Research Task 1

'Conversation Piece'

1.


- social realist genre

- The music made it more of a comedy/drama

- uses a lot of close ups and extreme close ups on facial expressions so the audience can understand what more is going on becuase there is no dialgoue.

- also 'conversation piece' used a shallow depth of field, this shows the audience what the main focus of the shot is, helping to outline the important factors of the shot.

- There are two charicters in this short film, the man being portrayed as a lazy man (husband) they show you this through his costume (A dressing gown) and through his actions involving taking a piece of toast out of his pocket. Along with his facial expressions which are shown with in the extreme close up you can tell he has a very laid back attitude on life.

- The wife was first shown in the kitchen cooking which gives a very sterioypical female representation of her, whilst the man sits back and relaxes. when she saw that the vase was broken you could tell she was upset, represented by the high pitched diegetc music that was used. she was seen as very caring and sensitive and ended up getting upsetand crying about the vase breaking and the fact the husband not paying her much attension.



2.

-'Conversation Piece' beggins with the the husband putting on a vinal record.

- They use the music from the vinal record to portray their moods and their conversation (diegetic sound)

- this is done very well it turns what would be a drama into a comedy with the music. even you can tell they are both being serious about the incidednt the music bring a sense of humour to the short film.

- you do no see this type of film very often, so it was inspiring to see new ways that people try to portray people emotions and feelings.

3.

If the film when on any longer the audience may get confused of what is is going on and even get annoying. You can roughly understand what the situation consists of and the music works well to portray their moods in that time and worked weel a a short film.

-the film has a state of equlibrium (begginning) which quickly introduces you to the charicters and their charicteristics which is what all films need at the begging so the audience have a chance to relate to the charicters in the film.

- then goes onto the problem and what they should do about the problem and maybe try and find some solutions this is the main focus of the film. It was made to seem like just an average day apart from the broken vase which upset things between the couple a little.

- reinstatement to the equlibrium, when he fixes the vase at the end. Through out the short film he reassures her that he did not break the vase and he had never seen it, but to make it commical as soon as she left he fixed it whith some super glue.

- i liked the way that without the dialogue the conversations they were having where leaft to your own imagination, which can sometime make the production even better becuase the audience will all view the production in their own way.




4.

- They used the use diegetic sound very well in the film.

- it was shown as if the music was playing in the background in the film (on the vinal player), but it was also used to talk for the charicters, and it changed with the differernt moods they where portraying.

- normally films use non diegetic sound to portray the mood in the film, but 'Conversation Piece' was very clever and used the sound not just as a way to show the moods but it was used instead dialogue as well, like the song was showing their emotions and even words. Also whith deep music for the man and high pitched music for the woman, which in its own way is a steriotypical way in which to show the male and the female apart.

5.

- A middle class, old couple are shown in this short film.

- it shows what seems to be the day to day running of this couple but an every day incident like breaking a vase is cause and causes trouble between the two of them.

- it seems to be quite steriotypical becuase the man is sitting down eating, whilst the woman is in the kitchen, and getting worried about her vase being broken.

- the audience may be able to relate to the charicters becuase it may be a common accurace in some peoples everyday lives, by the end you feel a little bit of sympathy for the woman becuase she tries and break out in tears. but in the last sceen you see her playing the same record that has been playing throughout the film, smiling to her self. This can lead the audience to believe she is up to something.


Ben Brown