I shall use this blog to document the entire creation of my A2 Media Coursework. All of the posts will either be a part of my research and planning, the construction of my media products or my evaluation.
The Short Film 'Get Off My Land' is a dark humour comedy. It follows two characters as they go on a stroll through country land and focuses on their encounter with the apparent 'land owner'.
The Short Film 'Gravity' carries a moral message about the existence of gun crime amongst youths today. The Film demonstrates the seriousness of gun crime and tells a message to teenagers about how they are not a toy to be played with, as doing so may have disastrous effects.
Link to the Short Film:
Camera shots and angles
A variety of camera shots and angles are used within the film 'Gravity' and an example of the most prominent frames are shown above. These shots are crucial to allow the audience to build up a relationship with the characters. The close ups present within the film show are featured as reaction shots and show the facial expressions of the characters. The extreme long shots and crane shots demonstrate the widespread impact of the plot and shows the characters to be insignificant.
Edits
The majority of editing in this short film is cuts from scene to scene. This gives an indication to the pace and tension that builds up during the film. Also, indents are used to show the credits and the name of the Short Film. The credits at the start of the film appear against a black background so that they stand out in the foreground and the title of the film that appears at the end (see image shown above) is set against the backdrop of the sky and demonstrates 'gravity'.
Mise-en-scene
As can be seen from the images above, the mise-en-scene within the film suggests that the film is set in a rough council estate. The costumes worn by the actors are iconic of that considered to be worn by gangs and youths in today's society. The props used such as the gun represent the fear of gang culture. The images above suggest that at times there is low key lighting to create an uncomfortable and disturbing atmosphere.
Sound
At first the non-diagetic sound presented accompanies the credits. It seems to be the sound of the creaking door. Then it becomes apparent that the creaking sound is actually diagetic and is the sound of the swing that the toddler is playing on.
The majority of diagetic sound within the film is conversation between the three main characters. At points the language used becomes aggressive and on occasions the characters swear. This adds to the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing what the situation is escalating into. When the character messing around the gun imitates the sound of the gun, it shows how young and naive characters are, as he doesn't comprehend the drastic consequences that playing with the gun could have.
In my opinion, the most important diagetic sound in the short film, is the noise of the swing creaking. When initially heard at the beginning, it doesn't seem to be an important aspect of the film but when it returns towards the end its importance is revealed.
Bait is a Short Film that focuses on a relationship between a father and son. It follows a day in their life whereby the father tells his son to wait in the cafe for him whilst he goes to an interview. The boy looks after their 'bait' (lunch) and the film shows who the boy encounters and reaction of the father after he discovers what happens.
The initial mise-en-scene shows the home environment of the father and son. Immediately it suggests that they live on a basic budget due to the props present. For example, the penny jar shows that they save any money they can. Also, the peeling paint and low key, dull lighting suggest that times are hard for this family of two.
The relationship of the characters is shown by their actions in the film. The father repeatedly plays with his sons ears and then the son does it back. This shows the characters bonding and suggests that they have a strong and loving relationship with one another. At the end of the film, the father carries his son on his shoulders, this is an iconic and recognisable sign of affection and enjoyment between parents and children.
The most significant prop in the entire film sequence is the 'baitbox'. The importance of this one prop and the way it is protected by the boy shows the audience a great deal about the two characters. It suggests that although young, the boy is quite mature and has an understanding of the world, whereas the father, due to the pressure he is under can be quite self-centred at times, but later regrets his actions.
Edits
Cuts frequently occur within the film. At the beginning quick cuts are made to show the reaction shots of the two characters as they talk to each other. There is a cut apparent that almost feels as if the scene swipes into the next one. It is when the bus drives off into the distance and appears as if it drives into the next scene. This is a break from the frequent quick cuts that previously occurred and shows a smooth gradual cut to a new 'chapter' in the film.
Another significant cut is where the frame cuts to an empty cafe. This indicates a drastic change in time as previously the cafe was busy and had lots of customers. It also conveys the loneliness felt by the boy as he is left by himself to wait for his father.
Sound
The majority of the diagetic sound is conversation, mainly that of the conversation between the father and son. It gives an indication to their relationship as well as giving the audience an indication to whereabouts in the UK they are from because of their regional dialect. For example they use the word 'bait' as a substitute for lunch.
There is soft background music present at certain parts of the film. This is non-diagetic sound and helps to create the mood and atmosphere that the director intends. This music immediately stops when the disruption (as suggested by Todorov's narrative theory) in the sequence occurs.
