ANALYSIS OF SHORT FILMS

What is a Short Film: A short film is defined as a motion picture that is not more than 40 minutes in running time (including all credits). (definition courtesy of - http://www.henrymiller.org/shorts.html)

Some Analysing.

The Black Hole

Directed by Phil and Olly (No Surnames Given)/UK/2008
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5_Msrdg3Hk&feature=channel_page

•  Not high budget film as distributed via youtube by Futureshorts but some nice special effects used (the black hole effect).
• The whole movie has a grey effect which reflects the characters mood but when he decides to rob the safe the tint goes slightly darker to show his change in mood.
• The first character shown is the central protagonist (i.e. the office worker).
• The photocopier acts as the office workers heartbeat.
• There is a slight dutch tilt to the camera signifying somethings not right or something will go wrong.

 Maybe One Day

a Rankin & Chris Production / Directed by Chris Cottam / UK / 2009
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn0lhsXHEhc&feature=channel

•   An inspiring film that tells us to break out of the regular life and live if only for a day.
• Starts off with quite a dark blue tint to signify the characters sadness but when he escapes the tint turns to bright and yellow to show his change of mood to happiness.
• A steadi-cam is used to show everything from the characters point of view.
• The whole film is like in a Documentary style of the characters everyday life.
• The non-digetic music used in the background at the start is quite slow and sounds like a lullaby sort of and the narrators voice reminds me of a schoolteachers in a history lesson where it makes you feel tired.
• When the character decides to escape the non-digetic music becomes faster and more lively plus the Narrators voice becomes more passionate which draws you into the film and you can relate to the characters emotion.

Taken

Dir. Adam Phillips / Australia / 2008
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q7vqvRZg4M&feature=channel

• Starts off slow and simple. The character has no expression on his face due to the film being an animation so its hard to tell what they are feeling.
• The way the monster/creature smashes through the window and grabs the man is shocking as its totally unexpected.
• Has an unusual storyline.

2 Truths + 1 Lie
Dir. James Coulson / twenty120 / USA / 2008
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6CKYU1LCQ4&feature=channel

• Strange, not really any storyline, more like a documentary.
• Digetic sound in the background is the sounds you would hear in an office so i guess its meant to be like getting to know your fellow office worker.
• Quite unnerving as people are revealing there secrets whereas this would only normally happen if you knew the person really well so i guess this is Binary Opposition too.

Nov 14 2003

Dir. man vs magnet (Matt Smithson) / USA / 2008
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQygBM8Hcr8&feature=channel

• Documentary style animation.
• Digetic sound of the Camera film rolling makes it feel like the film is old but it was made in 2003.
• No real storyline.
• Quite strange/confusing.

Wrong side of the Bed
Director: Not Stated.Winner of 2006 One Minute Wonder Competition.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR_PzFZgsHU&feature=related

• Binary opposition shown by the split screen. One screen is fine, the other everything is going wrong.
• Split screen shows characters alternative motives.
• A simple title sequence is used overlaying the bottom of the first shot.

This is Me
By Sam Arthur / UK / 2006
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrcMDsmc_Dc&feature=channel_page

• I expected it to be sad as it started off in a hospital ward but it turned out to be a comedy.
• Its not a very low budget film as they used a lot of people to help make it and also the location must have been hired out but its not as much as a huge blockbuster film.
• The london accent of the narrator and the main character (who are the same) add to the comedy element of the film as the cockney accent is assoiciated with cheekiness (like Derek Trotter off Only Fools and Horses). 

Summary of The Common Codes and Coventions of Short Films

From all the Short Films I have watched these are the Common Codes and Conventions ive seen:

•  Short films tend to take one or more aspects of a real life situation and alter it in a way that seems surreal making the films seem stranger than normal or alternatively there is some sort of twist at the end of the film.
• The short films usually have non-digetic music made by an indie artist playing through the whole time in the background to add to the atmosphere/emotion of the film.
• Short films tend to be between a minute and 10 minutes although some can go up to 40 minutes (this is due to a difference between the North American definition of short film and the British definition).
• Normally the first character shown is the Central Protagonist.
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COURSEWORK OPTIONS

2. A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:

• a website homepage for the film; [disregard this option]
• a film magazine front cover, featuring the film;
• a poster for the film.

10. A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options:

• a poster for the film;
• a radio trailer for the film;
• a film magazine review page featuring the film.

My group has chosen to do the latter, a Short Film as we feel that we could produce a much better piece in this medium rather than a Film trailer. A Film trailer is a short montage of clips that are important to the plot
of the fim the trailers for. Normally these shots involve lots of special effects that will be hard to reproduce at our current level and also due to a lack of necessary equipment. Plus we would have to think up a good plot for a whole film otherwise the piece would not be strong and would not draw the audience into the film and make them want to see more.
Whereas we think that we can put a lot more thought and emotion into creating a short film with an interesting storyline which will gain us a good mark in the unit of work but also ultimately something that people will enjoy to watch.
Also after attending a 'How to make a Movie Trailer' workshop at The Coop Young Filmmakers Festival i decided that it wasnt really for me.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Research and Planning must be presented in electronic format. Where candidates have worked as a group, the research may be presented collectively, but teachers are asked to differentiate the contributions of individuals within the group in arriving at a mark and justifying individual marks on the assessment sheet. As part of the moderation sample, the moderator will request some research/planning material.




