Throughout the female protagonist talks in a fast pace using direct address and rhetorical questions, her eagerness to share her life with the viewer suggests shes been bottling up her emotions over the years and wants to be listened to without feeling she might be judged for her opinions or actions. her dialogue consists of alot of swearing, considering her age of 13 this connotes she’s had to grow up quickly because the ‘role models’ around her are just a bad influence so she associates maturity with swearing, hiding things, telling lies,being selfish etc.
Whenever the female protagonist is with her mum and at times in background when she’s alone a dog barking can be heard. A dog’s bark can indicate threats, anger and the possibility of aggression. These emotions can connote as a meaning "Stay away from me”, the female protagonist wants nothing to do with her mum she sees her as a danger to her well being connoting her mother has not been a good motherly figure to her over the years and now she wants to completely stay away from her. An alternative interpretation is a dog’s bark may connote excitement or a mild interest in something considering the barks are spaced out between one another, suggesting the female protagonist is an innovative person, she’s fascinated by how things come to be e.g. skincare making you look young furthermore suggesting she has been downrated by her family thus only speaks about her ideas or theories when she’s alone.
Towards the end the sound of the canal’s water flowing can be heard, it sound very peaceful which could connote ‘ the calm before the storm’ , the storm being the fact she dumps her baby in the canal. As she throws the bag in the water, the viewer is put in position where it feels as though their ears are blocked to the sound effects, this may connote how the female protagonist’s family’s ears are all blocked to her subtle cries for help and love and affection from them yet they indirectly shun her out. As the baby slips out the bag, there is no sound. the silence connotes importance and the viewer registers that she has dumped a baby also the silence connotes a nonchalant attitude suggesting the female protagonist just like her mother did not feel any emotional attachment or an obligation to be a motherly figure for her child. Moreover the silence connotes an ending or death suggesting the female protagonist is leaving her baby and the past in the canal and moving on to better things.
Camera and Editing:
The films starts off with the protagonist in the rule of thirds, her silhoutte figure connotes mystery suggesting she is yet to find herself. Also rule of thirds immediately draws the viewer’s eyes to the sing she is singing.
Mostly in the beginning and at times throughout the film there are multiple jump cuts, the frequent jump cuts at the start connote anxiety and excitement suggesting she has a bubbly persona but doesn't realise she's rambling on. the jump cuts also connote fragmentation, suggesting inside there is a broken little girl who is dire need for someone to piece her back together again, also connotes she's had a lot of falls in her life which is why she's so broken now.
Whenever the female protagonist is talking there is the use of medium close ups shots or medium shots this connotes emotional attachment, she wants the viewer to see and understand the emotions she’s not openly saying. Also connotes closeness, she wants to form some kind of bond with the viewer suggesting she is lacking strong relationships and bonds with the people around her especially her family.
20/08/2015
Dear Megan...
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About A Girl
Mise-en-Scene:
The short film starts off with low-key lighting and a dark silhouette, this could be symbolic of the fact this girl feels like she’s as nobody. There is high key lighting throughout most of the film which could be reflect her youth even though she doesn't see herself as ‘young’, but at the end there is low key lighting on the side she is walking down but high key lighting on the opposite side with the canal in between. This connotes she is always in the wrong side or bad side indicating life has been a long never-ending sorrowful journey. The use of colour is used to indicate purity, the white bag she puts her child in suggests innocence and heaven which could foreshadow the child’s death at the end. The red taints the white blood which is signifying blood and also that the girls purity (virginity) as gone. Additionally it may connote the fact the girls been bruised frequently but as she’s throwing her child in the canal she’s washing her hands of her family who have been the causes of hurt over the years
A variety of props are used, the goalkeeper uniform her dad wears could be symbolic to the fact he wants to viewed as a hero but he’s a failed goalkeeper, just like he’s a failed dad and had a failed marriage, this could further explain why the main female protagonist is so pessimistic about life because everywhere she looks she sees failure. Further the female protagonist’s “hoop earrings” which she wears all the time even during the flashbacks could connote her reluctance to be called young, she wants to be perceived as older than what she is but this could be due to the fact she's been through enough hardships in life and had to mature fast rather than growing up innocently.
The mise-en-scene of location and setting suggests the social class of the female protagonist. As she walks all that can be seen is estates and flats illustrating that she is of a low class background and the for the viewer if feels as though at times she is going around in circles due to locations appearing so similar to one another, this can connote the female protagonist has nothing to do in her area, it's all very bland.
Positioning of characters in the scene with the female protagonist and her father in the cafe connotes fragmentation. they are sat across one another, with her father leaning back on his seat reading his newspaper suggesting he’s trying to pretend the female protagonist doesn't exist even though she's right in front of him. Whereas with her friends they are all really close to one another and even sit up on their seats on the bus in an effort to be closer this suggests for female protagonist her friends are her real family and she feels more love for them than her biological family, this is also shown by her reluctance to walk next to her mum.
Sound:
During the opening title, the non-diegetic sound of buttons being pressed on a telephone suggests a technological device. This gives an indication of the film’s target audience, as well as who the protagonist is, who we quickly find out in the opening shot is a young female. We are introduced to the female protagonist through her singing, as she sings Spear’s ‘ Stronger’ you can hear her really putting her effort and singing the lyrics with conviction. She sings: “ My loneliness ain't killing me no more “, which conates she cannot rely on anyone in this world but she’s done with being sad about it instead she prefers her independence. She sings this song throughout the whole film connoting she has to constantly remind herself to be strong, suggesting there are times where she feels like the whole world is against her. She hums this song whilst at her dad's football game and at outside on the bench waiting for him; the lyrics “i've had enough” suggests this a usual routine for her where instead of actually spending quality time doing bonding things with her father she just stands outcasted at the side like she’s like a piece of chewing gum on her dad’s show that he can’t get rid off. “ive had enough” also signifies her strong personality and her will for change in her life.
There is an over the shoulder shot when the girl is talking about how her mum never buys her anything because she is poor, the OTS shot connotes disappointment, the female protagonist is looking back at her mum as to say i will never be like you in the future suggesting she is disappointed and ashamed by her mum. Also the OTS shot connotes past tense suggesting the female protagonist cant wait to move and live away from her mother suggesting its she feels jealous at other daughters who get everything they want, indicating the female protagonist associated happiness with wealth.At the end of the film it shows a close up of the girl dropping the bag in the canal then it goes to a low angled shot under water.All the shots in this scene creates a miserable and gloomy mood however the shots also show the nonchalant and non-guilty emotion on the girl's face. The close up shot connotes familiarity suggesting this is not the first time the female protagonist has chucked something into the canal connoting she is full of secrets.