Here is the first page of our script. It is only a first draft so there will be a lot of editing before we can confirm our final script. I've been using Celtx which has been very easy to use. It provides me with scene headings, actions, dialogue and all the other scriptwriting tools I need.
Now we are near to finishing our script it is vital that we organise cast and crew to be in our film. Our film has become a lot larger than we expected- This being a chance to find others to work alongside with. I recently got in touch with a Cameraman/Director of photography who was interested in our idea. I sent him the script and hoped for the best. Fortunately he liked the concept and was keen to be a part of it. Me and my partner Jacob met up with him for a chat about the production side of our film. This gave us a clear idea about how our film might look off the page. We discussed different shots that we could use to make our film visually unique. We are now looking for a gaffer, lighting designer and a sound boom. A runner is also essential for making sure that we have everything ready during shooting.
We have been researching music that would suit the style of our film. Last year we composed our own soundtrack after difficulties with copyright. However for this years short film we wanted to find music that would fit the style of our film. Social networking has been key in having access to independent musicians. The other day I got in touch with Sam Garrett who is a singer songwriter who I found on Youtube. I tweeted him asking if we could use a few of his songs for our film.
Stray Dog is a film about a teenage boy, named Milo, who is struggling through a breakup with his girlfriend, unnamed. The way he coped with the breakup was beginning to talk to his alter ego in his mind. Milo begins talking to his alter ego and has a realisation that the only way to deal with the sadness is to make his girlfriend upset. As Milo travels deeper and deeper into depression he discovers a lighter, which is actually a time machine. He "selfishly" uses the time machine to travel back in time to discover the reasoning behind the break up. He discovers that his friend which he confides in is the soul cause of the break up. Finally Milo realises that using the time machine to repair a breakup is incredibly selfish and learns a life lesson. The goal in the film is for Milo to repair the breakup and resume a happy existence, and the life changing moment is when Milo realises that he is being selfish about his feelings. I think that the visuals in this short film are incredibly helpful to the emote the mood and the feeling of the protagonist, which allows the audience to connect with the thoughts in his head more easily.
The choice of music is very important for the mood we want the audience to feel. Since it's only an eight minute film we have to limit our music to the opening and closing credits. We wanted to use a feel good song at the beginning to show a happy situation that Blake is in. This will let the audience immediately know that there is a positive atmosphere for our characters. This will contrast to the end of our film which ends terribly for Blake. After finding out his fathers affair with Sophie, his piano teacher, the mood and atmosphere changes dramatically for Blake. We will use a melancholy song that sparks emotion for Blake and the audience. Overall this choice of music will put the audience through a roller-coaster of emotions. After a lot of research into this style of music, we found an independent musician, Sam Garrett. His music has a variety of happy and emotional songs. This would be perfect for our short film. I have just sent a request to Sam asking permission to use his music. Here are the two songs we hope to use:
There have been many changes in our final script. Our first idea which contributed to Blake's love of music, was his passion for Duke Ellington. The idea of having Duke Ellington play in the car with his father driving started to become a theme which we loved. Blake's witness over the 'affair' has changed dramatically. It started out as a big mistake. Blake saw his father giving Sophie (piano teacher) a hug which didn't tell the audience anything of suspicion. Blake took this hug and immediately saw it as an affair. When Blake revealed all to his mother the twist would be that Sophie was a piano teacher, meaning that Blake had got the complete wrong end of the stick. These were the two biggest changes in our script. Looking back now we realise that both ideas would have been extremely difficult to achieve through the camera and convince the audience that it was a believable narrative. Here is the opening of my very first draft:
After finishing our treatment we are finally ready to start writing our first draft of the script. I am already half way through scriptwriting which is a good step towards filming near the Christmas period. Having the first draft ready as soon as possible is key to giving our actors an idea of what their character is like. Recently me and my partner Jacob realised that their was far too much dialogue. We decided that we wanted our film to tell the story through the camera. We sat down and cut a majority of the dialogue. I have been using Celtx which is a great scriptwriting freeware. It provides a scene heading, action for a character, dialogue etc. Here is the opening of our film:
This is the house where we will be shooting the majority of our interior shots. We wanted to find a modern family home that portrayed a middle class lifestyle. Already establishing where we are shooting gives us a head start on planning scenes and where actors will be placed in the film. Here are some examples of where we are going to shoot:
We are aware that the other cast and crew members have not been included however we will make sure that they are with our final poster. The distributor will also feature on our poster. This will give a more professional look to our overall film.
