Exes

Exes from Ali Vingiano on Vimeo.

Mise en scene
Editing
Sound
Camera

 

Media Language

The sequence begins with a sound bridge as non-diegetic music plays on a black screen. Diegetic sound (dialogue) of a male's voice sounds as we are introduced to a female character from a high angle however we can only see the middle part of her body as the camera tracks her (CU). From her costume we can tell that she is a female as she is wearing a skirt. The camera tilts up so that we see the upper part of her body. There is a cut to four males exchanging dialogue where it comes clear which male was speaking in the beginning. The camera is behind one of the males (CU) so that we can only see the back of his head, however we can see the other three male characters faces. There is focus pull where the focus is on the character who's face we can't see (restricted narration) which could suggest that he is the most significant character of the four.









He moves his head to the side and it cuts so that we see the a small part of the males head in the frame looking at a female approaching (OTS). There is shallow depth of field however as she comes closer the camera focuses. There is a cut and there is another tracking shot of the girl previously introduced (CU). She turns around slightly so that it is a side view of her face (CU) and she is looking down at something possibly her phone and has her hand on her head. It is a possibility that she knows the male character that was watching her walk up the road and she is trying to avoid him by looking busy and hiding her face with her hand - diegetic music plays however it isn't very loud so that it's clear it is coming from her earphones, therefore only she can hear it. It cuts back to the four males who are still exchanging dialogue and the focus is still on the male who's face we can't see. He tells his friends (dialogue) that "he is going to stay outside" as it cuts to an OTS shot where we see that the female is closer. This reinforces the possibility that they may know each other as he is staying outside. The three boys go inside, leaving the male character on his own. He moves his head round to face the female character and smiles awkwardly whilst holding his hand up to wave. It cuts to a POV shot of him from the girls perspective and he says "hey" (on-screen diegetic sound). Subtitles appear at the bottom of the screen in yellow writing which read 'This is happening.'














This editing technique let's the spectator know what the character is thinking, and this suggests that he is slightly nervous. It cuts to an OTS shot and the female (BMS) is looking down on her phone. She turns her head to look at him and it cuts back to his face (eye level, CU). He says "hi, hey" and his facial expression appears awkward and nervous as more subtitles appear reading 'I'm going to be okay.' 'I'm not going to cry'. This supports my previous suggestion that he is nervous as he is trying to contain himself on the outside however his thoughts aren't contained. It cuts and the female character walk over to him and the subtitles appear in a white font 'I want to stab myself.' The difference in colour is for the different characters as their different thoughts are presented. Her wanting to stab herself is clearly an over-exaggeration, however it gives the spectator an idea of how much she doesn't want to engage in conversation with him. Their body language is awkward as they hug and the subtitles continue through-out the sequence to construct the message that they're thinking differently to what they're saying. When they enter the pub we are introduced to several more characters and there is a lot of dialogue, in which the subtitles are below. It is clear that the male and female character used to be in a relationship from the female characters subtitle reading "hate/love/hate him'. This constructs the meaning that they still love each other which could be why the male character was nervous when approaching her. There is a cut to a different female character who is handing out shots to her friends (MS). She says (dialogue) I brought them all with my own money, as she says this subtitles appear at the bottom reading 'my dad's money'. This creates humour for the spectator as it suggests that she lives off her dads money, implying that she could be spoilt. It cuts to a 2 shot (MS) of the characters and the female character pretends to be on the phone which suggests that she doesn't want to speak to him - his facial expression looks awkward.














It cuts to the male and female character (2 shot) where they are engaging in conversation (dialogue) and the subtitles show 'I miss you'. This shows the change in attitude on the females behalf. The female character leans across and kisses the male character (MS) and there is focus pull as the background is out of focus.











It cuts to the two characters in bed (MS), off-screen diegetic sound of police sirens play.











It cuts to the titles where the word 'EXES' is displayed in the centre of a black screen in white capital letters which fill the centre of the screen and an upbeat diegetic soundtrack plays as the credits appear in smaller white font in the centre of the black screen.

 

Representation

The short film 'Exes' would be relevant for a teenage/young adult demographic, due to the age of the characters, music and setting of  bar/pub. It represents age and class, as the characters appear to be middle class teenagers. The use of the subtitles add humour which adds the possibility that the genre is a romantic comedy however also social realism as many teenagers could relate to the film therefore it's suited to the demographic. The main female character is a stereotypical girly girl which is presented through the use of her makeup and costume as she is wearing a skirt and high heels. The boy rejects the masculinity stereotype of being big and strong, he has a more geeky imagine which is presented though his glasses and body language as he acts nervous around the female character whilst she acts more confident which could be seen as a positive or negative representation depending on the spectator. I think that the expected audience has shaped the representations of the film because the elements of the film is very young and modern in terms of sound, the subtitles at the bottom, the humour, the setting and the idea of drinking alcohol. The setting of a bar targets a youth demographic as it is relatable to them and is therefore appealing to watch, for both male and female.

Narrative

David Bordwell and Kristen Thompsons theory:
The short film is presented in a linear structure as it is in chronological order. The story is that the main male and female character used to be in a relationship and haven't see each other in a while. This isn't shown to us in the film however we assume that's the case because of the plot.

Todorov's theory:

• Equilibrium - this is when the two exes notice each other and exchange dialogue outside the pub/bar.
• Disruption - this is when their friends leave them alone to talk in the pub.
• Confrontation - this is when the female character pretends to get a phone call to avoid awkward conversation
• Resolution - this is when they start to talk and are getting on well and realise that they miss each other.
• New Equilibrium established - this is when they end up in bed together.

Roland Barthes:
Roland Barthes identified action codes, which tells us an action will take place and allows the spectator to predict the plot. An action code in 'Exes' is when the male and female character kiss, it allows you to predict that they would end up in bed together, due to the previous subtitles shown

Genre

The genre of this short film is a romantic comedy. The fact that it is a comedy becomes clear when the subtitles appear at the bottom as most of them are humorous and taking the mickey out of the character; mostly the male character. The romance becomes clear when the two characters kiss and there's a chance to rekindle their relationship.