Ancillary Task, Part One: Research

Since the 1920s the US film industry has grossed a higher profit each year than that of any other country. We have been set the assignment to produce a film poster (Key Art) inspired by an era of Hollywood Cinema history. There are four different periods of Hollywood we have the option to choose from.

The Silent Film Era, 

Before the first world war, movies were made in a variety of American cities. However, these film-makers began to journey toward Southern California, here the industry developed and became Hollywood. This was because of the mild climate, cheap land and, fairly, reliable sunshine, which meant that they could film outdoors all year round. The area also had variation in it's scenery, allowing a change in set. Movie-Makers from Elso came to Southern California. Hollywood hit it's peak during the 1940s, releasing approximately 400 movies a year. With about 90 million Americans a week going to the cinema to see them.

However, films began to be released with synchronised voices, these "Talkies" became far more popular than the silent films and left many silent film actors out of work. This was because often, they could not speak particularly good English, or had strong accents as often foreign actors were used. Similarly, actors who struggled to learn lines lost jobs in much the same way. This theme was presented in "The Artist" as a French actor in a silent film refused to move with the times on to Talkies, in fear of his accent being discriminated. 


"The Golden Age": Classical Hollywood Cinema,

From 1927 (the end of the silent film era) to the early 1920s, Hollywood released thousands of movies. The genres which were most popular were western, slapstick comedy, animated cartoon and biopic movies. Creative teams often worked on films made by the same studio. For example, Cedric Gibbons and Herbert Stothart worked solely for MGM films. MGM films had a claim that they owned "More stars than there are in heaven", this included "The King of Hollywood" Clark Gable and Judy Garland. This meant that studios could market their stars which lead to higher sales of the film. This can be seen in the poster for "It's a Wonderful Life." which features James Stewart taking up almost the entire poster and his name is predominantly larger than the other titles. This became known as "The Studio System." In the late 1940s, the Studio System hit a downfall. This was for many reasons. Firstly, Studios owned their own cinemas, showing there own films, meaning that smaller, poorer studios could not get into the limelight. 

Post-classical Hollywood


Often known as the "American New Wave", refers to the time from roughly the late-1960s (Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate) to the early 1980s (Heaven's Gate, One from the Heart) when a new generation of young filmmakers came to prominence in America, influencing the types of films produced, their production and marketing, and impacted the way major studios approached filmmaking. The films they made were part of the studio system, and these individuals were not "independent filmmakers", but they introduced subject matter and styles that set them apart from the studio traditions that an earlier generation had established ca. 1920s-1950s. New Hollywood has also been defined as a broader filmmaking movement influenced by this period, which has been called the “Hollywood renaissance”. 

In retrospect, Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977) marked the beginning of the end for the New Hollywood era. With their unprecedented box-office successes, Steven Spielberg's and George Lucas's films jumpstarted Hollywood's blockbuster mentality, giving studios a new paradigm of how to make money in the changing commercial landscape. The focus on high-concept premises, with greater concentration on tie-in merchandise (such as toys), spin-offs into other media (such as soundtracks), and the use of sequels (which had been made more respectable by Coppola's The Godfather Part II), all showed the studios how to make money in the new environment.

On realizing how much money could potentially be made in films, major corporations started buying up the Hollywood studios. The corporate mentality these companies brought to the filmmaking business would slowly squeeze out the more idiosyncratic of these young filmmakers, while ensconcing the more malleable and commercially successful of them.
(Ref. Wikipedia.)


Modern Independent Hollywood

The area we chose to focus on for our film poster was modern independent. This includes studios such as The Weinstein Company in association with Dimension Films who created films such as The Silver Linings Playbook (2012), which has been nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Had 17 wins and a further 41 nominations (IMDB). 

"Life doesn't always go according to plan. Pat Solatano has lost everything - his house, his job, and his wife. He now finds himself living back with his mother and father after spending eight months in a state institution on a plea bargain. Pat is determined to rebuild his life, remain positive and reunite with his wife, despite the challenging circumstances of their separation. All Pat's parents want is for him to get back on his feet - and to share their family's obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles football team. When Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own, things get complicated. Tiffany offers to help Pat reconnect with his wife, but only if he'll do something very important for her in return. As their deal plays out, an unexpected bond begins to form between them, and silver linings appear in both of their lives." The Weinstein Company 

Character Profiling

Character #1: Jack 

 

The Party Characters...

