Carnevale Mask — Midnight on the Grand Canal

An 11-second baroque noir short, 16:9. Midnight during Carnevale: on a candlelit palace balcony above the Grand Canal, a masked figure in gold brocade stands motionless over black water while a flotilla of candle-lit boats drifts below. 0-4s: the camera starts tight on the white bauta mask's hollow eyes — the figure in an 18th-century gold-brocade costume utterly still, candle flames trembling on the balcony behind. A church bell tolls somewhere across the water. The figure does not move. 4-8s: the slow pull-back begins — over the balcony's stone balustrade, past guttering candelabra, revealing the canal below: a flotilla of candle-lit sandolos drifting past, their masked passengers' laughter echoing off the palazzi, hundreds of candle flames trembling on the black water. 8-11s: the pull-back completes into a wide canal panorama — the Salute church glowing across the basin, the flotilla's lights trailing reflections, the masked figure now small on the balcony, still watching. The bell tolls once more. Craft: the motionless figure in gold-brocade 18th-century costume and white bauta mask; the candlelit palace balcony; the flotilla of candle-lit sandolos with masked passengers; the black canal water; the glowing Salute church. Camera: slow pull-back from an extreme close-up of the mask to a wide candlelit canal panorama; smooth, funereal pace. Lighting: chiaroscuro — deep blacks against candle-gold, flame tremble on water, the church glowing across the basin. Mood: decadent, haunting, baroque. Style: period-noir cinema, chiaroscuro lighting, rich blacks, 11 seconds, 16:9.