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Mix-tape
This film is the winner of the virgin media shorts competition 2009, and another one of my favourites, not many people I don't think will get this film, however I see that this film says a lot more than it seems, a little boy with a crush on what seems to be his best friend and he makes her an old cassette mix-tape because she likes the music, she puts it on and he can hear it as they live next door, and then it turns into some sort of music video, yet again the narrative is so simple but yet effective, its not particularly that clever but enjoyable, the music choice in this film makes it what it is as it is upbeat yet old music, feel good music. A little bit of dialogue to introduce the narrative and some very clever camera work and shot types.
Friday 20 August 2010
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The Black Hole
This video from the 2008 virgin media shorts competition is a favourite short film of mine, although this film is not as amateur as you would expect which is the reason why it is good, you still cannot take away the fact that it is a brilliant yet simple idea which is how short films should be, a simple narrative with no complex dialogue or head splitting twists, it is interesting, funny almost and has great effects.
The Black Hole
This video from the 2008 virgin media shorts competition is a favourite short film of mine, although this film is not as amateur as you would expect which is the reason why it is good, you still cannot take away the fact that it is a brilliant yet simple idea which is how short films should be, a simple narrative with no complex dialogue or head splitting twists, it is interesting, funny almost and has great effects.
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Baby bus
I really liked this video because it is controversial, it also deals with a topic which is very common in this country, it is a very short film lasting less than two minutes, but yet is very powerful, the animation of the babies mouth moving whilst speaking to his mother was impressive and also the script written for the baby seemed really professional and believable. Although you could only hear the voice and not see the actor himself, his voice made a real impact and gripped me straight away, he was the reason the video was so powerful.
Baby bus
I really liked this video because it is controversial, it also deals with a topic which is very common in this country, it is a very short film lasting less than two minutes, but yet is very powerful, the animation of the babies mouth moving whilst speaking to his mother was impressive and also the script written for the baby seemed really professional and believable. Although you could only hear the voice and not see the actor himself, his voice made a real impact and gripped me straight away, he was the reason the video was so powerful.
Thursday 19 August 2010
Short film research
Encounters short film festival - http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/ - Encounters International Film Festival is the umbrella title for two of the UK's leading film festivals Brief Encounters and Animated Encounters, with a host of cross-over attractions, at venues in and around the Harbourside area of Bristol, UK.
London film festival - http://www.shortfilms.org.uk/- The London Short Film Festival, the city’s most expansive and radically explosive film festival.With over 200 short films, LSFF’s programme is exclusively with the work of Britain’s most exciting up-and-coming filmmakers.
Virgin media short film festival - http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/ - Virgin Media Shorts is all about shining a light on Britain's best film makers and giving them the biggest possible arena to showcase their work. the top 12 films will be shown on 214 cinema screens across the UK. And one lucky winner could walk off with up to £30,000 and the chance to work direct with the UK Film Council and Virgin Media to shoot their next film.
Why are short films good for directors and film creators?
Short films are a starting point for new talent in the film making industry. It lets production companies see what talent is out there. It is good for directors to show off their talent, it gives them their big break. Spike Jonze, Joe Nussbaum, Alex Merkin and even high acclaimed director Martin Scorsese used short film to get himself recognised.
Short films by these directors
Spike Jonze - "Im here", "How they get there"
Joe Nussbaum - "George Lucas in Love"
Martin Scorsese - "Versuvius VI", "Its not just you Murray"
Alex Merkin - "Across the hall" (original short film)
These are the posters for the short films, "I'm here", "Across the hall", and "George Lucas in love". You can see from the posters that they are not produced by Hollywood and are quite amateurish and low budget, they seem raw and the picture on the poster is the most important thing, unlike a Hollywood poster which mainly concentrates on the stars on the poster and the title of the film.
The "I'm here" poster shows that the film is about a romance, yet also a futuristic fantasy hybrid as well due to the robots. The "Across the hall" poster shows that it is a film full of suspense, a thriller slash action hybrid, with the character hiding or looking as if he is going to pounce on the other character, with the character sweating shows that their has been some action. The "George Lucas in love" shows there is a comedy aspect with the vague expression on the George Lucas character, and the small man drinking tea and the obese character sat eating. It is meant to seem quite serious but clearly this impression is not given, the cartoon style pictures gives an innocence and shows that it is not serious.
The "I'm here" poster shows that the film is about a romance, yet also a futuristic fantasy hybrid as well due to the robots. The "Across the hall" poster shows that it is a film full of suspense, a thriller slash action hybrid, with the character hiding or looking as if he is going to pounce on the other character, with the character sweating shows that their has been some action. The "George Lucas in love" shows there is a comedy aspect with the vague expression on the George Lucas character, and the small man drinking tea and the obese character sat eating. It is meant to seem quite serious but clearly this impression is not given, the cartoon style pictures gives an innocence and shows that it is not serious.
Across the Hall
Differences between the theatrical trailer of the hollywood adaptation and the original short film trailer
The theatrical trailer has a complete narrative, just form the trailer you can gather a lot about what the films is about, it is a short film within itself. It gets you interested by showing the basics of the what the film is about without giving too much away. In this trailer, it uses fast cutting from scene to scene, it has some action packed thrilling moments to get the viewer gripped, with slow, dramatic music packed with bass, to intensify the trailer.
