Costume and Make Up - Meg

      
We need to create the illusion that the two characters in the short film are adults. Dani and Curtis are going to be the main characters, and as we are only teenagers, we want to convey that they are adults through costume, location and make up.
 



We think the woman, Dani, should appear to be in her early to mid 30's, and this will be believable because she will be leaving an office, getting into a nice car and driving to a nice big home. She  will be dressed in smart clothes (black skirt and a white shirt) with her hair probably tied in a bun to show that she is sophisticated. She will also be wearing normal make up (mascara and foundation) so that she looks older and respectable.

We want to create the idea that the male character, Curtis, is breaking into the house to steal things. This is stereotypical for male characters to be used in films to be the criminals, especially when its burglary. Because of this, we want him to be wearing all black, and possible a hat to conceal his identity. The man will then look threatening and like a burglar. He doesn't need make up, except maybe a smudge of black on his face to make him look dirty and like he's already tried breaking in.

Sound Design -Sam & Curtis

Sound Design

• Throughout our short film we will need the perfect soundtrack to match the images on screen in order to build up tension and suspense for the audience.
• We will use a fairly stereotypical Thriller soundtrack in order to to build suspense and tension.
• We will use foleys to increase the noise of the woman dropping the keys, and trying to unlock the door to build suspense.
• We will use non diegetic sounds for foleys such as the woman dropping her keys on the floor.
• Music will not be played throughout the whole short film. We will stress the silence of when the man appears to be burgling, and using the soundtrack when the woman is driving home/entering into the house.
• We have very limite dialogue and this should be relatively easy to shoot as it will be indoors, and there shouldn't be too much off screen noise - we will control the silence. The dialogue be happening at the end, there will be a couple of lines exchanged between the two characters.
• The soundtrack that we have chosen fits the intended mood for the film, it builds suspense and tension, as well as increasing the tempo. This was key as we wanted to unsettle the audience and make them feel the intensity of the piece.
• The soundtrack will only be playing when the male character appears to be breaking into the house, when it switches to the female driving towards the location (fast shots), it wont be playing. This fast cross-cutting between the two characters with the right soundtrack will work well in creating intensity/suspense to the piece.

Script - Dani & Curtis & Sam

Our short film has no dialogue until the very end when the wife arrives at the house and speaks to the male character.

The female walks through the door after work, seeing a moving figure in the dark she becomes worried and fears it's a burglar.

Male: You alright babe? I lost my keys (concerned)

Female: I've had a really stressful day, I've lost my engagement ring! I've had the neighbours ringing me; I thought someone was breaking into our house? (shocked yet relieved)

Prop research -Sam

Here are a list of props we will use to ensure the film matches stereotypical Thriller props:

Wedding ring-                                                  

The ring will come into frame in a few shots as close ups to confirm a link between the two characters. The link will be made apparent at the end when the dialogue mentions how one of them lost their wedding ring.












Keys-

Used when they are dropped on the floor, it increases tempo, suspense and stress out character in the shot. When found it may educate the audience that he was just in fact looking for his keys, and that he wasn't a burglar!










Car-

The car will be used to drive from one location to another, the car will appear to be driving very fast with quick and snappy shots to increase the tempo and build suspense for the audience.

Inital Group Decisions - Dani Curtis

Genre/Style:

• We have chosen a suspense and drama theme with elements of a thriller as it is a good way to engage the audience into the film, being a suspense means they would be intrigued into knowing what is resolution as they promote a high level of anticipation. This mixed with a drama causes an element of surprise as the whole suspense that has built up completely fools the spectator into misconceiving the outcome.

Narrative: 

• The narrative for our film will be in linear format as the events happen in chronological order, as a result the spectator can view the film according to when the events happen. More or less in the perspective of the male character who is as it seems to the audience 'breaking into the house' to help provide and add to the suspense which is building up throughout.

Target Audience:

• As a group we have decided that our demographic is young to middle aged adults, this is because our short film is quite complex so it is not really suitable or aimed at children, also because of the surprise outcome they may not understand what it is about. Also fans of suspense and surprise would be part of our target audience as these are the key elements in our short film. We believe adults can relate to certain events and the lifestyle within the film as the characters are within the age range. 

Representation:

• In our short film in terms of social groups, middle class is being represented. The two characters (the male and female) will be portrayed as middle class citizens through the mise en scene i.e. nice clothes, a car each, nice house etc. 
• The male character will be represented as being a evil, cold hearted robber who is breaking into someones house, the antagonist is what he will be viewed as. However the views will soon change as the audience will then realize he has just forgot his keys. 
• The female character will be represented as an innocent victim of a crime, due to it being projected that her house is the one being broken into. 

Our 3 Best Idea's - Meg Sam Dani

We've had three idea's which we've all come up with and have brainstormed each of them..
We've all decided that we want a to great a sinister scene for the first 90% of the short film, which makes you believe you're watching a thriller, however at the end, the mood lightens into a different genre which we are not decided on yet.
Our idea's include:

An empty house
An empty treehouse
An empty garage.

