Pre-Production Research-Film5: 'Table 7' by Marko Slavnic, 2011 Vimeo

'Table 7' is  about a couple on the brink of a breakup that have an intimate conversation in a restaurant, unaware that their every word is being closely monitored. However, not all is as it seems. This short film has hints of a Social Realism genre but also a Romance.

As the sequence starts, diegetic sound of chatter is heard which conveys that it's busy. This sets up the Equilibrium phase in terms of Todorov's model theory as everything seems normal. A male voice begins talking which kick starts the arguing couple. The title fades to a Chinese restaurant setting and the tracking technique of the camera brings the couple into focus which is followed by a cut to a slight low angle mid shot  of the couple sat at a table. The man's costume consists of a grey formal shirt which conveys that this is important to him, therefore he dressed appropriately to appeal to his partner. His facial expression remains serious and annoyed as they argue. The woman's costume consists of a stylish dress and her hair  and makeup has been carefully styled to maintain an attractive appearance, which also suggests that she wanted to look good and dressed up for her partner and her facial expression also remains quite serious and slightly irritated which mirrors the irritated tone of voice she has. The camera slowly pans in on them to emphasise the focus on them and to tune us in on their argument. The camera uses shot reverse shot in order to amplify the constant arguing and to allow the audience to engage in their conversation properly.

The arguing couple completely goes against the Romance genre, however, this can be justified by Buckingham's theory of how genres can change and evolve over time, allowing new characteristics and variations to anchor the genre. Having a completely unromantic situation creates a direct opposite to a romance which is usually not the case. In a romance you would expect to see a couple deeply in love but instead, at this point in the sequence, a couple are on the brink of a break up. This shows that the romance genre has evolved and allowed variations to be made in order to eventually surprise the audience. It's also ironic due to the romantic restaurant setting which appears gloomy and dull due to the low key lighting. This setting is meant to be for a romantic date or a relaxed evening, but instead, the setting is used to display a couple intensely arguing and unhappy, which also relates to Buckingham's theory of how a change in culture can alter the conventions of a genre. This alternation creates a modern day view on relationships due to the demonstration of realistic issues that are involved within a relationship which creates realism. This is where glints of a social realism genre shine through.

Stereotypical Romance, High Key Lighting

Altered Unromantic, Low-Key Lighting

Just after the male character says "there's nobody listening in", the camera cuts to an extreme close up of a lit cigarette in between an unknown characters hand. This creates enigma in terms of Barthes theory of enigma codes due to the way the audience become eager to know who this character is and where he is, also, the iconography of the cigarette is usually associated with a villain character in terms of Propp's theory of Folk Tale. This shot is accompanied by sinister non-diegetic music which reinforces the idea of this character being the villain. Diegetic sound of a recording is also heard, and the recording appears to sound like the arguing couple in the restaurant. We gain closure on this as the camera pans round to reveal the side of a man's face as he puffs on the cigarette, we are able to see that he's wearing head phones which justifies where the recording of the arguing couple is coming from. This creates a sinister atmosphere and completely contrasts with the romance genre due to the creepiness of the situation. 

It's clear that this person is Chinese due to the camera cutting to an extreme close up of him writing in Chinese on a piece of paper; it would appear that he's copying the conversation in which he's listening to, down on paper and we aren't given any hints as to why. This adds to the enigma as we begin questioning this characters actions and the reasons behind him writing down everything they say and as he does this, the diegetic recording of the conversation is sustained.

 

The camera cuts back to the restaurant and back to the shot reverse shot as their argument becomes more intense and serious and the sinister non-diegetic music is sustained to create suspense. The camera cuts to a close up of a light bulb which, along with the diegetic recording sound, indicates a change in setting. Shallow depth of field is used to conceal the setting for a few moments longer, but as the camera gradually pans down the screen and uses focus pull to adjust what's focused in the frame to create a mid shot, we are able to see that the setting consists of a low key lighting underground basement, the exact location is unknown which creates mystery. The camera also reveals more than one person listening to people's conversation which suggests that it's a secret business of some sort. This is indicated by their costumes consisting of the same black tie and white shirt and the headphones which are allowing them to record other people's business. This sets up the Disruption phase in terms of Todorov's model theory due to the realisation that there's no normality behind this spying. Pieces of paper and file cabinets surround them which creates a cluttered looking setting and conveys that what they are doing is fairly important. The camera then cuts to an over the shoulder shot of the first man in the line of 3 showing him intensely listening to his headphones whilst holding his lit cigarette. The sinister non-diegetic music still being sustained. Another cut to an extreme close up of his note taking is used to emphasise the continuous copying of the conversation.

The camera cuts back to the restaurant setting and again back to the short reverse shot for a moment, to amplify that someone is listening to them. The couple become more noisy as their argument progresses. The camera then cuts back to a mid shot of the man listening to them with a concentrated facial expression and the camera disturbingly pans around him to capture the intense concentration. A cut to a close up of him fidgeting and fiddling with his head phones shows the desperation he has to capture every detail of their conversation. The diegetic sound of a faulty signal suggests that his system isn't working properly, which is amplified when the camera cuts to an extreme close up of him smacking the box and moaning something aggressively in Chinese. It cuts back to the close up of him adjusting it with an irritated facial expression and then relaxing again to resume listening to their argument. The camera cuts back to the restaurant displaying the tension between the couple. The sinister non-diegetic music changes slightly to add an emotional effect to the atmosphere as shot reverse shot displays them talking about possibly breaking up, this tones down the disturbing atmosphere and reminds us of their tragic situation.

