Textual analysis of It's a dogs life

Title: It's a Dogs Life

Directors: Kate McCoid and Oliver Evans 

Narrative

It's a dogs life is a short film telling the story of the breakdown of a relationship through the eyes of a dog. 

The film starts with the male character bringing his girlfriend into their flat where their new puppy is waiting for her, she's really happy and they are both excited about this new member of their family. From the following shots it is clear to see the characters have busy lives, they pass each other in the morning without exchanging more than two words to each other. The woman says goodbye to the dog and hurries off.

Later the man returns but gives the dog a treat but has no time to play with him or care for him properly. This cycle repeats: the people come in, have no time for the puppy and leave. The dog becomes distressed and starts misbehaving, this adds to the strain on the couples relationship which is worsening. The relationship deteriorates to the point that the woman moves out and the dog is given up and placed into kennels. 

Enigma codes

The film poses questions that aren't answered in the sequence, they leave the audience questioning and thinking about the film after its finished. 

• What else is going on in their lives to cause strain on their relationship?
• What happens to the dog after he is given up?
• Why did they get the dog in the first place?

Locations

The film takes place in only two locations: the flat and kennels.

The majority of the film is set in the couples flat with the finale scene taking place in the kennels/rescue centre. Having one main location highlights (in this case) the lack of time and understanding the couple have for the dog. You never see him anywhere else, out for a walk or on a trip to the vets. They seem to have no idea of how to care for this dog leading the audience to believe that he could be a cause for their relationship deteriorating. The dog is always in the same part of the flat re-enforcing the feel of reppetitiveness in his life.

The final two scenes are set in the kennels. The pen the dog is placed in has a bar covered entrance resembling a prison. The pen is also small, dull and bare - not a desirable place to be by any ones standards.  It's really very much open to interpenetration why he is there, but the bleak location creates the impression the dog is to blame. However  he has ended up there through no real fault of his own but through bad circumstances of his owners.


Characters
The three main characters in this film are divided, each causes conflict with the other. The four characters in the film are:

This is the couple that own the dog. They are a typical representation of a modern couple, average looking, living in a nice home with what at first appears to be an average relationship. Both of them lead busy lives driven by work and naively purchase this puppy without looking ahead or preparing themselves.
Believable and relatable characters makes the whole film more believable and adds weight to the message behind it.

The main character is the dog. The film is shot almost entirely in first person form the dogs point of view. He is the victim in the film, suffering due to the couples attitude towards owning a pet.
The audience feels sympathy towards this character due to the first hand view of the situation. This helps the audience understand and comprehend how the dog is feeling and also shows the audience that the dog has done nothing wrong and nothing to deserve the type of treatment he receives.

The final character is a minor one, in fact she only features in one shot. The woman at the rescue centre  shows only limited sympathy towards the dog. Not only has the dog been abandoned by his owners he is somewhat abandoned by this woman as she walks away from the pen. This reflects the nature of the place the dog now lives, people will undoubtedly come and go in and out of the dogs life giving him no real stability.
Overall humans are represented as negative and selfish characters in this film, with the dog falling victim to their attitudes.

Cinematography

• Point of view shots - Almost the entire film is short through the eyes of the dog using point of view shots. The shakiness of these shots mimics the movement of the dogs head adding to the realism of the film. Showing the action through the eyes of the dog allows the audience to identify with it and sympathise with him as well. 

• Low angle shots - The use of low angle shots presents the human characters as more powerful and superior to the canine. 

They also connotate how the dog looks up to the humans and how he relys on them to look after him and care for him.

• High angle shot - The final shot is a high angle shot depicting the dog in his pen at the rescue centre. The cameras position above the dog creates the impression he is small and also creates/adds to the sense of vulnerability around the character. 

All of these techniques influence the audiences opinion of the dog and build up the representation of him as a character. 

Editing

• Fade transitions - Each shot (apart from the final one) is joined by a fade transition, they are used to how the passing of time within the narrative. They accentuate to the audience the expanse of time that has passed for the characters further conveying the emotions of  the characters.

• Quick shots - The pace of the shots quickens as the film goes on. This reflects the amount of time the people are spending with the dog, as the narrative goes on they spend less and less time with him. It could also reflect the patience the couple have for both the dog and each other. 

• Straight cut - The transition between the final two shots is the only one in the film which isn't a fade transition, instead a straight cut is used. This is a lot harsher, reflecting the cruel reality of where the dog now lives. It also signifies a change in the dogs life, the difference in transition connotates the difference in environment the dog is now in and the life he will now lead. 

Sound

There is no overlaying music through the film, instead the director relys of the action of the visuals alone to convey the desired tone and tell the story they want the film to tell. Similarly there is no music accompanying the credits allowing the message of the video to simple sink in be reflected upon by the viewer. 

Diegetic sound effects for the dog have been added to the film. Barking, panting and whimpering noises tell the audience how the dog is feeling and reacting to current situations. Apart from the camera movement this is the only way the audience knows the dogs mood. This is more of a challenge due to the film being nearly all point of view shots because the audience cant physically see how the dog is reacting to the situation. 

Titles

The credits and text within the film are in a simple white font on a black background, this doesn't take away from the action or message of the video. I'm not sure I like the idea of having no opening titles but in this case launching straight into the film is effective. I feel this is due to the serious message of the film but still I can't help but thinking it looks unprofessional for a short film. 

My thoughts

I like this short film and I feel it was very useful for me to look at as it holds similar qualities to one of my own ideas. This film is a really good example of the use of point of view shots and how they can be used effectively. I like the underlying message of the video but I think I'd like to make a more light hearted short film given that we will be working on it for months and putting so much time into this project.