Evaluation: How effective is the combination

Evaluation

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Evaluation: How did you use media technologies in the construction, research and planning stages?

Technology

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Evaluation 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challange forms and conventions of real media products?

How do your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions?

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Evaluation : What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I filmed three people to gain valuable audience feedback about my short film.  All three were suitable for my aspired target audience.  Sarah Tye is part of a female audience that I hoped would watch my short film, she enjoys watching films and this means that she was able to be constructively critical of my short film.  Sarah is also a student and this means that she has only some spare time to do what she enjoys; watching films; this means that short films are ideal for her as they don't take up a lot of her time.

Rebecca Fox is a seventeen year old student who works part time in an electrical store.  This experience in her work place allowed her to be able to be critical of the short film in terms of the technology used; however this was also advantageous as she was sympathetic to the fact that I had very limited resources in terms of technology.  Again, she was part of the gender group I hoped my short film would appeal to.

Audience feedback Sarah Tye, Rebecca Fox and Becky Tye

The first feedback I received was from Sarah Tye, she was very positive about the short film and gave me constructive criticism about the things that she felt could be improved.  The feedback she gave was on the whole very positive and I feel that this gives evidence that my short film was successful for somebody that matches my aspired target audience.

The second lot of feedback that I received was from Rebecca Fox, she is a member of my Media Studies class and has worked on her own short film so knows the amount of work that goes into creating a short film.  The feedback was positive, she not only spoke about the positives of the story line but also the technical aspects "there was two different types of the characters...that it was done in black and white in some things but colour in others."  She also discussed the effective use of music working alongside the scenes.

The final piece of audience feedback I received was from Becky Tye, she gave me a lot of constructive criticism, but made it clear that if it was not for the lack of technology the film would be very good.  She is a student in my media studies class so is understanding of the fact that the technology available is not of the best quality.

From this I have learnt that:

• I need to manage my time better so as to have time for contingencies; I needed to film the funeral scene again but I did not manage my time well enough to be able to do this.
• Furthermore it was felt that I needed to maybe follow a more chronological order as this would give the short film more flow.
• The minimal audio I have included in my short film may have been better if it was a bit louder.
• Also if time and money wasn't really an issue I feel that better technology would be available to me which would make my short film a lot better.

My film review

This is the first draft of my media coursework film review.  It is typically unconventional and was very easy to create.  The fonts that I used were unconventional and i feel that the placing of the image also did not work well here.  The use of colour, although a good idea, did not work well either as it was minimal and did not represent the colours that would usually be found in film reviews.  The star rating although a conventional part of a film review does not work well because of where it is placed.  All of these things I felt needed to be changed, and this led to my second draft...

This is the second draft of my media coursework film review.  It is a lot more conventional and shows a lot more organisation than that of my previous attempt.  The layout is much more conventional as it follows the layout of a lot of other one page film reviews.  The image is better placed, as it is now in a prominent position that is easily noticeable.  I feel that this helped my piece as it captures the attention of the audience quicker.  The changes to the colour scheme also help to improve the final layout and general design of the film review page.  The fonts that I chose to include in this draft also work a lot better as they are once again conventional of a film review page; the fonts are easily readable and are more inviting to read from the point of view of the audience.  I did, however, go on to create a third and final draft of my film review.  This draft allowed me to change small parts of the review to make it look more professional...

This is the final draft of my media coursework film review.  In my opinion it is of a lot higher standard than my first attempt and now does resemble a film review magazine.  I have included the use of threee columns, as would be seen in magazines which shown my final peice to be of a professional standard.  The use of the same bullet points and fonts throughout also keep the review looking professional.  I chose to keep this as my final draft because it looked the most professional and 'polished' of the reviews I had created.

However audience research also found that this was not the case, some people that I asked suggested that they would be more inclined to read the first draft of my film review as it tended to catch their attention more.  Furthermore, they said that it seemed that the fonts used captured the essence of the films storyline better.

