Short Film Evaluation - Carla

Qu 1) In what ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Short Film Format

Short films are renowned for their particular story lines that immediately grab the attention of the audience. They are often idiosyncratic story lines because they help to stand out during the very short time they are shown. As the time span is so short – 2 to 30 minutes – it is vital to have a simple yet effective plot. This is important as this avoids confusing the spectator with a complicated pot which cannot be unravelled within the limited amount of time. We also discovered that many are not under one specific genre such as: Comedy, Romance, Horror, Thriller but cross a multitude of genres. This is due to such a short amount of time it’s hard to narrow the film down into one genre.

For inspiration I watched and analysed 4 short films and in this 9 frame sequence I chose my favourite 3.

• Row 1 is called Skirt and is found here on Vimeo.
• Row 2 is called Dream Girl and is found 
  here on Virgin Media Shorts.
• Row 3 is called Mud Boy and is found here on BBC Film Network.

Narrative

• Skirt has a linear narrative structure with closure like our film Transaction. Not all short films adopt this narrative organisation but many do which is often due to the timing of the film being limited. If a film were to have a complex narrative structure, but was only 5 minutes long, this could be very confusing for the audience and they may not understand the plot.

Characterisation

CHARACTERS IDENTITY ARE HIDDEN

• Characters are constructed media representations of reality. In Skirt neither of the characters are presented as particularly stereotypical. This implies that Amanda Boyle, the director, wanted to represent modern ideologies around femininity and masculinity. Frame 1 shows us the man in a white T-shirt and the young woman in a colourful quirky outfit. 
• Throughout the film she isn't afraid of her individuality and she is wearing little make-up which again represents a modern reality as she does not feel the need to make an exceptional effort in order to present herself to males as particularly feminine.
• The limited use of dialogue not only emphasizes the fact that this is a short film, but it also tells us a little about their character. Shyness is clearly something which they both have in common which leads to the two characters showing odd gestures of affection towards one another.
• Skirt has little in common with Transaction in terms of characterisation but both of the films involve only a few characters which again reinforces the fact that the two are under the genre of short films.

Camera Work and Sound

• Camerawork is simple yet effective with an array of clever shots that feature both characters in view. 
• Different angles as they play tricks on each shows dominance through their actions and repeatedly roles are reversed.
• We have tried to implement this sort of idea into Transaction, where the 2 characters are both always in shot together when they finally meet. This allows the audience to understand what is happening.

Mise en Scene

ISOLATED LOCATION ON DOWNS

• The lighting is fairly neutral with limited colours. This gives the idea of living with basics and cheaply.
• The setting is also different as they are sharing a flat, which is apparent in frame 2 - a cheap looking flat. This is realistic socially as both of the main characters look young.
• Our films differ here a lot. Skirt is kept in one location - the flat, whereas Transaction the location changes from a room with a computer, 2 vehicle journeys, a meet at an isolated location and back to the Birthday Girl's house.

Use of Genre Conventions

• Skirt shows elements of Romance as it revolves around the two characters who make flirtatious and odd gestures of affection towards each other. Referring to Rick Atlman this is known as a 'syntactic code'. In frame 3 we can see that this man has put the young woman's clothes and possessions in a neat pile for her.
• The Genre is hard to tell as its so short - 02:40 minutes long but it leans towards Romance over anything. 
• This again is similar to our film as a genre is difficult to establish being only 5 minutes long. Research of watching short films proved this. As short films are not long at all it's hard to apply something so solid to a film with a simple plot.

Editing

• Skirt has been edited into a montage of different shots for different days to represent the change in time without making the film too long. 
• Simple cuts have been used which is different to our film as we have often used fade transitions in order to represent the change in time but only of hours and minutes not days. 
• Another difference is the use of non-diegetic music. We decided to use non-diegetic music in order for the story to become fast paced and full of suspense but Skirt, however, used only diegetic sound which I think is more effective for this film as it emphasises the awkwardness between the two characters which is an important aspect in the film.

Ancillary Tasks

Film posters are used to try and attract the target audience of the film that is being distributed. They are very important to gain public interest to the product, even in this technological day, and are used everywhere from tube/train stations to the back's of buses. They have to catch the eye of people very quickly, and attract them into seeing the film. The visual elements on a movie poster can convey powerful messages. The best posters make people anticipate an upcoming release.

