POST 10: Script

This is my brainstorm that I have created for ideas for the script

Task 2: Writing your short film script.

Billy is trying to cope with his non-existent relationship with his mother and coping at school with the teachers and the uncomfortable life he is in. When it becomes too much Billy has only one area of comfort but when he hears news that changes everything will this area of comfort be enough for him to cope.

Billy a 12 year old school boy is not coping. He has an non-existent relationship with his mother ans the teachers at school. his only place of comfort is sitting under one of the stairs at school. But when he hears news that changes everything will this area of comfort for be enough to make everything seem cope able.

First Draft of Script

BLACK SCREEN- TITLES

Loud background noise, children talking.

HARD CUT: EXT. OUTSIDE BILLY’S HOUSE IN THE ALLEY WAY

Billy steps out of his house, walks round the corner into the alley.

LONG SHOT: EXT. TOP OF THE ALLEY WAY

Billy is walking to school on the phone to his mum.

BILLY

Why, where you going to be?

BILLY

Ok, so what time will you be home?

Billy

Oh ok then, maybe see you tomorrow then.

MUM hangs up the phone.

MEDIUM LONG SHOT: EXT ALLEY WAY

Billy is continuing to walk to school.

HARD CUT: INT. CLASSROOM

Billy runs in late and the teacher tells him off.

TEACHER

Late again Billy?

Billy puts his head down and walks to his seat.

HARD CUT: EXT: OUTSIDE CANTEEN

Billy is trying to push through the crowds.

HARD CUT: INT: UNDER THE STAIRS

Billy is looking at people walking by, he rings his mum.

BILLY

Mum, I feel ill can you come pick me up?

BILLY

But mum please, it’s horrible here.

MUM hangs up the phone.

CLOSE UP: Billy starts scratching at his wrist.

HARD CUT: EXT: QUAD

Billy is walking through the quad alone.

FREEZE FRAME: CLOSE UP ON BILLY’S FACE.

CUT TO CREDITS ON BLACK SCREEN.

2012 Post 9a: Research into your target audience

Demographic of short films

Definition:The characteristics of human populations and population segments, especially when used to identify consumer markets
http://www.answers.com/topic/demography

These are the professionals that are employed by companies, usually viewing the films and looking for future directors and producers and thinking about investing in films. These type of people will be placed in-between the demographic social groups.

The other demographics are students, this group of people will be looking at the film on the internet looking for inspiration as they will be more than likely study in this area. As they are already looking at the internet  for the short films they will be using the media putting the group in a circle of media.

Psychographics of short films

There are 3 types of Psychographics

Succeeder's:  These are powerful ambitious people who will already be within the industry due to this they are a target audience as they will be looking to invest in more films causing them to watch short films. 

Aspirer's: These types of people could be people leaving uni or college, they will be interested in film making and will be researching to make sure what is the best way to get into the industry and what kinds of films are popular, causing them to to be another target audience.

Industrialist's:  These people are opposite to the mainstream who enjoy big named Hollywood films. These people will have their own ideas and opinions an will choose to show these through short films their interest are lone ones once again causing them to be a target audience.

Distribution methods for short films


It is harder to distribute short films you cannot use the same methods as mainstream films use, for instance short films will not get enough coverage in mainstream cinemas so they are better to have their film shown in an Indie cinema on a short film night. The internet is extremely important to short films, seeing as the majority of short film audience is students the internet is there most important distribution method. Students will be using the internet to research and resource films so they will be looking for short films. Students are also in touch with new media technologies, they would be using social networking sites where they could share and talk about the film so this would help with distributing the film.


In the article below Jon Korn is talking about how the distribute short films, he is the programmer and the Sundance film festival. He quotes “I think that the only way for festivals to stay both relevant and necessary in an online world is to completely embrace the internet as both a source of material and a platform for exhibition,”
The way foward is the internet, if film fesitvals have to turn to the internet to ensure they containt their distruibution methods then I think this is a good idea, it will allow students who cannot afford film festivals or who live to far to be aviable to watch and experience the films.
http://www.sundance.org/festival/article/the_digital_distribution_of_short_films_an_art_in_itself/

Here is a step to step guide on how to distrubute you film created by:
How to Distribute a Short Film | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2077624_distribute-short-film.html#ixzz1uNlreSES

1 -Send a DVD to film festivals. Check out lists from your local film school, your favorite film journal or directory, or browse the Internet. Most film festivals are receptive to short films and even offer separate awards for best short film. Many major distributors attend film festivals, so this is a good way to get your film seen by movers and shakers without knocking on office doors.