Style for my short film

                  Here are some of my make-up editing styles for the characters in the short film.....

My Short Film Genre

In a previous post I described the various short film genres, and said that I wanted to cross a number of genres with my film.
I am interested in making a humorous film, with a dramatic and romantic theme, but I want to be experimental. I have therefore decided to make a silent film.
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, mime and title cards. 

The main elements of a silent film are:

Intertitles: Because silent films had no synchronized sound for dialogue, onscreen intertitles were used to tell the story, the show the main dialogue and sometimes even comment on the action for the cinema audience.

Music: Showings of silent films almost always featured live music, usually a pianist, as they progressed music was added later to the films. The music can help to develop atmosphere, either tension or romance etc.

Acting Technique: Silent film actors emphasized body language and facial expression so that the audience could better understand what an actor was feeling and portraying on screen. Much silent film acting is apt to strike modern-day audiences as simplistic or eccentric.

Projection Speed: Until the standardization of the projection speed of 24 frames per second (fps) for sound films between 1926 and 1930, silent films were shot at variable speeds anywhere from 12 to 26 fps.

Tinting: With the lack of natural color processing available, films of the silent era were frequently dipped in dyestuffs and dyed various shades to signal a mood or represent a time of day. Blue represented night scenes, yellow or amber meant day.

Have a look at this trailer for The Artist the winner of Best Film Oscar 2012:

This film follows the conventions above, there are intertitles, the acting is over the top, the music is very important in determining the mood, and there is a slight tint to the film. So it fits with the genre perfectly.

My film will follow these genre guidelines, I want to make sure that I follow these guidelines and remember some basic rules of short film making:

·         The simplicity, clarity and economy of the storytelling
·         The vision of the piece, and its visual images
·         Making every element pertinent
·         Making your story coherent

These rules are particularly relevant to a silent film.

 

The Evaluation Questions Based on Recreation of My Beast Friend

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in progression from it to the full product
 We were given the task of recreating a short film, the one we chose to do was My Beast Friend, originally directed by Ewan Torrance. We chose it because it is very funny and original. From this I learnt how to plan a full day of filming and experiment with different camera shots and angles. 

What information will be needed to create these?
We needed to study the film many times in order to get every single detail of the film as similar to the original as possible. 

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 

Setting/location.
I used a very domestic environment which was very similar to that in the original, this was because it was a hallway which we decorated with scattered boxes, binbags filled with stuff and it had a glass door. This meant it looked very much like Ed was clearing stuff out, making it even more similar to the original.

Costumes and Props.
We created a cat costume out of a dressing gown and cat ears for fluff. We also made Fluff's tag and box to be very similar to the original. Other props included the box of magazines Ed's carrying, which we replicated. And the bin bags. 

Font and Style of titling.

We used the same font and titling as in the original, and  the same music and movement as it fades in. This meant that our film looked as similar to the original as possible. 

The Story.
In a nutshell, My Beast Friend is about a young man (Ed) who is trying to get rid of his foul-mouthed cat Fluff, who Ed sees as being a man dressed up in a cat costume. He decides to trick Fluff into thinking he is going to go to a place called Pleasureland and that it's just for cats. However, Amelia turns up early and sees Fluff as a real cat and doesn't realise it was Ed who was trying to get rid of him in the first place.

How the characters are introduced.
There are only three characters in the entire script. Fluff, Amelia and Ed. Fluff is a grumpy cat who is owned by Ed, he is seen by Ed as a man in a cat costume but by Amelia as a cute cat who has been abandoned by a 'monster' he makes harsh remarks at Ed's expense and threatens to 'sick up all of yesterdays tuna' when he wants to know what is happening and what the tag around his neck says. Ed is the second main character (next to Fluff) He is Fluff's owner and tries to get rid of his irritating cat. Ed has evidently developed a relationship with a girl called Amelia, though she is described by Fluff as being way out of his league. He lies to Fluff saying he will go to a 'great fun place just for cats' however, he is planning to dump him in this cardboard box somewhere, which is much to Amelia's horror, although she does not know that it was Ed who planned to dump him. Amelia is Ed's girlfriend who turns up really early, which is how she meets Fluff. She could be described as being a bit dippy and not all there as when she sees Fluff for the first time she is completely unaware that Ed (her boyfriend) was the 'monster' who 'abandoned this sweet little creature.' it is Amelia that forces Ed and Fluff back together as she is Fluff's 'New mummy now'