Compared to the theatrical trailer of the hollywood adaptation of the original short film, this trailer gives you exactly the same information on what the film is about with similar droning music, despite being half as long and using only a few scenes, so in actual fact the theatrical trailer excessively uses scenes, which arent needed.
I believe the short film trailer is actually better because it seems more raw and gritty rather than the glamorous look of the hollywood film. It is shorter and gets straight to the point, it gets me interested straight away.
Across the Hall Theatrical Trailer from Fivelion Productions on Vimeo.
Across the Hall (Short Film) Trailer from Gary Gimelfarb on Vimeo.
Differences between the theatrical trailer of the hollywood adaptation and the original short film trailer
The theatrical trailer has a complete narrative, just form the trailer you can gather a lot about what the films is about, it is a short film within itself. It gets you interested by showing the basics of the what the film is about without giving too much away. In this trailer, it uses fast cutting from scene to scene, it has some action packed thrilling moments to get the viewer gripped, with slow, dramatic music packed with bass, to intensify the trailer.
Compared to the theatrical trailer of the hollywood adaptation of the original short film, this trailer gives you exactly the same information on what the film is about with similar droning music, despite being half as long and using only a few scenes, so in actual fact the theatrical trailer excessively uses scenes, which arent needed.
I believe the short film trailer is actually better because it seems more raw and gritty rather than the glamorous look of the hollywood film. It is shorter and gets straight to the point, it gets me interested straight away.
Across the Hall Theatrical Trailer from Fivelion Productions on Vimeo.
Across the Hall (Short Film) Trailer from Gary Gimelfarb on Vimeo.
Viral marketing strategies
Films of this generation have become more than just films, before a film is released films often create a fan a base which boosts the interest in the film using viral marketing. I have three examples of this which had very successful campaigns:
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| The Dark Knight |
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| The Blair witch project |
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| Cloverfield |
These three films are recognised for the viral marketing campaigns, The Dark Knight although it is a batman film, the film focused more on the joker, before the film was released a fictional place was newspaper was created called the gotham times, which is where most people know the batman character is situated. This started the mystery and the craze which is the joker. A website was created and games placed on the website where people have to collect clues. people were giving masks to run around the fictional gotham city looking like the joker. It got so far where people were able to phone a man acting as the joker, cakes were delivered to peoples houses with moblie phones hidden inside and a number in icing on the cake, all these activities created such a hype for the film before it was even released and generated money, as with the power of the media, people became engaged and it became more than just a film.
The Blair witch project viral campaign was one of the first of its kind, before its release in america in 1999, Posters and news stories were printed showing that three college students had gone missing, thus making people believe that in fact all of this was real and not fictional, people believed that the footage and the events happening on screen were real, and the three students had died and were in fact actors. This film with a budget of $20,000 to $25,000, generated over $200,000,000 world wide. Even when it was discovered that the film was a hoax people still wanted to see it because of its already very popular status. Cloverfield is one of the most modern viral campaigns and one of the biggest, the website was very successful with people signing up to try and discover what in fact caused all the destruction in the film, it was kept a mystery, it made people eager to see it, if people knew what the film was about before viewing it, it would not have generated as much money, the mystery sold the film, this is a prime example of what a viral campaign does and how they can be successful. Other examples include paranormal activity, district 9, super 8.
Mise-en-scene
Mise-en-scene is everything we see on the screen, from props, to characters, to cinematography(camera shot type, angles, proximity etc) and also lighting. it is important as everything we see on screen is there for a reason, all aspects of mise-en-scene are used to show genre and atmosphere.
Lighting
it is overlooked at how effective lighting is in a film, to set a certain mood, for example, ambient lighting(natural)can be used to set a mellow atmosphere, calm, relaxed and tranquil used a lot in romantic films.
There are many different types of lighting, there is three point lighting which is used to create realism, it is supposed to look as close to real life as possible.High key lighting is used to emphasise someone is dreaming or in a euphoric state of mind, or to show someone who is important. Low key lighting is used to show a villain or a monster in a horror or thriller. Filters are used, making the shot look a certain colour to create a certain mood, for example red for danger, green for mysterious or abnormal, yellow for happy etc. Here are some examples of types of lighting used. Examples of films which use the lighting effectiveley are the horror/thriller film the descent, which uses lots of different colour filters depending on what part of the cave they are in, particularly gree, which I have immitated in my photos, across the hall used filters also, aswell as green to create that mysterious effect but also used a lot of ambient lighting to the opposite effect to create suspense, everything seems calm but you are expecting something to happen and explode into life.
Mise-en-scene is everything we see on the screen, from props, to characters, to cinematography(camera shot type, angles, proximity etc) and also lighting. it is important as everything we see on screen is there for a reason, all aspects of mise-en-scene are used to show genre and atmosphere.
Lighting
it is overlooked at how effective lighting is in a film, to set a certain mood, for example, ambient lighting(natural)can be used to set a mellow atmosphere, calm, relaxed and tranquil used a lot in romantic films.