2 Contact film distributors directly. Small, independent distributors are more receptive to short films and may suggest options for releasing it on DVD or in theaters in conjunction with other films or as part of a collection. Always call larger distributors as well, unless they explicitly state that they don't look at short films.

3 - Hire a translator (or get a friend to help you) and write foreign language markets. Many countries are eager to distribute American films, even short films, on their shores. Sometimes the film may need to be dubbed or fit with sub-titles, but because so many foreign viewers are familiar with English, this won't always be necessary. 

4 -Approach film reviewers. Even if your film has been shown just a few times in public, journalists, podcasters and bloggers will be happy to write about it or interview you. The more people who know about you and your film, the more likely a distributor will be to carry it.

5-Go back to school. The college circuit works well if you have age-appropriate subject matter in your film. What's popular on one campus eventually takes hold on another, so don't discount this option.

6-Post snippets of your short film on MySpace, YouTube or your own blog to help distribute it. You will gain fans and maybe even attract the interest of a distributor or major movie company

 

POST 9:Short Film Research

Task A: Why are short films made?


From the article is seems that short films were first released to inform and show people reality for instance during the second world war short films reflected what actually happened on the battlefield. They have also shown a element of art within short films, they were first shown at fairgrounds where art and culture is reflected through everything. I think short films are a good tool to put across social situations and make people aware as well as developing how to shown this in the film through artistic skills.
For instance the article talks about Salvador Dalí – whose eyeball-slicing Un Chien Andalou (1929) film would have shocked the audience and scared them as they hadn't seen anything like that before and that is the point of short films 

Task B: Who is the target audience for a short film?


Short films are usually shown at film festivals and this will be the main target for the audience, due to the films being shown at festivals the target audience will be students trying to get into the industry and people already in the industry.  From lessons we concluded that the main audience was for art house interested audience, I believe this is down to the fact that they are interested so make the effort to found out what short films are being showing and where, whereas mainstream audience don't need to make an effort to find out there interest in films are given to them through adverts all around us.


From the Internet I found this article http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/21/DD5KST9SF.DTL it explains how the target audience of short films have changed due to new media technologies, the short film was first shown at house parties and in classrooms, but when it was released on iTunes it received a huge audience. It appears that short films are becoming more popular and people are interested what the craze is about.
I have found this idea common that short film industry has the ability to expand plus expanding the target audience to a more mainstream audience, people want new ideas to films mainstream has been done but short films can provide the demand for new ideas.


http://articles.boston.com/2010-09-07/ae/29300788_1_filmmakers-shorts-international-carter-pilcher


Task C: How are short films distributed?

The London short film festival shows cutting edge UK independent films 
this is a clip made by the guardian to explain what you can expect to see at the London Short  Film Festival  http://vimeo.com/33349099

Sundance Film Festival is an American film festival that feature a range of short films as well as animation, documentation and worldwide films. The short films that are featured can range from animation and documentaries the category's they include are endless. Films that have featured in the Sundance Film Festival are:

Aquadettes

Barbie Blues

Animation Spotlight

Aesthetica short film festival is a worldwide film competition but it is help in the UK, it launched last year in November for its first film festival. The company is known for being involved in culture and contemporary art.


