Story Board

The circle's around shots 3, 5, 7 and 8 illustrate the photograph's we will see the young girl take of her mum and the mystery man in the different location's.

Initial Prop ideas

POLAROID CAMERA

Our main prop is a polaroid camera, that will accompany the little girl throughout the film.
We have access to a polaroid camera however these days polaroid film is incredibly expensive verging on £1 per photograph acording to the prices I have researched on Amazon.
To resolve this problem of expense and save us quite a lot of money we have looked in to these posibilities.

CREATING POLAROID EFFECT PHOTOS

1. Photoshop

1) bring another camera along with us when filming
2) take a picture from the girls perspective
3) go back and put the photos onto the computer
4) manually via photoshop create our polaroids.

Here is a video showing us how to do this via photoshop:

2.Polaroid Image Maker

1) Download the free polaroid image maker app
2) drag the photos you wish to make into a polaroid effect onto the camera icon
3) the photo will then appear on your desktop
4) wait about 1/2 minutes for the photo to 'develop'
5) your polarioid are ready!

Here is a video to explain the process in more detail:

Contrapuntal sound technique

After researching Short films that particularly replace dialogue with either off-screen or diegetic sound,  it has become obvious to us that we want to try to use a Contrapuntal sound technique when it comes to editing our piece. Contrapuntal sound occurs when the music and visual elements play against each other, and are in contrast, whereas if we were to use Parallel sound it describes the condition where audio and visual effects match, not in sync, but in tone and mood.

We found some sort of chat room where people have shared texts that respond to contrapuntal sound and the results were interesting.

1. Reservoir Dogs - Ear scene 

A Crime/Thriller that uses the original of 'Stuck in the Middle with you by Stealers Wheel. The track is a piece country/folk rock from the early 70's which accompanies a gruesome scene of Michael Madsen cutting a police officers ear off. The piece of music is actually diegetic sound as he turns on the radio before he takes his action, rather than the music being completely unrelevant to the scene. I believe this clip does use contrapuntal sound due to the song being ebullient rather than something along the lines of being loomy and thrilling if to offer parallel sound. Although I find the lyrics do correspond to some aspects of the scene possibly from the victim's perspective.

'Well I don't know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain't right,
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs.'

By using this particular piece of music, as part of the audience I don't expect what is going to happen. In responce to Steve Neale's theory of the audiences expectations of a film judging by particular conventions of a genre.   

2. American Psycho - Paul Allen scene (axe)

Is a psychological thriller based on a Wall Street yuppie (young urban professional) played by Patrick Bateman whose mental instability and blood lust lead him to serial killing. In this scene Bateman slashes a very drunk and vulnerable 'yuppie' with an axe where the contrapuntal diagetic sound is introduced. The track is Huey Lewis And the News - Hip To Be Square which is a pop/rock band which was vapid in 80s pop. Through dialogue Bateman at the beginning of the scene suggests the band by questioning his victim if he likes them, then throughout the clip right until the gruesome action, Patrick Bateman is critical about the band and there success. This is an interesting way Mary Harron (director) has introduced the piece of music to accompany the serial killing. Again, the lyrics to the song in some ways reflect the characters within the scene;

 'I used to be a renegade, I used to fool around
But I couldn't take the punishment, and had to settle down' 

'Don't tell me that I'm crazy
Don't tell me I'm nowhere'.

although some of the lyrics are also a personal statement about the band itself.

3. Fallout 3 (opening cinematic)

Is a video game that uses a 1940's post war piece of music to support a futuristic conflict in 2077. Although this is not an actual film to support my film production, the diminutive use of contrapuntal sound is interesting as it is parallel with the subject. "The Fallout 3 intro 1950 style vacuum tube components flicker as the view scrolls back from the old world radio, revealing a derelict bus and a ruined city as the radio plays 'I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire' sung by The Ink Spots. Above the bus windows, there are posters encouraging people to enlist with the US Army". As the view point tracks out of the bus, the song diminishes into the distance which is replaced with an eary, echoed howling. "The Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop. They and the Mills Brothers, another black vocal group of the same period, gained much acceptance in the white community."

4.Road to Perdition - Kill Sullivan scene 

I'll start with recognizing the clever way the contrapuntal sound is introduced  by it being played in another pat of the loccation, just not in frame, resulting in being diegetic sound. It is American crime film directed by Sam Mendes. The plot takes place in 1931, "during the great depression following a mob enforcer and his son as they seek vengeance against a mobster who murdered the rest of their family."