Ideology

The short film I have created does not question our core beliefs.  The storyline of my short film is one that a lot of people could relate to if not realistically but as if it could happen to them.  The idea of a life-long friendship and the scenes of mourning and grief on Jasmine's behalf do not question the ideologies of the audience as most would agree with this line of action.  An audience will want to be able to relate to the characters, this identification is normally only possible with an ideal film that does not challenge the beliefs of the audience.
In my opinion my short film has a naturalised ideology which the audience will see as 'normal', this in the short run makes my film more appealing to a wider audience.  On the other hand in the long run my film may attract more of a niche audience because it allows for identification with the characters at a more personal level also.

My short film FINAL PEICE!!

My Film Poster

I prefer the colour in this draft however am an unsure of the fonts that I used.

This is my final film poster, I considered the strengths and weaknesses of my draft posters, and incorporated this to create my final peice.

Research into published film reviews

Before creating my film review I researched the design and style of existing film reviews, especially those in magazines.  I found that a majority of film reviews are either a single A4 page or are a doublepage spread. I feel that the doublepage spread option however looks too busy as it often contains great numbers of picturesl; for this reason I am going to create a single page film review with just the one image.

This double page spread has minimal text and a lot of pictures - not what I want.

This single page spread has a lot more text and just the one image - what I would prefer to complete

I also researched the general layout of text on a film review and found the following websites helpful with this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4570000/newsid_4578300/4578326.stm
http://www.kaarina24.fi/lukio/mm2/i/Movie%20review%202.pdf

RECCE

 This shot of Lewis Road will be the location on which I will shoot the two older friends walking home from their day out with each other.

 Both of the above images are of the same location, this location will be for the funeral scene of the friend.  I have chosen this location because it has a look of peace with it.  This I feel would be an ideal location for a funeral scene without having to actually film at a cemetery.

 This location is of the stairs which the friend will fall down when she dies, I have chosen this location as it could resemble stairs to a flat or university halls, of which both are feasible accommodation for a girl of the age I am trying to portray.

 These photos show the location of the first scene with the two younger friends, this scene will be the two girls walking down the steps towards their first day of school.

 These two above images represent the reverse shot location of the scene with the younger girls walking to school, this will show the girls walking towards the school and into the door.

This location will be used for the scenes in which the two younger girls are playing together, this I feel will be an ideal location as it represents a childhood of friendship, it could also be a location either at the girls school or near to either of their houses.



I will also be filming in a bedroom, this will be for a shot of sleepovers and for the two older girls getting ready.

work so far

This is the work I have produced so far.

Audience and Genre

Audience
Age- the target age for my short film will be between sixteen and twenty four.  This target audience age will be ideal for my short film as it demonstrates the ages of the girls in the short film and this will allow for the audience to relate to the characters better.
Gender- my target audience will be mostly of a female gender.  I have chosen this to be my target audience because they will be able to relate to the characters a lot easier than a male.
Lifestyle- the lifestyle of my target audience will be as such; they will be students or young workers, they will have a minimal disposable income if they are in the higher end of the age bracket and will only occasionally enjoy a night out.  The people in the lower age bracket will have an increased disposable income but will only also enjoy the occasional night out, although this will still be more than that of the older age bracket.  They will spend the majority of their evenings at home either watching television, on the internet or working/studying.
Interests- the target audience will be well cultured people that will understand the meaning of the short film. They will have a keen interest into the theatre and the arts in general.  They will enjoy reading a range of genres but will typically like chick lit novellas, fantasy novels and crime detective novels.   They will watch a range of television programmes; not only consisting of documentaries but also reality shows, soap operas and dramas.
Mass market!- I have found that I will be appealing to mass market with my product.

Genre
The genre of my film would be in my opinion a short drama.  I have implemented elements of other dramas into my short film.  My film, as in other dramas, deals with realistic characters and emotional themes.

