Evaluation: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

About a Girl

About a Girl is a short film directed by Brian Percival. I have chosen this production to compare and contrast with our own through the following screen shots. About a Girl holds a number of similarities to Toast, in that being it focuses on a single central character and their experiences with none other than their present lifestyle.

Screen 1: The first screen shot is the opening title of the film. Visually this title spans out as if it is being written on a phone in text. Mobile phones and text are of common interest amongst teenagers, so when viewing this title it gives that implication successfully about the films themes, in that being young teenagers and such. Furthermore its somewhat conventional for a film title itself to relate to the plot of the film, but the way it is portrayed I think develops typical conventions, its not common for a film title to set a theme through how it is shown.

Screen 2: This screen is fairly ambiguous. Typically opening sequences set some sort of establishment, either being a location or character relationship. This shot however I find to be very artistic and doesn't particularly say anything about the film on surface value. However i chose this shot because it doesn't necessarily develop or challenge conventions because I think its in the nature of short films to explore a variety of shots with different scenery, simply to stand out and attract audience. But taking into account the imagery within this shot and how it somewhat doesn't relate to the rest of the film at first, it does challenge the rest of the films shooting style.

Screen 3: Screen 3 is a shot of some of the girls family. I chose this shot because it establishes that the girl has a family, it somewhat separates herself from them however putting her in the position of an protagonist. This is fundamentally a necessary shot, to further establish the central character. I see it as a conventional shot, in the sense that its just necessary to include within a film and is a good example.

Screen 4: As well as character establishment, although not particularly of as much interest, its also important and of relevance to the plot to show the setting in terms of location. Seeing this backdrop of urban landscape can tell us a variety of things. To me it indicates a working class, poor area in which a number of dysfunctional, anti social occurrences are present. For the girl to be walking along the canal with all this imagery in the background however, seems to tell me that although she is aware of the area she is in, she doesn't let it get to her, as she pursues her career to stardom. It could also represent the girls isolation from her family relationships and her ignorance of how severe her situation is. But at the point of viewing, the audience are unaware of the climax, so the locations representation may seem somewhat of an mysterious portrayal, for the effect it has on the girl doesn't appear to exist for she is optimistic and this moment. I chose this shot because of location primarily, and the implications it can arise. Personally i feel this develops upon conventional settings for its unusual for a setting to have so many representations. 

Screen 5: Screen 5 is perhaps one of the first shots which abruptly and clearly shows the girls isolation. In this shot her Father is in the pub, whilst she waits outside on a bench singing. Although it is apparent now to us that she is isolated, she as a character seems either tolerant of it, or perhaps ignorant of it. By not giving a complete representation of what she feels as a character leaves us an audience still wondering. I chose this shot because it does come off as very lonely due to the length of shot and lack of activity displayed, further portraying the girl with a certain mystery. This seems to be a running theme within the film, shots arise a number of unanswered questions in which the audience are left wondering. Sticking to this theme up until its climax seems pretty conventional for a narrative.

Screen 6: I chose screen 6 because it is a solid representation of the girls loneliness and isolation. The shot is very close in comparison to rest of the films shooting, clearly showing the girls expression to be that of depressed, longing and almost secretive. This shot is conventional in its obvious representations of how the girl is feeling, yet because the shot distinguishes itself from the majority of shots within the film it could be seen as developing upon shooting style within short film. Although I found it interesting as in this point of the film we do not actually know what is distressing the girl, as an audience you get a sense of sadness but still are uphold with questions and mystery, which i feel is the purpose of the shot.

Screen 7: This screen I feel develops upon conventions. Typically throughout a film cinematography sticks to a certain style within its shooting, this shot however varies quite a lot from the entire film. For the majority of the film, shots are hand-held with a shaky realistic effect having medium to close range. This shot however is at a high angle, displaying the canal. For me this shot compliments the climax being different in itself. The high angle for me could represent how big and complex her life is, and how innocent she is within it not knowing of the moral implications of what she may have done and is about to do.

Screen 8: Typically this shot is the climax of the film. It answers unanswered questions that us an audience may have been pondering upon though various elements in the film and wraps up the story. Image wise it is  very disturbing and articulate in that sense, having a very low angled under water shot adding to the variety of shooting within the film. The main impact after some thought comes within the striking brutality of this image and the girl we were just getting to know seconds before, this as an contrast works very successfully in this film, but is nevertheless a conventional theme, in that being a contrast between two elements.

Screen 9: Screen 9 for me works as a type of outro. Although the last sequence was climatic and somewhat conclusive, this shot works as if her story will continue as walks along the path. But for us as an audience as this shot slowly becomes a higher angle and zooms out it works as an ending to the film. The imagery within the shot i find to be fairly metaphorical. Various elements especially the separated lighting within the shot connote for me two separate paths, one of success and the other of the girls life at present. The girl longs to be famous, but her path is blocked. Image wise the canal is separates the girl from the light, the canal somewhat could represent the events of her life, for example the baby was dumped into the canal, so in the sense the canal stops the girl from reaching the light.

Toast

Toast is a somewhat of a subversive representation. Productions which play upon content involving adolescence tend to sensationalise negative aspects of teenage life. Films such as Kidulthood and Adulthood for example, explore British young adult gang culture. Although subjects like this are of apparent interest in society, they still appear somewhat surreal to associate with ones self being the audience and are only really relatable through media contexts. Toast is subversive because it's typically true, rather than a topic typically made into a media product such as over-dramatised teenage life. I have the chosen the following screens to use as examples to explore whether or not elements of Toast use, develop or challenge the conventions of a short film.


