Evaluation

The Idea showcases the struggle of when a writer experiences “writers block.” Several social groups are represented in this short film, both explicitly and implicitly. Students are explicitly represented using costume and the setting of a classroom through mise-en-scene.  Each student is wearing a suit similarly in The Fly (2014) where the representation is made clear using costume with the black leather jacket long associated with gang culture and the setting of outside the bank. However, writers are implicitly represented as creative, the use of props outlines this, as Jacob picks up books related to film and some DVD cases. Continually, Tight Jeans (2008), the short film develops on conventions of representation through similar mise-en-scene construction alongside a lot of dialogue. The Idea challenges conventions of representation through the lack of dialogue, with non-diegetic sound added for the headphones and just a murmur of ambient sound as the class worked.  Over; whilst offering a very different take on representation, likewise, uses minimal diegetic sound. This is where I first was influenced to use a vast majority of non-diegetic sound in my short film, to see the effectiveness of using no diegetic sound and how I could direct my actor through character expression and movement to portray this representation.  

The narrative for this short film is linear, as it is chronological and has no flashbacks or forwards. As well as this, the narrative is conventional, as it features a start, middle and end. This is done using the micro-elements of film form. For example, the use of the tilt (cinematography) implies that Jacob is succeeding, as the angle changes from high to low. Sound is also used to progress the narrative, as the foley of the clock generates anxiety as it gets louder, as Jacob’s stress increases. I gained inspiration from Arrival, as Daniel Montanarini uses a steady zoom to focus the attention on the womans’ face. However, instead of using a slow zoom, like Montanarini, I used a tilt to imply that Jacob is making progress. Also, the use of the soundtrack in the end scene allows the audience to infer that the narrative has progressed. Binary opposites are used in this short film and conveyed through the micro-elements of film form, as a student and a cleaner are used. Both character roles are outlined through costume, as the cleaner works for the school whereas the student works in the school. Unlike in Operator no soundtrack is used, however sound is used to portray emotion. For example, the use of the high pitch tone getting louder creates tension in the scene. The inspiration I got from this, is to use the ticking clock sound, to create tension as Jacob’s stress increases. The short film conforms to the conventions of narrative as it contains a subplot of social isolation, as Jacob is rejected by the rest of the class. This is done by using character expression and movement of mise-en-scene, as Jacob’s classmates are visibly seen to be facing away from him – suggesting social isolation. The short film develops the conventions as it features an implicit journey, as the journey is psychological rather than physical. For example, the generation of the idea as opposed to a journey to a place (e.g. in Over, which features a man taking a journey to England from a third world country, as he becomes isolated from his home country.) This is portrayed using effective camera angles in cinematography. For example, the use of a close-up of Jacob after the tilt, makes the audience focus on his emotion – which is the focal point of this short film.  The montage sequence of Jacob celebrating finally getting his idea down on paper drives the narrative further and adds humour to the piece.  

The genre of this film is identifiable as dramatic comedy, through the micro-elements of film form. Much like the representation, it is constructed through casting, character expression/movement and setting.  Similarly, The Idea, Echo uses over-emphasised character expression and movement to clearly demonstrate the genre. For example, Caroline shows very reserved expressions and movement around family but very open around strangers. Another way that the micro-elements of film form have been used to create a ‘dramatic comedy,’ is the use of camera shots in cinematography. For example, the use of a close-up creates emotion, as it focusses the audience on Jacob’s face. The use of camera angles combined with the use of the tilt in the camera movements of cinematography, creates a dramatic effect to the sequence. Operator also uses similar cinematographic techniques, as Bartleet uses a gradual zoom to add tension to the scene. For example, when the woman on the other end of the phone goes quiet, the camera zooms in on the operators face to emphasise the tension. This short film conforms to the conventions of genre, as there is a steady build-up and there is an element of struggle, when Jacob cannot generate an idea (which creates dramatic tension.) Also, the short film contains narrative structure of comedy, as it features the main characters desire for something – in this case it is an idea for a short film (Freytag’s pyramid.) The short film develops genre conventions as it uses themes of conflict, but not in a conventional way. This is because the conflict only involves one person, rather than a collective group of people. As well as this, the film also develops conventions of genre, it moves the audience to think about the effort that the filmmakers have to put in to generate ideas. However, The Idea challenges the conventions of the comedy genre as it uses basic character types. The conventions of the genre are challenged because there is no specific ‘villain’ character, rather the villain is the struggle to get an idea for the short film. Similarly, with the plot of Slap, where the villain is perhaps within the mind of the lead character. 

The target audience for this short film is students. Again, communicated through the use of mise-en-scene in the micro elements of film form. The setting is easy for the audience to relate to, as is the casting, use of props and the actual plot line of being stuck for an idea or understanding the work set. Continually, character expression is used to attract the audience in this short film, as Jacob dances around the classroom setting – this attracts the audience as the ‘childish’ behaviour is not expected of mature students. This is similar to Tight Jeans as the content of their conversation is immature – despite being 3 grown up men. The short film will be watched on phones and laptops, mainly because the target audience (students) have more accessibility and appeal to technology. This also means that I was aware of not making the settings too busy, as the screen size would be small, and not causing any distraction to the viewer. Likewise, the sound used does not require a surround sound cinema type venue in order to take effect on the audience. The foley sound of the clock ticking is just as effective on a phone/laptop as it is able to ‘get in your head.’ The purpose that this film has is entertainment. Unlike in other youth targeted films such as Echo, The Ellington Kid and Slap where despite being entertaining there is also a preferred reading of a message that the filmmakers are hoping audiences take away. As well as this, my short film also possesses artistic values, aimed at the target audience of other film students who would identify and appreciate the invisible cuts and shots from within the bookcase which appears like a cut until each book reveals more of the shot. The preferred reading of my short film is that it should be enjoyed, but also as a negotiated reading I hope some spectators would see that generating ideas in an academic or creative way is tough, and also along the way so can be general life, and sometimes we can find ourselves on the outskirts, peripheral of society. In Operator, the reading that I as a spectator took was that everybody experiences bad times and that we can be there for people. Whilst my film ends on humour with Jacob realising he has lost his work after the excessive celebrations, some of my target audience will go deeper that this and appreciate how polysemic it can be. 

In conclusion, I am pleased with the outcome of my film. My range of micro element choices are effective and help construct the emotions gained through macro elements of representation, audience theory, genre and narrative. I have clearly created a short film and not a trailer or a scene from a feature film which through my research of existing student made work I saw many students fall into the trap of.