There are many different types of lighting, there is three point lighting which is used to create realism, it is supposed to look as close to real life as possible.High key lighting is used to emphasise someone is dreaming or in a euphoric state of mind, or to show someone who is important. Low key lighting is used to show a villain or a monster in a horror or thriller. Filters are used, making the shot look a certain colour to create a certain mood, for example red for danger, green for mysterious or abnormal, yellow for happy etc. Here are some examples of types of lighting used. Examples of films which use the lighting effectiveley are the horror/thriller film the descent, which uses lots of different colour filters depending on what part of the cave they are in, particularly gree, which I have immitated in my photos, across the hall used filters also, aswell as green to create that mysterious effect but also used a lot of ambient lighting to the opposite effect to create suspense, everything seems calm but you are expecting something to happen and explode into life.
Audience and reviews research
The film which I am concentrating on for audience response and reviews is Inception (Nolan, 2010). here I will show the like to dislike ratio and what reviews it received from the websites http://www.imdb.com/ and http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ and 3 established critic reviews. I will also write my own review and discuss how the style would differ for it to suit the two websites and empire magazine. i will also discuss how online reviewing is now so effective.
After reading over the audience reviews on imdb.com it is clear that people enjoyed this film and that it was successful, being that the lowest rating I saw for this film was 8 stars out of ten, some people did pick out faults of the film yet still loved it.
The scoring and reviewing system is slightly different on rottentomatoes.com with an overall score given from the audience and not separate reviews from each user like on imdb.com, however, it does give a better indication overall, with 93% of people who commented on the film liking it and getting an average score of 4 out of 5 stars, clearly this film again was a success among the masses. Before reading the audience reviews I expected them to be based on the stars of the film, and they weren't, the main focus point for the reviews I read were on the director Christopher Nolan, he seemed to be praised a lot throughout the reviews. Also the narrative was main feature in what the audience liked or disliked about the film, some people did not understand the narrative, but those who did really appreciated its complexity and imagination. The Genre of the film was mentioned frequently and viewers believe it to be more than one single genre, and viewed it as a hybrid film. sci-fi, thriller, drama, action, crime were some of the genre's mentioned by audiences, this shows it can fit into any of these categories, and thus is a hybrid genre film.
Compared to the audience reviews i have also read 3 full critic reviews from established news papers and magazines, the daily mirror, the New York times and empire magazine. the daily mail review, although quite brief, did give a positive review and scored 5/5, the author did not give much insight into his main likes and dislikes but did express that he liked the film. The New York times review is very much the opposite to the daily mirror one, its is far more detailed and far more in depth, and also gives a bad review of the film, he criticizes heavily the attempt at trying to create and it being dubbed a 'masterpiece', in this review the author (like he sees the film) becomes very confusing and over complicates the review with fancy words and terminology, however it is clear to realise that this person is not a fan, agreeing that the film is very aesthetically pleasing but the narrative lacks depth, this was very much a more formal review and seemed only willing to pick out the bad points of this film. The final review from the movie mogul magazine Empire, this review as most of the others is a fan of Inception, again this is quite an in depth look into the film, but where as New York times saw it fit to just pick out the bad points, this only picked out the good and appreciated its artistry, the skill and genius of the director and the emotion packed performance of Leonardo Di Caprio. Scoring 5 stars out of 5 the evidence shows this film was a hit.
My Review
People who have not seen this film and are skeptic due to the fact it is about dreaming, and expect there to be some kind of eureka moment at the end where everything becomes apparent that it was all a dream, These people must be dreaming themselves and wake up and see this masterful piece of film making, with artistic and memorizing special effects and mise-en-scene, to exceptional performances from the likes of Leonardo Di Caprio, and a narrative that yes does need concentration but is worth concentrating for. This film comes from Christopher Nolan who was the mastermind behind the hugely successful dark knight and the pulsating thriller memento.
The film is about a skilled thief called Dom Cobb, Who enters peoples sub-conscious whilst dreaming and steals very important secrets, for people who pay to have this information, his latest heist is not to steal an idea or a memory but to implant one, 'inception'. This is explained in the film as the level of someones mind or depth where such an idea can be planted, Dreams within dreams, it is hailed by a few characters throughout the film as 'impossible' but Dom has done it before. Joining Dom is a team of experts in a related field, Arthur(Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as the drug specialists who induces people into these dreams, Ariadne, the architect who builds everything within the dream to try and make the subject believe it is real, Eames(Tom Hardy) who plays a shape changer. All this can get confusing trying to keep up with who plays what role, but it soon becomes clear. A business tycoon is trying to bring down a business empire, by implanting an idea in the mind of the heir to this empire, to splitting the empire into different factions as his father(the owner)is sick, which will be better for this rival as his business can then expand. This seems to be very boring and you think that it is a film based on businessmen, however, it takes an unexpected turn as throughout the film Dom makes the heist dangerous as his judgment is clouded by his dead wife who haunts his sub-conscious, and as they are trapped in the dream world, anything possible, this is where the magicqal and breathtaking special effects take place, for instance when a train randomnly runs through the centre of the city, as it is dom's mind playing tricks on him.
This film sometimes does not need a narrative, the special effects such as a fist fight that takes place whilst floating around a hotel, the jumping back through each dream state to show how time slows down the further u delve into the mind, the chase scenes and high octane action, this film has a lot to offer to different types of film lovers, all in all, it is a thrill ride, you have to get involved to appreciate the film, you cannot just sit back and enjoy, but this is where it is special, you get the full experience of the film and finish the film by talking about it for hours on end. A true 'Masterpiece' from one of the most talented film makers around, I only expect more great things to come from Mr.Nolan.
