After giving a brief explanation of our film idea we asked these interviewees what they thought of these possible names:
- Alien (a resident born in or belonging to another country who has not acquired citizenship by naturalization (distinguished from citizen). a foreigner.A person who has been estranged or excluded.)
- Outsider (a person not belonging to a particular group, set, party, etc.)
- Defector (a person who defects from a cause, country, alliance, etc)
- Citizen(A native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance
to its government and is entitled to its protection (distinguished from alien). An inhabitant of a city or town, especially one entitled to its privileges or franchises)
After taking this audience feedback into consideration we have decided to go with the name 'Alien'. The feedback was unaimous and it was our first choice also.
One of our key scene is a refugee protest scene. It is crucial that this scene is realistic and ideally in a well known location. We originally wanted to film in Parliament Square London as it is a well recognised area as well as being commonly used for protests. However we had concerns with this location as although it is public we did not know; whether you needed permission and who you'd have to get permission from, if people would believe we were actually protesting and also if our filming would be seen as a security risk.
After researching we found that it would be unlikely we could film here. (Click the photos to learn more)
Another possibility is outside Westminster Abbey, a place also known to have protests. Again "Westminster Abbey is public space, but apparently protesting on that site is considered trespassing." However it seems more likely we will be able to possibly film outside on the grounds if we can contact them and arrange.
Other possibilities we can look into, is green screen and finding similar places and using clever editing to make it appear as if we are there.
Take a look at this article talking more about the refugee crisis, this is linked into our short film as we are basing an idea on the current situation with the Syrian crisis and refugees/immigrants. Click on the photo below to see the article:
Our film begins with two boys of different ethnicities getting ready in the morning. We follow the White boy to a protest in london against syrian refugees and immigrants coming to England. We then see the Asian walk past the protest being verbally abused. We follow him to a changing room where we see him get into a British army uniform and go to work. We then see the White boy returning home to his parents. They began asking him questions about his day as he lies and hides the protest stuff in his bag quickly going up to his room to wash paint off his hands. As they speak it is evident they are Russian/foreign. The radio begins to talk about the immagrant situation and they respond talking over dinner about how awful it is and how it was for them when they came to England. It finishes with the Asain boy leaving his house to see it has been vandilised with graffiti.
Our film is of the social realism Genre and is aimed at 16-25 year olds.
The short film begins with a medium close up shot at mid angle of the protagonist whose facial expression is completely visible. The spectator sees that the protagonist appears rather straight faced but not sombre. Alongside the facial expression of the protagonist one can also see his hair and make up which is neat and not extravagant with hair being kept uniformed and make up being minimalistic. A small amount of the protagonists costume is also showing, though most is cut off from the frame, what the spectator can see shows that the male is dressed in a smart and formal manner.
The lighting of the medium close up shot is high key and unnatural, as shown through the lamp prop in the corner of the shot. The colour of the shot is, again, natural and appears to be de-saturated in the smallest way possible, this gives a pristine and very crisp look to the short film. In the following array of close up shots at mid angle many props and décor are shown and a setting is almost established. The spectator sees the props of a mouse, keyboard and computer screen. Coupling this with the costume of the protagonist the spectator can make an assumption of the male being at work perhaps in an office. Showing the protagonists facial expression even more shows how the male appears to know what he is doing and may be finding it quite tedious, giving the impression that he does the same work everyday. When a focus pull from shallow depth of field leads to a large depth of field medium close up it creates the sense of realisation and fluidity. The panning camera movement used also assists this.
After the sound of a knock - most likely a Foley - a mid shot at mid angle is used showing the stomach of another male whose costume also suggests office worker. The restricted narration used here creates an impression of ambiguity.
When match on
action is then used to show the male protagonist answering the phone prop it
gives the action of answering the phone a larger build up and creates emphasis
around the importance of it. The close up shots at mid angle that follow
alongside the dialogue show why the phone call was so important. The sound
effect of the police sirens and the hurried dialogue informing of an apocalypse
over the close up shot showing the protagonists facial expression (shocked and
worried) create major effect and add to the enormity of the affair. With a big
close up and extreme close up soon following, its as though the information
(being given through a sound bridge) is becoming more and more dramatic and
getting 'inside his head', generating a sense of urgency. Promoted through the
use of the crescendo.