1. It has to get your attention and jump out at you.
2. It needs to be iconic - but without giving away too much.
3. It needs to make the film look interesting and make you want to watch it.
4. It needs to have appeal to everyone so you can expand your target audience.
5. The style of the poster needs to keep with the film otherwise the audience may not get what they expected.
6. It needs to have a classic look that won't age and continue to look good.

Important components to include in a Film Poster:

In a film poster there needs to most importantly, be an image or more to give the audience an idea of what the plot is about. It can be hand drawn or taken photographically. The title of the film needs to be clear. Also it's important for the A list celebrities to be named in a big font to attract their fans, it's equally important to name the main cast including the Director and Production team. There needs to be a few reviews from the media to show its credibility. It needs to clearly show the date it's coming out. There is also normally a tag-line or phrase from the film to try and catch peoples attention and make them curious to see the film. A film certificate is also vital to show what the certified target audience has to be above. Finally the production company is on the front to show the audience who it has been made with.

Brighton Rock (2010, Directed by Rowan Joffe)

In 1964, Pinkie Brown, a sociopathic member of a Brighton gang, murders a man who has himself killed the gang leader, Kite. He befriends Rose, a young waitress who had witnessed gang activity, so as to keep an eye on her, and she falls in love with him. In order to prevent her from being made to give evidence against him, he marries her. Ida, Rose's employer and a friend of the man killed by Pinkie, takes it upon herself to save the girl from the monster she has married.

Narrative - From looking at the male characters face it gives the idea it is an action/thriller themed film, along with the use of clouds and sky, the darkness and the light this reinforces the idea that this is a good vs. evil / revenge and redemption styled movie circling around the male character. The poster portrays the main protagonist very obviously with a traditional representation of masculinity, this is shown through the centre positioning of his character and his name being put first in the text of actors names characters connoting that he is of higher importance and is at the centre of the narrative. Also the low key lighting used on one side of his faces portrays him as evil or showing the emotion of anger this is also shown through his facial expression and body language as his is posed 'ready for action'. 

Genre: The use of the backgrounds colour could be suggesting an eventful storyline so it is most likely an action thriller. This is reinforced by the facial expression of the male and female on the right, along with the male’s body language which is suggests that he is aggressive and possibly violent. The costume used helps the audience suggest the genre and era of the film, for example the clothes worn are 'very sixties' and the film is probably from that era, also the male character has his collar up on his coat which may suggest crime in the narrative, it's as if he has something to hide about his identity. The large and bold white title displayed on a dark background also suggests that this film could be a thriller including the narrative use of binary opposites shown through the use of lighting for example the poster uses low key lighting vs whereas the film narrative may use good vs bad. It is directed at an older audience this is shown by the genre portrayed, the age certificate of 15.

Representation: The male character seems to be a representation of a young middle class adult (suggested through his clothing). His facial expression seems to suggest an aggressive possibly violent disposition portraying a generalization that young males could be holding in anger and rage which could threaten or harm others. The woman on the right seems to be mirroring the male characters basic aura whereas the woman on the left seems to be much more concerned about the male, suggesting she could be looking out for his safety and well-being giving the impression that she is a much more emotionally compatible character to the audience. This could be a generalization of what people were expected to be like during the time this film was set, the film is based pre-world war 2 so it could be a representation of the animosity that lead up to the events that would take place. The femininity and masculinity on the poster is very clear with the positioning of the characters, the composition of the frame, and the costume, body language and facial expressions of the characters. We’re told that the male character is empowered, the older female character is traditionally represented in a pink coat with a vulnerable expression, and the younger female is a more modern representation, looking in control and fashionable.

Target Audience : I would say the target audience would range from 15 and over. With Helen Mirren and John Hurt starring in it, I would think the film would open up a much bigger target audience to the older generation. This is due to both stars performing in other films and being respected actors of the film industry with their own fan base. We can also assume that the readers of the classic novel would be interested to see the adaptation as there is already a fan base for the product with a more mature audience.

My Final Poster

• The use of the Red Title and matching logo on his gloves stands out very clearly and suggests danger.
• The image Isaac took of James is very effective as James/Mr X is completely un-identifiable. The fact James is in his Motorbike Leathers and Helmet - very little about the film is given away creating the ambiguity we wanted to achieve.
• The Low Angle makes James looks very domineering and quite threatening.
• The Black and White image further makes it look mysterious.
• The picture of James putting the package in his jacket will make the audience curious as to what the transaction is about.
• The only thing that is missing is an Age Certificate - It would probably be a 12.

