Here is the script for the codes and conventions of short films. I have narrowed down the variety of films found to just romantic comedy's.

1. Script for short film analysis
We analysed a range of short films from different English speaking countries,
though through the research we found our concentration narrowing down on the
comedy genre, and specifically on romantic comedy.
Late Bloomer – comedy, coming of age film
The audience are positioned to sympathise with the protagonist of the piece
through the use of first person narration as technically speaking puts us in his
shoes and we see the mise en scene through his eyes. The inconsistency of the
voice of the narrator and the physical stature of the boy might have been used to
show passing of time and reminiscing of past events. It creates the atmosphere of
a predator about to pounce on his prey, the ominous voice describes the
perspective of the protagonist from a outwardly point of view.
The music positions the audience alongside the protagonist to recognise the
school teacher as a villain just as with Propp’s character types however she is
used for comic purposes as well with her explicit graphs on the female and male
reproductive systems.
The effective use of close ups and zooming in, in the principal’s office brings a
more sinister tone making him the ultimate villain whilst the school teachers is
more of a helper which educates the protagonist or the prince on the evils of
sexual awakening.
Struck – American romantic comedy
Struck has struck a gold mine when they unveil their star studded cast, fans of
American TV shows such as ‘’Veronica Mars’’ or ‘’My Name is Earl’’ would not
need much encouragement after seeing the name of their favourite actors in this
brilliant story.
The warm and cold lighting gels make the working environment the
unwelcoming and brutal place for the protagonist while the dating world seems
full of possibilities and love for the singletons however for the protagonist his
heart is already occupied.
The use of ellipsis shows the passage of time.
The reoccurring song motif ‘’Over the Rainbow’’ follows the main character,
making it his song theme song.
Memorize – action fantasy thriller
Memorize uses high quality of editing which kept the audience at the edge of
their seats. For a low budget short film they presumably spent most of their
funding on post-production and VFX.
The narrative very easily follows in the footsteps of iRobot or Hitman, as an
adaptation of a short story or a game.
The props are very realistic, with the advertising robot looking straight of out the
Star Wars franchise, aside from that the guns and the scanning device bring a
sense of high class reality which might have a frightening preposition for the
audience.

2. The use of tittles at the beginning of the film creates states the future as a matter
of fact information which enabling the audience to follow the future
advancements. This is a conventions of factual films based on real life stories
which gives the film a sense of truth and again reality.
The complementary soundtrack show how effective the use of music could be,
with its loud vibrant tones perfectly synchronised with the fast paced editing
creating an ominous tone from the start.
Minimal dialogue doesn’t mean that the film will become uninteresting, which is
proved right here flooding the audience with other visual and audible effects
satisfying their cognitive needs of diversion and entertainment.
Inbox – Indian romantic comedy
This film of Indian origin portrays how hard it is to find love anywhere in the
world, no matter where you are from.
The oriental music brings to mind the rhythm of Bollywood films with elaborate
dancing segments and costumes.
The use of slow motion to portray the character inner happiness accompanied by
his dancing would definitely satisfy romantic comedy fans who would expect
some kind of embarrassment from one of the leads.
The positioning of a beautiful woman and a geeky man is a stereotypical take on
beauty and the beast and is an example of Levi Strauss’s binary opposites. The
loveable fool with glasses, hairy chest positions the audience to root for him in
his pursuit of the model-like goddess.
Parallel editing allows the audience to follow both characters’ actions. The
montage of the man dressing up to impress the woman creates comic timing.
Transitions are essential to suggest the passing of time.
The tragedy of ripping the bag is exaggerated with the audience asking Barth’s
hermeneutic and proarietic codes throughout such as will they meet?, how is the
red bag working?, and will he be able to fix it? It engages with the audience to sit
throughout the film to find out.
The Desk – American romantic comedy
The Desk appeals to its target audience of American teenagers, setting the action
in a high school which they will be able to relate with its social cliques of jocks
and cheerleaders.
The ideology is that
The preferred reading of the audience would be that the protagonist ultimately
finds love as we are positioned to sympathise with him by the use of the
instrumental music.
The film’s narrative follows the linear structure with the film starting at the
beginning of action, following the action chronologically and finishing at a point
of conclusion.
The extended narrative’s Todorov’s theory of equilibrium is subverted here with
the story beginning at a disruption of the boy’s life coming to a new school which
is followed with a recognition of his loneliness where he carries out a
communication with the use of the desk which brings repaired however there is
a return of disruption because he is unable to meet that person as a result of a

3. time difference. The repair and equilibrium are established when a new girl joins
the school and seems to become friends with the boy.
The title is simplistic and revolves around the main event of the film.
The Ventriloquist – American comedy
Kevin Spacey is a definitely big pulling power for this film.
Interesting, creative and unique idea of using a dummy and ventriloquism as the
main plot line.
The credits scrolling on a black screen is another convention of film listing all the
cast, crew and production in one place.
The main character is represented against the normal social stereotypes of a
man because he is weak, defenceless, and vulnerable. He is socially awkward and
tries to make a living out of a hobby.
The Crush – Irish romantic comedy
Levi Strauss’s conflict of binary opposites is used to create the main conflict of
the film between the good vs evil in the from of the protagonist and the
antagonist in the form of the boy (Ardle) who has a crush on his school teacher
and her fiancé who seems not be in love with her.
Credits superimposed on a screen is a different technique of portraying the end
credits but is as often used as credits on a black screen.
Representation of children goes against the normal conventions as Ardle is a
dominant character in contrast to the elder characters who become manipulated
through his mischievousness.
When You Love Someone - drama
The credits instead of scrolling down are fading in and out which is a convention
of feature films as they have more time.
The use of popular music collides with the production date, making it current
with its young audience.
The dominant ideology is that of a normal teenager
Apricot – Australian romance
The design of the opening titles and ending credits has a look of scratched on, the
font is purposefully chosen to match the film.
The soft focus in the opening creates a sense of memory, a smoky room in a bar
creates a sense of intimacy between the two leads.
The lighting is dark, the use of natural soft lamps created a sense of mystery and
unresolved business
The narrative doesn’t use a linear structure as throughout the film flashback
memories are integrated into the storyline. The camera would blur out the
The binary opposites of light and dark are used here to portray the difference
between the innocent childhood and the experienced adulthood. The scenes
when they are younger in the outdoors are exposed to sun flare to create the

4. pictorialism while their meeting indoors is lit using low key lighting, relaying on
focusing and
Inspired by Christopher Nolan’s Memento with the male character using the
notepad and the camera to capture memories leaves unanswered ambiguities to
the end which correspond the audience with Barth’s hermeneutic and proairetic
questions.
Awake – drama/horror
Awake is the only short film revived which has physical features of an amateur
production because of its low budget.
The use of voice over to narrate the story shows gives the first person
perspective of the main character and positions the audience to sympathise with
the main character and his isolation from the world.
Continuity editing creates a linear narrative.
The use of newspaper article gives reality to the whole story and again asks
Barth’s hermeneutic and proairetic questions of is he dead?, what does this
mean, what’s the sense of the story?