How i would change my review
The review i have written is quite informal, and probably suitable for a magazine, For a newspaper I would make it more formal, and add more depth to explaining what the film is about and have a more structured review, pros, cons and my conclusion at the end, for an online review it would be far more brief and informal, mainly just to express that I personally like the film.
How online reviewing has become important
Compared to the more conventional TV, magazine and newspaper reviews written by professional critics, who traditionally just do criticize, the online reviews written by the audience in my opinion are far more valuable as to whether the film was a success, as the audience are the most valuable critics. Personally i would trust online audience reviews over that of a critic, it is far more honest if the masses believe it to be a good film then the numbers don't usually lie. However, in most cases I only trust my own judgment on films, and reviews don't really sway my decision on whether to see a film.
The film which I am concentrating on for audience response and reviews is Inception (Nolan, 2010). here I will show the like to dislike ratio and what reviews it received from the websites http://www.imdb.com/ and http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ and 3 established critic reviews. I will also write my own review and discuss how the style would differ for it to suit the two websites and empire magazine. i will also discuss how online reviewing is now so effective.After reading over the audience reviews on imdb.com it is clear that people enjoyed this film and that it was successful, being that the lowest rating I saw for this film was 8 stars out of ten, some people did pick out faults of the film yet still loved it.
The scoring and reviewing system is slightly different on rottentomatoes.com with an overall score given from the audience and not separate reviews from each user like on imdb.com, however, it does give a better indication overall, with 93% of people who commented on the film liking it and getting an average score of 4 out of 5 stars, clearly this film again was a success among the masses. Before reading the audience reviews I expected them to be based on the stars of the film, and they weren't, the main focus point for the reviews I read were on the director Christopher Nolan, he seemed to be praised a lot throughout the reviews. Also the narrative was main feature in what the audience liked or disliked about the film, some people did not understand the narrative, but those who did really appreciated its complexity and imagination. The Genre of the film was mentioned frequently and viewers believe it to be more than one single genre, and viewed it as a hybrid film. sci-fi, thriller, drama, action, crime were some of the genre's mentioned by audiences, this shows it can fit into any of these categories, and thus is a hybrid genre film.
Compared to the audience reviews i have also read 3 full critic reviews from established news papers and magazines, the daily mirror, the New York times and empire magazine. the daily mail review, although quite brief, did give a positive review and scored 5/5, the author did not give much insight into his main likes and dislikes but did express that he liked the film. The New York times review is very much the opposite to the daily mirror one, its is far more detailed and far more in depth, and also gives a bad review of the film, he criticizes heavily the attempt at trying to create and it being dubbed a 'masterpiece', in this review the author (like he sees the film) becomes very confusing and over complicates the review with fancy words and terminology, however it is clear to realise that this person is not a fan, agreeing that the film is very aesthetically pleasing but the narrative lacks depth, this was very much a more formal review and seemed only willing to pick out the bad points of this film. The final review from the movie mogul magazine Empire, this review as most of the others is a fan of Inception, again this is quite an in depth look into the film, but where as New York times saw it fit to just pick out the bad points, this only picked out the good and appreciated its artistry, the skill and genius of the director and the emotion packed performance of Leonardo Di Caprio. Scoring 5 stars out of 5 the evidence shows this film was a hit.
My Review
People who have not seen this film and are skeptic due to the fact it is about dreaming, and expect there to be some kind of eureka moment at the end where everything becomes apparent that it was all a dream, These people must be dreaming themselves and wake up and see this masterful piece of film making, with artistic and memorizing special effects and mise-en-scene, to exceptional performances from the likes of Leonardo Di Caprio, and a narrative that yes does need concentration but is worth concentrating for. This film comes from Christopher Nolan who was the mastermind behind the hugely successful dark knight and the pulsating thriller memento.
The film is about a skilled thief called Dom Cobb, Who enters peoples sub-conscious whilst dreaming and steals very important secrets, for people who pay to have this information, his latest heist is not to steal an idea or a memory but to implant one, 'inception'. This is explained in the film as the level of someones mind or depth where such an idea can be planted, Dreams within dreams, it is hailed by a few characters throughout the film as 'impossible' but Dom has done it before. Joining Dom is a team of experts in a related field, Arthur(Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as the drug specialists who induces people into these dreams, Ariadne, the architect who builds everything within the dream to try and make the subject believe it is real, Eames(Tom Hardy) who plays a shape changer. All this can get confusing trying to keep up with who plays what role, but it soon becomes clear. A business tycoon is trying to bring down a business empire, by implanting an idea in the mind of the heir to this empire, to splitting the empire into different factions as his father(the owner)is sick, which will be better for this rival as his business can then expand. This seems to be very boring and you think that it is a film based on businessmen, however, it takes an unexpected turn as throughout the film Dom makes the heist dangerous as his judgment is clouded by his dead wife who haunts his sub-conscious, and as they are trapped in the dream world, anything possible, this is where the magicqal and breathtaking special effects take place, for instance when a train randomnly runs through the centre of the city, as it is dom's mind playing tricks on him.
