Connected enigma code work

 

Narrative Feature	Example	Your own example
Feature Establishing protagonist - what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	In just 5 mins - the entire running time - we see two sides to the Girl. Firstly, that she is disillusioned with city life: shoved out the way as she boards the bus, and fantasising about a businessman assassinating an elderly lady to steal her seat. Her ‘connection’ with the man, and the imagined dance routine, also show her romantic side, her optimism, and her ability to see beauty in a dreary commute	We first see the women about to board the bus but is getting pushed out the way by the others boarding that she ends up being the last to board the bus. She is imaging a man shooting someone In the head and a dance routine.
Establishing other characters - what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	His exhausted posture; then his shy smiles and gentle flirtation with the Girl suggest the Man is a kindred spirit: also worn down by city life… but able to recognise and take opportunities for connection.	The man she is flirting with eventually flirts back when he gently touches her hand in response to her doing it. He is connecting with her as at first he seems withdrawal.
Establishing location (time and place) - what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The Oyster card reader and bus interior are familiar to any Londoner, though the lack of dialogue and exterior locations suggest this could be set during the commute (many of the passengers are wearing work clothes) in any city, in any country (enhanced by the racial diversity)	On the bus somewhere in London. This could be people coming back from work in the rush hour which explains why she is shoved to the back because of all these people.
Creating Enigmas - what are they? How are they created?	When the Asian businessman pulls out a gun, we wonder if this journey will turn into a crime drama.	The enigma starts when the man pulls out a gun and shoots the other person in the head. You would think it’s a crime but as everyone was calm and no one reacted to it we assume it is taking place in her imagination.
What enigmas are created near the end of the film?		The second enigma is why here is a dance number out of nowhere. It could mean it’s turned into a musical number.
Narrative binary oppositions	Isolation vs Connection; Exhaustion at city life vs Optimism (as seen in the final musical sequence)	Gloomy vs cheerful. When she gets on the bus she looks exhausted but by the end even though the man she met left, she is now seeing the positive side to life.
Crisis - how was this conveyed?	The first contact between the Girl and the Man - tentative brushing of fingers filmed in CU
Resolution - is it closed or open narrative?	Though the Man departs without further communication with the Girl there is a sense that her optimism has been renewed… and that perhaps they will meet again on this journey	The resolution is that the man she was flirting with has gone she is still happy and ends with the  the dance number.

 

Meaning and Effect: 

Meaning/Effect	Example	Your own thoughts
What did you think was the intention of the filmmaker(s)? Intellectual message? Emotional response?	Even in the bustling, unfriendly city connections (however tentative and fleeting) can be made. There is a beauty as well as hostility in the dreariest situation	That just a bus journey can change your whole perspective on life as she went on looking gloomy and tired of life but ended with the happy dance number and her feeling more confident after she met that man.
How was the response/intellectual message best achieved?	The fantasy sequences the girl imagines are shot as if they are real, showing how ‘solid’ her mental states are. Is the connection with the Man also imagined?	The emotional response was when her and the man were gently touching each other's hand as this is when she started feeling more confident in herself.
Aesthetic binary oppositions	Interestingly, there is no aesthetic difference between the real and fantasy sequences.

Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme           My film will have a character who to begins with the character having a poor mental health but by the end is happy with herself.

Creating enigma                       Making the audience believe the genre has been changed like in connected but is actually not happening and it's instead in a dream sequence.

Narrative structure: Open ending when the character becomes happier and is a different person at the end to the beginning.

Use of technical features: No dialogue but showing it without any dialogue can be just as effective.