Draft Ancillary 2 - Film Poster

As evidenced in my analysis, I'm looking to make a rather minimalist poster, though it should still be able to get across the content and style of the film. Below is my first very basic outline of what I envisioned my poster could look like.

Draft Ancillary 1 - Website home page

Below is a scaled down version of the basic layout I want to use when I create the homepage for my short film, my idea for it was to show everything important about my short on a single page with any extras being on other pages to reduce clutter and create a 'clean' aesthetic.

Risk Assessment

The consequences of failing to create a risk assessment puts both people and equipment at risk, because of this, the following considerations have been made.

Due to the use of outdoor environments, there are certain risks that must be noted and considered. Most prominently is the risk of falls and injuries due to terrain and the potential of damage to equipment. 

Therefore, appropriate footwear such as boots will be worn. When on location only terrain where safety is assured will be used and precautions will be taken to safeguard equipment.

For indoor filming, there are also risks, especially when filming on staircases and on slippery flooring, for this it is important that crew especially keep track of their feet while operating equipment so that they don't misstep or slip.

Script WIP

Characters:

Primary Character (PC)

Secondary Character (SC)

Primary Antagonist (PA)

Secondary Antagonist (SA)

[Introduction Sequence]

PC Wakes up, wanders into kitchen of house, SC notices PC

SC: "Oh... You're awake..."

[Knock at door]

SC: "You better go hide, don't know who that could be..."

SC goes to door

[Reveal of antagonists PA & SA]

PA: "Good afternoon, we're in the area in connection to a manhunt and we need to ask you some questions..."

PA barges into house past SC, SA follows

[Interrogation of SC by PA & SA]

PA: "We've suspicions that the fugitive is using a local home as cover."

SC: "It's been quiet round here, where'd you hear this?"

PA: "We have our sources..."

Few seconds silence

PA: "So you know nothing about a man in uniform, hiding in this part of town."

SC: "No idea."

PA: "On this street..."

SC: "I can't help you."

PA: "Who was seen being dragged out of the woods behind your house..."

SC: "What are you trying to suggest."

PA: "By a man that matches your description..."

SC: "I think it's time you left, you'll find nothing here."

PA: "I don't believe it is, I think you're hiding a fugitive."

[SC executed, SA searches upstairs, final scene begins]

Editing Software

For most of my short, I will be using Final Cut Express, the editing software provided by school, I have a lot of experience in this from the years I have spent using it with past projects. It has an easy to use layout and intuitive controls for easy editing of footage and audio, the only drawback I have found often is the time it takes to render individual pieces of footage after making even the smallest of changes.

Alternatively, at home I have Adobe Premiere CS2 which, while dated is an incredibly effective piece of software and used by me on a wide range of personal projects, I find myself a lot more comfortable and content with this software and I find it easier to use and as a result I have a higher turnaround rate for projects (a 4 or 5 minute video often taking only a couple of days maximum) compared to Final Cut. Because of this I will most likely be using Adobe Premiere as much as possible for a higher quality final product.

Filming Equipment

When producing my short film, I will have a lot of technology and tools available to assist in filming. Below is an overview of some of this technology and other filming equipment.

To produce my short, it is planned for little equipment to be used. Apart from a camera, tripod and microphone, there should be no need for anything else.

The camera we will be using is a Nikon D3200 DSLRs provided by school, this allows for us to record high quality, widescreen video and is easy to set up, use and export footage to computers.

For stabilisation, a tripod will be used, while this means that we may not have as much stability in the handheld shots, this is not an issue as the style I'm filming doesn't have many handheld shots. A steady cam is available in case stabilisation is needed for the handheld shots but is not expected to be needed.

For audio, I will use an external microphone to record sound independent of the camera. While this means that the sound and video will have to be synced in editing it allows me to have more control over the audio as well as giving the audio much better quality.

Locations

When it comes to locations for my short, it is one of the easier parts of production as I only need a wooded area and a house which can obviously be found easily and with my past experience filmed in relatively easily. For the wooded areas, I will use the same area used in my AS worked due to the ease of access and familiarity with the area and for the indoors scenes I will use my own home for the same reasons.