Level 1 0–7 marks
There is minimal research into similar products and a potential target audience.

There is minimal organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.

There is minimal work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.

Time management may be very poor.

There is minimal care in the presentation of the research and planning.

There is minimal skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.

There are minimal communication skills.




Level 2 8–11 marks
There is basic research into similar products and a potential target audience.

There is basic organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.

There is basic work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.

Time management may not be good.

There is a basic level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

There is basic skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.

There are basic communication skills.



Level 3 12–15 marks
There is proficient research into similar products and a potential target audience.

There is proficient organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.

There is proficient work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.

Time management is good.

There is a good level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

There is proficient skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.

There are proficient communication skills.



Level 4 16–20 marks
There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience.

There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.

There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.

Time management is excellent.

There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.

There are excellent communication skills.



Candidates will evaluate their work electronically. The format of the evaluation has some flexibility and its form can be negotiated between teacher and student: it may take place with individual candidates or with the production group as a whole, or each individual candidate or production group may make a formal or informal presentation to the whole class.


The questions that must be addressed in the evaluation are:

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

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

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

Ideas for the format for the presentation of the evaluation can be found in the Guidance Notes.



Level 1 0–7 marks
There is minimal understanding of the forms and conventions used in the productions.

There is minimal understanding of the role and use of new media in various stages of the production.

There is minimal understanding of the combination of main product and ancillary texts.

There is minimal understanding of the significance of audience feedback.

There is minimal skill in choice of form in which to present the evaluation.

There is minimal ability to communicate.

There is minimal use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation.




Level 2 8–11 marks
There is basic understanding of the forms and conventions used in the productions.

There is basic understanding of the role and use of new media in various stages of the production.

There is basic understanding of the combination of main product and ancillary texts.

There is basic understanding of the significance of audience feedback.
There is basic skill in choice of form in which to present the evaluation.
There is basic ability to communicate.

There is basic use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation.




Level 3 12–15 marks
There is proficient understanding of the forms and conventions used in the productions.

There is proficient understanding of the role and use of new media in various stages of the production.

There is proficient understanding of the combination of main product and ancillary texts.

There is proficient understanding of the significance of audience feedback.

There is proficient skill in choice of form in which to present the evaluation.

There is proficient ability to communicate.

There is proficient use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation.




Level 4 16–20 marks
There is excellent understanding of the forms and conventions used in the productions.

There is excellent understanding of the role and use of new media in various stages of the production.

There is excellent understanding of the combination of main product and ancillary texts.
There is excellent understanding of the significance of audience feedback.

There is excellent skill in choice of form in which to present the evaluation.
There is excellent ability to communicate.

There is excellent use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation.

FINAL CUT

ANCILLARY TEXT FINAL PRODUCT (2)

all pictures used here were taken by ourselves.

ANCILLARY TEXT FINAL PRODUCT (1)

EDITING & POST-PRODUCTION NOTES

Now that we've collected all of our footage and cut it into the correct order we can start using Final Cut Express to edit in the transitions and soundtrack. The Final Cut Express program is quite hard to use for beginners but luckily we attended a Final Cut Masterclass workshop which gave us all the basic knowledge we needed to edit a film. We will still be using google to search for more advanced tutorials just so we can make our film that little bit better.

Sound of a Crow:
When the central protagonist is at the camp-site and as he is about to pick up the dead body by the farmhouse, he hears the sound of a crow which distracts him from what he was doing and makes him run away. I have been searching the Internet and have managed to find a website which gives away free sound effects that are also copyright-free. (http://www.ilovewavs.com/Effects/Birds/Birds.htm)
I then just need to import the sound clip into Final Cut and add it over the clip where the central protagonist looks up. I may need to cut down the clip a little as it lasts about 10 seconds, and this is far too long.

Lighting Adjustments:
After filming we noticed that some shots were lighter/darker than others. This was due to the fact that we filmed at slightly different times of the day each time and at this time of the year it starts to get dark earlier. This is not much of a problem though we feel as we can use the Final Cut Express program to alter the lighting to make the shots match and look coherent. We have also found an online tutorial to guide us on how to do this so it should be simple.

Voice over:
In our Final Cut we decided that it needs a voiceover of a news report to help anchor our preffered reading. We'll record the news reports ourselves using the equipment provided then overlay the track ontop of our soundtrack and move it to the correct positions. Hopefully this will help the audience to understand the plot easier. 

