Tuesday, 14 December 2010
Rough Cut
I have found that I couldn't quite get the narrative to work as well as I had initially planned and although I originally scheduled two days of filming, one with the old couple and one with both the old and the young couple, the older couple were ill and unable to film with the younger couple. Henceforth I have decided to change the narrative of the film but still keep the essential plot. The film footage I have edited doesn't really follow a narrative and needs additional footage to make it make sense. Here is the rough cut:
Monday, 13 December 2010
Editing
I have begun to edit the footage together and it is going really well. I am up to the stage where I just need to improve on the timing and transitions to make the film flow better. I have used cross disolves and fades to black to enhance moments.
Filming
The filming went really well for this part of the film although on the second day of filming the older couple were ill so I could not film the parts with both the young and older couple. The weather was slightly overcast but I do not think this will alter the film too much. I was really happy with all the shots taken, especially the final shot of Terry in the graveyard.
Monday, 29 November 2010
Practicalities Of filming
School - I will need to film out of school time and off premises and need to get the correct permission for this.
Budget - There is no budget for this short film so I will have to borrow equiptment, costumes and props.
Camera - I am using a HD Panasonic handheld digital camera that I have borrowed from school. I will use the highest HD setting to ensure the best quality footage and I have a SD Memory card to record my clips on. I have used the camera for practice footage so I know how to use the camera. I wil also be using a tripod to steady the camera.
Health & safety - I will need to make sure that the places the couple are walking around do not have any hazards to trip over and ther are no cars on the roads. For the bikes I need to ensure they are safe and work properly.
Budget - There is no budget for this short film so I will have to borrow equiptment, costumes and props.
Camera - I am using a HD Panasonic handheld digital camera that I have borrowed from school. I will use the highest HD setting to ensure the best quality footage and I have a SD Memory card to record my clips on. I have used the camera for practice footage so I know how to use the camera. I wil also be using a tripod to steady the camera.
Health & safety - I will need to make sure that the places the couple are walking around do not have any hazards to trip over and ther are no cars on the roads. For the bikes I need to ensure they are safe and work properly.
Casting actors
I have cast a young couple, Gill and Kegan to be in my film. They are already a couple so the romantic scenes will be more believeable. For the older couple I have cast Jean and Terry, who have been married for 50 years. Gill is slim with long brown hair and looks similar to Jean and Kegan is tall with brown hair and looks similar to Terry, which will support the storyline that Gill and Kegan are Jean and Terry as a young couple. No one will be required to speak so matching acents or dialogue won't be an issue.
Props
For the film I am going to need to source a vintage bicycle. I think I will be able to borrow one from a friend, it is black and I think I will attach a basket to the front. I also want to get a bunches of flowers for the young boy to give to the girl as a romantice gesture, stereotypically romantic.
Costume
Pictures and explanation
For the costumes I will need outfits that are appropriate for the older people and also some period costumes for the two young people. I need to make sure that the outfits for the young people look authentic so that the audience believe that they are the old people when they were younger.
For the old couple I will get them to wear relaxed everyday clothes such as jeans, a jumper and a coat. For the young people I will get them to wear similar clothing but that is from the 1940's. To help the audience relate the older woman and young girl I will get them to wear the same earrings and necklace.
Locations
Pictures and exlpanation
For the locations I am going to use the village where I live as it's very pituresque and typical of an Oxfordshire village. I shall use my house for the old couples home and the village churchyard for the final closing shots. I shall use the woods as another location. All the locations can be used for both modern and old settings. The house is old and therefore could have been the house they first bought when they were young. It represents a very stereotypical picture of an English village with old stone houses, thatched roofs, woods and an old church.
For the locations I am going to use the village where I live as it's very pituresque and typical of an Oxfordshire village. I shall use my house for the old couples home and the village churchyard for the final closing shots. I shall use the woods as another location. All the locations can be used for both modern and old settings. The house is old and therefore could have been the house they first bought when they were young. It represents a very stereotypical picture of an English village with old stone houses, thatched roofs, woods and an old church.
Script & Script development
I have decided that for my short film I am going to use a voice over from the character of the old man. It is going to start about 1 minute into the film, after the establishing shots and the main titles of the short. He is going to be reminiscing about his relationship with his wife and the memories he has of them together. This will work as a narrative explaining what is happening. It will then continue as dialogue when he is in the grave yard and finish with him saying something about missing his wife.