OCR 's exemplar students work

After looking at a blog that I found on the OCR media studies website I have found that there are certain things that I should include to help my blog become more informative and visual.
The blog I looked at http://mjmgwpahsa2media.blogspot.com/ included many short recordings of audience feedback and analysis of her work.  I feel that this helps the blog to become a lot more visual and more interactive with the audience.
She also included a lot of analysis of previous texts, this has helped her work become a lot more in depth and of better quality.
The video analysis posts include information about what the videos include which help to elaborate upon the post.

Ideology of the genre & Audience pleasures

Ideology of the Genre

Short Film Posters

Below are some examples of short film posters.  As one of my ancillary tasks is to create a poster for my short film I have decided to deconstruct some of the current posters for other short films.

The poster below is for  2008 film about a girl struggling to mask the pain from years of sexual abuse, she finds herself trapped in a secret addiction.  But when her mother refuses to believe the truth about her father, Joy tries to find her own way out.

Below is the image of a 2008 film called Le tonneau des Danaides, it is a french film, however I found that the poster was very effective.
In the desert, a man is buried to his neck in the sand.  A brunette dressed in red walks away without paying any attention to him.  After escaping from the sand, he will head to the horizon to meet his woman.
Le Tonneau des Danaides translates into English as the Bottomless Pit.

Editing and compression of time.

Continuity editing creates an illusion of things happening in real time.  Very few texts choose to have screen time and real time matching.  This is mainly due to the time frame being so short.  Music videos and short films unfortunately have even tighter time frames.

Montage editing
Montage editing is a style of editing which brings together related clips and juxtaposes them to an event of something that is taking place at the time of filming.  This style of editing often is accompanied by music to add to the drama of the scene.

I have decided to use a little bit of montage editing in my final piece as this will add to the dramatic effect that I aim to create for my film.

First draft

Below is a first draft of my media coursework.  I have not edited on a voiceover of the poem as yet but will do for the final piece.  There is also some clips missing that I originally planned to include in the film, these again will be added for my final product.

Shots.

• For the scene by the graveside I realise that I need to have a long shot of the whole group of friends, followed by a cut to a close up of the best friend being comforted by another friend.
• The first shot in the graveside scene will show the whole group of friends around the grave but will include a close up tracking shot of the faces.
• The scene with the two younger girls making friends during school will be a mid to long-shot.  I will work so as to incorporate both of girls into the shot throughout the whole scene.  This will mean that the whole scene will show the two friends together... as they were throughout their entire friendship... not split up.
• With the scene of the two friends walking towards school down the steps I will use a zoom towards the top of the steps.  This will allow for the two girls to be recognised as those in the previous scene but will also show them to be happy together but also nervous... it is going to be their first day of secondary school together.  The camera will zoom out as they walk down the steps and follow the two girls into the school.
• I plan to include a scene showing the two friends to be older, once they have left school and are catching up with one another, and this will be a mid to long-shot.  However I may plan to include a point of view shot that will show each friend from the others point of view... this I feel may work better than the mid-shot as it also helps the film to have a variety of shots but will also show the friends from each others point of view.
• The scene of the two younger girls playing, having fun etc, will use a long shot of the two girls skipping.  They will skip towards the camera so I will not need to zoom.  I may include a shot of the two girls sitting and playing together "hairdressers" this will further promote the fact that they have been friends for a long time and show that they have always been close.  This will be a long shot.  This scene also includes the two girls sitting playing clapping games.  This I feel will look best as a long shot which zooms into a mid shot and finally a close up of their clapping hands.
• For the extended scene of the friends together then one of them dying I will use a lot of close ups and tracking shots.  My first close up will be of the friends getting ready to go out.  This will be shot as similar to the draft piece with the girls using the camera as a sort of mirror for putting on their make up.  I may also include a mid shot of the two girls comparing dresses, outfits.  I have reconsidered the idea of the shot of the girls walking down the road together, this shot will now be a tracking shot from the side then to the front, this will extend the shot but will also allow me to experiment further with the handling of the camera for different shots.  I feel that for the shot of the friend falling down and dying I will use two different shots for this.  I will have a camera at the bottom of the stairs which she falls down, this will help to capture a shot of the friend falling as I feel this also would be more dramatic.  I will use a second camera to capture the fall from above, this will then show the fall more clearly. I also anticipate to have a close up of the friends face after she has fallen, this I feel will add more drama and effect to the final shot of the scene.
  
