Short Film Research: Virgin Shorts

http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/

This is a link to the website for virgins short films competition, showing the winners from the past 3 years.

"Virgin Media Shorts is all about shining a light on Britain's best film makers and giving them the biggest possible arena to showcase their work.

Whether they're a Shane Meadows in the making, or a Ridley Scott rising, we think every raw talent needs a break.

We're passionate about discovering hidden talent. And as the only people to offer TV, Broadband, Phone and Mobile, we're best placed to offer film makers the biggest arena to showcase their work - online, on TV, through mobile internet.

What's more, the top 12 films will be shown on 214 cinema screens across the UK. And one lucky winner could walk off with up to £30,000 and the chance to work direct with the UK Film Council and Virgin Media to shoot their next film."

Analysis of Horror Film Posters

This is the poster for the classic 1978 film Halloween, which has become not only one of the first but also one of the most well known Slasher movies of all time. It is quite obvious from the poster that it is for a horror film. Firstly the majority of the poster is black, a color that is often associated with evil and darkness which are 2 of the biggest themes in horror films, so it gives the audience the immediate idea that the film has a dark nature. Then when you move onto the picture on the poster it becomes very clear that the film will be a horror, and the image even suggests that the film belongs to the slasher sub-genre. The image shows what appears to be a mask, however the eyes of the mask add to the sense of unease created by the poster as behind the eyes and and the nose appears to only be fire adding to the super natural and dark theme of the poster. The other major part of the picture that suggests to the audience, is that the masked person is holding a knife. This immediately suggests danger to the audience, especially due to the fact that the knife is been held in a threatening way which leads to the audience believing whoever the masked figure is they are going to kill someone.


The poster above, despite been a horror poster, is now unfortunately quite outdated when it comes to the sort of posters that are been produced today. Therefore if we are going to be looking at horror posters to get inspiration as well as to understand the current conventions for creating a horror poster, we need to look at more modern posters like this one:

This is the poster for the 2007 remake of the original Halloween film. As you can see the poster has quite a lot of differences then the poster for the original which was released almost 30 years before this remake. The main color scheme of the poster is different to that of the previous poster, even though it does still use the same 2 major colors, Orange and Black. It is immediately obvious from the poster that the film is a horror film and there are several major reasons for the audience to immediately identify that this is a horror film. Like black, orange which is the major color used on this poster, is often associated with horror films. Orange often represents danger in films due to the fact that the main color of fire is orange and thus the color has got a reputation as been a color associated with darker events. Unlike the previous poster this poster gives a little bit more information about the plot and events of the film. As you can see in the face in the background that is made up different images from the film. The picture of the killer also shows a lot more and that he does actually appear to be human and not a supernatural figure as he appears to be on the previous poster and the image also immediately shows the viewer that it is a horror movie seen as the villain of the piece is carrying a knife and a decapitated head.

Short Film Planning: Main Narrative Idea

After doing quite a lot of research into our target audience, an audience we have eventually will be aimed at males aged 15 to 25 as they seem to be the most likely to enjoy a horror film. We also decided to fit the film into the Teen Centered Horror Sub Genre.

We have eventually decided that probably the best narrative idea that we came up with would be to work on a version of the horror film that we came up with earlier in the year. Look up previous blog entries under the title 'Death Trip'. To meet with the guidelines about having to use time as a theme, we have decided that the narrative of the film will involve flashbacks (Shown via a hand held Camera, that will act as the technology needed for the narrative). We also plan to use a technique that will present the audience with the real turn of events and a made up telling of the same event. A similar technique was used in the 2001 Drama The Hole:



Here is our basic narrative for the film:

Film starts with a policeman hammering on the door of the house, when the door unexpectedly swings open. As they walk down the hallway someone jumps out at them. One of the police officers leaves to investigate the scene of what the girl is describing, while his colleague interrogates the girl. The police officer in the woods stats to finds all the bodies of the missing teens and calls in for support from his colleague but there is no answer. He quickly returns to the house where he finds the house deserted with the only difference is a camera lying on the kitchen table. He picks up the camera and watches the events that really happened in the woods and then sees footage of his colleague watching the footage and then watches in horror as the camera drops. He turns around in horror and is killed by the girl they were trying to help.

Short Film Planning: Early Narrative Idea's

Short Film Early Narrative Idea's on Prezi

Introduction To Our Coursework

For our A2 coursework we were set the task of creating and filming a short film. The film must be close to 5 minutes run time and be appropriate to a target audience of our choice as well as fitting into a genre.

