We did filming for our production on 2 separate occasions – Saturday 7th November and Thursday 26th November. The filming took place at Sophie’s house. This was to make sure that we had everything we needed at hand. Also, we needed to have a setting that would be believable as the son’s bedroom, and this was possible at Sophie’s house.
As we only did two days of filming, we needed to make sure that we used our time effectively. When filming different shots, we repeated them a couple of times – and sometimes from different angles – so that we had more footage to edit, or in case there were any mistakes made. Also, if we would have needed to film shots again, there would be no guarantee that the lighting would be the same.
We tried to film most of the shots as chronologically as we could. However, Gavin was only available to film on one of the days. This meant that we could leave some of the shots without him in them out and film them separately.
Although we had an idea of how we wanted the shots to be framed prior to filming, on the days of filming, we changed our minds. We found that being in the actual situation/setting of the shots of the film changed our perception of different shots and how they should be filmed.
A lot of the shots in the production were filmed using a tripod to keep the frame steady and looking more professional. This being said, there were some shots in the film, e.g. when Gavin is walking down the stairs, which we decided needed to be shot with the handheld camera without the tripod. We thought that this would give the audience the feeling of being more involved in the film, as if they were following Gavin themselves.
For most of the film, the audience are more aware of what has happened than the character of the Mom, in the sense that they see Gavin leaving for the army. Whilst filming, we had to keep this in mind, so that we could make the audience feel like they have the upper hand over the Mom.
Also, whilst scripting and filming the production, we wanted to ensure that the audience connected with the Mom. To do this, we emphasized the isolation of the two characters whilst having the Mom talk to the audience through the voiceover.
All of the shots in the film are set in the daytime, apart from one. To get the effect of daytime progressing into night time without having to film at night, we set the camera up so that we had the shot that we wanted. Then, whilst recording, I slowly pulled the blinds down so that is slowly got darker and darker. We did the same in reverse when we wanted the shot to get lighter.
We made a conscious decision to film in as few different places as possible, so that the audience get the feeling that the Mom is trapped in her own thoughts.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Casting
The only characters that are going to be in our short film are the Mom, and the son who has died.
The Mom: Sophie McCulloch
In the film, the Mom will be going about her daily chores. She will start out by making the breakfast. Later on, she will be taking clothes into the son’s bedroom, and looking at some of his football trophies. We are able to get all of these props at Sophie’s house, where we plan to do our filming.
The Son: Gavin Perry
The son has already gone to war and died when the film takes places. Therefore, he is shown in flashbacks of when he is preparing to go to the army. The props that he will need are a rucksack of clothes that he takes with him. Also, there will be focus on a photo that the son takes with him.
The Mom: Sophie McCulloch
In the film, the Mom will be going about her daily chores. She will start out by making the breakfast. Later on, she will be taking clothes into the son’s bedroom, and looking at some of his football trophies. We are able to get all of these props at Sophie’s house, where we plan to do our filming.
The Son: Gavin Perry
The son has already gone to war and died when the film takes places. Therefore, he is shown in flashbacks of when he is preparing to go to the army. The props that he will need are a rucksack of clothes that he takes with him. Also, there will be focus on a photo that the son takes with him.
Final Proposal
Working Title: The short film will be called ‘Waking Up To Yesterday’. We have decided this is an appropriate title as the Mom is constantly waking up believing that her son is still with her. We feel that it hints at the theme of the story without giving anything away to the audience. It is interesting and I believe that it will get the audience thinking what the film is about.
Channel for Broadcast: I feel our short film would be best suited to be shown on BBC channels. This is because the BBC have their own film network that showcases new British filmmaking. It could also be shown on their website along with other short films.
Target Audience: Our target audience will be men and women who are in their late teens or older. This is because the subject of the short film may be harder for younger people to understand. I felt that by having a younger character as well as an older one would also attract a wider audience, as different people will be able to relate to the different characters. Also, in today’s society, the topic of war and coping with the effects of war, is relevant in a lot of people’s lives, so they will be able to relate to the film.
Genre: The genre of our film will be thriller/suspense. We chose this genre because it was chosen as a favourite genre by both men and women. The film will have a non-linear narrative, as it switches from past to present. We hope that by doing this, we will keep the audience interested in the film, so that the ending will have more of an effect on the audience. We also want the film to have some elements of abstract included to make it even more interesting to watch.