Development of Ideas
I am definitely going to use and older couple to be the main characters in my short film. The background is that the old couple have been together since they met as young adults and still love each other, this will be shown by having photos of them when they were young on the wall. It will start with establishing shots of the countryside, the village, the street, the house they live in. The couple will then go on a walk and on their walk they see younger versions of themselves which are their 'memories'. To make sure the audience realize this I am going to use period clothes and make sure there is a continuity of hairstyle between the old and young girl and also have them wearing the same jewelry. There will be one point where the couple are walking and the two younger people will ride past on bicycles and another where the old couple walk round a corner and the young couple are stood against a wall kissing and laughing. The old couples walk will come to an end and there will be a mid-shot of the two of them. He leans forward and kisses her on the forehead, then she fades away and it zooms out to reveal he is stood in a grave yard by his wife's grave. Stood next to the grave is the young girl, his memory of his wife.
Initial Ideas
Inc. audience feedback and research
Originally I wanted to create a romantic short film that left the audience with something to take away. My ideas included using young people falling in/out love, but i think this was the wrong way to set about the task. I need to think, firstly about what I want the audience to get out of watching the film and secondly how I was going to show that. What I want the audience to feel is that love can last. I think for this message it would be better to use an older couple and have a plot based around their relationship.
I'm not sure yet whether to have dialogue or not. Some of the the films I have looked at do not have any dialogue and I think this can work really well although I am worried that with out a little bit of dialogue people will not get the concept of my film. I am going to work on a film with out dialogue and then use audience feedback to see if I need a voice over to tie the film together. Also because I am using an older couple I want what they say and their memories to sound realistic so I will ask some older people to read my script and give their feedback.
Chosen Genre
I want my film to be very romantic and nostalgic and thus my mood board reflects this with pictures of vintage bicycles, love letters, flowers, vintage camera and pictures for times gone by.
Conventions of Romantic films often include romantic gestures e.g. giving some one flowers. They often follow Todorov's theory usually starting with a happy person, something bad happens with a guy and then in the end they get together and everything is OK.
Technically, shot reverse shots are used to show eye contact when speaking and lots of close ups are used to show reactions and emotions. Settings are usually romantic, e.g. a beach or a restaurant and mood lighting is often used to create atmosphere.
My Target Audience
My target audience is girls aged 15 - 20. It is quite a small audience however this is the age group most likely to watch romantic feature films. Films that are appropriate for this audience are P.S. I Love You, The Notebook, Leap Year and Something Borrowed. They are all film that feature people falling in love, romantic gestures and happy endings. Short films that also are like this are Love in a Backward world, signs and Last hand standing. This audience also you the internet a lot and are often on Youtube which is where I would show my film.
What I have found from my initial audience research
From the audience research I have discovered that the target audience I want to reach like romance, romantic gestures and happy endings. The responded to the short films I showed them was very positive and when I told them my initial ideas they said they would definitely watch my film.
Audience feedback on 3 short films
I have shown 3 short films to my target audience and asked their opinions on what they liked and did not like. This will help me to decide what to include in my short film so it appeals to my target audience. Here is their response:
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Video Analysis 4 - A Thousand Words
A Thousand Words: Director - Ted Chung
The SF starts with a black screen with non-diegetic a train noise which crescendos. The title of the SF is then shown. This sets the beginning of the film and the title "A THOUSAND WORDS" suggests speaking and talking, communication between people. It then fades to a long shot of a train traveling from the right in the background towards the front left. The mis-en-scene of this shot is a very rundown area. There is graffiti on one of the buildings and it is a built up area.
It then cuts to a low angle medium shot of a man on the train. His bike is in the foreground and he is in the background, looking out the window. It then cuts again to a close up of the man. He is wearing a hooded jumper and white t-shirt with a facial hair. His eyes move to
Video Analysis 2 - How to say I love you
I really love this video because of the message it portrays and the relevance it has to modern society. Every one uses Facebook and other social networking sites but don't use as much face to face contact as we used to.
I also really like location and cinematography used. The director has kept it very simple and only used one location, a park, which is a place that has connotations of fun, spending time with friends and in general being a social space. This then emphasizes that although people use social spaces, there is still a stigma of talking to strangers and extending friendship. The cinematography is cleaver in the way that there has been a mixture of long shots, close ups and mid shots which keep being used. At the beginning there is a close up of the girls feet and then the boys feet come into the shot. I think this is a very effective and unusual.