The crescendo builds to a medium close up at mid angle after a cut transition of the male protagonist in a bedroom setting; the spectator then realises that the previous shots were a dream. When the feet of the male are shown at extreme close up at mid angle, Foleys are used as he walks away, the music soundtrack being constant over this. A range of shots of the shower prop (including one extreme sloe up at worms eye view) are then used to establish setting and décor again. The use of the worms eye view angle here is particularly interesting as it is the only shot that varies from the more commonly used angles, e.g. mid angle, low angle, etc. Whilst in the bathroom setting the spectator can read a lot from the décor and props used. The use of the masses of toothpaste tubes in the drawer suggests that the man has a long term need for the toothpaste - perhaps because he is unable to find any. When the medium close up shot at low angle of the mirror prop shows the males reflection it creates an interesting impression juxtaposed to him being alone.
Manipulation of time and space is used cleverly throughout this short
film. As the males entire routine seems very procedural it manipulates the
spectator into thinking that the male does this day after day; which in fact he
does. Manipulation of space is used in the fact that a large amount of extreme
close ups, big close ups and close ups are used which create a sense of
intimacy and loneliness.
The spectator is then assisted in understanding that the male is within his
thoughts as he remembers better times, shown through the misty edged effect of
the shots. The shots themselves also being important with a wider range being
used than in the current world, for example, the extreme long shot.
When the male protagonist enters the
house setting the props and décor along with the mid shot are very blocked
in the sense that techniques such as slit shots have been used. The panning,
tilting and tracking movements add to the ordeal as the male protagonist
wanders aimlessly around the house setting as though it was his own. The spider
prop being used to show the seriousness of the apocalypse and how something so
simple as a spider can become one of the only life forms left.
The props of the items within the survival kit add to the semantics of the
short film and used in company with the other props and décor within what seems
as the basement setting add to the amazement of finding this safe-haven. The
tilt down movement and fast motion use both manipulate time again and add to
the glory of finding the house. After leaving the house setting the lighting is low key and the close up of the male protagonists face is rather blurry. The shadowed and silhouette effect adds to the darkness and adds to the astonishment and horror as the light goes on. After the stop in dialogue and the start of a tense soundtrack the light prop turns on and creates shock in both characters and spectators. The light is prominent, both in the darkness and in the male protagonists life.
The representation of age is the key concept to be applied to this short film,
with the protagonist being represented as 'old before his time'. The flashback
shots used manipulate time and assist this representation; showing his life
before the apocalypse. The protagonist’s life before the apocalypse seems as
though it is a dream and contrasts well, showing what he should be living and
how he is actually living. The dialogue used helps to create a sense in the spectator’s
mind of what the male would do before the apocalypse.
When the protagonist goes on to say that his life is almost repetitive it
creates the representation of perhaps years rather than age being tedious, as
though he is thoroughly bored of his current life. Continuing with the idea of
the representation of years and time, the prop of the spice helps to visualise
just how long the male has been alone, insinuating from his facial expression
and body language that the spice is out of date.
Another prop that creates the representation of age as well as time is the
baby picture frame, giving the sense that the protagonist is looking back
at better times and remembering of when he was a baby. This creates the
representation of being a 'grown up' as a negative thing and creates
preference towards being a child again.
The dead flowers are the last prop that are used to show the representation
of how long-going and monotonous post apocalypse times have been for the
protagonist.
One technique used to attract a certain demographic is the use of the
character. The male protagonist is aged around 20 - 30, suggesting that the
target audience could be males in their late teens or early twenties who can
relate to the protagonists role and situation.
Another method used to attract the target audience is the protagonists job, as
aforementioned it is an office job which is very common and he is of a
middle/upper class. This could be used to the advantage of the producers in
order to attract anyone who has an office job and is looking for a thrill away
from reality; or anyone of a middle/upper social class who again would like to
relate to something fictional.
The flashback shots used also create another demographic which could be
teenagers. The dialogue used and shots of the protagonist "driving around
aimlessly", "taking walks" and "going out with
friends" relate very much to a typical teenagers life. It could be assumed
that the producers are targeting teenagers here as they are known to have a
liking for fictional and unrealistic scenarios. By allowing the teenagers to
relate to the protagonist it helps them feel more involved in the plot and
story
In conclusion, I believe the target demographic for this short film is young
adults. The majority of techniques and concepts used appeal most to young
adults of the age of 16 - 30. Even the titling at the end of the short film is
particularly appealing to young adults rather than a more formal title
appealing to a more middle aged and elderly audience.
