Themes and Influences

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 Themes:

 - Broken Home / Divorce = Theme was inspired by oscar-winning films like 'A Marriage Story' and 'Revolutionary Road'




Influences:

- Cinematography = Influenced by the show 'Fleabag' for the emotional scene towards the end where Mike resolves that he is going to run away and starts packing his bags. The camera shifts from a fixed position to being hand-held, as if we are following him and a character in the sequence. This is similar to the end of S1 Fleabag when she is confronted with the truth by her sister and the audience learns it was Fleabag's fault that her best friend killed herself.



-  Pacing = naturalistic and slow pace

-  Performance and dialogue = as naturalistic as possible with wide inspiration coming from shows like 'Fleabag' and 'The Office UK', the dialogue goal was to meaningful through the mundanity rather than emotive over-dramatizations. Director of Office UK said he prioritized what isn't said over what is in order to replicate the subtleties of unreciprocated romances in an office space where you cant be as romantic or out-spoken, this focus on a reduced script to enhance emotion was something I found important for my short film. Another naturalistic inspiration was the short film Tight Jeans. 

- Soundtrack = mainly diegetic, all from in world sources (like the lighting) and full of background noises to bring the surrounding environment to life, similar to how sound functions in 'Do The Right Thing'. Inspiration for this comes from a goal to emulate everyday life but also from the film 'No Country For Old Men' which doesn't feature a soundtrack. However, there will be a snippet of soundtrack in the final scene because I think it punctuates the ambiguity as to whether the ending is sad or empowering and leaves the viewer with a feeling that mimics Mike's own curiosity as to what his life now has in store. 





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