Final Film!

Documenting Behind The Scenes

Below are several videos documenting our production work from research and planning to filming.

Behind the Scenes

Second Update - On Set

In the next few videos you will be hearing from our crew members who are preparing on set to start filming!

Second Film Day - Behind the Scenes!

The stills below were taken on set during our second day of filming and show the work put in to achieve our variety of shots and how we have overcome issues e.g. lighting from the big window.

First Film Day - Behind the Scenes!

Below is a video giving a panoramic tour of our set, as well as the first day's stills showing how we prepared including getting into costume, putting on make-up and positioning props, lights and camera.

Risk Assesment

Title Ideas

We have been working on title ideas for the beginning of our short film. As you can see we have chosen several different fonts, some resemble handwriting which reflects the frantic personality of our main character, others look as if they have been found on an official document. Some also have a reflection to obviously mimic the title. When it comes closer to the time we will make a decision about which to use, as well as background and transitions.

Film Update!

Just a quick update on how we're doing!

Animated Storyboard

Below we have compiled all of our storyboards into an animated storyboard so that we can apply music and present the images in sequence to give you a rough idea of how our short film may look, sort of like a blueprint...enjoy!

Team Presentation and Audience Research

In our teams we prepared a presentation to pitch our short film idea to our target audience and to receive feedback ; both the positives and how we could improve. During our presentation we have produced mood boards, audience research and our ideas through a written synopsis and storyboards. We have filmed the pitch but I have also included the presentation below:

Team Kane: Reflection by KatieMitchellMedia

Below is some of the most useful audience feedback we received in our questionnaires:

 

"It is very psychologically focused and the scene stages are clear"

"It's very original"

"Child-like voice seems a bit cliché"

"make less complicated"

 

From our research, we learned that the audience found the narrative structure confusing from watching our animated storyboard. this is useful however, because we can now take this on board and develop our film through production in a way that will make sense to our niche market. Apart from this, our film pitch came with very successful feedback and has given us confidence to pursue our genre idea for our short film.

Plan

To ensure we keep on track with all processes of making our short film we have created a plan of each week with the tasks that should be completed. This way, we know exactly how much time we have and what else needs to be finished in order to complete our short film for the deadline. Below is a copy of our plan:

Week beginning Monday 4th November:

4th
5th - Preparation and Storyboards
Complete all storyboards (both images and descriptions).
Organise who responsible for props, costumes and casting.
6th - Blog Update
Update blogs with presentation video and other preparation tasks.
7th - Props
Collect props (Mirrors, TVs, Clock).
8th - Storyboards
Convert storyboards into an animated storyboard with sound.

Week beginning Monday 11th November

11th
12th - Review last week's tasks and if needed reschedule incomplete tasks.
13th - Begin Filming 2:30pm - 4:00pm
14th - Review
Review and evaluate footage, then arrange next filming time.
15th

 Week beginning Monday 18th November

18th - Filming 9:00am - 12:45pm
19th - Review Footage
Review footage and decide if more filming is necessary.
20th
21st - Long Weekend
22nd - Long Weekend

Week beginning Monday 25th November

25th - Possible Re-film
26th - Possible Re-film
27th - Possible Re-film
28th - Final Reviews of Footage
29th - Begin Editing

Week beginning Monday 2nd December

2nd - Editing
3rd - Work on Acillery Tasks
4th - Editing
5th - Editing
6th - Editing

Week beginning Monday 9th December

2nd - Editing
3rd - Work on Acillery Tasks
4th - Editing
5th - Editing
Work with sound effetcs, music, filters, corrections, titles.
6th - Editing

Week beginning Monday 16th December

2nd - Editing
3rd - Work on Acillery Tasks
4th - Editing
5th - Make Final Changes
6th - Make Sure Ancillery task are completed

Throughout all production stages we have listed the equipment and aspects of filming and editing that need to be taken into account. This should constantly remind us to keep on track with the film and include a variety of shots, all of the necessary components of a short film and helpful information that will contribute.

