Black hole

In the short film The Black Hole, the subject is based on fantasy Sci-Fi. This is because a piece of paper that appears to have a black hole in is unreal. The intention of the producer is to highlight the fact that ‘curiosity killed the cat’. The man uses the black hole to get a chocolate bar out of a vending machine, then he unlocks a door with KEEP OUT written on it, then he sticks the paper to the safe and starts taking the money out of it, he eventually climbs right into it and the piece of paper falls off the safe so the man is stuck in the safe and cannot get out. This shows that because he was nosy and was doing something he shouldn’t he got punished for it. The implied target audience is the industry as it is a showcase film. The potential certification would be a pg as there is no violence etc and children can learn from it that you shouldn’t steal as you will be punished. The distribution would be on the internet as it is a showcase to the industry. The key character is the male worker; he is the only character in the film. The setting is in the office, this is relevant to the film as it is the only setting. The soundtrack consists of the scanner beeping and the odd vibes when the man put his hand in the black hole. The form of this is a film. I really liked this film, the storyline was humorous and I think the special effects on the ‘black hole’ were realistic.

Chicken a la carte

The subject of the short film Chicken a la carte is poverty. This is because in the film you observe how people are eating in a fast food restaurant yet the worker can only afford to get scraps to bring home to his family. The intention of the producer is to show how that some people’s lives are so bad they have to eat out of bins just to live. The implied target audience is anyone who will watch it as they are trying to put forward a cause that needs to be addressed. The potential certification would be a pg as there is no high levels of violence, nudity etc and young children would learn from seeing it that they are lucky to have what they’ve got. The distribution would be online as more people watch videos online. The key character in the short film is the male worker as you observe him working, then when his shift is over he goes out to the bins and sorts through all the wasted food, he brings back the best stuff to his family and shares the rest with his village. The settings of the film are the fast food place and the village where the worker lives. These are relevant to the film as you see how wasteful people are in the fast food place yet you see how happy the male workers family are when he brings back scraps which show that they must get worse/less food regularly. The soundtrack on the film is slow and creates sympathy towards the less fortunate. The form of this film is a pseudo drama as it is acting when the people are in the fast food place, but when the food is brought back to the village it is a documentary as you can’t fake the reactions when they are getting food as it is real life. I think this film is very good at showing the realism of some people’s lives. It shows the raw truth that people actually have to scavenge for their food and can’t afford any better.

Lovefield

The subject of the short film Lovefield is judgment. This is because the first half of the film looks like a woman is being murdered and we judge the man on the scene as we think he is killing her. When it turns out that he is actually helping her you realize that you judged him before you knew what had happened. The intention of the producer is to show that appearances are deceiving. The camera work in the film doesn’t show the main attraction but pinpoints things around it e.g. the napkin with blood on it, straight away you assume there is a murder going on especially when the woman screams and the bloody knife is rammed into the ground. The man appears to run away with a guilty conscience but it turns out he is actually helping a woman who has given birth. The implied target is the industry as it is a showcase film. The clever camera work and soundtrack show an impressive story. The potential certification of this film would be a 12a as the beginning of the film appears to be a murder so a child may need reassurance and explaining to when the story turns around and shows the birth. The key characters in the film are the woman who is giving birth and the man who helps her. The setting of the film is a wheat field by a road. This is a deserted place which makes it appear more of a murder scene as no one will know what’s happened. The soundtrack is very good in this film; it starts off with low edgy music with sound effects of an eerie creaking of a sign and the cawing of a crow. Then a phone is playing a no answer tone which makes you suspicious, there is a woman screaming which makes you assume she’s in pain maybe even attacked. Then the music softens and a lullaby is played, the man and woman are laughing and there is the sound of a baby crying, this takes away the suspicion and replaces it with joy that it was a happy ending. The form of this is a film. I really like this film, the twist in the story completely changes your outlook on the scene. The sound is very good in this with the repetitive cawing of the crow which shows it is watching the man, its almost judging him. The swinging sign creates anxiety and adds to the suspicious atmosphere. The camera shots also change your perception as in the beginning it only shows parts of the scene, by the end it shows you the whole picture and you realize what is actually going on.

