Short Film idea

Recently today as a group we were discussing the different camera angles which we would use in our short film, and also what shots we will be using at what time of day. Shorai Shoniwa-Forchin a member of our group told me to look at the beginning of a film, which was part of her case study, which is called victim.



I really enjoy the beginning of the film as it creates a scene using a variety of close ups and extreme close-ups, without using an establishing shot.


If we use this as the beginning of our film instead of an establishing shot like we wrote on our story board, I believe that it would be a lot better as it is something different to what other people would be doing as we are creating a scene from different items which is at hollow ponds.


As this is a group project me and Shorai need to pitch this idea to the rest of the group to see if they are on board or if they feel it is easier to stick with the establishing shots. This then allowing us to focus our time more on shots of the actors allowing us to be able to cause tension on a better scale, as are short film will be a thriller.

Reflection on practice task and video

In lone of our media lessons, we was given a task to create an extract from a scene in the film Breakfast Club. This was brought on to us, which did not give us a lot of time to prepare for and also we are just getting use to being in a group together. So this task allowed us to work on our team work skills and also each one of our strengths and weaknesses. Below is the short film we produced.

What I learnt?

In the process of creating this short extract from breakfast club with my group are:

• We need more work on learning the equipment in how to use it, such as when the camera is set on completely different settings, how to get it back to normal. 
• If we were to use the sound boom the person holding it will need upper body strength as the sound boom should not be seen within the camera shot, also the person holding it must be silent at all times as the slightest sound from them can be heard clearly or even loudly through the sound boom. 
• We need more practice on Final cut pro as we had difficulty finding out where items were on the programme, so to make it easy for ourselves the practice allowed us to mess around with the programme finding out where different items were.

Strength:

• The character got into role well as the breakfast club is an American film, so they put on American accents to make the scene more convincing.
• When we set up the equipment we worked well together with two people working on the sound boom and two people working on the camera, this allowed us to get it ready quicker to shoot the scene.
• The editing transitions occasionally were good as we used jump cuts and match cuts 
• We picked relevant footage to edit as there were good and bad shoots, as not every shot was perfect, due to forgetful lines and even mise en scene props getting in the way. (In one scene which we did not use the bag hit the chair, which made the actors lose concentration.) 
• We worked good as a team as a whole, in that we were able to set out roles to each other for good pointers in what to do or what to do differently next time. Also there was difficulty with the first person holding the sound boom, as they had difficulty holding it up out of the shot. So instead of complaining which some teams may do, we resolved it by swapping the person doing the camera with the person which was doing the sound boom. 
• The actors were able to pick up their lines quickly, which allowed us to progress quickly through the scenes as we was short for time.
• As a group we picked a good location to set the scene in a classroom, which is what the film is originally set around as the students were in a classroom together in detention. 
• The mise en scene in which we used was good because it allowed the actors to look like normal teenage students in a classroom. The mise en scene being casual everyday clothing, a bag in which students need to carry around their work in, chairs and tables which every single classroom needs for the students to sit on.
• The lighting set on the camera was at a good stage as it contrasted well with the lighting from the room giving us a natural lighting camera scene.

Weaknesses:

• We had a struggle with the first person holding the sound boom as they were to short to hold the sound boom above the actors heads and out of the scene. From this we now know to set clear roles for who is doing what so there will be no complications.
• Occasionally the acting was not taken seriously as there were times were the actors could not stop laughing which in turn affected the people behind scenes as it put them off and made them laugh as well.
• The editing was not the best it could have been as we were just getting use to the programme on where items were and what it looked like if added to the scene. Also we did not have enough footage to chose from as we were unable to be adventures on looking at the different camera angles.
• At times there was disagreement on set as in if the equipment was actually recording and also one of the actors decided to wear a hoodie in a scene and not in the others.
• There was a problem with a lack of knowledge with the equipment as we were getting to new terms with it as we learnt how to use it last year, but unable to refresh ourselves with the equipment before the scene. 
• We had a problem with the number of actors as we lacked a person, because the role was set out for three people but we only had two people resulting into one of our actors having too play two roles.
• We were unable to plan what we wanted to do as the short scene extract from breakfast club was sprung on us last minute to complete the task.