Style: We want our short film to flow from scene to scene easily to give the audience the sense that the Mom’s life is a blur from one day to the next. We aim to achieve this by using fades between shots. There are certain points in the film where we wanted the shots to feel more frantic and up tempo. We chose to use faster music to compliment these scenes. For our film to be a success, we need the audience to feel like they are included in the Mom’s story. By using point of view shots, the audience will feel like they are a part of the film.
Channel for Broadcast: I feel our short film would be best suited to be shown on BBC channels. This is because the BBC have their own film network that showcases new British filmmaking. It could also be shown on their website along with other short films.
Target Audience: Our target audience will be men and women who are in their late teens or older. This is because the subject of the short film may be harder for younger people to understand. I felt that by having a younger character as well as an older one would also attract a wider audience, as different people will be able to relate to the different characters. Also, in today’s society, the topic of war and coping with the effects of war, is relevant in a lot of people’s lives, so they will be able to relate to the film.
Genre: The genre of our film will be thriller/suspense. We chose this genre because it was chosen as a favourite genre by both men and women. The film will have a non-linear narrative, as it switches from past to present. We hope that by doing this, we will keep the audience interested in the film, so that the ending will have more of an effect on the audience. We also want the film to have some elements of abstract included to make it even more interesting to watch.
Style: We want our short film to flow from scene to scene easily to give the audience the sense that the Mom’s life is a blur from one day to the next. We aim to achieve this by using fades between shots. There are certain points in the film where we wanted the shots to feel more frantic and up tempo. We chose to use faster music to compliment these scenes. For our film to be a success, we need the audience to feel like they are included in the Mom’s story. By using point of view shots, the audience will feel like they are a part of the film.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Role Allocation/Casting
Now that we have a clear idea of what we want our short film to be like, we need to decide who will do what. We will make sure that we both have input on all aspects of the casting, writing, producing, filming and editing so that we can make the film a success.
As Sophie played a character in the film, I did a lot of the camera work. However, we regularly discussed what type of shot to use, as well as the lighting and props etc. The other character in the film is the son who went to the army. We knew we needed somebody who was tall and looked like someone you expect to go in the army. The part of the son is going to be played by Gavin Perry.
As Sophie played a character in the film, I did a lot of the camera work. However, we regularly discussed what type of shot to use, as well as the lighting and props etc. The other character in the film is the son who went to the army. We knew we needed somebody who was tall and looked like someone you expect to go in the army. The part of the son is going to be played by Gavin Perry.
Script
For our short film, we have decided that the use of a voiceover would be more effective. We wanted the audience to connect with the character of the mom, and felt that we could achieve this by having her talking to them directly.
Throughout the whole of the film, the son only speaks once when he says “I’m really sorry” to his mom. We did this so that the audience didn’t get too attached to him.
The film starts when the mom is preparing breakfast. She starts out talking casually to her son, as anyone would in that situation. Her tone changes as she then addresses the audience and introduces herself. The audience need to feel involved with the mom’s story, and will feel sympathetic when she lets them in on her secret “I think I’m losing my mind”. For the rest of the film, the mom’s discussion/monologue to the audience gets more and more in depth as she talks about her son and how determined he was to reach his goals. As she gets more comfortable talking, her language becomes more colloquial and the audience feel like we can trust what she is saying.
Throughout the whole of the film, the son only speaks once when he says “I’m really sorry” to his mom. We did this so that the audience didn’t get too attached to him.
The film starts when the mom is preparing breakfast. She starts out talking casually to her son, as anyone would in that situation. Her tone changes as she then addresses the audience and introduces herself. The audience need to feel involved with the mom’s story, and will feel sympathetic when she lets them in on her secret “I think I’m losing my mind”. For the rest of the film, the mom’s discussion/monologue to the audience gets more and more in depth as she talks about her son and how determined he was to reach his goals. As she gets more comfortable talking, her language becomes more colloquial and the audience feel like we can trust what she is saying.
Audience Feedback
I gave my questionnaire to 20 random people ranging in age from 11-54. I felt that by doing this, I would be able to adapt my product to suit a wider target audience. My questionnaire was completed by 10 males and 10 females. My data needed to be as unbiased as possible, so by asking both a male and female demographic, I was able to consider more varied points of view.
When asked how often they watched short films 80% (16) of the overall group said that they occasionally watched them, 5% (1) said they often watched the, and 15% (3) said that they rarely watch any short films. I found that, on average, more men than women watch short films. However, there wasn’t a significant difference between the two.
I then asked whether they preferred a linear or twisted narrative. Most of the people asked said they preferred a non-linear narrative. The only people who said they liked a linear narrative were at 11, 12 and 14 years old, the youngest of the group I asked. The target audience for my short film will be in their late teens or older. Taking this into consideration, it is obvious that majority of my target audience will prefer a twisted narrative. This, I believe, would make my short film more interesting for an audience to watch.
