Planning - Poster

We have to have one of the ancillary tasks completed by the 18th of October. I chose this task to be the poster, as the film review can only really be done when the film is completed or thereabouts.
My poster will reflect the film - it will be implicit, adding to appeal as many good posters draw the attention of the viewer without revealing too much about the film.
My idea so far is to have the tramp and the woman depicted on the poster, next to each other, clearly showing, not only the parallel, but the divide between the two.

The woman will be smartly dressed, like she is in the film, and the tramp in her usual attire - to show to divide. Another good thing is that the facial features of the two actors are completely different - one is blonde and blue eyed, the other brunette and green eyed. This again, symbolises the array of contrasts between the two characters. However the positioning of them close together will hint at a connection between the two.

The poster will have the title of the film written, most probably overhead, and a tagline may be inserted between the two people. Because the character 'breaks the fourth wall' at the end, they will be looking at the camera, and therefore at the viewer, which again will reach to audiences.
The poster is there to spark appeal and interest, which is why it will be implicit and enigmatic. I looked at posters for Channel 4 short films, the Sliding Doors poster and google searched short film posters. Most of them had poster ideas similar to mine.

Another idea I had was to have the characters facing backwards, so their faces wouldn't be revealed, adding to the enigmatic air. I decided against this idea however, as I thought that having their faces staring directly at the camera was a better one for a poster, and would reflect the film in a more accurate way.
I have added some poster examples to show how short films are presented, the various features they have eg. title, tagline, credits, image, and to help me decide what sort of poster I will produce for my short film.

Planning

After reviewing a lot of the footage, I have decided to have another filming day where I will gather a larger variety of shots to use in the final film. I have been developing the storyline as well, as we are limited with what we can do, resource-wise. I explored the idea that the woman, instead of being hostile towards the tramp at the end, could be accepting of her new situation, which would illustrate the materialism vs spiritualism theme better than the idea before. Also, the meaning of the film, though implicit, may have to be a little more conspicious as some viewers may not understand.
So far the story is that the woman will miss the bus, setting of a chain of events, which would lead to her financial demise and subsequent homelessness - raising the issue of naivety and lack of understanding of the world. It also draws attention to the line between poverty and wealth and the meaning of real happiness - represented by the tramp - who is seemingly more unfortunate in life, but is more worldly and happy than the woman.
I think this storyline would illustrate my point better than the one before. The chain of events would probably start with her losing her promotion and job, breaking up with her boyfriend, and losing her home. It seems trivial that this is all because she missed the bus but that is the point. The bus is the turning point of the story and is designed to make people think. Also her treatment of the tramp ties in with the bus as it can be perceived as karma. The demise would be gradual and the voiceover will definitely help. Music can't be used, which doesn't affect my film at all really, because I have changed the storyline. The length of the film is important, and I still have to decide how to start the film as this sets the scene and mood. It could start with a phonecall from her boyfriend - giving the audience the oppurtunity to see that the woman is horrible to her boyfriend too, showing her ambitions in life are money-driven. In a way, it does tie in with the seven deadly sins, but I will have to develop the start so the film conveys her flaws in an effective manner to the audience.

Planning

This was one of the films that gave me ideas for my short film. The cover is similar to my idea, as I wanted the tramp and the snobbish woman side by side to illustrate the parallel between them. I have yet to decide on a tagline or a name for the film, but I will take into account the short films I have already watched when I make that decision.

Planning

For my short film, I decided to brainstorm and explore the different avenues my film could take, taking into account, all the conventions of short films that I had noted. I decided to take the thought provoking approach as I wanted to make a film with a message, which was a common convention in short films. I decided on a theme of turning points - similar, in ways, to a 'Sliding Doors' sort of moment. Taking logistics and realism into account, I decided that the subject of my film would miss a bus, and the film would explore the consequences that come out of his/her missed oppurtunity, and the possibilities that would never come about. I considered shooting a parallel storyline whereby the subject is filmed catching and missing the bus, only revealing, or hinting, at which event was reality and which was fantasy. After some consideration, I decided to only film the missing the bus scene, as it would be complicated, and would take up much-needed screen time (my film is only supposed to be around 5 minutes). I decided to explore the possibility of catching the bus, only in the person's mind, and to compensate for cutting the scene, I decided to include a voiceover, which would be really helpful and that the subject of the film would be a snobbish woman, who gets her comeuppance as missing the bus, one unfortunate day, would be the catalyst in a chain of events that would change her life forever. I filmed some scenes yesterday involving a tramp, to highlight the problems and growing gap between poverty and wealth, mentally and physically, and to provide an oppurtunity for the audience to see the real character of the subject of the film.
Overall, the filming went well, and I will review the scenes we already have in due course and work out what will happen from here on in. I still have to make a poster and do a review for the film, one of which needs to be finished by the 18th of October.