Annotation of 'Mirror'

'Mirror' - Short thriller film. Created by Troung Do & Daniel Rodriguez on 9th  June 2013 (Published on youtube)
             - Produce & Directed by: Troung Do & Daniel Rodriguez
             - Written by: Daniel Rodriguez
             - Carl/ Ethan Coleman/ Telephone Operator by: Miguel Arce

The reason for why I chose 'mirror' as a case study to analyse about is because the film causes tension which is what I would like to cause in my short film as the genre is horror/ thriller. I looked into this short film to analyse the different ways in which they use the camera and the atmosphere around the actor to build up this tension, so from what I learnt I can use it in my own work to make people feel tensed about my video and feel worried or frightened that something is about to happen even though it may or may not come.

Summary

A teenage boy (close to a man) is in an apartment and the phone continually rings, but he keeps picking it up and hanging up straight away. When he finally answers the phone to listen to who is calling him, on the other line was somebody talking to him in a low voice, which is hard to hear. The teenage boy starts to panic and keeps trying to get off the line, but he doesn't as the man on the other line keeps continuing to talk. The teenage boy tells the person on the other line that somebody has been watching him. A letter than comes through the door which read 'no one can save you.' He then tells the person on the other line to tell everyone that their are bad people around and that they will kill people.He starts getting angry and he notices that he has received another note from under his door. Which this time read 'We know who you are Ethan.' The phone line then goes dead.

The teenage boy then looks at his reflection in the mirror and then the scene match cuts to somebody watching him through a computer monitor. It then ends with a man twirling a pen in his hand, then circling the teenage boys name, 'Ethan Coleman'.

Narrative Structure

The film is a non-linear film as it does not involve any flashbacks. As the film does not have any potential times for them to use a flash back.

How Are The Characters Represented

The teenage boy is represented to be vey anxious and panicky as he does not understand what is going on or happening around him. He is also represented as a normal teenager as it looks as if he is in a campus room in normal inside clothing (as he wearing socks, without shoes on).

The mysterious man is represented as evil as he knows what the teenage boy is going through but he allows it to continue as he watching him through the computer monitor.

Use Of Camera

Mise-En-Scene

Location
This short film used two different locations. The first location is in an apartment which is like the size of a university campus room. The second location looks as if it is in an office.
The locations they use in their short films are a good location as they are easy to use and for their film they did not have to use a big area, as they stayed the majority of the time in the corner of the room.

Costume
The clothing choice for the teenage boy was casual clothing, as in the beginning it just looked like he was stressed, also as the location looked as if he is in the university room. The casual clothing allowed him to be represented at first, as a normal everyday university student.

The mysterious man also looked as if he was wearing casual clothing, but i don't believe it matters in what he is wearing in the scene as you can't make out the clothing really, as it is all darkened out. What i can make out is that the jumper he is wearing could be made out of a wool material, thus why i said he is wearing casual clothing.

Props

The mains props used were the telephone; the mirror; notes; pen. These are the props which the producers had to make sure they had or the film may not of turned out the way they may have intended it to be like. Other props were items to make the room look as if it is a normal apartment and a normal office.

Editing 

They used fade to black at the end after the man circled his name. This could have been used to cause tension, making the audience believe they are going to see more and see what happens to the teenage boy. Instead they just cut to credits, which can leave an effect on the audience as they are sitting there wanting to watch more.

They used quick transitions showing short clips of ones scene and moving onto the other. This was used when the teenage boy was panicking, this effect emphasises the use of the character panicking, making look better than his actual acting skills alone making people believe he is panicking.

They use match cut as the teenage boy is walking around the room as the phone is ringing, this allows the shots to match as it includes a sound bridge in the background showing that these to different shots continue off each other.

They used a jump cut from when the teenage boy was on the phone to when the letter is being passed under the door, this cut causes tension as it is not an expected scene. Again this shot causes tension to the audience watching it and the scene makes people want to see what on the letter which they then used a motivated cut allowing the audience to see what has been written on the letter.

Sound

Dialogue was used throughout the scene, this allows the audience to understand what is going on as without the dialogue the scenes would be very confusing and hard to follow. The dialogue draws the audience into the scene as they have to stay quiet to understand what the man on the other side of the phone is saying.

