Laura - Trains and Paper Planes

Trains and Paper planes 

• Viewed on Virgin Media Shorts
• A man is sitting on a train station platform. There is a girl on the opposite
  platform, the man sends a paper plane note to her asking if she wants to go for coffee. 
  Narrative 
• This film conforms to Todorov’s theory. The equilibrium is where they are both sitting at the station, flirting on the opposite sides of the tracks. The disruption is then when a train comes through the station and the guy loses sight of the girl, thinking thatmmaybe she has left. The resolution though is the happy ending, where she comes down the stairs and they go forthe “coffee” that he previously asked if they wanted to go for. This conforms to the genre of romance. 
• The plot is linear which is interesting. It shows the simplicity of romance, 
  which is very much a traditional view. But by using the setting of a train
  station, which is very modern, it suggests that this can be a modern ideal too.
  The setting is also interesting in that it is not a typically romantic place,
  so the fact that these two have met each other there, it makes their new
  romance all the more endearing.
  
  Representation 
• There are lots of close ups of the mans face at the start of the film - we are
  made to feel connected to him. This is furthered with the way the close up
  doesn’t allow us to see anyone else in the shot so we are reminded that he is
  the main character who we are connected to. We can see his expression from the
  close ups, giving us a clearer image of his emotion, meaning we can identify
  with him.
• The fact we are connected to him means, as an audience, we are rooting for him.
  We become an active audience as we want him to get the girl in the end. 
• By the age of the actors and the costume, we can see that teenagers are the
  social group represented in this film. They are representing the reckless
  qualities that are perceived of teenagers, in the spontaneous way that the man
  sent a ’paper plane’ to the girl. Asking the girl on a date is a common
  convention for the romance genre. As it is a short film, this is what it
  centres around, and then unlike a normal length romance you do not get to see
  the end. This film still conforms to the audience’s expectations though as the
  ‘romance genre’ audience likes to finish the film with a positive feeling,
  happy in the knowledge that the couple have gotten together. Though this couple
  are not quite together, we are still happy that they are going for a date. 
• The male has a positive representation of masculinity. He is dominant with the
  way he makes the first move, conforming to traditional representations of
  masculinity. Then we see a close up of him smiling to the girl, this smile has
  connotations of cheekiness, conforming to modern representation of a ‘lad’.
  Yet, the mid shot shows us his body language. He shrugs his shoulders and pulls
  away, the audience see how nerve wracking it must be to do that so we are
  encouraged by it
• The female has a positive representation of traditional femininity. She allows
  herself to be swept away by the mans bold gesture which some audience’s could
  perceive negatively. However others could say as a modern representation of
  femininity she is good, as she is the one who makes the move at the end for
  them to leave; after having left him in suspense as to whether she had gone. 

• ·         When the man is getting out the notepad to write on, the camera is very jostles to make it almost seem as if it is handheld. This allows the audience to feel connected, as it is almost as if they are there with the way it is not perfect. Furthermore, it helps to conform to the elements of realist genre that are interspersed in the film. The prop of the 'pukka pad' a very ordinary, everyday prop extends this, but it also helps to reinforce the social group of teenagers or students that he is representing. 

 Audience 

•        At the beginning of the film we see him from the left side. The slightly low angle hides what he is writing on the paper, making it enigmatic and
  intriguing. It also means we can see the note from the girls perspective and so
  we can understand what she is thinking, and also identify with her in the
  situation.
•       We see him from the right side at the end when she comes over. The change in
  side from the 180 degree rule allows the audience to foresee something
  happening. We have changed the side of the shot, so perhaps something has
  changed in the turn of events? We see this is true when she comes to his other
  side and they go for their date.   

Genre

• ·         A similar shot is used for the girl and boy, then flipping between them gives
  it the effect of a shot/ reverse shot. We see a mid shot of the man from the
  left side, and the girl form the right side. This makes is romantic, it appears
  as if they are having a conversation despite their being train tracks in the
  way.
• ·         We cut to a mid shot of the man when the train goes past, where he is standing
  up. We can only rely on his reaction, the sound of the train and the previous
  shot to understand what is happening: we feel the same suspense and
  disappointment he feels when we discover she has gone. The fact he discovers it
  first though gives the man and woman a connection that the audience does not
  share. 
• ·         There is a long shot of him sitting on the bench after she has gone. The long
  shot shows there is no one else there, reminding us that he is now by himself.
  We compare him with the two empty seats, allowing us to sympathise with him. 
• ·         A focus pull is used at the end, the couple blur in the background and the
  bench he was sitting on comes into focus. Their images blur into each other,
  portraying them as one: a couple. This is a happy image, and the end has
  conformed to our expectations of a romance as they are now going on a date.