Wallace and Gromit - The wrong trousers
This short film is described as an animated comedy, however it consists of hints to other genre conventions. Through both diegetic and non diegetic sound, cinematography, camera movement and finally some of the horror/thriller genre's most famous iconographies are introduced.
The scene opens with jaunty non-diegetic music- a trumpet melody played in a major key, indicating the upbeat and sustained equilibrium in the beginning. However, fractures are hinted at in terms of Wallace and Gromit's relationship in the beginning such as the issue of Gromit birthday and his "gift" which he's not entirely pleased about. It doesn't take long for the fractures to turn into colossal cracks. In this short the tone is heavily conveyed through use of sound. The most noticeable horror iconography for me was the scene of the penguin framed from the window. It's raining raspingly to set the gloomy tone and the loud diegetic noise of thunder is utilised to furthermore set the mood. The lighting is extremely cool toned, the cinematography is extremely dark and the lightning is used for dramatic effect as it often is with horror movies.
Throughout the short tense non-diegetic is utilised when the antagonist is in the framing and there is even a dramatic zoom. The camera is focused on Wallace asleep in bed and the focus shifts to the Penguin as this tense and eerie music creeps in, implying something bad is about to happen. This technique is very often used within the horror/thriller world. Furthermore dialogue is also used in a peculiar way with the penguin in the sense that he has none. In my opinion this makes his character even more sinister- his character is unknown and his silence makes him that much more enigmatical.
The penguin and Gromit are immediately set up as binary opposites as soon as penguin is introduced. This is done through film form and shot types. A shot reverse shot is used, along with that tense non-diegetic music that alludes to the audience there is some tension brewing. Additionally, both characters are set up to be competing for the attention of Wallace in a sense, with their character roles being protagonist versus antagonist. All of this combines sets these characters up as binary opposites.
The narrative resolution is essentially quite a happy one. The antagonists fate is framed as if he went to prison; locked behind bars. Yet the camera pans outwards to reveal he's actually enclosed in a zoo- perhaps a subtle commentary on the moral shady area of zoos and keeping the animals in captivity as if it were a prison.
The new equilibrium for Wallace and Gromit in the narrative resolution appears to have returned to the one at the beginning. All seems to be well until the trousers go rogue, walking themselves into the sunset unleashed into the world; an ending with a bit of ambiguity.
The scene opens with jaunty non-diegetic music- a trumpet melody played in a major key, indicating the upbeat and sustained equilibrium in the beginning. However, fractures are hinted at in terms of Wallace and Gromit's relationship in the beginning such as the issue of Gromit birthday and his "gift" which he's not entirely pleased about. It doesn't take long for the fractures to turn into colossal cracks. In this short the tone is heavily conveyed through use of sound. The most noticeable horror iconography for me was the scene of the penguin framed from the window. It's raining raspingly to set the gloomy tone and the loud diegetic noise of thunder is utilised to furthermore set the mood. The lighting is extremely cool toned, the cinematography is extremely dark and the lightning is used for dramatic effect as it often is with horror movies.
Throughout the short tense non-diegetic is utilised when the antagonist is in the framing and there is even a dramatic zoom. The camera is focused on Wallace asleep in bed and the focus shifts to the Penguin as this tense and eerie music creeps in, implying something bad is about to happen. This technique is very often used within the horror/thriller world. Furthermore dialogue is also used in a peculiar way with the penguin in the sense that he has none. In my opinion this makes his character even more sinister- his character is unknown and his silence makes him that much more enigmatical.
The penguin and Gromit are immediately set up as binary opposites as soon as penguin is introduced. This is done through film form and shot types. A shot reverse shot is used, along with that tense non-diegetic music that alludes to the audience there is some tension brewing. Additionally, both characters are set up to be competing for the attention of Wallace in a sense, with their character roles being protagonist versus antagonist. All of this combines sets these characters up as binary opposites.
The narrative resolution is essentially quite a happy one. The antagonists fate is framed as if he went to prison; locked behind bars. Yet the camera pans outwards to reveal he's actually enclosed in a zoo- perhaps a subtle commentary on the moral shady area of zoos and keeping the animals in captivity as if it were a prison.
The new equilibrium for Wallace and Gromit in the narrative resolution appears to have returned to the one at the beginning. All seems to be well until the trousers go rogue, walking themselves into the sunset unleashed into the world; an ending with a bit of ambiguity.
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