top of page
Conventions of Genre
Giving the Best Communication
Giving the best communication is a short film about a young boy who steals medicine for his poorly mother. It lasts 3 minutes long and has a message about helping one another. He is caught by a woman who takes the medicine off him. A man appears and pays for the medicine. It fast forwards 30 years, and the man who paid for the medicine becomes ill. The little boy now a doctor, pays for the health bills of the injured man. This short film demonstrates that if you help one another others will help you. Furthermore, there is an element of depression where the daughter doesnt know how she will pay for her dads health bills. It shows the woman to become depressed thorugh her facial expressions and posture. Also, an insert shot of a picture of a hosue that is up for sale. This signifies that the daughter went to an extreme length to gain some money to pay off the health bills. This connotes the mental state of the daughter was unstable as she didnt know how to pay off the bill.
Many of the conventions used in this film were mise en scene and different camera angles. Firstly, mise en scene is about placing props in the film to enhance the viewing experience and to form a better connection. In this film props like hospital equipment are used to show the how ill the father was. This affects the audience because it deepens the situation the character is in. The location of where the short film has been taken is in two locations, a hospital and thai style restaurant. Short films generally have one location however in this case, two locations is needed to show the contrast in emotion between the characters. The short film still appears to be of a low budget as there isnt any special effects and the editing is fairly basic.
Are you okay?
In this film a man has been diagnosed with BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder. This is a mental health issue that some face but may not have been diagnosed with yet. It shows the man in the film asking his friend to hang out to which he replies, "your boring." This triggers his BPD and he gets angry at himself. We know this because the man throws his phone and his facial expressions suggest he is angry. However, the BPD is shown in two characters. This signifies both sides to his personality. One which is himself and the other is his BPD. The editing shows this through jump cut as both characters reacted differently to the text. Furthermore, the sound used in this part of the film is at a fast pace. This fast pace suggests that the character is in unstable state of mind. The audience expect the character to do something bad, this forbidding feeling keeps the audience engaged. Also, the camera is shaky to signify something bad is going to happen. It can also signify that the character could nervous and unstable just like the camera.
Throughout the film, POV camera angles have been used to show the perspective of the man. When he is taking his BPD medication and whilst driving a car. During the car scene, it switches from the BPD personality character and himself. One personality was listening to loud metal music and seemed very hyped up whilst the other was conservative and not driving a recklessly. This signifies that the text caused the characters to change according the condition BPD. Next, the music stops and he walks towards a park where he tries to find peace himself. The editing shows what his imagination is thinking. This was presented to the audience through a jump cut where it should him walking and greeting another man in the park but it switches back to reality and he's sitting by himself. The camera shows the in a two shot which signifies there are two characters in the scene which could become dialogue however, they are back to back. This could connote that the charcater is anti social and not knowing how to be social due to his mental condition. Lastly, another character approaches the man and starts to talk to him. There is non diagetic sound
(Mental Health)
This short film is different to a full length film because the budget for this film is a smaller than a full length film. A full length film will have a variety of camera angles and more props would be used.
Mental health Awareness
This short film is more of a factual short film however, it still contains conventions that could be useful in our short film. This film shows one character showing signs that she is mentally ill even attempting to kill herlsef. The message from thsi short film is that mental illness isn't easily spotted and is hard to identify. The message is shown with white subtitles on screen for the audience to read and follow. The subtitles contains messages like, "depression is more ocmmon in women than men". This has an emotional touch with the audience that keeps them engaged to the short film. There is a low pitch sound in the background that suits the modd of the film. This sets the scene for the audience to show them that mental illness is a real problem and shouldn't be ignored. The editing shows the subtitles with a black back screen and then switches to a shot that involves actions or signs of mental illness. The switch between these two shots signifies to the audience the emotional effect of mental illness.
Furthermore, the character is shown to be smoking and the use of alcohol. This signifies that this may be on eof the consequences of mental illness. The person doesn't know where to turn to but drugs. These props can be used in our short film as they signify the side effects of mental illness. Also, with the use of drugs the common understanding of it is that they are bad and are harmful to the body. This deep subject could be explored within our short film. In addition, a shot shows the character searching for ways to kill themsleves. This is also another consequence kf mental illness that can be expressed in our film. At the end of the short film, it shows different people holding up paper with emotions that people with mental illness feel. In our short film this can also be done but instead we could have an interview with someone who has or has had mental illness and for them to express their feelings about the subject.
Steven Assuncao
Steven Assuncao
Steven Assuncao
bottom of page