What have you learned from your audience feedback?
We recieved some audience feedback on Youtube for our film. Including a comment and email from the original writer of My Beast Friend. He said ...

"Hi Evie and Lily,

That sounds great.

I haven't done that many short films, though I have done quite a bit of TV writing over the last few years. I think some of the same rules apply, like...

The key to good films and low budgets is planning. 

Only film what you'll need, and remember that people like stories about people. Spend time making your characters interesting. Make us care about them, even if we don't like them.

Don't set out to write a five minute film. Start writing a half hour and edit edit edit the script until you've got down to five minutes. Like I said, I went from four minutes down to one and ditched a lot of stuff. But what was left worked really well. 

Remember that you have much more than just words to use. We used looks, reactions, movement and even the hand-written note to get the information across. Make every shot work as hard as it can.

If you get the opportunity, there is one pretty good book you could look at. 'Rebel Without A Crew', by Robert Rodriguez (who made 'Sin City' and 'Spy Kids'), where he describes making his first feature. It's pretty good nuts and bolts stuff.

Anyway, that's all I can think of right now. Let me know if I can help with anything else, and keep me posted.

All the best, 

Fergus Mitchell."

As can be seen we were given a lot of advice from Fergus Mitchell, which really helped us. We also recieved positive feedback in our class which highlighted our strong points, and constructive criticism - so that we knew which areas we must focus on in order to create more short films.

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

-Picnik.com & Photoshop were used to create and edit my poster for My Beast Friend .
- After Effects, which we used for the animation of text at the very beginning.

- Adobe Premier Pro, which I edited the film on.
- Youtube, to gather music and study original film.

- Facebook, which we used to contact my actors and others.

- Blogger, to upload and update my work in progress.
- iTunes, to download music for the film.

Camera Shots, angles and movement

There are many different angles used in films here are some examples.
Angle of shot.  In a high angle the camera looks down at a character, making the viewer feel more powerful than him or her, or suggesting detachment of the character. In contrast, a low angle shot places camera below the character, showing his or her importance. An overhead shot is one made from a position directly above the action (birds-eye-view) Viewpoint. The apparent distance and angle from which the camera views and records the subject. Not to be confused with point-of-view shots or subjective camera shots. Point-of-view shot (POV). A shot made from a camera position close to the line of sight of a performer who is to be watching the action shown in the point-of-view shot. Two-shot. Two people in the same shot. Selective focus.Showing only part of the action field in  focus whereas the rest of the shot is blurred or out of focus. A shift of focus from foreground to background or vice versa is called rack focus. Soft focus. An effect in which the sharpness of an image, or part of it, is reduced by the use of an optical device. Wide-angle shot. A shot of a broad field of action taken with a wide-angle lens. Tilted shot. When the camera is tilted on its axis so that normally vertical lines appear slanted to the left or right, ordinary expectations are frustrated. Such shots are often used in mystery and suspense films to create a sense of unease in the viewer.