Body Language
a
Decor
Props
a
Lighting
Costume
e
Setting

Framing
Lighting
Angles
Mise-en-scene
Editing
Camerawork
Acting
Themes/Narrative
Sound

Filming Equipment:

• Camera and tripod (both for filming and possible photo stills from the shoot that we can use for the ancillery tasks.
• Costume - White clothing including leggins, tshirt and frilly socks (matching for the doll as well).
• Props - Mirrors, Tvs, Clock, Fake blood.
• Lighting - Possible spotlights and possible filters.
• Sound - Use garageband to develop soundtrack and sound effects.

Short Film Review

Above is a video of our group discussion; focusing on our least and most favourite short films.
Our favourite film was: Just Say Hi by Worryingdrakeproductions
Our least favourite was: Wrongly Accused by Mrhill



Videos sourced from www.virginmediashorts.co.uk

Narrative Development

 

Our task was to create horror film following a narrative that was structured like the shark model. In terms of the film, this includes having the 'shark bite' which grips the audience at the beginning so that they keep watching. The body represents the development of the story and the tail is where the equilibrium is restored and the story ends.

In addition to this we had to alter our story to form an anti-narrative which challenged the conventional narrative structure.

 

 

An outline of our plot:

Our original ideas was about five friends who set off on a road trip to the beach. It starts with a happy equilibrium, all the friends are enjoying the journey. As they settle in the beach hut where they are staying, night approaches and an argument breaks out between a couple in the group and in an attempt to make it better, the girlfriend storms out onto the dark beach. As another friend sets off to find her and calm her down, she discovers she is missing. This is where the equilibrium is disrupted and life changes for all of the characters. In a series of events that follows, two other characters are killed in beach related 'accidents'. The two girls become suspicious of each other. The smart girl discovers evidence to support her suspicions that the stupid girl is the killer and attempts to kill her. In a plot twist, the girls fight as they both try to overpower each other. The smart girl is thrown to the floor by the stupid girl and as she falls 'trophies' she had kept from her murders are exposed, revealing her as the real killer. She pleads for a second chance and explains why she did it (complicated relationships and a reason for murdering each victim which makes the audience sympathise with the murderer). The stupid girl shows her mercy but phones the police as she had to face the consequences of her actions. However this was just a bluff and the smart girl goes to kill her when she has let her guard down, but fails as the stupid girl was bluffing too. Equilibrium is restored as the main character is spared and the threat has been eliminated.

 

 

Propp Theory of Character Type

We tried to include as many characters that could fit the character type from Propp's theory of narrative. However to make the horror more interesting, we put the characters into more than one. For example, the damsel/princess, is believed to be hunted down throughout the film but in the end could be described as the hero because she saves herself and serves justice for the villain.

 

Levi-Strauss Binary Oppositions

The "hero" (the stupid girl) and "villain" (smart girl) are also taken from Strauss' binary oppositions and are binary opposites due to their intelligence and because they are good and evil. I have included a picture example of how I imagine they would look, above. This is clearly demonstrated by their clothing as the "villain" is dress in black and is scowling whereas the "hero" is light (representation of purity) and has a happy expression. The villain wanted the hero dead but did not succeed.

 

Anti Narrative:

Our anti-narrative is an adaption of the original narrative and is restructured to start with a disrupted equilibrium with an obvious sense of tension between the characters. There is a false sense of security in the middle as the mood seems to lighten but the end of the story results in a gory ending to the characters as they are defeated by the villain and the villain wins, leaving the threat to possibly kill again.

 

Narrative and The Birthday Party Task

Narrative explains a series of events that occur in a story. This is important as in terms of film production, this can be a template, for example, a specific genre which helps to promote the film to the target audience.

Todorov identified that in most conventional mainstream films that the narrative is usually structured into five stages:

1. A state of equilibrium at the outset
2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action
3. A recognition that there has been a disruption
4. An attempt to repair the disruption
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium.

He also explained the three act structure in which most films are based upon:

Act 1: This act is where the main characters and their lifestyles are introduced along with the world they are surrounded by and the relationships they have with each other. Soon an incident occurs which the protagonist will try to resolve but consequently leads to a turning point in the story as the situation becomes more dramatic. For the protagonist life will never be the same as their role is to now resolve the unanswered question (which will be answered in the climax of the film), this marks the end of act 1.

Act 2: The second act sees a rise in action as the protagonist attempts to find a resolution. At this stage the protagonist needs to acquire the skills and higher sense of awareness to cope and consequently defeat the antagonist (character development). These skills are attained from help by a mentor or co-protagonist.