• Close ups of the mourning friend will have to be varied.  I have decided this as I have the same shot repeated in places throughout my draft.  I will hope to include a close up of the friend being comforted.  I will also include a mid-shot of the friend laying flowers on her friends grave.  Furthermore I will use a close-up shot of the friend alone crying.

Other stuff

• Costume
• Young girls
• skirt/jeans
• tshirt
• hair in bunches/ponytail
• Teenage girls
• leggings and top
• hair down, styled
• flat shoes
• older girls
• smarter wear
• trousers
• smart top
• black shoes
• sleepover girls
• pyjamas
• dressing gown
• slippers
• hair up
• mourning friend
• black dress
• hair down
• going out as friends
• skirts
• heels
• fashion tops
• school
• school uniform
• prom??
• prom dresses??
• party dresses??

• Transitions
• I will use a variety of transitions during my short film.  I plan on using the idea of fade to white and fade to black transitions respectively of whether it will cut to a happy memory of the friendship or a cut to the friend mourning or a graveside scene.
• I will use a cross zoom transition when the memories change to the night of the friends death, the transitions from here will then be cross blurs, this will emphasise the confusion and lost feeling that the friend would now be feeling now that her friend has died.

call sheets

My Target audience.

Mood Board

This short film, which I found on youtube, gave me a lot of inspiration for my short film.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/85HDu87TGy0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The following quotes that I also found gave me inspiration.  I will likely have some of these shown within my short film.

• God gave us memories that we might have roses in December.  - J.M. Barrie, Courage, 1922
  
• What we remember from childhood we remember forever - permanent ghosts, stamped, inked, imprinted, eternally seen.  - Cynthia Ozick
• A happy childhood can't be cured.  Mine'll hang around my neck like a rainbow, that's all, instead of a noose.  - Hortense Calisher, Queenie, 1971
• Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.
• They taught me how to imagine, and how to dream. They gave me wonderful memories, and left footprints on my heart.
• Friends are the most important part of your life.  Treasure the tears, treasure the laughter but most importantly treasure the memories. - Dave Brenner
• Friendship is like a violin; the music may stop now and then but the strings will last forever.
• We are our memories. Our memories underpin every thought we have, every fact we learn and every skill we acquire.
  
  

  This image is one that shows that from a young age the two were great friends and enjoyed being in each others company.

  
  

  

  This image shows the two together at an older age still enjoying each others company and sharing hobbies.

  
  

  This image is one that I feel shows the close friendship of the two even when they are so much older.

  
  

  The above images, I have considered to replicate in shots of my of my short film as they represent the close friendship my two characters will have together.

  
  

Research Methods

There are four types of research methods.
The first is Primary Research, this research method requires the research to be carried out personally.  This  research method is one of the better ones to use as you can find reliable information and also you are guaranteed to get an answer.  This information can be gathered in the forms of:

• questionnaire
• interview
• textual analysis
• survey
• online poll
• focus groups
• email
• text
• letter

The second method of research is Secondary Research, this method of research gathers information from other people and sources.  This research method is one that is good to use as it allows you to gather the information that you may require but don't have access to find the information yourself.  One disadvantage however is that the information you may find may not be reliable.  Places you can find this information can include:

• internet
• books
• newspapers/magazines

Qualitative Research is largely based upon smaller numbers of people, which helps to gain a perspective of peoples opinions.

Whilst quantitative is research that finds any patterns or trends, it involves asking large numbers of people. generally in a questionnaire.

Back to Solitude - A short silent film with narrative voiceover.

