Prop Research

In this post I am going to be doing some prop research. I am going to be telling you the props we will be using in our short film, the representation of those props and similar props to ours in existing real media products.
To see the prop research I did last year for my AS Media course last year click here.

Here are the props that we are going to be using in each scene.

Walking through the town (Scene 1)

The first prop we will be using is a teddy bear, this will be in most of the scenes that we are doing. The teddy bear symbolises Carly and the fact that she is no longer there anymore, especially when we see Jack carrying it around. This is the kind of teddy bear that we are going to use for our short film;

I am now going to show you a real media product that also uses a teddy bear. The film that I found is Ted. Ted is a teddy bear and is one of the main characters in the film. John Bennett, the other main character, wishes that his teddy bear would come alive. As he got older his wish came true and they become best friends. Here is the bear;

The bear that we are using in our short film represents the childlike personalities of Jack and Carly, they are best friends and have been since they were little which is represented through the use of the bear because bears are seen as being very childish. A lot of children keep their bears when they are older from when they are little as a kind of comfort blanket. This represents exactly what Jack is doing, he keeps the bear to remember Carly by. The bear will be very battered which shows that it has been owned for a very long time, the bear was Carly's and then when Carly died Jack kept the bear which represents how precious and sentimental the bear is to Jack. The fact that the teddy bear is tatty and old represents the opposite of comfort and safety. The bear acts almost as a surrogate for comfort for Jack especially when the audience fid out that Carly is dead. Jack is comforted by the false sense of security that the teddy bear brings him. 

Another prop we will be using is a mobile phone. This prop will be used by both Carly and Jack in the town scene where they will be taking pictures of themselves and each other.

I am now going to show you a real media product that uses a phone. The film that I have found is Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Whenever Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) needed anything, he just made a quick phone call. In one scene in the film we see him making a phone call to somebody in the middle of a desert in Dubai.

The phone used in the film represents the youth of Jack and Carly. They are just two friends that go out together and take pictures of their daily activities in order to make memories to look back on, this foreshadows what happens later on in the film when we realize Carly has gone and Jack is looking back at the photos that he took when Carly was alive. Jack will have the latest version of iPhone which shows that he likes to show off and again could represent another aspect of their childlike personalities.

Carly and Jack at the Pictures - Scene 3

In this scene we will be using popcorn and drinks as a prop. This is the scene where Jack and Carly go to the cinemas together.

I am now going to show you a real media product that uses popcorn and drinks as a prop. The film that I have found is Scary Movie. In the film we see Brenda eating a bowl of popcorn while she is watching a scary film.

Another film that I have found that uses a drink as a prop in the cinema is Scream. We see the main character in a scream mask in the cinema watching a film while having a drink.

The drink and popcorn used in the cinema scene is very stereotypical. Whenever friends go to the cinema together to watch a film they always go and get a box of popcorn and a drink. This represents the social factor of going to the cinemas, it is a way of friends to hang out together which represents what Carly and Jack do in the film. Carly and Jack will be drinking Coke when they are at the cinema, this is stereotypically what people drink when they go to the cinema. Kids are always wanting to drink fizzy drinks and therefore could represent their childlike personalities. 

Carly and Jack in the Park - Scene 4

In this scene the prop that we will be using is the swings. Carly and Jack will race to the swings to see who can get there first. We will then see them on the swings laughing and joking together.

I am now going to show you a real media product that uses swings as a prop. The film that I have found is the conjuring 2. The scene is of Janet and Vera having a conversation on the swings about Janet's experiences with the paranormal.

The swings that are used in our short film, again, represent the childlike personalities of Carly and Jack. Swings are often associated with children going to play in the park with their friends. When we realize Carly has gone and is no longer there it also represents the fact that Jack is trying to hold on to his youth from when Carly was alive. He is almost using the swings as a way to bring Carly or at least Carly's memory back. 

Jack and Carly sharing chips on the bench - Scene 5

In this scene the prop that we will be using is chips. Jack and Carly will be siting on a bench together sharing a bag of chips while talking and going through their photos that they took earlier on in the day.

I am now going to show you a real media product that uses chips as a prop. The film that I have found is called supersize me. This is a film that sees director Morgan Spurlock live on nothing but MacDonald's food for an entire month including chips.

The chips that are used in our short film represent the close relationship that Carly and Jack have when we see them sharing a bag of chips. If you were to buy chips with someone who you didn't have a close relationship with then you wouldn't share food. It represents their friendship. Also when we see Jack eating chips when Carly isn't there, it represents the fact that Jack is on his own and he feels isolated. 

Jack at the Memorial Bench - Scene 6

In this scene we see Jack sitting at the memorial bench where Carly's picture is. The bench is like a shrine to Carly. We see Jack sitting on the bench and then put a flower by where Carly's picture is. The prop I am going to be talking about for this scene is the memorial bench.

The memorial bench used in our short film represents the heartache that Jack is feeling after losing his best friend Carly. Memorial benches are stereotypical of elderly people as you wouldn't expect or it would come as a shock to find out that Carly dies so young. So the fact that the memorial bench is for such as young girl it represents how hard it must be for Jack to cope with what has happened, however, it could represent the fact that Jack has come to terms with the fact that Carly has gone.

Official Props List

I am now going to show you an official props list, this tells you what scene it is and what prop is in each of those scenes;

My next post will be the storyboard.