Sound bridge was used at many different occasions, such as right at the beginning from the transition of the movie title until the close up of the phone. This allows scenes to sink with each other as you can understand that while the phone is ringing, he understands it is ringing, but does not want to answer the phone. 

Ambient sound is used as the ringing is natural noises which a phone produces, this makes the film more realistic as this is a sound you hear at anytime throughout the day (noise a room will make).

Target Audience

I would class the short film to be targeted at 21 year olds and over, as it may seem boring to some teenagers as they tend to have less of an attention span compared to someone who is 21.

What Ideas Can I Use In My Film

From this case study I have learnt that using a variety of camera angles adds confusion into the film as it is going so quick you don't know if something is going to happen in the scene. The film also uses a wide shot with a match cut to a mid shot to a match cut to a close up. This allows the audience to focus on what the director/ camera person is showing that this is the main product in the film. They also use a lot of close ups to see the reaction of the actor in the situation which they are in, this allows the audience to put themselves in the shoes of the actor as they are able to feel the fear of what the actor is going through.

They are also able to set a scene by ceasing the audience attention by creating a sound bridge which starts from the film title and continues into the first scene. This is an idea I can potentially use in my  film as the music or sound is able to set a scene straight away. For example if I decide to use a horror song then it sets the scene of something is going to happen because something is not going right.

Annotation of Amnesia

Amnesia - Short thriller film. Created by Dan Allen on the 4th October 2010 (Date posted on youtube)
               - Directed/Written by/Edited: Dan Allen
               - Starring Lily Staff & Mike Allen

The reason why I chose to annotate this film is because of one of the location used – a forest, which is the same as the one that I have chosen for my short film.  By analysing the techniques used to produce the film, I am hoping that it will give me a few ideas to assist me.

Summary

The film starts off showing scenery within a forest.  It is a warm sunny day, and the images of the trees, grass and shrubbery gently moving in the wind gives a peaceful feeling.  The next scene is of a young white girl lying fully dressed on a bed.  It is day light outside.  As she begins to wake up, we then see a long shot of a wooden cabin in the middle of a forest.  It then cuts back to the girl who is now hearing voices whispering to her.  The voice appears to come from all over the room and she is seems to be disorientated and looks confused.  She then walks slowly to the kitchen still looking confused quickly taking in the view - which gives the impression that she doesn’t recognise where she is.  A white man, approximately in his late thirties, is standing halfway down the stairs.  She notices him and picks up a knife as he starts walk slowly towards her.  He continues to approach her even when she asks him not to, and she drops the knife and runs outside.  She runs for some distance and the only thing that she can see is open land and a forest.  Looking lost and confused, she turns around to see the same man standing just yards away from her.  She shouts at him to keep away, but he then tells her that he is her dad.  Back in the cabin, over a cup of tea, the man tells her that she has amnesia and that her mother is dead and that her brother still lives with them.  He shows her a picture of all four of them together standing on the stair of the cabin.  She accepts his explanation.  The last scene is of the man sitting in a darkened room typing on a laptop, stating that phase one of amnesia is completed and that phase 2 can now start.  The film ends with him closing the lid of the laptop.

Narrative Structure

As there are no flashbacks, the film is non-linear.  It may have been helpful for the film to have had a few fragmented flashbacks to help with the idea of having amnesia, and would add more tension/ suspense to the film.

How Are The Characters Represented?

The girl is a young white teenager who is first seen fully dressed in day wear, lying on top of her bed. This is used to represent someone who may have woken up after a short nap or had fallen asleep at night time and had not changed into her nightwear.  She uses a lot of facial expressions to give the impression that she is confused.  This is seen when she hears the whispers and quickly turns her head to where she thinks the sound is coming from, and also when she is out in the forest turning her whole body around in different directions while trying to get her bearings.  She is portrayed as someone who is anxious/ scared as her movements are either moving very fast, or slow and wearily.  Her voice also gives this impression.   The character is only seen to be calm when she is sitting in the cabin drinking a cup of tea. 

The man is a male dressed in a dark t-shirt and trousers.  He is seen to be calm and in control throughout the film, as his facial features seem relaxed and his voice is used to create calm and reassurance.  Throughout the film he is seen to be in control of his feelings and the situation as he never moves quickly and he talks in an even tone.  Even when he closes the lid of the laptop, he is calm and in control. 