In conclusion to reviewing pieces of texts that use a contrapuntal sound technique, they all just happen to correspond a negative situation i.e Thriller, Horror, Crime, but are all accompanied by positive pieces of music that may often be played in Comedy's. Also i have discovered video games seem to use contrapuntal sound alot within trailers and game introductions.

The Conversation Piece

 

The Conversation piece is a part of BBC's film network that was written and directed by Joe Turner. It was Produced as part of BBC Film Network's BBC Drama Shorts 2009 commission, in conjunction with Lighthouse Arts & Training and BBC Writers room. It includes successful actors such as  John Henshaw and Celia Imrie.
The films description reads, "One sleepy Sunday morning, Jean notices a chip on a treasured vase. She accuses Maurice, her husband since whenever. He denies it. Employing a variety of tactics, Jean attempts to get to the bottom of the situation.
This unique musical-of-sorts matches every single syllable of dialogue to every single note from jazz cornetist Rex Stewart's 1966 improvised recording 'Conversation Piece'."

We liked this short film as its really different to usual short films where they just follow normal dialogue. The parallel music in this short film takes over the conversation where all we hear is the music.

The way in which the music is presented follows through well as we see one character put on a vinyl, which resembles a diegetic sound. The music goes perfectly with the diaglogue making them sound like their voices are the instruments.
We thought it worked well at the beginning but felt it went on to long and could have been cut short as it dragged out. This is an initial short film that inspires us to pursue a technique similar to using music instead of dialogue.

Pre-Production roles in the group

Location scout: Tiger

Prop ‘Buyer’: Jo and Tiger

 

Storyboard artist/artists: Jo

Animatic director: Tiger

 

Sound designer: Jo

 

Lighting designer: Tiger

Screenwriter: Jo and Tiger

Camera operator/s: Jo and Tiger

Costume: Jo and Tiger

Hair and make-up designer and ‘buyer’: Tiger

By Tigerlilly

Tiger- Analysing 2 short films

Film: LOSERS
Director: Everynone
Made: 2011

A short film from Everynone about the harm caused by bullying. I think this a good film to analyse because the film technique is really clever and there is no dialogue which is quite interesting as for our short film we weren't planning on having any dialogue either.

Representation:

• Masculinity and femininity are represented by the different types of ‘losers’ there are , particularly young people. This film targets both genders, all ages to become aware of bullying and stating that its not acceptable and a lot of people are victims of bullying because they are ‘losers’ however in real life the bully is the loser.
• Young people are the main social group that is targeted in this video, it shows people who have been bullied that their not alone and raises awareness of bulling. It also shows social realism as its such a common thing that almost every child/teenager goes through it.
• At the beginning of the film it shows a few ‘stereotypical’ characters that in our day and age are classed as ‘losers’ then it goes on to show other people that you wouldn't necessarily class as a ‘loser’ but it shows that just because you have a different hobby, your clever, you are overweight it doesn't mean your a loser. It’s contradictory because its saying that the bullies are the losers not the victims. It shows the ideologies of what society classes as a ‘loser’ when in actual fact the ‘losers’ are the complete contrast and usually the ‘popular’ kids.

 

Genre:

• I found it really hard to identify a genre in this short film as it is more of an ‘awareness’ campaign not a film with purpose of entertaining. I think the genre is informative as it is making you aware and showing you something, not entertaining you.
• If it had more of a storyline to it I would say the genre would be drama as its a sad short film.

Audience

• The audience is in general everyone as it is making everyone aware of bullying.
• Mainly directed at young people as they are the people that are usually the ones that get bullied.

Tiger- Analysing 2 short films

Film Name: APRICOT
Director: Ben Briand
Made in: 2011

I chose this film to analyse as I think the story is really interesting and very clever. It really engages you and keeps your interest for a long time.
I like how the story has a little twist at the end and then it all comes together.

Representation:

• The apricot appears through out the film, in close ups, mid shots of the boy eating it and its is a significant ideology represented in the film. The apricot is how the girl remembers her ‘first love’ and then realises he is sitting right in front of her, to make sure she takes a sip of his tea and realises its apricot flavour so it must be him. We are shown many different shots of the boy eating the apricot to emphasise the meaning of it as it comes to the end and it all pieces together.

• Femininity is also a key representation in this film as I feel like it is target at both genders but as a romantic film I would say it would be more directed at females. The main female character has a sense of social realism as every girl has their first ‘true love’ so she is very relatable. The girl seems to be represented in a sort of casual grungy way as she is wearing lots of rings, has her hair un-brushed and also seems quite opposite to the guy who is dressed quite smartly for their date, this suggests that she is very laid back and seems to show herself true to the way she is.