There are however a couple of issues I will face with my choice of locations, firstly since the production of my AS work the wooded area is under new ownership and I will need to seek permission from the new owner to use it, however it is most likely my request will be accepted.
As for using my own home, it is quite a distance from the homes of my cast and crew and transport will have to be arranged, I will also have to work around the schedules of my own family so that I can use all the spaces required for production.

Storyboard

Stylistic Influences

When making a serious product of the action genre or similar (adventure/thriller/etc) my preferred style is that that replicates real life, such as the type of footage seen in 'found footage' type films. I like this because of it's just how realistic it looks despite being acted and how it can make a story look almost like a documentary. It connects with the audience at a deeper level due to it's realism and because it is believably shot and edited.

A good example of this style is the film '84 Charlie MoPic, which is filmed like a documentary and is often regarded as one of the most realistic war films due to it's tone and content when considered alongside the method of it's production.

Copyright

What is copyright?

When it comes to media products, copyright is the law that gives the producers of that media exclusive access to reproduce their work, distribute their work and display their work in public. Works that can be claimed by copyright and are of importance to me include "motion pictures", "sound recordings" and "pictorial works".

Why this is important to me?

Because I'm making a short film on little to no budget, the most important copyright is that protecting audio, therefore for music to be used in my short I will either need to create my own, use copyright free audio, or contact a copyright holder and ask for permission to use their music.

Copyright also matters as when I have produced my work, I will have full control over what becomes of it and the content within it and means that my work is prevented from theft.

Film Outline

Working Title: The Runner

Act 1 (Set up): Main Character (MC) runs through various environments as camera fades in and out (give impression of lack of consciousness/passage of time). MC collapses and is rescued by unseen secondary character (SC)

Act 2 (Confrontation): MC wakes up and is questioned by SC, exposition given, police arrive, one questions SC while another searches house.

Act 3 (Resolution): Continued interrogation of SC, second officer finds MC, fight breaks out, prolonged action sequence, end.

Planning Action Plan

Equipment:

Take stock of all equipment available and make notes on which equipment I may need, how I would use it and which equipment I plan on definitely using. Make sure to have equipment booked out for when I need it.

Locations:

Find suitable locations for filming and make notes on the pros and cons of the location as well as how I plan to use them for which scenes and make a assessment of potential issues and how I would overcome them.

Characters:

Make some brief character outlines so that I have a solid basis for actors to work off, include basic overview and what props and costume they would have.

Script/Screenplay:

Create an outline/guide for the speech and actions that will occur in my media piece, will help to keep my production on track and will prevent any stoppages caused by lack of readied content.

Storyboard:

Much like a screenplay, a storyboard is a bit more in depth and more tailored to shot types and camera movements than the actual narrative or actions in my product. Useful for the same reasons as a screenplay.

Film Classification

An aspect of media often overlooked by students is the classification of their product, this is required for a short film so that it can be distributed and viewed by the public, below is an infographic I produced showing the different classifications as stated by the British Board of Film Classification.

Steve Neale's Genre Theory

Short Film Home Page: Curfew

Short Film Home Page: The Chicken

Short Film Home Page: Stutterer

Short Film Home Page Analysis

The other ancillary product I need to produce is a home page for my short film, this is an important feature for a director as it gives their products their own space on the internet and can also be customised and edited to their liking. To showcase some and research the effective conventions of a short film home page I will be analysing the home pages of three short films.

Film Poster: The Martian

Film Poster: Skyfall

Genre Questionare Results

Results to the survey on genre can be found HERE

With these results I can now start planning my short film as I know what my audience want to see in a short film in the action/adventure genre. A realistic setting and story with a mix of fast and slow editing and minimalist soundtrack, in terms of narrative my audience want to see a male protagonist and either action scenes or suspense.