This short film can be related mostly to a linear structure.
However, at the start of the short film and in the flashback the structure
could be seen to be non-linear as the plot is non-chronological. Mostly, the
short film makes use of unrestricted narration, though at the beginning of the
film in the dream 'flashback' restricted narration is used in the viewing of
other characters.
The short film explores a number of issues which raise awareness about
various ideologies; a number of binary oppostions surface and some
complex ones. Throughout the short, the issue of neglect is continuously
represented through the lack of stimulation and care the child
receives. A number of different ideologies surround this issue, one
being that children should not be left alone for long periods of time
with only technological devices such as TV for entertainment. This
is a more binary view, other views can be taken from this issue that
are more complex and worldly, such as the ideology that other members of
the family should take turns in stimulating and caring for the children
in a family, or that children should be left alone for periods of time
in order for them to learn independently how to entertain themselves.
The
issue of neglect is represented through the technical elements,
mise-en-scene, camera, sound and editing. After a number of the film’s
opening credits the diegetic sound of a television can be heard
displaying violent sounds, such as guns shooting and people hitting,
then a close up panning up a young girl yawning with the expression of
boredom on her face is shown. The girl is wearing dirty clothes, which
suggests that she is not being looked after properly and lives in an
unclean environment. The film then goes on fading to a black screen and
then fading back to the girl lying down on the floor with a dog sitting
next to her. The film then fades to black again and then fades back to
show the girl in a close up in a darkly lit room with only the light of a
television flickering on the girls face as she watches the device.
Voices are overheard diegetically talking about hair and expensive
braids; then again the film fades to black.
Throughout this part of the film the television is on and being used to
stimulate the girl, through the diegetic sound of the television in the
beginning and the flickering light of the screen on the girl’s face.
When the girl is shown in the voice over shot the fact that the room is
lit darkly and the only source bringing light is the television screen
communicates that this device is the only source of stimulation the girl
has at current. The close up of the girl yawning together with the
expression of boredom on her face shows that the character is bored and
that the technological stimulation she is receiving is not that
stimulating to her. The editing between
the two shots (fading to black, fading up) is used to explore how drowsy
and sleepy the character is, showing that the girl does not receive
much stimulation. The close up shots of the girl communicates her
feeling of entrapment in the house, throughout these shots the character
looks bored and motionless communicating a sense of inertia.
Diegetic
sound of a telephone ringing is then heard, the screen then fades up
from black to show the girl lying on the floor with the dog sitting next
to her again. The film then cuts to a wide shot on the floor, the diegetic sound
of a person talking on the phone is heard, the voice is very weak and
young sounding, suggesting how the character is feeling. The girl then
gets up from the
floor and walks to window and looks out. The house in
the wide shot looks dirty and unclean, there is a rusty heater, off
coloured carpet, sofa/chairs and curtains which none match to each other
and the television is in bad condition. These mise-en-scene aspects
along with the costume design mentioned above suggest that the parent
and child are low economically.
There is only one parent
in the house throughout these and previous shots which could justify why
the child is suffering some sort of neglect and why the two characters
are low economically.
The wide shot of the girl communicates the isolation and low-importance
the character has, together with the fact that throughout the short film
the girl is never named shows that the girl has little significance to
anyone in the storyline. This also brings to attention the issue of
social-alienation and disenfranchisement. The dog is shown in two shots
of the film so far, always sitting next to the girl showing that animal
is a sort of guardian, replacing the parental role of her father and
mother who are mainly absent.