Alternate poster
Here are a few potential posters for Eleven. We took over two hundred photos and these were the best three. Based on audience feedback the first two seemed to be the most popular. We haven't yet showed the alternate poster to any audiences yet. We were very keen to show our main actor Blake in the foreground of the poster. This is to show that he is the main focus point of the film. Each photo shows a different expression but all with the same meaning. Clearly he is confused or upset about something or someone. We wanted the poster to portray a story all about Blake. The slogan 'Family Is Everything' summarises the main theme and symbolism in our film. Blake's confusion and disbelief leads him to behave in a very different way. The love for his family is shown through the fact that all of the images are taking place in the "sanction" of his own home.
Our film's story is similar to 'What Maisie Knew'. The focus of the girl at the front immediately tells the audience that she is the main character. We have also used this to make sure that Blake is the centre of attention on the poster. The font is angular in block capitals that shows the name of the film without sacrificing the mood. We have used the same type of font on our poster.
Today we discussed what our schedule will be before half term. Deciding our story and having a first draft of a script is essential to establish other aspects of what is needed to begin shooting. When looking back to the shoot that we did last year for our two-minute opening we were very impulsive with the shots that we chose and the shots that we wanted. We didn’t have a plan about where and when to shoot. Our timing last year was very un organised, this is why we are determined to plan out our shots, location, actors etc. It The list is as follows in no particular order: appoint roles, write a script, develop the script, script breakdown, storyboard/animatic, location hunt, schedule, call sheet, equipment list. We have already appointed roles and given in our first draft of the treatment. We have been given the green light about our idea, now it’s about deciding the official beginning, middle and end. As soon as we have our entire story planned out we can start to focus more on the technical aspects such as certain shots and locations we want for each scene.
Today we had our first production meeting about our short film Eleven. We looked over our treatment that we came up with and the 25 word pitch that we originally had. As you can see from the picture there were a couple of mistakes in the overall plot of the film. Firstly we thought it would be a nice idea to use open framing to show different objects and people in the film. We also were concerned about the way that the child dealt with the situation at hand, as he is eleven years old we thought that the child would have a limited understanding of relationship at this point of his adolescent life, so we have the child see some intimate moments between his mother and his father at the start of the film so that he can later on connect these different moments, and with his paranoia thinks intervene. Another idea that we had was the way that the child begins to intervene, we thought that if the child sees the father give or do something to his mother at the beginning he can replicate this at the end in an attempt to stop this from happening. These were just some of the idea that we discussed during this meeting, our treatment is on the sheet.
Here are seven important things to know about short films, from efficient exposition, to what the best length is when submitting to film festivals! These are useful in order to make a successful short film.
The plot summary of our short film is the collapse of a marriage through the eyes of a child. Our protagonist Blake comes across a happy eleven year old who has a very close relationship with his family, especially his father. We see Blake bonding with his father throughout the beginning of the film. This shows a steady lifestyle that he has with his family. Everything seems to be in place until a single moment throws his life into a completely different perspective. He sees his father interacting with another woman who hasn’t been seen until this moment in the film. Blake’s character switches and his paranoia begins to take over. He is shocked to see his father talking to any other woman apart from his mother. (Are they flirting? Kissing? Has Blake seen his mum and dad do similar things?) This shows the audience Blake’s secure family life until this one minor incident can change everything. Blake is now convinced that his father is having an affair. This unknown woman is shown continuously with his father which convinces Blake that there is definitely a relationship between them. Each scene that they're together, Blake witnesses more obvious sexual tension, however this is from his point of view. We want to make sure that the film is seen through the eyes of an eleven year old. He is not mature enough to understand what is really happening. The equilibrium is partially re-established by the end of the film because of the relationship with his father overcomes his worries, but for how long? We see the first scene again at the end of the film with a recap of the POV shots from the child, although this time through his fathers eyes, the mother confronts the father and Blake backs up the fathers story (it is unknown if this story is true or not to Blake, but he wants to keep the family together so he just agrees with his father). We want to show Blake’s confusion and responsibility surrounding his views about his fathers potential affair. Blake is in control over the break up of his family. By agreeing with his father, the audience are unaware of what really happened between the father and the woman he has been seeing.