ANCILLARY TEXT IDEAS & RESEARCH (2)

Film Magazine Review Page
For the second Ancillary text we will be doing a Film magazine review page for our Short Film.
To do this we will be conducting some research on film magazines and noting how the Professionals have designed their articles and what content they have included. We will then use this information collected to  make our own magazine review page.

I have decided to study three popular Film Magazines and combine all of the good things from these then apply it to our Film Magazine review page. Hopefully this will help to make it a good quality piece.

Research
Empire Magazine
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008. It is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain, consistently outselling its nearest market rival Total Film and is also published in Australia, Turkey and Russia.

(An Example of an Empire magazine article)

Features of an Empire magazine article:

• A Big picture
• Brief Synopsis/Technical Details
• One Big Quote
• Final Verdict at the end 
• Star Rating

Feature articles have no borders but do have titles and page numbers. Less important articles have Borders.
All the pages are visually pleasing as there is lots to see, for instance different colour writing in different sizes with different fonts are used to bring life to the page. The big picture or lots of small pictures used helps with this too.

(An Example of an Empire magazine Article)
Overall there is lots of colour and it was interesting to read.


Total Film
Total Film, published by Future Publishing, is the United Kingdom's second best-selling film magazine. It offers film and DVD news, reviews, and features. The magazine was launched in 1997 and is published every four weeks. TF provides a range of features, from full-length interviews, with established and up-and-coming actors and directors, to major film previews.

(An example of a Total Film Magazine article)
Features of a Total Film Magazine:

• One quite smal picture
• Title in Bold
• Star rating
• Release Date
• Sentence that sums up movie in bold
• Small review of film
• Author of review in bold
• Certificate rating
• Running time

The articles are mostly a white background with black writing, the only colour really brought to the page is from the picture.

(An example of a Total Film Magazine article)
Occasionaly there is a full page picture with writing on top of it which i thought were good as normally these pictures are interesting and you can study the details more closely.
No borders are used really in any of their articles.

Filmstar
Filmstar is a British magazine devoted to films. Launched on 28 May 2009, Filmstar is the second magazine launched by Blackfish Publishing. It was published monthly and aimed at movie-goers aged 25 and over. Filmstar ended in October 2009 with issue 5.

(An example of a Filmstar Magazine article)
Features of a Filmstar Magazine article:

• One medium sized picture
• Name of Directors, Writers and Stars of the film alltogether
• Star Rating
• Certificate , Release date and Running Time alltogether
• Sentence that sums up film
• Positives and Negatives plus Brief Synopsis
• Small fact about the movie in a box in the middle shaped like a post-it note.
• Bold writing at starts of paragraphs
• A black line border is used with the title of the section intergrated

(An example of a Filmstar Magazine article)
I felt that this Magazine did everything that a Film magazine should but was the least interesting out of them all which may have been why they stopped producing it.

I also decided to ask some people which magazine appealed to them the most out of the three. The majority said that they prefered the Empire Magazine as it was more Visually Appealing and the articles were more interesting to read compared to the other two magazines so i will keep this in mind when designing the magazine review page.

Summary

After studying these magazines i have come up with a list of techniques we will apply to our magazine review page:

• We will use quite a large picture somewhere on the page to interest the audience
• The title should be Large and in bold but also maybe white/black in a coloured box
• Then a little sentence/synopsis of the movie, again, possibly in a coloured box with white/black writing underneath the title.
• Synopsis of the film, good points, bad points and overall opinion.
• Name of directors, writers, certificate rating and release date in a box somewhere on the page
  
• Star Rating, this could be close to the directors box(see above bullet point)
• The Crucial thing is to keep the page looking interesting and visually pleasing so it doesnt bore the audience.
  

ROUGH CUT

Rough Cut

This is the first rough cut we made. Basically we have just put the clips in the correct order. We will add the Soundtrack and maybe do some more with the transitions/cuts later but if you have any constructive criticism feel free to leave a comment.

You will notice that the House part of this footage is not very good quality. Due to the fact that we lost most of the original footage and the fact that we were not happy with the quality of it we decided to re-film this part.

We also think that we may add more clips to the running part so we can have more quick cuts making the setion more fast pace and exciting.

Here is the Updated Version of the House scene. Me and Alex feel that this version is much better due to the fact that we found a better Actress and we took much more time with the mise-en-scene, getting the correct props to make the film and setting look more realistic and less hastily thrown together. Again if you have any criticisms please feel free to leave me a comment.

ANCILLARY TEXT IDEAS & RESEARCH (1)

MOVIE POSTER

For the first Ancillary Text we will create a movie poster for our film. We will most likely get the base picture for the poster while we are filming and then edit it on photoshop to a suitable quality. The movie poster is different to the teaser poster as the teaser poster creates an image that makes the audience interested about the film and want to watch it, hence 'Teaser' and the movie poster tells the audience what the movie is about as well as making the audience want to see the film.