We like the idea of the location being empty because it raises lots of questions and encourages the spectator to be active.

Our mindmaps:


Treehouse

Garage

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Empty House

Allocation Of Roles - Dani

Control of:

Meg - Lighting and filming
Sam - Props and filming
Dani - Costume,filming and female character
Curtis - Filming, editing and male character

Location thoughts - Meg

One of our idea's involves a treehouse, so I took some pictures of a treehouse by my house incase we decide to use it.

This is the front of the treehouse

 

This is the first floor of the treehouse

 

This is my brother on the top of the treehouse.

 

The treehouse has been made bigger since these pictures.

Initial Research -Sam

1)‘The Last Man On Earth’

Directed by Carlo Ortu with production lasting until 2011, found and watched at BBC Short Films: http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p00pf28k

Summary:

The film is fairly self-explanatory; it is about a man who seems to be the last man on earth after an ‘event’ which the audience do not know about however, as he goes to kill himself his phone rings confirming he isn’t the last man on earth.

I chose this film because the idea of being the last man on earth struck as something interesting to me, from the title the film could have had any kind of story to it for example how he became ‘The Last Man On Earth’. The film was also very interesting in the fact that you want to know what the ‘event’ was which made him the supposing last man on earth, as well as leaving the audience on a cliff hanger at the end of the film.

Representation:

No real social group is represented throughout this short film due to him being the last man on earth, and he or anybody chooses to live out their life how they please being the last ‘one’.

The genre of the film is set as ‘comedy’ which if made aware to the audience then they would know that it’s not a serious dramatic apocalyptic film, and however is one with a twist of humour.

The representation of the only character in the film as that being the last man on earth has hit him hard, is in ragged clothes and roughed up with hair and make-up. We are un-aware of his social status/groups due to the situation in the film.

·There is no real stereotypical suggestions which could be made towards this man due to us the audience not knowing enough about the character and his status or occupation for example.
 

Narrative:

The story of the film is very basic in the fact that he cannot stand being the only one left decides to kill himself. It’s similar with the plot also, the events in the film of him not being able to find a fellow man and kill himself are due to loneliness that many man/woman would suffer if they were in this situation… it’s a causes with predictable outcomes.

The film is carried out in a narrative form where we are almost flung in half-way through a film as we don’t see the ‘event’ but it’s the start of the film, and continues in a linear pattern to the end. I feel in doing this it makes the audience engaged with the film and let them decide what happened before hand and get them thinking.

· For a narrative theory for this film it was edging towards Todorov’s theory as there is both equilibrium and disequilibrium with him poisoning himself and then finding another man exists, leaving it in perplex situation.
 I    I wasn't really too sure what narrative theory fitted this film in particular.

Genre:

· The film may only really have one genre due to the plot of the film, and that is that it is funny therefore meaning it is a comedy.
 The film however may not even be stressed out to be a comedy meaning it has no genre, and this is what I feel it does have… nothing.
 As the film has no genre the film is really meant for any audience and can be viewed how you wish in a funny or serious way, it’s up to the audience.

 

Audience:

· On the whole with demographical data coming into play of how the film would reach its audience over the internet suggests that is for really any real audience, no genre, and no specific audience… whoever has access to the web.

·Taking in opinions into play and what people would prefer this kind of film a little more than others would maybe be teenagers and/or young adults. Props such as alcohol I feel cement this fact.

·This short film has been screened at London 2012 Short Film Festival, one of the most popular short film festivals in the world.

· This film was produced by the company sugarspunspictures’ who have released many films of which have been screened at festivals and some of them winning

      ·awards. http://www.sugarspunpictures.com/lastman.htm

2) 'Night Walking’

Directed by Daniel Cormack, the film was in production until 2008 and I found and watched this on BBC Short Films: http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p00mr8n9

Summary:

This short film is really two films ravelled into one, with both of the stories being told making the film a whole new genre, comedy or crime as a man and woman are walking home on a dark night on their own. This film I felt was very clever in how the story is told from another characters perspective, how much the story on a whole means to the audience and telling them what to expect. I felt this was a very creative use of narration by Daniel Cormack.

Representation:

·In this film there is a real minor example of social groups represented and more to the fact of there being a real loneliness for both of the characters.

·The only real social group which is shown in the film is family, the relationship between a son and mother. This is where the man can’t think of anything else to do so turns to his mum for help… you can most of the time rely on family.· From the narration of the woman the man behind is seen as a criminal, this is very stereotypical to the surroundings being alone, dark, late at night as well as the character being male and in dark costume. The woman is seen as vulnerable and very feminine wearing high heels make-up and white clothing, innocence? A stereotypical criminal and damsel in distress.

·Having the film being told from both perspectives shows that the audience had negative stereotypical opinions about the male character in this film, and having the story told from his point of view corrects the audience in their quick stereotypical thinking.