This film sometimes does not need a narrative, the special effects such as a fist fight that takes place whilst floating around a hotel, the jumping back through each dream state to show how time slows down the further u delve into the mind, the chase scenes and high octane action, this film has a lot to offer to different types of film lovers, all in all, it is a thrill ride, you have to get involved to appreciate the film, you cannot just sit back and enjoy, but this is where it is special, you get the full experience of the film and finish the film by talking about it for hours on end. A true 'Masterpiece' from one of the most talented film makers around, I only expect more great things to come from Mr.Nolan.
How i would change my review
The review i have written is quite informal, and probably suitable for a magazine, For a newspaper I would make it more formal, and add more depth to explaining what the film is about and have a more structured review, pros, cons and my conclusion at the end, for an online review it would be far more brief and informal, mainly just to express that I personally like the film.
How online reviewing has become important
Compared to the more conventional TV, magazine and newspaper reviews written by professional critics, who traditionally just do criticize, the online reviews written by the audience in my opinion are far more valuable as to whether the film was a success, as the audience are the most valuable critics. Personally i would trust online audience reviews over that of a critic, it is far more honest if the masses believe it to be a good film then the numbers don't usually lie. However, in most cases I only trust my own judgment on films, and reviews don't really sway my decision on whether to see a film.
Radio trailer for "I'm Here"
As one of our ancillary tasks is to create a radio trailer for our short film, we have created one for the short film "I'm Here" to give us an indication of what we need to do.
Output by barnard1992
As one of our ancillary tasks is to create a radio trailer for our short film, we have created one for the short film "I'm Here" to give us an indication of what we need to do.
Output by barnard1992
Audience Research
Questionnaire
This is some audience research I conducted, I asked 50 people a set of questions to give me an indication of what type of film we are to create.
1. What is your favourite genre of film?
Action - 12 Thriller - 15 Comedy - 9 Romantic - 4 Horror - 6 Drama - 3 Sci-Fi - 1
2. Do you watch short films?
Yes -36 No - 14
3. What is your favourite short film?
4. Which websites do you use to watch short films?
Youtube -31 Vimeo -11 Virgin media -5 other -3
5.What would you say makes a good short film?
6. How many times a month do you go to the cinema?
1 - 20 2 - 14 3 - 9 4 - 4 5 - 2 more than 5 - 1
7. What is your favourite feature length film?
This is some audience research I conducted, I asked 50 people a set of questions to give me an indication of what type of film we are to create.
1. What is your favourite genre of film?
Action - 12 Thriller - 15 Comedy - 9 Romantic - 4 Horror - 6 Drama - 3 Sci-Fi - 1
2. Do you watch short films?
Yes -36 No - 14
3. What is your favourite short film?
4. Which websites do you use to watch short films?
Youtube -31 Vimeo -11 Virgin media -5 other -3
5.What would you say makes a good short film?
6. How many times a month do you go to the cinema?
1 - 20 2 - 14 3 - 9 4 - 4 5 - 2 more than 5 - 1
7. What is your favourite feature length film?
Film Summary
Rebecca is a woman looking for love, being an attractive young female, at a bar one night she immediately catches the attention of two males, without even trying she has the option of whoever she chooses, will it be Chris, the tall dark haired rough looking man, or the smaller sweet and innocent Jack. She chooses Chris at first, as much to her regret later on in the film.
As the film skips forward years down the line, she is married and has set up a family with Chris, who becomes an abusive husband, she gets beat for not having a meal ready for him when he arrives home from work, she is trapped and can’t escape, or can she? After receiving a beating one night she locks herself in the bathroom, closes her eyes and wishes she out of this hell, granted with her wish she returns to that day at the bar, and although confused, she doesn’t hesitate and ignores the advances of Chris, and turns her attention to Jack, Again it skips years down the line, to a very similar situation, she has set up a family with Jack and is married, but this time, she is happy, but darkness is once again round the corner, after an unexpected accident her beloved husband is killed, as she learns of the news her life once again has fallen apart, she attends Jacks funeral and it is clear she is still in love with this man. When she arrives home she locks herself in the bedroom, closes her eyes and wishes to go back once more, again she gets her wish, realising that with these two men only lies un-happiness, she leaves the bar, and as she leaves she bumps into a male outside, whom there is clearly chemistry with, will this man be the happiness she is looking for?
Rebecca is a woman looking for love, being an attractive young female, at a bar one night she immediately catches the attention of two males, without even trying she has the option of whoever she chooses, will it be Chris, the tall dark haired rough looking man, or the smaller sweet and innocent Jack. She chooses Chris at first, as much to her regret later on in the film.
As the film skips forward years down the line, she is married and has set up a family with Chris, who becomes an abusive husband, she gets beat for not having a meal ready for him when he arrives home from work, she is trapped and can’t escape, or can she? After receiving a beating one night she locks herself in the bathroom, closes her eyes and wishes she out of this hell, granted with her wish she returns to that day at the bar, and although confused, she doesn’t hesitate and ignores the advances of Chris, and turns her attention to Jack, Again it skips years down the line, to a very similar situation, she has set up a family with Jack and is married, but this time, she is happy, but darkness is once again round the corner, after an unexpected accident her beloved husband is killed, as she learns of the news her life once again has fallen apart, she attends Jacks funeral and it is clear she is still in love with this man. When she arrives home she locks herself in the bedroom, closes her eyes and wishes to go back once more, again she gets her wish, realising that with these two men only lies un-happiness, she leaves the bar, and as she leaves she bumps into a male outside, whom there is clearly chemistry with, will this man be the happiness she is looking for?