Next, I asked people what their favourite film genre is. Most of the women said that romance or thriller/suspense was their favourite genre. On the other hand, majority of the men said that they liked horror, thriller/suspense or action the best. As both the men and the women expressed interest in thriller/suspense, I believe that if my short film had aspects of this genre, it would attract a wider audience.
When asked what ending they thought was most effective, 90% (18) of people said that a shock ending would be better. The other two people said that a happy ending would be more effective. Prior to completing the questionnaire, I had already decided to use a shock ending, as I personally think they are better. Therefore, getting this feedback helped me make a definite decision.
I also asked whether people would prefer an ambiguous ending or not. 55% (11) of the people said that they would prefer an ambiguous ending. Most of these people were women. Everyone else said that they like an ending that had a more obvious meaning. Most of the short films that I watched for research had open endings that let the audience make up their own minds. I think this is a good idea as it can get people discussing their own ideas on the film and its subject matter.
The last question I asked was for people to, in their own words, explain what they thought the most important codes and conventions of a short film were. I got a varied response from all og the people asked. The most popular answers were:
- To have an underlying message
- Unpredictable/Surprising
- Shouldn’t drag on too long
- Relatable topic/subject matter
- Easy to understand
These are all things that I will have to take into consideration when planning my film.
When asked how often they watched short films 80% (16) of the overall group said that they occasionally watched them, 5% (1) said they often watched the, and 15% (3) said that they rarely watch any short films. I found that, on average, more men than women watch short films. However, there wasn’t a significant difference between the two.
I then asked whether they preferred a linear or twisted narrative. Most of the people asked said they preferred a non-linear narrative. The only people who said they liked a linear narrative were at 11, 12 and 14 years old, the youngest of the group I asked. The target audience for my short film will be in their late teens or older. Taking this into consideration, it is obvious that majority of my target audience will prefer a twisted narrative. This, I believe, would make my short film more interesting for an audience to watch.
Next, I asked people what their favourite film genre is. Most of the women said that romance or thriller/suspense was their favourite genre. On the other hand, majority of the men said that they liked horror, thriller/suspense or action the best. As both the men and the women expressed interest in thriller/suspense, I believe that if my short film had aspects of this genre, it would attract a wider audience.
When asked what ending they thought was most effective, 90% (18) of people said that a shock ending would be better. The other two people said that a happy ending would be more effective. Prior to completing the questionnaire, I had already decided to use a shock ending, as I personally think they are better. Therefore, getting this feedback helped me make a definite decision.
I also asked whether people would prefer an ambiguous ending or not. 55% (11) of the people said that they would prefer an ambiguous ending. Most of these people were women. Everyone else said that they like an ending that had a more obvious meaning. Most of the short films that I watched for research had open endings that let the audience make up their own minds. I think this is a good idea as it can get people discussing their own ideas on the film and its subject matter.
The last question I asked was for people to, in their own words, explain what they thought the most important codes and conventions of a short film were. I got a varied response from all og the people asked. The most popular answers were:
- To have an underlying message
- Unpredictable/Surprising
- Shouldn’t drag on too long
- Relatable topic/subject matter
- Easy to understand
These are all things that I will have to take into consideration when planning my film.
Audience Research
In order to get a better understanding of what an audience expects from a short film, I created a questionnaire. I have chosen to use both open and closed questions so that the people who do the questionnaire get the chance to give their full opinions. However, I have used more closed questions so that I will get more quantitative data that will be easier for me to analyse.
Below is an example of the questionnaire that was filled in by a random sample of people.
Short Film Questionnaire
1) Are you...
[ ] Male
[ ] Female
2) Which of the following age brackets applies to you?
[ ] Under 10
[ ] 11-15
[ ] 16-20
[ ] 21-25
[ ] 26-30
[ ] Over 30
3) How often do you watch short films?
[ ] Never
[ ] Rarely
[ ] Occasionally
[ ] Often
4) Which of the following narratives would you prefer in a short film?
[ ] Linear narrative
[ ] Non-linear/Twisted narrative
5) Which of the following genres would you consider your favourite?
[ ] Comedy
[ ] Romance
[ ] War
[ ] Thriller/Suspense
[ ] Horror
[ ] Sci-fi
[ ] Action
6) Which of these endings would you consider most effective?
[ ] Happy ending
[ ] Sad ending
[ ] Shock ending
[ ] Other _________________________________________
7) Do you prefer an ambiguous ending or one that is more obvious?
