The Light: and the little girl

A CLOSER LOOK: VIDEOGRAPHIC CRITICISM 2023
The Light: and the little girl
By Alice Cockburn
This video essay deconstructs some of the ways in which Director, Guy Pooles, and Cinematographer, Jih-E Peng, utilise the short film form to create an emotional effect on the viewer through their poetic exploration of coming of age; ‘The Light and The Little Girl’ (2014). It discusses the use of light, colour, and camera movement to communicate the character’s internal feelings through cinematography as well as drawing comparisons with Toby Halbrook’s ‘Dig’ (2014) as both short films explore themes of loss of innocence in growing up, through the eyes of young girls. This essay also discusses how theories such as Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘unity of effect’ and several of Raskin’s parameters, including; simplicity vs depth, economy vs wholeness, and image vs sound are employed to maximise the storytelling potential of this short film.
Young video essayists comment on popular audio-visual culture. Produced as part of the BA (Hons) Film and Television degree at Solent University and brought to you by Making Waves Film Festival.
TWITTER @FilmTVSolent
FACEBOOK / filmsolent
Learn more about us at makingwavesfil... Instagram | / makingwavesff Facebook | / makingwavesff Twitter | / makewavesfilm