Film Idea

We decided on idea five for our film idea as we thought it was the most effective and interesting idea.

Our Initial Short Film Ideas

Two concepts we have to include in our short film are time and technology.
Our ideas are based on a horror element which could link to suicide and depression.

Idea one:

* A man goes about his day to day business
* Problem: letters keep going missing from items i.e. a key board
* Collects all the letters that are missing together, rearranges them and uncovers a message telling him to kill himself.
* But they are in fact and anagram of a reminder form his wife to do something simple like get the milk.

Idea two:

* A football match is about to take place, so you see the crowed flooding to the stadium.
* The police are all attending the match to make sure there is no trouble.
* This leaves the roads clear of traffic and police.
* So a street race takes place.

Idea three:

* Appears to be a horror
* A person is running through the woods, out of breath, he keeps look behind him and seems afraid.
* You see him from the point of view as a predator.
* You then hear a gunshot, the camera zooms in on his eyes as he looks down, then the camera zooms out.
* He has been shot!
* But, by a paintball. It was a game all along.

Idea four:

* Secret service agent is on a mission.
* The camera pans in on the various piece of technology he uses for his mission.
* It is all product placement.
* The film is in fact trying to subliminally advertise.

Idea five:

* A guy types commands into a computer.
* Starts out with silly little commands like nod or get a drink
* Then they become more serious
* And someone else is helplessly following the commands without the knowledge of the person typing them.
* He ends up being commanded to kill himself, and this is what he does.

Idea six:

* Person walking down the street.
* They look depressed and have a bad ambiance surrounding them.
* They bump into someone else and you see the ambiance surround them.
* They then bump into someone else etc..
* In the end they all end up depressed, in the same location and kill themselves.

Idea seven:

* A man has a really good life.
* But you see that he is depressed.
* Ends up killing himself.

What Makes a Good Film Review

What would make a review successful?

I think a successful review needs to give a basic outline of the film, but to not give much away. It needs to include opinion, but also aspects that will let the reader make their own decisions about the film.

• A star rating is useful for a review as it gives a shorthand review of how good the film is and lets the audience decide for themselves if they want to go and see the film.

• Pictures from the film will make the film review successful.


• Website

• Release date

Still Life

Director: Jon Knautz

Writer: Charles Johnson

Duration: 9 mins

Star Rating: ****

http://www.stilllifemovie.com/

Drugs, mannequins and murder; this deceptive short film sees Nathan Evans (Trevor Matthews) battle through a series of events in a town of pot people. After taking prescribed medication Evans encounters breaking down in a snowy, desolate village, inhabited with inhumane figures. The contrast of one human and a community of dummies gives a horror twist to the humorously creepy short film. You will be left with a shiver down your spine as Evans unknowingly becomes destructive and even the sympathy you feel for him comes with a feeling of horror and disgust.

This is another review, in the style of Total Film magazine. A chatty, casual tone is used to communicate with a younger audience.

This review is in the style of Sight and Sound magazine as it is more formal and informative. It gives away more of the plot, which is typical of Sight and Sound.

Film Magazine Comparisons

Sight and Sound VS Total Film
Both these magazines are film magazines and contain reviews and information about new films.

Sight and Sound-

• More writing than pictures
• The reviews are in depth and give away a lot of the film.
• There is a lack of images.
• It is more facts than entertainment, it even gives the full credits at the end of the review.
• The layout is orderly and in columns which gives a serious, neat look to it.

Total Film-

• Lots of images
• Short, catchy reviews
• Humerous facts about films
  
• New film releases
  
• Lots of bright advertisments

Total Film and Sight and Sound are two film magazines with very different ideas. The contrast between the two is based mostly on visual appearance and the use of iconography. Total Film is full of bright, colourful images of the films being reviewed, alongside advertisements aimed at a young audience. The magazine is aimed at a young audience, as it uses colloquial language and short sentences to appeal to it's audience and keep them engrossed. Entertainment is the main purpose of Total Film magazine, whereas Sight and Sound is more informative. Sight and Sound does not use much iconography and is aimed at a more mature target audience. In contrast to Total film it uses a lot of text instead of images and includes the credits of each film after the review, which takes up a lot of space and a lot of people won't read them. Sight and Sound is informative therefore is aimed at film lovers, those who keep up to date with the latest releases. As the magazine includes a full synopsis of each film in the review, people do not need to go and see the film, whereas Total film includes a review that entices readers into wanting to see the movie, therefore advertising films rather than explaining them.
Overall, Total Film is a more appealing magazine to our age group and it is visually appealing and entertaining, whereas Sight and Sound is boring and over informative.

