Evaluation - Nine-Frame Title Analysis

In what ways does your media product use, develop or 

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

From my research into other films of the Drama genre with serious tones I had discovered fairly early on that title credits did not overlap into the film opening. By doing this it ensures the audience's attention fixed fully on the plot unfolding before whilst adding to the impact of the piece. I decided to follow this trend, and consequently kept my title credits minimal and presented them before the film actually begins. In 'The Godfather' the only title we are given is the name of the film, and in the film 'Public Enemies' we are presented with the date in which the film is set. After a fair amount of thought I decided not to show the name of the film, and just keep the credits as simple as possible by stating the name of my production company. I did not need to put a great deal of thought into the production company name as I wanted to make it personal to me. I felt that by keeping the colour scheme black and white it would create a stark contrast and hold a certain originality. The font is similar to that on a typewriter which could be tied into the typing that takes place in the opening scene of the film. The contrast of the black and white could be used to show the ideas of happiness and sadness or positivity and negativity- themes carried throughout the film.

 The location of the opening scene begins inside a living room, the focus is held on hands typing whilst a voiceover brings the audience into the story. The opening setting is realistic and relatable, creating the illusion of a normal household. This immediately makes us as the audience want to know what the problem of the film is going to be as the illusion or normality and safety that the home usually represents is challenged from the onmicient tone of the voiceover that speaks as if reflecting upon a great tragedy. The first shot of the film is an extreme close-up, which reveals little of the setting, but the shots gradually become wider which represents the character opening up to the audience as the voiceover continues and she tells her story.

 Our next shot is yet another extreme close-up. The use of the laptop as a tool to aid the voiceover was something I feel worked well in the piece overall. It reinforces the words we are already hearing and tells us something about the nature of the character. The fact that the story is being told to nobody in person and is just being recorded in a solitary fashion shows us a reflection of the protagonist's character. She is not attention-seeking or wanting to appear brave, she is just wanting to share her story. The idea of her writing it instead of telling a group of people could also show how the events may still be fairly raw to her.

The angle of the camera changes with each shot in this scene, however the focus remains constantly on the computer and the protagonist typing. This can reflect the confusion felt by the character whilst also representing how she has tried many different approaches to solving the issue of finding her sister, reinforcing her persistent and caring nature.

The opening of the film suggests the genre mainly from the tone of the voiceover. The shots are fairly neutral, however the tone of the voiceover is serious and we hear of themes and concepts such as 'regret' which are common in the drama genre. The music used aid the voiceover in achieving its sombre tone.

Our character is first introduced by us seeing her hands. I decided from an early stage to avoid showing her face to a large degree in this particular part of the film. The voiceover tying in with the words being typed act as the protagonist's face in many senses as the film opens. The fact that we do not see her face creates a sense of guilt- which we may relate the fact that she feels she was too late to help her sister.

As the shot widens here there is more clarity to the scene we are watching. We are allowed to see a little more of our protagonist, but her face is still hidden. This is the final shot that focuses on out protagonist typing. The fact that it is wider and allows us to see more shows how she has finally reached a clarity of mind and has come out of her state of confusion throughout her journey in the film.

This next shot shows a setting which we are to see later on in the film. The voiceover is still reflecting on her journey, so we are now taking a step back to see not just the person who has journeyed through hardships, but the settings in which some of the key events would have taken place. This shot allows us to almost look into the protagonist's memories themselves.

The shot of the bird is mainly observational, however it could show how the protagonist is spreading her wings and allowing the burden of her guilt to be lifted from her.

The church shot shows a loss of faith- not a direct religious loss of faith- but the challenges of losing faith in yourself. This is something which the film does tackle and is eventually resolved in the end.