Research Task Conclusion

To conclude all my research work, these are the sparks of inspiration from all the short films I have watched over the past week:

• Power of costumes: can depict the protagonist & antagonist easily just by looking at them
  
• Limited use of dialogue: moments of silence or simply actions can speak louder than words
• If a scene is impossible to do due to lack of budget: use black screen and a sound effect of the action e.g. graphic murder
• Black and white only: these two colours can be extremely power for lighting purposes: contrast between light and dark areas: shadow depth of field
  
• High key lighting can create a dream like sequence
  
• Frames can be out of focus
• Hand-held camera can create tension
• Symbolic extreme close up create suspense on certain props
  
• Establishing shots along with a sound bridge allows two different areas to meet
• No dialogue except a voice over, such as a poem or lyrics along with powerful images
• Slow zoom allows the mood to change suddenly: tension created
• Different characters can represent different personalities
• Power of the non-diegetic soundtrack
• Depth of field within frames are important
  

Research Task 7

Eight (Daldry, 1998)

• Panning movement of the beach.- depth of field within the frame (football, grass, sand, sea waves and hills)
• Extreme long shot of the boy surrounded by the beach environment
• Tracking shot of the boy walking across the wet sand- objective shot
  
• Use of voice over and dialogue of the boy talking about his life
  
• Archive footage used of the football match
  
• Diegetic off screen sound of the commentator. Extreme long shot of the boys watching TV in their bedroom
  
• Establishing shots of the ferry crossing the sea
  
• Slow motion used when the boy is celebrating his goal score low angle
  
• Establishing shot of the shed and a sound bridge to join the medium shot of the boy colouring in the shed
  
• Emotional voice-over of the boy talking about his family and his dad "Mum is trying to find a new dad" Medium close up eye level of the boy talking to the screen. allowing the audience to connect
  
• Similar to Wasp's ending with the child singing 'Never walk alone' and the extreme long shot fades to black
  

Research Task 6

Conversation Piece (Tunmer, 2009)
Social Realism/Comedy Short film
More info about the film

1. Set-up stage involves many extreme close ups of props: clock, newspapers, ornaments associated to the home and actions e.g. the husband chewing his toast and his eyes' reading the newspaper.
   
2. BCU of the husband's face invading the screen quickly
   
3. Sound-bridging of the kitchen noise to allow different rooms of the house to be shown. Medium long shot of the wife in the kitchen cooking. Stereotypical roles in the house for realism effect
   
4. Jump cuts used to speed up the process of playing the music on the gramophone
   
5. After all the extreme close ups, it concludes the set up by using extreme long shot at eye level of the husband sitting in the living room. Importance of the living room mise en scene
   
6. GREAT IMPORTANCE OF THE NON DIEGETIC SOUNDTRACK! VERY CLEVER TECHNIQUE!
7. Eye-levelled frames to allow realism.
   
8. The power of silence is important as it makes a change of mood. Sound effects of the clock as she kisses him
   
9. Slow tilting movement of the broken vase= mystery of the prop
   
10. Costumes symbolise their different personalities: Husband in his dressing gown, Wife in a blouse and skirt (even to the tiniest detail of the Christian necklace)
11. Naturalistic lighting as there are shadows in the frames
    
12. Quick tilting up and down movement of the close ups of the husband (sitting in the chair) and wife (standing behind the chair) talking to each other. confrontation
    
13. Importance of depth of field within the frames: vase is sharp and the man is out of focus emphasising the vase being placed down on the table and allows the audience to understand the agenda of their conversation.

Inspirational:
The technique of using the soundtrack as the dialogue is very creative and we could possible try to copy this idea. Although, we will need to spend a long time in editing suite matching the movement of the mouths to the jazz music. Music video? I loved the tilting movements and depth of fields within each frame allowing the audience to concentrate on certain props in the room.

Research Task 5

INSiDE (Trevor Sands, 2002)
More Information of Cast and other comments

• Over-powering use of a non-diegetic soundtrack- mystery, suspenseful
• Sound effects of chains, footsteps, doors slamming, lights flicking
• Off-screen diegetic sound of voices- overlapping each other- one becomes dominant mainly the Doctor's
  
• Nothing, but dialogue in the conversation between Doctor Jane and 'Daniel' as the voices are confusing and irritating at times
  
• Doctor Jane's voice becomes dominant for a while as she tells everyone to 'STOP!' Her character is very controlling.
• On screen dialogue of the characters grows louder and louder- creates sympathy for Daniel as you begin to understand what it is like to have multiple personality disorder
  

• Interesting camera angles such as the very high angle extreme long shot of Daniel sitting in the white chamber. Vulnerability emphasised
  
