0:00 – 0:03
As our scene begins, the sun seems to be on the verge of rising above or falling beyond the horizon of an invitingly calm low tide. I can’t actually see the sun, but it’s rays are reflecting off of the ripples of the waves and pyramids in the sand, making the entire frame look like a piece of granite taken out of a kitchen countertop. Closer to the edge of the water is a young man, alone for an instant. Dressed in all black sweat pants and sweatshirt, his outfit changes my perception of what season it may be. He doesn’t seem too cold, but I get the sensation that it is a fall evening. Standing near the water, and alone for an instant, he punts the ball into the air. As the ball ascends towards its vertex, a tiny girl wanders into frame, immediately in awe of the ball. She is dressed in all red or pink, which shows a strong contrast to how the young man is dressed. This could be drawing us to her femininity, or it could be representing how vibrant and optimistic she is in her young age. In contrast, the man’s decision to wear all black could be showing us somebody who is despondent, or who has grown somewhat lonely. Whereas the little girl is simply enamored with the ball in all of it’s flight and descension, the man seems to be unconcerned with the ball. He is tossing the ball out of boredom. The relationship between the child and man is unknown, but it is possible this is a father-daughter moment being shared with us. Further analysis makes me doubt this, however. As the ball falls, the girl approaches it, wholeheartedly. She wants the ball. The man sees the girl intercept his route to the ball, and he backs away. It doesn’t seem affectionate, or expected, because his backing away doesn’t accompany a smile or any kind of physical gesture other than the blank half content look the guy has had on his face the whole time. He backs away from the girl almost hastily, as if he didn’t know she was there. I almost get the sense that he has been politely annoyed by the girl.
0:04 – 0:08
The scene shifts instantaneously to a whole new surrounding, but the atmosphere remains remarkably familiar to the previous few seconds. There is no change in mood. The sun looks to be rising, as we can see morning dew in the foreground of the scene, on what is somewhat longer cut grass. In the distance, a charmingly quaint and slightly beaten down house nestles between a few shrubs and trees, and is towered over by a dominant oak tree. Attached to the house looks to be an outdoor porch, closed in by windows and screening, but maintaining the outdoor feeling. Finally, we get to the figure in the center of the frame. Judging by the his frame and clothing, we can determine this is a man. Donning washed blue jeans, worker boots, a baseball cap, and a jacket, the man seems to be well on his way into the day, despite it being obviously early. This man is representative of a blue collar individual. A real “man at night, man in the morning” kind of guy. Almost fading with the pixels of the camera, we can faintly see a windmill peer up from above the tree line. This can possibly be even more evidence that the setting is a farm, and the man is the farmer. As we drop back into focus, the man shines almost inversely, as his shadow pierces the light coming from the sun to give him an almost divine look. The front yard is empty, but full of long grass and sunlight.
Counterintuitive 