As this occurs, the camera cuts back to a close up of the listening man, his facial expression becomes disturbed and slightly thoughtful as he hears their relationship about to possibly end. The sadness is emphasised when the camera cuts back to the shot reverse shot between the couple and the lack of conversation shows the seriousness and sincerity of their argument.

As the argument flares up again, the camera cuts back to the listening man and the camera pans in on him slightly as he proceeds to listen. The camera cuts to an extreme close up of his cigarette being stubbed out in an ash tray. Pace begins to build as the camera cuts back to the couple arguing and back to the man ferociously typing away on a type writer. The non-diegetic music also gains speed to reflect the tension building up in the sequence.  An extreme close up is used to display the type writer re-loading which emphasises the amount he's writing and how quickly he's writing. The parallel cuts create quick paced tension.

A mid shot displays someone walking down into the basement, It's conveyed that the person is a woman due to part of their costume consisting of high heeled boots, this is noticed because of the diegetic tapping sound of heeled shoes. The camera cuts to a side view close up of her feet to add to the tension and to suggest that she's a significant character. The camera momentarily cuts back to the woman arguing with her partner, and then back to the basement scene which reveals the woman beginning to proceed towards the listening man who's pace has quickened since hearing the approaching woman. The camera pans around him allowing the audience to observe the fast pace at which he is typing and his anxious facial expression. As the woman walks past, he quickly tears the paper off and passes it to her in a rush, allowing her to walk away. As this occurs, the tense non-diegetic music stops to exaggerate the end of all the tension restricted narration is used in order to conceal her identity, which creates enigma in terms of Barthes theory of enigma codes, as the audience begin to wonder who this woman is and why the listening man rushed as fast as he did to be ready for her arrival. His facial expression becomes relieved.

The camera cuts back to the restaurant setting to reveal someone putting a plate on their table. The contents of the plate is revealed by a cut to a close up of two fortune cookies, this acts as the Confrontation phase in terms of Todorov's model theory, as they attempt to resolve the couples issues. It's also a traditional gesture in Chinese culture that you are given a fortune cookie that supposedly predicts your fortune, this creates a positive representation of Chinese culture. A mid shot is used to display the man picking up one of the fortune cookies, which is followed by shot reverse shot as their argument calmly continues. An extreme close up is used to show him opening the fortune cookie and retrieving the bit of paper. The camera then cuts to a close up of the man and the camera gradually pans in on him to convey a moment of shock and confusion as his facial expression becomes muddled as he reads it. An extreme close up reveals what's written on the piece of paper and the camera returns to the close up of the camera panning in on him again to convey a moment of realisation as he looks up at his partner. The camera then cuts to a close up of the woman and the camera also pans in on her to convey shock and confusion which is reflected by her muddled facial expression as well. Another extreme close up is used to display the text on hers which is followed by the same close up that conveys a moment of realisation as the camera pans in. As this occurs, the non-diegetic music becomes mysterious and slightly magical as they read their fortunes. Shot reverse shot reveals the man apologising just as his fortune said, and his partner forgives, just as her fortune said. The non-diegetic music becomes romantic and heartfelt as they reunite and solve their issues. A close up of the man holding out his hand for hers creates a happy atmosphere as the camera cuts to a mid shot of her reaching out her hand and grasping his across the table, the camera gradually pans out to emphasise the resolution, which relates to the Resolution phase in terms of Todorov's model theory, as they've put their issues to rest and decided to forgive each other. This finally creates the stereotypical romantic date scene that's repeated in the romance genre, according to Altman's theory of fixed characteristics and Neale's theory of Repetition, each genre film repeats conventions of the genre formula. The happy ending applies to this idea of repeated conventions, due to it being a common characteristic within other romance films.

Stereotypical Romance Scene

The camera cuts back to the listening man as he continues to listen to their conversation. The camera slowly pans in on his face to reveal his facial expression as pleased as he hears their troubles being forgotten about and their love being restored. The camera then cuts to an extreme close up of him switching the box off and ripping his piece of paper off as if he were starting again with a new conversation between different people, this conveys that it's an ongoing thing. As the camera cuts to a long shot, panning out of the 3 men, the unknown female character retrieves another fortune from one of the men and walks away to deliver it. As this occurs, the non-diegetic music returns to leave a magical/mysterious atmosphere. In reference to Todorov's model theory, this is the New Equilibrium phase and it's made clear to the audience that they listen to the conversations in the restaurant and write fortunes to apply to their situation, this creates a false interpretation, as before we were led to think that they were villains in terms of Propp's theory of Folk Tale, due to the sinister non-diegetic music and the suspicion of their actions conveying their bad intentions which actually turned out to be good. The narrative is a chronological Linear structure as we gain closure on the events that take place; the reasons behind the conversation monitoring and whether their argument was resolved or not.

 

I liked the way this short film supplied tension, mystery and confusion by displaying these weird men monitoring people's conversations without any hint as to why. But at the end of the sequence, it's made clear to us that they are listening to the conversations in order to write a fortune that relates to their conversation in some way, and in this case, the fortune cookie ended up saving a relationship. I like the way it made the audience have a sudden realisation at the end of the film and it's something me and my group most definitely want to incorporate into our short film.