Genre Questionare

Now that I have collected the results of my audience questionnaire I can conduct a follow up questionnaire of what they want to see in my short film in the genre that they showed the most interest in. Below can be found an embedded version of this questionnaire.
Create your own user feedback survey

Narrative Theory

Audience Questionnaire Results

After receiving the results of my questionnaire I have compiled the results to display the average answer after having responses from 21 different responses.

Average age - 19 - 21
Gender - Male
Movies viewed - Once a week
Favourite genre - action/adventure (tie)
Valued aspect - action/suspense (tie)

Audience Questionnaire

In order to create a short film which will be well received I have made a questionnaire which I will hand out to various people in my social circles, a method called opportunistic sampling. Below is a transcript of the handout.


R&P Questionnaire


1. What is your age?

13 – 18 [ ]
19 – 21 [ ]
22 – 28 [ ]

2. What is your gender?

Male [ ]
Female [ ]

3. How often do you view movies?

Every day [ ]
Every other day [ ]
Once a week [ ]
Every other week [ ]
Once a month [ ]
Other [ ]

4. What is your favourite genre?

Action [ ]
Adventure [ ]
Comedy [ ]
Science fiction [ ]
Non-fiction [ ]

5. What do you value most in an short film

Suspense [ ]
Mystery [ ]
Action [ ]
Exposition [ ]
Credits [ ]
Other [ ]

Film Poster: Outsiders

Film Poster: Star Wars Episode II

Film Poster Analysis

As part of my ancillary tasks which make up my complete product I will have to create a poster for my short film, the style I'm leaning toward at the moment for my own poster is double exposure which can be seen in the Episode II and Outsiders posters, while they and the other posters are rather simple I believe it is this simplicity that creates the appeal and creates an intrigue which will draw in an audience. Over the next few posts I will analyse these posters and what makes them good.

Ancillary Products

In addition to the creation of a short film, as part of the A level I have to create two ancillary products, I have chosen a website homepage for my short film and a poster to advertise it. 

While the poster should not be too difficult if I take time to analyse and research existing examples, the website may be more difficult as it is rare for a short film to have a dedicated website and so existing examples which may provide pointers or inspiration will be difficult to come across, therefore I will have to plan and do in depth research accordingly.

Altman's Genre Theory

Altman's theory links to my own work as how I choose to create my product will present it's genre, with this in mind I can film in certain ways or incorporate certain aspects of genres.

Existing Examples Conclusions

After analysing 3 existing examples of A level short films and watching a number of others I have a solid idea of what is popular and what is not when it comes to the low budget short. With this in mind I can begin to plan my own short film and use the knowledge I have gained to avoid making bad decisions when creating and also to incorporate some aspects of shorts I like into my own.

First are the things I will want to avoid when making my own short, most importantly to me, is to avoid bad writing, while this may seem like a difficult thing to avoid since writing is both very subjective and difficult to change without changing other aspects of a production, by having others proof read or by experimenting with different lines or even different writers I can avoid producing a short film with ineffective or possibly worse, bad dialogue.

I've also seen more than a fair share of camera moves and angles that I want to avoid due to them either being difficult to pull off or just simply bad looking, the most glaringly bad shot type I could use is the 'cupboard' shot, where the camera is placed inside a cupboard or on the other side of a door and the door is opened to reveal the character/subject of the scene. I mostly want to avoid this shot simply because it looks bad, it is incredibly difficult to make it look even decent and it often sullies the tone if not outright making a scene look silly by having a badly made shot.

Another shot I want to avoid is the moving car shot, which seems to be a pinnacle of A level film making, almost every short I watched had this shot and it quickly became tedious as despite many different genres the shot was always incredibly similar, I believe that if I too were to include this shot it would seriously lower the tone of my production.

However I did see aspects I wish to emulate in my own short, for one, the snappy editing of a tense situation in a thriller or action short which heightened tension effectively and kept the pace of a scene up, this could be used effectively in my own short for a similar effect. Secondly the use or angle to portray characters of different levels of power, this clearly signposts the different dynamics between characters and can be a good indication of a characters relative power in a seen and can also help the audience to differentiate between characters and decide who the hero and villain is in a scene.

