Pop Promo Planning- Making the Ordinary Extraordinary

If I had A Heart (2013) by Andy Burrows


Camera shot, angle and movement
- The camera appears shaky due to being handheld when the couple are arguing to represent the breakdown of the couples relationship.
-Close-ups are used to emphasize the characters tense facial expressions.
-Whip pan to reveal women scowling at man.
-Shallow focus is used when the couple are sitting on the bench, when the man looks at the women she is blurred into the background to portray her growing insignificance and lack of care he has towards her.

Lighting

-Shots of present day use high key, clinical lighting to represent the tension within the relationship.
-Sepia effect on shots of the past to represent the former warmth and happiness of their relationship. Gives the audience the impression that the couple may look back at their relationship with rose-tinted glasses.
-Low-key lighting in bedroom to portray the close intimacy of the characters.
Mis en scene

-Bedroom used to portray the intimacy of their relationship. However as video progresses the bars on the bed are revealed which suggests the couple feel trapped.
-All the locations are relatively ordinary; a park, an apartment and the pub. This reinforces the initial normality of their relationship.
-The yellow flowers in the vase she throws create a sense of irony as the colour yellow is often said to be a calming colour. However here they are thrown against the wall suggesting their relationship is beyond repair.

Editing
-Regular cutting rhythm at the beginning which portrays their relationship as ordinary.
-When the couple take a photo a Polaroid effect is overlayed onto the shot which makes it more authentic and extraordinary.
-Quick cutting rhythm when arguing adds to the growing sense of mania and hysteria.
-The heart-warming shots of the couples past constantly disrupt the depressing shots of their present day relationship, this emphasizes the contrast between their formerly happy relationship with their rocky relationship now.
-Slow motion is used when the flowers are thrown against the wall which has a larger impact. Flowers are often a symbol of love and beauty which also creates a sense of irony when they are throw.
-A Dissolve is used at the end as a transition from the beer being dropped to the women floating in the canal, this makes her death seem more surreal and almost calming.

Performance

-The characters appear genuine, ordinary people.
-The actors seem to have a genuine bond. The natural acts of affection such as stroking his hair and kissing reinforces their relationship status and they have close proxemics throughout which makes their relationship more believable.
-The woman frequently puts her head in her hands and pulls at her hair in an exasperated manner which makes her distress more realistic.

Storyboard

-Medium close up, 2 shot, using shallow focus with a sepia tint. This conveys the idea that this was a past, happier time in their relationship.

-Over the shoulder, medium close-up, 2 shot, using deep focus. Their is a relation with the precious shot as they are at a similar location with the river behind, however the high-key lighting appears more cold and her body language suggests they are no longer happy.

 -Medium close up, 2 shot. The women is in focus which suggests she is more emotionally affected by the breakdown of their relationship.

-Medium shot. Women is in centre of frame rather than to the left of the shot, this creates blank space next to her which emphasises the vacancy of the man from her life and creates a sense of loneliness.

-Medium close-up, 2-shot, using shallow focus. Low key lighting emphasises her heart-break after witnessing her boyfriend with the other women.

-Low angle. medium shot, canted angle. This shot uses the rule of thirds which implies that she may fall into the canal. The low-key lighting and the silhouetted trees create a darker, more formidable mood.