Research Tasks - 4 - Keira

'Conversation Piece' - Joe Tunmer - 2009

• Genre = Social realism / comedy. The opening establishing shots showed close ups of nick-nacks (e.g. models of cats) around the living room (where the central action takes place). This gives the audience clues to the kind of people who live in the house even before we see them, gives the impression of quite old-fashioned 'fuddy-duddies'. By using close ups rather than long shots of the room, the director can focus the viewers' attention on exactly what they want to and get across the location in a more concise and obvious way. Props and location in social realism are extremely important; they need to look believable. It was obvious careful consideration had gone into the small details of what kinds of objects and décor would be used to represent the couple. There are then (in conventional social realism style) close ups of part of the first character's face (eyes, mouth eating toast) which again focus our attention and the unflattering nature of which provides a grittier, realistic feel to the introduction - we feel more intimate with the characters from the beginning. Later, however, there are also long shots of the room to allow the audience to set a context and see what's happening more directly just as it is (an important part of social realism). The camera movements are often shaky, which provides the same sense of raw, natural action that 'Wasp' had. Similarly, many shots used uncertain focus to add to this, as well as depth of field being played with in order to create focus on one particular thing (e.g. the broken vase when it is put on the table, foreground) then in the same shot switch the focus to the man (looking at the vase, background). Shot/reverse shots are used in much a conventional way - showing the person who's talking, then switching to the other to show a reaction just before they reply. This is the easiest method of showing a conversation, and is particularly useful here as it makes it easier to follow what's going on.



• The most important point to make about the reason for this short being unique to traditional social realism is the idea of the different musical instruments in the diegetic song being played (on the record player) representing a conversation. The pitch, pace and type of sound change between each line depending on the emotion behind it, and the actors speak in perfect time to what we can hear in the music, whilst their talking actually stays mute. Body language and facial expression were particularly important - they had to be made explicitly clear and perhaps more exaggerated so the audience could follow the argument, which is something you wouldn't expect to see in other social realist pieces (usually it's more about subtlety and naturalism). The title of the film is clearly shown on the record, which the audience see from a bird's eye view and there is a zoom in to (to ensure it can be clearly seen, and possibly also to make the shot more interesting that if it were purely static; this integration of the title into the mise-en-scene would not often be seen in social realism, but here it worked better than the usual white writing over black screen.



• The initial introduction of the film very much followed the traditional pattern of establishing setting and time (the opening shot showed a clock), then bringing in the characters. The short film narrative was used to depict a simple domestic dispute that may happen in day-to-day life, but was made more interesting with the use of sound. The film ends with the conflict having been resolved and the vase fixed, which brings the story round nicely to a close. I liked that it all happened in one place (their home), as it simply depicted an every day occurence yet still managed to make it entertaining. For our piece it might be good to consider using only one location in the same way as Tunmer did, as the idea of a simple, isolated little story appeals to me.


• Sound for this piece was the integral feature, as it's what made it unique to a more conventional social realism short. The interesting use of diegetic music to represent dialogue was inspiring as it turned expectations around. The different sounds of the brass instruments for man and woman were clear due to the change in pitch, and I think it was good that the distinction was made as it provided clarity. I also liked the fact that the music ended in time with the woman kissing the man, making it more effective than just fading out and signalling a clear end to the dispute. Social realism came into the sound in that the diegetic noises (for example, biting into toast, footsteps, rustling of newspaper) could be heard when the record wasn't playing, and these were all very natural and fit with the action.


• The film was about the relationship between a man and woman, and a small argument they have which is started by something trivial (a cracked vase). The fact that the dispute isn't serious allows for comedy (therefore making the music idea more effective) and even when the woman cries it is still somehow funny - perhaps due to the exaggerated way it is acted combined with the strange brass instrument sounds. The representation of male and female roles in the family is represented here as very traditional (fitting with the décor of their house and costume being quite old-fashioned); the woman is in the kitchen at the start cooking, whilst the man sits in an armchair (from which he doesn't move throughout the entire film) eating and reading the newspaper. This take on men and women's roles is widely seen as old fashioned now, which adds more comedy to the situation.

By Keira Smalley