Homework 3 (BLK) Culture Codes and Film Making Conventions

This clip is from the movie Chalet Girl (2011) 

Culture codes

The first shot depicts Georgie, a pretty girl already preened sitting at her makeup desk. A young blonde girl talking about make-up is a stereotype the audience immediately recognise.   

Kim by contrast has not been glammed up; her uncombed hair is in a rough centre parting, she has no make-up and a London cockney accent. This also creates a character that the audience have seen before. The way she holds the make-up given to her shows that she is way out of her comfort zone. 

Johnny references a swan - an animal we immediately associate with grace and elegance.The Ugly Duckling is mentioned to draw on the audience's popular culture, and it summarises her transformation in a light-hearted manner. 

The "licence to kill" quotation is a James Bond reference, and this adds humour to the scene. 

Film Making conventions

The framing of the first short (MCU) is close enough to show Georgie looking glamorous, but long enough to show us the make-up table. 

The shot in the mirror allows us to watch Johnny watching Kim, and to see Johnny doing his bow-tie. We see Kim's transformation at the same time as Johnny, and our similar reactions make us feel connected to him.

The bright lighting depicts the happy rom-com genre, but not is too high key and so romance is able to be portrayed. This effect is enhanced by the slow music with piano and violin; this scene is full of flirting and potential romance.