Planning: Score

When creating our short film we were trying to create a score which created tension for our audience. We had Garage Band to create the score ourselves however, we found a good score which we thought would be more effective in creating tension that we thought we would add it as our sound track. Although, we did use Garage Band to create part of our sound track.
Also, since this sound track was not ours we knew that we would need to get permission of the maker to see that it was available to us, so we did indeed contact the creator who gave us permission to use the soundtrack, this our email confirming we did have permission to use the soundtrack:

Evaluation Part IV: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

With the new media technologies it was so much easier to gather research, plan and evaluate work, as well as it being easier in the process of creating the film. It was all made easier as it was all available in one place – the internet.

 

Research:

When doing research media technologies were extremely helpful. I had many programs to store information from my research online, where I could put notes and pictures to show research.

Using YouTube: Here I was able to find other short films and research the types of short films there were and how they were made.
Using Blogger: I was able to upload the information and photos’ I had found and analyse them.
Using Google: I was able to gather information which later I would use for research and upload to my blogger.

 

Planning:

Planning was made easier as I could create flat plans of the ancillary tasks using programs like PhotoShop, which had all the abilities I needed to create the flat plan.

Using PhotoShop: Creating flat plans and drafts of ancillary tasks.
Using Word: Creating step outlines and plans of what we were going to do when filming.

 

Evaluation:

Media technologies made life easier when evaluating my work, as all my work was available in one place (blogger) I could see all of it more easily which made it easier to evaluate, also using other programs I was also able to produce my evaluation more effectively, using vimeo and final cut pro together to create a short film of audience feedback.

Using Windows Live Writer: I used this to write up my evaluation and this was able to publish the work I did onto my blog.
Using FinalCut Pro: I used this to create our audience feedback and produce a short film of what people thought.
Using Vimeo: I used this to upload our audience feedback as it was made into a film, this was embedded onto my blog.

 

Construction:

Media technologies made it easier for us to develop, film, edit and share our film short film. We had software which we could use to edit our film and include a sound track over the top, so there was ambient sounds and also the sound from the sound track which creates tension. The technology we had meant it wasn’t too complex for us, even though we were inexperienced with the software, to create a short film and distribute it.

FinalCut Pro: This is what we used to edit our film together and put together each scene, we also put a sound track on here which we created on Garage Band.
Garage Band: We used this to create part of the soundtrack of our film.
YouTube: This is where we uploaded our short film for audiences to see and share.
Vimeo: Here we also uploaded our short film for audiences to see and share.

Evaluation: Part I; In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

When making our horror film we tried to stick as much as possible to Nick Lacey’s schema of genre. We did not challenge the conventions of genre as we did not have as much time or as large of a budget to be able to pull this off with maximum effect.

Character:
When we were creating a character we decided to appeal to our audience by having a character which can relate to the audience. The character is the typical character you would have in a horror film, he is alone, scared and doesn’t know what to do or what is going on. We were trying to stick to typical conventions of a character in a horror film. The character has no dialogue, in doing this we were hoping to gain tension through the background music and have it build up that way and to show the horror more clearly through the facial expressions of the character, also through the lack of dialogue it is less evident of the inexperience of the actor as he does not have to say anything..

Setting:
Single location. Normal semi-detached house, dark at night. We chose to do this as we thought it would be the best way to shoot a horror film, the reason for this is is so that the audience can relate to the character and the setting as this is a standard house for an average person, and this will scare the audience further as it will allow the audience to think that this could happen to them. Again, we tried to stick to the stereotypical conventions of genre, having a dark setting which creates a tense atmosphere through the setting and the music.

Iconography:
We used a torch as our iconography to show that this film is a horror film, this would show the darkness of the film and through this we were able to create more of a tense atmosphere for the audience. Also, I used a shot of the torch when it came to making the poster, this again was to allow the audience to clearly identify the genre of this film, horror.

Narrative and Theme:
Considering narrative we followed Vladimir Todorov’s theory of narrative, having an equilibrium, disequilibrium and a new equilibrium, we stuck to this as we thought this would be the best possible narrative structure for our film, and would make it easier during filming because we had some guide lines to follow, which it did. However, we did not follow Propp’s theory of characters, we only had one character so it wouldn’t be possible for us to follow this theory, so we challenged this theory, we did however have a ‘hero’ in our film, our ‘hero’ could be classed as our main character ‘Joe’ as he would be considered brave for trying to face the entity himself, being brave, a stereotypical trait of a hero. Also, we could have the entity classed as a ‘villain’ but however we did not have any of the other roles so like I said previously we could not follow this theory.

We followed two specific themes which had been set by us, we had to include technology and time somehow within our short film.

