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Sunday 11 December 2011
Saturday 10 December 2011
Brian Percival's 'About a Girl'
How does Brian Percival shape your responses to ‘About a Girl’
‘About a Girl’ is a short film directed by Brian Percival, based on a script written by his wife, which won multiple awards in 2002, including a BAFTA for the ‘best short film’. It raises multiple true to life issues and themes, which are all important and at large both at the time of the film, and now.
There are many themes in ‘About a Girl’ mainly dark and negative because the film is trying to bring a message. The main theme is teenage pregnancy, perhaps because it is the ultimate message that the film brings, the end shot being a possible miscarriage being thrown into the water by the thirteen year old girl. This theme is only really fully established towards the end of the film, when the audience realises that a dead baby is in her bag. This is a very current theme, so raises issues among the audience, 41,325 girls under 18 in England and Wales falling pregnant in 2008. This makes the film very moving and gives it a big impact, because the audience can relate to it. Another theme is poor working class families, and the area and society they live in. The film was filmed in two very run down area’s of Manchester, not in a built set, to show that the locations are real places, where a lot of teenage pregnancy occurs. Along with the area she lives in, her family life is another theme the film uses, with increasing divorce and single mum rates, which also make the film more relatable to the audience, because everyone experiences family problems at some point, consequently giving the film a bigger relatable impact. Perhaps the most obvious, light hearted theme is the girls aspiration to become a famous singer like ‘madonna’ . This represents every child’s hopes and dreams, no matter how big or unlikely, emphasizing that the girl is still only a child, which consequently makes the last shot much more shocking, as she is so young, and doesn’t understand what she has done. These themes seem to all add impact, ultimately because the audience can easily relate to them.
The girls’ character is very spontaneous and confident, and she becomes quite likable by the end of the film. Ironically, this outgoing almost curious personality is what could of got her into the difficult (pregnant) position she is in. She seems to have issues with her family - her parents have split up, and she lives with her mum, who she imitates swearing. This is a strong indicator of a lack of respect. This links to the theme of working class family problems, as she clearly doesn’t respect her parents, perhaps because of the lack of respect they give her. She also constantly complains about being ‘treated like a kid’, again, showing her unhappiness with her family, and possibly is another indicator as to why she had sex, maybe as a rebellion against her ‘childish’ image her parents have stereotyped against her. Towards the end of the film, she shows a definitive naivety when throwing the dead baby in the canal, by singing casually as she walks off into the distance, not really understanding what she has done and is doing.
The main title to the film is in a mobile phone text style font, making dialing sounds as each letter appears on the screen. This shows the 21st century setting of the film, the texting also giving connotations of teenagers, reflecting the nature of the film instantaneously. The film opens which a silhouetted shot of the girl singing Britney Spears against a beautiful sky. This portrays her personality immediately, without having to hear her speak, or see her properly. It portrays her as creative and perhaps almost a bit quirky and weird. This engages the audience quickly, interesting them as to why she’s singing and who she is. As she starts talking to the camera, the shots jump about when she pauses, reflecting the spontaneous thoughts of the girl. This is another childish attribute, again putting her in a young, outgoing stereotype. As the film progresses, it gets darker, and the colour grading getting cooler. This darkening effect not only shows the day come to a close, getting darker, but in a metaphorical sense, reflecting the events of the film - it starts off quite funny, but throughout getting darker and more serious, as we learn her problems and her naivety, making the audience feel more sorry for her, finishing on the shocking note at the end. However as she walks away from the canal, the colour subtly seeps back in, perhaps emphasising how naive she really is, because it represents how she’s feeling - she could be forgetting about it already as she walks away.
Her dialogue and accent not only show where she is from, but what she says shows her casual nature when dealing with seemingly serious circumstances. Just before she throws the baby in the calm she says casually ‘i’m quite good at hiding things’. This one calm statement, perhaps more serious than the rest of her dialogue, although still remarkably casual shows the extent to which the situation seems fine to her. This is ultimately the most shocking aspect for the audience. However when she walks away singing, although again this is shockingly casual, she sings differently. She seems shaken, showing she could either be hiding her emotions, or that she doesn’t know how to feel, to mixed up with her trauma and her own thoughts. Her signing is the main vehicle in reflecting her dreams and aspirations, and furthermore represents how childish she is.