A young African boy with a haunting back story starts school in Ireland, and finds out quickly exactly what it means to be the new kid. The film shows the view of Joseph experience of joining a new school where the children are hostile and unwelcoming. This film is very similar to our idea, like Joseph the entire film is shown through his point of view.
Goal: To be as happy like he used to be in Africa.
Obstacle: New school, adapting to a new country. Bullies.
Urgency/Stakes: Dad dying and moving country. Getting beaten up by bullies.
Character: Joseph- The new boy.
Location: School in Ireland. Mainly set in the class room.
A kid. His mum and dad. The sex and drugs. And the boy next door who watched the whole thing unravel. The film opens to a very average suburban neighborhood before peeking into one house in particular. The loud and exaggerated sounds of rough sex are heard as the camera moves in on the vacuous face of a teenage boy—our main character. An unseen narrator relates the boy’s predicament: he lives in a home of rough folk, his mom and dad thinking nothing of engaging in boisterous sex in his presence, nor for that matter doing drugs and partying with other men. The narrator reveals himself to be the boy’s neighbor, and muses about the mom’s seeming indifference to the boy inbetween observations about how much he’d like to have sex with the older, permanently panty-clad woman.
The short film thus exists as a meditative elegy, from the neighbor to the boy, and the visuals support the creation of such a mood, using frequent slow-motion to imagine scenes of alienation the boy might have experienced. Yet this empathy is disturbingly buttressed by the sexual fetishization of the mother, as the camera lingers erotically on the body she so frequently flounts in and around the home. Sexual longing on the neighbor’s part is part of his explanation for the boy’s state, yet that means the neighbor must in a way confront his complicity, a feeling if that is expressed in his voice, if not completely registered in his head.
On the weekend we started to test shoot potential shots and locations for our film. During the pre production stage we have used filters to make our lighting stand out. The cinematography is a key element in our film as well as the storyline.
We are determined to make our film look very clear by making every but of colour stand out.
Here are a few shots with filters. When comparing them to photos without filters there is a very obvious difference in the quality.
Here is a list of what we will have to produce before starting filming:
* Decide a theme or subject
* Decide the genre
* Research the genre
* Treatment (Outline of our idea)
* Establish short film conventions
* By half term:
* Write script
* Develop script
* Script breakdown
* Shot List
* Storyboard/Animatic
* Location Hunting
* Schedule
* Call sheet
* Equipment list
We have discussed last years film and what roles we suited best. Here are the list of roles that we are taking on for our short film: Film Roles:
* Producer: Louis
* Director: Jacob
* 1st AD: Louis
* Sound Track and composer: Jacob
* Editor: Jacob & Louis
* Running: Louis
* Sound Boom: Jacob
* Cameraman: Louis
* Scriptwriter: Louis
* Location Hunter: Louis and Jacob
Margo Lily is a perfect example of a short film to look at the structure of a short and study the model of most short films. Margo Lily is a film about a struggling couple on the precipice of a broken relationship. Although that is one of the main themes the core theme of the short is their unborn baby that the mother wants to bury. If we look at the goal of the film we see that the most important goal of the film is to bury the baby, but on the other hand it is not just to bury the unborn baby, this is a collateral goal to the main goal which is the mend their breaking relationship. We see through the film that the father is not intent on actually burying the baby and see it as being very painful, so he just prevents himself from thinking of the unborn child, this is what the mother resents in him. When they begin to struggle with actual act of the burial the mother is trying her upmost to perform this and the father is trying to forget while not helping. Towards the end of the film, the father then decides to put his pain to one side to help the mother grief for the tragedy, and therefore their relationship is to my interpretation mended. This is clearly a situational narrative to bury the child and mend their relationship.
Over summer, me and my partner Jacob have been discussing various genre and story ideas for this years short film. We thought that the earlier we started brainstorming the better advantage we would have in exploring and developing through audience feedback. So far we have received very positive feedback. Our film idea is about a collapse of a marriage through the eyes of a child. This is a very brief summary of the plot but we have spoken to our teacher about how to improve and eventually develop the idea. We were very interested in telling a story that would stay with the audience after they had finished watching it. We have audience research about divorce and how a child copes when they are going through this tough time in their life. Getting a response from someone who has experienced a divorce is very useful in portraying a realistic view from our protagonists eyes.
