In the 2008 short film “Sommersonntag” directors Fred Breinersdofer and Siegfried portray the fictional narrative of Bruno Hansen (Axel Prahl) and the accidental death of his deaf son Micha (Janos Giuranna), at an elevator bridge in Hamburg, where the main character Bruno Hansen works as a bridge operator. The film portrays the son's death and the ultimate choice the father has to make between saving the lives of train passengers approaching the bridge and that of his own son, as he is playing under the elevator bridge. The cinematographic techniques used to portray this fictional narrative add to the films depiction through its suspenseful close-ups, and switching from differing characters/ objects point of view, as the train approaches the bridge and from the point of view of the father's narration of the event. The aspect ratio of the short film is rectangular filmed in a ratio of 2:3 and is filmed in normal (real time) speed. The onscreen and offscreen space is manipulated from the very beginning of the short film hiding the actual location of the father. The film opens with a close up of the father in a suit and tie, not revealing his location and going through the corse of events that led hid here to this point. It only reveals later through a widening of the shot that he is in a graveyard, recounting the way in which his son was killed. The film makes use of long shots through close ups to give the viewer a feeling of suspense, the scope/ mechanism of the machinery involved and the emotions of the actors portrayed. The long shot is used to portray the immensity of the elevator bridge and the distance of the train to the bridge as it inevitably comes towards the bridge. The use of the long shot here shows the time limits the father has to make his decision, as well as how much time the child has till he is killed. Medium long and medium shots are used to show the distance between the father and his son as he plays on the tracks, and to portray the helplessness the father experiences, during his realization that he has a choice to make: that his son is doomed if he maintains his post and fulfills his duty saving the lives of the people on the train; or to save his son dooming the train. The medium shot is also used to reveal the father's final location in a cemetery recounting the story itself. The close up is the most effective used shot throughout “Sommersontag,” connecting the viewer with the emotions of the characters as well as the technical aspects of the story. The close up explains the mechanics and operations of the bridge, and eventually show the final moments of the child’s life as we see from his perspective and then a cut away to the bridge tracks locking in position killing him, yet saving the train. The close up is also shows the intimacy and love between father and son as he explains to him how the bridge works, foreshadowing his death, unknowingly explaining to him how he will die. The close up connects the viewer to the pain felt by the father as it cuts from his horrified face to the controls as he makes the decision to lower the bridge. The duration of images through out the film begin and end with relatively long lapses, giving a feeling of calm and piece as the father and son come into work, as well as the father alone in the cemetery coping with the aftermath of his actions. During the action sequences where the bridge in coming down on the child, the duration of the images is sped up to give a feeling of suspense and to give a sense of time involved before the father must make his choice. This film uses the techniques developed throughout the history of filmmaking, in regards to cinematography: shot angels to give perspective, dramatic effectivity and scope to the characters, the objects and machines around them. It uses a non-linear narrative, to show that what happened is being recounted by the narrator himself and that what happened was in the past. Its techniques are not relatively new or innovative and it relates to the historical and cultural context of being a “German Film,” in that it is horribly depressing and it centers around death.