We introduced the theme of time through the change of the day, starting with having light shining into the house showing afternoon, then dusk when we see Joe in his bed and then followed by when the audiences sees Joe waking up, we can clearly see that this is now night as the setting has now switched to being a dark setting and this is when we see the introduction of our technology aspect.

To show technology in our film we used a torch, we didn’t know how else we could introduce technology in our horror and we believed this would be the best way as it would create tension due to not everything can be seen on screen and the audience doesn’t know what is there. This also gives a sense of mystery for the audience as it makes them wonder what is actually haunting the character, while creating a sense of fear.

Editing:
When editing we stuck with the typical conventions of editing due to lack of budget and the lack of experience with the editing software. We stuck with the regular typical cuts you would find as we did not have time to experiment with the different types of cuts we could of used. Although, overall I am pleased with how the cuts have worked out, because they do show a passage of time, and during the tense scenes the fast cuts create and build tension well for the audience, as we learnt in the audience feedback.

Evaluation Pt III: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

eval 3 unsure from Ami Kyle on Vimeo.

Research: Short Film Festivals

Short Film Festivals on Prezi

Research: Audience Results

Below is the results from our survey. It has enabled us to identify the type of film we should do in order to capture the largest possible audience.

Survey results

View more presentations from amibecker

Research: Audience

Our group created a survey online, we posted this through the social networking sites ‘Twitter’ and ‘Facebook’ through a link. We did this as we found that our main target audience were on these sites, or at least the majority of them, so we thought this would be the best way to distribute it to our audience. Due to our lack of budget this was also the cheapest way to get a response from our audience as it did not cost us anything. We are hoping from this research to discover what is the most popular genre among our audience, and the best way to advertise. Through our research we will decide how everything will be. The audience we are researching are aged between 15-25, these are also the target age for our short film.

The link to our survey is;
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HZ9LDGT

Planning: Film Schedule

Filming: Tuesday 22nd March
We will be filming everything on the night (due to the film being horror we need it to be dark to create the dark horror atmosphere that we are looking for.)

Location:
Joe Clements’ house, Normanby. He is the main character so we thought it would be easiest for it to be at his house since he knows where everything is when it is dark. Also, this would allow the character to actual more natural and fluent in movement around the house.

Risk assessment:

Research: Mise en Scene

What is mise en scene?

Mise en scene refers to almost everything that goes into the composition of the shot, including the composition itself: framing, movement of the camera and characters, lighting, set design and general visual environment, even sound as it helps elaborate the composition.

 

The mise en scene in this trailer suggests that this film is a horror/thriller.

The shaky camera movements suggests the tension of the scene and also the fear of the characters again further suggesting horror. Also, this is enhanced with the fast movement of the cuts working like a montage, it builds up more tension, exciting the audience. With the fast paced cutting it improves this film as a thriller.

The camera movement also makes the audience feel like they are there experiencing what is happening in the film. The darkness of the setting in this trailer creates a dark atmosphere further implying that this is a horror.

Planning: Poster

For my poster I have decided to go with the conventional poster structure. Above is my flat plan for my poster.

In the ‘Text’ box I will have information of the film, for example the directors, studios, producers, actors, e.t.c. this will allow the audience to see the names in the film, and if it was a studio film this would allow the poster to appeal to them further.

For the ‘Title’ box I will have the name of the film, I will make this stand out so it can be clearly seen as being the title for the film and so it catches the audiences attention. Underneath this is a ‘tag line’ box, here I will have a short snappy piece of text which will try tempt the audience to go watch the film, like a tease.

In my research I had found that most posters had a certification for the film shown, I have chosen to include this so that the audience will know whether it is suitable for them. Also, with this it could suggest what will happen in the film and maybe with the rating it would make the film appeal to certain audiences further.

I will have one main central image, the only image on the page, this image will allow the audience to identify the genre of the film very easily and clearly. The image will follow Nick Lacey’s schema of genre, which will clearly identify the genre being horror through setting and mise en scene.

Finally, along the top of my poster I will have the awards the film has won, I will also make these stand out so that the audience knows that this is a good film and that it has done well at the film festivals/awards. Some of the possible awards I will be using will be ‘Student Short Film Award’ and ‘Amateur Short of the Year’.

Planning: Article

This is the flat plan I made for my article. I tried to stick with the conventions which I found previously when I researched other articles. I have including a ‘short film bio’, here I will have information of the film, name, age, directors, actors, genre, e.t.c. so that the audience can clearly see the people in it an whether it is suitable for them.

I have included text because obviously an article needs text, in the text I will have a summary of the film including interviews with some of the actors and directors, also in the text I will write about the fact that this short film has won awards so that it gains more attention for the audience.

