Deconstruction of review
- 1. Thisis the completedversionof ourshortfilmreview.Asitwasdesignedforaprintedsource itwas made on InDesignoveradouble page spread,thiswouldmake iteasiershoulditbe ina magazine asit wouldopenand foldin the centre line(1).We chose tohave the largerimage spreadacross 3 out the 4 columnsas thiswouldshow conventionsof areal filmreviewinthatthere isalwaysadominatingimage thatattractsthe readertothe product(2).Furthermore,the smallerimage breaksupthe textandaddsa more visual elementtothe review. We have chosento use a columnstructure for ourtextas thiswouldshow the use of conventionsfromreal media productsand wouldalsogive the page a neatand sophisticatedlayout(3).The large original titleisplacedinthe centre of the page and overlappingthe image slightly,suggestinghow the ‘Promise’ isthe articlesfocus.(4) The article was craftedto showthe differentlayersof the storyandto lookintothe lessobviousmetaphors.It analyseshowSamrepresentsanemotionalcure toEllie’sillnesswhere asthe fatherrepresentsamedical cure, therefore showingthe conflictwithinthe twocharacters.We wantedtouse the review asa methodof portraying our more intricate detailslike the waythe fatherthrowsthe flowersawayashe isindenial thathisdaughterhasn’t got longto live.We alsodecidedthatthe textshouldshow ourmore obviousaims,forexample the pull quote describeshowwe tooka ‘mainstreamstoryline’and‘twistedittoa trulyrealisticsituation.’Thisforusas shortfilm directorswasone of our maingoalsas it indicatedourabilitytolookpastthe Hollywoodapproachonthe storyand reallydeconstructthe rawmessagesandplotthatwouldbe appealingtoa shortfilmenthusiast. The imagesare a crucial device inportrayingthe keyeventsinthe film.Forexample,the large image expressesthat Ellie isextremelyill andrequiresanindividual nurse tovisither‘weekly’.Alsothisisshown byherscarf coveringher headgivingthe representationof Cancerora severe illnessthatcauseshairloss.Inthe smallerimage,we intentionallyusedthisimage toshowthe father’srejectiontoSam’saffectionstowardsEllie.The factSamis holding up flowersandDave’sfacial expressionissomewhatrejectingthisitshowsaclearindicationof the barrierbetween Sam and Ellie andwouldleave readersquestioningwhetherEllieandSamwill everbe able togoto prom together. (1) (2) (3) (5)
- 2. Additionally,there are otherconventional featuresthatjustaddto the appearance of a filmreview. The name of the short filmmagazine appearsinthe toplefthandcornerand thensmallerateitherside of the page numbers. Also,the fact we include a‘keydetails’box would give the connotationsthatthisbox iswhatthe magazine doesfor everynewfilmitpromotes,givingreaderfamiliaritytothe page.Aswell asthis,the use of critical response from legitimate newspapersandfilmcriticswouldaddtothe overall appearance of the page as thisisa conventional feature thatappearsbothon postersandreviews.The IndependentandThe DailyMail are both knownfortheirfilm responsesbeingfoundonreview pages.Thiswouldthusaddrealismandprofessionalismtoourpage and make it easiertopromote itas a real mediaproduct. Overall Ithinkthe reviewisaneffective wayof depictingourshortfilmandit’snature.