• Low key lighting used throughout- convention of the thriller genre
• 180 degree rule followed in this piece to not confuse the audience of the table investigation scene between Doctor Jane and Daniel
  
• Depth of field within medium close up of wandering characters behind Daniel. Combined with low key lighting- each individual character steps into the light, allowing the audience to understand 'his different personalities'
• Panning across the characters to allow the audience to witness their individual costumes and emotions.
• Slow zoom in the close up of Daniel's face as he reveals his name- changing point of the narrative highlighted as there is total silence- change of mood- tension created
  

• 'Multiple personality disorder': Different personalities are symbolised through different characters: CLEVER! Inspirational for my film as we may use this idea.
• Great narrative as the low angle medium shot symbolises the Doctor Jane has become another personality for Daniel. Has a threatening mood and is very thrilling to watch.
  

Research Task 4

The Transaction (J. Van Tulleken, 2009)

Thriller/Drama


Points I found interesting:

• Male voice-over greeted on the blank screen 'The arrangement...' Sacrasm, which has a comical tone
  
• Colours: Black and White (just like Lou Lou lives here)
• Extreme long shot of the mise en scene of the park fields- emphasises her vulnerablity and picturesque.
• No dialogue spoken except the voice-over- UNIQUE factor! (I want to use this convention for my own short film as it is extremely powerful, 'story-like')
• Moments of hand held camera to allow realism and to create a bit of movement of the windy day
• Medium close up of the woman's face to emphasise her emotion and helps the natural lighting to amplify the shadows on her face
  

• Continuity editing used throughout to allow an easy and slow paced narrative. Creates a bit of tension as you wonder what is going to happen when the 'transaction' is made.
• Many over-the-shoulder shots of the two characters to create conflict and to highlight an interaction has taken place- creates a mystery of their relationship
  
• Starts and ends with the same establishing shot of the park fields, which easily brings the short film to a close
  
• Provokes a questioning mood on what the film was about. However, this film was very effective and I think if we used this film as our main inspirition I believe we would make a very good film!
  

Research Task 3

Wasp (Andrea Arnold, 2003)

• Hand-held camera emphasises movement and creates spontaneity. Convention to the social realism genre.
• Over-the-shoulder shot of the man in the car- witness the character from the woman's p.o.v.
• Interesting extreme close up of her toes curling on the pavement-shows her fear and nervousness towards going out on a date and her children
• Props: Shakespeare Road (irony as its a lower working class area) post box and telephone box. Council estate. Realism and emphasises the dramatic tension and class struggle
• Poetic establishing shots of the countryside- for relief from the gripping drama
• Close ups of the children's faces playing in their flat- captures their emotion of boredom and creates sympathy for the characters
• Locations & Mise en scene: Pubs, Block of flats and roads= lower class area, run down
• Once again, side profiles of the woman and man- intimacy, loving and romance
• Cutaway of romantic moment and the children waiting outside the pub= suggests the unfair treatment of the children, represents the struggling working class
• Natural lighting- for realism, gritty
• Close up of baby crying and the off-screen diegetic sound of rying and the little child's singing the MCD's song
• Great use of hand-held camera, but controlled to suggest tension
• Very emotional drama!!!

Research Task 2

Lou-Lou Lives Here (Grian) 2003
http://www.britfilms.com/britishfilms/catalogue/browse/?id=D5D44D521b52018985IyHu956479

Genre: Thriller/Drama

• Hand-held camera work
  


• Establishing shots of the countryside to set the scene

• Extreme long shot of the little girl lying in the fields- along with high key lighting on her vulnerable body


• Close ups of the girl's side profile observing the fields- captures emotion


• Over the shoulder tracking shot of the girl walking down a picturesque path, filled with shadows.


• Black and White only- reasoning that it's Lou-Lou (the dog's p.o.v) and it's a convention to the thriller genre


• A powerful frame was the extreme close up of her eyes looking at the White van


• Suspenseful Medium shot frame and strong depth of field as the man approaches the little girl behind.


• Mood= Chilling, Supernatural from the tense and suspenseful atmosphere and mise en scene of the woods


• Very dream like through the high contrast and the many dissolves and overlapping of images such as the extreme close up on the dog's face.


• Slow motion is used to vary the speed of the short film.


• Editing is key in this sequence to show the little girl transforming into the dog. Dissolves and overlapping of the girl's feet running and the dog running home.


• Fast cuts introduce a fast pace and creates suspense.