Back to Solitude
http://vimeo.com/27764822

This short film does incorporate some of the ideas I have had for my short film.  These include the flashback, and quick editing clips.  Along with this I am hoping to include a voiceover, although mine will be a narrative poem and not of the short film.
My poem will be used as a narrative for the short film, however will not describe all of that which is happening within the film.

Ferry Poetry: A Short Film by Anna Bing

Ferry Poetry: A Short Film by Anna Bing

This short film is similar to the style that I want to have for my own short film, even though the language is foreign and therefore I do not understand it, the short film is a silent one with a poem voiceover.  This is the style that I had originally planned to use, and although I will not use the Bob Dylan style with the boards with the lyrics on, I will use the silent film aspect with voiceover.

Final screen play ideas.

1. Friend standing at her friends graveside.
2. Two young girls making friends.  At a desk, drawing together - sharing pencils.  Close up of them together.
3. The same two girls playing after school at a park.
4. Close up side shot of an older girl crying.
5. The two girls walking to school.
6. The two girls together at a sleepover.
7. The girls in a bedroom doing make up etc.
8. Another close up of an older girl crying.
9. The two older girls meeting for coffee.
10. The two girls shopping (wedding dress?????)
11. The two girls out together, walking home.
12. One of the girls alone walking towards home - collapsing.
13. The older girl at her friends graveside laying flowers.
14. Credits

At intervals throughout the piece I will include four quotes.  These quotes have been chosen for their effectiveness during the scenes they are included within.  They have been placed strategically within the screenplay and will come onto the scene at the bottom of the screen.

The four quotes I have chosen are:

1. Friendship is like a violin; the music may stop now ad then but the strings will last forever.
2. A happy childhood can't be cured.  Mine'll hang around my neck like a rainbow, thats all, instead of a noose. - Hortense Calisher
3. Friends are the most important part of your life.  Treasure the tears, treasure the laughter but most importantly treasure the memories. - Dave Brenner
4. Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.

I have highlighted the scenes in which the quotes will occur.

I need to do...

Costume
Young girls

• skirt/jeans
• tshirt
• hair in bunches/ponytail

Teenage girls

• leggings and top
• hair down, styled
• flat shoes

older girls

• smarter wear
• trousers
• smart top
• black shoes

sleepover girls

• pyjamas
• dressing gown
• slippers
• hair up

mourning friend

• black dress
• hair down

going out as friends

• skirts
• heels
• fashion tops

school

• school uniform

prom??

• prom dresses??
• party dresses??

Locations

• classroom in school
• bedroom/medical room
• lewis road/school grounds
• park

Props

• flowers
• paper
• pencils

I NEED!

• somebody to read my poem - with emotion
• two people to be the older friends

Possible titles

• Friends forever
• a true friend
• friendship
• angels apart...friends together
• never forgotten

Trial shots.

The following scenes are only trial shots.  They have allowed me to choose which camera shots would work best for my final product.  I have considered the angle of the shots more throughly now and know which shots I will use.  For example I will do a lot of the crying/sad shots as a side shot of the people.

Audience Theory

Uses and Gratifications Theory

• audiences are active receivers of meaning/ideas/values/messages - they do things with the text for their own gratification/satisfaction.
• Music videos

Many audiences watch music videos for the following reasons, most of the below reasons are due to the passiveness of absorbing information.

1. seeing what you like
2. to update your phone or ipod to have the latest music.
3. human desire to know what was new
4. story telling - entertainment
5. the dress and attitude - associations.

• Short films

1. moving poetry - a limited time to create a meaning.

Hypodermic Needle Effect/Magic Bullet Theory

• the mass media s so powerful that it can target the audience directly with an messages it has.
• argues that media audiences are passive receivers of meaning/ideas/values/messages.

Digital Technology

To produce my short film I will be required to use forms of digital technology. Each item of digital technology that I use will ensure that my short film will be produced to the highest standard possible.
I will use a Digital Video Camera to record my footage.  To ensure that my footage is of a high quality I will also use a Camera Tripod.  The below images are similar to the items that I will use in producing my short film.

