Marc Webb Short Film

Marc Webb is the director of 500 Days Of Summer, which up to date is his only feature length film (He is currently in the process of directing 'The Amazing Spider-Man'). However he has directed a variety of music video's for the likes of artists such as Counting Crows, Regina Spektor, and even The Pussycat Dolls. I also found that to kick off 500 Days of Summer's release, he made a separate short film, starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon Levitt about a bank heist in which the male character's heart gets stolen along with the money. Now I have to say I have found this video classified as both a music video (it is set to 'Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? by She and Him), and as a short film, so I'm not really sure what it would be officially categorized as; but as I believe short film is a very broad term, for all intents and purposes, I am going to brand this as one, and analyse it as preparation for creating my own short film. 

MISE-EN-SCENE: 

• The male character is seen wearing a full suit and sunglasses, which evokes a sense of mystery about him. The female character is wearing a vintage inspired outfit, which could indicate that this short film is set in maybe the fifties or sixties. 
• The location is a bank, which implies that the characters are either middle or higher class. 
• The facial expression of the female character remains quite innocent throughout (this is re-iterated when we see her doing dance steps such as a 'hop-scotch'). This is contrasting to other aspects we see of her: She seems fierce enough to not be afraid of a bank robber with a gun, and even goes as far as seducing him. At the beginning, the male character maintains a serious facial expression, but as the film progresses it's like it continually fades as he falls in love

CAMERA WORK:

• There is only one cutaway shot in the duration of the short film, and it is a close up of the two character's hands touching. This highlights how this is the turning point of the narrative - it is almost suggesting the whole idea of 'love at first sight', and how this changes everything
• At the beginning of the film, close ups and mid shots are mainly used to familiarise the audience with the two main characters
• For the majority of the choreography part of the short film, long shots are used so that the audience can clearly see the character's dancing

EDITING:

• The only editing used in this short film is a cut, showing that it all the action happens at one particular time
• The pace of the editing is fairly slow so that the audience can clearly see the action and choreography 

SOUND:

• The soundtrack to this short film is a song called 'Why Do You Let Me Stay Here'? The song has an overall theme of desire and lines such as 'I would like you for own' connote the romantic nature of the narrative
• There is no dialogue at all in the entire short film - it is almost as if the director is trying to express the storyline instead, through the music and choreography. It also connotes the physical nature of the relationship - from the eye contact at the beginning to the close dancing in the middle. 

500 Days Of Summer Film Poster Analysis

• The main feature of this film poster is the collage of all the different images of the character 'Summer', with some being made to look like a sunshine. This gives the impression of something quite arty and original, which relates to the film as it is not a typical romance, and has a sense of being quite personal to it. The vast amount of pictures of Summer implies Tom's perhaps obsession with her, and just by looking at the film poster we are already getting the sense of maybe 'she means more to him, than he does to her'
• The actor's names appear in an uncharacteristically small font on the top of the poster, and this implies that the director is not trying to use big name stars to try and sell his film. This again re-iterates the overall 'anti-Hollywood' feel of the film as a whole. 
• The colour scheme is fairly neutral, except for the sunshine in the middle that is yellow. Yellow has connotations of light and warmth, which could represent Tom and Summer's relationship (in it's good days anyway), informing the audience that this is a romance film. Yellow is also the most difficult colour for the eye to take in, and is thought to enhance feeling of emotional distress. This could represent love and it's many complexities. 
• The tagline for the film 'This is not a love story. This is a story about love.' runs across the bottom of the poster. The font looks almost handwritten, which again gives the poster a more personal and casual touch. It also implies that the film's creators seem to have a point that they want to put across. This film is not completely shallow, it has a message, which relates to short films as they often have an objective, rather than just a storyline too. 
• The body language of Tom instantly suggests that he is more of an introverted person, as his stance isn't very open, and he almost looks like slightly childlike. This could represent his naivety and the fact that he has a perhaps childish perception of what love is (definitely in comparison to Summer). He is also drawing, which implies that he is quite a creative character, which we find to be true in the film, as we learn that it is his dream to become an architect.
• The photographs of Summer show a wide variety of facial expressions, which portrays the wide range of emotions that are portrayed throughout the film. This suggests that Tom and Summer's relationship isn't necessarily going to be an easy ride, and that the audience should expect a lot of ups and downs.

500 Days of Summer

The Tagline for this film is: This is not a love story. This is a story about love.
For me, this pretty much sums up the film as a whole, as it is quite unconventional and not a typical 'romance film'. This links in with short films, which are often rather unconventional, and try to bring forward different views or ideas on a subject. Music is also quite an important part of this film (it is mentioned throughout, e.g. Both characters share a love of The Smiths, they are seen in a record store on one of their dates etc.). It is most definitely a recurring theme, and something that I would like to take through into my own work. Another thing I really admire about this film is the unconventional structure and imaginative use of shots and editing:

In this particular scene, there is a split screen where on the left side, we see Tom's expectations of what is going to happen at the party, and the reality of what actually does. It is through scenes like this that the film establishes itself as a kind of 'Anti-Hollywood' production. It is not displaying a perfect happy ending, but a harsh reality. This makes it more relatable to the audience.


