Evaluation - Q1

Q1

Considering the technical conventions of films, there were certain rules that we had to follow, such as continuity. If our shots didn’t match or broke the 180 degree rule, it would look odd and unprofessional. However, we did purposely break these rules at one point to symbolise Destiny’s emotions. Having gone through all she has to raise the money for her dying sisters treatment to be told it hasn’t worked, would have a catastrophic effect on her life and so this is shown through breaking the 180 degree rule in this scene.

 

As a drama film, there were also genre conventions which we had to stick to as well. Firstly, the situation which the characters are in had to be, to some extent, realistic. As awful as it is, terminal illness does occur, despite the development of medicine and technology. As well as making the story line realistic to make our drama film fit the conventions, this also meant that we had to use mise-en-scene to make Hope’s illness believable. Therefore, taking inspiration from The Fault in our stars, we used medical tubes, hospital gowns and pale make up to portray this.

Furthermore, our film also stretches the boundaries of the genre. This is because it is part of the ‘gritty teen’ sub-genre. Presenting crime as acceptable is not typical of films. However, this controversial storyline does it to emote even more sympathy towards the two helpless sisters and the situation they have been thrown in to. Like in Attack the Block, despite being thugs at the beginning of the film, trying to steal from a woman; by the end of the film, they are heroes, which is how we want the audience to see Destiny by the end.

I believe our story line is quite individual, however, there were elements of our film, such as shots or editing techniques that have been used before in other, already existing films. One example of this is when Destiny is hidden under the stairs and there an extreme close-up of her eyes, as well as a diegetic, heavy breathing sound. This is a stereotypical shot used a lot in films if a character is hidden, for example, in Jurassic Park.

 

 

Furthermore, panning through photos in our title sequence is not an original idea. It is a common edit used to portray a close relationship between two people. For instance,

We looked at the reaction we wanted to evoke from our audience in relation to Richard Dyers theory of Pleasures.

 

The ones which I think relate most to our film is the pleasure of ‘intensity’. Our storyline is very gripping and, to an extent, disturbing and this is what makes it very watchable. This pleasure also links to emotions, which would be very high when watching this film. Similarly, our film also fits into the ‘transparency’ pleasure, as it focuses a lot around the relationship between the sisters. Undoubtedly, Destiny would not be shown to risk what she does in order to pay for a treatment which provides such a slim chance of survival. These pleasures are very clearly shown through the ambient music: the dark, gritty music during the crime scenes and also the very emotive, soft music during the hospital scenes.