 

Narrative:

·The story of film is told in a narrative form by a character. With the plot having so many causes and actions in, and sudden results for example: Woman hears him getting closer, she speeds up – increases the tempo of the film and story for the audience when told from the woman’s point of view.

·The way the film is told by the point of view of both the characters makes the film a non-linear piece as it flashes back to the same walk home, but for a second time with another character telling the story. This almost makes the film a different watch when it is told from point of views, one comedy and another crime.

·The start and end of the film are both very much so in contrast to each other as they told by both characters. At the start you fear for the woman, whereas at the end you’re worried about the man as you see what happened to him and understand he wasn't out there to harm the woman.

Genre:

·The genres identifiable in this film are both comedy and crime. The reason for having two genres which are very much so in contrast with each other is due to the film being told through twice but by a different character both times.

·This short film uses genre to almost sub-consciously make the audience think what is going to happen in this film, and what to expect.

·The genre codes used in this come along with stereotypical deserted, late night walk home with a ‘vulnerable’ woman and a tall darkly dressed man. With high tempo and much suspense, the crime genre has many patterned codes.

 

Audience:

·People who share psycho graphic enjoyment of both genres comedy and crime will enjoy this short film.

·From a demographic perspective most ages will enjoy this film, children as young as 10 I feel will get a good understanding of what the film is about, however I feel the key age area is around teenagers and older people.

·Genres give a certain category for people who would enjoy certain films, and both the genres I mentioned would have an audience of whom would enjoy the viewing of this film, they’ll get what they expect but with a twist.

·It was screened at a wide range of events and festivals, just one example was the Cornwall Film Festival in 2008. It got many runner-up awards and two winning prizes which were: Tripod film fund award, as well as ‘Best Merton Film Maker’ award in Wimbledon 2008

·The director has made many other popular short film titles such as ‘A Fitting Tribute’.

·The production company was ‘Actaeon Films’ who have produces a numerous amount of short films and they are situated in London:

http://www.actaeonfilms.com/

3) 'Rocket'

Directed by Jennifer Sheridan, unable to find date of production, found and watched on virgin short films.

http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/film/2754/rocket

Summary: This film is about a small dog with big dreams. Inspired by a rocket shaped lava-lamp, the dog uses recyclable objects in order to make a rocket that he boards into the space.

Representation: Their aren't really any social groups represented in this film as the only character starring is a dog. If their were to be on in relation to the dog it could be that 'dog owners' are related/relevant to the film.

Screen shot encouraging audience to recycle.

The only real issue that the film arises to the audiences attention is that of recycling. This is as all of the objects used for the rocket are recyclable and at the end of the film it says 'please recycle', it gives examples of recyclable objects. The genre used is action/adventure as it is about a dog going on adventure to out of space although i'm not too sure how this would represent dog owners.

• This dog is both positive and negative representations of dogs. This is due to him/her acting and thinking like a child, yet executing his plan efficient and successfully. The dog leaving a messy surroundings around him/her which is very typical of a dog leaving the owner to clear up after it. However overall I do feel he/her leaves a positive representation of dogs as the dog shows that they are not messy for no reason, they are clever.
• I feel the targeted audience has shaped the representation and portrayal of characters in the film as the intended audience would have been children. The fantasy of a dog building a spaceship and blasting off into space is in-accurate to say the least, therefore I feel the intended audience age would range from 3-9 years old.
• The film deals with the only real issue being global warming and not caring for the environment. They do this by making the key props in the film being used once again (recycling) to build a rocket, as well as encouraging the audience to recycle at the end of the credits. 

Narrative:

• Story- The dog sees a lava lamp and is left inspired. Using recyclable goods such as cardboard he builds a rocket of his own demonstrating what recycling is (using something again for another use). Successfully after building the rocket the dog is blasted off into the sky. Plot- Dog sees rocket shaped lamp, inspired, builds rocket out of recyclable goods.
• The film uses a linear narrative due to the target audience being for a young age and they don't want to make the audience confused, therefore they make it play in chronological order from start to finish.
• The start of the film makes the audience think that it could be a fairly normal realistic scenario however in contrast, the end of the film is very much so not 'down to earth' (pardon the pun) as the dog uses cardboard to build a rocket and blast into space, giving the film closure as the journey was a success. 

Genre:

• The only identifiable genre in this film would be that of Action/Adventure, as the dog goes about trying to build a rocket to go on an adventure into space.
• Short films use many types of genres almost trying to break the 'stereotypical' genre classes, making it harder to choose an target audience based on genre. They tend to break genre barriers due to the smaller audience available for short films, as they have a lot more to gain than lose.
• Neal's genre theory of having difference in genre is applied as it has a twist of the main character and only character being a dog. It is very rare, and I can say that I have not seen another film with the main and only character being a dog going into space with his personally own built rocket.
• The appeal of using genre codes in this short film would be that it educates a young audience in what to expect from action/adventure films, leaving it with a simple yet original variation of story/plot.