I will have actions shots of the short film so that the audience can see some of the storyline and the setting of the film. Also, they will be able to clearly identify the genre of the film if the pictures are the first thing they see rather than the bio.

Also, I will have a final verdict which will show the rating of the film, also this could later include if I find I have more room that it can show the writers views on the film. I will make this stand out so that the audience can clearly see the verdict of the film and hopefully this will catch their eye.

Research: Article

From this article it is clearly seen what the film is with ‘Return of the King’ being in big bold writing, although you will need to have prior knowledge to know that this film is ‘Lord of the Rings’ which we are not told when the film is being named, they have shortened the name of the film.
It is evident that in an article there is a lot of text, in this text the writer gives us a summary of the film, without giving too much away of course, and this is usually followed by what that particular writer thinks of the film, like a final verdict of the film.

Also, the article has many pictures from scenes within the film, however there is not one that I particularly think stands out, so there is no main central image for the audience. The pictures show scenes in a film, however they do not give away the storyline too much but meanwhile still capture the audience. There also seems to be behind the scenes pictures of the film.

There are also main quotations which have been took from the text and brought forward to capture the audiences attention, these quotations I have found usually come from interviews with the actors or directors of the films

Research: Poster

When I was researching into film posters I found that they all had a similar structure. There is one main central image, this usually shows the main characters in the film and possibly a scene from the film, as shown in the ‘Star Trek’ poster above. Also, obviously on the poster it would have the name of the film that it is advertising, clearly shown here with ‘Star Trek’, this is so that the audience knows exactly what it is, this is usually followed with a short tag line underneath which is usually something you remember.

Posters also have the release date of the film, so that the audience can know when this film is going out and they can see it, if the advertising has done its job and made the audience want to go watch the film.

There is a piece of text underneath the title, this shows all the producers, directors, studios, actors, e.t.c. that are in the film, this is so that hopefully the audience will see big names, or big studios and think that this will be a good film.

Also, depending on the director along the top of the poster it will have the directors name or awards this film has won. It will have the directors name along with some successful films that they have made so that the audience know the style of director that they are, and would allow them to identify whether this film is for them.

Also, usually from the film poster you can clearly identify the conventions of genre, so that the audience know what sort of film they are going to go see. For example, in this poster you see some of the alien characters as well as in the background having a space ship, these are stereotypical conventions to suggest that this film would be a sci-fi. Also, the name of the title could also imply the genre.

Research: Genre

Why is Genre Important for Audiences and Film Makers?

Genre is one of the key areas in which the film makers need to base their film around. Genre allows them to categorize their film, each different category of genre would appeal to a different audience. For example, ‘Need For Speed’ has the action genre and is based around cars, this would attract a larger male audience rather than a female audience, as it appeals more to the male audience as cars is stereotypically what men are interested in, where as women stereotypically would be more attracted to seeing a film with a Romance genre. However, some film makers create a hybrid genre, this allows them to appeal to an even greater audience, this would be because, for example, a romantic/comedy would attract the female audience for the romance of the film, where as the comedy aspect of the film would attract more males to see the film. Genre is important to audiences as it would allow them to see more clearly what they would like to watch, for example people which would like movies which contained a lot of fighting or high speed chases would watch films categorized under action, this would allow them to identify their specific interests more easily and this would make choosing the film they want to see more easily.

Genre can be identified easily through Nick Lacey's schema of genre, genre is identified by him through; - Mise en scene - Setting - Narrative - Iconography - Technical Codes

Research: Short Film Audiences

Short Film Audiences on Prezi

Research: Feature Film Vs Short Film

The top image is that of the short film. The second image is the one from the feature film.

The differences between the film posters can be clearly identified, for example the feature film gives the names of the actors/actresses in the film which suggest that these actors/actresses are well known. Also, the feature poster gives the audience more information about the film, and gives them a clearer understanding of what this film is about.

The feature film follows the typical conventions from a 'mainstream' film poster, where as the short film challenges these conventions and does not follow them.

Research: Genre and Hybrid Genre

What is genre and hybrid genre?

Genre:
Genre is something which categorises a film into different sections depending on the criteria. For example a horror film must follow the guidelines and traits of any other horror film i.e. the film would need to be scary to be categorised under horror. Genre allows audiences to identify the type of film they are going to watch, and based on this they can determine whether they will enjoy the film or not.

Hybrid genre:
A hybrid genre is something which mixes two or more genres into a film, this allows film makers to gain a larger target audience. There are currently many hybrid genres, one of the most popular current hybrid genre being a Rom/com, meaning a romantic comedy. This type of film would follow traits of a romantic film and of a comedy film, so romance with a bit of humour. This means that this would attract fans of comedy from one section of their audience target and on the hand will attract audiences interested in romance. Also, this would then attract a male and female audience as the females would enjoy the romance side of the film, where as the male audience would enjoy the humour aspect of the film.

