop her mother from leaving the house, is very effective  because it is cut at the same pace as Alison running down the stairs, and this shows the struggle she has with caring for her mother.
  Some single camera techniques are used to give the impression of multi camera, and a good example of that is when the shot switches from looking towards the door, then seeing outside of the window, and back again. It gives the viewer an impression of being able to see from all angles.