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Deconstruction of the short film; I Miss You

Emily Capon

A young male and female meet at a party for the first time (typical first shot/ romance story line) as suggested from the first minute in signifying that these are the main characters as we have met them from the first shot onwards. The plot of the film is based upon the journey that these two people have in their relationship known as the honey moon period, however after 3 minutes in (half way point) this begins to change . As we have a continuous voice over from the leading male role he tells their relationship in a story format and the mood of the story becomes more dark and emotional as he starts to explain why their relationship came to an end.

Plot/Story Line

The short film I will be deconstructing, is I Miss You. I Miss you was published online in September 2014 by the short film company Beyond Tomorrow Films.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F5oD7G40ng

In the first scene we establish the location of where we first meet the main characters situated at a party which is inferred by the loud “dance” music (ambient sound) We believe this therefore means he is young due to the attire he is wearing showing he is youthful as well as smoking ,drinking and at a party. The camera is positioned at a medium shot within a pull focus consequently pulling the character into focus displaying that he is the main subject In this shot we see both main characters

placed together initially showing the typical boy meets girl shot over a youthful situation being sharing alcohol which is the item that brings the characters together. As an audience we recognise that the characters share intimate feelings for each other due to their posture and their facial expressions. The camera is in a deep focus giving the connotation that everything in the shot is as important as each other. Non diegetic sound occurs as backing music showing the emotional side to the story. Furthermore having a narrator being the male character who takes us on his journey throughout the relationship like he is speaking towards the leading lady. The audience does not hear any speech between the characters therefore is reliant upon the narrator and the characters posture and expressions.

We establish that the characters are situated at a cinema due to the lighting and the Mise- En- Scene of the shot, typically showing that the couple are in a relationship. The characters are the only objects in shot therefore are believed to be the most important throughout this scene and signifies that the characters share an emotional attachment towards each other and are in there own world. Although the scene shows happiness the backing music is emotional and slow which fits into the theme and pace of the film, additonally the narrator is expressing his feelings towards his Girl friend suggesting that they are no longer together and is pleading for her love once again. The camera pans down horizontally into a medium shot. This shot pans down from a medium shot to a close up of the main characters hold hands which connotes that the characters seek comfort and company. However the shot is the opposition of what the narrator is speaking about therefore he is reminisce on the time they spent together and their relationship. Everything in shot is in focus as well as the pop corn which signifies they are at the cinemas therefore suggesting the characters liked to go and enjoy leisure activities together.

In both of these shots the characters are appeared to be in a romantic setting in which the camera pans from right to left. This suggests that the narrator is recalling on his favourite memories with his girlfriend, such as their first kiss which is showed below. The audience feels empathy towards the male character due to narrating and expressing his feelings, the backing music is continuous and non diegetic. The camera is positioned at a long shot of the characters sat upon a pier and smoothly captures their first kiss from behind the characters which suggests the male character has respect for the female character as we are seeing the memories from his perspective. The background is a soft focus which connotes that the situation is emotional and romantic.

The camera pans vertically from the bottom to top in a deep focus. Showing that the topic is based around a board game in which both characters are seen to be competitive and having a fun due to the facial expressions and postures. The Mise- en- Scene suggests that the characters live together as they are both comfortable in their environment and around each other. The backing music continues as well as the narrating in which the mood starts to become more emotional in which we reach the halfway point of the film known as the issue which is then expressed further into the short film.

Although the sound is synchronous and matches to the pace of mood of the film the shots are uplifting and happy again signifying that the main character is looking back onto their relationship in a meaningful and emotional way. The characters here are shown to be enjoying each others company while the main character is looking towards the female in a loving and passionate way as he tries to make her laugh suggesting that he wants her to be happy. Everything in this shot is in focus which represents that every object is just as important for example the sofa represents the comfort between the characters and the window suggest light meaning the mood is happy and uplifting.

Sunsets are known to be romantic , however due to the sun setting this suggests that their relationship is ending also due to the asynchronous sound from the narrator in which the uplifting mood of the story and reminiscing on old memories comes to an end. This shot is a pull focus upon the sun which adds the shadow effect across the skyline and the couple. The dark lighting upon the couple signifies that the couple were at breaking point within this shot but still trying to keep their relationship alive.

At 3.44 minutes in we meet the half way point in which it all starts to go down hill, as we see here a black screen and the stopping of the background music changes the mood dramatically in which the audience feels empathy for the male lead.

The happy shots starts disappear and we start to see the relationship through the breakup period, here we see the female character leaving the house and getting in her car which suggests she is upset with him as the male character follows her to her car. This is shown through a medium/longshot which allows all the key aspects to be presented especially the gap between the couple.

The males loneliness has been exhibited in a loose frame which shows the unsettled and heart broken mood in which is also shown through his body posture as he is sunk into the sofa, this allows the audience to feel the same as he is feeling, as he is narrating the story it suggests that he is reading the audience his letter like the male character knows the audience. The music is sad which sets the mood for the shot.

This shot has a pull focus upon his fingers typing on the key board which suggests we meet the male character in the present day after the breakup, this infers that the story he has been telling is actually a letter which he is sending to his Ex girlfriend whom is the female role.

The non diegetic sound/ backing music is still continuous in the emotional and sad genre whereas the asynchronous/narrator speech is now caught up to the pace of the typing on the computer.

In these two shots the male character is hesitant on whether he proceeds into Sending the letter to his ex girlfriend. Aswe see the cursor move towards the ‘send’the audience is wanting him to send the letter to her in hope for them to get backtogether, however once the cursor moves towards ‘x’ the audience feels sympathyand is fact understanding towards the fact that they have gone their separate ways, but he is wanting to express his feelings towards her and show that he will always be grateful for what they had and he is supportive.

This is the last shot in which pans out from a medium shot to an extreme long shot of the male character looking upset and depressed over the break up of his girlfriend the narrative speech has stopped while the non diegetic sound becomes loud and cuts towards the titles. The brightness of the computer suggests that the letter would be his last hope in enable to get in contact with his ex girlfriend again however deciding it was the wrong decision to make. The dark lighting compares to the mood of the scene and adds a dramatic effect to the last shot we see of the story.