I will be analyzing the short film “Land and Bread” by Carlos Armella using the 3 Act Structure.

First act (beginning) (setup)
– Beginning: Introduction of the pet dog.
– Inciting action (Set-up characters/ environment): There is a little girl playing with her pet dog. The weather is windy. It has a fun and relaxing atmosphere.
– Second thoughts: The windy weather may also hint that a storm (crisis/problem) is coming.
– Climax of act I: There is a pregnant woman (the mother) walking towards the hut. She seems to be in pain, most likely she is going to give birth.

Second act (middle) (confrontation)
– Obstacle: The little girl helps her mother back to their hut and she runs off to seek help.  The dog barks get more aggressive.
– Obstacle: The little girls manages to get her father and a doctor for help. All of them looks anxious.
– Midpoint: The doctor first left the hut with blood stains on his white coat. The little girl also calmly keeps all the hanging clothes. The outcome of the birth is still unknown.
– Obstacle: The father left the hut angrily. He shouts at the dog and let it runs away. (The dog probably runs away to look for food)
– Disaster/ Climax 2: From the previous scene, we know that the mother has a miscarriage. The father carries the dead baby out. He starts to dig a hole to bury the baby.

Third act (end) (resolution)
– Falling action: The mother and daughter are seen mourning in front of the grave of the baby. The weather also clears up, hinting the end of the crisis.
– Resolution (wrap up/end): The dog came back to sniff the grave (probably it thought it is food buried below, i think.. since the family looks poor and they probably do not have money to provide the dog food.. ._.”)

Overall: The short film is filmed at a fixed location and the only camera movement is zooming out. The dog is always at the center of attention.