• The man is represented as quite shy and dazed, when he talks he seems to have a lot of hesitation and doubt in what he is saying, when he starts telling her how he ‘doesnt remember’ his first love, his first kiss etc it makes us feel a bit uncomfortable as we realise he only wants to know what she has to say, its a one way conversation. When he starts writing her answers down I immediately thought he was a counsellor in disguise or something, it made me feel quite uncomfortable as people don’t usually write down your answers on a date. He is dressed quite smartly and gives a middle class impression from the way he is dressed, his accent sounds quite posh and he looks immaculately groomed.

Genre:

• The genre is definitely romance due to the flashbacks of her childhood and her ‘first love’ then realising her first love is sitting right in front of her it develops into a beautiful short love story.
• The audience seems to be targeted more at women as romantic films usually are.
• The characteristics that make us recognise its romantic genre are: –the element of surprise at the end, the kiss, the stories of her first love and first kiss, that they are on a date.
• I would apply rick altmans theory to this as I recognised the key themes through the music, props etc…        

                                                                                    

                                                            

Audience:

 

• As the film was found on youtube and youtube being a platform for all ages, genders, nationalities etc I think pretty much everyone can watch this short film, however I don’t feel as if the target audience for this film is exactly ‘everyone’ I feel that the target audience would mainly be females as romantic films are usually targeted at females. The demographic target audience would probably be female, ages 16+, middle to upper class.
• This film has also been uploaded on vimeo and around 90% of videos on vimeo are made by professional filmmakers so its a perfect place to upload this film and show it off to other filmmakers and film enthusiasts. Vimeo is a perfect website to watch short films on as there are thousands and thousands made by professional filmmakers.  Apricot was also  ‘’The cult short film was voted Best Narrative film on Vimeo by its 3 million users at the Vimeo Awards in New York City 2010’’

 

• I think the target audience would be pleased with this film as it is very gripping, romantic and has a really nice surprising end that completes the film and makes you want to watch it again.
• The film has been screened all over the world and has been a very popular short movie, its featured here,here as ‘’short of the week’’.

Jo - Additional 2 films applying the 5 key concepts

http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/film/3523/the-wrong-change

'The Wrong Change' is a film about guilt, regret and the wrong 
change. "One man's momentary fortune becomes his lasting torment." This film was made for the Virgin Media Shorts competition 2012. "It was inspired by a real life incident which made me question why anyone might possibly have reason to return money they had been given in error almost 6 months before". The film is made by Sam Gould, a writer and director based in London. "I've got a passion for comedy/drama and for highlighting the ridiculous in the everyday." He works with his  girlfriend Chloe Christodoulou who together have made a number of shorts which have received critical praise over the past couple of years. August 2012 saw the opening of Virgin Media Shorts competition and the accomplishment of two films; 'The Wrong Change' and 'Lunchtime Special', neither of which received any mention at all but this has not stopped Gould from doing what he loves best.

I chose this film because I hadn't discovered a short film that approached the subject of guilt and regret before that engaged in such social realism for an audience. Into the film I discovered it doesn't use dialogue which is a strong aspect we plan to use in our production, making me connect more with the film. But at 1 minute 45 seconds into the text, the main character says his first line which I think lets the film down as the technique was carried out powerfully until this point and made it more interesting making the narrative stronger. 

Also I feel it could have easily finished at 0.43 seconds just after he received the extra bit of change, although this would not show the characters guilt. I think certain scenes drag out the story and the ending in particular could have been produced better, rather than him giving the money back after several months of regret, yet the receiver misunderstanding and possibly thought it was a tip as a nice gesture, frustrating him.

The main character is firstly revealed in a suit, giving the audience the impression he is working class as he is located in central London which I can identify from road signs and bridges. Throughout his phase of guilt and regret he is dressed in a number of simple costumes that do not represent any particular stereotypes, which is a positive quality. The four screen grabs above suggest each stage in the process of his guilt, implying the passing of time judging by the different outfits in the exact same location. 



I think the film deals with issues of guilt and regret well by the characters obvious reflection of the subject in the screen shots above. Partly why the film maker presented the subject so well is because he dealt with a similar situation and wanted to engage in other quarries. 

