Day After Date Overthinking Scene by Leah Mankarious
With the filming aspect of my scene adaptation completed, I admittedly ran into a few roadblocks during post-production. In hindsight, I should have considered the reality of some production constraints—like limited filming time with my group members, the unpredictability of the location, and how much dialogue they were expected to act out. Despite these hurdles, it was through the editing process that I found ways to effectively convey romcom genre conventions. As Desilla (2012, p. 34) argues, it is through implicature—or “any assumption intended by the filmmakers which is implicitly and non-conventionally communicated in the film dialogue”—that audience engagement and emotional depth are created. By using editing techniques typical of the romcom genre, like brighter colour grading, upbeat background music, and focusing on character reactions between dialogue, these implicatures were constructed and helped reinforce the romantic comedy tone.
As our studio’s guest speaker Stephen Gaunson described it, I considered the “colonisation” of the adaptation into a romcom—editing in genre-specific elements while keeping themes from the original scene, like suspense with eerie sound effects when Bog’s character needed to feel threatening in a comedic way. I was unsure how to balance these romcom touches with the original tone, but peer feedback from Amelia—who noted Bog’s hovering stance over Cameron as effectively threatening—helped me identify which elements could stay true to the original, and which I could shift more towards romcom. Drawing on Edmondson’s (1976, p. 302) observation about how the Gazette silent newsreels relied heavily on visuals to convey meaning, I realised that even with limited footage, imperfect lighting, or continuity issues, editing could still shape the scene into a convincing TV moment that fit the romcom genre.
References
Desilla, L. (2012). Implicatures in film: Construal and functions in Bridget Jones romantic comedies. Journal of Pragmatics, 44(1), 30–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.10.002
Edmondson, R. (1976). The Last Newsreel. In Cinema Papers (Number 8, pp. 302-). Cinema Papers Pty Ltd, https://archivesonline.uow.edu.au/nodes/view/5017
‘Day After Date Overthinking’ Adaptation Scene Credits
Day After Date Overthinking
Directed by Leah Mankarious
Screenplay by Leah Mankarious
Cast
Jess – Leah Mankarious
Bog – Anthony Ngo
Barista – Kimberley Orren
Cameron – Jess Vega
Music
None of My Business by Arthur Benson
https://stock.adobe.com/au/search/audio?k=331433189
Tokyo Cafe by TVARI
https://pixabay.com/music/beats-tvari-tokyo-cafe-159065/
Sound Effects
‘Coffee Shop Sounds 2’ by buzzatsea (Freesound)
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/coffee-shop-sounds-2-60194/
‘Take-it’ by User1994 (Freesound)
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/take-it-90781/
‘Caller Ring’ by bgrun17 (Freesound)
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/caller-ring-89254/
‘iPhone Sounds’ by toklant (Freesound)
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/iphone-sounds-6455/
‘Scary Sound Effect’ by hgoliya08
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/scary-sound-effect-298866/
‘Cinematic Hit’ by LordSonny
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/cinematic-hit-159487/
Adapted from:
Stapleton, T. (Writer), & Charles, D. (Director). (1979, July 16). The Waiting Game (Season 1, Episode 3) [TV series episode]. In Blair, J. & Crawford, I. (Executive Producers), Skyways. Crawford Productions.