Our Audience Research

Audience Research

Audience Demographic/ Target Audience

Almost every media production that is made relies on audience research prior to production and during production.

Fatal attraction famously changed its ending following a test run with a pilot.
http://fanedit.org/8486/

Snakes on a plane famously involved their target audience by allowing them to make decisions about music, dialogue, etc.
http://boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2006/08/13/camptastic/

We need to understand our target audience and plan to create something that appeals to them. Therefore we must conduct audience research so we have

We could do this in the form of video vox-pops, audio vox-pops, we could set up online questionnaires or surveys.

Who is our target audience? we need to create a detailed profile (age, gender, interests, tastes, region, career, etc).

Once we've don't this we need to look at them in more detail. Like there:

* Film viewing habits
* What genres they prefer and why?
* What films they saw most recently/ their favorite films
* Whether they watch short films (if they don't, why don't they?) remind them about virals which can often be short films, DVD extras, youtube films, animations, etc.
* Where they watch them (if they do watch them)
* Show them examples of short films and posters and ask them to say what they like and dislike about them.
* Can they tell you about any posters that stood out to them
* What radio stations do they listen to- or film magazines do they read.

What Makes a Good Short Film

Have an original idea
It is hard to be original when making short films as there are so many on the market. The best way to come up with a new and exciting idea is to watch as many shorts as possible and try to avoid any cliches. The subject matter of the film could be created from personal experience, people you meet or stories you read in magazines and newspapers.

Have a strong Script...
A good script for a short film can be more difficult to produce as you have to condense the narrative into a smaller space of time. Testing your script out on friends and strangers will give you feedback and let you know how well the script works.

...But do not use too much dialogue
Short films do not have a lot of time for a large amount of dialogue so the visual ideas have to inform the audience of what is going on.

Good Acting
Bad acting can make a film unsuccessful and cheesy. The best way to find decent actors for a short film is to advertise your synopsis and see if any budding actors or actresses are interested. There are many actors out there waiting for their big break, therefore need experience at may films as possible, and a short film is the perfect way to showcase their talents. Ensuring you get a good cast is crucial to the outcome of your short film

Everything you include must have a purpose
Short films are called short films because they have a limited amount of time in which to get across a story. Therefore they do not have time to include meaningless scenes and pointless concepts. Everything must have a meaning within the narrative and get straight to the point for a short film to work.

Lighting

Back Light- is used to provide seperation from your subject and the background.
Key Light- primary source of light. It provides a base light for your subject.
Fill Light- provides some fill in to the shadow are of your suject to balence out the contrast created by the key light.

High key lighting- light sources from all directions, bright, clear subject
Low key lighting- Fewer light sources, less area lit up, creates shadows
Ambient lighting- Gentle, lights part of the set, calm and warming.
Hard light- Light source directly on subject, strong, bold images also shadows, good for shooting villains.
Filters- Filters fitted to the lens (or edited in editing process) alteration to colour.
Just back light- Silhouette or aura

Lighting Safety

Using the redheads:

• Extreamly fragile- when transporting use the bag and padding. Do not knock them, 2 people should carry them.
• HOT! Take extreame care when handling the lights, they get very hot.
• Do not cover them with anything.
• Do not look directly into the lights.
• Switch off when not in use
• The bulbs are very expensive and break very easily. Extreame care should be taken.
• Tape down the cables.

Lighting Practice

Media audiences

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Media audiences

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Short Films

Short Films on Prezi

I'm Here, by Spike Jones

In this 30 minute short film a lot of emotion is shown. The film is moving and reaches out to a wide audience of lovers.

