Research Task: 'The view' by Holly King

The view, 4 Minutes Long, Made in 2009 by Neil Neenan

1.Are Identifiable genres or styles used?

• Dramatic, poetic short film, the emotional connection experienced by different visitors in a coastal location.
• The camera work in this short film is objective, the shots are long and still and observe what is happening, however the non-diegetic voice over adds an element of subjectivity, telling the story of what is happening in a poetic personal manner (almost as if the narrator is the bench). As there is no dialogue or diegetic sound from the characters, the poetic voice over dialogue allows us to view the situation as it is being described to us and brings emotion into the film.

Screen Shot showing the Objective Camera Work.

• We can tell this is an emotional drama because of the desaturation of the film; this creates a more serious mood, also the non-diegetic sound track sets the mood.

2. Does this film use Genre conventions uniquely?

• The film uses a voice over narration which does not belong to any of the characters we are witnessing, which is different from the normal conventions of a drama. The voice over uses a poetic piece.
• A drama convention i feel this piece of work goes against is that a drama has realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories. This piece does use realistic characters, settings and lifesituations, however the way in which it is told is almost dream like-as if the narrater is decribing memories. However i feel this technique is effective in this short film.

3. How does the film use short film format and Narrative?

• This short film uses a dis-continuous order. It is more of a montage of different events that join together to make a story. The short film shows different clips of characters experiencing different events in the same location and sitting in the bench. It uses transitions to link these scenes and different characters to make it look like this is happening at the same time and running in a continuous order however it is not.
• It uses both objects and characters to link the different people. For example a hipflask that a woman picks up, then links to a different man picking up a hipflask. This is a successful transition in this short film and is something we will consider using.



2 screen shots showing the transition between the 2 Characters and the 2 different experiences.



• The short film also uses editing in another way to link the different scenarios. Aswell as using objects, the short film also uses characters to link the scenareos. For example, in the background of the image below, out of focus is two children holding a kite, the focus then changes from the man handcuffed to a bench in the foreground, to the children in the background. Then the camera cuts to a panning shot of the children as they walk to the bench and when they reach the bench the handcuffed man is not there. This shows us that the story is being told as if it was running in chronological order and in a sequence, however it is not. The shots are use transitions in editing to make them lead on to oneanother.

Screens shots-Showing how characters are used to join scenareos.

•  There is also a pattern in the age order throughout the short film. The film opens with the elderly couple on the bench, and the voice over narration says, 'Many things I've gazed apon. Faces as withered as my own. Gaining new hope'. The Next people to visit the bench is a younger couple and the voice over Narration says 'but hope is dashed when i see pain on the young'. Following this shot is the business man and then the stag handcuffed to the bench. The final characters is a young boy and girl and the voice over says 'always what I gather in my view is hope. Fresh in the faces of the young'.
• I think this order is significant as they are showing how hope changes throughout life and how we age. It starts with the old man proposing to the woman and talks about how 'new hope' begin and then goes back to show how hope can be lost during out lives as adults (an example of this is the stressed business man), however it ends with the 2 young children and talks about how hope is always 'fresh in the young'. It basically takes us through the hope in our lives and the problems that occur in the middle.
• I like the way it runs through life in reverse-opening with the hope we feel at the end of life and ending with the hope we have at the start of life. I find this refeshing and something we could consider (reverse chronolgical order).

4.What do you find interesting about the use of sound?

• The sound in this short film is interesting. The only diegetic sound is a seaside background noise-establishing the location of this bench (seagulls, wind and the faint sound of the sea).
• There is no diegetic dialogue in this short film, the only dialogue is the non-diegetic  scottish voice over (reading a poem as if it is being said from the point of view of the bench). The fact the voice over is scottish also gives us the impression this is set in scotland. I like the fact the poem is being told from the point of view of the bench, as if it is describing to us what it sees and the people and scenareos it has witnessed.
• There is also a non-diegetic music track being played in the background. The music track is a faint violin/chello track as we are watching the 2 couples at the start. The track then changes beat when we see the stressed business man alone on the bench to a more thoughtful tune (melencholic mood however a more tense mood). Towards the final 20 seconds of the film, the music is more uplifting showing returning to a similar tune as it opened with showing that element of hope is present again.

5. Camera Work, Mise en Scene and Editing:

• As i have mentioned before, the editing in this short film is significant to the narrative. The way in which the different scenareos have been edited together to look like they run in a chronological order and lead on to oneanother using camerawork is successful in this short film, because it allows it to flow in a sequence with the poem and is not broken up. It also creates a dream like state-as if these are memories being told together. It also shows the journey we face in life and how hope and faith changes with age.
• The film uses objective camera work and uses still shots and panning shots smoothly running in a sequence to show the story and what is happening, this contrasts however with the subjective voice over narration, however i feel they work well together and is something we could consider using in our short film.
• The short film uses longshots and extreme longshots at the start of each scenareo/when different characters sit on the bench (to establish the situation). It also uses close ups of the characters to show the different emotions they are feeling.
• The footage looks quite desaturated and dark (with high contrast), creating a more serious mood.

Screen shot showing desaturated, dark, high contrast footage.

• The location remains a constant throughout the short film as we are focusing on 'the view' of the bench and what characters and scenareos it meets and how this is linked to the hope and spirit of a person.
• The different characters are also significant as it shows the different ages, genders and lifestyles of the people visiting and how they are all different and how the overall concept of hope is applied to these different people and scenareos.

6. Themes and Issues and Representation:

• I feel the film is about how people change over time and how hope and faith in people also changes, you always begin with hope and hope is 'reborn' later in life.
• It is an emotional film looking at the different people and experiences the narrator witnesses-it looks at/represents people of all class, age, gender and lifestyle. The different types of people are represented quite stereotypically, for example the stressed, drinking, depressed business man. He is drinking from a hipflask, looks rundown, has his top button undone and tie loosened (looks stressed and unstable).



Screen shot of business man.



• I think they has to stereotype in this short film to make it clear the variety of people they were representing.