Act 3: In this act the climax is at it's most intense as the questions raised in act 1 is answered. The situation is resolved an the main characters begin life with a positive outlook and new sense of themselves.

Example of Todorovs Three Act Structure in Doom:


Act 1:The Film begins with a glimpse into a level five breach on the UAC research facility on Mars and a frantic Dr. Carmack - a scientist. Soon after the main characters on Earth are introduced as 8 marines in the Rapid Response Tactical Squad. The characters are supposed to be on leave but receive new orders from their leader "Sarge" to investigate. As they are transported to the research facility where Dr. Samantha Grimm, the twin sister of John "Reaper" Grimm is introduced. There mission is simply to: "eliminate the threat, secure the facility and retrieve UAC property". As Reaper talks to his sister she reveals that they have discovered humanoid remains but with a 24th chromosome which makes them super human as they have super intelligence and the ability to heal almost instantly. As the team start their mission they discover a deranged Dr. Carmack and is attempted to be sedated by Samantha. The team find creatures intent on killing them and consequently the team member "Goat is killed". This has disrupted the equilibrium and revealed the questions: 'what has happened in the research facility?' and 'how is it resolved?'. For Reaper and the team, life won't be the same.

Act 2: A sample from the blood of the creature reveals it is human: a mutation developed from a 24th chromosome. Goat appears to return to life but proceeds to bang his head against the containment unit to kill himself. Samantha uses this knowledge to determine that the creatures use a projecting tongue to spread the 24th chromosome, but the 24th chromosome chooses whether the subject becomes super human or a monster based on their capacity to be evil. They also discover that this is the work of Dr. Carmack who purposely injected an 'evil' subject with the chromosome who consequently broke loose. The team is soon reduced as they are killed by the monsters. A monster breaks loose and gets through the Ark (the gate to Earth). The rest of the team apart from Reaper and Samantha are killed in an attempt to contain the outbreak of zombies on Earth. Reaper is injured and in order to save his life, Samantha injects him with the 24th chromosome - a gamble as he believes the bad things he's done will make him a monster but his sister believes he is a good person. He wakes as a super human with super strength and instant healing abilities. According to Todorov's acts this is where he acquires the skills and self awareness needed to defeat the zombies.

Act 3: Reaper uses his new super human abilities top defeat the zombies and discover his injured sister but is faced with his dead leader Sarge who is turning into a monster and attempts to kill him. The two fight using their new found strength but reaper defeats Sarge as he pushes him through the Ark to Mars along with a bomb, also saving his sister. The equilibrium has now been restored but the protagonist now has new abilities and a new sense of self.

Vladimir Propp was a Russian scholar who researched folk tales to identify their simplest narrative and character structures. He presented seven different character types from the stories he had analysed:

• The Hero: Usually a male who embarks on a mission to restore the equilibrium. He is the target of the villain and the one who saves the victims of the villain.
• The Villain: Responsible for narrative disruption.
• The Donor: Gives the hero something (object/information/advice) to help resolve the equilibrium.
• The Helper: aids hero in the defeat of villain and restoration of equilibrium.
• The Princess/Victim: character most threatened by the villain and has to be saved at the climax by the hero.
• The Dispatcher: sends the hero on his/her mission.
• The False Hero: appears to be good but is revealed in the end to be bad.

The character can be described as more than one character type.




In the birthday party task, we selected a genre and applied the conventions of the genre to a scene of a birthday party. This includes using mise-en-scene to accurately create the tone of the genre. For the task we selected 'Horror'.

At first, our focus was on the attack of the gifts, or as described 'a dark twist on toy story'. This took advantage of using the animal masks as costumes. Eventually, we shifted our focus to the actual 'birthday boy' and how we would make him look the part of the protagonist in a horror film. We had a variety of ideas ranging from tying him up with rope or taping him to a chair or alternatively an exorcism or simply a focus on one part of the body usually symbolic in this narrative (e.g. eyes to give the audience access to his emotion, hands used to present helplessness of the character). We also paid attention to props needed to set the scene of the birthday party such as balloons and a birthday card featuring a subtle hint of horror (Happy Birthday?).