The film must also cover several key areas. These are the narrative devices that our film must include:

• The film must have a theme of time
• There must be a secondary theme of reference to technology
• There must be at least one narrative concept used
• There must be a specialized genre of sub-genre for the film

In addition to our film we must also use our practical skills to produce a film poster and then either a radio trailer for the film or a review of the film in the style of a film magazine

Still Life Review

In groups we were asked to produce 2 reviews for the short film Still Life. Because of this we choose to create one review each. A review from a typical film magazine e.g. Total Film and a review from a more specialist film magazine e.g. Site and sound, which was the review i choose to write and present:

Here is the film itself:

Short Film: Target Audience Profile

For all films it is important that you know who your target audience is. This provides you with a basic blueprint for what you should include in your film and what the main bulk of your audience will respond well to and more importantly what they won't respond well to. Therefore it is a very good idea to build up an audience profile for your target audience and that it what we are going to do in this post.

For our short film we are creating a horror film genre and therefore we will be making an audience profile for the horror genre. The majority of modern horror film fans are aged between 15 and 25 and thus we have decided to do our audience profile about that age group.
 
Facts:

• Working Life: Most will be in full time education or in a part time job with the emphasis been on their social life
• Social Life: Are the most likely to go out on a night with their peers, much of their income will be spend on nights out
• Home Life: Most will either still be living with parents, in student accommodation or in a rented homes - very few own their own property
• Finance: Most will not be in full time employment so finances come either from part time jobs, family or student loans 

Media Use:

• This generation tend to get most of their information from more modern forms of media i.e. TV, Internet
• When it comes to TV use most of this generation will tend to be drawn towards watching music channels, Sit-coms and sports (males)
• Internet use shows that this age group is the most likely to use social network sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter etc
• This is also the age group that consumes the largest variety of music genre and therefore consumes the most music

Cinema habits:

• This age group are the most likely to go to the cinema with a group of friends, The average group size is 4
• While at the cinema 96% of this audience will watch the adverts at the beginning of the film
• They are most likely to go see a film within the first 2 weeks of its release with 72% of 15-25 year old's visits to the cinema to see a film that has been on release less then 2 months
• 23% of the age group are heavy cinema goers, this is classed as going to the cinema at least once a month

This information is taking from a Pearl and Dean Survey 

Media Audience's Powerpoint

Media audiences 1.2

View more presentations from TimsA2Media.

Short Film Plans: Genre

For our short film we have decided that the genre that our film will mainly be a horror genre. There are several different reasons for our choosing horror as a genre.

Firstly it is quite hard to generalize horror as a genre as it is split into several sub-genres leading to most horror films fitting into one of these sub-genre's. Examples of these different horror sub-genres are:


The Slasher Movie
The slasher movies were originally a product of the 1970's. They normally follow a run of murders by one psychopathic killer, usually against 1 town or group of people. The slasher genre has recently gone through a mini revival after the success of the Scream film series (which often parodies the sub-genre)



The Zombie Movie
The last year has seen an increase in the amount of movies that use Zombies as the films antagonists. Films using Zombies were also popular in the last 70s/ early 80s. The genre has seen several remakes of these original zombie movies in recent years including films like Dawn of the Dead

Teen Centered Horror's
Many horror films revolve around a group of teenagers that are often hunted by an unknown foe. In recent years many of the horrors revolve around a group of lead characters that are still in their teens. A reason for this may be that the main audience for horrors now is between the ages of 15 and 25.



Torture Porn
In recent years a new sub-genre has emerged that has become known as torture porn. These films often focus on torture and the subjects of the films suffering from painful and gruesome deaths. This genre of film is often referred to as the newest sub-genre in horror.




3D Films
Like most genres in the past year, horror is starting to move into using 3D technology for their films. In fact one of the first success's of the new incarnation of 3D was a horror film, My Bloody Valentine 3D. Many people suggest that this is where the future of the horror movie lies.




Horror: A Franchise Genre?
In horror it is very rare now that you will see a horror film that is a stand alone movie that does not belong to a Franchise. This seems to have been the case for at least 40 years going all the way back the 70's with early horror franchise's like the Friday the 13th

Rules for Making Short Films

While researching what different people believe to be the ways to make a good short films i have found what i believe to be the best rules for making short films:

1) You must use an original idea - Short film audiences do not tent to enjoy watching films that are along the same idea lines

2) Have a good script - The script in a short film has to be stronger then it does for a feature film because it has less time to engage and inform the audience

3) You NEED to engage your audience within the 1st minute - Many audiences lose interest in short films if the opening is too slow

4) Keep it short! - it seems a given rule considering it is for Short film but the shorter a short is, generally speaking it will be more successful

5) You must keep every shot interesting - for example during a short film your film making skills will normally be assessed more then it would be for making a feature film

6) You need a quality crew - because you have less people working on a short film those people you are using must be the best you can get if you want the best film - this also applies to the actors that you hire

Lighting

There are several different ways of lighting a set for Film or TV:


The 3 point lighting system - There are lights coming from 3 different directions with the strongest light (The Key Light) lighting the subject from the front left, there is a weaker Fill Light at the front right and then the weakest light (The Back-light) placed behind the subject.

