Between the devil and the deep blue
Our film will be representing the psychological genre is several ways. The first of which is the core theme that being life and death. Many psychological films focus on the idea of life and death and it's finality and inevitability. Such as Donnie Darko. The film we're creating also focuses on death but in our case how death isn't inevitable and that to some extent one may choose when they die. Of course this is excluding old age that's going to happen no matter what. The second way our film reflect the psychological genre is the tone, we are looking towards having our film set mostly during dusk with the only scene during the day being the scene on the beach which is a form or redemption scene so it would make sense to have our character brought into the light, literally, the tone will be conveyed also through the juxtaposing of dialogue as one character will be very bright and enthusiastic and the other will be dark and dismissive and finally the last will be violent and rude. This is also reflected in the mannerisms of the character the mother having a closed posture while the friend will have an open one while the boy will maintain a neutral stance. Finally the last way we will be sticking to the psychological genre is through the story and the way we manipulate the characters, as it isn't clear if the boy is dreaming or hallucinating all these people we will have them disappear around trees and corners when we need them too. This is common from the mind bending genre and is also a very useful tool for telling a simple story quickly as we don't need to waste time travelling we can just have him appear there. These are the ways that we are going to stick to the genre of psychological drama.
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There are many shot types to be found in the psychological genre of film as it is a wide and varied genre that focuses more on the characters and plot over the visual action and as a result we are treated to a wider range of shots. However there are some that are a mainstay of the genre such as the close up, this is most commonly added in order to show a character's fear or confusion, two emotions found a lot in the psychological genre. The close up can also be linked into a common edit that is used in the genre, that being the shot reverse shot, many interactions in the psychological genre are intense verbal standoffs and as a result a shot reverse shot that slowly gets closer and closer to the two parties faces is highly effective at conveying the emotions at play in the scene. Next is the establishing shot. The psychological genre can be a very slow paced genre that must give time for the audience to catch up on the plot so far. As a result there are many quiet moments and these are often filled with the use of an establishing shot, this might be a static frame of a natural landscape, or a fly over of the city where the film is set. Either way this shot type is common to the genre and is a simple one to implement. Finally the montages and smash cuts are used very frequently in the psychological genre in order to show a faster paced scene which is packed with tension or fear. This might be a chase scene or a hallucination scene. This edit is more common in the faster paced films in the genre and can be highly effective at not only displaying information to the audience but also to disorientate them. As of course disorienting visuals and confusing plots are highly common to the psychological genre. The example represent the cut the best. The motherThe mother or the "devil" is the main antagonist of the film as she is the one that is subtlety attempting to poison and kill the antagonist the boy. As a result the representation of the mother in this film will be very negative. Her clothes will be dark and her demeanour dark and brooding. She wont shy away from swearing and shouting and screaming. She will be wearing mostly dark colours and any close ups of her will not feature her forehead to ensure that the audience understand that she is angry and vengeful. The boyThe boy is the antagonist of the short film so as a result we will be showing him as the "hero" and the film will focus on his point of view for the full duration. The representation of the character will be that of a mentally ill male teenager aged around 17-19 years. To represent this we will have him taking pills and the beginning and middle of the film in order to make it clear that he is ill. Further more will we have him scratch his ear and generally have a reserved demeanour. He will deflect questions back on to others and avoid them wherever possible only when cornered and pushed for an answer will he respond. His clothes will be dark blues and greys with small areas of colour to try and present some warmth. The friendThe representation of the friend will be simple. They are a friend and that's all the audience that needs to see. She is meant to be a mysterious helper that appears and disappears and she is simply a hallucination of the boy. She will be dressed in bright colours and will speak in loud and clears tones. She isn't a deep or complex character and doesn't need to be in order to push the story forward.
The introduction to the review follows standard form by outlining the critic's opinion on the film, that being that it is a strong film that over steps its boundaries a bit and causes the film to become muddled. However they quickly loop back and he then praises the film and says that its a strong first film for the writer-director. The end of the opening paragraph is often what the reader will remember the most because for many that's where they stop reading so as a result the whole review is boiled down to that one sentence. The second paragraph talks about the over arching themes of the film and the introduction to the plot. The exposition about the films plot continues into the second and third paragraphs and we see a rather in detail blow by blow lay out of the story. This may put of some reads as it would be considered spoiler territory but for others they might draw satisfaction from the detailed break down of the plot. After all the key goal of a film review is to be entertaining to the reader because many will just read the review and never watch the film. The reviewer concludes their break down of the plot and begins to break down the specific elements of the story such as the floaty camera work that makes the film feel dreamy and the music that is a call back to the nineties. They now begin the process of talking up the film by comparing it to other successful works and throwing in big directorial names. This name recognition is a big deal in film reviewing if you compare this film to a successful film by a big name then its more likely to get noticed. The final paragraphs focus in on the names of the film, in particular Gyllenhall and Robert Downey Jr. which are selling points for the film as I said before names can sell a film for some. Further more we get some background and light analysis of their performances all of which are positive. The final paragraph is a glowing review that praises the music the setting and technical work of the film that leaves the reader in a positive mind set about the film and leaving no doubt about whether the film is worth a watch or not.