The film then cuts to a wide
shot of the girl outside riding her bicycle.. There are no signs of civilisation or neighbourhood,
bringing forward the issue of vulnerability. The dog stands watching the
girl in front of the house, showing again the guardian/ parental role
the animal has to the character.The diegetic sound of bird is then heard
which draws the girls attention back to what she was looking at
previously, showing that the bird song was stimulating the girl through
her audible senses. The camera then produces a pan and tilt over to show
what the girl is looking at; we then see a field and a busy road out in
the distance of the shot. This scene shows that character’s child
imagination, by getting attracted to dangerous places and appearing
curious to the new stimulation she is receiving. The film then cuts to
medium shot of the girl looking out towards to field, the character
then walks up to a fence while the camera pans her movement. The
character then walks along the fence whilst dragging her hand along the
fence’s top spikes, the girl then goes out of the camera’s frame and
reappears again in the field, quickly walking into the unknown
territory.
The film then goes
on to show a steady camera medium shot of the girl walking with her arms
spread wide going up and down, this shows that the character is now free
and open. We then see a series of jump cuts of the girl exploring the
new territory, such as
a medium shot of the girl kneeling in the grass
feeling it with her face and hands, then a close up of the girls hand
running through the long grass as she is walking. Throughout these jump
cuts the diegetic sound of the bird song is heard at certain times, each
time catching the girl’s attention and encouraging her to explore
further into the freedom she has found. There is now a sense of
timelessness, before when the girl was inside time was running into time
loss, whereas now time is being lost in a positive way not in the same
delusion as before.
The film then goes to a worms eye view
close up of the girl poking a stick into water, only the diegetic sound
of the water being touched from underneath is heard. This shows that
the girl is entirely focused and pulled in with the actions she can now
do. The diegetic sound of a dog whining is then heard, the girl then
stops what she is doing and turns to look in the direction the sound has
come from. The film then cuts to a medium shot of the girl looking, she
then gets up and walks over to the sound she has just heard. We then
see a medium shot panning up from the dog to a man’s face. The man is not wearing a top and looks wildly. There is now a loss
of innocence in the audience as this can be seen as not a positive thing
but rather as something dangerous. The fact that the dog has trust in
the male character then leads to the girl trusting him too, as the dog
has a sort of parental role over the girl.
The film then
cuts to a close up of the girl smiling where she says her first and only
line of dialogue in the whole short film. There are then a series of
extreme close ups of her mouth and nose and then her hands when the man
gets a beetle off of her. These jump cuts and the only line of dialogue
combine to show the stimulation the girl is now receiving from someone,
she has now experiencing all 5 senses being stimulated which she hasn’t
had in some time.
The film then cuts to a wide shot of the
girl, the man, the field and the road, this shot establishes the
freedom world the girl is currently in and shows all the features of it
that make it that way for example the field with the grass and the man
with the stimulation of the 5 senses. The camera then cuts to a close up
of the man’s face and then to the side of a woman’s face. The woman is
automatically assumed to be the girl’s mother; as she does not panic or
get the man away from her child this communicates that she knows the man
and that he will do no harm to her child. This also suggests that the
man in the field is estranged father figure to the young girl. The
camera then shows the girl in a medium shot looking to towards the woman
and then back toward the man. The girl is then shown in a hand held medium
shot running toward the woman, the film then cuts to a darkly lit hall
way with the girl and the woman slamming the front door and walking off.
Throughout the film the main representational focus is on age; this can
be looked at from two perspectives with both the young girl’s boredom
and need for stimulation and the young, single mothers struggling, both
emotionally and financially, being represented. The girl’s mother’s age
is being represented through the narrative storyline of the mother being
a young, single parent who is struggling with money worries and who is
also finding it difficult to care for her child and give her what she
needs; this is a fairly stereotypical representation of the mother as
society often criticises and has strong views about young, single
mothers not being able to care for their children correctly. Class and
status also plays a role in the representation of the mother as we can
tell from the run-down mise-en-scene of the house and narrative of the
story that she is from a lower class family.
One of the key
themes throughout the film is that of Freedom vs. Imprisonment; this
theme relates not only to the child and how she is trapped inside her
house but also relates to the mother being trapped with the child while
the father is free and allowed to do what he wants. This is a
representation of gender as women are usually the ones to care for
children when partners split while men are able to live their own lives;
this is shown again through the close-up shots and dark, depressing
lighting used in the interior scenes compared to the wide shots and
bright, airy lighting used in the exterior scenes where both the mother
and father feature respectively. The costume of who we believe to be the
girl’s father also represents his freedom as we see him shirtless, the
connotations of this being that the man is free and liberated.