How to say I love you: Writer - Hayley Stuart
Director - Hayley Stuart and Francesca Sophia
Conventions of short films
Conventions of short films
Unlike other genres it's not always easy to come up with conventions of short films, as a short film can be anything. I have seen 14 short films LOVE FIELD, A Thousand Words, Validation, The Black Hole, 9, Signs, Strangers, I’m Here, NOSTALGIA – YOUNG LOVE, Last hand standing: love or stuff? Love in a Backward World, Oedipus, Can We Kiss, 10 Minutes, The Sound Machine, Fifty People One Question, Vincent.
In general I have found that short films are defined by time and not by iconic images or characters. Most short films are between 5 and 10 minutes long, with some exceptions being up to 30 minutes. Because of this time limit, in short films there is not often a lot of dialogue. For example 'A Thousand Words' 'LOVE FIELD' and 'The Black Hole' do not use any dialogue at all. In 'A Thousand Words' the lack of words emphasizes the gap between the characters and also the actions made by them. This also allows for the atmospheric music to have full effect. In 'LOVE FIELD' the horror genre is used in the beginning by using atmospheric music and digetic sound, without any dialogue, which helps create the suspense needed for this genre to work.
The time does not allow for character development and characters are introduced quickly and often not given a history or past and the audience has to go on first impressions and subtle hints. Conventionally, there are also fewer characters, with the plot focusing on one or two people.
Plot: multiple plot strands, more intense
But needs to leave the audience with something intense
Protagonists – recognizable lead characters – often male, usually loners
Plot and Stock situations – storylines that are predictable and recognizable
Icons – this is the aspect of genre, which we immediately recognise and latch on to. Think of them as symbols that tell us what genre we are seeing.
Theory. Todorov’s theory is that every thing starts out with equilibrium, where every thing is in balance. There is then a disruption or problem, which leads to a crisis or state of disequilibrium, before finishing with a solution or resolution and thus creating a second state of equilibrium, usually different from the first. I think this ties in with Levi-Strauss’s argument when talking about the romantic genre. Levi-Strauss said that with all narratives there is a dependence on binary oppositions. The narratives meaning is dependent on conflict and tension between opposing forces. This is usually shown with a couple or two people who are together, or have conflict. There is them a problem, usually breaking up,
Unlike other genres it's not always easy to come up with conventions of short films, as a short film can be anything. I have seen 14 short films LOVE FIELD, A Thousand Words, Validation, The Black Hole, 9, Signs, Strangers, I’m Here, NOSTALGIA – YOUNG LOVE, Last hand standing: love or stuff? Love in a Backward World, Oedipus, Can We Kiss, 10 Minutes, The Sound Machine, Fifty People One Question, Vincent.
In general I have found that short films are defined by time and not by iconic images or characters. Most short films are between 5 and 10 minutes long, with some exceptions being up to 30 minutes. Because of this time limit, in short films there is not often a lot of dialogue. For example 'A Thousand Words' 'LOVE FIELD' and 'The Black Hole' do not use any dialogue at all. In 'A Thousand Words' the lack of words emphasizes the gap between the characters and also the actions made by them. This also allows for the atmospheric music to have full effect. In 'LOVE FIELD' the horror genre is used in the beginning by using atmospheric music and digetic sound, without any dialogue, which helps create the suspense needed for this genre to work.
The time does not allow for character development and characters are introduced quickly and often not given a history or past and the audience has to go on first impressions and subtle hints. Conventionally, there are also fewer characters, with the plot focusing on one or two people.
Plot: multiple plot strands, more intense
But needs to leave the audience with something intense
Protagonists – recognizable lead characters – often male, usually loners
Plot and Stock situations – storylines that are predictable and recognizable
Icons – this is the aspect of genre, which we immediately recognise and latch on to. Think of them as symbols that tell us what genre we are seeing.