Our initial idea for the Movie Poster is a shot of the campsite showing the tents and objects scattered  around with blood on them. Alex thinks it would be a good idea for the poster to show an arm hanging out of a tent to signify that a death has occured here and not to show the main character in the poster to create a feel of mystery. I agree with the arm idea but im not to sure about not showing the main character at least a little bit. Maybe a shot with just the characters feet in the shot and then through them a shot of the tents etc. We would have to make sure we use the right shoes and clothing to signify the age of the character and stuff.

I've done some research into recent horror movie posters to see what makes a great movie poster and so i can transfer the techniques from these posters across to our own so we too can make a great movie poster.

Dead Snow(Død snø)

• The Blood, Head and Chainsaw signify Violence and death which are in turn associated with Horror movies and could signify what is to come in the movie.
• The snow and mountains in the background signify the setting of the film.
• A slight blue tint around the edges of the poster enhance the picture in the middle and to the sides making them easier to see but also your eye is drawn to them more.
• The main characters are pictured inside the lettering of the title which introduces the viewer of the poster to them even if they dont know the characters actual names. This is quite a unique way of doing it which i havent really seen before.
• The movie is a Binary opposite as most films with Nazis in them are Serious period Dramas or Thrillers out of respect to the people lost in the Second World War but this film is a Comedy and makes fun of the Nazis by casting them as Zombies.
• The fact that the decapitated head still has its eyes open and they are in focus watching the audience of the poster signifies that is a fiction movie as a decapitated head does not do this in real life. It also signifes that the Movie could be a Horror/Fantasy too.
 

Grace 

• The red liquid that i presume is blood in the bottle and the fly on the tip of the bottle signifiy death and violence could occur in the film.
• The babies bottle signifys that babies could be involved in the movie or the main protagonist is a baby.
• The word undying could suggest the film is about the undead which also means that the movie would be a Horror movie as Zombies/The Undead fit into the Horror genre.
• The Grey wash around the edges of the poster highlights the bottle in the middle of the poster and it makes it easier to see the detail on the bottle.
• The way the bottle is half empty could show the mindset of the film, so focusing on the negative rather than the positive but it could also signify that someone has drunk half of the 'blood' inside the bottle which would also mean that the movie is a Horror movie as no one normally drinks blood accept vampires and other monsters.

The Collector

• As the person is the main figure you can see in the middle of the poster this could signify that he is the main Protagonist of the movie.
  
• The leather gloves hes wearing and the mask he is tying to his face signify that the person wishes to remain anonymous as these kind of clothing are normally used when burglaring a house as the leather gloves ensure that you leave no fingerprints and the mask makes sure that no-one sees your face.
• The way the house is shown in the background could mean that this is the setting for the movie so a surburban housing area.
  

The Haunting In Connecticut

• The phrase based on true events makes the movie seem even scarier to the Audience as it takes away the barrier that people have which gives them the mindset 'oh its not real so nothing like this can happen to me' but if its true it means it has happened so it could happen to them.
• The seance occuring in the middle of the poster signifys that the movie is of the Horror Genre as this practice is used to communicate with spirits by Psychics and has been used in quite a lot of famous Horror movies.
• The way the man is held to the ceiling in the position of Jesus Christ on the cross give a feeling of uneasiness to the audience as this postion and the fact that he is on the ceiling is very unnatural and defies the laws of gravity but it also gives a sense of curiosity. 'Why is he on the Ceiling?, How is he doing that?
• The way the man is held to the Ceiling signifies he is possesed as this was used in such movies as The Exorcist to signify possesion.
• The position he is in (the cross shape) may signify that the man is an innocent like Jesus Christ but the fact that he is on the ceiling shows that he is being held against his will by forces unknown, most likely supernatural forces.
• The clothing on the man on the ceiling and the way the poster is sort of brown and faded could signify that the movie is set in the past.
  

Orphan

• The way that the girls face is so symmetrical and perfect gives off an uneasy feeling as it looks unnatural like a waxwork piece or a doll.
• The red scarf wrapped around her neck and the red lettering signify blood and violence may occur in the movie.
• The way that her eyes are totally black and her sockets are in shadow gives her an evil look like a shark or some sort of predator.
• As she is the only person on the poster this might signify that she is the main protagonist. 

Pandorum

•  A gentle grey tint around the edges of the poster highlight the hand and wires in the center.
• The hand could be that of the central protagonist as its the only thing in the picture.
• The way the wires travel into the veins and arteries of the persons arm make it look painful which could signify that violence is included in the film.
• The wires going into the arm show that this movie could be of the Sci-fi/Horror Genre as these kind of wires arent used in hospital practices and look more like wires of industrial machinery.
• The way Pandorum is written down the front of the persons forearm like a tattoo signifys that Pandorum could be part of the person or something important to the person so maybe a sickness/illness?