[ ] Ambiguous/Several possible meanings
[ ] Unambiguous/More obvious meaning
8) In your own words, what do you consider the most important codes and conventions that should appear in a short film?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Below is an example of the questionnaire that was filled in by a random sample of people.
Short Film Questionnaire
1) Are you...
[ ] Male
[ ] Female
2) Which of the following age brackets applies to you?
[ ] Under 10
[ ] 11-15
[ ] 16-20
[ ] 21-25
[ ] 26-30
[ ] Over 30
3) How often do you watch short films?
[ ] Never
[ ] Rarely
[ ] Occasionally
[ ] Often
4) Which of the following narratives would you prefer in a short film?
[ ] Linear narrative
[ ] Non-linear/Twisted narrative
5) Which of the following genres would you consider your favourite?
[ ] Comedy
[ ] Romance
[ ] War
[ ] Thriller/Suspense
[ ] Horror
[ ] Sci-fi
[ ] Action
6) Which of these endings would you consider most effective?
[ ] Happy ending
[ ] Sad ending
[ ] Shock ending
[ ] Other _________________________________________
7) Do you prefer an ambiguous ending or one that is more obvious?
[ ] Ambiguous/Several possible meanings
[ ] Unambiguous/More obvious meaning
8) In your own words, what do you consider the most important codes and conventions that should appear in a short film?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Mind Mapping of Original Ideas
I have decided that I want to create a short film, as I feel that in doing so, I will be able to use a lot of imagination and experiment with different techniques. Also, the codes and conventions of short films, I feel will be a lot easier for me to follow. Before I started working with Sophie, I had some initial ideas of my own. Although they are not in depth narratives, they are the basis on which a short film could be made:
1) SPLIT PERSONALITY
- Light and dark
- Shadows
- 2 sides of the same person
- Acting differently in different situations
- Schizophrenia
2) SOMEONE HAS AN OPINION, BUT NOONE IS LISTENING
- Someone else’s hand covering their mouth
- Overpowered by family/friends
- Shrinking/fading into the distance
- Can’t break through certain barriers e.g. physical, verbal and metaphorical
- Trying to move but getting nowhere
- Someone/thing holding him back
3) HIDING A SECRET
- Acting normally in front of family and friends, but when he is alone, the truth is revealed
4) SURVEILLANCE / BEING WATCHED AND JUDGED
- ‘Big Brother is always watching’
- Everyone knows his personal business
5) STEREOTYPES
- Typical perceptions and prejudices
When I started working with Sophie, she obviously had ideas of her own, so we combined these to create our short film. We knew that we wanted to have the theme of war and the effect of war included in the film.
- Young soldier
- Depression
- Home life
- Effect on the family
- Strong emotive ending when the young soldier dies
After going through our ideas, we have decided to make a short film called Waking up to Yesterday. It will focus on the daily struggles of a mother who lost her son in war. She cant accept that he is dead, and carries on as if he is still alive. At the beginning of the film, she is convinced that nothing is wrong, but slowly comes to terms that something has happened, but still isnt sure what is wrong. The ending shows the mother realising that her son is no longer with her.
1) SPLIT PERSONALITY
- Light and dark
- Shadows
- 2 sides of the same person
- Acting differently in different situations
- Schizophrenia
2) SOMEONE HAS AN OPINION, BUT NOONE IS LISTENING
- Someone else’s hand covering their mouth
- Overpowered by family/friends
- Shrinking/fading into the distance
- Can’t break through certain barriers e.g. physical, verbal and metaphorical
- Trying to move but getting nowhere
- Someone/thing holding him back
3) HIDING A SECRET
- Acting normally in front of family and friends, but when he is alone, the truth is revealed
4) SURVEILLANCE / BEING WATCHED AND JUDGED
- ‘Big Brother is always watching’
- Everyone knows his personal business
5) STEREOTYPES
- Typical perceptions and prejudices
When I started working with Sophie, she obviously had ideas of her own, so we combined these to create our short film. We knew that we wanted to have the theme of war and the effect of war included in the film.
- Young soldier
- Depression
- Home life
- Effect on the family
- Strong emotive ending when the young soldier dies
After going through our ideas, we have decided to make a short film called Waking up to Yesterday. It will focus on the daily struggles of a mother who lost her son in war. She cant accept that he is dead, and carries on as if he is still alive. At the beginning of the film, she is convinced that nothing is wrong, but slowly comes to terms that something has happened, but still isnt sure what is wrong. The ending shows the mother realising that her son is no longer with her.
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