In order to fully begin to visualise the mis-en-scene of our short film, I decided to brainstorm some typical key props used in films of the horror genre; in particular ones we are interested in using or are relevant to our story line.
![]() Due to how a common code and convention of 'horror' is blood and gore, weapons are often used as a prop in part of the narrative, as they impend not only pain and injury but fear to both victims and audiences. They are an interesting prop to feature as they can clarify either the 'bad guy'/villain trying to do wrong, or the innocent victim trying to defend themselves. Unsure of how to make a weapon relevant to our idea for our narrative, we are going to definitely include some degree of pain or injury, whether it be cause by a weapon or not, as the connotations of blood and gore will fulfil the criteria of typical horror films.
![]() A very simple, yet fear invoking prop often used in horror films are ringing phones. Often with a shrill and loud ring, phones can fill both the characters and the audience with dread and fear, particularly when there is a mystery as to who is on the other end. This is a particularly relevant prop we can feature in our story line, as our idea involves a baby sitter. Therefore the mother of the child needing babysitting can call our protagonist; thus we can utilise the element of a phone ringing. However, a typical convention of horror films is old fashion phones ringing, therefore we will challenge this by modernising it using a mobile phone, preferably an iPhone, and still try create tension with it.
![]() A prop we are particularly interested in incorporating into the mis-en-scene of our short film is old, vintage style mysterious toys. Due to how different old toys from a few years ago seem in contrast to modern toys children play with today, featuring old toys will appear unusual, eery and odd to audiences. We are keen to use old toys in shots at particularly angles and times of the plot to enhance the scare factor and even shock audiences, for example we had an idea of using a jack-in-a-box as a jump scare. This suits our narrative ideas that we have had so far particularly well, as the babysitter can be walking round the mysterious house she's never been to that she is baby sitting at and find the toys lying around, for example stepping on a squeaky toy.
![]() Along with the old fashion aesthetic mentioned prior to this about old toys, we had thoughts about how old books are often used in horror themed scenarios, as when they look worn out and dusty it heightens a sense of mystery. In horror films, the mis-en-scene often shows old books to give the impression that the location they are in is mysterious and old. As we are trying to use old toys in our narrative, we should be able to pair this with old books to emphasise the fear we are trying to inflict.
![]() Another typical feature that pairs well with old books and old toys is old photographs. They can portray mystery if they audience or characters are unsure/unaware of what is happening in the photos or who is in them, however they can also reveal things that have happened in that past that the audience or characters may not have known before. We will be able to incorporate photos into our narrative as they can be placed around the house the protagonist is babysitting at. An old, burnt or decaying/damaged nature to the photo will heighten factors of fear also as it increases the tension of why the photo is in that state - has someone tried to destroy it?
![]() Another rather effective convention of horror films is a clock ticking, particularly old fashioned 'Grandfather clocks' as they tend to appear more striking due to their larger size and louder pounding ticking sounds. These clocks are often coated with dust to increase the old, mysterious element. We thought that this would be interesting to incorporate during our narrative, as it can signify when the parents that the protagonist is baby sitting for should be home - midnight being the most 'scary' time for the clock to strike at. When deciding on the target audience that we are creating our short film for and the type of people it is being aimed at, an important factor that comes into consideration is the age specification rating. In the UK, this is know as BBFC, standing for the British Board of Film Classification. It is a non-governmental organization purely founded by the film industry. It is responsible for the censorship of films in cinemas and sold in shops in the UK. ![]() When deciding which category our film fit most in to we had to consider three things: 1. What kind of people will enjoy the narrative ideas we have had so far 2. What type of protagonist are we looking at - it would be suitable to aim our film at an audience of similar age to the protagonist so they can identify with them 3. What themes will we have, eg violence, that could determine which age rating it can and cannot fit in to The ideas we have had so far towards the kind of narrative and plot line we want seem most suitable for teenage to young adult, perhaps ranging 13 year olds to 25 year olds. The protagonist we were considering creating would be around 17 years old, therefore this will be the age group most likely to identify with her. Looking at the themes we want to incorporate, the three ratings our film should categorise in to could be 12A, 12 and 15. 