Back-lit - You only have a back-light that gives the effect of a silhouette of the subject

Ambient - No light is used other then any natural light and any light sources that the audience can see

High Key - In the scene there is a lot of light that fully lights the set

Low Key - The opposite of High Key where there is very little light on set

Filters - Filters can be used either during filming or in the editing process to change the color of the scene which effects the mood of the scene

For these photos we had to use Red Head Lights but for using these there are several Health and Safety Rules:

• They are extremely fragile so you have to be careful when using them so it is important not to knock them and that when transporting 2 people much carry them
• They also get very hot so you must not touch the heads
• It is important not to cover them with anything
• The lights are very powerful so don't look into them
• They MUST be switched off when not needed
• The bulbs are expensive and fragile so extreme care is needed
• All the cables must be taped down

Short Film Presentation

Short Film on Prezi

Review of I'm Here

Spike Jonze's short film I'm Here is in my opinion a wonderful short. I believe that it been a short film is the perfect option for the film. It's futuristic world would probably end up been repetitive by the end of a feature film. One of the main success's of the film is that it manages to create strong enough characters that an audience can easily associate with them by the end of the film despite the fact that they are not human. Another triumph of the film is how the characters manage to portray emotions through their eyes and their voice. The story is original and the films world manages to capture the attention despite the repetition that does start to creep in towards the end of the film. The overall experience of the film is an enjoyable one that left me wanting to watch the film again.

 

Character Profiles

In Film binary opposites are often used. This makes it easier for the audience to relate to which characters are good and which are bad.

We were asked to create 2 character profiles who are binary opposites in our horror story. For this we chose the killer and the police officer who is interrogating her.

Apologies for the quality of the pictures!



Shark Bite Opening: Death Trip

In lesson we were asked to create a shark bite opening for the horror film we where asked to create a step outline for our horror story:

The scene opens focused on a police car radio which begins to ring and is answered by the police officer in the drivers seat. The call they have receive is to tell them to investigate a call from a scared girl who claims to have witnessed her friends be murdered in the woods and who is currently located at a near by farm house. The scene then cuts to a long of the house with the police car approaching it. There is then a quick cut to the police officers arriving at the house and then enter the house cautiously and begin to search for the girl. The camera switches to a point of view shot looking through the open kitchen door and their are two people with their backs to the officers sat on chairs. The police then call to them but receive no response so the police officers begin to move towards the motionless figures (Still in the POV shot). One of the police officers reaches out towards the male and as he asserts pressure on the males shoulder the body falls to the floor and it is revealed that the two teens were dead. The police to back away and as they do the camera is lowered to feet level and as the police officers back away another pair of feet are revealed. There is a noise of shock from the police officer and the screen fades to black.

Narrative Theory's: Shark Model

There are several theory's about the narrative of Film and TV; one of these is the Shark Model. The model suggests that you immediately grab the viewers attention by having a shock/ shark bite opening scene, which rather then setting the scene for the rest of the film it immediately starts the action of the film. It then progresses into the body of the story or the shark where we find out about the characters and the story develops leading up towards the tail of the film where the film is brought to its conclusion. There are several films which fit into the Shark Model including most modern day horror films which tend to use the Shark body narrative, but it is not a new theory with the shark model been used since at least the 70's, and probably longer, including in the film Jaws.

Creation of a Horror Narrative

Death Trip

Conventional Narrative

Start of story - Car full of happy teenagers is driving along a duel carriageway during the middle of the day. Inside the car the teenagers are having a party; Drinking,Smoking etc. Girl driving the car seems annoyed at her friends behavior. It is revealed they are on their way to a music festival. The girl driving announces she needs the toilet and pulls up on the hard shoulder.

Complication - The girl takes longer then would normally be expected and the friends in the car sent one of the other girls to go hurry her up. The girl hears a scream and runs back in fear to tell her friends in the car. They all get out of the car and begin to search for the missing girl. They reach a clearing and lying in the middle of the clearing is the girls hand-held camera which she took with her for light. They start to worry about where their friend is and in the panic the girl who originally heard the scream trips over a rock and falls into a hole. Her friends start laughing and then go to help her realizing in horror that the pit was a trap and full of spikes and the girl has been killed. They run back to the car only to realize that the original girl who was driving the car had taken the keys with her! They have a discussion and one of the guys ends up staying with the car trying to hitch a lift and the other 2 end up going to look for their missing friend. After hours of searching they return to the car to find their friend long gone. They decide to sleep in the car. During the night they are woken by a large bang as something hits the top of the car. They get out and find out to their horror it is the body of the boy that they left earlier by the car. 

