To develop our skills within making films and using the equipment we would for filming our Short film, myself and Abigail created a few animations. As we are following conventions and also creating Idents, this will essentially help us for when we come to create them also, and may even choose to create an animation as the Ident.
Our first animation enabled us to quickly pick up the basic skills of using a camera and how they work, introduced elements such as continuity into our filming, meaning we had to plan each step before we did it, and constantly ensure each shot lead on to the next (background stays in the same position and each part of the snowman melting fits onto the next). Showing we had to think about more than one aspect of the film at once, something we will need to be good at before filming our final film, to avoid any errors when making it and essentially saving time.
Our second animation is my personal favourite. Before making this animation we had to plan before filming it, another aspect we will have to do for our final film. Continuity had to be kept within the animation also to make sure each shot lead onto the next. We also added music to this Animation, learning not only about how to include music onto films but what sort of music you should choose to reflect the genre, in this case a playful happy song.
The next step we took towards research and planning, to work up to the point of ready to film was to story board the shots, and include brief notes on sound, shots, misce on scene etc. This is an essential thing to do before starting film, as without planning ahead it can cause problems and mistakes when filming, confusion with what you will be doing and time wasting of precious time on set, with actors, correct settings, resources etc.
Especially working within a group, to story board our ideas firstly means we can agree on what we will be doing, and ensure both people within the group have the same clear image of what the film will be like and what it portrays, giving clarity on the film for both makers.
Within our work, to show our abilty and variety of knowledge on camera angles is another essential to ensure we get the best marks for our abilty. However not only that but to create the best effective film, portraying each shot correctly means the correcrt camera angles/shots need to be carefully analysed to suit the scene. Story boarding gives you the time to experiment and do this, therefore improving your film and making it more enjoyable and effective for a viewer.
Below shows scans of our story boarding, showing a simple yet clear pictures, not going into too much detail with costume or props just yet, however establishing the essential basics, within important reaction shots, what camera shot/angle's are being used to their advantage with each scene, what sound we want in each scene and whether its over lapping the diagetic sounds or just subtly in the background.
After researching into thriller short films, Abigail and I feel very confident with our choice. We feel it is something we can really be creative with and enjoy. We now have the knowledge we need to manipulate conventions of thriller short films, into ours to make it more realistic and professional. We therefore feel ready to create out final synopsis for our short film.
Above is a picture of our final synopsis. It was important to make the synopsis to summarise our final plot for the short film. Also going into brief detail of any shot ideas, edits etc. This allows us to start doing in-depth plans of what we will need to plan before filming. Also as we are working in a group, we need to have an agreed plan of what we want to do, and the synopsis allows us to combine our ideas into one and build around it.
As you can see on the image, I layed out the time scale of our film, and created a diagram of how the viewer would see the plot and in what order. Obviously we wouldn't need to film in this specific order, however recording the two narratives and organising where they will go now will make it easier for when we come to the editing stage. I also did a time prediction, to get an understanding of how our limit of 5 minutes will pan out. And have colour coded the different narratives to be more clear.
This is also the stage were we decided to not include dialogue into our Short film. Many of the thriller short films we researched into didn't consist of large amounts of dialogue. They were all very brief to create the mysterious atmosphere. Also we felt the plot was so strong we wanted it to essentially speak for itself, the silence engages the audience as a technique making them want to be told more and know what is going on. The emphasis on diagetic sound such as breathing and footsteps will built tension, with any speech being spontaneous for the actors making it more realistic, and a good representation of real life.
We wanted to create a parallel narrative to create that intriguing and captivating story for the viewer. This can determin for a viewer to think and feel a wider range of responses by providing differing views or perspectives in experiencing and viewing the action. There are many aspects of the final narrative we have chosen. As it is considered a 'complex narrative structure', conventions such as (shown below), will be considered and studied by myself and Abigail to develop our work:
Repetition
Flashbacks
different character' point of view
different time frames
flash forwards
multiple plot lines converging at the end
pre-figuring of events that are yet to occur
backwards story telling, where the outcome is shown first and explained through the plot
As our decision of challenging Todorov's narrative theory, it sways to linking towards Claude Levi Strauss's. His theory reflects the binary oppositions. This means that Strauss looked at opposite values which reveal the strudture of media texts. For example 'Good' and 'Evil'. He did not look at the order in which the events occurred but the deeper meanings of themes. Conventional and common binary oppositions used in today's media include:
After researching into short films and trailers, and recording our initial ideas of what we want to do we have established we want to make a short film in the genre 'Thriller'. This therefore lead us onto research further into existing thriller short films.
Research Into The Thriller Genre
Thriller (also Suspense) is a broad genre of ,literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements.Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Thriller films tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists and cliffhangers are used extensively. A thriller is villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the hero must overcome. The aim for thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. Common methods and themes in crime thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, kidnappings. - Wikipedia.
Above I have took some initial research into 'Thriller' and underlined the key terms and conventions. A key point I found when watching thriller short films, is that they all have a twist to the storyline, this is most likely because the films are so short, that without a twist in the story, it would simply not be interesting.