Use Of Camera

 

Mise-En-Scene

Location

In this short film they use two different locations. One being inside the log cabin and the other being outside the log cabin in the forest. 

It is a good choice too use two different locations as they link into each other, also by taking the film outside it allowed the film to involve a chasing scene. This is very effective as a chase inside a small log cabin would be very boring as there is nowhere to hide. Whereas outside as shown in their long shot, you can run for miles and still be in the forest, which gives a realistic chase effect.

Costume

The clothing choice for both actors (Male and Female), are casual everyday clothing. This gives a representation of a normal life and normal people from first glance. 

Props

the main props that was used in this short film was a knife which she tried to defend herself with; cup of tea which the man passed to the girl (which I'm guessing contains drugs inside); laptop which her writes information on which is in the formant of a computer script. Other props are what you would normal see in a house and around the outside of the house.

Editing

They use a shot reverse shot when there is conflict between the girl and the man after he caught up to her after the chase which left them yards apart from each other. This is a good technique to show the audience that the actors are looking at each other while they are talking, even though in reality they are looking through the camera.

A eye line match is used while the man is typing on the computer, they then use the eye line match to show what he is looking at on the screen of the computer. I like the use of this technique as an audience you are wondering what the man is doing on the computer as it did not give an over the shoulder shot for us to see, but as they did the eye line shot it allowed us to see everything he is doing on screen.

They used a cut in when it was night time. From outside the cabin to inside where it is bright and you see the man on the computer. A cut in is a good way to just put different clips together, as it is just a simple cut without using fade to black which does not work for everything.

Sound

In  the short film they use a lot of dialogue which allows the audience to  be put into the scene as it gives a direct insight into what is going on. It also can help show the changes of emotion from an actor as when there scared they have a different tone of voice to when they are neutral. 

They se volume control after the run through the forest, and the girl is struck in a big, wide, open meadow. The use of volume control here intensifies the scene as it went from a movie score to silence.

At the beginning of the film they use ambient sound, this gives a natural feel to the film as you can hear the river flowing, the bird statue moving in the wind and also the trees rustling.

Target Audience

I would say the film is directed around the 14-15 a range and older, as even though nothing bad happens within the film which could stop younger children from watching it. It is because they may not understand what amnesia is, thus they will not know why the girl and the man is acting like this through the short film. 

What ideas can i use in my film?

• I have learnt that i will not always need a tripod and that the camera would mainly be done by hand, as in my ideas 2 & 3, there are a lot of quid action scenes, which the camera would need to move quickly for. Whereas in idea 1 i would need to place the camera on the tripod, as this short film idea is kind of slow, because the film is trying to focus on  the actors emotions.
• The film sets a scene by using natural everyday settings, which are around the cabin. This would be a good idea to use for my film as it shows that even though these events are happening, life still continues normally as if nothing has happened. To get this effect on the audience i would use this natural scenery at the end of my  short film.

Annotation of the Open Door

           

The open door - Short film thriller. Created by Dan Allen on the 11th of February 2011 (Date posted on youtube)
                       - Directed/Written by/Edited: Dan Allen
                       - Original Music By: Christopher Hanson
                       - Starring: Lily Staff & Mike Allen

The reason why I chose to annotate this film is because of the location that it is filmed in - on a quiet deserted street and within a secluded house, and to compare it to my own idea of where I will locate my own short film (within forest, just out of sight of a public place).  

As this film is completely different to what i want to do but at the time it focuses on the same theme i have set myself which is thriller. Where i want to use mainly handheld camera techniques as it gives a chase effect as with handheld you can act quickly to fast action scenes. This film shows how you can still create thriller films while using a tripod, because not everything would be in a fast action scene.

Summary: 

This short film is about a young women coming home.  It is daytime, and she is the only person seen in the scene while she is walking home.  She appears to be happy and carefree.  When she enters the house she is the only one there and she has forgotten to shut the front door.  She is seen in the kitchen cutting up food, and then lying on a double bed wearing different cloths with a face mask and sliced cucumber over her eyes.  It is still daylight, and someone in dark clothing enters the house and then her bedroom.  She calls out a male person’s name – looking relaxed and not changing her position on the bed, he quickly appears right beside her bed and speaks.  She now realises that there is a stranger in her house.  In the next scene it is night-time, and the same women is in bed dressed in her pyjamas and suddenly awakes.  She appears to be confused – did she have a bad dream or was it real?  Scared, she slowly made her way downstairs to the front door and realises it is slightly open.  Just as she goes to close it the same dark figure is seen behind her rushing towards her.