Love Tap is about a man who is
trying to find love. He liked this girl in his office but he never talked to her
and found out she got engaged. He was then told by his colleague to not let love
pass you and to make the first move. He then is driving home and sees a blonde
girl next to him driving and comes up to the lights and bumps into her so he
then has her number. They then go onto get married, have kids etc; but then a
twist! She says you never bumped into me you still have your foot on the brake,
then goes back to the car scene where another girl from work bumps into him and
that is the end.
I
chose this film as it appears to fit into the Romcom genre and I thought it
would be good to talk about a hybrid. Also it has a good narrative and a good
twist at the end.
A social group that is relevant to this film would professionals at the
organisation. It was Seth’s co-worker that told him he can’t wait for a girl to
bump into him and to take opportunities when they come about. But in actual fact
at the twist at the end he was chasing after the wrong girls and a girl bumped
into him from his workplace and made the first move, not Seth
The genre used in this film, according to IMDB is just comedy, but I would class
this as a hybrid of Comedy and Romance: a Romcom. As Steve Neale said, texts
often exhibit the conventions of more than one genre; which is why I would say
it’s a Romcom. Seth is represented as a character that chases after girls who are too good for
him and appears not to have much luck in his love life. With the clothes he
wears, he appears to be the archetypal stereotypical old fashioned person who is
caught wearing a sweater another old person is wearing. When he sees the girl of his dreams in the car, he takes off the sweater as to say that has been putting girls
off him before and then he goes ahead to dream about them getting married, have
children and grow old. Even when the dream is over and the girl bumps into him
he finally finds his true love; so taking off the clothes he wore before when he
couldn’t find love, turns out to be the right result for him. At first it was a
negative representation as he was seen to be the guy that doesn’t find love but
it turned around in the end.
Priscilla is the girl Seth
thinks he has fallen in love with, as he bumps into her car it all starts from
there. She is represented as the better offer for Seth after chasing after a
girl he had no chance with. As it goes through the film she is represented to
have the ideology of a traditional couple’s life and what every girl dreams of;
having a loving husband, nice home, and children.
This film
deals with the issue about love and sexuality. Seth was rejected by the girl he
liked and it can put down your self-esteem and can make you think about your
sexuality and who you love and who you have feelings for. But in the end he crashes his post trolley into a girl, in which you can tell she likes him and
the twist is at the end she bumps into his car as if they were made for each
other when he bumped into her pushing the post trolley. So he realised once she
liked him, he knew his charm for liking girls was still there. Because he bumped into her she thought the same, as if it was fate them two have
been bought together in the office and then to meet on that same road later on.
But in between that story is the issue of Seth not going for it as he was just
dreaming what would happen instead of actually making it happen.
The plot of the story is that a man (Seth) likes this girl that he can’t get,
then bumps into another girl whilst he was driving as he was told he has to make
the first move; they then go on to get married and have kids but then realise it
was only his dream and she drives off. Then another girl from work bumps into
him as she likes him and that is where it ends.
With regards to the story of
the film we don’t know the full story but because the audience is actively
involved we can take a good guess: there is a man (Seth) who has wanted to get
with this girl for months and months but hasn’t had the guts to speak to her.
When he finally does want to speak to her he finds out she actually got engaged.
He is then told to make the first move. The next bit is the same as the plot
until the ending where we can imagine the rest of the story will be they will
get together and have that life he dreamed of and live happily ever after. The
plot and story in this film relate because we don’t know the story but we can
imagine what the story is just from the plot. I have managed to have a good
guess at the story and that was just by watching the film. As the spectator can
tell the story they get to know the film more and can get into it a lot better
as they know the story and can tell how it will end in the
future.The age of which people would watch this film would be aged around 18-30 as its
suited for teenagers as it’s not over the top with the romance and also the
comedy element makes the film enjoyable whilst conveying a serious message. It’s
also suitable for anyone older than teenagers too as you could relate the
characters to yourself. Gender wise, females would be the majority of the
audience, but it’s not restricted just to them, some males that enjoy comedy
mixed with romance and a good story line will enjoy this film
too.
