Evaluation Question 1

1. In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


Our film, although containing many key conventions of a psychological drama, pulled away from the usual style and themes. It challenges the idea that for a film to be deemed 'psychological' or 'mentally stimulating' it has to contain an aspect of horror or create a suspenseful atmosphere for the audience. However, our film uses the idea of existential awareness and virtual realities to create an unnerving feel that makes the audience question what is real or not, which is a theme that is explored from a more science-fiction point of view.

On a technical level we made sure not to break any conventions in regards to filming and editing. For example, we were careful not to break the 180 degree line when filming two characters within a scene. It was important to obey this rule as the shots could have made the audience confused as to what was happening. At this point in the film it is essential that the audience believes that everything is normal an nothing is out of the ordinary. Fragmented shots at this stage wouldn't have made sense or could have given the plot of the film away too early.

 180 Degree Rule in our film

180 Degree Rule in Truman Show

We used establishing shots throughout the film to ensure that the settings were clearly established to the audience. In the kitchen scene we used it to explain the quick, snappy shots as it allowed us to show the audience where the scene was taking place and gain an idea of the context.  These shots also meant that we cut into close ups and break up any long, continuous shots that could case audience to lose interest or not see any details that would help to communicate the story.
Along with the establishing shot, shot/reverse shots were also used in the kitchen scene as we wanted to show the characters close relationship from an individual perspective. This allowed us to do close ups and mid shots for David and Tim so the audience could clearly see their thoughts and feelings about this particular interaction. I think that the presentation of the two character's in the living room scene plays on Levi Strauss' theory of binary opposites because the overall difference in physical appearance between the characters should be enough to show the audience who has the power as it is David (a human) 'versus' Tim (a pet). Usually in this scenario the human is presented as the dominant figure from whom the animal takes orders. However, it is David who gives into Tim by sharing the biscuit. This tells the audience a lot about David's submissive and naïve personality, which I think is communicated effectively through these shots.

Establishing shot in our film

Establishing shot in Truman Show

We also experimented with high and low angle shots because we had characters that were very different heights; therefore, it would have looked odd from and audience member's perspective if  the shot reverse shots had been filmed straight on for both characters. This was challenging as we wanted the eye lines the be as accurate as possible so it took a long time to get the shots set up. This was made increasingly difficult as we were working with an animal so it was almost impossible to make him sit in the exact same place for each take. We also had to improvise a way to get Tim to look where Dan's character would be standing in the scene. To do this we held a sausage where David would be and continuously filmed until we felt like we had enough material to work with in editing. Dan then had the hard task of looking at where Tim would be sitting in the scene and reacting as though he was there. I feel like the we achieved work very well as the characters really do look like they are looking and interacting with each other. I also feel like these shots flow and match up well with the establishing shot.

Low Angle shot in our film

Low Angle shot in Truman Show

When editing the scenes before the title sequence, we wanted to show the everyday boring nature of David's life. We did this by using shots different lengths. For example, the fast shots of David making a cup of tea showed how this was a repetitive task that he had completed many times before. Whereas, the long shots created a dull feeling of waiting. The juxtaposition of these shots gave the opening an interesting pace as there was a sense of shots being interrupted whilst also flowing in an unusual way. It also created a sense that David was either rushing around or waiting for something without there being a moment of a happy medium. However, this meant that it took us a long time to edit this section because we wanted to achieve such a unique pace that could so easily look odd. I think that it looks good as this sort of pace is quite common in psychological dramas as it doesn't allow the audience to sit back relax while watching the film but doesn't keep them on edge in the same way that a thriller would. This is similar to beginning sequence of the short film Office Space, from which we go inspiration for this section from.

Short shots in Office Space

This sequence was helped by the score. The music we chose had a constant rhythm and underlying moments such as the electronic effects to come in surprisingly at points to foreshadow events to come that might surprise an audience. This fit the film in with the genre of a psychological thriller as hinting and suggesting things to an audience creates ideas in their head that leads them to connotations and creating their own ideas, much like many other psychological thrillers.

