Researching into Short Films - Craig Devine: This is the life.

We know that a film has certain conventions to conform to, such as titles (traditionally) at the start of the film, a soundtrack, etc which this short film did contain.

We watched the short film in class, and wrote notes about it. This is what I wrote:

• This short film had the title at the start of the film, it was in a very average, typical, non fancy white font on a black background in the center of the screen.

• The establishing shot was of the kitchen, it definitely had that kitchen-sink realism, of the white working class British drama conventions. The camera work had a documentary-film style to it as it was hand-held throughout the film. It was as if we were sitting at the table watching the family in their morning routine.

• There was a close up of the mothers face, she looked stressed out, anxious about something. The ambiguity and question of what this may be, is answered practically straight away. I suppose this was due to the fact that this is a short film, so there is no real time to hide information from the viewers like in normal films.

• There is non-diagetic slow, melancholy, soft acoustic guitar is heard. Craig Devine uses a sound bridge to link that shot to the next. In the next shot (of the teenage sister picking up her younger brother from school in a shopping trolley in the hope to humour him) the sound reaches its optimum level to reveal the state of mind and mood of the characters and storyline itself.

• There are a few shots of the sister and brother on their journey home looking happy and without a care in the world. Then this is juxtaposed by the next shot of the father (who has just got out of prison) standing outside their house. This scene looks fabricated somewhat in its appearance. The mise en scene implies the financially difficulties that the family may be in, it most certainly suggests lack of money through the garbage in their front garden.

• We see the obvious contrast of views between the siblings of their father. The long shot shows the girl run up to her father and swings her arms around him, whilst seeing the boy in shallow focus in the background. We also see the boy looking inquisitively at his father in a low angled shot. And we see a close up of the fathers face, looking very disheartened to say the least.

• There is a static low angled shot, the family looks very uncomfortable. There are the subtle exchange of glances from the boy to the father and vice versa.

• There is then an extreme long shot of a car parked and a boy standing outside by the side of it. There is a sequence of shot reverse close up shots from the boy back to the father. It is evident that the father has forgot to pick him up from school as there are no other children around.

• The boy is shown in a medium close up in the car, then there is panning around the car which shows air fresheners hung up and tobacco on the dashboard.

• There is then some confrontation, as the father is trying to rekindle the father-son relationship he probably once had, but he was not successful. However, it is evident that whenever anything good happens, any happy experiences occur, this melancholy instrumental non-diagetic sound comes in to match the mood. The father says, "This is the life, this is the life" whilst finally having fun with his son again epitomising life.

• Again, much like earlier on in the film, whenever something fun happens, it is cut short and opposed by a not-so-happy scene. The non-diagetic sound is replaced with the diagetic sound of the childrens' parents arguing.

• Again, just like the previous sequence of, low times, happy times, low times, happy times. This scene is followed by everyone's face smiling, the camera pans around the families faces which look genuinely happy and comfortable with life for once (non-diagetic sound is heard again).

• Then, it is juxtaposed by a low angled medium close up shot of the father. The mise en scene show that he is in a probation officers office. The walls are plain and white, it was a pencil holder in shallow focus at the bottom, right hand side of the shot, with a calender in the top left hand side of the shot behind the father. The documentary adopted camera style is used again (no tripod, so it is hand-held), it feels like we are in the room with him.

• Finally, the last scene is a happy one, it has the happy-go-lucky non-diagetic sound playing again. It has panning from the father to the son playing a game in the garden wit the sister. The scene (and the film) is ended with a freeze frame of the boy in the air being held up above his fathers head - this is the life.

• It fades to black and the credits appear.