From all the short films I have watched and researched I have noticed that the most popular genre is drama, I think this is down to the fact that the directors of these film do not have the budget to make an action or thriller that would be substitutional. Due to the budget its easier to make a drama as they are realistic so for this reason we have chosen our genre to be a drama. Most the films we have watched range from 10-30mins long as we have a limit of 6 minutes we will have to arrange and plan our story to work consecutively as well as it making sense. Most the films we have watched have a beginning middle and end but they aren't as clear cut as Hollywood films the beginning is normally the start of the film but the character is in the middle of a problem and normally the end of the film their problem still isn't resolved as it reflects true life and our problems aren't always resolved straight away. For instance in 'Jade' it open with her swimming then it cuts to her sitting on a toilet looking at a positive pregnancy test we are introduced to her problem but it never gets resolved we do not know who the father is or what she decides to do with the baby we are just introduced to her life and two possible father figures.


Task D: How to write a good short film script


From the book  Get Your Short Film Funded, Made and Seen, The Chapter Define Your Idea the best way to write a good short film script is to keep it simple this idea has been put across greatly throughout this chapter. The have emphasised on the fact that the shorts film that do the best are simple. This will help us when writing our script as we will be able to keep in mind that we need to keep it simple.


Another helpful tip when writing a short film script is that it is better to use one character in one location and the narrative is either about 3 days or in the same day, I am glad I have read this as these two tips go with our ideas for the short film we will be making. For instance we wanted the story to revolve around a young boy at school and how he copes at school, we also want to have our story happen all in one day.

Task E: Independent Research

New Boy 2007 directed by Steph Green

Steph Green displays through this film that although you may be an outsider at first it only takes a small event to ensure you bond with someone and I believe this is her preferred reading.  By using children as the main characters and the reason for the story it highlights the vulnerability that outsiders can feel once faced with insiders.

Steph Green uses a juxtaposition to show how Joseph's life in Ireland is completely different to his old life but in some sense its still as hard. The reflection between his dad being shot and Joseph becoming the target of a bursting milk bottle shows how similar different worlds really are. The gun shot for his dad was used as the milk bottle hit the wall and exploded, equating Joseph with his dad.

The narrative ends happily which is quite unusual for short films as they are usually hard hitting and dramatic, but this film has an element of drama and humour is reflected through the relationship between the teacher and the students. The 3 boys develop a bond as they are victim to the teacher's anger, whereas Joseph was once the enemy.  This film has a successful narrative and it manages to convey real meaning, emotion and understanding in under 8 minutes and leaves you with a new understanding of being an outsider.  I feel films like this are something that I would like to create.

Post 8:Media language links with all other theories

Task 1: Media has a whole serperate language and if you haven't mastered the words of media there is no way you will be able to totally communicate within the media industry from shot sizes to codes and conventions media langauge is vital. Who, what, where, when, why and how are the most important question you could ask within media as it is the start of a the development of a story.


Task 2: My new understanding of media language will make it easier to communicate as a group when deciding about shot sizes or even trying to explain the kind of atmosphere we are looking for to film. Having an understanding of media langauge makes it easier to anaylsis feels understand their deeper meaning that the director has aimed to portray

POST 7:Audience Theory

I am going to analyis 4 short films in relation to audience theory,many people have researched into the effects that the media has on an audience and film/tv makers still target genreal audiences during their productions.

The problem with audience is that they way someone reads the text depends on their social situation and how they have been brought up. For instance the main reading for the text 'Tender' would be the dominant-hegemonic reading with an element of Negotiated hegmonic reading, this is because the social situation in the film is a common one many of us can relate to the events in the film and accept the dominant message. Whereas the aspect of the film where we are left wondering whats going to happen next and why,  would be the Negotiated hegomonic reading  as our own positions and expectations would influence how we read the text.  The mode of address is initually indirect but an intimate one, we feel close to characters through closeups.

'Whore' is quite like 'Tender' they both are about social situations which are prominent of the time.  This is also Negotiated Reading due to the fact that some people may see the girl as victim whereas others may see her as the person to blame for her being in this situation. People could say that moral panic could effect young people watching this it may cause them to become permisous but the way the film is set out, the fact the girl is sad and stuck with a abusive and nasty boy will so i don't think moral panic would have an effect.' Whore' didnt do aswell with the awards this could be as it is quite controversuial.