Existing Thriller Short Films
Table 7- By Marko Slavic
Summary
I really like this short film. I like how it challenges Todorovs theory slightly as it introduces the 'distruption' almost at the very start of the film. I like the dual narrative effect, and the simplicity of it adding more suspense and mystery as to who is it is listening. I think that angles are done cleverly in creating a effect of obscurity in the second setting, and a sense of observing the couple on the table as if you were there. I think the use of dialogue is balanced perfectly to allow the viewer to think and take in what is going on. The ending is also very good, with a clever twist.
Scene 26 - By Rob Hardy
Summary
Scene 26 is defiantly the most obscure short film I have researched into so far. Having no dialogue makes it even more enjoyable as it leaves you on the edge of your seat, in suspense to what the man might find. Again it disrupts todorovs theory, by starting at the 'disruption' stage as straight away we see a man some what in danger. The film kept me engaged the whole time as I didn't want to miss anything that may have happened. The reality based plot makes it even more tense.
The Sandman- By Paul Berry
Summary
This is a truly fantastic animation. I love the style of it and how the simplicity of not having any fancy effects puts even more focus on the story and the tension being built. The innocence and fear of the young boy is portrayed very well, and includes great use of music. Again, it disrupts Todorovs theory by not going back to the 'equilibrium'. A what seems to be common technique for the 'thriller' genre.
Nought- By Jonathan Beamish
Summary
This film is the most obscure of the ones I have researched. I found the film on the Internet as I was researching into successful 'thriller' short films. It creates an incredible eerie effect and tells the story of a troubled young girl who seems to re-live an abusive past in a dream of her own making. The edits in the film really create a surreal effect, reminding me of a dark, scary version of Alice in Wonderland. The plot is very good and having no dialogue is very effective allowing the viewer to focus on the story. I feel this would link to both thriller and slight areas of 'horror', especially when the man appears from under the bed. There are also some very effective shots, including the long shots which are very scenic, and the transition shot as it goes up to the sky then back down.
Target Audience
After researching into thriller short films it has enabled me to gain more knowledge on the target audience of 'thriller', something I need to be aware of before making my short film. Like many genres, thriller has many sub-genres, which split the genre up depending on the type of film. For example some films are just normal thriller, with a twisting plot, obscure story and constant builds of tension and suspense. However others could borderline 'horror', being both. Or even be linked into children's stories for a children's audience but still a thriller, e.g The Sandman.
The type of person who would appeal more towards a film of the thriller genre would be into intrigue and mystery, with a twist. Or an interesting plot, where they can get involved and try and work out what is going on for themselves, keeping them constantly thinking, yet still enjoying the element of surprise.
There are many options for myself an Abigail, however we want to create a 'thriller' short film, that is mysterious, obscure and sinister. Appealing to the thrill seekers and allowing them to work out what is going on for themselves. Also as we are both 17/18 we feel the best age group to aim at is 16-25 years old.
Also a clear convention of most thriller films is to disrupt Todorovs theory in some way, therefore allowing the viewer to try and predict what will happen next, without it being predictable.
For the making of the film, I am going to be working alongside a peer, Abigail Stafford. We agreed to work together as we have similar styles and techniques within media and feel it appropriate to combine our individual skills to create a great piece of work. We work extremely well together and will both contribute personal ideas to create one short film.
To begin the process into the planning of our own film, we made initial Mind Map diagrams. This was to just both put down any ideas or relevant knowledge that we had. After researching into existing short films and film trailers, it gave me a wider opinion on genre's for example, showing the ways in which different genres are portrayed within film and how this effects the type of target audience.
On out first mind map, shown above, we briefly put down our main ideas and options we had to make before moving further within the making. Our first option was whether to create a short film or film trailer, after researching both. Also what audience we wanted our short film to aim at. This is a crucial decision within the making, as it effects how we would decide other things within it further on. Our narrative ideas/plot were also recorded. These were just options we were drawn to and feel what we could work best on to develop it into a good story. Genre's were also noted, giving the options we would essentially again want to work on, or feel we would do best. After analysing existing film's, and focusing in depth on the use of camera angles and shots which create a good frame and work effectively to help portray an event or situation, we also put down some techniques that we were influenced by and definitely wanted to try and use within our work and try and fit them in where suitable within filming.
Our second mind map, was a recording of the development of our initial idea's. After looking at the options we had from our first mind map, we unanimously decided on what we wanted to do and then developed these into more in-depth idea's. We decided that we wanted to create a Short film. This was a joint decision, in which we both felt more confident in portraying, and had more ideas for. We wanted to create and intriguing and engaging story line and to do this we felt a Short film would be a more appropriate decision to do this. The second diagram shows how we started to establish a Narrative story/plot. We wanted to take a risk within our film and chose to 'distrupt' Todorov's Narrative theory (briefly mentions in research into short films).
Above is our third and final mind map we created. This was a more in-depth brief summary of our initial plans. It shows we have established a clear idea of what we want to do, the plot, and the genre. We have also starting to look into what we want to name the film. The dual narrative idea is something we definitely wanted to keep with and working more into each side of the plot is also referenced.
