Evaluation Short Film

1) In what ways do your media products us, develop or challenge forms & conventions of real media products?

Genre: Romantic tragedy, not dissimilar to Romeo and Juliet.

conventions challengesCharacter types Doting husband and omniscient narrator

(Morgan Freeman Shawshank Redemption)Shows Male as vulnerable and accessible

Setting Typical family home, kitchen looks like the kitchen of a young couple. Messiness of kitchen adds a touch of dark humor that husbands need women to look after them

Scenic setting but with an industrial backdrop runs as a parallel to main characters inner turmoil, use of pathetic fallacy with sunny weather but passing clouds.

Iconography Whisky is typical prop to show angst and depression and overdosing on paracetamolis typical home made method. Dying in car crash caused by being on the phone is hard hitting and brings in technology as a theme

Tree has changed from a beacon of hope to a sign of inevitable death, trees usually shows vibrance and vitality we have challenged this by linking it to death and devastation.

Narrative / theme Use of Levi Strauss’ binary opposites showing past happiness and present sadness through use of flashbacks is the driving narrative of the film

None conventional narrative through use of flash backs and the fact the end resolution is not traditional, suicide is the main characters resolution but perhaps not the one that the audience would connect with

Visual / audio style Realist style, use of handheld shots to give the film and independent European feel.

Voice over drives the narrative no actual character dialogue.

Setting

• Conventions- Typical family home, kitchen looks like the kitchen of a young couple. Messiness of kitchen adds a touch of dark humor that husbands need women to look after them

Whisky blocks camera and paracetemol in background hints towards what is to come.

Messiness in background subtly mirrors protagonists inner turmoil

Images of family show main theme of film

• Challenges- Scenic setting but with an industrial backdrop runs as a parallel to main characters inner turmoil, use of pathetic fallacy with sunny weather but passing clouds.

Industrial backdrop

Scenic foreground and emotional action

Iconography

• Conventions- Whisky is typical prop to show angst and depression and overdosing on paracetamol is typical home made method. Dying in car crash caused by being on the phone is hard hitting and brings in technology as a theme

Whisky is typical prop of someone in turmoil

Empty packets hint towards the suicide

Handheld shot from back of car from pov of child is hard hitting

On the phone shows technology as the killer

• Challenges- Tree has changed from a beacon of hope to a sign of inevitable death, trees usually shows vibrance and vitality we have challenged this by linking it to death and devastation.

In this flashback the tree denotes a happier time however in present time it has turned into something else, it draws on connotations of much more negative emotions and is inevitably where our protagonist ends his life

Narrative / theme

• Conventions-Use of Levi Strauss’ binary opposites showing past happiness and present sadness through use of flashbacks is the driving narrative of the film.

This still from the film shows a much happier time

Opposed to this one which shows a much more turbulent time in our protagonists life

Visual / audio style

• Conventions- Realist style, use of handheld shots to give the film and independent European feel.

This still shows a handheld shot from the pov of a baby in the back seat, this Is a really evocative image and we took a lot of inspiration for shots like this from European indie films like; The sons room, run lola run and Festen.