In conclusion, Brian Percival shapes the audiences responses to the film by making it relatable, then throwing shocking circumstances, which could and have happened to shock the audience, and perhaps raise issues and awareness among the themes then interweave within the film.
‘About a Girl’ is a short film directed by Brian Percival, based on a script written by his wife, which won multiple awards in 2002, including a BAFTA for the ‘best short film’. It raises multiple true to life issues and themes, which are all important and at large both at the time of the film, and now.
There are many themes in ‘About a Girl’ mainly dark and negative because the film is trying to bring a message. The main theme is teenage pregnancy, perhaps because it is the ultimate message that the film brings, the end shot being a possible miscarriage being thrown into the water by the thirteen year old girl. This theme is only really fully established towards the end of the film, when the audience realises that a dead baby is in her bag. This is a very current theme, so raises issues among the audience, 41,325 girls under 18 in England and Wales falling pregnant in 2008. This makes the film very moving and gives it a big impact, because the audience can relate to it. Another theme is poor working class families, and the area and society they live in. The film was filmed in two very run down area’s of Manchester, not in a built set, to show that the locations are real places, where a lot of teenage pregnancy occurs. Along with the area she lives in, her family life is another theme the film uses, with increasing divorce and single mum rates, which also make the film more relatable to the audience, because everyone experiences family problems at some point, consequently giving the film a bigger relatable impact. Perhaps the most obvious, light hearted theme is the girls aspiration to become a famous singer like ‘madonna’ . This represents every child’s hopes and dreams, no matter how big or unlikely, emphasizing that the girl is still only a child, which consequently makes the last shot much more shocking, as she is so young, and doesn’t understand what she has done. These themes seem to all add impact, ultimately because the audience can easily relate to them.
The girls’ character is very spontaneous and confident, and she becomes quite likable by the end of the film. Ironically, this outgoing almost curious personality is what could of got her into the difficult (pregnant) position she is in. She seems to have issues with her family - her parents have split up, and she lives with her mum, who she imitates swearing. This is a strong indicator of a lack of respect. This links to the theme of working class family problems, as she clearly doesn’t respect her parents, perhaps because of the lack of respect they give her. She also constantly complains about being ‘treated like a kid’, again, showing her unhappiness with her family, and possibly is another indicator as to why she had sex, maybe as a rebellion against her ‘childish’ image her parents have stereotyped against her. Towards the end of the film, she shows a definitive naivety when throwing the dead baby in the canal, by singing casually as she walks off into the distance, not really understanding what she has done and is doing.
The main title to the film is in a mobile phone text style font, making dialing sounds as each letter appears on the screen. This shows the 21st century setting of the film, the texting also giving connotations of teenagers, reflecting the nature of the film instantaneously. The film opens which a silhouetted shot of the girl singing Britney Spears against a beautiful sky. This portrays her personality immediately, without having to hear her speak, or see her properly. It portrays her as creative and perhaps almost a bit quirky and weird. This engages the audience quickly, interesting them as to why she’s singing and who she is. As she starts talking to the camera, the shots jump about when she pauses, reflecting the spontaneous thoughts of the girl. This is another childish attribute, again putting her in a young, outgoing stereotype. As the film progresses, it gets darker, and the colour grading getting cooler. This darkening effect not only shows the day come to a close, getting darker, but in a metaphorical sense, reflecting the events of the film - it starts off quite funny, but throughout getting darker and more serious, as we learn her problems and her naivety, making the audience feel more sorry for her, finishing on the shocking note at the end. However as she walks away from the canal, the colour subtly seeps back in, perhaps emphasising how naive she really is, because it represents how she’s feeling - she could be forgetting about it already as she walks away.