Audience:

• People who share the same psycho graphic of enjoying action/adventure films would enjoy this film.
• I think a young audience up to ages of 9 would very much so enjoy and find this film exciting, however I wouldn't rule out the enjoyment for other ages up to teens as this is funny, and offers a twist on a stereotypical adventure film.
• The young audience will be pleased by the film due to it offering an exciting story for children, as well as teens finding it entertaining and original leaving them with a satisfied reaction to the film as it would have been something they haven't seen before.
• The film has won the award 'Virgin Media Shorts' indicating that it has been a success.
• Another website that the short film would be found is http://write-shoot-cut.com/2012/10/12/short-film-44-rocket-2012-jennifer-sheridan/. The film can be found on its own website http://www.rocketmovie.com It can also be found on Youtube.
• Their is no production company, their is only five people involved in making this film. 

4) 'Support'
Directed by Borkur Sigþórsson with date of production 2008, and watched on Youtube.

Summary: This short film is about two patients in intensive care. One of the patients wants to take his own life where the other one does not, however in trying to take his own life he accidentally ends up killing the innocent patient.

Representation: 

• One of the social groups represented in this would be people who suffer from depression. 
• Two of the issues erected in this film would be suicide and murder, two very sensitive subjects. The film combining both the two leaves the audience feeling a variation of emotions such as sorrow, or anger towards the patient/murderer. 
• The hospital is represented in the film, with intensive care units and what it is like to be there.
• Making this film a Thriller meant keeping the tempo high, therefore meaning that the character would have had to act fast on screen to match the genre, resulting in him murdering somebody innocent.
• This film gives a negative representation of people in intensive care/suffering from depression. This is done through the suicide patient acting 'selfishly' and taking an innocent mans life, leaving him alive. However in contrast, the man killed was 'fine' and not wanting to take his own life in the film weighing up sides of representation for intensive care patients.  

This shows the plug which accidentally kills the innocent man, instead of the person wanting to commit suicide

• I feel this short film is for people who are depressed, and mainly men as it is all male characters. Having the target audience as this definitely affects the way in which the characters are portrayed, it gives and leaves the audience feeling a range of emotion, the two being sorrow and anger. 
• The film tries to deal with the issue of suicide. It does this by showing that suicide can go wrong and that it is definitely not the right thing to do, you end up hurting people close to you both mentally or in this case physically.

Narrative:

• The plot of this would be: man wants to take own life, pulls wrong plug, kills innocent man leaving himself fine. The story is about a two men at hospital in the intensive care unit, with one feeling depressed wanting to take his own life, however the other is 'okay'. He tries to take his own life however pulls the wrong plug resulting in him being fine, but killing the innocent man.
• Having this short film as a linear makes such an important issue in the film (suicide) easy to follow, and understand what the character is feeling, what actions he decides to take and when, and the result of these actions. 
• I cannot think of any of the narrative theories to apply to this.
• The film starts off not giving much away other than that both patients are in intensive care, then at the end the audience is educated about the events that have just occurred, and you learn about the two characters and feel a range of emotions.

Genre:

• The Thriller genre is identified in this film, making a fast-paced tempo with intensity which matches the images on screen.
• Short films use many types of genres almost trying to break the 'stereotypical' genre classes, making it harder to choose an target audience based on genre. They tend to break genre barriers due to the smaller audience available for short films, as they have a lot more to gain than lose.
• Tom Rialls theory of having certain rules for genres would be good for this film as this is fast paced, something goes wrong and their is intensity- all that is a guideline for a stereotypical thriller.
• Having the typical Thriller genre codes such as fast-pace, suspense and intensity allows the audience to identify the genre and the films they like.

Audience: 

• The film can be easily accessed as it is on Youtube. I feel the film is aimed at a male audience with the characters being male, and/or the audience age of teen and above so they understand what is going on without being too disturbed of the images on screen. It does apply for both genders though, however it could be for for depressed people to shows that suicide doesn't just hurt you, it hurts everybody around you.
• People who share the same psycho graphic of enjoying Thriller films would enjoy this film.
• Thrillers usually contain fast tempos and intensity, therefore they would get the the usual audiences for viewing. This means that the audience would come and watch the film and get what they expected leaving satisfied.
• It was produced by Borkur Sigþórsson.
• It has not won any awards however, was nominated for many.

Initial Research - Curtis

Tick Tock

Edited, Written & directed by: Ien Chi

Date of production: January 2011

Found & watched on YouTube.

This is a very inspiring, touching short film. A young man realizes he only has a few minutes left; all worries leave his mind except what matters to him the most.

After looking through quite a few shorts films, this is by far the best one I came across, I was really impressed and inspired by the way this was filmed and edited. The way the story is told backwards (probably experimental) really paid off as it really added to the inspiring atmosphere, also using this technique helped keep me engaged and once It reached the end, it pulled the whole story together. 