'Pop Art' would also have a Negotiated Reading, this film would have more of an element of Preferred Reading as the postion of the viewer is a more familar one, we are presented with a boy being bullied and this is a normal problem that we view through the media the most. The Negotiated Reading is the use of a blow up boy some people may intreprtate the meaning of the use of the blow up boy as different things resulting in the short film having a negotiated reading, this cou;ld also be considered as aberrant decoding. 'Pop Art' has recieved 4 awards from different film festivals, london viewer: 'The storyline is innovative, so I won't give it away, but it is both challenging and light at the same time !'

 
'Jade' once again has a Negotiated Reading, all arty films will have this reading because they arn't clear cut, Hollywood films are nice boy- bad boy its obvious what postion as the viewer we should take. Through-out 'Jade' we are confused to what relationship she has with the other characters, and how she's going to resolve being pregnant, some people may feel differently about her situation and whether they feel sorry for her or not. This film one the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin internactional film festival.

Daniel Elliott holding his award

From what we have looked at in class and from my analysis up above I have concluded that, our shot film script needs to make people think and leave them wondering whats going to happen to our characters or why they are in that position, as this seems to be a conventional pattern within short films. Our script also needs to have a good narrative and to be ground-breaking to keep the audience interested whilst the film being an easy watch.

POST 6: Representation Theory

Representation is constructed from certain aspects of the product these are, people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Micro elements are also used to create larger meanings and values. The types of codes are codes such as camera angles, shots, editing, mise en scene etc.

"Representation values in the media shape our understanding of the world we live in and shape ourselves as individuals".

Representation is vital to the target audience as they has expectations, these expectations are influenced through inscriptions in texts. The target audience will find representations inspirational or the representation will link to the values of the target audience.

Karl Marx created the Marxist approach which reflects how representation works he concluded that what we see through the media reflects the dominant ideologies in our society. According to Marxist theory what we see in the media we will take it in as the norm. Social codes such as the male gaze would represent women as being used as a sex symbol and this would not be accepted in non-western societies.

We have watched short films in class; I am going to apply representation to 3 of the films I have watched. The first film is 'Jade' this opens as her swimming we find out later on in the film that she is pregnant, the blue of the swimming pool represents the blue line you get on a pregnancy test but it also represents the sadness of her life and being 'out of her depth'. The main character Jade was represented as being quite and very much isolated, she comes in from school and goes straight to work at a caravan park where she is once again alone, when we find out she has a relationship with an older family man it opposes the representation and the expectations that have been set up. The film ends with her sitting in the car with it pouring with rain her problems haven’t been resolved and the rain represents the dull mood and the need for her to cry.

Another short film that we watched was called 'Whore', the main character which is a girl is represented as a promiscuous teenage school girl. When we are first introduced to her she has altered her school uniform and wearing bulky jewelry her skirt is short and she looks scruffy. Because she has broken away from the school rules about uniform it represents her as being a rebel, she is also shown as smoking in school toilets which is illegal in the United Kingdom anyway. We are also introduced to her love interest they are sitting outside of school and he tells her to take off her knickers, she does without a question and doesn’t seem to care this shocks the audience, although we expect her to be promiscuous they fact that she so easily does what the boy tells her to do is shocking and represents that the boy has power over her, and makes her seem vulnerable to his power which opposes the set up representation.

The last film I am going to apply to representation is the film 'Tender', the boy came from a single parent family his mum was young and had a boyfriend, the family was represented as disconnected, they mother didn’t care about her son or look after him she was just interested in her boyfriend who was aggressive and abusive. The young boy is also shown as being alone at school and not engaging with his peers expects one girl.  This representation is reflected on the boy when at the end of the film he takes the weapon his mother’s boyfriend used to beat a neighbor, with him to meet a girl. Within the film there is a lot of silent scenes this represents the boy being isolated and alone. The representations have been sent up as a reflection to what a negative home life does to you.