The film is kept in chronological order, but I feel it could have been edited in a non-linear sequence; featuring scenes through flashbacks.I feel the effect of the film in being in chronological order makes the film predictable, rather than surprising the audience. Steve Neale's theory of repetition and differences has relation to 'The Wrong Change'. Difference is essential to economy genre for it to survive. Audiences recognise genre's codes and conventions that are repeated in texts but recent films have altered these in an unfamiliar fashion to be unique. Other than exploring social realism, the film is referred to as a comedy which I can recognise particularly in the first 45 seconds and the last scene of the film. 
If to apply Altman's theory of semantic / syntactic codes, his semantic approach to genre doesn't necessarily apply to 'The Wrong Change' as there are no expected codes and conventions of comedy within the film, more applicable to a larger number of films. But I can refer to his syntactic approach as it isolates a genre'e specific meaning. 

In this shot of our character looking very confident and positive, it is accompanied by an off screen soundtrack of an instrumental jazz piece that I feel is motivating and quirky. It is also the shot that helped me establish the location of central London judging by the road sign. 


I find this an inventive shot as it portrays his imagination of the café's waitress daunting him. The scene stands out above all others mostly of our main character as lighting is a key aspect within it and I believe Gould has purposely made her look into the camera for a reaction.

 

Inspiration: Mixtape

Mixtape - Bill Milner

When we saw this short film we were very inspired by the miming element. We both agree that adding music as a storyline to our short film would be a really original idea. Obviously we would like our short film to be different from mixtape in the story element but similar with the miming and the music overlaying the dialogue and how when put together they make the story.

An initial idea we have developed from viewing Mixtape is possibly filming a suspect that had got himself involved in a messy situation with an antagonist holding him hostage and wanting to inflict pain upon him. Although, we could record any conversation whether it is between a protagonist and antagonist or a character simply walking his dog. The list is endless and all we want to achieve is a narrative that has been altered with a piece of music replacing the dialogue to make the storyline more exciting and interesting, and a possible contrast in genres. For example, a thriller that is provoked by a rather happy soundtrack to create an unexpected humorous aspect.

We also like the detail in the Mise en scene that represents particular conventions from past decades, rather than responding to the decade we live in. I think this draws in more of an audience that can relate to the decade they are capturing, as well as teenagers, similar age groups to the characters, and an audience with a music interest.

Now discovering an idea for our short film, we will research other shorts that include a rough music element, aswell as thinking of a good narrative to include.

Jo - Additional 2 films applying the 5 key concepts

Lucky 13: PJ, TINY PLANET EXPLORER

This was one of the first short films I viewed on Virgin Media Shorts for this particular task which I initially liked from the start over all of the others I watched. The film is in fact one of the winners of Virgin Media's shorts entry's, winning the title of People's Choice Award. The narrative is so original and I can identify they have revolved it around a specific camera effect to create the effect of looking like a world, which I believe portrays the plot point. I find it a very interesting and creative style for a short film, like every short film to have it's own original stylisation. 

As it says above from the films own description, it is about "a boys journey through the universe to find a wondrous new planet to explore". He encounters mini planets on his journey and when it comes to settling down on his chosen planet, it was ruined by his lack of preparations consisting of insufficient items he packed.

I would say the social groups relevant for the film are teenagers wanting to achieve a dream of theirs or an ambition, but collapses on them possibly due to naivety or lack of in-dependency. I find the character is represented as quite a nerdy teenager (without stereo-typing) judging by his original but random possessions, for example a Nintendo game boy, florescent wayfarers, a yo-yo and others. I think the film writer wanted to steer away from representing a 21st century teenager to engage young adults that obtain memories from these items that they would have grown up with. I think he represents the identity of particular social groups. The objects suggest to me that the character is quite childish rather than being mature about moving away.

    
As I am already aware, the film categorises its genre as an Action/Adventure which I can agree on, but I believe it has aspects of comedy that is implied through the characters dialogue with a sense of humour. Short films often use hybrids that combine more than one genre within the film, some shorts can't even be recognised as a single genre but there are no boundaries. Steve Neale's theory of repetition and differences has a lot of relation to the Tiny Planet Explorer as it holds conventions belonged to other genres rather than only referring to action adventure. Neale argues that "difference is essential to economy genre", in other words, for it to survive. Texts will repeat some of the codes and conventions for recognition but may be altered in an unfamiliar fashion to be unique. 

The effect of presenting the film in a linear structure is positive as it makes the film understandable. I think if it were to be in non-chronological order it will cause confusion for the audience, I certainly wouldn't understand the moral of the story if it were to be in reverse.

The film maker has an additional Youtube channel where he has a humble following of 100,000 subscribers. I did take a look at his channel and it does consist of many random videos run by his imagination. I can identify he is amateur to the film industry and does the majority of the film making in the comfort of his own home.