Camera shots and angles
A number of camera shots and angles occur within the film. In my opinion, the most effective camera angles are the low and high angle shots. The low angle shots are often shown as reaction shots of the father from the boy's perspective. The high angle shots show the vulnerability of the boy in comparison to the dominance of the other characters, including the flat characters such as the tramp that walks in the cafe.
Before planning and filming my coursework piece I need to compile research into both Short Films and Film Trailers. I shall consider the conventions used in each by deconstructing and analysing the camera shots and angles, edits, sound and mise-en-scene present within each and consider the effect they have on the production. The first Short Film that I have researched is 'Dipper'.
Link to the Short Film:
Plot
The narrative of the Short Film is that a gentleman is a pickpocketer and primarily about him finding a victim. Once he sees a woman with expensive taste, the story follows him as he 'accidentally' bumps into her and takes her purse. Little does he know that he has been set up, and the story develops showing how he has been caught out. However, the audience never finds out what actually happened for him to get set up and so it is left to their own imagination.
Camera shots and angles
Although there are many of the conventional camera shots and angles in 'Dipper', such as an establishing shot and medium close ups, which enable the audience to empathise and relate to the character, there are some that feature to aid the narrative of the short film.
This point of view camera shot is set at quite a low angle so only the lower half of the body can be seen. This creates a sense of secrecy because it suggests the main character is focusing on a certain intention, which is the audience is not yet aware of. Shots like this occur frequently throughout the Short Film and also create a sense of loss of identity as throughout the film there are only three main characters that the audience identiy with but many flat characters feature throughout.
This extreme close up of the main character catches the audiences attention and so suggests that this is an important part of the film. It shows the character plotting and mimicking some of the flat characters and so gives more of an insight into the personality of this character, thus revealing parts of the plot, whilst showing his dominance and importance.
There are a number of close up shots featured throughout the film. The most significant of which is the combination of the two featured above. The close ups represent the main characters eye movement and suggest that he has transfixed his eyes on his next target.
Above is two examples of a low angle, medium close up shot that feature when the main character is in the frame. This suggests to the audience that this character is of some importance and suggests that he is superior to the other characters featured as they are never shown from this angle.
This camera shot shows the character running towards the camera. This is an effective shot as it shows the sense of urgency whilst allowing the audience to still see the facial expressions of the main character. During this sequence the camera jolts a bit giving the feel that the camera is running alongside the character.
Edits
There are three main examples of edits that appear throughout the film. They are as follows:
The use of indents - where written text appears within the frame. This aids the speech of the main character as the statements often appear as he says them. Secondly quick cuts from one scene to another to show the pace of the Short Film and finally the splitting of the screen in two at the end of the film which not only shows the expressions of both of the main characters but also demonstrates that the main character has been 'busted' and caught for his crimes. Examples of these edits are shown below.
Sound
The non-diagetic sound present within the film is the initial themed music introduced when the title of the film appears on the screen. It has quite an upbeat tempo and aids the diageticsound of the city environment.
Mise-en-scene
The mise-en-scene apparent within the frames is iconic of that of a City highstreet. It appears as if the Short Film is filmed mainly in public, so the scenarios that occur around the main plot are realistic and spontaneous as they are aspects of ordinary day to day life. Apart from the main characters in the film the general public feature as flat characters. In the mise-en-scene shops can be seen, ambulances, the general public, day light etc (Show in the images featured above) . All of these features help to create a sense of reality.
Below is a word diagram that I created on http://www.wordle.net/ to show my original knowledge of the components of short films.
I realised that before I conducted any research into existing Short Films I needed to conduct more detailed research into narrative theory. Below is a slideshare that I found online which I have found very useful in learning about various narrative theories.
Todorov's theory is that a fictional environment begins with a state of equilibrium meaning that everything is 'normal' and as it should be. Then there is some disruption to this 'normal' state which is later recognised an attempt is made to correct it. Thus returning to a new state of equilibrium. Todorov's concept is illustrated by the diagram inserted below.
Vladamir Propp's Narrative Theory
Propp's Theory is based mainly upon fairy tales. Propp argued that there are many similarities between all fairytale narratives and characters and so he devised his theory about the similar characters that feature within fairy tales having the same narrative function. According to Propp this narrative function of the character's provides structure to the fairy tale film.
Here is Propp's list of fairytale characters that provide a function:
The Hero - a character that seeks something.
The Villain - who opposes or actively blocks the hero's quest.
The Donor - who provides and object with magical properties.
The Dispatcher - who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message.
The False Hero - who disrupts the hero's success by making false claims.
The Helper - who aids the hero.
The Princess - acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villain's plots.
Her Father - who acts to reward the hero for his effort.