Long shot (LS). Shot which shows all or most of a fairly large subject (for example, a person) and usually much of the surroundings. Extreme Long Shot (ELS) - see establishing shot: In this type of shot the camera is at its furthest distance from the subject, emphasising the background. Medium Long Shot (MLS): In the case of a standing actor, the lower frame line cuts off his feet and ankles. Some documentaries with social themes favour keeping people in the longer shots, keeping social circumstances rather than the individual as the focus of attention. Establishing shot. Opening shot or sequence, frequently an exterior 'General View' as an Extreme Long Shot (ELS). Used to set the scene. Medium shots. Medium Shot or Mid-Shot (MS). In such a shot the subject or actor and its setting occupy roughly equal areas in the frame. In the case of the standing actor, the lower frame passes through the waist. There is space for hand gestures to be seen. Medium Close Shot (MCS): The setting can still be seen. The lower frame line passes through the chest of the actor. Medium shots are frequently used for the tight presentation of two actors (the two shot), or with dexterity three (the three shot). Close-up (CU). A picture which shows a fairly small part of the scene, such as a character's face, in great detail so that it fills the screen. It abstracts the subject from a context. MCU (Medium Close-Up): head and shoulders. BCU (Big Close-Up): forehead to chin. Close-ups focus attention on a person's feelings or reactions, and are sometimes used in interviews to show people in a state of emotional excitement, grief or joy. In interviews, the use of BCUs may emphasise the interviewee's tension and suggest lying or guilt. BCUs are rarely used for important public figures; MCUs are preferred, the camera providing a sense of distance. Note that in western cultures the space within about 24 inches (60 cm) is generally felt to be private space, and BCUs may be invasive.

Zoom. In zooming in the camera does not move; the lens is focussed down from a long-shot to a close-up whilst the picture is still being shown. The subject is magnified, and attention is concentrated on details previously invisible.  Zooming out reveals more of the scene (perhaps where a character is, or to whom he or she is speaking) as the shot widens. Following pan. The camera swivels (in the same base position) to follow a moving subject. A space is left in front of the subject: the pan 'leads' rather than 'trails'. A pan usually begins and ends with a few seconds of still picture to give greater impact. The speed of a pan across a subject creates a particular mood as well as establishing the viewer's relationship with the subject. 'Hosepiping' is continually panning across from one person to another; it looks clumsy. Surveying pan. The camera slowly searches the scene: may build to a climax or anticlimax. Tilt. A vertical movement of the camera - up or down- while the camera mounting stays fixed. Crab. The camera moves (crabs) right or left.

Tracking (dollying). Tracking involves the camera itself being moved smoothly towards or away from the subject (contrast with zooming). Tracking in (like zooming) draws the viewer into a closer, more intense relationship with the subject; moving away tends to create emotional distance. Tracking back tends to divert attention to the edges of the screen. The speed of tracking may affect the viewer's mood. Rapid tracking (especially tracking in) is exciting; tracking back relaxes interest. In a dramatic narrative we may sometimes be drawn forward towards a subject against our will. Camera movement parallel to a moving subject permits speed without drawing attention to the camera itself. Hand-held camera. A hand-held camera can produce a jerky, bouncy, unsteady image which may create a sense of immediacy or chaos. Its use is a form of subjective treatment. Process shot. A shot made of action in front of a rear projection screen having on it still or moving images as a background.

Narrative in short films.

I plan to use a chronological narrative in my short film. I probably won't have flashbacks as this would confuse the audience as the idea in itself if wacky enough. Chronological is in time order however I will use cross-cut from shot to shot as he walks around and sees different pictures. However the time will remain consistent.

Editing Techniques

Cut. Sudden change of shot from one viewpoint or location to another. Cutting can...

• change the scene;
• compress time;
• vary the point of view; or
• build up an image or idea.

There is always a reason for a cut, and we must ask ourselves, why?
 Less abrupt transitions will often fade, dissolve, and wipe into one another, this is a Matched cut. In a 'matched cut' there is a familiar relationship between the shots may make the change seem smooth. This type of shot is used to create...

• continuity of direction;
• completed action;* The cut is usually made on an action (for example, a person begins to turn towards a door in one shot; the next shot, taken from the doorway, catches him completing the turn). Because the viewer's eye is absorbed by the action they are unlikely to notice the movement of the cut itself.
• a similar centre of attention in the frame;
• a one-step change of shot size (e.g. long to medium);
• a change of angle (conventionally at least 30 degrees).

Jump cut. Fast, sudden switch from one scene to scene, this is often used to show stress or a fast-pace. Alternatively, it may be result of poor continuity, maybe  from deleting a section.

Motivated cut. Cut made just at the point where what has occurred makes the viewer immediately want to see something which is not currently visible. A typical feature is the shot/reverse shot technique (cuts coinciding with changes of speaker). Editing and camera work appear to be determined by the action. It is intimately associated with the 'privileged point of view' (see narrative style: objectivity).

Cutting rate. Frequent cuts may be used as deliberate interruptions to shock, surprise or emphasize.

Cutting rhythm. A cutting rhythm may be progressively shortened to increase tension. Cutting rhythm may create an exciting, lyrical or staccato effect in the viewer.

Cross-cut. A cut from one line of action to another. Also applied as an adjectuve to sequences which use such cuts.

Cutaway/cutaway shot (CA). A bridging, intercut shot between two shots of the same subject. It represents a secondary activity occurring at the same time as the main action. It may be preceded by a definite look or glance out of frame by a participant, or it may show something of which those in the preceding shot are unaware. (See narrative style: parallel development) It may be used to avoid the technical ugliness of a 'jump cut' where there would be uncomfortable jumps in time, place or viewpoint. It is often used to shortcut the passing of time.

  Reaction shot. Any shot, usually a cutaway, in which a participant reacts to action which has just occurred.

Insert/insert shot. A bridging close-up shot inserted into the larger context, offering an essential detail of the scene (or a reshooting of the action with a different shot size or angle.)
Buffer shot (neutral shot). A bridging shot (normally taken with a separate camera) to separate two shots which would have reversed the continuity of direction.
 
Fade, dissolve (mix). Both fades and dissolves are gradual transitions between shots. In a fade the picture gradually appears from (fades in) or disappears to (fades out) a blank screen. A slow fade-in is a quiet introduction to a scene; a slow fade-out is a peaceful ending. Time lapses are often suggested by a slow fade-out and fade-in. A dissolve (or mix) involves fading out one picture while fading up another on top of it. The impression is of an image merging into and then becoming another. A slow mix usually suggests differences in time and place. Defocus or ripple dissolves are sometimes used to indicate flashbacks in time.

Superimpositions. Two of more images placed directly over each other (e.g. and eye and a camera lens to create a visual metaphor).

Wipe. An optical effect marking a transition between two shots. It appears to supplant an image by wiping it off the screen (as a line or in some complex pattern, such as by appearing to turn a page). The wipe is a technique which draws attention to itself and acts as a clear marker of change. Inset. An inset is a special visual effect whereby a reduced shot is superimposed on the main shot. Often used to reveal a close-up detail of the main shot.

Split screen. The division of the screen into parts which can show the viewer several images at the same time (sometimes the same action from slightly different perspectives, sometimes similar actions at different times). This can convey the excitement and frenzy of certain activities, but it can also overload the viewer.

  Stock shot. Footage already available and used for another purpose than the one for which it was originally filmed.

Invisible editing: See narrative style: continuity editing.

Editing in Short Films

There are many different types of editing styles used in short films...

Editing establishes the structure and content of the production, along with the production's overall mood, intensity, and tempo.

The first example of editing is Continuity editing refers to arranging the sequence of shots to suggest a progression of events.

 

Another type of editing is Continuity, which puts scenes and actions in chronological order as they happen. An example of this is Super Fast Samosa. This follows the samosa's journey and tells a story in order.

 

 

 

 

Cross-cutting is an editing technique most often used in films to establish action occurring at the same time in two different locations. In a cross-cut, the camera will cut away from one action to another action, which can suggest the simultaneity of these two actions but this is not always the case.
An example of this is Jurassic Park's Opening Scene "Shoot her!"  which uses cross-cutting between the action and the expressions of the men trying to put the dinosaur into the park.

 

 

 

Edward Dmytryk stipulates seven "rules of cutting" that a good editor should follow:

• "Rule 1: Never make a cut without a positive reason."
• "Rule 2: When undecided about the exact frame to cut on, cut long rather than short."
• "Rule 3: Whenever possible cut 'in movement'."
• "Rule 4: The 'fresh' is preferable to the 'stale'."
• "Rule 5: All scenes should begin and end with continuing action."
• "Rule 6: Cut for proper values rather than proper 'matches'."
• "Rule 7: Substance first—then form."

According to Walter Murch, when it comes to film editing, there are six main criteria for evaluating a cut or deciding where to cut. They are (in order of importance, most important first, with notional percentage values.):

• Emotion (51%) — Does the cut reflect what the editor believes the audience should be feeling at that moment?
• Story (23%) — Does the cut advance the story?
• Rhythm (10%) — Does the cut occur "at a moment that is rhythmically interesting and 'right'" (Murch, 18)?
• Eye-trace (7%) — Does the cut pay respect to "the location and movement of the audience's focus of interest within the frame" (Murch, 18)?
• Two-dimensional plane of the screen (5%) — Does the cut respect the 180 degree rule?
• Three-dimensional space of action (4%) — Is the cut true to the physical/spatial relationships within the diegesis?

Stop Motion in Short Films

Stop motion is used a lot in short films, and I plan to use it briefly in mine when the box opens to reveal the hat inside.

 
The first example is as I used before DEADLINE stop motion (As seen in my last post) This used computer planning, but post-it notes to create as can be seen in the making of (which I have featured in this blog). This is a very effective and colouful stop motion which is far more surreal than other short films in this sub-section.





The next short film (also featured on my last post) is Vincent by Tim Burton.  In 1982 Wilhite gave Tim Burton $60,000 to produce an adaptation of a poem Burton had written titled Vincent. This was originally planned to be a children's short story book but was instead made into this compelling short film. Together with Disney animator Rick Heinrichs, stop motion animator Stephen Chiodo and cameraman Victor Abdalov, Burton worked on the project for two months and came up with the five minute short film. Shot in bleak  black and white , Vincent imagines himself in a series of situations inspired by the Vincent Price/Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven and his films which had a strong  effect on Burton as a child. Vincent Malloy, the main character in the film, has a strong resemblance to Tim Burton himself. The film was narrated by Burton's childhood idol Vincent Price, who is also the main inspiration (obviously) for Vincent Malloy in this poem.

Use of sound and narration in short films

Music is often used in short films when narration is not needed. This usually creates an atmosphere for the film and keeps the audience viewing.

One example of this is Rocket, about a dog who builds a small rocket to fly away in. He is first inspired by a lava lamp. The music used is happy and almost heart-warming, which fits perfectly with the cute dog that is the only character in the story. The music builds up towards the end and increases the excitement. Creating a joyful and adventurous atmosphere and could not have been replaced any better.






The next film which uses this is Super Fast Samosa, which uses Bollywood-style music to give it the Indian culture feel. And builds up as the samosa is being chased by the various animals throughout the film. This film is obviously not meant to be taken too seriously and the music gives it a more light-hearted feel.






The last film which uses music is Deadline, which is stop-motion using post-it notes. There is no need for narration as this would completely ruin the asthetic of the film because it is so surreal. The music has a very similar effect to the last two and makes the film more light-hearted and joyful. It is also very simplistic so we focus far more on the amazing animation itself rather than what we can hear.

Though I do not plan to use this in my final idea, I thought I'd explore the world or narration as a seperate piece and begin to explain why it is I don't wish to use it.

The first example is Vincent by Tim Burton, this is a very quirky and original film but it is also very dark and horrifying, though comical in a way as he is pretending to be grown up and be Vincent Price, well known for his distinctive voice and performances in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.Narration is used to describe Vincent's point of view and his dark thoughts. However it is not in first person, which could suggest he has split-personality. He also quotes Edgar Allan Poe "And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted - nevermore!" which gives it a more melancholy feel and makes you feel pity for the little boy, who wants to be Vincent price.

The next film is The Giving Tree By Shel Silverstein. This is very different to our last film as the narration is more telling the story than providing someone's point of view. However there is a growing sadness to the film as time goes by and the boy grows older, and takes more from the tree. The narrator sounds unhappy too, which means that from the very begginning, we know that it will have a sad ending.

The last example is LUCKY 13: PJ, Tiny Planet Explorer about a young man who decides he wants to move to a different planet. He lists all the "essentials" that he will need (such as a Gameboy) which is comical as we know that he is not prepared for going to another planet. The narration breaks the fourth wall by inviting the audience in to what his plans are. Though he does not look at the camera when he says he wants to move to another planet, there is no other option as to who he could be talking to. The narration is far more for comical reasons than any other, but we would have no idea what was going on if it wasn't there.

 

 

 

 

For a narration, the actor needs to have a clear, powerful voice which emphasies what you want them to say. An example of someone who does this is Don LaFontaine, who has been the voice-over too 33 films and television programmes, including Family Guy and Pulp Fiction. And 750,000 television spots, 5,000 movie trailers.

Some television and film challenge our usual perception of what we expect from narration, often with a comical effect, as seen in The League of Gentlemen, when he is reading a letter from his mother.





I will not use narration in my final piece because I don't believe it would fit with my surrealist idea, but I have explored the area in great detail so I know for certain that I don't want to use it.

How are short films consumed?

Just a quick video about different areas of consumption  for short films.

Pitch Feedback

My pitch was shown to a group of my classmates and though they found my presentation very amusing, they did also comment on my actual idea. Here is a few examples of what some of them said. As can be seen I was asked many questions which I will answer on this post.

"Seems legit... I think it will be a very memorable short film that people will remember for 'that hat thing'. How do you plan on getting loads of hats?" I plan on using various hats which I own, the characters will not all be wearing bowler hats but will each have a different hat which reflects thier personality, for example I have a lion hat which I will use for a party animal. And a striped trilby hat which will be used for a business or gangster character.

"I love the idea of using a bowler hat as a main prop in the film and it's great that you've got such a strong idea of what you want to achieve. You just need to think about how you frame each of your shots to give the best result." I am currently working on a storyboard which will help me solve this issue with shots.

"I love your idea - and yes - WEAR A BOWLER HAT IF YOU WANT TO - PREACH IT GIRL! I love the surrealist idea of visually showing all these hats etc. The apple idea is also very kooky! Well done, I think it'll work very well. "

"I also love your idea, and i like the moral you're trying to portray about its okay to be different. I think its great to use old faces from the past, so creative. Literally one of the best idea's i've heard. Well done."

"Best. Pitch. Ever. This is a really quirky idea. No one will have something like this, ever, possibly. Do it. "

"I think the hat idea is really original especially with different people wearing hats. The idea of being inspired by the artwork is really good. Are you going to use much speech or just music?" I will use just music as I feel that adding narration would take away some of the strangeness of the piece and make it too much like other short films out there.

"I really like the ideas of the artwork inspiration. It seems like a very fun idea and very creative. Have you thought about how you will have the images in the edges?" The images will be in the film rather than overlayed onto it, i would prefer them to be part of it's structure rather than pasted on as an afterthought. I have a few ideas as to how I will go about this, one example is the Boy George photograph which will be on the pavement and the chracter discovers it bye tredding on it.
 

"Fab pitch ha! I really like how you have just taken a hat and created an idea, all good ideas come from a simple idea, but I also like the hidden meaning of its okay to be different and unique. Have you thought about where your location will be? x " In terms of location I have had a few ideas, one of which is my house as I have all the needed resources available for me there. Another is the village of Hethersett which has places which could be used for a country-like feel but also a slight more town-y feel as a contrast.

"I love the simple idea of the hats..and the message to be who you want to be! Make sure you don't run over in the time, and really think about what each scene will be, to plan it properly. Didn't really get what each scene would be, due to the fast pace of the film, but I did enjoy it. Make your film this entertaining and you'll be fine!"


"I do like the idea though, it's really cool and you could do some really cool stuff with it, especially with the camera effects to make it look older and stuff!"

Pitch:Initial ideas, plots and characters

This is my pitch for my film "Jack". In this I will discuss; Initial ideas, plots and characters.

Recreation of My Beast Friend

 Character, Location, Plot synopsis, Script/Storyboard

We were given the task of recreating a short film, the one we chose to do was My Beast Friend, originally directed by Ewan Torrance. We chose it because it is very funny and original. Here is a link to the original..  http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p007xb6t. We also recieved some comments from the writer himself!

We have emailed him to ask a few questions ... here is what we sent:

Hello,

We are currently doing A-level Media Studies and for our practical work we have to create a short film that lasts 5 minutes. We were wondering if you had any advice on how to go about creating and/or writing a short film that is fairly simple to produce as we have a very low budget. We also have a passion for filmmaking and want to work in the industry when we leave sixth form so we want to make sure that our short film is the best that it can be.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

Evie Calaby & Lily Vosper

Fergus replied to our message with this:

Hi Evie and Lily,

That sounds great.

I haven't done that many short films, though I have done quite a bit of TV writing over the last few years. I think some of the same rules apply, like...

The key to good films and low budgets is planning.

Only film what you'll need, and remember that people like stories about people. Spend time making your characters interesting. Make us care about them, even if we don't like them.

Don't set out to write a five minute film. Start writing a half hour and edit edit edit the script until you've got down to five minutes. Like I said, I went from four minutes down to one and ditched a lot of stuff. But what was left worked really well.

Remember that you have much more than just words to use. We used looks, reactions, movement and even the hand-written note to get the information across. Make every shot work as hard as it can.

If you get the opportunity, there is one pretty good book you could look at. 'Rebel Without A Crew', by Robert Rodriguez (who made 'Sin City' and 'Spy Kids'), where he describes making his first feature. It's pretty good nuts and bolts stuff.

Anyway, that's all I can think of right now. Let me know if I can help with anything else, and keep me posted.

All the best,

Fergus Mitchell

Plot Synopsis In a nutshell, My Beast Friend is about a young man (Ed) who is trying to get rid of his foul-mouthed cat Fluff, who Ed sees as being a man dressed up in a cat costume. He decides to trick Fluff into thinking he is going to go to a place called Pleasureland and that it's just for cats. However, Amelia turns up early and sees Fluff as a real cat and doesn't realise it was Ed who was trying to get rid of him in the first place.

Our recreation included myself, Ryan Shone and George Stevens as actors, Evie Calaby as director and camera woman with Lizzie Starling, photographer was Henry Palmer.

We hope you enjoy our production of this brilliant film.

Characters:
Ed 

Ed is the second main character (next to Fluff) He is Fluff's owner and tries to get rid of his irritating cat. Ed has evidently developed a relationship with a girl called Amelia, though she is described by Fluff as being way out of his league. He lies to Fluff saying he will go to a 'great fun place just for cats' however, he is planning to dump him in this cardboard box somewhere, which is much to Amelia's horror, although she does not know that it was Ed who planned to dump him.

Fluff
Fluff is a grumpy cat who is owned by Ed, he is seen by Ed as a man in a cat costume but by Amelia as a cute cat who has been abandoned by a 'monster' he makes harsh remarks at Ed's expense and threatens to 'sick up all of yesterdays tuna' when he wants to know what is happening and what the tag around his neck says. 

Amelia
Amelia is Ed's girlfriend who turns up really early, which is how she meets Fluff. She could be described as being a bit dippy and not all there as when she sees Fluff for the first time she is completely unaware that Ed (her boyfriend) was the 'monster' who 'abandoned this sweet little creature.' it is Amelia that forces Ed and Fluff back together as she is Fluff's 'New mummy now'

Location, Location, Location
In terms of where to film, we used Evie Calaby's (directors) hallway as most of us don't have a hall and this was a good space and had the appropriate equipment and mean we could use two cameras in effective places. I drew out a floor plan which shows the layout of the hall and where we could place the cameras.

The script

 

FLUFF
ple-plea-please.
Ed tell me what's going on right now or I'm going to sick up all of yesterdays tuna.
(makes sick noises)
Oh no it's that girl isn't it amoeba. You're mad, she's way out of your league.

ED
This is nothing to do with Amelia! I just,.I just wanted to sort my life out you know, get ridof some of the dead wood. So, I thought I'd take you to this great fun place, just for cats, yeah just until I finish tidying up.
It's called.. pleasureland.

FLUFF
Pleasureland? Sweet, but not before time.
(Door bell rings)

AMELIA
I'm so sorry Ed, I know I'm super early! Oh my god! who's this?

ED
 Er that's... fluff

AMELIA
Free to good home. Some monster actually abandoned this sweet, little creature. Well fluff I guess that makes me your new mummy now.

FLUFF
You lying cun-

The Story Board

I drafted up a quick storyboard a while before filming so it was far easier to plan shots. I am not the best at drawing, however this did make the day of filming far easier. 

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