Representation 

I would say that for this film, it represents more the young adult area the majority of the actors in this short film seem quite young and the story line is quite romantic and inspirational. Issues such as death are represented quite highly in this short film, the reality of what really is important in your life, and this is shown through the use of dialogue and actions. Nothing else matter for the main character apart from spending his last minutes with the women he loves.

It is hard to define a specific genre for this short film, in my opinion it is almost a romantic drama as it projects a real-life situation and realistic characters which really works well in conjunction with the main message of the film of concentrating on what really matters (the people who matter most). As a result of this it really influences the idea of social realism as real life events are actually happening and it puts the whole idea of the film in perspective.

The main character in the short film ‘Tick Tock’ is a young male; there is an idea of a representation that many people of this age may worry about too many things in their lives or that they do not appreciate what’s actually most important and until something happens to impact their lives in a bad way, they finally see the bigger picture. This is almost a stereotype that young male or just younger people of today in general take things for granted too much. Another representation is the costuming, it is almost like a stereotype of a ‘student’ casual t-shirt and jeans with a trendy, slicked hairstyle.

The expected audience for this film being young adults has definitely helped shape the representations of this film as in my opinion how different social groups see things is very different to others as it is how the generation is brought up to view them. So essentially it has been adapted to fit this purpose of audience as it is a modern film with young actors the same age as the audience, also the way it is represented in the way of ‘reality’ as if trying to issue the idea that anything can happen when reality strikes.

In terms of dealing with issues, this film is based on the issue that when faced with death, all expectations, pride, fear of failure and embarrassment are forgotten and fall off the face of earth and you are left with what really is important. By this message it is inspire the audience to not worry about the little things as much, focus on what is most important personally, appreciate what you’ve got. It shows this throughout the film, using the storyline at which events follow on, then we as the audience are hit with a quote by Steve Jobs which basically sums up what the film has been try to put across. 

Narrative

 The use of plot is very clever in this film, the plot of a man who takes something and only has a few days to live, who later realises it was all a joke is reversed so that we don’t as a spectator know what really happened to trigger the events till the end of the film by using a restricted narration. The story is played out to provide an informative, description of how it happened in greater detail to show the audience and understanding of the characters lives, the situation there in and what’s going on.

The films chronology order is non linear as it events are reversed; through the theory of Todorov, the film ‘Tick Tock’ is split into stages, it starts with the resolution and finishes with the equilibrium. This is to confuse the audience and to make them more engaged, it causes them to want to continue to watch it to see what the reason for him only having a few days to live. 

Genre

In this film I do not believe there is a main genre as it is hard to identify what category it goes into, there are of course elements of certain genres but to me there’s none that stand out to be the main genre. This is done through the use of the storyline and how it was put together; there are no real components to add a genre on as it is just like an everyday life situation. And I think this is why the director has done it this way; it does however leave the audience asking themselves what genre it comes under.

Short films typically use genre to help identify the audience appropriate for the film, as they are not usually well known therefore they are classified within the Genre window.

Semantic codes are often used in shorts films to help the audience identify the genre, for example in this short film the ‘box’ the main character is trying to give to his girlfriend implies that it is ‘Romantic’, this is the common use of iconography. 

Another theorist once said that ‘The success of movies all depends on what we expect and partly on getting something surprising and new (different)’ this theory applies to this films genre very well as the movie definitely is what the audience expect in terms of genre however what makes this film stand out is the surprise of receiving how the man got in his certain position at the end of the film. 

Audience

From the website it is on (YouTube) the film is obviously open to a wide audience to view, people who have access to the internet, research shorts films and enjoy viewing them are the people who it’s aimed at, the demographic I would say being young adults. 

The audience may be pleased with the film because it is inspiring, it is well put together and edited, the way it is constructed and the order which it is shown is very impressive. It suits a wide variation of audience as I don’t think it belongs to a Genre as well as the message being very powerful behind the story. 

This film has also been screen on quite a few other websites; I have found that the film has been categorized under ‘short films’ & Genres such as Drama & Action. 

This film has won the MovieFest Best Picture award in Hollywood; it was a worldwide contest where over 75,000 students participated. This award was designed to find the best student movie maker out there and occurs annually.

Ien Chi is a movie maker who created this film and many others; he is a young student who finds passion behind filmmaking. He feels filmmaking has enabled him to find more about himself and about the world around him, he works on his own and hopes in the next few years to have brought out his own feature film.

The Elevator

Directed by Greg Glienna

Produced in 2010

Found & Watched on YouTube

A summary of this film is a man who Is in an elevator is quickly get’s off when he realises so many ‘overweight’ people are getting on, he soon get’s on another one with no overweight people on, who turn out to all be ill when the door shuts.

I chose this film because unlike others I have seen, this one is very comical meanwhile clever at the same time. I really found this one exciting, although it was quite a simple idea.

Representation

I would say in terms of social group’s middle class, middle aged through the stereotype of the casual ‘office worker’. The only issues being represented is of the main characters lift phobia as too much weight is being bundled on.