We used close ups and mid shots to show reactions to certain events in the film. For example, we decided to include a close up of one of David's co-workers as we felt that her look of exasperation would tell the audience a lot about David's personality and how he is viewed by people who see him everyday. We also used a mid shot of David's complete dismissal after he had seen one of his co-workers glitch before his very eyes. It is implied that he shakes his head because he believes he must be seeing things that aren't really there, which creates a sort of dramatic irony as the audience knows that what he saw was real because they saw it too. This is almost comedic to an audience because they see David's ignorance to his own situation but it also fills them with curiosity as they start to question what is really going on.

Close up and mid shot from our film

Mid shot in Office Space

Close up in Truman show

Our film is a cross over of two genres: psychological thriller and drama. We chose to make a psychological drama as we felt that we could create more original take on the genre than what was already out there. Last year, Sophie and I worked together and our project was science-fiction, which we decided to include elements of in this film as we thought it would be interesting to move away from the usual horror storyline.

We originally struggled to label our film as one particular genre as we thought that contained themes from a few different ones but we felt that because we had chosen to present the virtual reality idea from more of a philosophical and subjective view, which also raised more questions than it answered, it was most suited being a psychological drama.

This was achieved by having David not react to the oddities that were occurring around him and leaving the audience to have their own interpretation of the situation. Are the glitches a sign of David losing his grip on reality? Is he in a coma and beginning to regain consciousness? Is David stuck in a repetitive loop that will only end when he achieves a goal similar to the character of Cage in Edge of Tomorrow? Is this some sort of nightmare or is he dead? Even the two twists at the end leave questions unanswered and make us question our ability to know what is real or not.

Our film also goes against Tordorov's theory narrative as our film lacks the stereotypical antagonist that forces the story to progress. Our plot is based around the idea of free will and whether the choices we make are our own. Therefore a typical 'villain' wouldn't fit the ambiguous nature of the film's story. The film also goes against the idea of an equilibrium that is usually achieved in the ending. That would mean the audience would expected some sort of explanation for the strange things that have happened in the film. At first, an equilibrium is achieved as the we are shown that David was a video game character designed to teach students what to expect when working in a business environment but the game was broken, hence the glitches. This gives the audience a false sense of security as they believe that all of their questions have been answered and the plot has been resolved. However, this equilibrium doesn't last long as the 'reality' that the audience comes to terms with then glitches, which asks the question, "what was real and what wasn't?" I think that it is up to the individual when deciding what the ending means and it is down to the opinion of the audience as to what they believe.  This style of ending can be quite common in psychological dramas as they include twists to further confuse the audience. Our film follows the convention of letting the audience consider the plot even after the film is over.

We used the element of glitches in the same way that a traditional psychological drama would use shadows. Shadows in films create a sense of unknowing, eeriness and an unsettling atmosphere. They act as an indicator that everything isn't as it seems. In our film, the glitches provide evidence to the audience that the world they are seeing isn't normal. They have even more of a unnerving affect on scenes because David either doesn't see them or doesn't believe that they are happening, which leaves the audience to decide for themselves what they mean and what to make of them. I think that glitch at the end has the most powerful presence because it strikes when the audience is most vulnerable as they think that everything is back to normal before it happens.

I think the main aim for this film was to challenge the way you think and actually have a long lasting effect on an audience, which is conventionally done in a psychological drama, and is one of the most effective elements of a film that focuses on the psychological side to the human mind. I think that we did this successfully as our film causes the audience to evaluate their lives  It makes them almost question their existence as they think about how much free will they actually have. It also makes you think about whether routine is good for you. We got a lot of inspiration for this from A Truncated Story of Infinity. So much so that we decided to reference it in our own title.



When talking to people about my film, I have found that most people at one point in their life have questioned whether our reality is real or not; from questioning where we are alone in the universe or whether their is a God to even wondering if they were being controlled by a higher power, like a character in a video game.