Film Reviews 

A film review should have a number of purposes:

• To describe. The review should describe the story, characters and some of the action - without spoiling the plot or giving too much away!
• To inform. The review needs to tell people who is in the film, who it is by and where or when readers can see it.
• To analyse. A good review gives an opinion on whether the film is good or not and why.
• To advise. Finally, the review should tell the reader whether or not to go and see the film.

Basing our review on LWL, their reviews are edgy and straight to the point. They use complex language and target purely the film enthusiasts.

LWL REVIEW

The target audience is for people aged around 18 - 30. The reviews are filled with satire humour and intelligent puns, whilst still critiquing the film to a high standard.

The magazine reviews is what introduces an in-depth written piece about our work. The template is the same for each one. The format is very clear and bold, making it eye catching. The magazine uses a tripartite ranking system. The categories (Anticipation, Enjoyment and In Retrospect) are marked out of 5 and accompanied by explanatory text.

Conventions of a good Film Poster

1. Express your opinion of the film, but support your criticism.
2. Adjust the style of your review for the readership. 
3. Avoid spoilers. 
4. Judge the story. 
5. Rate the actors. 
6. Evaluate the technical elements.

Our review and Poster both challenge these conventions of real media products and work well within the Short Film idea, working to mirror the idea of ambiguity and mystery the whole way through. They have all the correct components and look semi-professional giving our film a nice edge with the Ancillary Products.

FINAL REVIEW

Qu2) How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Video answer.

(Sorry for um-ming so much and looking around a lot, I get a bit awkward on camera! I even had my script on my lap would you believe!)

3) What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback is very important for our group as it helps us to understand what we could have done better and how we could have improved. It is important to be able to take critique on our work because it furthers how we can advance and amend our work. Also Audience Feedback helps to point out what really worked and looked good, and gives us a sense of pride in our work. I personally used Facebook and Windows Live email to gather my feedback.

For our short film, Transaction, we were targeting a wide audience, towards short film enthusiasts of an age 15-40. This is because the film is very hard to generalise under a specific genre as it touches on many such as; thriller, action and comedy with the satirical twist at the end. I showed it to six adults over 30 and also to many young people aged 17-22. The general response was very similar being the fact that they like the mystery and suspense throughout and that the plot twist was clever.

What we have learnt from our advanced portfolio is that our plot could have been more carefully built up with more added in to it. The ending was lacking, and leaving the audience on a cliff-hanger wasn’t the best idea but due to poor time management and weather conditions this was slightly rushed to meet the deadline. If we could have spent more time on the ending I feel that it would have been a lot smoother and neater, with more shots in the house. An idea would have been perhaps with the birthday girl opening her present to find something completely normal such as a book which would make it all the more over dramatic and amusing. To film this I think an array of over the shoulder shots and high angles in the lounge would have worked well and shown the audience exactly what was happening.

From Feedback from Hannah 17, it was noted that the wind was noisy in some parts. Although we tried hard to soften it, in hindsight we should have put the wind muffler on the microphone to quieten the noise because there was only so much editing we could do to minimise it. However on a positive she really enjoyed the opening shots of Harrison at the computer where the storyline is established. This is a really good comment to have because it shows she was drawn in right from the start. She also commented on the use of the GoPro and again liking those shots thinking they were effective.  This is great feedback for us because we were using an alternative way to film in the aim to give a different viewpoint and let the audience feel as if they are part of the action more. This idea we had was innovative and it was really good experience filming with a new sort of camera so we were happy that it got good comments.

Feedback from Jack 18, shows an impressed attitude towards our editing complimenting on the great continuity and colour grading. This is good to get feedback on our editing as editing plays a vital role in making the film come to life and give it a smooth feel. As a group we take pride in our editing and tried to incorporate many different shots and angles with many techniques such as match on action, 180 degree rule and over the shoulder shots just to make it flow that bit better and to make it look as professional as possible. Since last year our editing has improved vastly and we worked much faster towards finishing our film. I personally now feel more confident editing and adding music in alone whereas last year I felt a bit intimidated from all the Mac shortcuts. A note Jack said we could improve on, was that as the bike pulled out of the Ditchling Beacon Car Park, the GoPro microphone picked up a lot of noise from the motorbike as the camera was sitting at the back. This unfortunately is a lot noisier than the next shot of the motorbike and Jack suggested we could of brought the noise down and brought the atmospheric music up. Evaluating his comment I agree, it would have further pushed the continuity and would have pushed the suspense further instead of halting it.

