Research Tasks - 6 - Keira

'The Space Between Us' - Magali Charrier - 2006

• Genre = Social realism. It opens with a hand-held establishing close up pan of objects in a bedroom. These are shaky and focus on small details around the room (statues, picture frames etc that all indicate give clues to the owner's personality). From the next shot we can see that these were from a woman's point of view (with binoculars) as she sits on a bed next to a man asleep. As this is a long shot it allows the audience to see the room more fully and gives more context to the setting. Natural light is used (which appears to be coming from a window) and this plus the mess of the room and the lack of makeup makes the scene far more realistic. The kinds of objects we've seen and the fact that the woman is looking so carefully at them tells the audience it's the man's room. In classic social realism style, the man is then introduced with POV (woman) close ups on body parts (feet, hand, eyes etc.) --> The colours of the room are very plain and the light shows up imperfections on the two people's bodies which makes them more easy to relate to for an audience. The editing uses continuity well to make the action flow, sticking to the 180 degree rule and using techniques such as shot/reverse shot in conversations to make them easier for the audience to follow.


• Animation is used to illustrate the woman's thoughts, which is not a common convention of social realism. I think it's very effective, however, and gives a clear insight into her feelings and personality. She thinks in pictures with flowery patterns and rulers measuring 'the space between them' (referencing the title) before a black whole opens up and expands, pushing him out of the frame and engulfing her. This both demonstrates her quirky personality and her anxieties about the relationship in a clear and interesting way, that would be as effective if it was just said. In the same way, the title is integrated into the shot in a clever way - 'The Space Between Us' is written literally in the space between them. It is handwritten which again shows that it's her thoughts. Throughout the film the camera is always mainly focussed on the woman (even when others are talking, it shows her reactions) unless they are POV's showing things through her eyes. This builds up a strong sense of identification with the audience. Another difference to many films of the social realism genre is that it is not shocking or gritty or tragic in any way, it simply depicts everyday anxieties that people face in relationships. Considering our budget and desire to not make a cliché, perhaps this style would be worth thinking about in our short film.
  
• The short film format is used in that it begins with a question - the woman considering whether he 'has fallen' for her in the same way that she has for him, and by the end it is clear that he has, which gives the story a pleasant optimistic feel. At the beginning we are made to share her anxieties and look for clues as to how he feels, just as the character is. This makes us relate to her (as do the POV shots) and hope that there is a happy ending. As it's 10 minutes long, there is enough time for the audience to build up some kind of identification with both characters without it becoming repetitive or boring. It is well paced, leaving us in suspense about his feelings for just the right amount of time before it becomes evident that she has nothing to worry about. The story both opens and closes in the same location (the bedroom in what appears, from the light, to be early morning), but the colouring has a warmer tinge - more orange than blue, which connotes happiness having overtaken anxiety. There is then a reference to what we earlier discovered is her favourite painting - 'The Suspended Love' (see right) - in the form of an animated version in which she sees the two of them floating together through the sky. This, again, is a nice visual reference to her feelings:

• The voiceover is a key feature of the sound for this piece, which went side by side with the animation to act as a guide into her thoughts. The first time we hear it is in the bedroom at the start, and it is in hushed tones almost as though she doesn't want to wake him (even with her thoughts) which immedietely tells us how much she cares for him. Having the voice inside someone's head as a feature of the sound makes it more personal, which is important for social realism. There is music used at certain parts, and it always comes at times in which she is completely lost inside her own thoughts (e.g. it starts when the titles come in in the first scene, and stops after the animation where the black engulfs her and she is brought back to reality.) This happens throughout and the soft, gentle nature of it seems to fit perfectly with her personality, as though it is her 'theme tune'. I think this is an interesting concept which can easily be applied to all genres, but works particularly well in social realism because the audience are required to have a better understanding of the characters and their motivations. There are also diegetic sounds which help to make the action more realistic (for example, at the start in the bedroom there is the sound of seagulls which gives a context to the location, whilst also reminding us it's morning). The writing of the pencil, I felt, was unnecessarily loud and at some points went slightly out of time with the movement which drew away from the realism - this is something, therefore, we should be careful with when creating our own sound foleys. The most interesting use of sound, for me, was the park scene where she meets his friends for the first time. The music stops and the diegetic background sounds come in quite abruptly (traffic, wind, people talking). This could be showing that she feels she has to come out of her imagination and concentrate on the real world as meeting Paul's friends is evidently an important step in their relationship for her, and she doesn't want to mess it up.

• This has a very simple storyline that's purpose is purely to depict the anxieties that everyone, at some point, faces in a relationship. It is a well-chosen topic with appropriate language ('fallen for him' etc.) that will be familiar to most members of the audience (male or female). I don't think there is any particular social group represented here as Anita and Paul (the main characters) could be anyone and the film is trying to cover a universal topic that is easily relatable to for anyone.

By Keira Smalley