Deconstructions for my main task

                                      The films I have chosen to deconstruct are drama /thrillers-
                                            
                                                    The Black Hole (Phil and Olly,2008)

This short film is clever because it includes a funny simple idea that would be unable to fill a full feature. There is also no dialogue in the film making it work better as we are not distracted from the simple story. The location of the office is familiar to a lot of the audience to make it realistic and relatable. The main character is wearing a simple outfit you would put on for work , so the film has synergy with its location. I like this film because it is simple but effective . I want to make my film similar in that mine will also feature a main protagonist and relatable setting. The dull blue hue captures the monotonous everyday routine the protagonist caries out. This film inspired me because I liked the unique gimmick and mix of drama and comedy.

Ten Minutes(Alberto Ruiz Rojo,2010)

 

This Spanish short film cleverly focuses on two people , one who wants to trace the phone number of his girlfriend and an office worker who refuses to give the information to him. It works well because we feel as if the ten minutes he is allowed on the phone  is running out because of the repeated music ques and close up shots of the time. The film mainly focuses on close ups and mid shots so we can see both the characters expression's and see how they change throughout the run time. There is a strong focus on dialogue which works in the films favour as its simplicity fits the short film form perfectly.I liked the dynamic between the two characters and enjoyed watching them develop .I want to make the characters in my own short film to be complex and interesting , as they are here.There are quick cuts between the two main characters , making it simple and fast paced despite the lack of action happening.These cuts between the characters I have decided to include in my own film , with Paul and Phillip taking over the phone.The films conversation builds up tension, and my film is similar in that two people are communicating via a phone.

Snap(Manolo Cell,2006)

This short film is again based on a clever idea that could not sustain a feature films length. The cinematography is impressive as the camera angles are varied and unique. The film is fast paced with its long chase scene so  never feels uninteresting. The upbeat music compliments the energetic moments on screen and makes us feel as if we are part of the chase. I enjoyed it because I was not expecting it to be so original , after watching so many generic short films online found this short film inspiration as I wish to emulate the fast pace it has and build up to a climax. I enjoyed it how the film never took itself too seriously and had a pleasant and ambiguous ending.The chase sequence at the end is similar to the climax of Illusion, as the protagonist is also chased by an unknown force.

Questionnaire graphs and charts

The previous post concentrated on my written questionnaire but I thought the information would look more visually more appealing in graph form.To do this I used Microsoft Excel to generate the information I had collected from the audience into bar graphs, pie charts and more.



Me using Microsoft Excel



This graph hints that comedy is the most
popular genre with audiences

The majority think that a script is
what makes a film

Most of my audience have not seen any
short films which surprised me

This pie chart dictates that cinema is still a very popular
viewing experience with audiences,but internet
services are catching multiplexes up

The actors audiences prefer are quite
different from person to person

This graph is quite divided on opinion as
no one seems to know a specific location they would
prefer to be the setting

Moving image questionnaire

For this Questionnaire , I decided to ask 7 people on their thoughts and opinions about what makes a great short film and task their advice on board. I find it helpful as an audience are the best judge of what is entertaining and what is not. I compiled their answers on this Microsoft Word document:

The results show that most people think that the script , actors and plot are the main elements to a successful short film.The majority of the people who I questioned preferred comedy films, showing it is a popular genre.A surprising result is that not many people have actually seen any short films that they can remember.The cinema also seems the most popular choice to watch films , showing that the multiplex is still making a lot of money despite online services such as Netflix.

proposal

For my A2 coursework I intend to:

-Create a short film(main task)

This short film will be a thriller as I enjoy the genre and feel I understand what makes it successful than say a romantic comedy.Im not sure how I will create a storyline for this film ,  I think I will begin by writing a script so I get a sense of the story. There are also several other aspects of creating a film which I need to take into consideration such as actually shooting the footage and editing. Hopefully I now have the experience to improve on both this year.I intend to choose a soundtrack from the website Free sound.

-A poster to support this film(ancillary task)
This poster will be influenced by the art deco style of the 1930's as I want to make it memorable to audiences. I am going for a bizarre image , such as the Inception poster. I am not sure how I will go about creating this post but I want to develop an image that has synergy with the final product.

-A magazine review page(ancillary task)

This review page will comment on the successes and failures of the film , much like that of Empire or Total Film. I know that magazines are not my strong point , but  I will develop the skills I gained last year to create a much improved piece of work.

Illusion storyboard (second draft)

This is the storyboard I used to plan my initial ideas for my film , Illusion.There are obviously a few differences as This was drawn near the beginning of the process and I had new ideas as I began filming with my actors. This storyboard and my script allowed me to explore ideas and themes before shooting the final product and you may notice that the final product is vastly different. The main reason for this difference is that I needed to extent the running time to at least three minutes due to the fact I needed to spend time building more tension.

short film storyboard (first draft)

This video below is a collage of photos from my first attempt at a film storyboard.I achieved this by taking the photos and adding them to windows movie maker in order to create a cartoon effect.I thought it would be a more original way of displaying the content instead of only uploading the photos by themselves.This technique allowed me to brainstorm my initial ideas for the film storyline.I intended this to be my final storyboard for my actual film , but I was not happy with the storyline and decided to change it completely. This process did help me to practice brainstorming my ideas.

Proposal video

This video explains my proposal and how I set out to achieve each of my goals. I  have to complete three main tasks including:

1 main task- my short film which will be a thriller

2 ancillary tasks-My film poster and my magazine review page