A Textual Analysis of…A Textual Analysis of…““The girl of the Roses”The girl of the Roses”

By Kym Tran

The Film…The Film…

• Short Film Title: The girl of the Roses

• Genre: Black and white silent romantic comedy

• Created: December 2009

• Director: Eduardo Grispo (considers himself a rather amateur film maker)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_665392&v=xR8K0yq3EE4

TitlesTitles…

The font of the credits is in a calligraphy style, it gives the feel of a French noir film, the decorative flowers that sweep around it in the opening credits

also show us an element of romance.

Framing…Framing…Most of the time throughout this film, the characters have been

right in the middle of the shot, with a good framing shot surrounding them.

Editing and special effects…Editing and special effects…

The editing has given the film a much older look than it actually is. It uses old film role as if we see flickering

film roll although we know it has been filmed on a digital camera. It gives the film its

romantic poetical edge.

Some fades are used, and also clean cut

shots. The editing and transitions seem to be in time with the music

composition.

Mise en scene and locationMise en scene and location……

The location implies a romantic setting.

Benches opposite one another in a

beautiful park with a fountain

and flowers surrounding it.

We can’t tell exactly what country the film is set in because it’s silent, but this makes it a film that could be watched globally, and everyone will understand the story to it.

Sound…Sound…It is a silent film, we cannot hear diegetic sound. But we can hear the

non diegetic orchestra playing loudly over the film, matching the shots and the story.

I think in this film especially, when the

music stops in a scene, it makes the audience want to keep watching as they will wonder

why the music has stopped and what is

going to happen next.

There is no narrator telling the story, the actions of the actors and

actresses tell the story.

Script and Audience…Script and Audience…There is no dialogue script, as it is a silent film.

There is no dialogue we cannot pinpoint the nationalities of the actors and actresses. It is a universal film, because it speaks through actions instead of language. I don’t think

there is any specific target audience.

Camera angle, Movement and Camera angle, Movement and Position…Position…

The camera shots are very varied throughout this short film. Shots showing superiority of the male, looking down at something, close ups of the beautiful woman and the young girls cheeky smile after conning the men, these are all important shots. It

makes us focus on the main aspects of the film.

Genre Specific Elements; Codes and Genre Specific Elements; Codes and Conventions…Conventions…

• I think they are challenged because when you first start to watch the film, you really do think it will be

something set in a time years ago, but it is a modern story with modern characters, its unusual, but

fascinating and funny at the same time.

Camera and Narrative…Camera and Narrative…We see the story from many sets of eyes, but the young girl is the one

that sees everything, all the people, what they want to do, what they do eventually do and what she persuades them to do.

What strikes me most are the shots of the young girl hiding among the rose bushes, the shading on her face is quite beautiful. It makes the shot stand out. Because this is a black and white film, it seems to be simply light or dark, so the shadowing from the trees branches on the girls face gives the shots during the film almost another dimension.

MessagesMessages……

I don’t see any particular message in this film except to be careful of cute young girls and pretty women who may actually be con artists trying to get your

money. It is a film to simply enjoy.

What have I learnt from the construction of this What have I learnt from the construction of this short film and how can I apply any of these short film and how can I apply any of these

techniques to my own short film?techniques to my own short film?

I have learnt the importance of how a simplistic setting can tell a story maybe better than a really complicated setting. From this film I will try and put into my own:

• The varied shot types• The black and white• Possibly the old style filming technique• The clever use of calligraphy styled credits

I think these things helped the film look more well put together and I like that the credits were animated and the

flowers that surrounded them.