Hanscom - Exploring Film Technique

Among the three short films we watched in class, my favorite was Bunny. I liked how the film starts with the camera following the moth as it flutters around the bunny's house. This centered the story around the moth and how it influences the bunny in the film, rather than the other way around. The bunny doesn't speak, but the emotion is caught on camera through visual close-ups of the bunny's face and glimpses of old family photos. One gains a sense of loss and loneliness when the camera shows the bunny holding his wedding photo. There is a clear mark on the wall that shows the picture was hanging for a long time.

The filmmakers give the perception that the moth is very annoying, because in shots the bunny seems very irritated by its presence. At one point, the moth knocks the wedding photo on the wall and the bunny is extremely perturbed by the incident. In fact, the moth accidentally ends up in the bunny's bowl of carrot cake batter, but instead of taking the moth out the bunny whips the batter even harder and throws the mixture into the oven with angst. The filmmakers show the bunny get visibly upset by his facial expressions and through his bodily gestures.

The moth's death is foreshadowing the bunny's death. The oven symbolizes the liminal space that exists when one journeys from life to death. There is soft music playing as the bunny climbs into the oven as the door emits this beautiful, mysterious light. The music makes the transition feel peaceful and the viewer welcomes this unforeseen turn of events. The light is symbolic of the "light at the end of the tunnel" that people see as they embrace death. The filmmakers made it seem like death was a beautiful thing and should be embraced when the time is right for the individual. The film ends with the bunny peacefully flying away with the moth into the eternal light, as he becomes a moth himself.