In My Mothers House

In this film ‘My Mother’s House’, the subject is based on abortion. The film does not show an abortion but uses a metaphor for it. The intention of the producer is to show abortion is horrific and distressing. This is shown by the metaphor of the girl trying to escape from the doctor who is trying to get her in her mother’s house. She calls for help but her mother is nowhere, she rings her father he doesn’t reply either. I think it’s a cause film and the implied target audience is for women who are pregnant. The potential certification is a 12a as the underlying message would need explaining, the actual film does not contain high levels of violence or nudity etc. There is no distribution as the film is made as a showcase to the industry. The key characters are the young girl, the doctor and the mother. The setting is in the girl’s mother’s house which is meant to be safe; this is a metaphor to the safety in the womb. The soundtrack contains some lullaby music which makes you think the mother loves the girl, but when the doctor appears, killer music is played (eight note cello line played on a Kurzweil 250). The form of this is a drama film. I think this film is peculiar and it is hard to figure out the underlying message. The music was good as it flowed with the film and was tense.

 

http://www.reelgood.tv/filminfo.php?film=491INMYMO&skin=striped

My Idea

I have been studying short films and have come up with smoking as an idea for a short film. The intention of the film would be to show that smoking is bad for you. The film would start off with a teenage girl going to the shops with her friends. The camera would shoot between sweets and cigarettes showing the choice she is trying to decide. Then the images would speed up if she bought cigarettes. You would see her lose her friends, her health deteriorates and she eventually gets cancer. Then it could rewind and show what happens if she picked sweets. She would have a normal life, do well in her education and get a great job earning lots. The reason I would do this idea is because I feel strongly against smoking and believe there is always a choice. The story revolves around the idea of a dual narrative where there is a decision to make and whatever you do affects your whole life. The potential certification for this would be a 12a as it is to warn young children of the health risks. The distribution would be on the internet and television to show everyone there is a choice and not to make the bad one. It should be shown in the evening time on television as this is the most popular time teenagers are watching telly. On the internet it should be distributed on sites such as YouTube as this is a very common site for teenagers watching videos.

Certification

In all forms of media, certification is needed to put certain films into advisory and age related categories. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) classification categories are: U- Universal which means any age can watch it, PG- Parental Guidance which means anyone can watch it although children need a parent with them, 12A- Under 12 can watch but they must have a parent with them, 12- only 12 and over, 15- only 15 and over, 18- only 18 and over, 18R- only special cinemas show these films and only licensed sex shops can sell these films.

 The BBFC’s areas of concern are violence, nudity, sex, language, drugs, imitation and discrimination. The biggest concern is violence, if the audience enjoys it, finds it funny, or see it as a positive solution, the certification will rise higher. The quicker violence is resolved happily, the lower the certification becomes. If nudity is natural it has no certification, however, the more sexually orientated it is the higher the certification. Sex is another issue of concern. If the sex is simulated, the certification will be an 18; if the sex is real then it goes up to an 18R. If sex and violence are linked the certification is very high. Language is an important issue, the word F*** may only be used once in an age 15 film, if swear words are used more than that then the certification goes up. The word C*** is rated the worst word that can be used. Drugs can be shown in a film but they never be glamorized. If you wanted to show someone taking drugs then the certification would be very high.

The BBFC are very concerned about imitation. The use of weapons has to be carefully shown as children can get hold of things such as knives and there’s a risk they could copy actions they see. When showing suicides the method can’t be shown as children may be able to imitate actions. Discrimination is another issue that contributes to certification. It shouldn’t be shown that it is good to discriminate, but it can be shown that it happens. Certification influences the audience as it limits who can see the film. If you want to target a certain age, don’t make a higher/lower certification film. The narrative is influenced as the story is affected by what you can and can’t show because of the certification. The theme is affected as it is an opinion but it has to be socially acceptable otherwise you won’t get a certification. The intention is influenced as it has to be one that society would agree with.

