Frames for shot list
- 2. This is the establishing shot which introduces the first stage of Todorov’s theory , which is known as the state of equilibrium. This incontestably establishes the idea of romance in relation to the protagonist and female protagonist. We had shot this external scene in the natural sunshine as it sets up an upbeat, euphoric feel to the narrative structure of the trailer, which would correspond with the generic conventions of a romantic comedy.
- 3. The montage of these two medium shots highlight to the audience a sense of amour between the male and female protagonist. Within the first medium shot, by using high key lighting, we were able to emphasise the love the male and female protagonist had for each other, through their facial expressions which thereby provides the generic romantic theme which our target audience can identify with. Furthermore, we deliberately wanted to show the couple hugging one another as it is the stereotypical, symbolic meaning of love, which is what we were trying to elicit to the audience.
- 4. This particular medium shot is a pivotal scene whereby Harris introduces Paul to the Beatles. It is also important to the note, that in reference to the costume design of Harris, his jumper consist of the warm neutral colours of brown and dark grey. Consequently, from the previous research I conducted on colours, I found that neutral colours convey the semiotic meaning of friendship. Therefore by introducing Harris to the audience with these colours in relation to his attire; it gives the semiotic meaning to the audience that this character could be seen as someone loyal to Paul throughout the film (thus the voice of reason). The mise en scene is designed to help progress the narrative. In relation to our demographic which is derived from a teenage audience, by the mise en scene of the props (i.e. the games consoles) ; our audience would be able to identify with the iconography gather the idea that they are stereotypical teenage males who enjoy leisure activities. This thereby creates a sense verisimilitude within the trailer.
- 5. We chose to convey another medium shot from another angle to make the scene more intimate and exclusive to the audience. In this scene, the audience can see a transformational element within the narrative structure, as they find that one of the obstacles that the “hero” must overcome before true love is his obsession with the Beatles.
- 6. Medium close up Insert shot Point of view shot/eye line match shot These montage of shots are used to emphasise to the audience the extent of Pauls allurement with the Beatles. What differs in our romantic comedy from others is that it contains comical references to the Beatles, so we used many props which include the costume design of the Paul (i.e. the Beatles shirt and John Lennon glasses) to convey the Beatles prominence within the narrative of the film. We wanted to display this in the trailer narrative because it evokes comic relief whilst also highlighting to the audience that within the narrative; “the Beatles” is one of the obstacles that has caused the male protagonist conflict with the main female protagonist which could potentially cause a disequilibrium.
- 7. This establishing shot of the character; Stella is a pivotal moment within the narrative of the trailer as it introduces another female protagonist. This conveys the stereotypical love triangle which is found in romantic comedies. We deliberately wanted to illustrate this through a vertical panning shot, from her feet upwards because it creates suspense to the audience as they would be curious upon on how this characters role will impact or transform the narrative structure of the premise of the trailer. Furthermore, it is important to note that the costume design, in relation to this female characters trousers consist of red. As red symbolises danger as well as love, I deliberately depicted her in this clothing to infer to the audience that she could potentially be the obstacle that is dividing the male protagonist and the female protagonist apart.
- 8. The location I chose in this medium shot scene was pivotal in the narrative structure of the trailer, as it highlights to the audience that it was the allurement of the Beatles that brought the male protagonist and the second female character together.
- 9. Following from the generic conventions of romantic comedies, we used the convention of the “meet cute” situation whereby a female and male character meet in awkward, unexpected places, but the audience can see a potential spark between the two. As a result, the audience can already entail that Stella and Paul has set their eyes upon each other through the two shot, which thereby creates a disruption of the equilibrium by some action within the narrative of the trailer as the audience already know through the previous act that Paul already has a girlfriend. Also the fact that they are both going into the music store suggest to the audience that they both share a common interest of music, which the audience could assume is the Beatles music, as the audience would have previously witnessed his sudden fascination with them. Therefore this only reinforces the fact that there will be a possible romantic relationship involved.
- 10. From this scene we used the high key lighting effect in relation to the medium close up of Paul to create a sense of a glow to highlight to the audience that the Beatles items (i.e. the magazine) appear to have brightened up his day, which would deem as comical to the viewers.
- 11. This frame is seen as the climax within the narrative structure of the trailer. By conveying a split screen effect on film cut pro, it creates dramatic irony to the audience as they can the witness the characters emotions and mannerisms of the characters unbeknownst to the internal characters within the film. Consequently, through the body language of the male protagonist, the audience gather the inclination that he is deliberately trying to avoid the female protagonist, because they would have previously witnessed the male protagonist fixating his time on a sketch of the Beatles. As a result, the audience feel pathos for the female protagonist as it leads the viewer to think that he could be committing infidelity in relation to the other female protagonist, or is too fixated on the obstacle (The Beatles) which is dividing them apart.
- 12. This medium shot is a poignant moment within the narrative structure of the trailer as it conveys a transformation in the characterisation of the protagonist. This is why we used subtle low key lighting, to evoke dramatic impact. The significance of the medium shot is used to allow the audience to focus their attention between the male character and the male protagonist., whilst also reinforcing the close bond between these two characters. This particular scene follows on from the scene where Harris states “she loves you yeah” in reference to the first non diegetic Beatles song, the audience hears. We had done this to evoke a sense of parallelism to the audience, and to the reinforce to the audience that Harris is the “voice of reason” and the only character who can help the protagonist realise that he should rekindle his relationship with the female protagonist. Here, the medium shot elicits Harris as quite pensive, which suggest from Todorov’s narrative theory, that there is attempt to resolve the disruption in relation to the male protagonist love triangle. We introduced the male platonic “bromance concept” so that we could also identify with some male audiences. We did not want to purely adhere our audience to strictly teenage females, as research has shown that more male audiences are watching romantic comedy’s, through films such as knocked up (2007) etc.
- 13. This particular scene near to the coda of the trailer. This is because the audience can see that male protagonist appears pensive once again, which follows on from the previous scene. The way the male protagonist is positioned as well as the expression on his face suggest to the audience that he is possibly contemplating on whether to reconcile with Lucy. This is reinforced the male protagonist digetic dialogue of “you have the sacrifice the thing you love for the one you love”. This declarative utterance was deliberately contrived to be ambiguous as it could mean sacrificing his love for the Beatles to reconcile with the female protagonist. On the other hand, it could mean sacrificing his allurement with Stella which is derived from her love of the Beatles. However as the statement is deemed as both dramatic and bewildering, it may amuse some viewers. The low key lighting actually corresponds with the mise en scene of our narrative structure, as it accentuates to the audience that the “spark” within their relationship will potentially fragment.
- 14. Consequently, the key to an effective trailer is that it only gives a hint of the resolution but leaves the audience wanting more. Subsequently, by Stella stating through the non diegetic dialogue that she no longer wants to be involved with Paul; we can assume a coda in relation to their relationship. However, the significance of Paul conveying a “neutral” facial expression creates a sense of ambiguity and suspense upon whether the male protagonist is going to rekindle his love for the first female protagonist that the audience were first introduced to, during the first act of the trailer. This thereby spurs the audiences curiosity, thus urging them to watch the film.