To edit my shot film I will upload my footage to an Apple Mac, on this I will use the programme iMovie.  This programme will allow me to edit my footage so that I can create a professional looking final piece.  As can be seen in my preliminary task final product I have grown to be adept to using iMovie and creating an affective and well put together piece.  As I have more time to complete my main task I feel that this will work to my advantage and allow me to create an improved and better short film. Below are two images which illustrate the Apple Mac and iMovie programme, both of which I will use to my advantage so as to create my short film.

Short Film

I plan on having the following poem read alongside the short film.

A teardrop fell upon my hand

Another followed soon

We met when we were schoolgirls new

and our friendship quickly bloomed.

We’d spend our days arm in arm,

When the September leaves did blow,

These were our carefree friendship times

and our happiness did grow.

Hours we’d spend together,

a friendship flourishing upon the basis of forever.

We’d promise our friendship for all eternity,

Knowing it to be true

We had so much in common, were always able to talk,

Yet, 

Some things you couldn’t tell me,

You chose to face them alone...

The world was your only friend

and your summer leaves did blow.

I wish now I’d knew.

Knew of your likely demise,

I’d have prepared myself,

Learnt that every second with you was precious,

Learnt that I would soon be lost of a friend. 


The idea of two friends, they have been friends since childhood, as they reach a momentous point in their life a tragic accident kills one of the friends.  Throughout the reading of the poem it will show the other friends memories of their friendship.


The majority of the film will be of the friends memories.  Below is the list of the memories that will be included however they are not in the order that they will appear in the film just yet.

• The two girls sitting next to each other at a desk - it is their first day of primary school together.
• The two girls in a school playground.
• The girls shopping together.
• The girls at each others houses - sleepovers etc.
• Clips of the birthdays the two girls have celebrated over the years.
• Walking to their first day at secondary school together.
• The girls at each others houses getting ready for parties etc.
• The girls together at prom.
• The girls are now grown up, they both have jobs but do all they can to see each other.
• One of the girls has a baby.
• The other is planning on getting married.

The accident that kills the friend.

• The two girls are out together two weeks before the girl is due to get married.
• The girls are walking back home together, as they take their separate routes home the friend that isn't getting married dies - she has unknown heart problems and with no one around to see it happen has a heart attack and dies.

Throughout the film there will be shots of the friend that was due to get married mourning her friend.  Such scenes will include:

• Close-ups of the friend crying.
• The friend laying flowers on her friends grave.
• The friend being given her friends baby to look after.

Famous Directors of Short film

Pinny Grylls

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JFTGBmX19VQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

• an award winning documentary film maker.
• she founded the Birds Eye View film festival in 2002.
• in 2001, as a partnership, she co-founded Invisible Films.
• her 2007 short online documentary "Peter and Ben" has attracted over 360,000 online views.
• she was quoted as calling it a "gentle, lyrical film."
• she has won multiple awards for each of her films.
• her style has been described by fans and critics as left-field and quirky.  It has also been said that she has a unique eye for human behavioral detail.
• she has created seven independent short films and 13 commissioned films.  a small proportion of these commisioned films, "Seeing a Song" and "Bravo" were televised.
• for "Peter and Ben" alone in 2008-2009 she received six nominations for awards, of which she won five. 

(Channel 4 New Talent Award Nominee 2008 (Pinny Grylls)
FourDocs Best Documentary Award 2008 (Peter and Ben)
Vauxhall VX Auteur Award 2008 (Pinny Grylls)
Best Documentary Aspen Shorts Fest 2008 (Peter and Ben)
The Grand Jury Prize in SXSouthWest Click 2009 (Peter and Ben)Winner of The Shooting People Werner Herzog Competition 2009
Winner of The Shooting People Werner Herzog Competition 2009

COURSEWORK!!

I have decided that for my A2 coursework I will be creating a short film, I have decided that this will be the bets option for me as it is the one that most appeals to me from the three options.