12A/12 Category Criteria: -Mature themes treated suitably for young teenagers -Rare and justified swearing -Nudity but brief and discreet sexual content, sex may be implied -Brief violence without much detail, no blood, injury or weapon emphasis -Occasional gore -Brief 'soft' drug references ![]() 15 Category Criteria: -Frequent use of strong language is allowed, however continued use and sexual abuse is not -No constraints on nudity in a non sexual or educational context -Sexual activity is allowed but without heavy detail, responsible depiction of casual sex and occasional strong verbal references to sex -Strong violence allowed however not heavy detail on infliction of pain or injuries, sexual violence must be brief -No emphasis on easily accessible weapons eg knives -Drug taking is allowed however clear instructive detail is not When initially comparing the two age ratings we thought our film could be considered in either, however looking in more detail we have realised our film does not quite fulfil enough of the age 15 criteria. The 12/12a rating however is much more fitting. The themes we may incorporate that cause the rating to be 12/12a are brief swearing, one element of blood/gore, slight violence and the overall storyline being too mature to be rated the age category below (PG).
Our film would be rated as a 12 by the BBFC, and we think the most likely audience age range we are targeting it towards is 16-25 year olds.
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.
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.
The general definition of a short film is 40 minutes of less of footage and credits. As a group we're going to aim for a benchmark of 5 minutes worth of footage. ![]() 'Carrie' (2013) is a supernatural horror thriller based on a girl called Carrie who discovers she has telekinesis, a supernatural power allowing a person to influence a physical system without physical interaction. The film entails Carrie manipulating this power resulting in the death of her fellow high school students at their senior prom. By analysing this film by focusing on the codes and conventions, it will give us a good idea as to what codes and conventions we may want to include in our short film, especially as we are considering our short film to be of the horror thriller genre. Typical thriller horror codes and conventions: - unsettling/unnerving -scary/frightening -death -dark -fear of the unknown -darkness -supernatural Establishing the typical codes and conventions within a typical horror film, makes it easier to spot these codes and conventions in 'Carrie' as well as pick up on ones specific to the film. The opening sequence of the film instantly shows elements of a horror film, showcasing feelings of mystery and suspense, through the use of sound; a screeching cry comes from an unknown location, joined by a close up shot of a bloody bible, making the audience question what is about to happen. The opening sequence finishes with the title of 'Carrie' in red with a background fitting the dark convention of horror films and red connoting blood, a common feature in horror films. ![]() Further on in the film the audience discovers Carrie's supernatural power, telekinesis, another convention of horror films. Some of the most popular horror films involve story lines based around supernatural events/ powers for example 'paranormal activity'. ![]() Throughout the film, there is a central religious theme, regarding he mother, who is an extreme Christian and is incredibly strict towards Carrie. Religious imagery is common within horror films, however is usually used as a form of hope within a dark storyline. Carrie however includes an extremist approach to religion; Carrie's mother for example locks Carrie in a cupboard 'to forgive her sins'. This contributes to the twisted storyline. Blood, a main convention of horror films, commonly features within the film, which can also be seen to relate to the devil. The final scene, Carrie resembles the devil again fitting with the religious theme. ![]()
We wont be able to include all of these codes & conventions and may choose to go against some of them when we're planning our own piece. Things such as setting and sound we will be able to adhere to and would like to as we believe them to be key in making our film effective.
From this interview we found that what our audience finds most frightening about the Horror/Psychological genre is when the storyline is close to real life, because it makes the audience believe that it could happen in everyday life. This is scary for them because it means it could happen to them personally; which puts them closer to the story and has them thinking about how they'd react and deal with what's happening in the film. The scare factor also comes from the audience seeing how their normal environment is utilized by the film-makers to become a torment where a murderer could be lurking in their attic, etc.