Friday 13 August 2010
Film Script
Scene 1 - Rebecca and friends – ‘general conversation’
Scene 2 - Friend 1 to Rebecca: “I think that lads trying to get your attention (giggle)”
Scene 3 - Friend 2 to Rebecca: “Go over and talk to him”
Scene 5 – Rebecca: “Oh, your back early, I haven’t done your tea yet, I never expected you to be finished this early”
Chris: “YOU WHAT! GET IN THE KITCHEN AND GET SOMETHING MADE NOW, I’M SICK OF THIS, I GO OUT AND WORK AND YOU DO NOTHING ALL DAY AND YOU CAN’T EVEN DO SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS HAVE MY TEA MADE FOR WHEN I GET HOME”
Scene 7 – repeat dialogue in scene 2 & 3
Scene 13 – Rebecca: “I have to go sorry”
Scene 15 – Rebecca: (sigh) “I’m really sorry, that was my fault, I should watch where I’m going”
Man: “it’s fine honestly” (laugh)
Costume and props list
Costumes
Rebecca's Dress'(Wedding & Funeral)
Jacks/Chris' suit
Rebecca's/Jacks/Chris' bar clothes
Rebecca's house scene, clothes
Chris' work clothes
Various costumes for photo's
Mysterious man's ordinary clothes
Props
Bouquet
Laptop
Photo frame
Drinks glasses
Mysterious man's files/books
Flowers
Rebecca's Dress'(Wedding & Funeral)
Jacks/Chris' suit
Rebecca's/Jacks/Chris' bar clothes
Rebecca's house scene, clothes
Chris' work clothes
Various costumes for photo's
Mysterious man's ordinary clothes
Props
Bouquet
Laptop
Photo frame
Drinks glasses
Mysterious man's files/books
Flowers
Shooting Script
Date Time Scene description Location
Saturday, 15th January 4:00 Photos for montage/Chris and Rebecca house scenes Jades house
Tuesday, 18th January 2:30 More photos for montage/Rehearsal scenes College
Thursday, 20th January 8:35 Bar scenes Three Fiddles
Saturday, 22nd January 12:00 Photos with Jack and Rebecca's children Lewis's house
Tuesday, 26th January 2:30 Funeral scenes Cemetery
Saturday, 29th January 12:00 Bar scenes part 2 Three Fiddles
Film Title/Tagline
The film is to be called 'Square 1' as the character in the narrative keeps returning back to the same point, hense the saying 'Back to square one', here are some ideas for the tagline of the film:
"Often in life you find yourself back at square one"
"Sometimes in life you have to go back to square one"
"we've all wished that we could go back to the start of something to make the right decision"
"Back to the start-back to square 1"
"square 1 = starting again"
"The root = square 1"
"Re-think and go back to square 1"
"if you have lost your way, go back to square 1"
"if you go down the wrong road, return to square 1"
"you can always go back to square 1 if you make the worng decision"
"Often in life you find yourself back at square one"
"Sometimes in life you have to go back to square one"
"we've all wished that we could go back to the start of something to make the right decision"
"Back to the start-back to square 1"
"square 1 = starting again"
"The root = square 1"
"Re-think and go back to square 1"
"if you have lost your way, go back to square 1"
"if you go down the wrong road, return to square 1"
"you can always go back to square 1 if you make the worng decision"
Article Draft
Square 1 Article
"Square 1" is a short film created by the new independent "Jolly productions" team, consisting of three young talented film makers in Lewis Barnard(who plays Chris), Oliver John Williams(who plays Jack) and Jade Louise Rogers(who plays Rebecca).
The Film is about a young girl called Rebecca who is trying to find love, at a bar one night with friends, she catches the eye of Chris and Jack who are both stood at the bar. Her first instinct is to introduce herself to Chris, at the moment of meeting the film dramatically flashes many years into the future, where the two are married, in a very "brutal" and "shocking" scene as described by Lewis, it is evident that Rebecca is the victim of domestic abuse, this adds power to the film as it happens everyday to many women around the world. Chris has come home from work one night and discovered his wife has not prepared him an evening meal, this is where it becomes violent and he begins to attack Rebecca. There is a scene where Rebecca is grabbed out of the bathroom by her hair, I praise the acting in this scene as it is so believable and the actors have spared no possible injury to do this, Rebecca is then viciously thrown down the stairs, this entire sequence made me quiver as it is brilliantly filmed and exquisitely performed. Audiences will find it very dramatic and frightful but impossible to look away.
