'Where have I been all your life' evaluation
‘Where have I been all your life?’
‘Where have I been all your life’ is a short film that follows Liam’s journey to find his biological father and tell him that he is his son.
The film is part of the comedy genre. I followed Steve Neale's theory of repetition and difference to keep the audience interested, and yet still conform to the comedy genre. The short film conforms to the comedy genre through the use of Liam’s continuous awkward comments in a serious situation. For example, ‘you da man!’ when he has just told John that he is his son. By including this it means that this film conforms to the comedy genre, and gives a sense of familiarity to the audience. The short film also subverts from the genre. I did this in order to make sure the film was unique to other comedy films. I did this by including the dramatic twists of the plot, such as Liam going to the wrong house. This made the film a dramatic comedy and not just a comedy, thus keeping it unique.
I used Vladimir Propp’s character theory for narrative. I did this to make sure I had an interesting set of characters to entertain the audience So, I had a hero; Liam, on a quest to find his father. I also included a sidekick; Liam’s girlfriend. Liam’s father acts as a princess, or prize at the end of his quest. Lastly I also made sure to involve villains; John and Angela, who get in the way of Liam completing his quest. These set of characters carry the narrative and it keep the audience interested and engaged in all the different relationships and conflicts between them. This works well as, these characters are supposedly in every narrative, and so they must be effective
I decided that my main representation in this film would be of those who are looking for their biological parents. I based the short film on Liam looking for his father, and following his complicated journey there. I did this as it is often a group that is forgotten about and so many of us take knowing our biological parents for granted. So I thought this issue needed to be brought to light. I felt it was important to bring up this group in society, as it can be thought, that if you don’t know who your real parents are, you will always have that mystery and feel incomplete. I thought that representing this group would work well, as it may encourage those of my audience who are unsure of who their family is to look for them. I hoped that it would also show those who have the privilege of knowing their family, to think about how difficult it is for those who don’t know them.
I created this film with the purpose of entertaining and educating the audience. I wanted the story to involve elements of comedy to keep the audience interested, and entertained. If there is comedy, the audience may be more likely to remember the film. I also wanted the audience to learn about the difficulties of finding biological parents, and the emotional journeys that people can go on to find them.
I used very natural cinematography to make my film
more realistic. A lot of the shots are two person shots at eye level.
I used editing to create tension. I used cross-cutting between inside the house, and Liam’s girlfriend outside.
I did this to create a tense atmosphere. As the audience learn that something is not right through Suzie’s facial expressions, it cross cuts back to the serious conversation inside the house. This creates a great deal of tension and dramatic irony for the audience. I did this to keep the audience interested and intrigued with where the narrative.
I used non-diegetic sound to emphasise the emotions and situations in the film. For example, leading up to Liam entering John’s house, I used a piece of almost joyful music over the top of the shots. Then when Liam is shown inside the house there is no music at all, just all diegetic sound. This contrast of almost silence compared to positive, upbeat music, reflects on Liam’s mood. I did this to suggest how when Liam is with Suzie, he feels at ease and completely comfortable. Whereas, as soon as he enters Johns house, he feels very tense and almost frightened of what reaction John will have. I wanted to have this change in sound so that the audience could feel Liam’s contrasting emotions along with him.
Lastly, I have used the elements of mise-en-scene to create meaning for the audience. An example of this would be my use of set and props in different shots. In a two person shot of John and
Angela, the set behind them is full of just very dull colours. There are no bright colours, I did this to emphasise the boring life that this couple lives. That there is no excitement in it, and perhaps even that there is little love left. Then in the next shot is a medium of Liam. Behind him there are several hints of red in the set. I did this to portray how Liam could be the sudden new excitement in their life. However the red also foreshadows the trouble that Liam is about to bring to their marriage.
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