While the list of positive things I took away from the examples is limited compared to what I want to avoid, it will all contribute towards my own short film as with these notes I can both avoid negative traits and incorporate good traits to create an effective and well made short film that will emulate the best of other short films.

Existing Example 3: Choice

Another good example of a short film, this one is, when compared to others on the internet, surprisingly high quality and I will definitely be taking on board some aspects of this product.

Plot:

A boy wakes up, his head covered by a bag. He is held at gunpoint by an unidentified character and asked to choose whether he dies or his girlfriend, a voice over explains how he got there and how he is a hacker who ended up crossing the wrong people, leading himself into his current situation.

Production Quality:

While there are a few minor issues with background elements of some scenes, overall this short is incredibly high quality and the time and effort spent on this short is obvious. Firstly the composition of the shots fits the directors desired atmosphere well, in framing, movement (or lack thereof) and editing (colour correction, etc.), the framing and movement keeps the short flowing nicely and coherently while the lighting and the editing that compliments it gives the right tone for this genre of short. The dialogue, for the most part, is believable and well written, flows well and is easily understood but not tacky. Costume and props are minimal but this adds to the short and this simplicity surprisingly works in it's favour because it keeps it believable. The one downside that takes away from this short is the music, at times it is too loud and drowns out dialogue and at others it doesn't fit the shot or doesn't flow well with the cuts and transitions, this gives the impression that audio was an afterthought for the director rather than something to be used alongside the visuals, like many believe it should be.

Lessons Learnt:

When it comes to producing my own short I will definitely be taking pointers from this short, especially with the way it is filmed and the shots are organised and set up. While the genre of the short I want to produce isn't the same as this one, many of the techniques and stylistic choices that this director has used can also be used in the production of my own short.

Existing Example 2: Nowhere Avenue

This A grade short film, while low on action and any movement whatsoever, is a good example of the use of dialogue and the importance of writing in the production of a short film.

Plot:

Two men prepare to kill a hostage but the executioner is indecisive and the two argue, resulting in the death of both the hostage and one of the men.

Production Quality:

While the camerawork is rather basic, it does have a nice enough variety of shots to keep the short fluid and well paced. The costuming works well, the two men faithfully recreate their inspiration with their outfits. The use of props works well in this short, bagging the head of the hostage places emphasis on the ruthlessness of the killers and works well to juxtapose the incompetence of them showcased later on, the prop pistol is also made to seem quite real unlike in many student shorts in which obvious toy guns aren't covered up or alter to seem real. The real quality of this short comes from the writing, the interaction between the two men seems honest and believable to that of two work colleagues and it is well written enough that despite some bad delivery the lines come off as being a good quality and sometimes humorous, as was intentioned. The interaction between the hostage also seems believable and is well written and humorous and the power dynamic is well realised and is portrayed well by the lead actor.

Lessons Learnt:

While the small scale of the product and it's use of a single location isn't something I want to replicate there are elements of this short I do want to take pointers from, most obviously the writing and how to pace it. Dialogue is going to be a vital part of my short and this short gives a good example of how pacing and writing can be used to take a rather plain concept and make it something more, elevating it to that A level.

Existing Example 1: Pathogen

This short film which was given an A grade has both positive and negative elements, some of which I will want to both incorporate and avoid incorporating into my own short film.

Plot:

A young man returns home after a trip to find his town deserted. He tries to contact his parents but fails, he goes to bed and wakes the next morning, still alone. He leaves his house and finds a crashed car and a zombie which chases him, the short then ends.

Production Quality:

The camerawork of the product is fairly generic for a student short film and it is fairly obvious that they included as many angles and shot types as possible in order to get the highest mark possible. However there are a few more interesting shots that I may replicate in my own short. The costuming is rather bland but works in the context of the product and the make up for the zombie is rather low quality which takes away from any intended horror the director wanted to produce. There is minimal use of props in the product but those that are used add a subtle level of quality that adds to the overall experience. The locations used are rather generic and stereotypical of student films including what is assumed to be the directors house and the street in front. However the creation of the car crash is fairly well presented and looks good enough for the budget and expected quality level of this type of product.