This interview was helpful in identifying what our audience doesn't like: anti-climaxes and nonsensical storylines. However we found that chase scenes are effective in putting the audience on the edge of their seat. Appropriate diegetic sounds and a tense soundtrack is effective in building anticipation, suspense and bringing the story together. To educate ourselves fully on the technique used to create the male gaze, we decided to try experiment creating an example of our own. The camera zooms in on the lady's body so she fills the screen, panning upwards slowly from her feet in order to slowly reveal her body and present her as an object of lust. We see her body in parts (as objects) rather than her as a whole person, therefore objectifying her, based on her outward appearance.
Sometimes the objectification of women still takes place despite the fact it has nothing to do with the product being sold. Above we see Nicole Scherzinger advertising yoghurt by flirting with it and making sex noises. "If you have to use sexism to sell your products then your product isn't good enough" In order to try defy the male gaze theory, we decided to experiment using the same technique used to create a typical male gaze shot however try make the woman appear powerful rather than an object of lust and desire. We did so through the use of her stance, facial expression and the choice of music. After a theory lesson learning about Laura Mulvey and her Male Gaze theory, we formed a hypothesis that the audience would be influenced by the perspective of the video and there attention would be focused on the lady in the film and wanted to test this theory. 'Office Space' is a 5 minute short created by the YouTuber 'KickThePJ', who also plays the main character. The film's plot surrounds a typical 'white collar worker' slacking off at his desk, daydreaming and getting scolded for doing so by his boss. As the short progresses audiences eventually see him proceed to create a rocket to escape the earth and his responsibilities. This narrative clarifies the genre as fantasy/fiction. The title itself 'Office Space' is a clever pun due to the rocket at the end taking him to actual space and away from his office space where his problems are. This lack of job satisfaction represents the protagonist as a typical young office worker, as boredom at work is a common trait of people in his position. Furthermore, he has a heavy workload which is mundane and repetitive, causing his lack of productivity, much to his boss' chagrin. The boss himself is represented typically, due to his stress induced nature and the fact he refers to the protagonist by his surname 'Jones', like a teacher, showing his superiority and adding to Jones' unhappiness.
The audience this film is targeted at would be able to relate to this overall idea of 'wanting to escape' everyday life, as the audience would be young adults at school, college or possibly work and uni who would know the feeling of tedium he is portraying. The narrative is linear, starting with the protagonist at his workplace, proceeding to show his lack of enjoyment at his job, his bosses anger and his imagination running away, ending with the climax of him blasting off into space. However, if this film had been created by an institution with a large budget, this last scene would have been extravagant and high quality, but because the creator is a Youtube content creator he clearly has low resources, therefore the rocket is a shabby design made purely of cardboard and the blast off is a shaky camera and a torch shining from underneath the cardboard. This signifies the low budget of a typical YouTube content creator, which in comparison to professional institutions seems basic and self-produced. Furthermore, the acting is of a lower standard than professionally produced shorts, again showing the lack of budget and access to good actors and contacts. The camerawork is particularly effective and of a good quality, with interesting angles to convey an accurate recording of the storyline whilst also being unusual enough to still infer a sense of mystery. The sound quality is strong however the dialog of the boss is obviously pre-recorded and dubbed in over the footage which brings the film's quality down as the volume is slightly amiss. The editing is smooth and the cuts are well timed thanks to the creator being well experienced in editing videos for his job. The music is synchronous to the setting and helps build anticipation up to the climax. The use of sound effects are relevant and draw the audience's attention to the points of the narrative which are significant to the story. The mise-en-scene is all round well done and effective at keeping audiences involved in what is happening, for example the dull atmosphere in the office emphasises his boredom, making it relatable to his audience who are well aware of the dullness a work environment can induce. The lighting is always clear and suitable, for example in the at home scenes the desk lamp highlights the desk and focuses the audience's attention to what Jones' is doing. In order for our short film to be successful we need to analyse and view various other short films, , made at different standards for example at a university level. By analysing a short film produced by a university student, it allows us to aqquire inspirations from the film and their techniques, which are likely to be of a higher standard compared to students like us at a lower level. Priceless 'Priceless' is a drama short film produced by Staffordshire University students. As the film is a produced by university students, the overall quality of the film would be expected to be of better standard , as the students themselves are more experienced. 'priceless' excemplifies aspects of a better quality film right from the start, through the effective use of camera shots and smooth cuts. Even small things such as the opening title look smart with effects, like a professional short film, comparing to school students productions which are simpler and more basic, having less effect on the overall film.