From reading many reviews and analysing three of them I have learnt a few key things that I feel are needed in order to create an effective film review. So in this short blog post I'm going to go over and outline some of the most important factors that I will be focusing on for our film review. The first of which is to try and make it entertaining as after all the film review is a piece of entertainment as much as it is an informative piece. Finding the balance between interesting facts and analysis and critique of the film will be important to make our film review good. The next is to include names namely who is in the film and any acting back ground they might have as well as the production crew that helped out with the creation of the film. On top of this I should include big names in film theory and directors and producers to draw parallels between this film and other bigger names. This will help to raise the profile of this short film. While including whats good and no good I need to keep the review short and snappy perhaps around five hundred words seems to be the Goldilocks zone for short film reviews any more and the analysis becomes to in depth and defeats the point of watching the film. Finally talk it up make it sound great after all we are writing a review for our own film may as well make it sound godly by comparing it to fantastic films of our genre.
The opening of the review follows a lot of the conventions of film reviewing, it lays out the name of the text and some of the key aspects along with its length and the region it's from. The review focuses on the fact that the film is up for a "best picture" Oscar along side blockbusters and the fact that its only thirteen minutes long a fact that may appear to be unremarkable when talking about short films but important when considering it's up against The Revenant. Furthermore the writer goes on to stress how accurate the film is to those who suffer from stuttering and how it is both a sad a real depiction of the disability but also still witty and charming. The core of the review lays out key plot points which are established at the beginning of the film and using direct quotes from the film to keep it light hearted and funny. Most importantly fun and easy to read. It goes on to explain some of the back ground of the film that allows the reader to understand the context and angle that the film is presented from. Perhaps adding more to the viewing experience. Finally they out line the budget which talks up the film as it was produced on a low one but has done very well indeed which they explain through parading the films accolades. The second half of the core of the paragraph begins with more exposition about the film which only reveals the beginning scene of it ensuring that the audience still has a reason to go and watch the film. They quickly go off piece however and begin to talk about an interview they conducted with a real life stammerer which gives an interesting second opinion and accurate insight into the film. However, it does feel as if it de-rails the review a little bit and when we return to the review after two paragraphs of something else its like putting a book down for twenty minutes and trying to return to it as if nothing had happened. For me this spoils the review however for others this might simply enhance their enjoyment of the review as it is purely personal choice about which author you read. The final paragraph of this review details its relative uniqueness and this is a strong selling point and again up talks the film ending with a reminder of its running time and status as an Oscar nominated film before the customary signing off.
The film review opens by talking about the core plot and major aspects of the film while not giving away any key spoilers for the film. This is a well balanced intro as it has all the key aspects needed to make people want to go and read the rest of the review as the final line of the opening paragraph tells us its "well crafted" but not why its well crafted prompting the reader to continue. Furthermore, the review tells us who the film is by so perhaps the name recognition or lack there of will inspire people to read the review. The core of the review focuses on the film it's self, after setting up the plot of the film in the introduction the writer can now move onto using vaguer terms to ensure they don't ruin the film. Also they begin to roll out more of the entertaining and informative text. The lists and and punchy selling lines help to convey the core message of the review, that being it's good. They talk up the positive aspects of the film primarily the fact that it packs so much into 14 mins. The film review concludes by admitting the flaws of the film saying that its "conventional" by quickly back tracks and praises it as undeniably engrossing. This conclusion to the review leaves us on a positive note that stays with the reader. The film review succeeds in being entertaining and snappy. It tells us what it does right and what it does wrong and therefore I conclude that this is a successful short film review.
The psychological drama/thriller is a sub-genre of the thriller/drama genres and mainly focuses on the more super natural elements such as death and identity. These are played with in the psychological film much more openly than in traditional genres. In the psychological film we often see the appearance of dead people and objects that we don't normally take on a human personality do. For example there is Abe a short film about a robot that has been given the ability to love and from that has developed a dark and dangerous personality type that has turn murderous. As those he loves don't love him back. This plays off the other psychological conventions of the mind and perception specifically our mental processes and what leads us to do what we do and perception being how we see the world around us. These are both reflected in the film too by having Abe become obsessed with women and finally murdering them because they don't love him. The editing conventions of a short film have changed over time and developed from slow long takes that build tension through revealing key information to the audience at the right time, the king of this is Hitchcock in films like psycho. The visual conventions such as set and lighting tend to be dark and dingy for the most part often set and night or inside darkened rooms but there's also a president for light being used to counter point the dark topic of the film. This is seen briefly at the end of Abe as he stalks his next victim.
First we must consider what are the four key aspects of a short film review. In my opinion they are the following; to inform, advise, describe, and analyse. Some may disagree with this and that's their choice however for the purposes of this blog post that's what I'll be basing my work off. Next we must look at the structure of a review first off we of course open with an introduction to the review, in this we usually cover points like the basic plot, while not giving spoilers, lead actors and a basic summary of whether the film is any good or not. The key to a good introduction is to be quick and snappy but leave enough unsaid to promote the rest of the review. Next we have the first paragraph where we describe in greater detail key points in the plot if this review contains spoilers we can do this in even greater critical detail and informing who played what roles and how their performance helped or hindered the movie. Next is the third paragraph which covers other areas like the director's job and the cinematography and editing styles. As well as perhaps the tone and message of the film too. Finally there is of course an conclusion that should summarise the key points covered in the review and bring it to a conclusive good or bad review often accompanied by a star rating.
It is also important to consider the audience that will be reading this review and tailor the language, tone, and style to that one audience. There's no use in waffling on about the poor mise-en-scene to a twelve year old just as a seasoned movie goer probably doesn't care about the shocking costume malfunction that happened back stage on the film set. |