    

POST 5: Narrative Theory

Narrative structure is a key element of genre, as it is essential to the experience of viewing and reading of the text. Narrative is like story-telling, it enables the audience to submerge themselves within the narrative, it will have a beginning, middle and an end but will reflect life itself. As humans we need a beginning, middle and end as we connect all the events together to develop and understanding of the text. Narratives particulary use time within the films due to the fact that a whole life has to be shown in about 90minutes, slow motion shots will slow done time and flash forwards will speed up time. Therefore we consider "the time of the thing told and the time of the telling." (Christian Metz Notes Towards A Phenomenology of Narrative).

Narrative provides a structure that can be followed through many of the genreic Hollywood films. 'Todorov - suggests narrative is simply equilibrium, disequilibrium, new equilibrium' he proposed the balance from imbalance journey finally ending in the re-stored balance. Volger developed this idea into his '12 Steps to a Hero's Journey' this is very similar to Todorov equilibrium and disequilibrium but in greater detail. Their points about narrative have found that any Hollywood film will have the same narrative and we recieve pleasure from decoding them.

In class we looked at some short films, and studied the narrative, with one film we tried to test whether Volger and Todorov were right by apply Barthes 5 action codes to the film 'Pop Art'.  We found that the narrative of the film did fit in and included a hermeneutic code we concluded that why is he a blow up boy was the code, proairetic code was the pin falling on the blow up boys chair, semantice code what the blow up boy was representing,symbolic code was someone who is different and the cultural code was Bulling and Child deprevation .  From watching other short films it has appeared that they do not follow the conventual 'Hollywood narrative' for instance 'Tender'

'Tender' the short film by Deborah Haywood was about a boy who came from a disfunctional family, his mother is young and poor and has a violent boyfriend. The film does not appear to start with equilbrium he is shown as walking alone scrapping a stick along some railings. The film ends on a ambigious ending it does not have a restored equlibrium. From this film you do not gain pleasure  from decoding the narrative like Hollywood films instead it has more of an affect on you as you a presented with a social situation that you may not neccesarily be able to relate to.

The third film is 'Jade' by Daniel Elliot, the film opens with her swimming giving the audience no insight into what the short film is about, enigma is constructed immediately.  The second scene reveals she is pregnant.  Throughtout the film her troubles start to unfold we find out she is pregnant but are presented with two possible fathers one being a 50 year old  man and the other a young boy, the narrative is unclear and the reader can make their own interpretations although there may well be  a prefered meaning. The film also has no narrative resolution her troubles are un-resolved but we have gained empathy for her. This film does not have a generic narrative, it is a realist narrative of real life events and the events happen chronologically the narrative is within time which is un-popular.

From watching short films and considering narrative narrative I have come to the conclusion that it isn't unsual to break away from the generic 'Hollywood' narrative structure, many of the structures are unclear and events happen consecutively or in a non linear way.   From my research I have decided that when making the short film, I want to have all events happening consecutively and to have a social problem, I also want to have less structure to the narrative in terms of the traditional Hollywood narrative moving from equilibrium etc.  I have found that when a film has an unexpected ending which is ambigious it leaves the audience asking questions, I believe it has a greater effect and a happy ending is not my aim at this satge.

POST 4: Genre as a media concept

Genre is vital for film producers and the audience, it allows media products to be packaged and targeted at an audience. Genres work through formal characteristics these are codes and conventions. There are different types of themes within genre. Ideological themes play an important part in genre. Icons are a key type of sign that is easily recognisable, for instance a butcher’s knife is iconic to a horror film and the audience would recognise the sign and know the genre is horror.

Another example is a Stetson hat which is a vital part and icon to western films. Edward Buscombe proposed “we can tell the difference between genres by the icons” certain sets, costumes, props, performers and music immediately signify which genre the film, Hugh Grant is almost always a character in romantic comedies.

Genre is a set of rules that make un-predicable events and unimaginable happenings become reality.  For instance horror films over time developed certain knowable characteristics which the audience began to recognize. These characteristics slowly developed into codes and conventions.  The film makers would encode the recognizable conventions and the audience decodes the conventions enhancing the audience’s satisfaction. An example would be of the early thriller ‘Psycho’ the music played when the character was stabbed; the piercing music became a recognized link with thriller films and is known worldwide. Repetition and difference in films has helped the audience acknowledge codes of genres and has helped develop audience pleasure, ensuring the audience return to the cinema allowing the filmmakers to communicate with the audience in future films.

