Evaluation

1). How does your product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media products?
My short uses many of the conventions of the short film genre. For example short films are light on the amount of characters used, normally having two or three as there is not enough time to create lot's of deep rooted back stories for multiple people. In this vain I only had two characters in my film so that I didn't have a lot of work to do with character history and I could keep it all present. Another way in which I stuck to the conventions of a traditional short film was my lack of a budget, obviously due to the project being an independent venture like most short films. This means that locations, actors, and props have to be acquired with little money, (in my case the cost of the props.) My location was a family member’s flat, my actors were friends from school and my props bill was around £10.  The length of my short is that of an average short film, falling in at around the four and a half minute mark, showing my awareness of that convention. Short films generally show an everyday situation that anyone can relate to and then flip it on its head in some way. I attempted to follow this convention as my film was about a very common event, a first date. I then went on to make the date massively unsuccessful which is still something some people can relate to. One way in which I attempted to challenge a convention of short films was by not adding a ‘twist’ into the story. Many shorts use this technique to attempt to add more to the short, making it more interesting, however, I chose to stick to a standard, uncomplicated narrative that people could relate to in order to connect with my target audience.

2). How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I think my main product and ancillary texts combine very well as my main product is clearly identifiable in both of them as the film poster incorporates a colour scheme that matches the tone I was trying to capture in the film and the image used also gives a sense of what the film is about and the genre and also suggests as to the characters. Likewise, the magazine article features a shot taken directly from the film used to give the reader an exact view of the film and also features a mock interview with the director, me, to give more information about the film and also areas around filming. Both of these methods are effective as they are used to attract an audience and to tell the audience what to expect. The magazine article not only allows the audience more information about the film but also gives the opinion of the director meaning that their understanding can be furthered. The ultimate goal of the two ancillary texts is to act as a sort of marketing campaign for the short film itself; and I think that my article and poster do this well, making the film a sort of brand. The branding is important as it allows a wide range of people to be aware of the product which is why the different forms of media used are crucial to making a perfect combination.

3). What have you learned from your audience feedback?

After having my peers watch back my film and look at my ancillary products I found what my strengths were and also what should be changed and done differently in later projects to make them better. For example, one area in which my filming was weaker was the framing of my shots. How I fit the actors into scenes, for example, was slightly off during some of the film, where it is noticeable that one is significantly higher in the frame than the other. One of the areas where people generally congratulated me was in the music used on my short film. The songs fit the genre of the film well as they are softer ‘indie’ songs and they also match the tone of the film as the opening song is slightly upbeat giving a connotation of hope whereas the song in the closing scenes is downbeat which matches the feelings shown by the male character. The storyline was generally praised, with the odd male peer not being particularly impressed with the ‘rom-com’ feel of my film which has allowed me to think about how to make future projects popular with everyone who watches. My poster was received well and was given high praise for looking very realistic, much like the review I constructed. It was stated that it looked exactly like the reviews found in Total Film and Empire magazine which was the highest

praise I received.

4). How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Throughout all stages of my projects in both my first and second years I used a number of different technologies. These technologies were used in various ways including to capture and refine my films. In the construction stage of my projects I used a mini dv camcorder to capture my film. Not only did I use it for the standard purpose but I also did some editing while filming where I captured shots with delays between to make the final edit process even easier for myself. Having captured my film I then had to edit it properly, for this I used the FinalCut Pro software after logging and capturing my rough copy onto the edit suite. FinalCut Pro allowed me to add effects to my film, edit each scene individually, create opening and closing credits and also create a soundtrack for my final piece. Having constructed my film, I then had to create print products to advertise and market it. To do this I used two applications; Photoshop and Pages. Through Pages I created basic templates to construct a film advertisement poster and a magazine review, while using Photoshop to refine the images that I used.
I also used technology in my research and planning stages as I used Blogger to record my research of existing media products and also plan my film. I also created a questionairre which was given to peers to gain feedback about favoured genres and types to allow me to pick my project.

Script

The Date

By Jack Dimsdale

 INT.  INNER CITY APARTMENT.

Boy, checks himself in the mirror making sure his shirt is straight, his hair is perfect and also checks his breath. Mouthing the words to Otis Redding’s – Hard to Handle. His preparation is interrupted by the buzzer for the front door downstairs.

BOY

I’ll buzz you in. I’m on the 2^nd floor.

GIRL

Thanks!

EXT.  OUTSIDE APARTMENT BLOCK.

Girl, waits for the buzz, then pushes the heavy door open and proceeds to the second door. This time he beats her to it and buzzes her straight through to the corridor. She makes her way to the lift and clicks for the 2^nd floor.

INT.  LIFT

Girl makes sure she is presentable in the lift mirrors, making last minute adjustments to hair/make-up etc.

INT.  CORRIDOR

Girl saunters down corridor to apartment 45 and knocks 3 times on the door. Boy opens. They clearly know each other, but not well. Possibly work together

BOY

Hi.

GIRL

(Smiles)

Hi.

BOY

(Unsure look on face. He is clearly nervous)

Hi.

GIRL

You said that already. Are you going to invite me in or are we having dinner out in the corridor?

BOY

Yeah, sorry! Come in

INT.  APARTMENT 45

A tidy, well kept, one bedroom apartment.

BOY

 I’ll take your coat for you. Can I get you a drink? I’ve got wine or beer.