 The audience pleasures are also influenced as the emotions will be different according to the certification e.g. an 18 would create fear where as lower certifications would not be able to show the same content. Depending on what certification you decide to have, this affects the theme of the film as you are limited by what you can show e.g. if you want to show drugs are bad and your certification is a 12, you can only talk about drugs and never the actual taking of drugs. If it was an 18 certification, you would be able to show drug taking and the effects.

Research

            To begin with, the materials used to record action on were plastic. By 1889, US inventor George Eastman developed the first role of film made of celluloid. A few years later William Dickson invented the Kinetoscope, this projected perforated celluloid at the rate of forty pictures per second. The celluloid is flexible so it could go round a reel and the images shown would appear to move. Only one person could view it at a time. In France 1895, the Lumiere brothers created a machine called the Cinematographe which recorded moving images and projected them on to a screen. This was very popular and the films were very short. In 1896, Georges Melies was the first to show stories through film. They were mainly based on fairy tales and science fiction; some included special effects they were said to be very beautiful.

            Early full length films had no sound but sometimes a piano or organ was played during the film to provide music. In 1927, a ‘talkie’ was released which is sound recorded onto discs and played at the same time as the film. For the first time, actor’s voices and sound effects could be heard. By 1950’s, most films were made in colour by a Technicolour 3 colour camera. By the late 1980’s, multiplex cinemas spread which are multiple screens within the same building.
Bibliography:
Film and Televison by Louise Wordsworth

Creativity

When being creative, we are limited by the form of media we choose. For example, if you were making a film of a certain genre, you cannot copy another film as they would be the same, but you cannot be very different as you would not recognize the genre. Creativity can also be limited by time. If you have a lot of time before you have to film, you would be able to think of more ideas and create a more complex concept. When working in a group you have to combine ideas which is ‘collective’ creativity. This limits your own creativity as you cannot design the whole idea you have to let others input their thoughts. Creativity is also limited by the audience you are making ideas for. You have to take into account the audiences expectations by either submitting to them or defying them, the age, gender, class, race and sexuality. Ideas have to include diverse people in order to enforce equality throughout all categories. So depending on the audience you aim to film for, you have to consider them when being creative and thinking of ideas. I think the biggest problem would be sorting ideas out between a group as everyone wants there own idea to be used and some may not fit with the other things that need to be considered.

Roles

This year for our A2 project the roles of the group have been changed around a bit. I was the Editor at AS, however, I am staying as the Editor again as I really enjoyed putting the film together and I feel that I now have some experience so I can push myself to do better in A2. I will try to improve by doing research in the library and on the internet. Adele was the Director at AS but she has changed groups for the A2. Paige was previously the Storyboard Artist as she is artistic, but as a challenge she is going to push herself and become the Director. Karlene was the Script Writer she did well in writing the lyrics for our song, but now she is going to be the Storyboard Artist. We are all going to try and perform well in our roles and make the best possible outcome for this project.

Review

For my AS project I made a film opening which lasted approximately two minutes. The genre of our film is a horror musical. I really enjoyed filming our film with my group Adele, Paige and Karlene. We got to experiment with different ideas and had a lot of footage. It took a while to get organised with what shots to keep or to lose, eventually we picked out the best shots to edit together. I was the editor of the group which was hard work but very rewarding, as me and Adele gradually built up the film so it flowed and carried tension and suspense. It was great to experience the creation of a film; you see how much hard work goes into the making of a film. Since I made my film I appreciate films more, as I know the extent of work that goes into them. I think that if we had to do it again, we would have to do a bit more planning before filming, and when we do the filming we need to focus more. Also, when doing the editing we should have more input from the whole group.

Brief

I have been given Brief 10 for my A2 Media Studies course. I have been asked to make a short film that should last roughly five minutes. It should contain live action or animation. I am excited to film again as I enjoyed making my film opening in AS Media Studies. I also must complete a poster for the film, a radio trailer for the film or a film magazine review page featuring the film.