Wallpaper (2023) Conventions, Tropes, and Cliches

Wallpaper is a 9 minute 53 second drama short film released in 2023 by Gabriel Jenkinson. The story follows a man who runs into his ex-girlfriend. Now seeing her with someone new at the party, he now must grapple with grieving their relationship and trying to forget it.

From a narrative perspective Wallpaper contained many of the the conventions, tropes, and cliches of a melodrama. The story was highly emotional but had a far more understandable storyline than Someone Else, as despite the writers not handing viewers all the answers immediately, they were not too vague either. There was a balance of dialogue and mise en sene employed to convey the messages of the film - much of this film's power came from the symbolism present on screen. 

Below are the different conventions, tropes, and cliches that were present in the film when looking through the lens of a cinematographer.

Conventions:

• Expressionistic lighting
• Close-ups for emphasis
• Dramatic/unconventional angles

Cliches:

• N/A

Tropes:

• Soft focus for for flashbacks/emotional moments
• Mirror reflection
• Glances to convey unspoken emotion

At the beginning of the film we're introduced to the main character standing in a dark room with extremely moody lighting, used to create a sense of mystery and dark mood. Having the room be almost empty, the main character toward the back and taking up very little of the screen creates a sense of isolation and loneliness as well - a theme frequently revisited throughout the film.

One of the things Wallpaper did best was visually distinguishing flashbacks from current events, and doing so in a way which I aim to emulate in my group's film. When showing a flashback there is a slight film grain, a softer focus, a yellow hue (warm color, demonstrates aging) as well as occasional lens flares. Though I typically consider lens flares a cliche, it was used as a transition rather than a demonstration of romantic feelings/affection.

The cinematographer did a good job of using diegetic lighting throughout the film in order to create moody lighting as well as a generally realistic look. As you can see above, the kelvin/direction of the light appears to be that of an overhead ceiling light. Part of why this works is due to the fact that the cinematographer was using a camera with a larger sensor as well as a lens with a larger aperture (likely somewhere between f/1.8-2.8 based on the bokeh of the lights in the background). If the cinematographer did not have these things, he'd likely struggle to capture such high quality video in low lighting.

Something else done well in this film was the sequence of shots with the character in the mirror. Not only did it convey various intense emotions, but it also demonstrated self-reflection by the character. Shots of characters in the mirror hold a lot of power, and it's something I aim to employ in my group's film.