  

Friday the 13th 

•  The red writing and the machete signify that there will be horror and violence contained in the movie.
• The way the man is wearing a mask means we cannot connect with him as he has annonymity and we cannot see his face or his emotions so we cannot empathise with him, therefore he makes the audience have an uneasy feeling as he remains a mysterious and foreboding figure.
• The blue tint used on the poster connects with Horror movies as blue tints are normally used in them to signify the supernatural.
• The woods in the background signify the setting of the film and also the words camp crystal lake so the audience knows the name of where the film is set. The woodland setting also fits in with the codes and conventions of Horror films as its an isolated setting.
• As the man with the mask and machete is the only person on the poster this could signify that he is the central protagonist.
  

 The Amityville Horror

• The Red writing in the title music, the way the writing drips down, the shotgun in the mans hand and the message 'katch em & Kill em' signify that violence will occur in the movie.
• The man in the picture may be the central protagonist as he is the only character portrayed on the poster and there are no other people on the poster.
• The way that the man is highlighted shows that he is important to the film and this brings him to the attention of the audiences eyes.
• The house is showed in the background of the poster to show the setting of the film but its also placed at an angle thats almost like you are looking up at the house which could signify that its more important than just a house and could be key to the plot of the movie. Also in filming a low angle shot is used to signify that something is powerful.
• A technique is used on the poster like looking through a dirty window but someone has smeared a big section away so that we can see through it. This could signify that someone is watching the main character through the window and writing messages/instructions to the character to follow.
  

The Fourth Kind

 

• The poster shows one person in the middle. As he is the only person on the poster this could signify that he is the main protagonist but he remains anonymous as his face is cut off the poster meaning that the designer of the poster wants us to focus on the action of the mans body rather than his face.
• The way that the mans body is totally tensed up shows that he is not relaxed and happy but scared and panicking signifying that this movie is not a family movie or a comedy but a Horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller Movie.
• I think that the letters are put over the window to tell the audience what is happening as the light coming through the window at night is commonly used in Sci-Fi films like 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' to signify that aliens are visiting 
• The letters in the title of the film 'The Fourth Kind' are slightly stretched at the bottom linking in with the theme of being abducted, so basically they are being lifted slightly into the air like the man.
• As well as signifying an alien encounter the light coming through the window also highlights the body of the man being abducted bringing it to the attention of the audience.
• Putting the words 'Based on the Actual Case studies' peaks the interest of the audience. 'What case studies are these?'. It also does the same as 'The Haunting in Connecticut' film, implying that the film is based on true events which invokes a fear in the audience as they are not sure whether its true or not. Here is a review that emphasizes this:

A Few Minor Niggles, 2 November 2009

Author: yakuzaplacemat1215 from Shibuya

I had the opportunity of seeing this film at an early screening, and though my reaction to this film's technical devices was quite mixed, the constant uncertainty as to whether or not the sometimes downright disturbing patient interviews are real is... well... frankly, I'm having a little trouble sleeping right now, which is why I'm up early in the AM writing this review. At points, things occur on the camera that would careen terribly close to cheesy if that niggling doubt weren't present... did this happen? Was this real? Suddenly, it's not funny alien movie shtick. It is horrifying. Point blank horrifying. Early research into the film's viral campaigns hasn't produced anything absolutely definitive of the like that illuminated The Blair Witch Project as true, YET, and so long as that doubt remains, the film can be incredibly effective. There are a few technical hiccups, as I mentioned at the beginning, like chaotic amounts of split-screening between action, and merry-go-round shots that are a bit nauseating (when you see the opening, you will know what I mean here.) The film is also not above pandering to several alien-abduction, TV-special clichés, such as a brief "simulation" of an "alien experimenting forceps," and, of course, the wrap-up text (overlaid across mountain vistas) announcing where the characters are now and how insanely unsolvable the mystery is. The story is also a bit slow in building its setting before introducing the reason people are there: ALIENS. But, despite those obstacles, The Fourth Kind really can pull off creepy-as-hell when it counts, all without once indulging in CGI space monsters or artistic renditions of such - and that alone I give it kudos for. I would recommend going in expecting more of a Ridley Scott's Alien production and not Spielberg's E.T., to be clear.

• A Blue Wash is used over the top of the whole poster to signify the Supernatural which is the theme of the movie as its a Movie about Alien Abduction. 

Summary of Film Posters Codes & Conventions

• The Poster normally has one character as the main focus who is quite often the central protagonist of the movie and his face is not displayed (e.g covered by a mask or in conveniently placed shadow) or cut off to give the piece an air of mystery. The only film poster ive analysed thats an exception to this is Orphan but the way that her face is so perfect and flawless is kind of like a mask in itself as no-ones face is that symmetrical but its like its innocence is covering something darker deep inside shown by the black pupils and the slightly shadowed eyes.
• The piece often is covered by a coloured wash to create a darkened effect across the whole piece. These washes are often a blue, brown or dark tint but the objectives are to make the audience look more closely at the poster and to create a mood to fit in with the film (e.g a Horror film is a Dark Browny tint as normally Horror movies are quite dark and disturbing).
• Quite often the setting of the film is shown in the background which tells the audience a bit more information about the movie subliminally like where its set and what kind of a place it is.
• The character in the poster is often slightly highlighted by the lighting used or ambient light to emphasize that he/she/they are important and the highlighting also brings them to the attention of the audiences eye.
• In nearly all of the posters (except The Fourth Kind) Red is used in the title to signify that violence will occur in the movie at some point. This is probably the most common technique used out of all of the techniques listed as its also used in the actual motion picture to signify violence too.
• The Phrase 'Based on True Events'(or something loosely based on this) is used on most posters to create a sense of curiosity for the audience but also instills a litlle bit of discomfort and fear too as they are unsure what to believe.