Our investment in films is mainly the Art house genre. We were very implicit about deviating from high concept genres. We have already planned a few shots that we are planning on including in our film. We have started test shoots to see what shots will work and could be used. Some of the shots we have tried to include have both worked and failed. By starting to look at locations and different variety of shots it will only give us more time to discuss what will be used in our final product. Having a clear idea including a 25 word treatment will only improve our story and characters.
The subject of divorce is a very common theme that young people experience. A realistic Drama in an Art house form is the genre that we want to use. Me and my partner Jacob have already done research regarding the subject of divorce. 'What Maisie Knew' set in New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle. This is a perfect example of a young girls confusion and insecurity about her parents constant arguing. Her life is very unsettled and never knows who to trust or to see as her real mother and father. My partner Jacob's parents are divorced which gives us an advantage about his view about divorce. With his knowledge and viewing of this film, it has inspired us to get deep into the theme and make it as realistic as possible.
The Narrative analysis is the way in which a story is told. Narrating a story varies from the conventional beginning, middle and end or even starting the film from the end and showing how the ending happened. I am going to discuss the most common narrative analysis in most films.
The story starts with the Equilibrium- The state of equilibrium usually occurs at the beginning when the story is introducing its characters and a brief to their lives. Not much will happen at the start of a film, meaning that there is minimal tension.
As the film progresses there has to be a Disruption of Equilibrium- A character's story is turned due to a new character or situation that makes things difficult. This is mainly due to a problem or argument that has occurred. Another reason is the Protagonist wanting to achieve a goal and having to fight to make this happen. Tension starts to take over the film or the characters mind.
Recognition of Equilibrium- This is when the main character establishes equilibrium again. He/she must find out what caused the disruption in the first place. This makes it easier for the audience to understand why the character wants to achieve their goal in the first place.
An attempt to repair the damage- Once the main character understands why the problem has occurred, they must attempt to sort it out and return to equilibrium.
New Equilibrium- Usually at the end of the film the problem is restored and back to its calm state. The main character has achieved his/her goal and go back to their original equilibrium.
The characters who are usually in a film: PROPP:
Protagonist
Antagonist
Helper
Heroin
Father figure
Teacher
Donor
In class we discussed last year's films and how we can improve and develop our ideas. One key aspect of research that we looked at was our analytics on our film 'Unattainable'. We discovered that the majority of the audience only watched up to 0:44 seconds, although it was a two minute opening.
This made us realise that our storyline was not interesting enough to hold an audience' attention. This feedback is extremely useful for making sure that we think through our idea and continue to develop ideas as our tests shoots start. Our short film is between 5-8 minutes, meaning that to keep the audience captured for the entire film, we have to make our idea relatable and of course interesting. For this years film we are going to include dialogue and more than one main character. Hopefully this will keep our audience engaged and watch the entire short film.
These are a few of the most common mistakes that students make in their short film. This is very useful research for us as we can now rule out all of these techniques and make sure that we wont be going down a dark road before we've even started filming. Below are a list of the most common mistakes made in students films. Looking at previous student films I have witnessed these conventional ideas used in nearly all of them. This is probably from a lack of planning or not being able to come up with a interesting storyline that will engage the audience. This is a wake up call to make sure that none of these mistakes are made in our short film.
Dolly Zoom
Tortured Artist Film
Dream Sequences
Time Elapse Montage
Bad Audio
Wake Up Scene
The website below shows many filmmaker mistakes that are usually applied in students films:
Representation: The way something is shown. Ideology: What someone believes- How is that shown in the film: Represent a character in a different way.
Forms: Construction. MES, camera, editing, sound- Narrative, Genre, Media language.
About a Girl
Mis en scene:
The setting is particularly bleak throughout, which reflects the social background of the characters and her feelings.
The majority of the shots are filmed along a canal, with the girl constantly walking along. This may give the audience a sense that they are getting a ‘tour’ of the area and form an opinion on the location.
Many of the buildings are boarded up and represent the ‘estate’ life. This adds to the social opinions the audience may have of the character.
Camera:
All shots where the girl is speaking directly to the audience are handheld, which makes the audience feel like they are walking along with her.
These handheld shots contrast the controlled shots used when the girl is not speaking to the camera. This may give the impression that she does not wish a viewer to see these parts of her life.
Many of the shots help portray her loneliness e.g at the beginning she is seen as a dancing silhouette on her own, as well as shots of her alone on a park bench etc.
Most of the shots throughout are very close and personal. At the end however, a crane shot is used to pull out from the canal. This may represent the audience’s detachment from the situation, following their false feelings of attachment.