• POV shots and shakiness becomes quite subjective to allow the audience to experience the tension
  

Prop conform to the genre:

1. Scarecrow


2. Dead rabbit


3. White van= has connotations to crime, child abduction


4. Woods


5. Small child's toy


6. The 'Beware' sign

The use of sound:

• Non diegetic soundtrack creates mystery


• Howling wind


• Crows = key convention of the thriller/horror


• Dog whimpering and barking


• Van wheels


• Wind of the plastic bag
  

Lighting:

1. High key lighting to create a dream like sequence, mystery and chilling


2. For the close ups, there is well exposed sequences of her face= seems very angelic


3. Allows contrast of the darkness and lightness= shadow depth of field


4. Sometimes it helps with out of focus
   
   

Inspirational?
I like the idea of using just black and white colours. Therefore, it allows powerful and striky shadows to form. The importance of lighting will be included in our short film as 'Lou Lou lives here' symbolises the power of light. Although, I felt the narrative was poor, the dreamlike sequence and the 'weirdness' of the film, despite the terrible sound effects, have stuck in my mind.

Research Task 1

Joyride (Gillespie) 1995


Genre/Style used
Thriller short film

Thrilling iconography includes:
• Rain
• Low key lighting and use of shadows (especially in the boot scene)
• Cigarette
• Axe and other weapons
• Blood
• Costumes: white and black
• Car radio

Mise en scene
The film used a combination of different locations, which made the short film interesting to watch. I enjoyed the boot scene as tension rose during the drama.

Camera framing
There were many interesting camera framing throughout this film, which appealed to me and I inspired me.

High angle and Low angle frame when the victim looks up and down the electricity pole. Shows the height difference and creates realism.

Tracking shots of the travelling road reinforcing the journey and creates the illusion of reality.

But the main shot, that inspired me the most was the medium close up of the victim’s side profile with the cigarette dangling from his mouth. These shots express the confusion, distress and vulnerability of the character. Also, there were many extreme close ups of the victim’s frantic attempts to release himself from the boot, which created suspense and tension.

Unique/Inspiration

This short film was very unique from others I have watched. These are the aspects that I considered as inspiration towards our coursework:

The difference between the protagonist’s white tank top to the antagonist’s black clothing. Symbolises good versus evil.

Limited use of dialogue. The moments of silence were very symbolic and emphasised the suffering of the victim in the boot. The actions spoke louder than words

Short film format

The narrative involves a chronological sequence:
Man doing his job, man drives home, man gets attacked, man thrown into the boot, man breaks the brake light, and alerts the police, and police get attacked causes more police to chase, finally rescued, but dies from the electricity pole.

Humorous that that he arrives at the same location that was introduced during the set-up stage.

Narrative involves mini dilemmas and traumas throughout to build tension and suspense e.g. the victim in the boots gets covered in petrol and the spark from the brake light. Also, the many extreme close ups of his face and hands when he tries to get his hands free.

Interesting use of sound

Non diegetic soundtrack- piano- creates a mystery and amplifies when there is tension

Great use of sound effects such as the car's radio , rain & thunder, footsteps, suffering and breathing. For realism and emphasises the mise en scene

Creative and interesting use of off-screen diegetic sound of the antagonists' voices whilst victim is in the boot. Creates realism and emphasises his pain. Another scene was the off-screen diegetic sound of the police officers getting attacked outside whilst the frame dwells on the victim's reactions in the boot. Convention of horror/thriller as it's the fear of the unknown!

Themes/issues and representation

The film seems to centre around the traumatic experience of being attacked, but to never take your work position for granted.

Objective audience positioning when the victim is getting attacked.

Throughout the short film, you feel quite sympathic towards the victim as you wonder what the experience feels like, but the conclusion destroys the sympathy created due to the victim's irrational actions of approaching the electricity pole whilst covered in petrol.

Lessons learnt from the Foundation Portfolio

After reading 'The Motive' Evaluation, I discovered there were many strengths with our film such as props and locations.



However, we struggled with soundtracks and sound effects, which can be created via Garageband. This was because time was limited and we therefore focused on our editing instead. Now, we have experience using the software, our A2 film will hopefully show our growing Garageband knowledge.

Time planning is equally important to the task and to meet the deadlines. Pre-production is essential as our group needs to decide on a genre, characters and a narrative. We need to research other short films for inspirition and produce an interesting storyline and characters.

Whilst on the set, my group and I need to focus on composition and the 'emotional' meaning of the chosen frames. We need to create an emotive piece where audiences can relate to the drama. Also, I felt 'The Motive' clearly looked like an amatuer film so therefore we need to stretch our minds a bit more and take the project seriously.

Group members need to work equally as hard as this was a problem last year, which finally got resolved! We need to allocate roles to individuals to make sure conventions and filming techniques are concentrated at every angle to create an excellent short film. We need to remain calm and not panic during the pre-production, production and post-production as we struggled with time alot last year.