The narrative involves two protagonists; a homeless man and a young boy; the boy helping the man in need for the man to then help the boy in need, resulting in the homeless man losing his life in order to protect the boy. The gripping storyline suits the drama genre, making the film itself clear to the audience. Due to the dramatic scenes and features of social standards regarding the treatment of the homeless man, the short film would be likely to attract an adult audience, however as the narrative is rather simple, its likely to attract a younger adult audience from 15-25. 'Priceless' plays on the stereotype of homeless people, through mise-en-scene, the man being scruffy and bearded. Furthermore he is represented as being disregarded by the people surrounding him and looked down upon in society. The students have emphasised this point clearly to the audience through use of low shots to make him seem physically inferior to the people around him. This stereotype is highlighted further through the stereotypical representation of the middle class mum looking down upon the homeless man, as if she is better than him, shown through the digetic sound of telling her son off communicating with him, the shot reverse shot from a higher angle, contributes to her superiority. Much like their clear use of mis-en-scene and camera shots to emphasise what they are trying to represent in the film, the students use of non digetic sound fits appropriately with the mood and setting of the film, for example as the boy hands the money to the homeless man, soft slow piano music plays to connote sadness and melancholy. Overall it is evident this film was produced at a university standard through the clear narrative, with a beginning middle and end, supported by smooth shots and appropriate mise-en-scene to support the representation of characters. As a result, by watching this short film, it helps us understand what criteria we need to make our short film as successful as possible. GRANITE This short film is made by people in year 13 studying A2 Media. The genre it looks like they have chosen is mystery and thriller. They have most likely chosen this genre as it is one of the easiest to do as they don't have the professional equipment for them to create something different which will work as well. It is also easier for students to make short films in which they and other teenagers can relate to as it means they know about the target audience and what they like and dislike in a short film. They have chosen a topic and sites which all teenagers can relate to. Its specifically targeted at teenagers who use social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Although the short film is completely unrealistic it can be used to inform and open teenagers eyes about social media showing how it can be a dangerous place. Because its made by people still in school, they either have no budget or a extremely low budget and non professional equipment. They do not have access to the right editing sites meaning they aren't able to make theirs as professional and precise as others, although as it isn't done as well as a professional one, it can increase the eeriness. REPRESENTATION The short films starts with three young men walking through a street, the shot is focused on a plant rather than the boys, showing that all three boys aren't important in the film. The shot flickers, then changing into the next shot which is a low camera shot of their feet walking. The low angle shot shows one of the young men walking of to their house while the other two boys continue on, showing the audience that he is the main character in the short film. The audience are yet to find out what happens in the short film as so far not much has happened. The name of the short film is almost like Facebook, with the blue background and the white writing, they have done the title well as they have the clicking noises whilst the letters appear. This makes the audience think that the short film is related to the internet and may be based on Facebook. They have used many camera angles during filming this and many editing techniques. One of which is when they are able to show the computer screen and his face behind it, showing his emotions and facial features while he scrolls through Facebook. Each shot runs smoothly into each other showing its well edited. There are a few interesting shots, for example, when they place the glass on the camera lens, making the screen go red as he pours the juice, this may suggest that there is blood later on in the short film, telling the audience its a thriller with horror aspects. There are close ups on the keyboard and screen as he goes onto the computer, this shows the audience that the film is mainly based around the computer and what happens on it. Facebook automatically pops up meaning the film is all based on this website, and the problem if there is one is caused on the site. They have edited it so the audience are almost able to see from inside the computer, meaning the audience can see the characters screen and his face whilst he scrolls down and looks at his Facebook. There is a close up on the message box, implying that something or someone is going to message him and cause something to happen. There is a mysterious low angle shot which is from another point of view. The audience cannot see anyone else in the room so they assume there is a