Her dialogue and accent not only show where she is from, but what she says shows her casual nature when dealing with seemingly serious circumstances. Just before she throws the baby in the calm she says casually ‘i’m quite good at hiding things’. This one calm statement, perhaps more serious than the rest of her dialogue, although still remarkably casual shows the extent to which the situation seems fine to her. This is ultimately the most shocking aspect for the audience. However when she walks away singing, although again this is shockingly casual, she sings differently. She seems shaken, showing she could either be hiding her emotions, or that she doesn’t know how to feel, to mixed up with her trauma and her own thoughts. Her signing is the main vehicle in reflecting her dreams and aspirations, and furthermore represents how childish she is.
In conclusion, Brian Percival shapes the audiences responses to the film by making it relatable, then throwing shocking circumstances, which could and have happened to shock the audience, and perhaps raise issues and awareness among the themes then interweave within the film.
Future of Film
What is the future of film?
Many people would argue that the film industry is in the time of a 3D revolution, and that in the near future all films will be in 3D. However, is this a mere phase of the film industry, like in the 50’s and 60’s? Cinema projection is undergoing a digital switchover, seeing as digital projections require no projectionist and physical film, as opposed to traditional projectors.
Avatar (2009), is a massive budget blockbuster by James Cameron, which was filmed in 3D and has ‘photorealistic’ state of the art CGI effects. Ever since it’s launch, 3D films have been on the rise in cinema’s across the world due to Avatar’s huge success, getting some $2,781,835,502 in gross revenue. These films have lead the public to believe we are going through a 3D revolution. James Cameron encourages this view, saying that ‘a lot more filmmakers are going to use 3D’. However, this is probably biased, seeing as he wants to promote Avatar as much as possible, and by promoting 3D, he is achieving this. Giovanni Ribisi (an actor in Avatar) also promotes 3D (probably also for the benefit of the film) and says ‘It has come from what was being considered a gimmick, to a tool for storytelling’. However, although 3D can be a more immersive experience, it does not enhance the storytelling of the film, and so many people who watch films for the narrative aspect, (where Avatar’s main weakness lies, because the story has been told in famous films before) could consider it as a gimmick. Agreeing with this, Mark Kermode argues that no matter whether Avatar is in 3D or not, ‘they still look like bloody smurfs’. Nevertheless, many go to watch films for an entertaining experience, which is where Avatar excels, with stunning special effects and action. The only reason why this ‘phase’ of 3D could have a future, is that the technology has come a very long way since the last phase of 3D, meaning that it could take off if 3D keeps developing fast.
However, not only does Cameron think that 3D will be the next big thing, he also predicts, perhaps more realistically, that ‘CGI and real photography will become seamless’. Proof of this is Avatar itself, the blue Navi actually looking very realistic throughout the film. The motion capture used in Avatar has been done before, and since the film, perhaps making ‘traditional’ make-it-from-scratch-on-the-computer CGI redundant now you can base every movement on real life actors.
Another element of film that is potentially undergoing change is cinema projection. Until recently, a projectionist would load sections of around 20 minute film into a traditional projector, between film reals as one ends. With a good projectionist, the audience won’t be able to notice a change in the film. However, this requires around 5 cans of film, each of which containing 2000 feet of film and weighing around 25kg. This film costs anywhere from $590 - $640 per 1000 feet, and with multiple copies of the film needed at each cinema, this works out to cost at a large amount. Not only this, but it needs to be refrigerated, and when being transported over long distances, it works out to be costly also. Digital distribution of films came about as an alternative to traditional film in countries where it was too costly or inefficient to transport it over long distances. Films were initially converted from the film stock on which they were shot, however more and more films are increasingly being shot digitally. Although this makes transport much cheaper and easier, cinema’s will need to upgrade all of their projectors from traditional to digital, which will be very costly. Not only are films being digitally downloaded by cinemas to show, but they can be downloaded when they are released for the home audience, over the internet. Now there are even ‘triple play’ packages in which you can buy films, containing, DVD, Blu-Ray, and a digital copy of the film, making it future-proof (at least for the next few years anyway).