As this abuse is now evident, the narrative takes an unexpected turn as Rebecca finds herself back at the bar where she met Chris, immediately she seems confused, as if she has awoken from a dream, however this is where it is clever as it leaves to the audience to decide whether she has actually gone back in time or just had a vision into the future if she takes the road with Chris. Put off by whatever explanation she opts for Jack instead, is this the right decision? again as previous, a montage depicts the passing of time which is very effective, and the images show she has a happy life with Jack, Marriage, children etc. until......One night at home, Rebecca receives a disturbing phone-call, Jack has been involved in an accident and has died. Again a brilliant piece of camerawork and editing is used where Rebecca drops the phone shown at a low angle and in slow motion with focus on the phone, it then hits the floor as if she herself has crashed. The story then moves forward to Rebecca visiting Jacks grave, keeping the mysterious flow of the film, as Rebecca stands looking at the grave, a mystified, ghostly image of Jack appears behind her and they seem to make contact, this was her true love and he has been taken away. The story seems to be over in that no matter what Rebecca does, whatever Choice she makes it will not be the right one, however, she seems to have a gift and for a second time she finds herself back to the day at the bar, "back to Square 1" as the title suggests. She sees them both stood there, Jack is still alive, she wants to return to him but realities that he will die if she is with him and in order to save him she cannot be with him, she decides to call it a night and leaves the bar, on her exit she bumps into a mysterious man, and in beautiful Hollywood style fashion there eyes meet, this is my one criticism of the film, as it can be called "cheesy", however I will let it go, it leaves the film on a cliffhanger which is not seen often these days, Rebecca has had bad look so far, what will it be like with this man? it leaves the audience begging to know what happens, yet they will never know, this is the beauty.
Overall this a brilliant piece of film making and one of the best narratives I've seen in a while, I only wish it was a feature length. It somehow manages to combine realism with fantasy, it covers serious issues, and people can relate to it, if this is there first serious project I only have hope that the Jolly productions team move onto bigger things as this has really touched me, I have a good feeling they will.
"Square 1" is a short film created by the new independent "Jolly productions" team, consisting of three young talented film makers in Lewis Barnard(who plays Chris), Oliver John Williams(who plays Jack) and Jade Louise Rogers(who plays Rebecca).
The Film is about a young girl called Rebecca who is trying to find love, at a bar one night with friends, she catches the eye of Chris and Jack who are both stood at the bar. Her first instinct is to introduce herself to Chris, at the moment of meeting the film dramatically flashes many years into the future, where the two are married, in a very "brutal" and "shocking" scene as described by Lewis, it is evident that Rebecca is the victim of domestic abuse, this adds power to the film as it happens everyday to many women around the world. Chris has come home from work one night and discovered his wife has not prepared him an evening meal, this is where it becomes violent and he begins to attack Rebecca. There is a scene where Rebecca is grabbed out of the bathroom by her hair, I praise the acting in this scene as it is so believable and the actors have spared no possible injury to do this, Rebecca is then viciously thrown down the stairs, this entire sequence made me quiver as it is brilliantly filmed and exquisitely performed. Audiences will find it very dramatic and frightful but impossible to look away.
As this abuse is now evident, the narrative takes an unexpected turn as Rebecca finds herself back at the bar where she met Chris, immediately she seems confused, as if she has awoken from a dream, however this is where it is clever as it leaves to the audience to decide whether she has actually gone back in time or just had a vision into the future if she takes the road with Chris. Put off by whatever explanation she opts for Jack instead, is this the right decision? again as previous, a montage depicts the passing of time which is very effective, and the images show she has a happy life with Jack, Marriage, children etc. until......One night at home, Rebecca receives a disturbing phone-call, Jack has been involved in an accident and has died. Again a brilliant piece of camerawork and editing is used where Rebecca drops the phone shown at a low angle and in slow motion with focus on the phone, it then hits the floor as if she herself has crashed. The story then moves forward to Rebecca visiting Jacks grave, keeping the mysterious flow of the film, as Rebecca stands looking at the grave, a mystified, ghostly image of Jack appears behind her and they seem to make contact, this was her true love and he has been taken away. The story seems to be over in that no matter what Rebecca does, whatever Choice she makes it will not be the right one, however, she seems to have a gift and for a second time she finds herself back to the day at the bar, "back to Square 1" as the title suggests. She sees them both stood there, Jack is still alive, she wants to return to him but realities that he will die if she is with him and in order to save him she cannot be with him, she decides to call it a night and leaves the bar, on her exit she bumps into a mysterious man, and in beautiful Hollywood style fashion there eyes meet, this is my one criticism of the film, as it can be called "cheesy", however I will let it go, it leaves the film on a cliffhanger which is not seen often these days, Rebecca has had bad look so far, what will it be like with this man? it leaves the audience begging to know what happens, yet they will never know, this is the beauty.
Overall this a brilliant piece of film making and one of the best narratives I've seen in a while, I only wish it was a feature length. It somehow manages to combine realism with fantasy, it covers serious issues, and people can relate to it, if this is there first serious project I only have hope that the Jolly productions team move onto bigger things as this has really touched me, I have a good feeling they will.
ideas for anxillary taskes
As I have to create two of the three choices which are; a radio trailer or poster or double page spread(article), I have opted for the poster and double page spread.
The double page spread will be in the style of a magazine or newspaper review of the film, with a star rating and images from the film, and a review written by myself but as if it was written by a critic. here is an example of a double page spread from the film "Clash of the titans".
The double page spread will be in the style of a magazine or newspaper review of the film, with a star rating and images from the film, and a review written by myself but as if it was written by a critic. here is an example of a double page spread from the film "Clash of the titans".
