Non-genre specific- Paperman
Paperman is an 2012 American black and white 3D romantic comedy short film by Walt Disney animation studios, and was directed by John Kars. The plot follows a young man whom is presumably an accountant, he meets a girl at a train station who accidentally leaves a lipstick stain on one of his documents, the story then follows his journey to find her.
The sound within this short film is primarily non diagetic; being the mood music and the sounds added for dramatic effect. The music within the film consists of a harp, this is the main motif in terms of mood music, when the male character sees the female character for the first time this music plays, and this is then repeated when he witnesses her in the building across from himself. It is almost a type of build up music, to tell the audience that this part is significant, it can also be interpreted as quite suspenseful. There is also diagetic sound from objects in the story such as the paper planes making swooshing sounds. Even though there is no form of diagetic sound through characters dialogue, there is diagetic sound in the way of the sounds made by characters, including giggles and minor other noises. However even though no character dialogue is used I think the idea that effects mixed with music creates an almost vintage effect and paired with the black and white colouring solidifies this.
The way that mis en scene has been used is very interesting, because this movie is animated, everything had to be specifically created, so presumably nothing is left to chance and every detail must have a reason. It can be assumed that this film is set in the late 1980s time, this is due to the fact that in the male characters office, everyone is sat in rows writing, there is no modern technology due to the fact that during this time everything was written by hand. It can also be noticed that all of the men are wearing braces to keep their trousers up, this was also a common sight then. Along with the idea that this film was set during the 1980s, the mis en scene conveys a sense of location- this being New York City, due to all the distinctive buildings paired with then old fashioned cars.
editing
This two person shot is one of the first, and at that moment it seems very natural as it is simply two people waiting for a train facing the camera. From the fact that the first shot type is a two person frame the audience can easily presume that the short film is about these two characters and as it is the man is the one first seen in this shot type, therefore he must be the main character. It can therefore be further presumed that the story will be mainly seen through his perspective, focusing on his life. The main significance of this particular camera technique is that not only is it the first shot type used, but also the last. This may make the short films narrative appear circular as the shot type is also in the same location. by having the short film appear circular, repetitive type manner this then emphasises the simplicity of the story. At the start they were simply just two strangers performing their everyday lives, but the act of meeting each other has completely altered each others course. So although it is circular which may be seen as repetitive (just like the man’s everyday life was life before he met the woman) the difference now is that they have met, as seen in the last two person frame shot in which they are looking at each other instead of the camera which is what they were doing in the first shot.
The visual effect of the short story being in black and white makes it appear like an old film (1980s), which are often associated with the romantic genre. Therefore the audience are likely to expect that the short film is romantic before knowing anything about the story line, the two characters at the start of the film also give this detail away. The classical visual effect also makes the story appear timeless as the costumes are very simplistic and represent the time. During the shot-reverse-shot at the beginning, the audience do not realise that the woman has left and neither does the man. The effect of this is that we as an audience share the experience with the character of not seeing the woman leave, and have the same concern that the man may never see her again. The fact this short film is an animation makes it appear available to young children, but the romantic storyline also appeals to adults. As a result the short film has a very wide target audience due to it being an animation.
The sound within this short film is primarily non diagetic; being the mood music and the sounds added for dramatic effect. The music within the film consists of a harp, this is the main motif in terms of mood music, when the male character sees the female character for the first time this music plays, and this is then repeated when he witnesses her in the building across from himself. It is almost a type of build up music, to tell the audience that this part is significant, it can also be interpreted as quite suspenseful. There is also diagetic sound from objects in the story such as the paper planes making swooshing sounds. Even though there is no form of diagetic sound through characters dialogue, there is diagetic sound in the way of the sounds made by characters, including giggles and minor other noises. However even though no character dialogue is used I think the idea that effects mixed with music creates an almost vintage effect and paired with the black and white colouring solidifies this.
The way that mis en scene has been used is very interesting, because this movie is animated, everything had to be specifically created, so presumably nothing is left to chance and every detail must have a reason. It can be assumed that this film is set in the late 1980s time, this is due to the fact that in the male characters office, everyone is sat in rows writing, there is no modern technology due to the fact that during this time everything was written by hand. It can also be noticed that all of the men are wearing braces to keep their trousers up, this was also a common sight then. Along with the idea that this film was set during the 1980s, the mis en scene conveys a sense of location- this being New York City, due to all the distinctive buildings paired with then old fashioned cars.
editing
This two person shot is one of the first, and at that moment it seems very natural as it is simply two people waiting for a train facing the camera. From the fact that the first shot type is a two person frame the audience can easily presume that the short film is about these two characters and as it is the man is the one first seen in this shot type, therefore he must be the main character. It can therefore be further presumed that the story will be mainly seen through his perspective, focusing on his life. The main significance of this particular camera technique is that not only is it the first shot type used, but also the last. This may make the short films narrative appear circular as the shot type is also in the same location. by having the short film appear circular, repetitive type manner this then emphasises the simplicity of the story. At the start they were simply just two strangers performing their everyday lives, but the act of meeting each other has completely altered each others course. So although it is circular which may be seen as repetitive (just like the man’s everyday life was life before he met the woman) the difference now is that they have met, as seen in the last two person frame shot in which they are looking at each other instead of the camera which is what they were doing in the first shot.
The visual effect of the short story being in black and white makes it appear like an old film (1980s), which are often associated with the romantic genre. Therefore the audience are likely to expect that the short film is romantic before knowing anything about the story line, the two characters at the start of the film also give this detail away. The classical visual effect also makes the story appear timeless as the costumes are very simplistic and represent the time. During the shot-reverse-shot at the beginning, the audience do not realise that the woman has left and neither does the man. The effect of this is that we as an audience share the experience with the character of not seeing the woman leave, and have the same concern that the man may never see her again. The fact this short film is an animation makes it appear available to young children, but the romantic storyline also appeals to adults. As a result the short film has a very wide target audience due to it being an animation.
Comments
Post a Comment