Mud Boy

This was one of the best short films I watched. It combined reality with fantasy which is an idea similar to one I will incorporate in my short film. It's also thought-provoking which is another element I would like my short film to contain.

Research 2

Fantastic  -  a foreign short film about a man who committed a crime, whilst under surveillance by an undercover organization. It was set in Denmark, which could be seen from the aerial view of the world, shown whilst the man is being pursued by the spies. It was clearly made with access to higher budget, as the
quality of the picture and the camera was much better than that of a normal camcorder. The camera work - following the subject and the pursuers during the chase was impressive as it was quick without being blurry.

Sound Waves - this was in the style of a documentary and followed the lives of two families with deaf sons.  It is clearly meant to highlight deafness, but develops this by actually showing a simulation recording of what noise sounds like to a deaf person. This, again, includes the audience effectively, and the different style of the film captures the viewers' attention and gives them a proper insight into deafness and the daily life of someone who has to endure it.

Mud Boy - this involved a young girl in the middle of an abusive relationship between her parents. She escapes to the garden one day, and recovers a body. At first, it appears the person is still alive, though the audience later realises that the person is either an apparition or a figment of the girls' imagination fuelled by her isolation and traumatic experiences. At the end, we discover the child is her brother and is in fact dead, though she can't see it. This film was uncomfortable to watch as well because of the issues it concerns but the way the audience is involved, and the twist at the end demonstrates two of the key conventions of short films. This identifies with the type of film I want to make: a thought-provoking drama with a twist or realisation at the end, to keep the audience thinking. Close ups and awkward shots like low angle are used  - to highlight the girls' insignificance as well as point of view shots and long shots to show the garden and the body in it.


The Rules of the Game - This concerned a man who talks about what he would do if he found out his fiancee was cheating on him. This is interesting as he speaks directly to the camera, and therefore to the audience (fourth wall) and even contains humour. It uses shots to follow him and his movements and create a feeling of informality. The close ups show his reactions, and they use imaginary shots to show the images in his mind. This is important as, if you film it correctly (ie. by distinguishing fact and fiction), you can show the viewer the subjects' thoughts which is also useful. It is implicit and even funny in it's black humour - with the man deciding to kill his best man with a crossbow at the end. The man's informal nature and interaction with the audience create the humour and easiness which is sharply contrasted at the end by his drastic decision. This again contains a twist, interaction with the audience and a lot of close-ups which are widely used conventions in short films, and ones I will probably use in my own.

Research

To get some ideas for my short film, I decided to watch a variety of short films from websites to see what conventions are used in short films, for example, storylines, shots, dialogue.
I watched films from the BBC Film Network website, Film 4's short films website and ShortFilms.com.
The films I watched were :

Dogs Mercury - a film about a variety of people living in the same town who are trying to understand the world and its complexities, whilst trying to come to terms with the evil in the world.
It included a lot of implicit actions, without speech, to make the viewer think, and the narrator was a young girl, who communicated directly with the audience (fourth wall). by looking straight into the camera  The film was designed to make an impression on the viewer by unnerving them and making them think, which was a common occurence in many of the short films I watched.

Honeymoon - About a woman who realises she doesn't know her husband that well whilst on their way to leave for their honeymoon. This demonstrated the importance of setting to me. The fact that she had already married her husband, and was bound for their honeymoon, implied a trapped sense, and again, the film made the viewer uncomfortable which, in turn, added to its appeal, as the sinister and ominous nature of it, kept the viewer watching.

Five Miles Out - This was about a girl who's mother is ill, and is sent away to the coast. It deals with abandonment issues, isolation, growing up, and the resent the girl feels for each of the issues. It became apparent that a lot of short films tend not to have an awful lot of speech, choosing to be more implicit, to get the audience thinking and to make them feel more involved.

Red - We watched this in class, and it detailed a man's murder and the realisation and feelings he experiences when he finds out he has been murdered in a forest. There is no speech in the film, which works well with the silence in the forest. The implications and lack of speech is effective as the film relies on expression, movement and viewer interaction. It is a tricky balance, as the film has to remain interesting despite the lack of speech, but this film manages it. Also, it uses a lot of close ups, so the subjects expression and movement is clearer for the viewer.

Short Film

As part of my media coursework, I have chosen to make a short film. The brief requires it to be, in its entirety, around 5 minutes in length and states that 2 out of 3 ancillary tasks need to be completed alongside it. The options for the ancillary task are:

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

I've decided to do the poster and the magazine review pages for my ancillary tasks.