Short Film

The short film in question was 'This is the Life' released in 2010. This is a short 8 minute 20 second production about a family living in what appears to be a low class area, we are able to assume that the father has been away for a long period of time but for what reason we are unsure, it is possible he was in prison. This left the mother to look after her son and daughter alone. Throughout the production there are many different camera angles used with many different meanings and connotations of them, however i will be analysing what i feel are the most important two in the entire production.

The first technique used was a hand held close up of Dean, the child and his father after he has returned from wherever he has been. Unlike his sister Dean did not show the same level of emotion and gratitude when his father returned, she ran towards him and hugged him whereas Dean simply stayed at the end of the drive and didn't make any attempt to go and see his father. This is unusual, if a father figure for a young boy had been missing out his life for a prolonged period of time then we would expect the child to be fairly emotional and happy to see them again, however if our assumption of the father going to prison could explain this lack of emotion. Dean may feel upset, betrayed and disappointed with his father for whatever he did that caused him to end up in prison this is why i would consider this shot one of the best and most powerful as it conveys the emotion between father and son.

The next technique i have chosen is the long shot, this sets the scene for us the audience, this is a very useful shot as an audience as we are able to establish many things from a long shot. It gives us the ability to assume the social class, wealth and education of the characters. Within this shot we could determine that the characters are fairly low class and low wealth and that the parents are fairly low in the education ladder. These points can be inferred later in the production; when they are all sat round in the living room eating dinner, they are not eating at a table they are eating of their laps, this would suggest low income and therefore low paid jobs which would link to the parents having a low education as they haven't got the qualifications to get a well paid job. This shot also gives the production a sense of realism, it portrays the scene as a very dull, mundane, normal place to be showing there is nothing out of the ordinary.

Moving on to the editing used within this production, again there are many different techniques used but i shall be focusing on what i feel are the most important few. Firstly the use of seamless editing, i feel this is a very important technique used throughout the production this is because, coupled with the long shot, gives the production a sense of realism for the audience.

The next editing technique that i feel was very important and powerful to this production is the shot reverse shot. This technique is a very powerful use of editing, despite the clear lack of affection between Dean and his father this shot is used to portray connections. It shows the connection between not only Dean and his father but between the entire family, this is why i feel this technique is very powerful, it shows us as an audience that no matter how bad a situation gets, this being lack of income and a family being torn apart by prison, family is more important that money.

Next i will be focusing on the sound used within this production and again attempting to find the most influential pieces. The first sound technique i have chosen is the dialogue used, this is a key technique for the audience and it can give us key information about the characters, through the use of dialogue we can determine the accent of the characters in question and therfore establish the regional identity surrounding the production. This information is key as we are able to pin a region to the characters and then this gives us the ability to assume characteristics and traits that go hand in hand with the region. Also the dialogue used throughout gives us as an audience a sense of knowledge and belonging, we can try to piece together the story of the production through this. However i feel this technique, although very useful, could be developed further, the mother character within the production does not speak that much and therefore we feel some what isolated from her.

Then we have the use of incidental music playing when Dean is interacting with his father. This is not only very important for very influential as well, as an audience we can gauge a relationship between two characters through the use of music. This is shown when Dean is waiting to be picked up from school by his dad and he is late, leaving Dean standing on his own, this could mirror the fathers absence and how Dean felt alone. The music is very sombre, down beat music which gives connotations of sadness, isolation and to an extent, disapointment on Deans behalf. We are able to establish this as the audience through the choice of music. This changes when they are in the car together and Dean is driving, the music changes to very up beat, positive music as Dean's moods and views of his father change with it. Again we are able to establish this from the music and infer Dean's attitudes towards his father.

Mise en scene plays a crutial part within this production and is key for the audience as it gives them multiple opportunities to make assumptions and connections with the characters and the plot. One of the techniques used within mise en scene in this production was lighting, when Dean and his father are in the car the use of dark natural light could represent Dean's father trying to win his son back as he knows he has done wrong. The darkness could also represent the divide between father and son and the sadness and pain that it has caused them both to be apart, it is clear that Dean has lost some respect for his father for whatever he did that caused them to be apart but it is also clear that the father feels masses of repent for his actions and that it has caused him to be away from his son creating a divide between them, represented by the darkness of the scene.

Finally the use of location is key, there is a scene where they are playing bowling shortly after the father returns, this gives connotations of family fun, unity and togetherness. This gives us as the audience the imagery that they are a very close family and that they are glad to have the father figure back with them. This closeness is again portrayed through the use of setting when they are all sitting around the tv eating dinner together, this shows us again the moral of family is more important than wealth, although they are eating of cheap plastic trays and Dean is sat on the floor, they are happy.