Although there are codes and set rules for genres that are usually followed when making films, some film makers don’t play it safe, and steer away from the set characteristics of the genre ,that the audiences know so well and can experience pleasure when decoding . But films that stray away from the conventions of genre have worked, so this makes me think is genre and iconic codes that appeal to the audience so vital to developing genre and making a box office hit.

POST 3: Skills Table

In this table we reviewed all the skills we used last year and which ones will come in handy for this years coursework and which ones will be particularly useful to focus on this year
skills table 1
skills table 2
skills table 3

POST 2: Creativity

There are many ways a person can be creative, creativity is when you are able to come up with ideas and decisions that are unique and different, creativity is about having good ideas that are good and people like. Creativity is transforming something dull and boring into something bright and vibrant and interesting.


Consequences don't all necessarily make sense but as there are creative bring about ideas. I think that because the game consequences is based on different people just adding a noun or a verb ect it isn't being that creative as it doesn't involve using you imagination because the creative outcome is random due to other people being involved.


Examples of our consequences game

The lonely squirrel crys the orange chair
The ugly girl prays the dark hat
The amazing bed skipped the sparkling tampon
The awesome bench jumps the shiny staircase


The first example is mine and I have made a picture whilst being creative to illustrate what the picture would look like in real life. I used the software paint to make this picture, photoshop would have been a better choice of software as the tools available would be better to make the picture more professional but photoshop wasnt avaible. 

Definitions of 'creativeness'


Definition of creativity from wikipedia
Creative thought is a mental process involving creative problem solving and the discovery of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the existing ideas of concepts, fueled by the process of either conscious of unconscious insight. From a scientific point of view, the products of creative thought are usually considered to have both originality and appropriateness.
wikipedia definition of creativity


Definition of creativity by Northbridge university 
creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.
northbridge university definition


Definition of creativity by linda naiman 
"Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being...creativity requires passion and commitment
I define creativity as the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing. Innovation is the production or implementation of an idea. If you have ideas, but don't act on them, you are imaginative but 
not creative.
linda naimen


Definition of creativity by Peter media blog
The word 'creative' has many meanings- the most democratic meaning would really suggest that any act of making something (even making an idea) might be seen as a creative act. In more elitist versions of the term, it is reserved for those who are seen as highly skilled or original (famous artists, musicians, film-makers etc). an interesting third alternative is to think about how creativity can be an unconscious, random or collaborative act that becomes more than the sum of its parts.
Pete's media blog



It very hard to be creative when considering applying it to media. Media production whatever sort will have conventions, conventions are rules or codes that you have to follow to make sure your work is in the right genre and context. Due to the conventions causing you to follow set rules you cant be as creative as you dont have that freedom. You could be creative within the conventions but it does limit the creativity and would be hard to do something original.



For my independent study I was told to show how I can be creative, we were given a broad brief and we could choose to do anything that we wanted too. I chose to finger paint the word creative using a variety of colours.

Pen Creativity

In our first clip I think we were creative as we didnt use any language and we used the pen to tell a story, send out a message.

A2 POST 1: Skills

Definition of skill


A skill is the learned capacity to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum
outlay of time, energy, or both  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skills 


Proficiency, facility, or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training or experience. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/skill 


The ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well: Carpentry was one of his many skills http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/skill 






My Definition


My understanding of the word skills is a basic talent or technique which is developed and learnt so its easier for you to do.






There are many skills that I use in media within the production process these are how to use the equipment safely and to ensure you get the best possible effect. Another skill is how to use the editing software and the different editing effects that are available.

There are 2 different main types of skills the first is called technical skills these are ones that we use and learn to apply to the care and use of production equipment, for instance learning how to set up a camera and use the tripod properly. The second group of skills is called personal learning and thinking skills, these skills involve learning Team work, creativity, independent enquiry, reflective learning, self manages, effective participator. In class we developed an acronym to help us remember these skills:

(In Elephant Town Chris The Rhino Spread Marmite on his Egg Plant)