Sound:
The use of Britney Spear’s song ‘Oops I did it again’ and lyrics such as ‘I’m not that innocent’ aid in hinting the true nature of the girl, whereas an audience may assume she is simply singing because she is a teenage girl etc. The sound of her singing is quite eerie and unsettling, foreshadowing the nature of the narrative.
The loss of foley sounds when the camera has an underwater angle puts focus onto the floating baby, adding to the disturbing nature of this scene.
Her intonation often changes from playful and amusing to serious, which shows the conflicting nature of her personality.
Editing:
All of the shots are jump cuts.
At the very end, the shots become less bleak and some colour is shown. This may be representative of her relief following the dumping of the baby.
As the girl speaks of a certain event in a particular, false manner, there are often jump cuts to the reality of that scene.
Long shots with cuts are often used when she is not speaking to emphasis her loneliness and pace the piece effectively.
When making a short film it is essential to include the codes and conventions to make a successful film.
Characters:
Usually in short films there are only 2-3 main characters. Unlike a feature film the time on screen is very valuable in a short film. Having 2-3 characters is easier to develop a back story that the audience will engage with. For example 'The Desk' has one main character who features throughout the entire film.
Budget:
Short films usually have a low budget. Many short films are made by young filmmakers who want to establish themselves in the film industry. Having a low budget will limit the actors and locations. The Independent market is usually defined by the budget that is available and the storyline. For example 'The Black Hole' uses only one main character and is set in one location.
Length:
A maximum length of a short film will range from 30-40 minutes. A film longer than this would be considered a feature film. Our short film will range from 5-8 minutes. This is the conventional time that many short films are.
Storyline:
Short films usually show an everyday situation that when coming to an end surprise the audience. This makes a short film interesting to an audience as they can relate to the main characters situation. For example 'Office Space' shows a man working in a boring office job however there is a twist.
When thinking about ideas for this years short film I was very aware about what worked and what didn't in our last film. Our research and planning last year consisted of looking at five openings to feature films that applied to our genre. Our genre of 'Film Noir' was very hard to find openings that compared in an obvious way.
This was our planning for conventions of 'Film Noir'. We wanted to make sure that we followed the majority of these conventions to send a clear message to our audience about the genre and storyline.
Here is a short video explaining the conventional ways in which narrative is told. There are seven key components in a story. The narrative analysis defines how the story is told.
Here are a few short films that I have analysed:
About a Girl
2001
Directed by Brian Percival
A young girl talks candidly to camera about her life with her mum and dad and her hopes for the future. But she is hiding more than we think. Brian Percival was an established commercials director when he made his first film from a script by his wife Julie Rutterford. The film, with a standout performance from young actress Ashley Thewlis, won a multitude of awards in 2002 including the BAFTA for Best Short Film.
First person narrative of young working class girl who is determined to be in a band with her friends. Stereotypical working class family and surroundings. Mum and Dad not interested in her by showing her alone in most of the scenes. Dad leaves her outside the pub and standing in the cold when he is playing football. He also doesn't want her staying with him. Shows the parents to be un responsible and not caring. The setting is very industrial- Factories, canals, chimneys. The setting is very grotty and stereotypically 'working class' This is portrayed in a very obvious way.
The Anti-Social Network
2013
The Anti-Social Network is a comedic short film about a social media addict named Lucas (played by Sam Mac). He is so consumed, the boundaries between his real life and his virtual reality are obsolete. A chance meeting with a girl named Leila (played by Shae-Lee Shackleford) forces him to come to grips with the ultimate paradox.
The Anti-Social Network was written, directed and produced by Shae-Lee Shackleford. She created the film to be a humorous observation of the social media driven world we live in. The film is aimed to 'poke' fun at is the obsession we have with online interaction, sometimes to the detriment of our real everyday lives and relationships.
Equilibrium- Hates his job, lives alone with two cats and spends his entire time on Facebook. Detached from the real word. Meets a girl but cannot come to terms with the real world. She dumps him because of his obsession with social networking.
Dis-Equilibrium- Facebook closes and he has a breakdown. Realises how addicted he's become and tries to win the girl back.
Equilibrium- Gets the girl and throws his phone away- Showing what really matters.
In class today we were looking into a few short films of our choosing and we were comparing a hypothesis that we were taught against it, this is the Todorov model.