The way Spike Jones uses robots in a human world is clever, it shows contrast in society and could relate to problems we have these days with prejudice and discrimination of people who are different. I instantly felt sympathy for the male robot in the start of the film, the sense of loneliness was shown in his face, even though it was just a box, and the colours reflected his mood.

When he met the female robot, at first I thought it was all going to be happy, but soon realised the female was reckless and selfish. This film shows that people will sacrifice everything for someone they love. I was very moved by this film and it made me realise how when people have nothing they will give everything just to have someone to love.

Storyboard of Sharkbite

Character Profiles

Good

Name: Sally Jones

Hometown- Canada

Age- 17

Background detail- She is a student, with a close group of friends. She is a sporty, outgoing girl who is not scared easily. When she was younger she lives in Washington, where she had dreams of a rapist from 1864. This links to the evil character in the horror film.

Bad

Name- Mr D
Age- 200+
Background information- In 1864 he was killed for raping a 17 year old girl, he has followed the great great grandaughter of the girl for years and this is how he ends up trying to hurt Sally.
Special powers- Can cripple people with the glare of his eyes.

These characters are binary opposites as they are good and evil.

The Shark Bite

The Shark Bite is when the film is split into 3 parts, The Bite, The Body and The Tail. The Bite is the first 10 minutes of the film and is meant to attract the audience straight away by including action in the very first part of the film.

Some films which have the shark bite opening are:

• The Hangover
• Harry Potter

Synopsis of a horror film

Todorov's Narrative Theory
Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages:

1. Equilibrium
2. Disruption of the equilibrium
3. Recognition of disruption
4. An attempt to repair the disruption
5. Reinstatement of the equilibrium

Typical Horror Storyline
A teenage girl is getting ready for a camping trip in her bedroom when she sees a figure in the mirror, all goes dark and creepy. Opening the door, everything vanishes and goes back to normal.
Her and her friends go camping in the woods one friday night, one girl goes to find wood for the fire and stumbles across a dead body by the side of a river! She screams and runs back to the camp, only to find a mess of tents and blood!

Alone and terrified the girl runs through the woods, not knowing she is heading in the opposite direction to the exit!


She finds herself deep in the woods and realises she is lost. She hears footsteps in the leaves and a voice whispering her name. Frozen on the spot she realises she is not alone, she spins around to see a dark figure in the shadows. The girl struggles and struggles to get out of the woods, but all the time is avoiding the dangerous grasps of this monster.

Finally she defeats the monster and gets out of the woods safely.

Not a Typical Horror Storyline

The girl starts to notice strange beings around the woods, ghosts and zombies. The movie flashes back to her bedroom and we see the same unhumanly figure. Through the chase in the woods she encounters demons and hears scary noises.

The twist to this movie is that we find out that the girl is mad and has been hilusinating all these figures and spirits and it was really her who killed her friends but she has no memory of it as she is crazy. The film ends with her getting taken away, we see an extream close up of her angry, lunatic eyes and we realise she has been the evil one all along.

The Notebook, Film Poster

What is the film about?

From this poster you can tell this is a romance film, its looks very emotional and full of love. The passionate embrace of the two characters show that it may be a sad film and the rain adds to the romantic effect of it. From the poster it seems this involves the couple being forced appart and having to cope without each other. The picture on the poster looks like it could be from the scene in the film when they are reunited, which is why it looks so passionate.

Where is it set?

From the background of the poster it we assume this love story is set in the countryside, which adds to the romantic effect and brings it back to nature.

When is it set?

'The Notebook' could be set in the past, as the clothes make them look slightly old fashioned and the poster reminds me of an old film poster.

What type of enigmas will occur?

I think this film will see the main characters through their love story, and there will endure hard times and seperation, but as it is a romance there will be a happy ending.

The Strangers, Film Poster

What is the film about?

Straight away from this film poster we can see it is a horror film. The title gives away that it is a horror and also makes you think of danger and evil, maybe because you are always told not to talk to strangers and the title could bring back childhood fears. The main image could be seen as a normal living room in any other context, but the darkness and the fear on the womans face tells us this is something to be scared of. Also the face in the darkness gives away that in this film things will be lurking in the shadows and we assume the girl in the picture will be the hero. Plus the tag line at the bottom 'inspired by true events' makes the film seem even scarier as they will actually believe this could happen to them.

