Evaluation

Evaluation

My short film “The Beach” presents a typical family outing to the sea accompanied by a voice over of a poem recounting how the outing made the individual feel during the time spent with family.

Representation

The main social groups represented in my short film are families, the young and the old, these groups are portrayed both implicitly and explicitly. The family is explicitly represented in the film through the togetherness of the different characters and the support shown between the group, the audience will acknowledge that the characters are family through the character expression and movement portraying a trust and support in one another that is mainly found in families. The camera movement also represents the family as the use of the shakiness of the camera implies that the video is family footage. Family is portrayed strongly in “Echo” in which the main character has a smaller family, however this is not the case in my short film, as the family presented is very large. The younger generation is represented mostly through the appearance of the characters, the costume especially. The costume and makeup the younger cast are wearing is more modern than the older cast and more suitable for their generation, this has similar comparisons to “The Ellington Kid” as the cast is shown to be youthful through their costume and appearance. The character expression and movement within the younger cast also shows youth as they have more energy and excitement compared to the older cast. The older cast is presented in the opposite way as they have more dated costume and makeup and their character expression and movement is slower and more calculated. The contrast between the young and the old can show how the different generations appreciate a day out with their family, as they have very different demeanours, for example the younger generation show their excitement through physical activities such as games or exploration, whereas the older generation shows their appreciation through their observation of the settings and their support of the children. The representation of the disabled can also be implicitly represented in my short film as two of the actors have Treacher Collins Syndrome (Alice Moore and Simon Moore), the film could show the audience that people who have disabilities such as the one portrayed in “The Beach” can also have family outings in a way that average families do without the judgement or attention being brought onto them, this may attract an audience of some disabled people as they would be able to relate to the content.

Genre:

The genre in my short film can be quite hard to define as it doesn’t fit fully into any of the categories, however the genre it associates with mostly is “adventure”. This is portrayed through the cinematography of the film as there are multiple shifts in setting, indicating that the characters are on the move a lot and there is footage of the characters exploring the different activities on the beach such as playing in the ocean and rock-pooling. The character expression and movement also shows that the genre is adventure as the characters (mainly the younger cast) show their reactions to the exploration through their physical excitement and interest in their surroundings. Another micro element of film form that represents the genre is the setting, the beach is somewhere outside of the home where everything is familiar, so putting the characters in an environment which is visually stimulating will spark the feeling of adventure within them. The genre of my film challenges that of “The Arrival” as Montanirini only keeps the setting in one place with the character stationary throughout the duration of the film.

The visual codes in the short film, such as camera shots and movement, determine that the genre is adventure as the camera is always moving from one person to the next to attempt to capture all of the excitement and discovery the characters and setting is presenting and to exhibit the large variance of setting, the close up/medium shots of the characters also allow the audience to see the wonder and excitement portrayed by the characters, My inspiration for showing emotion in such close proximity if from “Operator” Where there is a large use of close ups zoning in on the characters facial expressions to portray emotion. The costume of the characters also represent the genre as the characters are wearing clothes that comfortable and are easy to move in, this tells the audience that there is going to be a lot of activity going on. The costume is similar to the costumes in “Tight jeans” as they are both comfortable and easy to move in, however, unlike “tight jeans” where the characters are stationary throughout the film, my film has a lot of movement. The props used in the film reflects the adventure element because there are many bags and backpacks present, indicating the characters need a lot of supplies for their journey. 

Narrative:

The narrative of my short film is linear as it involves no flashbacks or disruptions of the narrative as the film progresses. The narrative of my film would also be considered as conventional as it has a beginning where the characters are travelling to their destination, a middle where the characters are at the beach and an end where the characters go back to the house and settle down after their outing. The lighting in the micro elements of film form shows the progression of the day through the use of natural lighting and the contrast between light and dark, the start of the short film was bright with the sun shining through the trees and the lighting slowly became darker, with a sunset at the beach to show the audience how long the family had spent on their outing and the minimal lighting used at the end to show that it was the end of the day. Lighting like this is used in “The Ellington Kid” and “Over”, where the creators use the natural lighting to indicate the time of day to the audience.

The narrative not only portrays a physical journey through the use of travel footage and frequent change in location, but also an emotional journey of the family growing closer together. The emotional journey is represented through camera angles and shots, the close and medium shots allow the audience to see the affection and bonds growing between the family, and the wide shots show a larger view of the characters becoming physical closer together, as shown in the picnic scene. This challenges the plot of “Echo” as “The Beach” portrays a family becoming closer and “Echo” shows a family breaking apart.

The narrative, however, does not conform to Vladimir Propp’s theory of narratemes or narrative functions in a storyline. Each of my characters have the role of a family member, none of them act as a hero or a villain, therefore, there is no reason for confrontation or action in the short film.

Audience:

“The Beach” would be suitable for all ages as it doesn’t include any adult content such as bad language or horror and the plot is fairly easy to understand, however, for it to be fully appreciated, an older audience, preferably 12+, would be needed.

The group that is more likely to watch the short film is families as they can find nostalgia in the content. Luckily, most of the population have the experience of going to the beach with their families as it’s a common activity to do together in the summer and holds many good memories for people. Age and gender will vary in the audience because “The Beach” has a representation of both female and male characters with their age varying. This is beneficial as this means that the audience for the short film is going to be large, meaning the short film will be viewed a great number of times.

The purpose of the short film is to entertain the audience and trigger a sense of nostalgia and happiness within them. The film uses sound to do this through the non-diegetic voice over of a poem which shows the reader’s emotion through her voice. The inspiration of the voiceover was taken from “The Arrival” Where the main character has a voice over of an internal monologue expressing the character’s emotions at the time.

Camera angles are also used to create emotion within the audience as all of the characters facial expressions are shown clearly, so the spectator can see the characters joy and excitement and be reminded of how they felt themselves when in that scenario.

The preferred reading of the film would be for the audience to see the piece as a way to express the affection one has for their family through a fond memory of a place or an event.