Obviously this is being presented in the genre of a comedy so although there is an idea of social realism through personal experiences of lift for example, the over situation is unlikely however. On the other hand it is represented so well that the audience can almost picture themselves and almost step into the shoes of the main actor to imagine what it’s like as the film unfolds. 

The main male character in this film is portrayed as a stereotypical middle class citizen through the use of costuming (Black shirt & brown trousers). He is also represented to be quite a calm, polite and patient man through his body language when he’s in the lift. I would say he is presented as a mentally weak character due to him not having the willingness to speak up. 

The expected audience for this film has shaped the representation for this film in terms of humour, to the audience many can relate to this situation the characters in. Also the character is sculptured around the target audiences ‘stereotype’ in terms of the majority being placed into the ‘middle class’ category which in turn has meant that the representations have been sculptured to suit the audience.

The film does not deal with serious personal issues to say but the more unlucky humorous issue which fall into many situations, it’s almost the more awkward issue. The issue being the main character trying to get to his floor via the lift however he comes across some boundaries restricting him, one being too much weight in the lift followed by everyone ill in the next. It is a very unlikely issue which to pinpoint accuracy wouldn’t happen to a lot of people, it’s more in the area of bad luck which makes it funny. I think the director has based it on this because as a viewer you can imagine yourself in this situation, and meanwhile watching it almost causes you to question what you would do in that situation.

Narrative 

The plot is a comedy strip on the basis of a man trying to use to the lift to get to his floor meanwhile he has the worst luck which causes many barriers to come up and when he thinks he is finally sorted it, another situation arises. The events then relate to the story which goes into greater details to explain the story of what the man comes across, the effect of this on the spectator is that they get to see the story unfold in chronological order using unrestricted narration so we us the audience know what he knows so it’s almost like we are there with him. 

The chronology of the film is in linear order as being a comedy it, in my opinions need to unfold in this particular order to maximize the humor, the ‘disruption’ as it is to speak or the event which comes up to trigger it being funny needs to happen fairly near the beginning to ensure it can be played on throughout until the resolution or good ending occurs. 

In terms of the Todorov theory of Narrative, this film ‘The elevator’ has all the components which Todorov specifies, the equilibrium being him going to the lift, the disruption being too many overweight people getting in the lift, confrontation is him getting off it before it got too heavy & the resolution being all the ill people finally getting off. 

Genre 

The Genre in this film is very easy to identify due to the overall construction of the film and on the basis of the humorous storyline it is therefore a comedy. 

Short films typically use genre to help identify the audience appropriate for the film, as they are not usually well known therefore they are classified within the Genre window. 

The genre theory of Rick Altman sort of fits in to this film, he found that films of single genre have things in common with each other, an example of this is sematic codes, the idea of common iconography which in ‘the elevator’s’ case it’s not within the mise en scene but the actual story line. Audience know it’s a comedy when the focus of the film is on something humorous happening. In terms of Neale’s theory this definitely fits in to it as he believed it all depends on what we expect, and partly on getting something surprising and different. In terms of this film and with comedies in general, the audience always expect it to be funny so the elevator succeeds in that area and also with comedies you never really know why it’s going to be funny so there is a surprise in that. The elevator definitely surprised me as I didn’t know really how an elevator incident could be so funny.

The codes and conventions are used commonly for a comedy like this film; it all depends on conflicts, in particular in this case between a weak willed man and strong characters that don’t care. Much comedy arises from the success of the weak in deflating the powerful like the man getting off the lift before it gets even heavier and something serious happens. On the other hand, comedy is also a weapon against fear of the unknown or 'the Other' e.g. not knowing all the people in the lift were ill.

Audience

By being on the website YouTube, anyone can view the video simply by browsing and finding the video. By the creator of the film ‘meet the parents’ there profile is already bound to have quite a few views and subscribers so by putting it on here they already have a demographic to target. It is categorized under ‘comedy’ and the good thing about this is that this genre reaches out to a huge audience as everyone loves humour. Also by being a comedy it isn’t restricted to having an age boundary so it suits all ages and all genres. 

The audience may be pleased with the film because it is such a funny, uplifting film which puts you in a good mood. The comedy audience enjoy seeing other peoples misery is humorous way, and the overall situation is very unlikely but you as the audience can almost picture yourself there. 

 This film is screened on many other video streaming websites also under the ‘comedy’ category. However the majority of these sites have just direct linked the film from YouTube so it’s not really embedded right on the website. 

From searching the internet I have found that although this is a great short film, it has not won any awards. Maybe due to the director already being well known so he most likely wouldn’t enter competitions.

  Greg Glienna is an American director and screen writer known for being the creator of the original ‘Meet the Parents’. He stars in quite a few of the films he writes and directs including this one (The Elevator), he sold films he wrote to labels such as Universal and Warner Bros.