Theory. Todorov’s theory is that every thing starts out with equilibrium, where every thing is in balance. There is then a disruption or problem, which leads to a crisis or state of disequilibrium, before finishing with a solution or resolution and thus creating a second state of equilibrium, usually different from the first. I think this ties in with Levi-Strauss’s argument when talking about the romantic genre. Levi-Strauss said that with all narratives there is a dependence on binary oppositions. The narratives meaning is dependent on conflict and tension between opposing forces. This is usually shown with a couple or two people who are together, or have conflict. There is them a problem, usually breaking up,
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Changes in Short Film
With new technologies, pretty much anyone can make a short film and exhibit it for everyone to see, on sites such as youtube. Short films are very accessible, as the modern consumer has a short attention span and the time limit allows for a story to evolve in a short space of time.
Short films are a training for directors as it provides a way to make a name for yourself and get noticed on a small budget. It provides a stepping stone for directors to create something that is not confined by the conventions and restrictions of a feature filn.
9 (2005) an Academy Award nominated short film made by Shane Acker was spotted by Tim Burton, who then produced the feature length film of 9 in 2009.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IQcMeNh7Hc
A few directors are going back to their roots by making short films, for instance Spike Jonze creating 'I'm Here' after making 'Where The Wild Things Are'. Another interesting use of short film is in the instance of Mathieu Ratthe, a canadian filmmaker, who wants to direct an adaptation of The Talisman, a novel by Stephen King and Peter Straub. The problem being, Speilburg has held onto the rights of the movie for 25 years, having never made the film. So to get Speilburg's attention, Ratthe filmed a six and a half minute demo of the film and poster it on youtube.
Short film is a genre that is rejuvenating and is now very popular.
http://http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/dec/19/short-films-documentary-animation-viral
Pleasures of Viewing
Short films are a training for directors as it provides a way to make a name for yourself and get noticed on a small budget. It provides a stepping stone for directors to create something that is not confined by the conventions and restrictions of a feature filn.
9 (2005) an Academy Award nominated short film made by Shane Acker was spotted by Tim Burton, who then produced the feature length film of 9 in 2009.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IQcMeNh7Hc
A few directors are going back to their roots by making short films, for instance Spike Jonze creating 'I'm Here' after making 'Where The Wild Things Are'. Another interesting use of short film is in the instance of Mathieu Ratthe, a canadian filmmaker, who wants to direct an adaptation of The Talisman, a novel by Stephen King and Peter Straub. The problem being, Speilburg has held onto the rights of the movie for 25 years, having never made the film. So to get Speilburg's attention, Ratthe filmed a six and a half minute demo of the film and poster it on youtube.
Short film is a genre that is rejuvenating and is now very popular.
http://http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/dec/19/short-films-documentary-animation-viral
Pleasures of Viewing
Emotional pleasures- emotional pleasures offered to audiences of films are particularly significant when they generate a strong audience and response.
Exhibition of Short Film
Short films distribution and exhibition.
Short films are not exhibited or distributed in the same way as feature films. Disney sometimes shows a short animation before a film in cinemas. This was also how short films started out. Charlie Chaplin was the first to make a short film to be shown before the main feature in conjunction with Key Stone Pictures in Hollywood. I have found this brilliant website which tells the history of Short Film.
The UK Film council is a government back film agency in the UK. Their distribution and exhibition network works to make non-mainstream films more widely available in the UK. They also run a competition each year to fund the completion of a short film that show outstanding potential. http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/
Dazzle is an independent short film label based in the UK which has the distribution, exhibition and the sales rights for award winning, critically acclaimed short films.
Film festivals are a great place to get short films noticed. A lot of players from the film industry attend or watch films film festivals to find up coming talent. These are just a few I have found.
These two websites also have very useful information on the distribution and exhibition of short film.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/distribution/links-exhibition-and-distribution-features
An overview of Short Film
Within the medium of short film there is a lot of freedom with genre and style. Short films can follow narrative conventions, be experimental, installations, horror, documentary, romantic, enigma etc As in the film LOVEFIELD by Mathieu Ratthe, it starts out by following the conventions of a horror, creaking noises, desolate setting, blood, a crow and screaming but then turns out to not be horror at all and in fact is a man helping a woman give birth.
Although with the freedom a short film offers there is a big downside: everyone thinks they can make one. With new technology and sites such as youtube anyone can make a film and upload it for everyone to see. Sometimes these films are clearly not thought through and not planned very well hence they are not interesting and are not to a high standard. However, I understand that short films are completely subjective. Here is an example of a short film which I think did not work and was very poor in quality. Directed by James Garcia.