Lessons Learnt:

This short film does a few things fairly well, quite a few of the camera angles work and create a good atmosphere for the intended genre and the timing works despite tight constraints set by the course. The car accident they created also works on their budget and while it's unlikely I'll have such an event in my product it proves that what would be assumed to be larger budget effects can look good and work in a low budget short. It should be noted however that there is minimal dialogue in the short and as such I can't learn much about that aspect from this example.

How to open a short film?

Arguably just as important as the ending to a short film is the opening to the short film. The opening of any media product is a vital and difficult aspect to perfect, it needs the right combination of action, drama and set up and it also needs to effectively draw the audience in, without and effective opening the audience will lose interest quickly in your product or may not even gain a interest at all.

Because of this, when making any media product involving video the opening should be handled with care and have much time and effort spent on it to maximise the quality and the chances of attracting and holding your audience.

There are a few methods I could use to create an opening, much like an ending. There is the slow burn opening, with suspense and a slow introduction of characters and themes, however, with the strict time limit imposed on this project this will be unfeasible. This is why I will go for the second option which is to have a smash opening, where the audience is thrust into the movie with an action or event which sets the narrative underway quickly and effectively.

How to end a short film?

During the initial brainstorm of my coursework, the question was raised as to how exactly you end a short film. This raised an interesting question that often lingers around short films as the ending is one of the main parts of any media and while a successful, well made one creates a good impact and a long lasting positive image, a poor ending can tarnish an entire product and leave the audience with a bad taste.

Therefore I have to think carefully about how to end my short film. I could go for a quiet ending with the use of suspense. A cliffhanger, either quiet or loud which will leave the audience wanting more. Or I could end with an action sequence to tie up my plot with a high level of energy.

However, with the time constraints of this project being round about 4 minutes introduce an even bigger problem with that my ending can only be around a minute long, this is problematic as fitting any meaningful content of importance into a single minute is incredibly difficult and will have to be overcome carefully.

Analysing Short Films

To be able to produce my own short film I must first be able to know what makes a good short film good. This short guide outlined it well, giving a few useful pointers on how to analyse a media product.


Much like how a photograph is "Worth a thousand words." a film is just a series of photographs. However, these photographs are set up in a way as to convey a directors desired message and as such are often a lot easier to 'decode' than a photograph. While this may seem easier, a director needs to be able to piece these photographs together to create a coherent narrative. When I make my own short film I should keep this information in mind as while it may seem easy to just string together some visually impressive shots, I will have to be sure that it flows nicely and forwards the narrative effectively to give my film both meaning and aesthetic value.

Difficulties with chosen project

The first problem that I will encounter, as early as the research stage is finding other short films. In the current media environment, high quality short films not produced by students are hard to come by and so conducting market research and seeing what works, what doesn't and what is popular is made significantly more difficult.

However, what I believe will be the main problem I am going to have with this project, is a common problem for A level short filmmakers. This is the time restrictions, a short film is much more time consuming to produce to produce than a trailer or music video but I will have to produce a short film in the same timeframe as students producing music videos or trailers. This has the added effect of adding increased pressure which I will have to deal with throughout my project.

Research Action Plan

Existing examples:

Look at existing products of the same or in a similar genre as the one I want to produce to get an idea of production values and quality of the average product. Notice should be made of any behind the scenes footage or write-ups which can give me an insight into the production of a media product.

Audience:

Define my audience in detail (age, gender, occupation, interests) and plan to include elements that will appeal to this audience within both my main product and the side products.

Market Research:

Have a look at what is successful, what genres, styles, techniques are viable for me and what gets the best response. Further research will incorporate this as I use what I found to influence choices regarding style and other research.

Style:

Create a mood board to get an idea as to the style of my product based on both the existing examples I viewed earlier and my audience. By combining these I should have a relatively unique style to use to create my main product.