I have not set a genre yet, although looking at other short films on Youtube has shown me that many have a deeper meaning to them, so I will take into consideration this when I do set my genre.

I have considered the best way to create a dramatic short film and have looked at how other short film producers have done this.

One idea that I do have is to have a silent film, much like an older short film and the one I put into my textual analysis post, "Memories", both these however use music and sound to replace speech as the way of describing actions and emotions. I plan to do similar, should I choose this idea, by having a narrator reading a poem or passage alongside a silent film.

Conventions from short films that I may include in my own work.

• I feel that the short film "memories" has a very powerful emotional effect on the audience, I think that this has come from the fact the film is silent apart from the music and sounds that can be heard; there is no dialogue but you still know the emotions that the main character is feeling.

• Also in the film "memories" the shots that are the flashback scenes are saturated so that it is easily distinguishable what scenes are present and past.

• I will use a tripod for the majority of my filming as this will ensure that my shots are clear.  However I will use handheld shots for effect.

• As in Black Button I do intend to have some scenes of suspense, however due to the genre of the short film I will not use this is excess.

• As in many low budget short films, I will have minimal locations.  This will allow me to create an effective piece without having to diversify into a lot of different locations.

• I will use camerawork, such as the types of shots, that reflects the mood of the moment in the film.

• As in the short film tick tock I will fade in my music at the start of the film.

• I may also reverse some of the footage, as in tick tock.

• In tick tock there is also a restricted and an unrestricted narrative, this is something that may help to improve my short film.

• In the film black button there is an enigma code happening from the very start of the film, this will be reflected in my short film.  The enigma code will be the opening scenes of the graveyard.

• Black button also makes references to what the film is about (hell/god), this is something that I will use in my short film also, making the references to the past and present.

• I will also use an altered saturation for scenes to make more of an impact and differentiate them from other parts of the films.

• Furthermore I will use fast cuts so that I can create a build up of tension in my short film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w14v4vGUDdg - ticktock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrKnhOJ-R80 - black button

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85HDu87TGy0 - memories

The Dogme Collective

• The Dogme collective movement began in 1995, it was started by two Danish directors, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.
• The duo produced ten rules to which the Dogme films must conform to, these rules were also referred to as "The Vow of Chastity".
• The genre gained international appeal due to its accessibility. 

The Ten Rules

1. Filming must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in. If a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found.
2. The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. Music must not be used unless it occurs within the scene being filmed, i.e., diegetic.
3. The camera must be a hand-held camera. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. The film must not take place where the camera is standing; filming must take place where the action takes place.
4. The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable (if there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.
6. The film must not contain superficial action (murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden (that is to say that the film takes place here and now).
8. Genre Movies are not acceptable.
9. The film format must be Academy 35 mm.
10. The director must not be credited.

This website below I found really useful when I was looking for more information about short films.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/dec/19/short-films-documentary-animation-viral

Function at the Junction

During a media lesson we watched, as a group, a short film made in 2002 about a Northern Soul dance competition in the 1970's. The main story line is of a northern soul dance competition in a club, the owner of the club is doing bets for the winners of the competition, to make sure he makes lots of money he tries to sabotage the chances of the favourite.

This film had a large budget in comparison to films such as the Lumeire Brothers, at £14,000. This budget helped to ensure that the film was professional looking. The film was made in 2002, and consisted of fairly unknown actors, typical of short films and ones on a smaller budget.

The Lumiere Brothers

In a media lesson yesterday we watched some videos that were made in the late 1800's and early 1900's by the Lumiere Brothers. The Lumiere Brothers, from France, created the first ever films upon the invention of the cinema camera. Most of the original footage, as can be seen in the video below, was just of everyday life. However, in 1895 when this footage was shot and viewed, as it was new technology people were still impressed.

The cinematographe itself was patented on 13th February 1895 and the first ever footage to be recorded using it was on 19th March 1895.

The longest recording they had was just 49 seconds long.