                                                         

Media Language

Something that really stood out for me was the technical codes that the camera angle stays eye level the entire video, this lets you see eye to eye with all the characters so you can see the main characters reaction within the crowd of people, as if you are in the lift as well which implements the feeling of greater interaction. Some symbolic codes I noticed were putting a building in the background; this makes it look like it’s in a city area so you know it’s an established business place. Another code is the numbers, the numbers symbolize that they are moving up through the close up on them and how they highlight once they reach each floor, but actually they are staying stationary as different numbers light up. Another specific shot  I noticed was a bird eye view medium shot of the main  character which shows us the audience how cramped it is in the lift to exagerate the amount of people in the lift.

Memories

Written, Directed & Edited by Radoslaw Sienski
Date of production : 2010
Found and watch on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85HDu87TGy0

An emotional, beautiful short film about a man who has got Alzheimer's disease. Slowly his memories are fading away shown by the use of celluloid, the man had so many rolls of it, only to be cut short when he reached home.

Representation

• In this short film i think the middle class are represented, this is because of the mise en scene, the costuming of the man in the film is quite formal and smart which leans him over to the middle/upper class however his house is semi-detached of what i can see, the interior of the house is dated & messy.
• The genre of this film being Drama, gives the story an idea of social realism towards the issue of diseases like Alzheimer's causing the audience to really consider the message behind the film and as a result it triggers a  deep,sad emotion towards people who suffer from this in real life.
• In terms of stereotypes, the man in this film is a positive stereotype of an old man suffering with Alzheimer's disease, the blank expression on his face leads us to help identify what he is suffering from. He is represented to highlight the issue which many others suffer from.
• The expected audience for this film would, in my opinion be young adults to middle aged adults of both genders. The audience being quite wide because of the films subject relating to a lot of people. I wouldn't say the expected audience has really shaped the representations in the film as generally these are the common representation which any person would associate to. 
• This film deals with the issue of suffering from Alzheimer's at old age, it deals with this issue as the main and only real character in this film has this condition of which as the film goes on you can see it affecting him.

Narrative

• The plot in this films case is in a linear order, presenting the man who has all of these wonderful memories to suddenly loose them, as a result comparing this to the storyline, it all happens in chronological order according to the plot. Although in more detail, as a result the spectator can view the sequences of the film according as they happen, event by event.Until we reach the final ending of which the man who us the audience feel deeply sorry for look through a photo album of which symbolic elements (the pictures) slowly disappear as if the mans memories are going.
• David Bordwell and Kirsten Thompson theory states that the story basis is the whole of the characters lives and this includes events we do not see in the film. As a result the plot only includes the events which are displayed in the film which helps create the story. When incorporating this theory into this short film 'Memories' it does make sense. We do not know all the events in this mans life, but what we do know are the main concepts and events which help us pick up on what is going on and who he is. 

Genre

• The only genre I can identify from this film is 'Drama' as it is a realistic situation where social realism is imbedded to form a life story in some respects, it just displays a series of events of where a mans memory is slowly killing vital memories of his past.
•  Short films usually use genre to help identify the appropriate audience for the film itself, as short films are not usually well known, to help them gain recognition they are normally subject to a genre heading where audience who want to visit that subject would go to that chosen genre category.
•  Technical codes were used in this film for example the cinematic usage of the way the camera blending into the celluloid image to create a dissolve into a memory he currently holds to indicate the real life feel as it provides a flashback indicator to the audience.

Audience

• As this short film was found on YouTube anyone who accesses the site can view it, as the video in terms of short film is 'award winning', the director probably thought it was worth uploading it as it may attract attention, of what it seems to have done due to its nearly 500,000 views. It is categorized as film & Animation so the demographic is anyone who wants to watch a quick short film, within the region of young adults - middle aged as this is usually the main demographic to access this site. 
• The audience may be please by the film because because with the title 'memories' it could be dealing with many other topics surrounding this subject. However, the way this short film touches you emotionally and causes you to feel deep sympathy for the struggling man really makes this film successful in the eyes of the audience. It puts life into perspective and I think the audience would likely appreciate that.
• This short film is also being screened on 'Yobi.tv', where it won an award in 2010, on this site it is under the category 'Alternative' as it doesn't really have a genre, it is also being displayed on websites such as Vimeo, filmschoolrejects & doyouknowwhoiam.com.
• The film has won the following awards: - Winner of Best Fiction Award at The Altered Images Student Post Production Festival in London 2010
  - Winner of the Yobi.tv Film Making contest 2010
  - Winner of the Best Young Filmmaker Award at Fastnet Short Film Festival 2010
•  adoslaw Sienski was born in Gdansk, Poland in 1987, After completing high school, he decided to move to England to pursue his passion (film-making). He signed up for a Video Production course at Bucks New University in 2007 and graduated in 2010. At the moment he is working on a horror/comedy feature as an editor/vfx artist/colourist meanwhile studying an editing course at the National Film & TV School in January 2011

Media Language 

• An example of a shot in this film was the extreme close-up (ECU) of the man face with a part of the celluloid in-front. This is a really strong, meaningful shot as he is staring into the celluloid at the memory he reminisces over. A tear is slowly emerging from his eye which creates a sad, emotional response from the audience as the celluloid is a replacement for his 'memories'. 
• Also the sequence of shots at the end of the film which represent good memories in his life, these are subject to fade into white effect for each clip, as a result this displays clear meaning to the audience as if his life is flashing before his eyes (hence the white fade), which in turn ends with a double wipe cinematic technique creating the illusion of his eyes closing.

