http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p004thbd
1. What genre is it and how is this made apparent through the Key Concepts?
Shelf Life is a comedy and the concept of it is quite simple. A man is putting up a shelf and when he drills through the wall he accidently kills someone.
2. How does the narrative work?
The film builds up slowly with a man walking in a room and setting up equipment to put up a shelf on his wall. It's very simple and nothing really happens until suddenly you see him drilling a hole in the wall and then on the other side is a man whom suddenly dies in his chair. As the man moves his head the hole behind him in the wall is directly where his head was and blood is running from it. So basically the man setting up the shelf killed the old man on the other side by accident. The funniest part of this is that he is holding two awards which say: ASAP (Association of Accident Prevention) for outstanding safety. This then leads to the man drilling through a mans head which is the joke.
3. Write something about the technical aspects of the film (camera angles, framing, composition, editing, mise-en-scene, music and sound effects) etc?
The camera angles are pretty basic at the beginning because it focuses all on one shot with the man entering the room, going back out and re-enterting a few times. There is a close-up shot of when he holds the two safety awards so it's clear for the viewer to read and understand the comedy when afterwards he drills through the mans head. The continuity of the film is very good and the editing wouldn't have been too awkward in most areas because they're still shots which last a long time. The music that is used enters a few times every time the man leaves the room and re-enters as credits appear such as: Directed by Charles Hendley. This sounds eery like a thriller which builds suspense leading to the comical part in the film which then reveals it's not a thriller.
This is the close-up shot of when the innocent man is killed when the drill goes through his head. This is quite gory with the blood trickling down his mouth but the expression on his face andthe whole situation makes the audience laugh and shows it's a comedy.
4. In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of it's genre?
The film is quite unrealistic with the drilling part so it challenges the audiences belief in this. But this probably doesn't really matter too much because it's a comedy anyway and anything can happen in a comedy. It develops throughout the film by starting with eery music and slow pace action when it finally appears to be a comedy at the end which changes the audiences opinion. I think that it challenges the use of comedy because the way it begins as being a thriller is very clever when suddenly it turns into a comedy which is risky because the audience could quickly change their opinion on the film.
5. What do you like about the text?
I liked the film because I think it was quite clever as it began looking like a thriller with the suspense music and the slow pace. It then turned into a comedy all of a sudden which changes the mood of the audience. I didn't really like it when the credits appeared because it continues with holes being drilled through the wall for ages.
This is the title scene, I like the font because it looks as if it's a thriller or horror when the audience don't know what to expect.
There is no music in Shelf Life. When the titles appear at the beginning there is a sound that comes and goes, but apart from that there isn't anything else. At the end the only sound is of the drill going through the wall with the radio still playing as the credits appear.
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