In conclusion, film itself doesn’t seem to be changing much, yet the means by which it is shown is fluctuating constantly. 3D films such as Avatar have made a big impact in cinema’s, and many in the film industry want to encourage it. However, it doesn’t change the narrative, which is key in many people’s minds, and therefore could easily be considered a gimmick. Cinema projection is changing for the better however, making films more available to poorer countries, with no obvious flaws as of yet.
Many people would argue that the film industry is in the time of a 3D revolution, and that in the near future all films will be in 3D. However, is this a mere phase of the film industry, like in the 50’s and 60’s? Cinema projection is undergoing a digital switchover, seeing as digital projections require no projectionist and physical film, as opposed to traditional projectors.
Avatar (2009), is a massive budget blockbuster by James Cameron, which was filmed in 3D and has ‘photorealistic’ state of the art CGI effects. Ever since it’s launch, 3D films have been on the rise in cinema’s across the world due to Avatar’s huge success, getting some $2,781,835,502 in gross revenue. These films have lead the public to believe we are going through a 3D revolution. James Cameron encourages this view, saying that ‘a lot more filmmakers are going to use 3D’. However, this is probably biased, seeing as he wants to promote Avatar as much as possible, and by promoting 3D, he is achieving this. Giovanni Ribisi (an actor in Avatar) also promotes 3D (probably also for the benefit of the film) and says ‘It has come from what was being considered a gimmick, to a tool for storytelling’. However, although 3D can be a more immersive experience, it does not enhance the storytelling of the film, and so many people who watch films for the narrative aspect, (where Avatar’s main weakness lies, because the story has been told in famous films before) could consider it as a gimmick. Agreeing with this, Mark Kermode argues that no matter whether Avatar is in 3D or not, ‘they still look like bloody smurfs’. Nevertheless, many go to watch films for an entertaining experience, which is where Avatar excels, with stunning special effects and action. The only reason why this ‘phase’ of 3D could have a future, is that the technology has come a very long way since the last phase of 3D, meaning that it could take off if 3D keeps developing fast.
However, not only does Cameron think that 3D will be the next big thing, he also predicts, perhaps more realistically, that ‘CGI and real photography will become seamless’. Proof of this is Avatar itself, the blue Navi actually looking very realistic throughout the film. The motion capture used in Avatar has been done before, and since the film, perhaps making ‘traditional’ make-it-from-scratch-on-the-computer CGI redundant now you can base every movement on real life actors.
Another element of film that is potentially undergoing change is cinema projection. Until recently, a projectionist would load sections of around 20 minute film into a traditional projector, between film reals as one ends. With a good projectionist, the audience won’t be able to notice a change in the film. However, this requires around 5 cans of film, each of which containing 2000 feet of film and weighing around 25kg. This film costs anywhere from $590 - $640 per 1000 feet, and with multiple copies of the film needed at each cinema, this works out to cost at a large amount. Not only this, but it needs to be refrigerated, and when being transported over long distances, it works out to be costly also. Digital distribution of films came about as an alternative to traditional film in countries where it was too costly or inefficient to transport it over long distances. Films were initially converted from the film stock on which they were shot, however more and more films are increasingly being shot digitally. Although this makes transport much cheaper and easier, cinema’s will need to upgrade all of their projectors from traditional to digital, which will be very costly. Not only are films being digitally downloaded by cinemas to show, but they can be downloaded when they are released for the home audience, over the internet. Now there are even ‘triple play’ packages in which you can buy films, containing, DVD, Blu-Ray, and a digital copy of the film, making it future-proof (at least for the next few years anyway).
In conclusion, film itself doesn’t seem to be changing much, yet the means by which it is shown is fluctuating constantly. 3D films such as Avatar have made a big impact in cinema’s, and many in the film industry want to encourage it. However, it doesn’t change the narrative, which is key in many people’s minds, and therefore could easily be considered a gimmick. Cinema projection is changing for the better however, making films more available to poorer countries, with no obvious flaws as of yet.
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