Narrative Structure:

The film is non-linear, if you believe that all events happened in real-time and she had woken up after the intrusion. On the other hand, it could be linear, if you believe that she had a bad dream and then woke up.

How are the characters represented?

The stranger is a white male – based on the tone of his voice as you never get to see the face.  This all adds to the impression that the man is an attacker/ robber/ killer as it is unclear how the story will unfold – but you do feel that he is there to do her harm.  The dark clothes and the tone of the voice makes the character appear menacing.  The music playing in the background adds tension to the scenes whenever he appears in the film.  He is either seen creeping slowly, during daylight, in the house or quickly approaching her in the dark.  The camera is always out of focus while filming him in the background which also gives the impression that he doesn’t want to be identified. 

The women is white and young – she is represented by being seen to do everyday activities while walking home and being alone in a house and waking up from a bad dream – swinging her bag as she is walking home, using keys to open the front door, being careless about not shutting the door properly, cutting up food in the kitchen, lying on the bed pampering herself with a facial mask, being in the house alone and waking up from a nightmare, being cautious and checking that if she had shut the door. 

Use Of Camera

                

Mise-En-Scene

Location
The director used two locations.  The first location is of a quiet street near a canal/river.  This is a good location for the short film, as it makes you think that it is a quiet neighbourhood with very few people living in it.  It is the type of area that makes you think that you are safe and there is very little crime.  As the short film is a thriller the location is ideal, as there would be few witnesses around, if any, and a river nearby to dump any evidence such as equipment used to kill or harm a person, or even to dump a body.  The second location is a house.  This is a good place to set a film as the weather does not affect filming.  To improve the tension in the filming it would have been better if weather did play a part in the film e.g. heavy rain or lightning.

Costume

He is wearing a hoody that covers most of his head, and is dressed all in dark clothes.  It is used as it is often the costume that is used in films to portray a negative image. 

Her clothing changes throughout the film – dressed casually while walking home and wearing the same clothes while chopping up food in the kitchen; wearing baggy clothes while lying on the bed; wearing pyjamas during the night scene.  The change of clothing is very important as it gives the impression that time has gone by – she changed her clothes for the face mask during daylight, and then changed it again to go to bed and it was dark. 

Props

The props which was used in the short film was a grocery bag which contained the cucumber, the keys she uses to open and lock her door, knife which was used to cut the cucumber, normal household items such a bed and kitchen equipment such as kettles.

Editing 

Black and white scenes where used throughout the first half of the film, it could been used to set many different moods. One mood being to cause tension as black and white can be related to different old fashioned thriller films such Dracula and Frankenstein. Another way could be to set a calm atmosphere as some people may see black and white as relaxing as they can relate it to comedies such as Charlie Chaplin.

Jump cut is used from when she was cutting cucumber to when she was lying in bed, this could of been used to cut out time, but for an audience perspective it could have been seen as a matched shot as the scene in the bed involves the cucumbers over her eyes.

Sound

Sound bridge is used to add effect from the very beginning as the sound bridge was from the title scene straight into the first scene.

The majority film is used of film score which they mainly use a string instrument or a piano, these instruments are main items to use in a horror film as background to cause tension, which makes people want to hide, but wanting look at the film at the same time.

There is many digetic sounds within this short film, this brings a realistic feel from the film as you can hear the keys rustling; cucumber being cut; bags rustling as she carries it to the kitchen.

Dialogue is used which in my film i will keep to a minimal as in this film it works as it helps cause effects and realization to the woman, whereas in my films, dialogue can stray from when i am trying to portrays as some voices may not fit into these types of films.

Target Audience

The short film is a thriller, and due to what is implied that has or may happen it will be aimed at teenagers and older, who enjoys watching mysteries.

What Ideas Can I Use In My Film?

                  

Short Film Idea 3

This film idea i created to follow around special effects which i have taught myself to do. The special effects i would like to do for this film is to create a burnt hand making it look as if somebody has been burnt badly in a fire. An example of what i can do is shown below.

