Mixtape - Abi Black

Mixtape is a short film produced in 2009 written and directed by Luke Snellin. I found this film really hard to fit into a category as it does not really convey any of the usual genre conventions but I would have to put it down as a hybrid between social realism and a rom/com as it gives off the same "feel good vibe" which a rom com does.

I think this film uses the genre styles uniquely as in social realist films we are so used to being shown the harshness of life, and the "grittyness" of living in poorer estate of a lower class background. This film captures the innocence of what it is like to be young and besotted, having used the stereotypical character of the "girl nextdoor" figure. It is also not set in the usual council estate, however still not a particularly wealthy area either. I like the way that we are seeing through the eyes of a young boy, and you can see that to him this one gesture of making a mixtape probably feels like the most important thing hes ever done. I think what really makes this film unique is that everyone can relate to what this boy is going through, because at some point when you are young you feel madly in love with someone, and this film captures the essence of that brilliantly. Being able to make the audience instantly connect with a character and without feeling sympathetic towards them is something which I find inspiring and would like to show this throughout our own short film.

The film uses the short film format in the usual way, and although we are left with a slight cliff hanger of wandering what is going to happen we also feel incredibly good. The end section is particularly heart warming where we are left with a shot of both the characters sitting against the same wall back to back and evidently happy.

I think that this film is very dependant on the soundtrack as the whole idea is based around the fact that the character has made a mixtape of old 70's music for the "girl of his dreams" The music used is catchy and recognisable which I think helps draw the audience in more as we feel familiar with what is happening. What I also liked about the music used was that it fitted in with what is going on on-screen. At the beginning when he begins walking around to the girls flat he has been put in slow motion to not only fit in with the music, but also see all of the emotions of which he is going through at that point, which is then cleverly stopped and snapped back into reality by the diegetic noise of the buzzer to her flat.

I think that the representation used is that of everyday, and what it is like when you get to that stage of being a child where you start liking members of the opposite sex. It captures the innocence and playfulness of what it is like to be that age and no real stereotypes are used, apart from the fact that the girl is, the girl nextdoor. I found this film a pleasure to watch and I enjoyed it from start to finish.