This leads on to my feedback from Isaac 19. He suggested that after the Transaction on top of the Downs, it felt a little lack lustre and that some of the atmosphere was lost as we longer made the film about the build up. We made it more of a build down in towards a nice ending. We should have pushed the ending more, aiming to carry on increasing the tension and suspense right towards James knocking at the door. But as we lost the action paced music so was the atmosphere. To amend this we should have added in more fast paced music, and brought in more shots, perhaps of James looking very nervous or worried before he handed the package to the Sister. However he noted that the action fueled music at the start immediately helped set the atmosphere and again grabbed his attention which was one of our aims. In addition he complimented good camera shots throughout which was nice to hear as we had tried to be more adventurous than last year and add a wider variety in.

I also personally feel like I have improved vastly with filming since last year with the foundation portfolio, as I featured in it more last year so didn’t get as much of a chance to experiment with the camera. Yet this year as I wasn’t really in it, I got the opportunity to use the camera a lot more and really work on my filming and improve my skills with the camera. Lastly Isaac commented on the fact that tension was maintained throughout. This was one of our biggest aims with the plot, so to know it succeeded was good to know.

Kirsty’s feedback 22, compliments the clever filming, the use of the GoPro, and the fast paced music – all of which help to set the atmosphere which is very quickly built up. A new point she brings in, is the comment about the end use of dialogue and the release of tension. This anti-climax is what we were aiming for and the fact she picked up on the new tone of dialogue being friendly and warm which changed the atmosphere is excellent feedback. The reason we used minimal dialogue is because we did last year and it got good feedback as it gave a less amateur feel, due to us not being professional actors it makes it sound less phoney. This fits with the context of the thriller side making it more mysterious and giving less away.

However Kirsty believed we could have created more urgency within the Transaction to further to develop the tension. Yet we did try our best to create this sense of urgency with fast paced cuts and energetic music but to further it we could have added in shots of the Birthday girl maybe at home looking sad and alone with birthday banners and cards around her establishing that she is waiting for someone to be with her on her birthday. This wouldn’t give too much away to the audience but could push the tension additionally.

This email is from Dom 'The black and white first poster gives me the idea that the short is a thriller. The style and colour of the font also gives me the impression that the film is a thriller. The character dominates the image in a threatening manner, which gives me an idea of what the story line is about and making me want to find out more about the film. The costume of the character (all black bike leathers) conceals his identity implying even more mystery!!!' His preferred poster was the one I created.

Concerning the poster I feel that we should have had more of a group input towards the final poster and what went on it since the font doesn’t quite fit the feel of the piece and the tagline feels unnecessary. Some feedback showed that my initial design was more popular but by then the final one had already been uploaded. However the picture used in the Final Poster works well, and is of sharp quality. The restricted view of the picture creates ambiguity which we wanted, and makes the audience want to know more. The Title stands out and grabs attention, and with the black border at the bottom makes it clear where the Credits belong and doesn’t deter from the feel of the poster.

The review as part of the Ancillary Task, I particularly am pleased with. As we had to mimic the layout of Little White Lies and write about our own film in the style of their writing I think it is very unbiased and well put together. Harrison and I tried to write it well and focused on how we said things whilst expanding our vocabulary to make it sound intelligent yet witty like the style of Little White Lies. We felt we complimented and critiqued where necessary and with notes from our Teacher we worked hard to amend it to make it the highest standard possible. Comments from Jeremy 42 ‘Very well written, and it gives away enough about the plot to make the audience want to view it,’ gave evidence that the review did what we wanted it to – make the audience want to view our film. Looking back at that I think we worked hard on that and am pleased with how it turned out.

 Overall from all of our Audience Feedback I am happy with all our work. Small changes to the short film through editing could have improved it and a possible enhanced ending would have given it a more conclusive feel. I’m particularly pleased with the decision to use the GoPro and the positive comments from that. The main aim of creating a short film filled with tension and suspense was achieved so that’s a good positive. The Review gave the effect we hoped for which was to intrigue the audience into watching the film and not knowing the whole storyline. The Poster gives off a sense of ambiguity but possibly could have been more carefully thought about to give it a more professional feel. Since last year I think our work has improved and we have managed to create an appealing short film out of a very simple storyline, an effective review, and an ambiguous film poster and audience feedback has helped to show us this.

Qu4) How did you use new media technologies in the construction, and research, planning and evaluation?

Prezi Answer.