Mix tape - Kayla Jennifer - Audience

Mixtape – audience

In this short film the target audience could be any age as younger children could watch it due to the fact the boy is around there age but as it is set in the 70s/80s adults may watch it as they can relate to the boy from when they were younger. The opening title sequence just shows a tape going round and round. As the diegetic soundtrack begins we see a CU shot of someone writing ‘mix tape’ on the front of a tape which is clearly also done as this is the title of the film but also because the mix tape is an important factor of the story. The camera moves back showing a young boy sitting in front of a cassette recorder with headphones on.

 

All these camera shots are taken from a close proximity to the boy. This would indicate that the boy is the central character in this film. The surroundings shows the audience that he is in his bedroom which, appears to be basic and would thus indicate that he is from a low to middle social class.  The boy is neatly dressed and does not appear in any way to be scruffy.

The next setting in the film is outside the boys’ house. The non-diegetic soundtrack suddenly starts up again and it is loud and up beat. To coincide with this there is a slow motion sequence that follows the boy as he walks down his front path and out of the gate. The editor has made it slow motion to make this moment tense and important, as this is a big moment for the boy. There is a CU of the boy’s facial expression to show he is anxious to again reinforce the idea this is a big moment for him as a young boy.

The music stops as the sound of the buzzer interrupts it. The first dialogue that is spoken is when a lady opens the door and says “Hello Ben”.  He then asks if Lilly is home. When he learns that she is not in he removes the tape from his pocket and hands it to the lady. This is when we are made aware that the tape was made for a girl.

The next shot shows the boy laying on his bed all of a sudden you hear music the setting changes to the young girls bedroom and there is a CU of the girl singing along to the music. In this shot she is looking directly to the camera, this could be because we are put in the position of the boy and he may think she is singing the song to him.

 

 The young girl seems to be about the same as the boy.  As the boy realises that the music is coming from next door is jumps up and puts his ear to the wall. The camera then moves between the two both dancing and listening to the music. There is again a shot of the boy laying on the bed, this time he’s singing along looking directly at the camera giving the film a more comical feel. The fact the boy looks directly at the camera could also be due to the fact the boy feels like he’s in a romantic musical as he really fancies the girl next door and in his mind he is the main character.

As the door keep dancing we as an audience are still in the mind of the boy and we are watching an over exaggerated version of his life. The music is playing next door and so wouldn’t be as loud in his room but the editor has used a sound bridge to connect the two not because the music is actually playing in the boys room but because the boy is clearly just very happy.

  

The film ends with a shot of the two characters against the wall to symbolise the fact the ‘mixtape’ has joined them together.