Double page spread
poster research
These are the posters for 'Inception' and 'The Dark Knight', 2 very successful blockbuster films and both from director Christopher Nolan. You can see the similarities between the two psters, both with the title of the film at the bottom and one large image, with tall buildings in the background. Both are grey and dark blue in colour, and both have the films tagline at the top.
These are the posters for two independant films 'I'm here' which i have looked at and mentioned previously, which is a short film, and the very successful 'Winter's Bone'. You can see the difference in style compared to the two blockbuster posters, both with the title more in the centre, 'I'm here' using brighter colours although in terms of colour 'Winter's Bone' is similar to the blockbuster ones, with the dark blue, giving it a dark theme.
However all the posters are similar as they all use one picture which focuses on the central protagonist of the film.
I hope to emulate this style for my own poster.
Poster layout plan
This is the layout plan of my poster, as you can see in terms of layout it has similarities to that of the posters i have researched above.
poster draft 2
Film poster
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
My ancillary texts are effective with my short film because they are the best way to promote my short film, both to my demographic and to promote what type of film it is.
As you can see on my poster above, immediately it should be recognisable that the story has elements of love, with the central protagonist appearing to have been married twice, but it is also a story about heartache, loss and pain, with the picture of her upset and looking distraught, which provides the background for the poster and also for my article.
My article is effective as it uses more pictures from my film, a very important picture is the one of the central protagonist being clearly abused by a man, again indicating to the audience what type of film this is going to be. Also, the written article itself is hopefully interesting and gives more insight into the film but without giving too much away. The article is done in the style of a magazine article for a magazine such as "Empire" magazine, As I feel the review written is not too formal, it is also slightly bias and only really picks out it's good points, i don't feel it would be suited for a newspaper as it is not critical enough. As shown with my research, I have tried to emulate the style of some hollywood double page spreads for magazines such as the "Clash of the Titans" one. With a main picture in the background with smaller pictures, stills from the film elsewhere on the poster, i have also emulated the style of the text with the large single letter to begin the article.
The poster I have tried to do in house style, I originally wanted to do it in the style of the posters for "The Dark Knight" and "Inception", with one main picture, with a dark blue and grey colour scheme, however, being that my film is a short independent film I felt this was not suitable, and so I tried to emulate the poster style of the short film "I'm Here", and as our film has a similar aspect, of love , loss and hurt, I felt doing it in this style would have been more effective.
As seen with my drafts however I felt that one picture was not enough and so added more.
One aspect that I have kept from the mainstream posters is by having the title of the film at the bottom, i feel it looks more professional.
I believe these link well with main product as they don't lose sight of what the film is about, I believe it is noticeable to attach genre's to the film just from these texts. I also believe the posters keep in line with the 15 - 24 predominantly female audience.
What i would change about the texts is that would have made the poster darker, as looking at it, I feel it makes the film slightly more innocent looking that it actually is, and also with the double page spread, I would of attempted to take pictures just for the Purpose of the poster rather than use stills from the film.
As you can see on my poster above, immediately it should be recognisable that the story has elements of love, with the central protagonist appearing to have been married twice, but it is also a story about heartache, loss and pain, with the picture of her upset and looking distraught, which provides the background for the poster and also for my article.
My article is effective as it uses more pictures from my film, a very important picture is the one of the central protagonist being clearly abused by a man, again indicating to the audience what type of film this is going to be. Also, the written article itself is hopefully interesting and gives more insight into the film but without giving too much away. The article is done in the style of a magazine article for a magazine such as "Empire" magazine, As I feel the review written is not too formal, it is also slightly bias and only really picks out it's good points, i don't feel it would be suited for a newspaper as it is not critical enough. As shown with my research, I have tried to emulate the style of some hollywood double page spreads for magazines such as the "Clash of the Titans" one. With a main picture in the background with smaller pictures, stills from the film elsewhere on the poster, i have also emulated the style of the text with the large single letter to begin the article.
The poster I have tried to do in house style, I originally wanted to do it in the style of the posters for "The Dark Knight" and "Inception", with one main picture, with a dark blue and grey colour scheme, however, being that my film is a short independent film I felt this was not suitable, and so I tried to emulate the poster style of the short film "I'm Here", and as our film has a similar aspect, of love , loss and hurt, I felt doing it in this style would have been more effective.
As seen with my drafts however I felt that one picture was not enough and so added more.
One aspect that I have kept from the mainstream posters is by having the title of the film at the bottom, i feel it looks more professional.
I believe these link well with main product as they don't lose sight of what the film is about, I believe it is noticeable to attach genre's to the film just from these texts. I also believe the posters keep in line with the 15 - 24 predominantly female audience.
What i would change about the texts is that would have made the poster darker, as looking at it, I feel it makes the film slightly more innocent looking that it actually is, and also with the double page spread, I would of attempted to take pictures just for the Purpose of the poster rather than use stills from the film.
3.What have you learned from your audience feedback?
This is a video showing the audience feedback we collected after a showing of our film, we asked five questions and the answers were posted on sticky notes which we took photos of.
I have learned that our film was very well recieved and people really enjoyed it and it got really good reviews, we did however get some criticism but this was what i wanted to know, how it could've been better and it has all been taken on board for future projects.
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