Influences for my own film

Atonement
This film is a romance/drama/mystery, but set in 1935. I liked the storyline because it involved a loved one leaving for the army, which is what I am planning for my own film. The complications and obstacles Cecilia has to overcome is relateable for the audience watching, and involves their emotions into the narrative. Many conventions that were used in this film, such as the use of letters, and the use of red poppies are used to connote love/romance on the front cover of the poster. I will be used in my film to imply love.

Never Let Me Go
Although this film's narrative is different from my own film, the way that music at the end scene pulls the audience's emotions into the narrative is what I hope to achieve for my own work. This film's genre is still a romance/drama/fantasy, and so still carries the typical conventions of a romance film. For example, the hardship the protagonist couple has to overcome, and the separation they have to deal with through the film will be used in my film for when the protagonist's husband passes away. The use of medium close ups on the protagonist's face allows the audience to see the emotion she is portraying, which then allows the audience to link her emotions to the words she is speaking. The non-diegetic music is slow and intense, the use of the strings as the instrument builds the emotional effect on the audience.



Australia
This film also helped me understand the use of conventions when connecting the audience to the characters feelings and emotions. When the Drover is away for months on a time,  leaving Sarah Ashley alone in the house, the audience begins to build a bigger relationship towards her and her emotions through the use of performance and non diegetic sound. I intend to use this technique for my own film, and to build a relationship between my audience the protagonist.

P.S. I Love You
time: 23:00-24:50
This scene inspired me to use flashbacks as a way of showing the audience of how happy the protagonist is when her other half was still alive and living with her. The use of acoustic music softens the mood of the scene and relaxes the audience into concentrating on the happy parts of the protagonist's life. The diegetic music (time: 24:46-24:52) brings the audience back to reality, and reinforces the idea that her husband has passed away and she is left alone by the use of the lyrics "the night is bitter, the stars have lost their glitter"
time: 37:46-38:48
The use of flashbacks in this scene inspired me for the second scene in my film.The use of light and dark lighting  reinforces the happy and sad connotations of the scene.