Ancillary: Short Film Poster

Ancillary: Short Film Article

 

Research: Narrative

Narrative is the way in which the film or shirt film is presented to the audience, it is the structure of the storyline. There are 4 main theories which directors follow using narrative. The theorists being Todorov, Barthes, Levi-Strauss and Propp.

The theory that I have researched is Todorov’s theory of narrative structure, I believe his theory can be seen more clearly through out films without having to seek out too much you can clearly see the structure of the film.

Todorov’s Theory:
Todorov suggests that there are five different stages in any film, these stages create the narrative. The five stages are;

1. A state of equilibrium at the outset.
2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action.
3. A recognition that there has been a disruption.
4. An attempt to repair the disruption.
5. A reinstatement of the new equilibrium.

This can be applied to most films, including ‘mainstream’ films. For example ‘Shrek’;

1. Shrek is alone in his swamp – happy.
2. Guards come to swamp to move Shrek and all other fairytale creatures.
3. Shrek visits the Lord.
4. Shrek sets on quest to save princess to save his land.
5. Shrek saves the princess, gets his land back and keeps the princess.

Practice: 'I'm Here' Radio Trailer

I'm Here Radio Trailer by kivster_270

In class we studied a short film by Mike Jonze. We got given a task to create a radio trailer for this short film and present it to the class. This would allow us to familiarise ourselves with the program 'GarageBand' that we would be using when creating a sound track for our short film.

Audience Research: Short Films

Short film festivals allow directors to produce short films and show it to a large scale audience, with the chances of winning awards. Depending on the success at the festival the film can be decided to be viewed across cinema’s if the Hollywood brands take interest. Here, many big names, directors and companies alike, watch the short films, and feature films and here they can either buy the rights to the film, or purchase the idea and make it into a feature film (if it is a short film).

There are many film festivals around the world, well over 50, some of the most memorable short film festivals are;

- Edinburgh International Film Festival

- Berlin International Film Festival

- Sundance Film Festival

- Cannes International Film Festival

- Venice International Film Festival

- London Film Festival

Audience Research: YouTube

With the introduction of web 2.0 audiences are now able to view short films more easily, through the use of websites such as YouTube. For example, this is the way I researched the short films that I liked. The internet allowed me to watch existing short films, professional and amateur a like, which makes it easier for modern directors to get their short film across to its audience. There are many short films published online on the internet, some of which I have already talked about. But, with web 2.0 it is possible for audiences to view the short films which have been published online to view them anywhere and at anytime which is a major advantage for the audience. With this also they can search specifically what they like thus making it yet again easier for them. Also, through this directors can gain attention from large Hollywood labels such as Time Warner e.t.c. which means that sometimes they can be offered something larger.

Brief: A2 Course

A2 MEDIA STUDIES COURSEWORK: You are to create a SHORT FILM in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following ancillary task options: A POSTER for the film. Either a RADIO TRAILER or a FILM MAGAZINE PAGE featuring a review and analysis of the film

Introduction: Short Films

In class we watched a short film to prepare ourselves for what we were going to make, the short film being "I'm Here". We then got told to research 3 short films we enjoyed and say why. The three short films I chose to talk about were;

- Spin:

I thought this short film was made very smartly, and played with the conventions of time effectively. The film is centred around a man with a DJ set, which control the flow of time and actions of objects, and he does everything possible to create something good to happen. I think the film is very light hearted and after seeing a tragic beginning it has a happy ending, as everything works out well. However, this is quite typical of any film as usually directors want the audience to leave feeling happy. Although this short film has no dialogue you can see clearly through the expressions of the characters of what they are thinking and how the feel.




- George Lucas in Love:

The reason I enjoyed this short film was because I liked the narrative of the film, and I enjoyed all the small references to the 'Star Wars' characters and areas in the background of the film, as well as the main characters. This short film is about the character 'George' writing his script for his deadline, while along the way falling in love with another of the characters. I would say the genre for this short film would be a Rom/Com as it has aspects of humour through out the film, while also having that element of romance with the other character.





- Muto (Blu):

The reason I enjoyed this short film was because I enjoyed its simplicity and use of stop-frame animation. I think the director used stop-frame highly effectively here as the contents is in a constant flow, without any long gaps between cuts. Also, I particularly enjoyed the use of the sound and music in the short film, I believe it went will with what the content of the clip was and also it further enhanced that surreal feel to the animation. Below is the short film 'Muto'.

Introduction: A2 Media Course

In our A2 media year we will have created a short film and 2 ancillary tasks along with it by the end of the year. We will be in groups to create the short film however, we will have to do the ancillary tasks individually.