ghost or something hidden in the room causing the disturbance, this means something big is going to happen which makes the audience feel suspense. The shots carry on changing between a normal shot and a mysterious low shot. A close up of his drink shows it moving, implying there is something else other than him which is going to cause a disturbance. A mid shot shows the audience blood on his fingers and his nose bleed, this makes the audience suspicious and makes them wonder what is causing the disturbance and what will happen to him. A close up of his shoulder shows the audience someone behind him touching his shoulder, another young man appears on his other. This implies that they have both fallen into the trap and died and now the main character has also died. It ends with him sending the same message he received to many other people. The audience can now predict what would of happened if the film had continued and was any longer. In comparison to the University Short Film, this one is less effective and realistic. The students aren't able to access the equipment needed for a more effective piece, unlike the university students. The BAFTA award winning short film would be a lot more effective as they would have the equipment needed and the time to create a effective short film which would be able to draw an audience in during the short time they have. A high school short film, would naturally be the worst of the lot due to the lack of equipment, time and interesting locations. This 6 minute short, Room 8, is of the Thriller/Suspense genre. It's set in a prison and focuses on a new prisoner meeting his creepy, stoic jail mate. These immediately has connotations of mystery as the audience as prisons and criminals have negative connotations which are typical of Thrillers.
Dialog represents the main character as cocky and risky as he 'takes his chances' with the ominous box. Whereas the antagonist is an older man shown to be reserved and knowledgable which is typical of older prison mates. The content is quite mature, it's not aimed at children, as it has a dreary atmosphere, includes a disturbing ending and is set in an unsettling location with matching characters. Therefore it is most likely aimed at young adults as the genre's codes and conventions appeal most to the 16-25 age group. Theres a linear narrative as we find out information along with the main character as the story progresses, however the first scene foreshadows the ending, in which case it could be considered as circular considering the stories surreal nature. The short was produced by Bombay Sapphire's Imagination Series in 2013 and then the film went on to win the BAFTA for Best Short Film 2014. As they're a popular company they were able to contribute a large budget to the film and production. As we found last year, a large budget means higher quality equipment and production team, therefore the overall result is award winning quality. Bombay Sapphire benefits from The Imagination Series as they're able to aid budding film makers and involve themselves in the creative industry. So by doing this they're able to get their brand name on a renowned, televised, national award. The audience can tell that the film is made by with a bigger budget and by trained film makers as the storyline is more ambitious and they use technical editing with professional technology to realistically portray the contents of the box and the miniaturisation of the main character. College students may be able to have a plot as ambitious but the technology is not available to them ands the production may not come together and be executed as well as this one. First stage of researchThe first step of our research towards short films is for us to look at various short films created by different production teams, in order to assimilate the differences between high production quality and lower skill sets. Taking one each, we are looking into a film created by an amateur creator of our age, for example a school student, a current university student creator, a postgraduate level creator, and lastly a professional institution.
As a group, we collectively predict that the professional institution will be the most qualified and have the highest budgets, therefore their film will be the most advanced and effective, whereas the creator of our age shall be the least developed and technical. This means we think the high institution will be best at drawing in and keeping audiences attentions. Overview Through this blog portfolio, we intend to be documenting the process of the creation of a short film. This shall be separated into three sections. The first section shall be the 'Research' towards short film; us researching short films in general, the production of them, different genres we are interested in making our film, target audiences we are interested in aiming it at, etc.
After we have down our research, we can begin to start the 'Planning' of the actual film - looking into who shall be responsible for different key areas of production; camerawork, editing, lighting, mis-en-scene, sound etc. We also shall plan locations, costumes, specific details of the characters etc. Finally, after creating our film, we shall complete an 'Ancillary Task' - creating a poster for the film and a magazine film review. |
AuthorsMolly Broad Archives
February 2016
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