Some other things i have noticed about film posters but have not obtained from the analysis of theses posters are:

• One film may have several versions of the film poster with variations in size, content and the country of production of the poster.
• A film poster usually contains an image with text but this has evolved to be a picture with limited text but the image must be highly visual.
• Films which have more posters everywhere help to catch the attention of a larger/wider audience.

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

This is the Production Schedule that me and Alex have come up with and plan to stick to to get our production filmed. This may not be possible if unforeseen problems occur but we will have to deal with that when the time comes, but this is the basic plan we will try to follow.


Monday 23rd November - On this day we hope to film all of our test footage so that we can have a look at it and decide exactly how our filming should be conducted. We should aim to test a lot of different camera angles and shots in this session, and actors performance will not be crucial!

Tuesday 24th November - On this day we hope to film all of our scenes up on Ilkley moor, this will require taking plenty of shots so that we have a lot to play with when ti comes to editing and do not need to travel up there again and re-set up the scenes.

Thursday 26th November - On our final day of filming we plan to film the footage in Alex's house were the victim is introduced. This will require us collecting a lot of props to set up the scene properly, which is why I gave ourselves a day off in between to collect all these props. 

REVISED, FINAL NARRATIVE, STORYBOARDS, SCREENPLAY

The Unknown Secret- Screenplay

COSTUME, PROPS & SET DRESSING/MISE-EN-SCENE

Costume For the Film we only really need two sets of Clothing, one for each of the characters. Its important that the clothes signify key information about the characters as we plan not to have dialogue in the film. This is crucial for the audience to be able to 'understand' the characters.

Character 1; Central Protagonist: This character should be wearing vcry dull clothing, that are quite scruffy, his clothing should not give away too much about the character as the short film is all about the mysteriousness of the male. The male should probably wear a black top and blue jeans, wearing walking boots. This way there is not too much given away about the male as these are very average fashion style.

Character 2; Victim Girl: The girl should look like a typical sexually active blonde women, because as my research has shown me, it is this type of character that an audience would expect to be seen killed. I would like the women to be wearing a nice red dress, to signify blood and death, as she is about to be killed by the male. She should also be wearing high heels as these have a sexual appeal.
The girl will also need to be wearing make up that is smudged, to signify she has been crying and maybe dragged around by the male. This will mean having mascara running down her face.

Props/Set-Dressing

For Props we will probably need a few things.
Here is a list i have composed so far:

• Tents
• Bags
  
• Objects to discard
• Severed Arm
• Chair
• Ropes
• Knives

These are the most important things we need so far for Signifiers and just to make the short film seem real and set somewhere which would be accessible to the audience, indicating that this could happen to them, further drawing them into the film if only to see what the final, if gruesome, outcome is.

Before we start to film we will have to set up the settings. The main three settings are the travellers campsite, the Abandoned building and the boys house.
The one that will be the hardest to set up i think will be the travellers campsite (disregarding setting up all of the tents as we are trying to borrow pop-up ones from friends and aquaintances which will reduce the assembly time greatly) as we have to try and make the campsite look like it has been trashed and i dont think we will acheive this effect by just placing the objects down onto the ground. We may have to gather up old objects and clothing that we do not need and then physically mess up the campsite, taking on the mind-set that we are robbing/destroying this campsite.

Another problem is if we use Fake Blood it could potentially stain. This could become a problem as if we do not clean it up after we have used it say, for instance on the ground, an unsuspecting member of the public could come across a huge patch of what they think is blood while innocently walking their dog and calll the Police which would waste their valuable time but also it could cause a lot of unnecessary worry as people would come to the conclusion that someone had been hurt really badly when they had not. To solve this problem we will try to be careful with our placement of the Fake Blood but also take some water with us to wash away the blood if it goes onto anything that we didnt bring with us. Hopefully this method should sort out this problem.

Another hard place to set up might be inside the boys house. We have to try and make it so that it has the feel of an operating theatre in a hospital but in someones house, so clean,white and sterile, but also have the lighting so that the audience cant tell that it looks like this at first but then eventually realise it as the twist is revealed. To bypass this problem we might leave the house as it normally is for the shot when he comes in just using a really low lighting, maybe just a candle to highlight his face, then stop filming, set up the kitchen with the surgical theatre theme and then re film using the blue lighting that Jowett has installed in his kitchen when we turn on the lights.

