When creating a short film, the narrative has to be shortened in order for the film to be of a short length. To help us with our narrative when it comes to the production of our short film, I have decided to compare a narrative of a short film as well as from a television episode. I am looking at a television episode as they are almost like snippets of one big film, containing narratives which as a result create one big narrative; in which case the narrative structure of a television episode also has to be relatively short. By comparing the two it enables me to see what elements are featured within each narrative to ultimately give us an understanding hot how we should structure our narrative for our short film. Basic Narrative StructureShort Film NarrativeAs short films are of a limited length, the narrative needs to be restricted and more simpler in order to execute the story line successfully to audiences. I have decided to look at a narrative of a short film from the horror genre to help us construct our narrative, knowing what to include and how much to include. 'Bedtime'Exposition = Beguins with mother reading a bed time story to her younger daughter, establishing the setting of the film being in a family home, and the main protagonists being the family made up of the mum and daughter. Rising Action= The daughter is reluctant to go to bed, appearing to be scared of something and asks to keep the light on as she goes to bed. This now creates a new centre of tension where the rest of the narrative stems off. Climax = The mother returns to the room after the daughter cries for her help, in doing so, the build up of tension suspense builds due to the fear of the unknown, adding to the thrill of the narrative. When checking under the bed she finds a duplicate of her daughter, appearing frightened at the girl on top of the bed. Falling Action= As a result of the 'monster' under the bed the mother is then attacked, addressing the arising suspense and adhering to the thriller element of the film. Dénouement = The new normal is now created. Instead of a peaceful family evening, the harmonious relationship between mother and daughter has been disrupted due a monster under the bed, changing the events of the night. As the short film is of a limited time, being only over 2 minutes long, it can be recognised as a challenging task to form a basic narrative structure and fit it all in. However by looking at the short film 'Bed Time' it exemplifies the need to adhere to a basic narrative structure in order to execute the storyline securely and effectively. Television Episode NarrativeTelevision episodes have narrative structures known as a 'story arc' being an extended or continuing story line prolonged through episodes creating the narrative arc. In this case narratives within a tv episode are unlikely to follow the basic narrative structure as the whole narrative itself is spread across several episodes. In which case the stages of narrative may be slower and less obvious than in a short film, for example the rising action may occur in the second episode of a series. I've decided to look at a narrative from a tv episode also from the horror genre to compare to the short film and see the differences between the structure of the two narratives. American Horror Story: Episode 21) The episode starts in 1968, introducing two nurses who are studying for their test. This is the exposition, however only to this particular scene as the two nurses are not recurring characters in the series. The nurses greeted by a mystery man; the rising action. This man then threatens the two creating the climax of this particular scene. The two girls are brutally murdered and are left in the house to haunt other residents in later years. In this scene alone, the basic narrative structure is created. However as it is only one scene, it can be seen a television episodes narrative consists of lots of other narratives creating one whole story line.
2) The narrative then moves on to present time, focusing on the main characters of the series. The Dr is talking to his new patient about her illness, creating the exposition for the rest of the episode. 3) The next scene, shows the Dr meeting a girl who he previously had an affair with discussing the future for her pregnancy, creating the exposition again which will later unravel towards the rising action and climax which will take place later on in the series. 4) The Doctor's patient has broken into his home in an attempt to recreate the break in previously seen at the start of the episode, creating the climax 5) The episode finishes, with the three people who broke into the house murdered, creating the denouement, as the setting and tone of the episode has changed. However many parts of the narrative are still unfinished and unanswered, for example the pregnancy, therefore the narrative must continue in later episodes.
Learning about Barthe's theory on enigma and action codes gives us an idea of how to incorporate these codes into our short film. As we are considering doing a short film of the horror or phycological genre, incorporating the enigma code into it provides a sense of mystery which is a stereotypical convention of both the horror and phycological genre.