Ending - They run down Duel carriageway towards a light they believe to be a house. They reach the house and as they are knocking on it the house opens by itself. They enter the kitchen and find their missing friend sat drinking a cup of tea. The girl carrying the camera drops it and then the picture cuts out and all the audience can hear is screaming ... 


Alternative Narrative Structure ideas


The film opens with the police finding the house where the girl is after everything that happens during the story. They find the girl in the house and believe she is a survivor. The police the then find the car and start investigating the scene of the murders and start to draw up their own conclusions about what happened to the group of teens. Towards the end of the film the police at the house find the camera and start to view the real events through which it becomes apparent that the girl is the murderer the film then ends with the police trying to find the girl.

Analysis of Genre in Film Posters

Film posters are a way of advertising a film before it is released at cinema. This means that posters have to take certain images from a film to give some message about the events of the film. They will generally give a sense of the genre of the film. To prove this i am going to analyze 3 film film posters:

Poster 1: 28 Weeks Later

This poster suggests that the films main characters are 2 young adults and that the film is set in London about the 21st Century - we can tell this because it is a very familiar sky line. The poster gives quite a clear message that the film is a horror film. There are many different different elements of the poster that suggests the film will be a horror; The body language and expression on the faces of the 2 young adults show fear - as well as the fact that the older looking girl seems to be sheltering the younger boy. The fact the figures in the background have been blacked out also seems to suggest horror as we can't tell their identity of them and this creates a sense of mystery about their identity (unless you have seen the original film), The final suggestion towards the film been a horror film is the tag line of the film "Week Twenty Eight: No Escape" which suggests horror due to the words no escape because that suggests there's something happening to escape from.

Poster 2: Mean Girls

The poster for Mean Girls suggests that the main character in the film is Lindsay Lohan - who is on the left hand side and is also emphasized by the fact that she is the only character that has the actresses name above her. It also seems to show the other 3 girls as other major characters - possibly as the protagonists of the film. The poster gives very little information as to where or when the film is set. The only indication is the style of clothes the characters are wearing which suggests that the film is set in modern times and possibly in one of the richer countries in the world. The picture suggests that the 3 girls are friends whereas  it suggests that Lindsay Lohan's character is a loner or is not friends with the other girls. The color scheme of the poster suggests that the film is a chick flick as it has quite a bit of pink in it and pink is normally associated with feminine films. Also the fact that all the characters are female which suggests the film is more oriented towards a female audience who will be able to relate with the characters.

Poster 3: Alice in Wonderland (2010 Version)

This extended poster for Tim Burton's 2010 version of classic children's tale Alice in Wonderland shows many of the films characters. The characters of the film suggest that it has surreal element to it for example their is a rabbit wearing a waist coat. The setting also adds to the fact the genre of the film is probably a fantasy film because it is unlike any setting that you would normally see on the Earth. The dress's in the film seem to be quite old fashioned suggesting that wherever the film is set it may be less developed then our earth.

Genre

In our 1st lessons we have been looking at Genre. Wikipedia describes genre as 'the term for any category of various forms of art or culture' - in the case we are looking at it is used to define the type of a film, for example Star Wars would be mainly classed as been in the Sci-Fi Genre (although it can fit into other genres).

The Genre of a film will often effect the way the film is shot as there are several conventions and technical codes that will most of often be used in one  genre. The Horror genre often uses the same conventions and technical codes. Horror films will very often use the dark and an isolated setting to create the tension that the film makers which the audience to feel. Horror films will also tend to use blood and gore much more then films that are classed as belonging to other genres.

Example of genre in a specific film:


One of the major blockbuster hits of the summer of 2010 was Christopher Nolan's film Inception. The film can actually be classed as several different genres. One of the main genres of the film is Science Fiction, of which there are many elements of that genre throughout the film. One of the main elements of the film that adds towards the science fiction genre is that in the film the characters are able to use technology to infiltrate and explore another persons dreams. This is a science fiction device as it is currently impossible to read another persons dream. Inception can also be classed as an action film as it features high speed chases, gun fights and quite a few explosions all of which are most commonly used in the action genre. The ending of the film however can make the film be classed as a suspense because it leaves the audience of the film wondering and questioning the events of the film.

Coursework Brief

Welcome,

As part of our coursework we have been asked to produced a blog to record the planning and production stages of the creation of a Short Film that we will produce this year. The brief for the rest of the coursework is to produce a Short Film, 3-5 minutes long, that includes the themes of Time and Technology, A Poster for the film and a Double Page Magazine article featuring our film.