Jo Webb - Applying 5 Key Concepts to 2 Short Films

Good Morning Mrs Tucker

http://filmchallenge.org/2011-Finalists/2011-finalist-good-morning-mrs-tucker.html

Unrendered Productions: George Kotelnikov, National Film Challenge, 2011 Finalist

I chose this particular film to analyse because I found the subject of homelessness and genre of romance an interesting combination. Another interesting aspect is one of the characters lack of memory, leading her to believe such things as having a home to go to and daily chores to complete. 

Unrendered Productions http://unrenderedproductions.com/“Independent Production Company focused on competing in local film challenges based in Denver, Colorado.”        

• Un-familiar relation between the bottle of juice and wine glasses = reflects the characters lack of wealth and sarcastic approach –later on he describes it as “2010 red vintage” to sarcastically imply the distant life they have from characters that would normally say this  

• ·         Judging by his and hers costume of warm layers in a reasonably sunny atmosphere, it is obvious they haven’t come from a central heated home in the morning
• ·         The off screen soundtrack that starts the film doesn’t suggest the beginning of a happy, comical film ahead, rather a sense of social realism for the audience to engage in
• ·         Straight away we as an audience can recognise the ideologies of homeless characters judging by the stolen trolley full of carrier bags and one of the characters waking up on a bench in the introduction to the film
• ·         Camera work defers from hand held (to create an un-controlled effect) and to establish a conversation from a distance to view both characters response’s
•  
•  
• ·         Portrays traditional values of the husband taking care of his wife, through repetitive dialogue sequences of his reassurance and suggestions
• ·         He respects her no matter what her situation is, but his anger releases through an unexpected action of him kicking the trolley that is provoked by a sound bridge. There is a pause from the previous off-screen soundtrack when he kicks the trolley, then an earry sound is placed to show the sudden change in mood.
• ·         It was also filmed hand held to possibly suggest the lack of control from the character, and his sudden change in mood from calm (that was filmed on a still).
• ·         There is not many editing techniques throughout the short film but involves a lot of straight cuts – mainly represents shot-reverse-shot between the characters conversation for continuity
• ·         The film deals with memory loss that some viewers may relate to with family members or friends. I think the film has a successful representation to fulfil the matter by introducing the characters calm approach
• ·          Genre isn’t often easy to identify in short films, but ‘Good Morning Mrs Tucker’ is titled as a romance which is recognizable by the characters close relation and the way they address each other, the film’s title, for example, is a common dialogue used. I think the text challenges conventions expected from a romance due to breaking boundaries of what we expect to see as an audience. 
• ·         Steve Neale’s theory of repition and differences has a lot of relation to ‘Good Morning Mrs Tucker’. He argues that “difference is essential to economy genre”, in other words, for it to survive. Texts will repeat some of the codes and conventions for recognition but may be altered in an unfamiliar fashion to be unique. 

The Plan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OGX8iYBBCE&feature=related

Written, directed and edited by Matthew Kalish, released roughly four years ago. It stated as an award winning title.

I came across the film on YouTube alongside other award winning short films. It drew my attention from the retro looking icon of a girl edited in black and white. Furthermore, I chose to include it within this assignment as the whole piece of text was filmed in black and white. It creates an historical aspect which is reassuring to watch from the calm lighting and continuity editing.

·         Young males approaching the adult world may be considered a relevant social group from wanting to experience gambling, which creates issues

·         The films character isn’t a good role model for viewers by being irresponsible with money, but may have social realism for people that have involved themselves with money issues

·         I can’t recognise the film’s genre, which is a good technical code Matthew Kalish has used.

·         I can refer to Steve Neal again for the text not using repition of familiar elements to reassure the audience

·         I can also relate to Rick Altman’s theory of semantic & syntactic structure of narrative based on audiences using their knowledge to recognise codes for understanding a film. In this example I think the main focus of Altman’s theory is the semantic approach of how we expect certain conventions and ideologies. For example, a main prop in the text is a film camera. It could appear in any genre but not necessarily summed up to one in particular.

·         This crosses genre boundaries which may result in hybridity of not having a clear categorisation.

    

·         The narrative does appear in chronological order as we are aware right from the start that the character is dropping his life to gamble in Vegas. From knowing this the audience does have a vague idea of what could happen to our character, there is only two options: win a lifetime or lose everything.

·         I think another possible audience received from the film are photography students based on the editing technique and plot point created by the main prop of the camera. These two points I have pointed out have a strong relationship which draws me to believe Kalish may have completed the whole film in black and white to put the audience in the characters perspective of looking through a black and white film. You don’t know what the outcome is with a film camera, but neither did our character when he placed all his money on one bid.