OverviewWhen planning and producing our short film, it is important that we establish the key differences in the codes and conventions between short films and film trailers. This is due to how their similarity in length could cause one to seem similar to the other if the wrong codes and conventions are used. I have decided to watch and analyse both a short film and the trailer promoting it, making a distinction between the elements and techniques in both by comparing and contrasting them. This will help me to distinguish the differences of conventions between the two. Due to the length of our short film being similar to the length of a regular film trailer we need to understand clear conventions that are strictly trailer-based so we do not use them in our film and make it seem too much like a trailer. The 56 Year Old Boy - Film TrailerThe 56 Year Old Boy - Full Short Film
The Frozen Ground Soundtrack - non-diegetic music used in the film. It adheres to the typical conventions of horror themed music. It's eerie and builds anticipation. Some clips have a quicker beat than the others to keep scenes going and to keep the audience engaged. This film has a linear narrative meaning that everything happens in chronological order.
I decided to compare a short film to a feature film with similar narratives, to gain an understanding as to how easy it is to include the same elements in short films found in regular films, and if so, gain an understanding as to whether including these elements have the same effect in a short film as they do in a regular film. This comparison ultimately will give us an understanding of what we will need to include in our short film, to make it as effective as a normal length film. I also decided to focus on films in the horror thriller genre as this is the genre we are considering to choose for our short film. This will help us identify codes and conventions to include in our short film, taking inspiration from codes and conventions found in films, which will hopefully have the same effect when in a short film. Short Film- 'Skypemare''Skypemare' is a horror thriller short film based around a Skype call between two friends on halloween. The narrative involves one friend being pranked by the other, being convinced by the other friend through a series of annoymonous videos portraying her being attacked by an unknown figure. This prank as a result causes the stabbing of the protagonist. ![]() The short film begins with a news report, stating there is a murderer about on the night of halloween. This is a stereotypical convention of horrors; the film usually starts with an element of drama to trigger the rest of the narrative and the events that follow because of the drama. Likewise characters such as murderers are common in horror films. The element of drama and suspense is emphasised by the narrative being set on halloween night, where all conventions of horror are featured. ![]() The narrative involves two friends talking over Skype, supposedly both home alone. The fact they are both home alone on halloween night contributes to the notion of suspense throughout the short film as it makes them more vulnerable. ![]() A mid shot from the laptop camera's point of view reveals a shadow of an unknown figure to be behind the woman, who is supposed to be home alone. The dark mise-en-scene is typical in horror thrillers, and the shadow contributes to the thrill and suspense, creating the element of the unknown. By viewing this scene from the computer screen it appears as if the viewer is directly watching the scene, contributing to the viewers feeling of thrill, as if they are their witnessing what is happening, like the other friend on the other end of the Skype call. ![]() The friend receives an anonymous file, again contributing to the fear of the unknown, a stereotypical convention of horror thrillers. Sending the file also adds to the key role that technology is playing in the short film. As the narrative is primarily involved with technology, it shows modern aspects, offering modern codes and conventions which we may be able to take inspiration from in our short film. ![]() the anonymous clip reveals to be a gory video of the friend who has supposedly been brutally murdered. the use of blood is stereotypical in horror films. The bloody murder is a cliche ending of many horror films. Feature Film- 'Unfriended''Unfriended' is a horror thriller feature film based on a girl who kills herself due to a cyber attack after a video is posted anonymously of the girl embarrassing herself on a drunken night out. The narrative involves a group of friends a year on from her death, reuniting on a group Skype call, in which an anonymous caller enters the call and threatens the group in several ways online. This narrative is very similar to 'Skypemare' showing modern conventions of horrors, involving technology as a key role in the narrative. ![]() The film starts showing a news report on the suicide of Laura Barns who killed herself after a series of cyber attacks from her peers due to an unknown source posting an embarrassing video of her on a drunken night out. The introduction of this element of drama is a stereotypical convention of horror films as it allows the rest of the events to ensue from this. This was seen in 'Skypemare' when the news revealed a