UPDATE

 

 

 

 

These are photos of the props we used to create mise-en-scene during the footage we shot in the house for the house scene.

SOUNDTRACK

This year for my coursework instead of using just copyright free music from a website Me and Alex are commissioning our friend Olivier 'Livz' Trouille to compose the Soundtrack to our film. He studies Music, Spanish and Psychology at Ilkley Grammar School. At the moment he is a Grade 3/4 on the Piano and a Grade 7 on Guitar but doing his Grade 8 in December. Our Plan is to first Film and Edit together the basic Movie than give a copy to him so he can compose his music over the top of it making sure it fits in with the movie.

The Benefits of this are:

• We will have a totally unique soundtrack on our movie which no-one will have.
• We can have creative input as well to make sure that the music fits with the mood of the scene.

LOCATIONS

For this part of the Pre-Production tasks we will basically be scouting for Locations to shoot the movie that fit in with the genre of the movie and create a good mise-en-scene.


Initial Ideas on Locations

• For the first scene we will need somewhere to film the man walking so maybe a woodland area as this would fit in with the Feeling of isolation.
• For the second scene we need to shoot inside of a house so maybe my house or Alex's

*UPDATE*
Confirmed Settings for Filming
Location for Scene 1 - We have decided to use the moors as the setting for the first scene because it fits in with the isolation theme of Horror movies due to it being so spacious with many secluded areas where incidents like these could happen and have happened taking into account the incident of the ilkley moor attacker who attacked a woman whilst she was walking her dog.
There has also been an account of an alien sighting on ilkley moor as well but whether you believe this is entirely up to you.

There is many semi abandoned houses scattered around the moor which we can use for the house that the main protagonist goes to investigate and the way its abandoned again fits in with this theme of isolation we are using throughout.


Location for Scene 2 - For the second scene we need to use the inside of a house and Alex has kindly volunteered his. He has a very spacious kitchen which is perfect as the majority of the shots will be taken in here, so lots of maneuverability room available. His sink is also perfectly aligned for the shot we plan to use to reveal the girl who has been tied up.

One problem with his house though is that it has lots of windows and only blinds covering them which does not cover 100% of the light but also when it gets dark the lighting is not very bright so we may need to bring in extra lighting to make sure we can see facial expressions and the items on the counter.

CASTING

Initial Thoughts on Casting
Throughout the film we will be needing two separate actors to play the two characters in our short film. So that we can get the best actors possible we will be turning to the drama department in our school and asking one of them to play the main character. This main character will need to be an average looking teenage boy, most preferably with dark hair other than this there is no set template for this character.

The other character will be the person tied to the chair. For this character we would preferably have a girl with blonde-ish hair to fit in with the scream queen stereotype but this may change to a boy depending on the availability of actors/actresses. This part is quite a small part, only 5-10 seconds and no talking is involved so instead of an actor from the drama department we may just ask a close friend to play this part.
I will update this post later when the actors are finalized.


*UPDATE*
Central Protagonist (Norman)
We have cast Olivier Trouille as Norman as he has starred in other media productions at school and is able to pull good faces to show emotion. Its also convenient as he's making our soundtrack so he can understand more fully what it should be like due to the fact he is more immersed in the whole filming process.

The Victim
Due to the nature of this part when we asked girls if they would play the part they were very reluctant to except even after we told them that we wouldn't endanger them at all.
We managed to persuade Brooke Shipley to play the part with a little help from Olivier. She has also starred in some of the other media productions so she has experience and she fits the stereotypes and look for the victim in our short film.

TEASER POSTER

PRE-PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

Before we start filming the Footage me and Alex must complete a set of tasks which will increase the quality of the movie but also help things run more smoothly as we know everything we need to accomplish before we start to film. Our progress on these Pre-production tasks will be available to track on our blogs.

The list of what we plan to do for our Pre-production tasks:

• Researching and Analysing Short Films - We will watch and analyse a number of short films to find the codes and conventions so we can apply these to our film.
  
• Genre Research - Ill do an in-depth analysis of the Horror Genre so i fully understand what makes a good horror movie and pick up some Techniques to enable me to create one.
• Location Scouting - I will look for some locations where i can shoot our film that will fit into the theme of our movie.
• Casting - We will look into people to act in our film who fit the character molds. We will the do this by advertising on the Social Networking site Facebook, asking at our school Drama Department for potential actors/actresses and just generally ask people who would fit the role.
• Soundtrack - We will commission a musician to compose our Soundtrack from the Music Department at School but we must also do some research into Horror Soundtracks to give the Composer an idea of what the Soundtrack should Sound like.
• Screenplay and Storyboard - I will generate these for guidance as i do the filming so i know what shots i need and what the actors/actresses say.
• Research into Target Audiences - I will conduct some research into my target audience to see what things appeal to them and what they would like to see in my movie.
• Costume, Props & Set-Design - During all this research i will be compiling a list of costumes and props i will need during the shoot and what the sets need to look like.
• Create a Teaser Poster - I will also make a teaser poster to attract a fan following and peak interest in my movie before its even released.

