Research Task: 'Envy' By Holly King

'Envy' produced in 2007: 4 Minutes Long by Sam Hendi

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p004pn2x

1. Are Identifiable Genres used?

• This film is a drama, and I also feel It is part thriller. The film is about two close friends and their relationships with a boy and looks at the envy between friends.
• This film uses realistic situations and characters and is also serious. I feel the reason it may be a hybrid between drama and thriller is that there is an element of revenge and perhaps murder in the twist.

2. Are Genre conventions used uniquely?

• I feel this piece does use the conventions of a drama-it is serious and plot driven, it also contains intense character development and interaction and it is serious and uses realistic settings, events, characters and realistic life situations. On top of this i also feel it uses some conventions of a thriller, It builds suspense towards the end (due to revenge) and we are lead to believe at the end that there may be an element of murder/violence. 

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

• There are 3 different time period in this short film. One is of Sophie being interviewed, one if of Rebecca being interviewed and the other is the events following these interviews.
• The camera constantly cuts between these 3 times.The 2 interviews cut between each other to show the different characters opinions on the subject (Rebecca's relationship with Adam) and also cuts occasional between observational shots of events that later happen.
• This short film is not told in chronological order, however for this piece it works and makes the viewer think. It also builds suspense and the way the voice over of Rebecca is speaking about how she 'would trust Sophie with her life', as the footage shows Sophie and Adam having an affair (the voice over contradicts what we are seeing). This irony works well in this piece and is a technique we could consider using in our final piece.

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

• The use of sound is interesting in this piece. There are 3 different time periods in this film. 2 of them are the interviews with Rebecca and Sophie-during these interviews we can here the diegetic dialogue  of the 2 girls. The camera will then cut to the other time period of an event happening in the future, during this time period the previous conversation (diegetic, subjective dialogue from the interview) continues over the new footage. This technique is called a sound bridge-Linking the different events using sound.
• The dialogue from the interview, contradicts the future footage that is being shown. Whilst the dialogue from Rebecca talks about her Close, loyal friendship to Sophie, we see Sophie having an affair with Adam, this is why the sound bridge in this short film is so important.
• From the post interview event (where Rebecca is  going to catch Adam and Sophie having their affair) there is very little diegetic sound. The on-screen dialogue is muted so will only hear the off-screen dialogue from the interview, and the background noise is also muted.
• The only diegetic sound effects we here from these events is right at the end when Rebecca Slaps Adam around the face and When the glass is smashed on the ground. These sounds are played to emphasise the aggression and violence of Rebecca now, and adds a sinister, dark mysterious, tense mood-what is she going to do?
• There is also a faint, classical, non-diegetic music track being played throughout to set a mysterious, serious mood.
• When the camera cuts to a shot of Rebecca's silhouette standing in the doorway there is a non-diegetic sound of a drum building up. This drum is a sign of the dark, revenge seeking, dangerous Rebecca we see at the end of the film. It builds up suspense and In combination with the dark silhouette fives us the impression something bad is going to happen.

Screen Shot of Rebecca as tense music builds

5. What is interesting about Camera Work, Mise en Scene and Editing?

• The Camera during the interview scenes, films the characters using close ups, big close ups and Extreme close up. By using these shots we are able to closely read the characters emotion and see their behaviour when they say what they are saying (do they look guilty/tense).-These Camera shots are used towards the end of the interviews when they start to talk about more personal things and Reveal secrets.



Screen Shot showing examples of Big close ups during the interviews



• During the interview scenes a hand held Camera is used for film the characters talk (this gives an impression of the camera being a Point of View because the characters are talking to and looking into the camera).
• The shots from the interview are desaturated. This is to show that these are happening at a different time to the other footage, and also desaturation is often used to represent something in the past. It also contributes towards the dark mood.
• When the footage of the most recent event is being shown (Rebecca catching Sophie and Adam's affair)-the footage has a higher saturation, and an orange and green hue to it. This is perhaps to show that this is happening in the present (the saturation helps us to distinguish between the different time periods) and also the orange may have been used to represent Rebecca's anger, and the green hue may represent her envy.

Screen shot showing saturated footage from present scene.

• Throughout the film, Low key, dark lighting is used to set a more sinister, mysterious, dark mood. The low key lighting in the interview scene casts a large shadow covering half of Rebecca's face. This may represent that there is a dark side of her that is not yet revealed, however we see that dark side at the end of the film.

Screen shot showing large shadow covering half of Rebecca's face.

• This short film uses Parrallel Editing between the 3 different Scenes. This works well because we are cutting between clips of Rebecca and Sophie during the Interviews and we are able to see both of their opinions on the subject and also hear the inner feelings of 2 Characters. Also there are occasional cuts between the interview scenes and the most recent event, and so as we are hearing more from the 2 girls in the interview, the footage of the present clips begin to make sense, and we think about what could be about to happen and the story pieces together.
• There is a shot at the end when we see the wine glass smashing on the ground. In my opinion the red wine signifies blood and it is metaphore for the violent actions Rebecca takes towards Adam and Sophie as Revenge.

Screen Shot of glass smashing and Red wine spilling.

6. Themes and Issues of Representation:

• The film focuses on the envy between friends over men and how lying and secrecey (Sophie having an affair with Adam) can lead to bad things (Rebecca's Revenge).
• At first we begin to empathise with Rebecca who is ignorant to what is happening and unaware of the affair and we feel sorry for her because she has been betrayed and is unsuspecting of her friend. However towards the end we witness the actions that Rebecca takes after discovering the affair and the consequences for Adam and Sophie.