Screen 1: Screen 1 is the opening shot. Concerning imagery it is fairly striking. Typically its conventional for a short film the make its audience question why things are happening through visual elements. Looking upon this image of Amelia it arises a number of unanswered questions, primarily to do with the make up streamed down her face and what that has been a result of. However due to the fact it is our opening image, it somewhat breaks the conventions of a short film, for it is typical to have the film title as the first visual. This shot allows our audience to suddenly jump into Amelia's life very quickly, developing on conventions as such. This is because when focusing on a central character within a film, getting to know the protagonist can be a slow process, although questionable, we can get an idea of how Amelia feels very early on.

Screen 2: Screen 2 is the main title. I don't particularly feel this shot breaks conventions, its quite common for titles to be over footage. However i feel the placement of the title is effective, the fact that our title being Toast is actually next to our central image, being toast in itself develops upon conventions. The placement of the title next to the image of toast was an intention, and will help audience relate to the word and image toast. Although the actual reason for the word Toast and recurring images isn't apparent at surface value, and does take some thought process being a metaphorical term, this title is most likely to stick in audiences minds throughout the film, rather than just at the beginning and end, hence developing upon conventions.

Screen 3: This screen is the first establishment of character relations in the film. Amelia's mother is the polar opposite of Amelia, she appears carefree and happy whilst Amelia seems somewhat tired and as if her life is dragging along as such. This shot is a clear example of their character relationship, Amelia's mother comments on how many books she has in her bag as Amelia tries to get out the house in a hurry. For me mise en scene is a main element here, you can clearly see what type of character Amelia is opposed to her mother through her dress code and make up. This establishment is necessary in any short film, so could be seen as conventional.

Screen 4: Screen 4 i feel develops upon conventions as such. Establishing a location usually consists of having a long shot to overview the set at hand, such as a shot of a house or building. This shot however uses a highly recognisable image, which could only really associated with a school, being a school bell. By seeing the school bell you're still aware that the location at present is a school, and is just as easy to understand for the audience. The slow zoom out compliments establishment, in that we are focusing on the image and then at the wider picture, in that being the set location, this helps with the flow of the film.

Screen 5: Screen 5 is a fairly original shot. In that sense it meets the artistic style which short film tries to include within its shooting. The shot implies that Amelia isolates herself by keeping herself in her room and denying all social aspects of life, by walking up stairs and the camera being at a low angle its as if Amelia is leaving the audience behind and shutting us away. Additionally the slow fade out at the end of the shot insinuates that Amelia stays in her room for a long amount of time until the next day.  In this sense, a unique stand out shot connoting aspects about character develops upon conventions as such, but because we use a variety of shots it doesn't particularly break any conventions.

Screen 6: This shot is a good example of getting to know Amelia within Toast. It clearly shows that Amelia is walking a different path to most people, in that being a strictly academic path as opposed to a balance of social and school life.This is shown through Amelia walking the opposite way to her friends who walk up the stairs. The focus of the shot is the effect that Amelia's all work no play lifestyle has on her, the closer Amelia gets to the camera the more distressed you can see she is as she walks past the frame. The close range of the camera displays her emotion solidly. For me this shot fulfills the conventions of a short film, for the type of character Amelia is, is portrayed here.

Screen 7: Similar to the previous shot, after a series of events the shot results in a close up of Amelia as she walks past the frame. This further puts emphasis on Amelia's continuing stress. This shot in particular perhaps contains the most character movement within the entire film, and as a result was shot handheld. The handheld camera compliments the realism and pace of the shot, in that being Amelia being shoved and dropping her bag. Because the majority of the film is shot with the use of a tripod, it somewhat develops upon conventions to add a handheld camera sequence to the shooting. About a Girl has a similar concept, the static shots stand out due to the majority of the film being shot in handheld with a shaky effect in retrospect. So taking this into account this could be just meeting the conventions, but a stand alone handheld shot perhaps is more effective that stand alone shots with use of a tripod or track and dolly such as in About a Girl.

Screen 8: This screen is included within the films final climatic sequence. The shot is extremely close as opposed to the rest of the film, representing a true insight into Amelia and her feelings. The shot itself breaks conventions of typical shooting techniques as well as the conventions of short film as such. The shot is an extreme close up, ECU typically contains no character movement, however in the sense of breaking this assumption this shot has a vast amount of movement to put emphasis on the drama. Being part of the climax, it could be considered conventional for a lot to be happening on screen, but the way we went about it with extreme close ups with the framing being off put intentionally i see to be breaking conventions. As well as the camera being a main element in this scene concerning conventions and representation, the lighting was also of interest. One of the main elements of Toast is the focus of realism, this scene perhaps is the only sequence to stray away from that. The lighting is very exaggerated and creates large shadows, to further distort and dramatize the situation.

Screen 9: The whole point of Toast to emphasize Amelia's repetitive lifestyle, so in this sense the second to last scene of the film where Amelia breaks down is not an original occurrence for her. Hence this screen being the same of the first and further answering why she had the make up streamed down her face in the opening shot. The first and lasts shots being that of the same is quite a unique idea, yet it is somewhat conventional for a short film to bring a original concept as such to the film. So in our position this could be seen as developing upon conventions.