Textual Analysis of 'Pudding Bowl'

In order to see what makes a successful short film I have been watching a few to see the different conventions that are used. I have then deconstructed them to see what conventions have been used and the ways in which they have been successful. 

Pudding Bowl is one of the short films that I have watched and deconstructed. 

• Camera work: 

Some of the camera short where very artistic in the fact that the camera angles were different from what would be stereotypically shown. Like the mum mashing up the meat, the camera angle changes as though we were inside the bowl. This denoted the aggression that the mother had as, which is the reason as to why the boy would be unable to go out with his friends. 

As the boys friends were up against the video asking him to come out we saw a long shot of the boy in the house sitting on a chair on his own. Everything around him was tidy with nothing in the room being out of place showing that the children have a tight structure to their lives without any entertainment being given to them as he was sat on the chair not doing anything. The shot then changed to a close up of the little girl cutting and sticking things down showing that they have to make any entertainment or fun in their lives up for themselves, the expression on her face shows her to not have any cares she is also very oblivious to what is going on around her. 

Another interesting shot that we saw was as the little girl took her glasses off the shot changed to a blurry point of view show which showed us what she was able to see due to no longer having her glasses on. This shot also makes the audience feel sorry for the little girl as she is trying to make the best out of a bad situation however this means that she is unable to see anything. 

• Editing: 

The editing style changed quiet a few times throughout the short film depending on the mood that was being portrayed. As the mother was cutting off all of the little girls hair the speed got a lot faster showing the aggression the mother had over cutting it all off. The speed at which the hair was being cut of also signified how little the hair meant to the mother, it also made the haircut seem so much more dramatic. The fact that it was done so carelessly also meant the audience was left wondering what the outcome would be and how it was going to look.   However as the little girl was left with the hair all around her showed how much having long hair meant to her.

At the end of the short film as the little girl was riding down the road on the bike the slow motion of the action denotes how happy she is in what she is going. This is the opposite of the speed up scene of her hair being cut as that would have been a dramatic time for her. The genuine expression of happiness on her face conveys the idea that she wants her daydream to be a reality due to not having any cares. The slow motion is also used in order to make it obvious to the audience that the scene is occurring in the little girls imagination and isn't reality. 

• Mise-en-scene: 

The mise-en-scene clearly shows that this film is portraying the 50s era as many things have changed from them to the present day. The TV shown in the long shot of the boy sitting doing nothing is a lot smaller but fatter than the TVS that we would have today. Also the fact that the boys are knocking for him to come out and play further shows the time period as now a days children would text or ring each other to see if they were going to come outside in order play. The clothing in which the characters are wearing was also very dated and lacking in colour. The fact that a bowl cut was given right away without any thought being given was also typical of them times as that is what was in fashion. 

• Lighting:

Throughout the film the lighting is very dark and gloomy which portrays the mood of the house. As the boy is sitting in the chair we see the room looking very shadowed with the only lighting coming outside which gives the impression that he is feeling trapped inside the house, with outside being hissingly sense of freedom however he is unable to get out of the house. The lighting them changed and gets a lot lighter in the little girls daydream was this shows how she know feels happy and free. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUJWZYOxMEg