Pitch me!
'My short film is an honest and poignant narrative about a middle aged, divorced woman looking for love through internet dating websites. It is done almost in the form of a personal diary so we access all her thoughts and feelings.'
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
On Friday 16th of July, our Media class went to the BFI.
We watched a number of short films including:
Borderline by Alex Chandon (4 minutes)
Milk by Andrea Arnold (10 minutes)
Project One (5 minutes)
Sundial by William Raban (1 minute)
Girls' Night Out by Joanna Quinn (6 minutes).
All the films were very different in their own ways, however personally, some of them I didn't like as much as others. Project One was very technically flawless and very well made however there wasn't any real storyline- beginning, middle and end- to the film. It was a film which could have ended at any point.
I really enjoyed Girls Night Out as it was very different to the rest of the films. It was a cartoon animation film yet this just made it more interesting and appealing. The good use of colour throughout the film encourages us to focus on different things which makes it easier for us to watch. Similarly, I really liked Borderline. It wasn't a conventional film as it didn't have a defined storyline however it was cleverly made and very addictive.
We were also told about the Future Films Organisation which is an opportunity for us to enter in our short films. It also gave us the chance to exhibit and screen the films to people with influence so our 'voices can be heard'. The best short film is picked and given a prize.
I really enjoyed Girls Night Out as it was very different to the rest of the films. It was a cartoon animation film yet this just made it more interesting and appealing. The good use of colour throughout the film encourages us to focus on different things which makes it easier for us to watch. Similarly, I really liked Borderline. It wasn't a conventional film as it didn't have a defined storyline however it was cleverly made and very addictive.
We were also told about the Future Films Organisation which is an opportunity for us to enter in our short films. It also gave us the chance to exhibit and screen the films to people with influence so our 'voices can be heard'. The best short film is picked and given a prize.
Project One won the Future Film award in 2009.
We learnt that music must be copywrite free for us to include it in our films. So many of us are going to have to make our own music or use a limited range of songs. We were given this site PRSMUSIC which is a site which has many copywrite free songs for us to use. This was really handy to know as it will help in the progression of my film.
What is 'GENRE'?'
The word 'genre' comes from the French word meaning 'kind' or 'class'. To us, genre is the category a piece of media text comes from. Foe example the genre of a book, a film, a play can range from horror, thriller, action/adventure, rom-com, romance, comedy, sci-fi to drama.
There are many ways to help us establish the genre of a film...
We can look at the sounds in films. A rom-com film may include: diagetic sounds of kissing, laughing- soundtrack would stereotypically be upbeat, happy, may include the word 'love' etc.
We could also focus on the type of camera angles and edits the film uses. A horror film may use: low angled shots to make things appear bigger, more powerful and more menacing, over the shoulder shots to suggest the idea that someone is following them, quick edits to create a feeling of fear and suspense. (The Dutch tilt angle used in 'Virus' was typical of horror films)
Or we could look at the mise-en-scene. The mise-en-scene in an action/adventure film may include weapons and bombs, the weather is usually rainy and the more important fight scenes occur in the night to make it more frightening, army uniforms (Green Zone) sweaty, muscular, dirty men etc.
All these things help us to define the genre of the film.
Genre is the expectation and template for creativity...
'Stalk'
2005A dark fairy tale about Lonely Bunny who is intrigued by her unusual admirer's desperate attempts to get her attention.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p004r2bz (8.19mins)
The short film was interesting as the director has chosen to use animated animals as opposed to humans. However, some of the images and props used are real- for example, the car, the shops etc. The facial features of the bunny were real people's.
The director established the genre of the film- thriller/horror- in the first few seconds of the film. The sad lonely bunny along side the rainy dark night set up a sense of fear and foreshadowed something sinister. The non diagetic music consisting of heavy beats from low to high notes resembled that a heart beat with are common to real horror movies. The diagetic sound of footsteps and rain all add to the sense of unease.
Although the film was cartoon, the director still used interesting camera angles and shots to make it feel more realistic. The frequent use of over the shoulder shots suggests that something of someone is following the bunny (hence the name Stalk) The high angle shot of the green alien looking creature which we learn is stalking the bunny is also a clever technique as we are forced to look into his huge eyes which makes him appear even more frightening.
The lighting throughout the film is dark and dull which again, matches the genre of the short film.
All in all the film was interesting and very unique. I enjoyed the animation and I thought it was very clever the way it was similar to real horror/thriller films although it was short and didn't involve human characters.
7/10
Although the film was cartoon, the director still used interesting camera angles and shots to make it feel more realistic. The frequent use of over the shoulder shots suggests that something of someone is following the bunny (hence the name Stalk) The high angle shot of the green alien looking creature which we learn is stalking the bunny is also a clever technique as we are forced to look into his huge eyes which makes him appear even more frightening.
The lighting throughout the film is dark and dull which again, matches the genre of the short film.
All in all the film was interesting and very unique. I enjoyed the animation and I thought it was very clever the way it was similar to real horror/thriller films although it was short and didn't involve human characters.
7/10
'The Invisible Man'
made by Amancay-Tapia-Montes
The film is posted on Virgin Media Shorts and takes a look at colonialism from the point of view of a London illegal immigrant.
The film opens with a non diagetic soundtrack of upbeat Mexican music signifying a different ethnicity. The sound bridge of the man taking allows us to hear his foreign accent as he talks about his life and the difficulties he is faced with.
A range of camera angles and shots are used- over the shoulder shots, point of view shots, jump cuts etc, to make the film more interesting to watch. Again, this is obviously a very low budget film yet acts almost as a video diary to capture the struggles immigrant are faced with.
It follows the typical documentary style film as it has captions of different buildings and at the end through a few sentences, gives us an update on the immigrant focused on in the film. It's a non fiction text which adopts the conventions of a video diary to present the material. This is a very moving and powerful story and is a good way to draw attention around the issue.
The narrative voice is of the immigrant speaking to us, and the USP (appeal) is the story he retells to us and its controversial quality. I suppose the genre of the film is a drama as it dramatises a real life issue to make it more appealing and interesting. The representation is of ethnicity and the unfairness around different cultures. I would say the film is targeted to illegal immigrants, but also people who are interested in the subject.
It is not the best of short films as it is very basic and simple. The choices about the editing, pace and narrative structure and very deliberate and are crafted accordingly. There are a number of interesting edits- over the shoulder shots, pans, tracks and extreme close ups- which help to highlight the narrators feeling of segregation and abandonment. The pace is more or less the same the whole way through, there are no particular long of short edits which are noticable.
5/10
This short film is a well made psychological thriller. Although short, it contains all the necessary ingredients which make a successful horror film.
Interestingly, there is no dialogue between any of the characters. No sound track or non diagetic music/ sounds are used. The long edits at the start help to set the scene and introduce a feeling of unease and tension. The gate closing down is an interesting technique as it acts as an almost swipe transition. The panning of the camera around various settings again help to establish the setting and create a sinister feeling- we know from the outset that something bad will happen. The interesting shots through the security camera implies that someone, or something is watching us. Finally, we are introduced to a character through the security camera. The fast edits allow us to learn that this is his office, and he is working, and that it is late at night as no one else it there. Again, the night time setting reminds us of the horror soon to approach.
As the file is downloading, shots of what's going on around the man are interspersed with shots of a close up view of the computer screen as we see the progression of the downloading file. This is a clever technique as we are constantly being forced to come back to the file...which we assume is the 'virus'.
As we see the man's girlfriend on the screen, unlike him, we know something bad is going to happen. The silhouette of the person coming out of the floor behind her confirms the genre of the film- horror. Clearly, this is not suitable for children.
The crane shot of the man looking at the computer while frantically calling Amber shows him to be weak and vulnerable and we know he will not be able to save her. This is confirmed by the extreme close up of the blood stains on Amber's keyboard.
The fact that both characters get nose bleeds underlines that both of them will most probably die as there is no way of escaping their fates.
The mirror shots of the character with a person standing uncannily behind them adds to the feeling of tension. The diagetic sound of the dial tone as the phone hangs down from its cord signals that all is over and both characters have been killed by this unknown 'virus'. The moving of the mouse which selects 'all' suggests that there is no end and makes us aware that the 'virus' in in fact in the computers.
The wide range of shots and angles used in this film all add to the ever increasing sense of foreshadowing. The USP is the genre and the impeccable transitions throughout.
9/10
2003
In some respects, Arnold is showing the negative side to single young mothers with a number of young children; however 'Wasp' also explores the desperation these mothers are forced to go through and the struggles and hardship they are expected to undertake. Many of the scenes show Zoe, the mother acting in an aggressive, hostile way towards her children, however this is juxtaposed beside her trying hard to comfort and sympathise with them. The image on the right is a still from the movie; it depicts the mother in a stereotypical way as lower class and perhaps cheap. The fact that she, and her three small children all have their middle fingers up at another character portays the mother as a bad influence on her small children. This shot is one which presents Zoe as the typical young mother who is struggling to bring up her children.
Zoe, has three young girls and one baby boy and it is emphasized from the start of the film that she is unable to properly look after them. The woman she fights with at the start comments on how she should call the 'social services' to take her children away, and through close ups of Zoe taking moldy bread and empty packets of cereal out of the cupboard until ultimately resorting to giving her children sugar, Arnold highlights her inability to feed and support her own children. These shots all create an image of Zoe as incapable. Her lying to David by telling him the children are her friends, and her agreement to go on a date with him without finding suitable child care for her children, suggests she is putting herself first before her children, which all adds to form a picture of her as a stereotypical 'bad' mother.
Yet, Arnold includes shots which show Zoe playing with her kids as they run to the pub, she buys them food and drink instead of getting herself a drink and sings and dances with the girls to cheer them up. She slips out of the pub to check on her children near the end of her film, however shouts and complains that they are bothering her. These constant contrasting shots forces us to question her role as a mother.
Distinct from her children, Zoe is struggling within herself. When she walks into the pub, her facial expression shows her to be nervous and almost scared by all the glaring men around her. Her fear after David asks her to buy the drinks and her slow stumble to the bar all contribute in setting up this vulnerable, almost weak picture of a woman and mother. She is torn throughout the film between living her own life and being the mother she knows she has to be.
The image of the 'wasp' is a metaphorical symbol of her realisation of her role as a mother and the penultimate shot of her darting out of the car as the wasp enters Toby's mouth draws our attention to the choice she chose to make- to be a mother.
A2 COURSE: SHORT FILMS
'About a Girl'-Directed by Brian Percial.
In 2001 it won the BAFTA award for Best Short Film. It also won an award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. for Best British Short, the Turner Classic Movie's Short film Award prize at the London Film festival, and the JURY prize at the Raindance film festival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL2z8Qzn1dc (9.52mins)
The opening shot of the film is of a silhouette of a young girl singing 'Stronger' by Brittany Spears against a skyline of clouds on a hill. Throughout the duration of the film, there is no soundtrack or non-diagetic music, only the dialogue between the characters, the young girl talking self consciously to us, and the diagetic sound of the world around her.
The interesting juxtaposition of shots of her talking to the camera in the present tense and flash backs into the near past is extremely effective as it paints a more in depth, detailed picture of who this girl is. It is difficult to pin point the exact genre of the film as the narrative consists only of this girl. As her monologue continues, we begin to feel almost uncomfortable as her upbeat way of talking does not match some of the terrible things she explains and suggests has happened to her- domestic violence, poverty and family troubles.
The film as a whole is very low budget, not fussy as only four of five locations are used, however the narrative is highly captivating. Perhaps the most impressive shot is at the end, of the low angle shot of the bloody bag opening with the baby falling out.
I would say the film is aimed at a more mature audience of about 16-20 years old- possibly girls due to the poignant ending. The representation is of regional ethnicity yet also perhaps age. The deliberate omission of the girls name forces us to not be so connected with her and reminds us at the end of how many girls there are that go through such horrific experiences such as this young girl's.
The USP (appeal) is the young girl, her dreams of fame and the picture she paints of her troubled life. It attracts us as it is very real and extremely honest. It also highlights how the lives of every day people can hold such mystery and horror.
9/10
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