In terms of lighting we wanted to experiment with different positions and intensities. W used a bright side light so that you could see the face but there would be shadows to add to the conventional horror tone. We also experimented with the candle to introduce a subtle glow to the face and hands. With the image of Katie a light from below cast a shadow on the face and the background. We also experimented with the balloon as a red filter to convey death and blood shed.
The main character shows subtle emotion as we wanted to portray fear as well as confusion. The two "toy "characters are positioned so they are looming over the main character and dominating him.
Our camera angles vary from close-ups to mid shots and long shots. This means that we have a chose of whether to include the whole position of the main character or if we want to focus on the fear on the face. These shots also allow space so that in post production other features can be inserted. The main character is centred in the shots as he is the centre of the story.

Final Edit - I used a few filters to create this effect; monochrome and red, so that the two would contrast each other but create the tone for the horror genre. In some areas I have also inserted a "wind" effect which creates the effect movement and roughens the edges. Instead of including the whole human bodies of the 'toy' characters I have also faded them into the background but enough for the audience to see them over the main characters shoulders.

Some comments:

Francesca Wilson: It looks really good and definitely looks like a horror! I love it, well done!

Lucy Allison: The way you tied him up and the red in the background looks like a horror. It kind of look like a comedy too, maybe like a spoof? the way you put a smiley  mouth on the tape.

Printha Muthukumar: I think it looks like a horror.

New Film Genre PowerPoint

Below is a PowerPoint on introducing genre. I have included definitions of genre and all it's subsidiaries, whilst also focusing on the beneficial aspects of genre for producers and audiences.

Film Genre

I have also included some brief examples of film Hybrids:

Short Film Research

In order to get a better understanding of the conventions used in producing a short film, I have looked at previous students' work and identified what a I think are the its strengths and weaknesses.

The first short film I watched is called 'Smith and Ted' by Robert Stevenson.



What I like most about the short film is the narrative idea which is a simple concept but original and entertaining. It has elements of comedy but what stands out most is it's humorous characters. The film is composed quite smoothly and it makes the most of the setting it is filmed in. The sound effects and music add to the narrative which helps the audience to make sense of the story, as well as an appropriate amount of mise-en-scene e.g. the toy gun. The acting isn't stiff like some other student films too. The only thing I thing I think could have been changed was the positioning of the music, as it stopped quite abruptly when the scene changed. Instead using the music as a sound bridge could have completed the continuity.

The second short film I watched is called 'The Passage' by Christian Darby.




The narrative of the missing people and introduction of death appeals to the conventions of the Horror/Thriller genre. Again the acting was fluent and appropriate mise-en-scene was used. What was particularly good about the short was that they have captured the setting well. First the newsroom with the news reel and presenter as well as the street and alleyway. The alleyway was most effective for the genre as it was dark except for the areas lit up, drawing attention to the important factors of the narrative but also creating suspense. I liked the choice of sound effects but I feel that the music could have been built upon, building up the suspense instead of playing the same piece of music again.

From looking at these to shorts, I have gained abetter insight into what makes a successful short film and how I can take advantage of the strengths of these films and develop upon the weaknesses.

Poster Conventions

Above is Task 3 of Blog Task 2. I have explored several posters within six different genres and investigated their conventions relating to the genre and story-line they belong to.

Comparisons Between Mainstream Posters and Short Film Posters

The conventions for mainstream and short film posters differ due to budget and the type of movie they are trying to promote. The purpose of mainstream films is usually to make money and lots of it; this means including famous actors relating to their genre on the posters in order to attract a larger audience. The graphics and effects used on the posters are also more impressive than a low budget film which promotes a stronger sense of the movie's genre.

In a short film's poster, it is usually simpler and puts across the themes of the film. This usually includes using iconography relating to the genre, for example, a couple framed together would most likely be used in a Romance film.

Examples of Short Film Posters

Above I have explained the creative and conventional aspects of the posters which make them individual, yet relevant to their genre.

Research Into Short Films

Introduction

Welcome to my blog!
My name is Natalia and I study Psychology, Photography and Media Studies. The purpose of my blog is to track the progress of my A2 Media Studies coursework, which is to make a short film. I will be researching the techniques that make an entertaining short film and applying this to my own ideas to make my own equally professional. This includes looking at others' examples of short films and how they have been made.