The opening title of the film “About A Girl” uses a font and typeface that audiences associate with younger generations and modern technology of text messaging. The non-diegetic sound of buttons being pressed on a telephone reinforce this. This gives an indication of the film’s target audience, as well as who the protagonist is, who we quickly find out in the opening shot is a young female. The opening shot is effective and uses a rule of thirds composition technique. This is known for putting a subject off-centre, as this is more appealing for the viewer and therefore draws their attention. By this time is it clear to the audience that it is a young girl, due to the fact that she is singing and as she dances, her long hair flicks back and forth. We are introduced to this character with a very child-like representation, which conveys her innocence. The fact that she is alone suggests a literal denotation of her only being able to practice her singing and dancing away from family or friends, perhaps for self-confidence and self-conscious issues. She sings: “My loneliness ain’t killing me no more,” which connotes that no one in her life is actively supportive of her dream and so, she must pursue it by herself. The setting has lack of colour and creates a gloomy atmosphere and juxtaposes the audiences’ assumption of a young girl’s happy-go-lucky, carefree life, as we imagine girls like this running and laughing in parks and gardens. The audience is given the impression that it is the girl’s dream to become a famous pop star but the grey sky and naturalistic low lighting are almost an indication that her future is dull and grey, meaning that there is no hope for her achieving her dream. The girl is often seen looking and talking into the camera in a medium tracking shot. This technical feature portrays a sense of realism, as if she is talking directly to the viewer and as if they are actually walking side-by-side with her. This establishes a connection between the character and the viewer, causing the audience to feel an emotional attachment to the character and reinforce her relatable experiences.
The derelict, brown-bricked buildings in the background are indicators of her social class background and the location in which she lives. The industrial landscape behind her suggests that she lives in a run-down, possibly impoverished, area. This causes the audience to naturally assume that she is from a working class background.
The fact that her white coat is always zipped up to the top could be a denotation of the cold, harsh weather. Conversely, in retrospect, it could represent how she physically kept her pregnancy a secret from her mother – by wearing an oversized jacket. It is clear that it is not a designer brand and looks worn, as it is no longer a bright white but tinged with dirt. This underpins the idea that she is from a working-class social background, as her parents are unable to provide new or clean clothes because of a low financial income. “About A Girl” uses cutaways to other action and uses them as a form of flashback. This is not immediately clear to the audience because the girl is wearing the same white coat in the flashbacks. These flashbacks, however, are used effectively to reinforce what is being said in the present as opposed to a separate backstory.
The girl’s mother is seen scratching a scratch card. The connotation of this is immediate gratification, which is the idea that they hope to win some money in that moment and escape the cycle of poverty. A recurring theme here is hope, as both the mother and daughter hope to escape their current lives and dream for something bigger and better. In this shot, the girl is still in the forefront but out of focus. This suggests that she is still the main character in the limelight of the narrative but her mother is a significant addition to the narrative portraying how they live.
The girl uses humour and sarcasm as her defence mechanism, as if it is the only way she knows how to deal with problems in her life. She says: “Then he takes me to the pub and gets me a coke and a bag of crisps. BLESS!” The idea the viewer has in their head is the girl, her father and his mates inside a pub seated at a table together. The rule of thirds composition technique is used again to emphasise her loneliness as she sits on the bench outside the pub with only her music for company and the promised coke and crisps. This tells the audience that music is her escapism and her only companion. Her father has not even bothered to pour the drink into a glass for her, a simple gesture that highlights the absence of love and care in this relationship.
As the narrative develops, the cuts become more frequent and the camera begins to shake more. This technical code reflects the narrative, as we delve deeper into the girl’s life and it becomes more and more unhinged, unbalanced and distorted. This not only anchors the story being told but also disorientates the audience because they are lead to assume that a revelation, very significant to the plot, is on the horizon.
As the girl walks along the canal, it looks more and more isolated. Her storytelling also takes a turn, from the not-so-great everyday life to the not-too-subtle hints about domestic violence and poverty. This marks a turning point in the narrative, as something very big is about to be revealed.