The film is a bit like the last one were it involves a forest but this time it is just a thriller there is no comedy involved at all. This film will also use major it handheld for camera as it represents fast action and it intensifies the film causing more tension on the audience making them want to keep there eyes away for the gruesomeness but also keep watching to find out what happens next. As the film will be filmed in a forest there will be a lot of shots behind corners to portray the audience being the killler even though the audience will see the killer, but they also get put in the shoes of the killer. 

The key points of the film will be:

• The girl walking through the forest
• The man approaching the girl
• The girl trying to escape
• The news report
• The fire scene

There may be problems lighting a fire in a forest as it can be represented as us trying to create a forest fire, so we would never actually see the girl light the match on fire. We would see an extreme close up of the girl attempting to light a fire but before the match touches the box the scene will fade to black, so no fire would actually be involved in the scene. 

Short Film Idea 2

This film idea i created follows a T mobile ad which I always see when i go to the cinema. The reason I would like to create a film following the basics of this short film/ ad, is because of the expressions i witness on the audiences faces while they are watching it. Throughout the ad they are intrigued as the film has not started yet but they believe they are watching a trailer to a scary film which they can potentially watch in the future. This straight away grabs the audiences attention as they believe it is something to consider watching, so they would have to watch the full ad to find out when the film will be shown in cinemas. While the ad is on screen it causes tension to the audience as they they think something scary is about to come out of nowhere to scare them which makes the audience nervous, but intrigued at the same time. When they eventually see the ending of the ad everybody starts laughing as they find out there was nothing for them to be scared of, as it was just a T mobile advert.

I think this is a good idea for a short film concept as people will be scared from the very beginning and in their mind set this film that they are watching is a horror and they have be on the edge of their seats as something could happen at any given moment in time.

For my film idea i have gone for a forest theme as instantly people portray forest as a murder scene or  a scary atmosphere as it is dark and there are thousands of places where a potential murderer can hide.

In my film it will show a person jogging on a daily routine, but on one of there days, they don't feel like their normal jog, they feel like they are being followed by someone. Which in reality they are not being followed by anybody (but the audience will not know this), the camera will be handheld in the majority of the scenes. As this gives an effect of chase which the audience will believe someone is behind them chasing them, hiding in trees and hiding in bushes. The comedy part of this film could of two ways a dog comes out of no where (This dog could be showed at the very beginning, being showed as a friendly dog which she gets on with and the dog followed her, or it could be her jumper was falling of so every time she passed a tree there is a delayed rustling noise from the trees which was created by her jumper scrapping past it after she passed the tree.

Short Film Idea 1

This short film will not actually be a documentary as it is not a true story.

The reason i wrote documentery is because I want it to be set out in such a way that the audience feel like it is so real they believe the film in front of them is in fact a documentary, as hopefully the feel the pain the actor is portraying.

In actual fact the film will be classed as a drama, as it is based on a fictional story which I have made up, as it will be hard to find a non fictional story, recreate it, and portray the emotions and feeling which the actual person 'whose story it is' went through. If we were able to find somebody who would like us to share there story it would have to be turned down, as we are only ammeters. By us being ammetures we do not have the money, time or experience to suit the needs of the person which wants to share their story.

The reason for the idea I came up with, was based on what BBC 3 does, which is gathering non fictional story information and turning it into a drama to suit the needs of their audience. The reason I looked at BBC 3 dramas is because there target audience are around the same ages i plan to target my film at (15 +), The reason for this is because there are emotionally effective and physical scenes which young children should not be allowed to view as it is not something they should be watching.

A film which helped me come up with this idea which was created and shown on BBC was:

• Glasgow girls - A non fiction story which is based on the life of immigrants in Glasgow. What BBC have done with the film is created it to be interesting for younger audience so they are in touch with what people older than them had to go through when they was the same age, so that they can get their rights in this country. I believe that there may be some fictional aspects in the film to grab the attention of the young audience and older audience. Which for my film will not really matter as it is a fictional story but I would need to do from this like BBC have done, is to not drift away from the main story line as the main point of the film is the grasp the audience attention, to make them feel apart of the film getting affection off the actor and getting emotionally attached to the actors scenarios. Which allows the film to get there story known by the audience, in which they have their full attention by adding extra scenes which allows the film to grab the audiences attention.