Where is it set?

I think the film looks like it is set in America, from the clothes the woman is wearing and the living room. It looks like the film is set in a house by the poster, but we assume some of the action takes place elsewhere. I think the film will be set in a normal setting but it will become scary when the 'monster' takes over.

When is it set?

The film looks as though it is set a few years ago as the clothes are slighty old fashioned and plain, but i don't think the time is relavent to the film as what seems to be the theme could happen at any time.

What kind of enigmas will occur?

This film poster makes the horror film look stereotypical as the woman will be the one running away and fighting the villian. But I think this film has a darker element to it, the colours look very creepy and the face in the dark looks menacing and makes you wonder what sort of danger the woman is in. I think there will be a weird storyline and that the woman will end up defeated in the end.

The Hangover, Film Poster

Who is the film about?

The film is about 3 rough looking middle aged men. Their facial expressions are all different which shows the variety of personalities in the characters. You can tell by the characters faces that they have some sort of adventure and the baby makes you wonder how it ended up with the 3 men. The two men on the right have direct mode of address which draws the audience in, whereas the man on the left has an indirect mode of address which makes him seem like he's in another world and possibly a bit eccentric.

Where is it set?

From the slogan at the top of the poster we straight away know this film is set in Vegas. It is clear that there will be mishaps and problems as it says 'Some guys just can't handle Vegas'. Also the lights in the background reflect Vegas life and give a glamourous element to the film.

When is it set?

'The Hangover' is set in the modern day, we know this because the characters are wearing modern clothes and the language on the slogan is up to date. You can tell this also from the characters' style of hair and poses they are pulling.

What type of enigmas will occur?

From the look of this poster the characters are going to run into trouble in Vegas and face a few injuries. The film looks chaotic but the characters look interesting and have a comedy element to them. You can see from the poster that the film is a comedy as there is a look of hunmour about it and it is a genuinly amusing film poster.

Genre

What is meant by the term genre?

The term genre describes a kind; a stylistic category or sort.

(www.wiktionary.org/wiki/genre)

Give one example of a film genre and list the typical codes and conventions for that genre.

Horror genre

• Dark shadowed lighting


• Isolated location


• Female victim


• Disruption of normality


• Sub-plot of male/female relationship


• Defeat of 'monster'

(www.wiki.answers.com/Q/)

Take your favourite film/ film you have recently watched. State the genre of the film and explain some of the codes and conventions used to make it recognisable as belonging to the genre stated.

The film Harry Potter fits into the fantasy genre and it uses a lot of iconography and sound to suggest this genre. In the Harry Potter films there is loads of magic and magical creatures which easily gives away this film is fantasy, but because it all fits together we get dragged into the fantasy world and believe what we are seeing. The film uses the camera to add dramatic effects to the magical world, such as when they are flying the camera follows them to make the audience feel like they are there. Also the costumes are very abnormal but in this film the audience sees them as normal and accept they are part of this fantasy world. Colour is also used to represent good and evil in this film. For example when danger is approaching it goes dark and black. Overall Harry Potter is easily recognisable as a fantasy film as.

Some films contain more than 1 genre, these are called hybrids.

Why might producers and audiences like hybrid films?

Hybrid films appeal to audiences as they enjoy watching more than 1 genre of film and hybrids have that element. Also more people will like hybrid films as they like to see their favourite genre but could enjoy the other genre too, therefore advertising more genres. Producers might like hybrid films because they are going to attract a wider variety of audiences, therefore they will sell more.

Some genres have sub-genres within them. Can you think of any examples of possible sub-genres?

• Chick Flick
• Disaster
• Thriller
• Mystery

Why is genre important to audiences?

Genre is important to audiences because they can catagorise the films they like and find more from the same genre to watch and enjoy.

Why is genre important to producers?

When a genre is a success, producers can then make more of the same genre and they know audiences will enjoy it. Also, they need to know the type of people they are aiming the film at and catagorising them into genres helps producers be successful.

Brief: Short Films

The brief for this project was to create a short film and advertising products to sell it. The two concepts that must be included are TIME and TECHNOLOGY.