Jo - Additional 2 films applying the 5 key concepts

http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/film/3523/the-wrong-change

'The Wrong Change' is a film about guilt, regret and the wrong 
change. "One man's momentary fortune becomes his lasting torment." This film was made for the Virgin Media Shorts competition 2012. "It was inspired by a real life incident which made me question why anyone might possibly have reason to return money they had been given in error almost 6 months before". The film is made by Sam Gould, a writer and director based in London. "I've got a passion for comedy/drama and for highlighting the ridiculous in the everyday." He works with his  girlfriend Chloe Christodoulou who together have made a number of shorts which have received critical praise over the past couple of years. August 2012 saw the opening of Virgin Media Shorts competition and the accomplishment of two films; 'The Wrong Change' and 'Lunchtime Special', neither of which received any mention at all but this has not stopped Gould from doing what he loves best.

I chose this film because I hadn't discovered a short film that approached the subject of guilt and regret before that engaged in such social realism for an audience. Into the film I discovered it doesn't use dialogue which is a strong aspect we plan to use in our production, making me connect more with the film. But at 1 minute 45 seconds into the text, the main character says his first line which I think lets the film down as the technique was carried out powerfully until this point and made it more interesting making the narrative stronger. 

Also I feel it could have easily finished at 0.43 seconds just after he received the extra bit of change, although this would not show the characters guilt. I think certain scenes drag out the story and the ending in particular could have been produced better, rather than him giving the money back after several months of regret, yet the receiver misunderstanding and possibly thought it was a tip as a nice gesture, frustrating him.

The main character is firstly revealed in a suit, giving the audience the impression he is working class as he is located in central London which I can identify from road signs and bridges. Throughout his phase of guilt and regret he is dressed in a number of simple costumes that do not represent any particular stereotypes, which is a positive quality. The four screen grabs above suggest each stage in the process of his guilt, implying the passing of time judging by the different outfits in the exact same location. 



I think the film deals with issues of guilt and regret well by the characters obvious reflection of the subject in the screen shots above. Partly why the film maker presented the subject so well is because he dealt with a similar situation and wanted to engage in other quarries. 

The film is kept in chronological order, but I feel it could have been edited in a non-linear sequence; featuring scenes through flashbacks.I feel the effect of the film in being in chronological order makes the film predictable, rather than surprising the audience. Steve Neale's theory of repetition and differences has relation to 'The Wrong Change'. Difference is essential to economy genre for it to survive. Audiences recognise genre's codes and conventions that are repeated in texts but recent films have altered these in an unfamiliar fashion to be unique. Other than exploring social realism, the film is referred to as a comedy which I can recognise particularly in the first 45 seconds and the last scene of the film. 
If to apply Altman's theory of semantic / syntactic codes, his semantic approach to genre doesn't necessarily apply to 'The Wrong Change' as there are no expected codes and conventions of comedy within the film, more applicable to a larger number of films. But I can refer to his syntactic approach as it isolates a genre'e specific meaning. 

In this shot of our character looking very confident and positive, it is accompanied by an off screen soundtrack of an instrumental jazz piece that I feel is motivating and quirky. It is also the shot that helped me establish the location of central London judging by the road sign. 


I find this an inventive shot as it portrays his imagination of the café's waitress daunting him. The scene stands out above all others mostly of our main character as lighting is a key aspect within it and I believe Gould has purposely made her look into the camera for a reaction.