DEADLINE

I aim to have the Film finished and my blog finished to the best of my abilities before Christmas break so that i can hand it into Mr Burrowes (The Media Teacher).

THE HARDWARE

Basically we are using the same equipment as last year.
We are using a camcorder to record the video footage which is called a 'Cannon Wide screen MV 920'.

The Features are:

• LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2.7" - colour
  
• 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery
  
• Optical zoom 25x.
  
• Digital zoom 800x.
  
• Lens focal length 2.6 to 65 mm.
  
• Filter diameter 35 mm.
  
• 12/16 Bit PCM Digital Stereo Audio
  
• Standard RCA Cable.
  

The camera itself is pretty easy to use. Basically you require a Mini DV tape to record your footage then upload it to the Computer Via a Firewire Cable to the Final Cut Express Program. The Basic Functions are set out easily using a Dial which you either set to Record Mode, Playback or Off.
It gets a bit more difficult though when using things like White Balance where you need to check it aginst a piece of paper to see if it contrasts. The White Balance is used to make sure each clip has exact lighting (alternatively you could set up your own lighting using lamps and torches instead of fiddling around with the white balance).


We use a 'TD-1932 Photo & Video Tripod' too.

This is a crucial piece of kit to get a steady shot instead of the wavy handheld shot. Alternatively they can be carried and used as a makeshift steadi-cam by attaching the Tripod to the camera but carrying the camera, the Tripod forming a sort of counter-weight underneath. Overall the Tripod a reliable piece of equipment but are in limited supply at school due to carelessness by other students who have returned them with bent/damaged legs so if we want to use one advanced booking might be in order.



We also use a 'Fuji film Finepix A900' Camera.

The features of this are:

• 9.0 megapixels
• Real Photo Technology (RPT)
• Intelligent Flash
• IrSimple™
• Large 2.5" LCD screen
• Sensitivity up to ISO 800
• 10Mb internal memory
• Selectable scene positions
• USB cable

 Basically we use this for any pictures that need to be taken for the project
e.g, Pictures of the Location of the film.
Its again, straightforward to use, simply plug in the wire that comes with the camera and import the pictures to a program on the Apple Mac or even simpler, open up the camera directory on the Mac and drag the pictures onto the Desktop Screen.


All the Editing of the Film will take place on an Apple 'IMac' Macintosh Computer.

Here are the Features of the IMac.

Here are the Technical Specifications for the IMac.

The Mac is very easy to use, just like a normal computer so we should have no problems at all while using them.

THE SOFTWARE

This year instead of using imovie HD i will be using final cut express 4 .

Its still an editing software which has basically the same function but its much more advanced than imovie HD as it has a Greater editing tool selection so i can create better effects.

For instance Final Cut Express 4 has 99 video tracks with support for nesting sequences whereas imovie HD has only 1 video track.

Plus Final Cut Express 4 is used by companies such as the BBC to edit the News quickly but proffesionally so i should be able to produce a nice Final Piece.

Here are some Technical Specifications for Final Cut Express.

On a recent media trip to the Co-operative Young Filmakers Festival at the National Media Museum in Bradford i attended an editing Masterclass where we were taught how to use the Final Cut Express so this should give me an extra boost when editing my film.

Here is a Link to the Co-operative Young Film Makers Site.

TARGET AUDIENCE & (NOTIONAL) BBFC CLASSIFICATION

BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) Rating System

Suitable for an audience of four and above, set with a positive nature and should counterbalance violent, threatening or horrific issues.

Suitable for pre school children and tend not to address the main nine issues.

PG (Parental Guidance), viewing of this certificate may be unsuitable for unaccompanied children. This rating shouldn't disturb and audience of around eight or older.

Suitable for children 12 and over, needing to be accompanied by an adult. Which replaced the normal 12 certificate in 2002.

12 certificates , are specific for an audience of 12 and over.

15 certificates are specific for an audience below 15. And no one below 15 is able to view on buy any of this material.

18 is a rating which is strictly for adults only as it contains some form or explicit of the nine major categories.

R18 is classed for adults only and can only be sold at adult shop or viewed at a licenced cinema.

When classifying the film i need to take into Account these 9 Major Aspects that the BBFC use:

• theme
• language
• nudity
• sex
• violence
• sexual violence
• criminal or harmful actions
• horror
• drugs

From Mine and Alex's Initial Idea we feel that our Film currently falls under the rating of 15.
This is because of the Horror theme running throughout, the corpses arm falling off and the girl tied to the chair who looks like shes been kidnapped/tortured. Also the arm falling off the corpse could be seen as Comedy so this lowers the Rating a little. Although the current rating is 15 we feel this also could be raised to an 18 certificate due to the fact that if we focused more on the violence it would be come unsuitable for audiences lower than the age of 18.

I will update this post with the our Final rating after we have finished the process of making our Film.