The Todorov model is the theory that all stories including features and shorts all have a similar structure aka model to their story for example: this model explains that all stories have a significant beginning middle and end. In more complex terms its called: Equilibrium –> Dis-Equilibrium –> Equilibrium. So after seeing and understanding this when I go to make my film it is imperative that I use this model to a strength or defy it for a reason, because this is used in most conventional short films. Many films use the Todorov model to give their film a conventional structure of beginning, middle and end. Filmmakers will immediately discuss the start of a film, the problem in the middle and conclusion in the end. We watched a short film called 'Noah' which is a good example of the Todorov model. There is a clear Equilibrium, Dis-Equilibrium which then returns back to the Equilibrium.
This year I am continuing to work with the same partner. We made a successful film and worked well together during AS. Working in a group is a lot easier in managing different aspects of making a film. Being responsible for filming, editing and evaluating alone is a very difficult task. Last years film 'Unattainable' was an enjoyable film to make. Both me and Jacob had the same vision on the storyline and cinematography. We are already exploring different ways to tell the story through the technical process. The structure, character and narrative conflict has already been agreed on. During summer I did a lot of research on short films. I started watching a lot of short films which inspired me to think of an idea as quickly as possible. Coming up with an idea before returning to college would give us an advantage. This would be useful for receiving feedback and improving our initial idea. Our idea is about 'the collapse of a marriage through the eyes of a child'. This idea was inspired by my partners cousin who's parents went through a divorce. The cinematography and shots have already been thought of to expand our vision about how we want our film to look. We are both very keen on independent film which we hope will be shown in our film. Many feature films that I saw over summer were Art House films. The audience's that were at these films are the same market for our short film.
Compared to your conventional feature film which lasts over an hour and a half a short film is defined ultimately by the length. "The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science awards Oscars to short films of max length 40 minutes". My short film will be 5-8 minutes, this is the average time that most filmmakers use in their film.
Who makes them?
Making a short film is a very useful platform for upcoming filmmakers who want to show their talent to producers. Many short films have a small budget which makes it hard to show to worldwide audiences. The upcoming filmmakers who want to make it big in the film industry will usually make a short film to show their desire and capability to achieve in the business.
Who watches them?
The audiences for short films are usually young film fans who are prepared to take a risk in the independent market. Older audiences tend to be more conservative and want to make sure that their investment won't be wasted. Art House cinema appeals to a niche market, many whom want to start a career in the film industry. Watching short films allows you to be introduced to a broad spectrum of work.
Here a a few websites where you can watch short films: http://www.shortoftheweek.com/ http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/#page=1&filter=date These are a few examples of short films: This first short film 'Bitten by the frost' is a music video with a story. I liked the different shots showing the story told through one main character. It shows a man who's living a fairly unhappy lifestyle. This is shown by the boring office job that he has and the same routine he experiences. It follows the convention of a light hearted storyline that towards the end has a twist.
The target audience for film is a very niche market. Many independent filmmakers, producers and students are my main target audience. After watching and researching short films over summer, I have analysed that people who watch Art House and independent films are a much younger audience. They are the ones who are trying to break into the film industry. Making short films are crucial in establishing yourself as a filmmaker. Short films don't require a high budget unlike the mainstream high concept movies in big cinemas. Without a high budget, a short film becomes more personal and gives the characters a more believable lifestyle. Short films are not viewed by a a large audience, as a result the praise which they deserve are not given. You can view short films on websites such as Short of the Week, Virgin Shorts, Youtube etc.
In class we had a brief focus group about short films. We went around and discussed who watches short films and where did we find them. Many people did not watch short films in out group which was not surprising. Most of our group had watched short films at the cinema before a feature film. For example short films from Pixar and Dreamwork are usually shown before a feature film. Many of our group were still not inspired to research short films even if they enjoyed the ones before a feature film.
During our first A2 Media Studies lesson we discussed what is required for this years A2 course. The choices that we have for this years coursework are:
A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, no longer
than five minutes duration, together with:
a cover for its release on DVD
a magazine advertisement for the DVD
An advertising package for a new product or service, to include two TV advertisements, together with
a radio advertisement
a web pop-up
A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animation or a combination of both, together with:
a poster for the film
a film magazine review page featuring the film
After making a two minute opening sequence last year, I felt it would make sense to continue staying behind the camera and make a 5-8 minute short film. From what I have learnt last year about filmmaking, I am already looking into different ideas about genre, characters and storyline.