Spike Jonze and Andrea Arnold
Andrea Arnold. OBE.
Andrea first came to prominance as an actress and television presenter in the 70's and 80's being in shopws such as No. 73 and The Kumars at No. 42. She put presenting and acting behind her when she won the Acadamy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for Wasp, in 2005. Her directorial dabute was the feature film Red Road which won the Jury Prize at Cannes film festival 2006 and also won the 2007 BAFTA award for best newcomer.
She once again won the Cannes Jury Prize in 2009 for her film FishTank and in 2010 went on to win the BAFTA award for outstanding british film. Andrea's next project is an adaptation of Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights.
Wasp.
Wasp is a social realism film about a struggling single mother, Zoe. Set in Dartfor (Andrea's hometown) Zoe is trying to rekindle a relationship with David, an old flame, and is determind that her kids will not be an obsticle. I found it to be a very sad and hardhitting film, the children are obviously neglected and have to fend for themselves. Their mother is very self absorbed and doesn't do much for her children. The film is described by the Guardian as 'Social realist film poetry'
Andrea says: "The main aim for the film was to try and show the central character Zoë in all her complexity. I know the way she treats her kids is not good, verging on abuse really but I wanted to show why she might do that and for the audience to have empathy for her as well as the kids. I wanted to show how a person’s circumstances and environment influences the way they essentially are. I wanted people to understand her behavior instead of just condemning it. This was my main goal for the film"
http://http//www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/aug/23/andrea-arnold-fish-tank-cannes
Spike Jonze
http://www.imheremovie.com/ Spike Jonze is one of my favourite directors, having recently released "I'm Here" a short film. He also directed "Where the wild things are" (2009) and has directed short films, music videos and feature length films.
Notables: Films
Being John Malkovich,
Adaptation
Where the Wild Things Are
music videos for
Sonic Youth
The Chemical Brothers
Beastie Boys
Weezer
Björk
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Creator and Executive Producer of Jackass
Short Films
1997 How They Get There (Writer, Director)
1998 Amarillo By Morning (Director)
1999 Torrance Rises (Director, Choreographer, Actor)
2009 We Were Once a Fairytale (Director)
2010 I'm Here (Writer, Director)
Examples of Short Films I like
I really like these short films as they are very different to film that I have seen. Their message is put across in a very short space of time and they are very striking. They use a very cleaver use of cinematography and conventions of their chosen genre to appeal to their target audience.
The Black Hole: Written/directed - Phil & Olly.
- Love in a Backward World
- Last Hand Standing: love or stuff?
The Black Hole: Written/directed - Phil & Olly.
Validation: Writer/Director/Composer - Kurt Kuenne
Validation is longer short film, being around 16 minutes, focusing on one mans story and how he influences and is influencecd by others. I think this short sends the message of being happy and greatful for what we have. It teaches us to smile and not give up. It follows Todorov's equilibrium theroy of the story begining with equilibrium (The guy being happy and complimenting everyone) which is then disrupted (His driving licence has expired so he needs a new photo) this then leades to a crises or state of disequilibrium (the girl who doesn't smile) This is eventualy resovled and there is a second state of equilibrium, usually different to the first (the man and woman get together and are happy).
Strangers: Director - Erez Tadmor & Guy Nattiv
Strangers by Erez Tadmor and Guy Nattiv uses an old proverb in a modern way. "My enemies enemy is my friend" is shown here though the use of two men who have different religions coming together to escape abuse for a gang of men. This supports the idea of showing a message in a short film and because of the short length of the film an audience are able to understand the message quickly and easily.
LOVEFIELD: Director - Mathieu Ratthe
I like the enigma used in this short film by director Mathieu Ratthe. He builds a sense of foreboding by following the conventions of a horror movies, building the audience anticipation to believe that the male character has murdered someone when in fact he has just helped a woman give birth. He has used very cleaver cinematography to build an ominous feeling and then reveal to the audience the true reality of the situation.
Love in Backward World - directed by Chris Vincze
Monday, 22 November 2010
Short Film
I have chosen to create a short film for my A2 media coursework. I have chosen to make a short film becuse I love the way that you can put across a message and create atmosphere and emotion in such a short space of time. I really want to create a short film with meaning and make it something different. There is a lot of room to experiment with a short film as there are no clear boundaries and therefore I think I would be able to break some codes and conventions to create a original short film.
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