Another unconventional feature of the film, is the fact that it is presented in a nonlinear narrative. It jumps from various days within the 500 day span of Tom and Summer's relationship, indicated by an animation that includes the days number.

The number in the brackets changes for each new scene, and the changes in the background indicate the time of year.


I like this feature because I feel it helps to make the film more interesting as it keeps the audience on their feet as the narrative skips backwards and forwards. It also helps us to gain a greater understanding of the characters as we see them change through the varying stages of their relationship. In the romance genre, the relationships between the characters is the most important thing, and to portray this successfully, I believe you have to explore in some detail, the individual character's themselves. I think this film does that extremely well, and you immediately get a sense of the characters distinguishing features:

Tom, a hopeless romantic, and Summer, a woman who doesn't believe in love. 

Love Actually Film Poster

As my practical includes creating a film poster, I have decided to analyse some film posters from the romance genre. This is the film poster for Love Actually:

• The colour scheme is very simplistic: black, white, and red. This could imply the simplicity of the film - it is not some big 'Hollywood' production with impressive special effects and high speed chases. The film is all about dialogue and the character's story's, and I think this is reflected through the simplicity of the film poster. Red also typically connotes love, so this could reflect the idea that this is a 'typical' romance film
• The snow that has been added to the character's pictures connotes the winter theme of the film, which actually takes place at Christmas. This countdown to Christmas is quite a big part of the film's narrative, so it's not surprising that it is hinted to the audience on the film poster
• The tag that reads 'from the makers of Four Weddings, Bridget Jones, and Notting Hill'       implies that the film is quite personal, as it is almost like a note from the makers to the audience. This is only reiterated by the fact that it is in a font that makes it appear to be hand written. It also fits in with my earlier point about how they are trying to convey the fact that this film is about people that are hopefully relatable to the audience. 
• All of the character's pictures are separate, and also equal size, implying that none is more important than the other one. Their separation could also reflect their individual narratives that we learn about in the film, while the bow around them could represent love - as throughout the film we learn that the characters are all somehow connected to each other, often by love in one of its many shapes and forms
• The character's facial expressions also help to give us an insight into their personalities before we have even seen the film. For example, Colin Firth looks very serious, just as his character is in the film; Keira Knightley looks pretty and innocent; Hugh Grant looks a bit cheeky; and Martine McCutcheon looks very smiley and friendly. 

Love Actually

The film Love Actually begins with a montage sequence of people arriving and being greeted at Heathrow airport. The song 'Glasgow Love Theme' plays in the background, and there is voice over by one of the film's protagonist's. The footage is actually real - Richard Curtis had a team of cameramen film at Heathrow Airport for a week, and whenever they saw something that would fit in, they asked the people involved for permission to use the footage. This makes the film seem much more raw and realistic, and this interlinking of fiction and reality almost makes the rest of the film seem more real - it helps to draw the audience in.

Richard Curtis

Richard Curtis is a british screenwriter and director, known primarily for films in the romantic comedy genre, such as: Four Weddings and A Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary and Love Actually.
His first film, Four Weddings And A Funeral was made on a very limited budget, which is often true of short films. Despite this, it went onto be the the biggest grossing British film in history at that time. 
All of his films are quite typically 'British', and focus largely on people and relationships, which is something that I would like to apply to my short film. He is personally my favourite director, and probably one of my biggest inspirations in creating this short film. 

Romance

I have chosen the genre of romance for my short film, because as a pretty much die hard romantic all my life, it is the genre I probably have the best prior knowledge and therefore understanding of. Also, I believe to make a successful short film, it has to be about something you are passionate about, and that can be a reflection of your personality, and I feel like for me, the romance genre will be the perfect outlet.


...So What Is A 'Romance Film'?
While most films have some aspect of romance between characters (at least as a subplot) a romance film can be loosely defined as any film in which the central plot (the premise of the story) revolves around the romantic involvement of the story's protagonist. Common themes include the characters making decisions based on a newly-found romantic attraction. The questions, "What am I living for?" or "Why am I with my current partner?" often arise. (Wikipedia definition)


In summation: A romance film will typically have two protagonists, and the film will follow their relationship. There is often some sort of obstacle to overcome, which will stereotypically be resolved, to allow the characters to have their 'happy ending' This is not however always the case, and many directors may deliberately choose to be unconventional, and give their own take on the idea of love.

Welcome

Hello there. My name is Rachel Chadwick, and this is my A2 Media blog. I have chosen brief 10, which is to create a short film and a promotional package to go with it, including a film poster and review from a magazine. My initial idea is to create a short film centred around the theme of love, so to begin my research, I will look into the genre of romance in both films and short films.