The significance of dreams and the canal is reverberated when she drops the plastic bag into the canal after saying “Gotten dead good at hiding things from her.” A baby falls out of the white bag head first, as if being born. The colour white connotes purity and innocence. Technical features caused it to become an enigmatic prop throughout the film because it was shown in some, but not all, ‘walking, talking’ shots. The audience continuously questioned what was inside. The audience will also notice that throughout the film, the girl wore a white coat. However with knowledge of her experiences, the colour white of her coat does not have the same connotations as the bag. The bag floats on the water, as if surviving the girl’s attempt of ‘drowning’ but gets trapped against a fence. This reflects the protagonist being trapped in her current life situation and the unlikely possibility of her ever escaping and achieving her dreams. This is reiterated when she walks back along the canal on the ‘dark’ side, beneath the shade, as opposed to the ‘bright’ side where the sun is shining and hope is ‘in the air’. This results in a sense of sadness within the audience as they come to a realisation that this girl will never be able to achieve her dreams. She then says: “…Still gonna have a 99,” which is a clear indication of her naivety as a young girl. Her attitude shows that she is too young to understand her actions and the consequences of them. The genre of “About A Girl” is predominantly drama. The film depicts a serious issue and is plot-driven. It also portrays realistic characters, settings, life situations and is able to develop character interactions. The genre is underpinned by the dialogue, as the protagonist re-tells her life experiences but this is highlighted by the camera shots and flashback editing
This short story portrays the story of two teenagers who meet at a bus stop but are too nervous to actually speak to each other. During the length of the film they continually glance at each other and catch each others eyes. Finally they both pluck up the courage to talk to each other as the film ends. This is evidently linked to the title ‘Just Say Hi’.
Media Language
One of the main features that stands out to me whilst comparing to others, is the deep depth of field used throughout. This gives a greater sense of realism for the audience as it is looks as if it was filmed unprofessionally, creating the impression that this could have been filmed by anyone who watched the two teenagers waiting for a bus. Furthermore implying to the audience that this could happen to them too. The setting of a bus stop is also realistic, as it is common to be waiting at a bus stop. This also suggests to the audience that you can find love anywhere potentially giving them aspirations for the future.
Long shots and two shots are used throughout to convey the characters relation of space to each other and to get an overall view on what is happening. However close ups are used in addition to show the characters facial expressions for the audience to interpret.
Throughout the film, the costumes have been changed frequently to portray that the characters are meeting over a period of time. This is a simple yet clever way to give the impression of time passing. Some wipe transitions are also used between shots to add greater significance of time passing and to show how the teenagers gradually grow closer overtime.
Match on action however makes this film seem more professional and the cuts flow without being noticed. This is essential when making a film as it allows the audience to fully understand what is happening in the film, but it is used to give the viewer a more omniscient view on what is happening. For example when the girl sneezes.
Audience
As I previously mentioned in my other analysis’, the ideal target audiences for short films are the bigger organisations. New and up coming / aspiring directors make short films to build a portfolio to attract those organisations.
Despite this, the leisure audience I believe would watch this short film are people aged 15-25. This age group is similar to the protagonists within the film therefore I believe that similar aged audience would be able to relate to the film. Due to this age group most of the audience viewing the film will be in education, or at least have experience of it. This is because the characters in this film seem to be around 16-18 and would most likely be in college or possibly university. This is implied as they are not wearing school uniform and seem to be catching the same bus everyday to their place of education. Furthermore people who use social media are generally this age group. This is because short films are constantly being shared on different social media sites commonly used by 15-25. Therefore this is the way that most people will access the film.
I believe that middle class people is also a key audience for this film. This due to the fact they typically have leisure time to watch short films and have the technology to access them. Also as the characters are in further education, this social group is the most likely to continue onto further education as well.
Genre
The genre of this film is a 'Rom-com' (Romantic Comedy). This is evident as the short film features semantic codes of both Love and Comedy, therefore making it a sub-genre. It is not a hybrid genre, due to the fact that this genre is conveyed a lot in film, so it then becomes the product of what started off as a hybrid.
Semantic Codes
This theory was derived from Rick Altman. He suggested that film genres have typical visual codes that communicate meaning to the spectator.
These are called semantic codes, and when the spectator sees specific semantic codes, the genre of a film can therefore be conveyed.
1) Two teenagers alone at a bus stop: The first shot displays this, therefore the audience will question their significance to each other and may possibly think of them becoming lovers.
2) The non-diegetic music: This parallel soundtrack is Celeste by Erza Vine. The song is about looking at a girl which mirrors the story line. Therefore the romantic genre is supported with this song choice.