murderer was on the loose. ![]() During the friend's group Skype call, an unknown caller joins, which is unable to be removed from the call. This adds to the feeling of suspense and fear of the unknown, as neither the audience or the protagonists are aware who this person is and what is going to happen. Much like the unknown person in 'Skypemare'. ![]() From here on, the unknown source begins threatening the friends. Forcing them to partake in games such as '21 dares'. The use of death threats and force is common with horror films used to manipulate victims and add to the notion of fear and violence. ![]() The unknown antagonist continues their threats however starts to physically control things. For instance the friend's lights are suddenly turned off in their rooms. This contributes a sense of super natural activity, a stereotypical convention found within horror films, e.g 'Paranormal Acitvity' ![]() In one scene, one of the friends is forced to place their hand in a blender. This adds gore and violence into the mix of elements within the film, which further contributes to the genre of horror. ![]() Through the use of the fear of the unknown, gory violence, threats and supernatural/telekinetic power combined, the film creates the feeling of suspense, terror, alarm, mystery etc… for both the protagonists of the film as well as the audience who relate to the friend's by seeing everything form their point of view. Ultimately combining all stereotypical codes and conventions of horrors to ensure the film 'Unfriended' meets the expectations of its genre. Ultimately, both the short film 'Skypemare ' and 'Unfriended' the feature film, follow similar narratives involving stereotypical codes and conventions of horror films. However 'Skypemare' can be seen to follow more of a cliche narrative, using simpler codes and conventions having a more basic effect on audiences. Compared to 'Unfriended' containing a whole ranges of codes and conventions found within horrors, in a more detailed way to have a greater effect on audiences. So from this it has helped us recognise what codes and conventions we need to include in our short film as well as how to apply them in order for out short film to be successful.
Having decided upon our genre for our short film, being horror genre, I have looked at stereotypical codes and conventions within horror genre films, to give us an understanding as to what codes and conventions we need to include in order to execute a horror short film successfully. To help us decide what genre our short film is going to be, we decided to conduct a survey, showing 3 different short films from 3 different potential genres we are interested in doing, the genres being horror, comedy and romance. We showed the films to group of teenage girls, a target audience we are interested on focusing on and asked them a series of questions on their opinions of the three films. Romance Genre: Horror Genre: Comedy Genre: Our Voxpop Survey:Conclusion:From this survey, we found the horror film was profoundly the most popular of all three genres, having the most effect on the viewers. The comedy short film was seen as the least popular out of the three. These results have helped contribute to our decision as to what genre we are going to make our short film. As a result we have decided to rule out the option of using a comedy genre as these answers from this group of our potential target audience has highlighted the difficulty a comedy genre brings to actually make it funny, compared to the horror genre, which seems to have the most effect on audiences.
I decided to draw out a mind map of things we could include in our horror-thriller short film. We discovered we could use a lot of things in our thriller to make it a more interesting and thrilling piece.
'Published on May 16, 2015"The Invitation" tells of the uneasily humorous account of a notorious predator, who menacingly preys upon the vulnerable, using a dinner invite as their lure.'
Editing: The editing was really well done, the viewer easily assumes that the man is the murderer that the radio broadcaster is talking about at the beginning of the film. We see him being a creepy old man in the park by showing him staring at girls and cutting to shots of girls walking past and their reactions. The quick cuts of the two getting into the car start to hint at the girl being the murderer but we still don't have any doubt about the character of the man as we see him smirking to himself. The cuts made while they're having their conversation are interesting and show the charters reactions.
Alison Bechdel came up with the test in a comic released in 1985 about two women discussing what films they'll see at the cinema.
http://bechdeltest.com is a regularly updated, user-edited website with database of films which do and don't pass the test. We would like to pass the test in our piece, however because it's a short film we won't have many characters and the results on whether we pass or not may be ambiguous because of the nature of our film. There will be more of a focus on the dilemma in the story rather than the development of characters that would be included in a feature length film.
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AuthorsMolly Broad Archives
February 2016
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