 

Lovefield

Directed & Produced by Mathieu Ratthe

Date of Production: December 2009

Found & watched on YouTube

A misleading film where we are lead to believe this crazed man has just murdered a women, however this is not the case. The intimidating man soon changes from being a villain to a hero as he is actually helping a women give birth to a baby. 

The reason I picked this short film is because the construction of this film and the element of surprise and misleading is what I am hoping to achieve with my short film which I will be making this year. Analyzing a film with similar techniques to what i will be using, i believe, will really help me out. 

Representation 

• I would say in terms of social groups, lower class is being represented, the male character in the film is portrayed as a hillbilly which are generally lower class citizens & for the female, we don't know or see enough about her to pinpoint a social group on her. It doesn't really deal with any issue other than the idea of 'not believing till you actually know' as the audience we presumed the female was either being raped or killed by the man. We didn't know for certain but as the man was a 'hillbilly' and through the way it was constructed we thought we must be right, until a twist changed it all. 
• For this film I would say the Genre is Horror/Suspense/drama, this is because for the first half it has elements of deep eeriness through the setting, creaking chains of the sign, the bird etc. this mixed with the really tense non diegetic sound which then contrasted with the social realism at the end, he is actually helping a women give birth on a field. 
• The main character being the male is represented to be a evil, dirty murderer in the stereotype of a hillbilly through the mise en scene clothing e.g. jean overalls, white t-shirt, trucker hat & boots, this is done because generally Hillbilly's don't have the best stereotype so it was easy for the makers of the film to lead us to believe he is killing her and because of this we did believe he was doing a bad deed in which we found out he was doing the opposite and actually turned out to be a 'helpful farmer' (don't judge a book by it's cover) - message.
• The expected audience for this film would likely be young to middle aged adults as this is in some respects horror i don't think it would be suitable for young kids. The representation i think probably has shaped the representation for this film as these era's have been brought up around the stereotyping of such.

Narrative

•  The plot of this film is very simple, a man is trying to help a women give birth to her baby. However when considering the story it gets more involved, as although it follows the plot in terms of events it is constructed in a very clever way in which as the spectator we are lead down a different root as if we are viewing a completely different story to what is meant to be displayed, however we soon catch on to find out the man in not a cold hearted killer but a warm blooded savior!
•  The chronology of the narrative is linear as the events are played out in order to how they are presented in the plot through the story, it starts with the equilibrium and finishes with the resolution. Although the way the film is presented it may seem as though it is in this format. As a result the audience want to find out what the resolution is, has the man killed this women ? This is the question in the spectators mind meanwhile watching the eerie start to this short film so they want to continue watching it to see what the resolution is, being a big shock as it is not what is expected. 
• The narrative theory of Todorov is that a film should have both an equilibrium in this case is the black ravan bird making an almost eerie tweet, followed by the disruption being the close up of the women's leg twitching along with the diegetic subject sound of her screaming in pain and finally the resolution being the male character helping her give birth to a new born baby. 

Genre  

• In this short film 'Lovefield' the genres identifiable are in my opinion Horror/Suspense as elements of these genres are displayed in the film through eerie mise en scene - the deserted location and the costuming, diegetic/non diegetic sound e.g. the women screaming in pain and the black raven and the pure suspense of there being no real dialogue untill the end. 
• Genre makes short films categorize into certain identifiable sections so audience can target them and know what to almost expect, different to full length films as the audience cannot really watch a trailer to identify the genre. 
• This short film goes against the typical horror conventions towards the ending, however throughout the majority of the film it has the elements to pass it as a Horror Genre. The bloody cloth or rag prop, the black ravan cawing in a mysteriously eerie way merging with the desolate silence. These all help to form a representation of what we as spectators believe a horror is made up of.

Audience 

• Being YouTube, the audience is quite large as it is singly the most accessed video sharing website in the world, I would say the demographic being horror/suspense fans who are most likely access this film as it has a tag under the section 'Horror' although categorized under Film & Animation. 
• This audience would be very pleased with the film because they would more than likely, as the suspense builds up, to expect something jumpy or mildly gory by some degree. However the swift turn in events means they would be pleasantly surprised by the ending.
• Vimeo, noob.us, imdb, ragtube are sites which this short film is also being screened on, Lovefield was usually categorized as either independent or horror or even both. 
• As far as i know the film has not won awards, although i believe it should have, it has not.
• The director and production company is all one man, he currently makes a lot of short films, i understand he is a rising director/writer/producer and editor who judging on his work can be quite a hit.
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