3) The comedic events: In this short film, the male protagonists actions can be interpreted as comical. For example, he walks into a lamp post. This supports the comedic genre for this short film.
4) The Ending: The ending of this film they both finally meet and say "Hi", hence the title. This supports the romance genre as it ends with a 'happy ending' which is typical of romantic films.
In this short film, a man is given a worn out pair of glasses by an old woman while he waits at an Indian restaurant for a girl. He puts them on and finds out that he can tell how long someone has left to live. He discovers when he is going to die by looking in a car window. The film ends just milliseconds before he is hit by a bus.
Media Language
This film was posted on 'Virgin Media Shorts', their rules state that all films entered must be 2 minutes and 20 seconds long or less. This film has cleverly used these guidelines to inspire their film.
The film begins with a man (theprotagonist) looking at his phone to see a message from Amy, it reads: "On the bus, be there in a minute ☺ xxx". Through the use of the logograms (x's) in this text the audience can presume that the girl he is texting is either his girlfriend or a date. A close up with a very shallow depth of field is used, so a blurred effect is achieved in the background implying a busy street/night in the town. Also, a non-diegetic soundtrack of Indian music could suggest he is in an Indian restaurant, especially as the colour in the frame is colourful and bright which is often associated with Indian culture.
The next shot is an extreme close up of a trolley in motion. The camera tracks the trolley at low height but remains eye-level and not angled. The camera shakes a little to add a more chaotic approach to the shot and to mirror the shaky movement of the trolley its self. At this moment enigma could be created as the audience do not yet know who is behind the trolley and its relevance to the film.
We then see a canted angle shot. The canted angle helps to connote a disrupted mood and changes the atmosphere. It makes the woman and trolley seem different and unsettling to the audience. Restricted narration which creates enigma also adds to this effect. In addition the shot appears to have a slight 'fish eye' effect to add distortion.
The non-diegetic soundtrack here then is heard again however the music has changed: it is now a series of muffled shouts which could foreshadow danger, whilst the diegetic sound remains to be the loud clanging of the trolley moving which is again unsettling.
The woman also stops and stares whilst she is walking with her eyes fixated on something. This causes the audience to question what she is looking at and why.
The woman’s costume is dull, scruffy, old and not very presentable. She wears a coat with a hood despite it not raining and presumably not cold as the man is sitting outside in a shirt. The trolley she wheels around is also unusual as you are not allowed to take trolleys out of the premises of the supermarket. These factors suggest that she is poor and her look and prop (trolley) is stereotypical of a 'tramp'.
This last shot of this first section is an over the shoulder shot, the main image has been focused with the use of slit framing. This is where the woman is standing across the road standing looking dead into the camera. However the out of focus figure on the left of the frame is assumed to be the male protagonist. This links both characters together, and now creates enigma as new questions arise in the audiences minds. Why she has stopped so suddenly to look at the man?
Audience
The reason why most directors create short films, is to show larger companies their work and to try and appeal to that company and get signed. Therefore ultimately the audience for most short films is simply bigger organisations.
Despite this, for leisure watchers, I believe the target audience would be majority people aged 16-30. The age range is relatively large as I believe both teenagers and adults would be intrigued by the glasses, and the cinematography of the film as well as the build-up to the death. The target age also has to include adults because these are the people who the directors are aiming their work to as well.
Furthermore as 'Virgin Media Shorts' is mostly available online for free it means that people who can access a computer will be able to view it. This means that lower classes and teens (due to their internet use) are more likely to view this film.
Both males and females can relate and enjoy the short film as it is not a gender biased topic.
Narrative
I believe that the narrative structure of this short film is similar to 'A Favour' as it is linear also, however in addition it follows Todorov's Theory of Classic Narrative stages 1-3:
Equilibrium: This is when the man is looking at his phone and waiting for his assumed date. Nothing negative, or any foreshadowing events have happened yet.
Disruption: This could be when the lady with the trolley comes into shot, the camerawork here is used to create an unsettling feeling and therefore creates a change in tone.
Confrontation:Only the last few seconds of this short film are of this stage: as the man only realises that he is going to die here. This is obviously when he recognises the 'disruption', but the second part of this stage (alike 'A Favour') is not included to create a more dramatic ending.