GIRL

Wine would be lovely, thank you.

Boy moves to kitchen to fetch wine and glasses and then returns to dinner table. She seats her self at the dinner table.

GIRL

This is a really nice place you’ve got.

BOY

Thanks. I’ve only recently unpacked.

GIRL

Oh, did you move in recently?

BOY

(Looking confused as to why she thinks this)

No, I’ve been here a couple of years.

GIRL

Oh, sill–

(Sniffing)

Is something burning?

BOY

(Now sniffing as well)

Shit!

Boy rushes to kitchen, whacks on oven gloves and attempts to save the now unidentifiable food – to no avail.

JUMP TO –

Back at table, food plated up. Girl with a less than hopeful look on her face. Boy looks up at her struggling to eat her meal, opens his mouth as if to speak, but can’t decide what to say. Put’s head back down. Then thinks of something.

BOY

(Trying to explain himself)

I mean, the recipe said “cook for 45 minutes.” Last time I listen to Jamie Oliver!

GIRL

(Lying)

Its okay, you can hardly notice.

Once you scrape off the burnt bits

(Scrapes off burnt bits)

BOY

Would you like a refill?

GIRL

Mmm, yes please.

Realising the current bottle is empty, Boy goes to kitchen to fetch the new one. This one doesn’t open so easily, Boy has a lot of trouble until….

Fade to black. Loud POP noise.

GIRL

(Screams)

BOY

Oh Jesus, I’m so sorry!

Lights come back up on our ‘loved-up’ couple. Sat in silence. Both have finished eating and it is clear she is just waiting to leave. Girl has a bright red mark on her, definitely going to lead to a black eye.

GIRL

(Looking at watch)

It’s getting late. I think I best be off

BOY

Oh, yeah. Okay

They both stand. He gets her coat and helps her put it on.

BOY

(Joking)

You’re going to want to get some ice on that eye.

She doesn’t respond. Only fakes a smile and moves into the hallway toward the front door. Opening it.

BOY

(Sounding hopeful)

I had a really nice time. We should do it again.

As the girl moves outside.

GIRL

Yeah, definitely. I’ll give you a call. Bye.

BOY

See ya later.

As she walks away he closes the door. Presses his back to it, and slides down. Knowing just how much of an idiot he’s been.

Casting

For my film I wanted people that I knew would be reliable and sensible and not let me down. I also wanted someone who was very inexperienced at acting to give the film the awkward vibe I wanted. This led me to cast Jordan Davis, my long time friend (and star of my AS project) to take the role of 'Boy' and make it his own. For the role of 'Girl' I wanted someone who was slightly more experienced and comfortable in front of the camera, which led me to cast Sarah Mooney, school friend and stage group member.

With Sarah's experience and Jordan's awkwardness I knew I had the perfect cast for my film and that I was ready to go. Both of them turned up to the meet before me, had learnt the scripts off by heart and were really excited about filming. 

They both put ideas forward about different shots, scenes and lines of dialogue and were really willing to do anything I asked of them. They made the whole process very easy from start to finish and both provided exactly what I wanted. Awkwardness and confidence.

Pitch

Short Film Analysis #3

Rare Exports Inc.

Rare Exports Inc. is a Finnish short film directed by Jalmari Helander that was made in 2003. The film is about just before the first snow of winter falls, where professional hunters begin their work hunting, catching and training Father Christmas'. "The long process of tracking, hunting and transforming this king of the forest into a finished product is a time consuming process, but the final outcome is a reason to celebrate."

The film is somewhat of a fantasty film while also being a dark comedy. The intended audience is likely to be of an older nature, eventhough the subject matter is of a childrens character. The form in which this traditional story is told suggests that the creator wanted to reintroduce this character to adults.

The narrative is quick and pacy and allows for the 7 minute film to flow naturally. A relative budget for a short film is clearly used as is shown in the props and effects in the film, however, it is unknown.

The short film went on to spawn a sequel and also be adapted into a full length movie which went on to score succes both commercially and critically winning awards and praise from critics a like.

Short Film Analysis #2

Sweet

Sweet is a British short film from 2000. The film is directed by James Pilkington starring Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt. The film is roughly 10 minutes long and humorously documents the relationships of Pete Sweet (Fielding) and the imaginary sister of his mate Dave, Poppy and also Pete and Daisy and Stitch (Barratt), Pete’s best friend.

The budget used for the film was very small as Pilkington used friends as the actors and also used his contacts for the crew on the film. Pilkington even used his local pub, and his own flat as locations for the filming.

The film incorporates the conventions of a short film by using a simple narrative structure that has a beggining, a middle and a conclusion which resolves the issues addressed throughout the 10 minutes. It would be fair to say that the lenght of the film is that of an average short film which breaks up nicely.

Short Film Analysis #1

Saw

Saw is an Australian, short, horror film made in 2003. It was directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, who also starred in it. It was originally used to pitch their script for a full-length feature film Saw to various studios and actors.

Colleagues, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, had begun writing a script for a horror film, citing inspiration from their dreams and fears. Upon completing the script, Leigh and James had wanted to select an excerpt from their script, later to be known as Saw, and film it to pitch their film to studios and prospective actors. This excerpt became the short film Saw.

The reverse bear trap, which is seen in the short film around the head of Whannell, is actually a real, working, rusty bear trap making it exceptionally dangerous to use. The film was shot over 8 days for around $2000 (USD).