There are certain codes and conventions short ‘thriller’ films follow. Looking back and analysing the production of my short film I believe that we have closely kept to these rules but at the same time, challenged them to create an effective physiological thriller.
As a group we discussed many different themes our film could be on the subject of. From the start we wanted to use the idea of relationships, so we decided to use the theme ‘obsession’ as we thought that this disorder can be connected to our subject in many ways. I also believed that we would be able to produce something that would tastefully portray a man who has an obsessive persona for his ex partner. An issue which is sometimes seen in society today. Our film raises awareness of physiological illness and it represents how the disorder can affect an aspect of everyday life, in this case; relationships. We knew that our film would be in form of a typical constructed narrative but to challenge common thriller films we have used various effects that change the order of time such as time lapses.
We discussed different locations which were suitable for the plot of our short film. For example, most of the scenes take place in Alex’s house. This location will make the audience feel closer to Alex as you are in his world and environment. Other locations included the pub which made the character’s ages more realistic, especially using the alcoholic drinks and the forest which represents Alex’s darker, more sinister side. I strongly feel that the locations which were used are very effective in setting every scene by making our characters and the storyline as a whole more realistic.
Before we produced our short film we created various scripts for each scene which scripted the dialogue in the whole film. In the scenes where Alex is by himself we did not use any dialogue to emphasise his mental disorder and the fact that he is in his own world that he has created in his mind. The scene with the most amount of dialogue in it is the pub scene. In this scene you see Alex and his best friend Tom having a conversation. I believe that this scene is very important as it takes Alex to a level of normality whilst he is with his friends. In everyday life it is important for a person with a mental disorder to be around their loved ones and I am glad we illustrated this in our short film. We purposely did not write any dialogue for Melissa (Alex’s ex- partner) because we felt that it would be appropriate not to hear her, to add a mysterious element to our film. Although Alex is a victim to his mental illness, Melissa is a victim as well which emphasises the stereotypical observation that victims are silent and unvoiced. This is the main reason why we did not write any dialogue for Melissa.
In all of our scenes we utilised natural lighting as most of our scenes were shot during the day or at dusk. In fact we did not use any artificial lighting in our film at all. Costumes were not seen as an issue during the planning of our film as we knew from the beginning that the characters and the target audience were of the same age. As we and people of the same age group are acting in our film we thought it would be appropriate to wear our normal, everyday clothes. This is because we wanted to make our present day characters seem realistic and the audience would be able to relate to them more.
We used particular props to set each scene. For example, in the pub scene we made it more authentic by having two pints of lager and a table umbrella, items you would associate with a typical pub. Also, when Alex is trying to write a letter to Melissa we used many pieces of screwed up paper to show his frustration and his strive to get everything in the relationship right. Looking back at the production of our short film, I believe that we should have used more props to make some of the scenes slightly more realistic.
The use of music was one of the main issues whilst planning our short film as we did not know what type of music to use and wear to put it. We then came to a decision that we did not want any music in the film but instead use the phone messages as a secondary sound source at the beginning and end of the film. This was to make the film more simplistic but also challenge typical thriller films by not having a unique soundtrack.
Whilst filming our piece we made sure that we used every shot size and various camera movements so we could be more creative, thus making it overall more interesting to watch. This included using a ‘dominant back tracking’ shot on Alex in the forest scene. This camera movement made Alex seem threatening and dangerous; the various traits we wanted to give him. Secondly, during the pub scene whilst Alex and Tom are having a conversation we used various ‘over shoulder’ shots. In fact, we filmed the whole of Tom’s side of the conversation first and then Alex’s side. We did this so the camera was in the exact position in all of the shots so the editing of the scene would look more continuous and effective. Also, when you see Melissa’s body on the floor I decided to use a submissive shot to make her seem weak, especially as Alex is towered over her. Another effective camera shot we used is a ‘tight frame’ on Alex whilst he is sitting writing a letter. Various props and several pieces of furniture are used in this shot but Alex is in amongst everything, situated in the middle of the frame. This was primarily to make him seem bigger and dominant.
Editing the shots was quite simple as we had experience in the programme last year. We first of all edited our own scenes and then we joined all of them together. However, I felt that we experienced some problems whilst connecting the scenes. This is because we kept thinking of new orders the scenes could be placed in our film. Nevertheless, we finally decided the order of which the scenes should go after thinking of factors such as the chronological order and the intended storyline. While we edited the film we added many dissolves/ merges to go from one scene to another. This was to make the film flow better. We also changed the audio in some of the scenes, especially the outdoor ones. This is because the wind affected the characters dialogue so we had to adjust the background noise in various shots. I believe we did this successfully.
The last piece of editing we did was creating the titles for our short film. We challenged typical films as we did not have any titles at the beginning but had all the credits at the end. In fact the only piece of text we had at the beginning of the film was the title. We used a typical black background and white font to make it simplistic for the credits. However, we did not use any type of soundtrack during the titles but instead replayed the machine saying; “you have no new message”. We repeated this voice until the credits finished.
Target Audience feedback
After completing our film we invited 15 people to come and watch it. However, the fifteen people who watched the screening were from our primary target audience (men, age 18- 25).
Most of the audience liked the film and thought it was very realistic. Some of the audience members also said that they could relate to some of the characters as they were the same age as them. Also, most of the audience even said that they could relate to certain traits of Alex, especially with relationship issues. On the whole, we believed that the feedback was positive and we are very pleased.
As well as creating a short film we were also asked to produce a film poster and magazine review for our film.
My review was in form of a newspaper article for the Sunday Times. The language I used in my review was very well spoken and elaborate which is very suitable for the readers of the Sunday Times as it is read mainly by middle class people. I made sure I was very informative about the film but also talked directly to the reader as a friend type figure. I feel that my tone was calm and collective but when I wrote about particular parts I like, my tone seemed to energise and become more passionate. The layout of my film review was in two columns and a box at the end where I put an image of the film. At the top I had the title and newspaper name, but to add more effect I also added four stars at the top which represents the star rating which I gave the film. Overall, I believe that the whole film review looked very realistic and the language and tone I used was appropriate for the target readers of the Sunday Times.
My poster is to advertise the short film for our target audience. I believe that I have followed typical codes and conventions whilst creating my poster. The central image is the side profile of Alex looking away from the camera. I used this picture because I wanted him to seem mysterious but threatening. I have darkened the whole poster as dark colours symbolise danger, death, etc. The font I have used for the title is stylish but simplistic and is white so it stands out from the dark image. Also, the written credits are in a common diamond formation, situated at the bottom of the poster. Lastly, underneath the title is the tag line; “How far would you go to make someone yours”? We came up with this tag line as we believe that is quite chilling which is very suitable for a thriller film. My film poster is targeted towards any thriller fans as although very simple, it is very effective in telling the audience what the genre of the film is and what it is going to be about. Overall, I believe that my film poster looks very professional and uses the typical codes and conventions to its advantage.
New Media
New media and technology has allowed us to effectively produce everything, from our film to blog posts during the assignment. However, this would have been very different many years ago before this technology was created. In fact I believe that new technology has democratized over recent years. This is in the sense that we as the minority can now create films, magazines, etc and not just the rich and powerful. New media allows you to create, produce and share pieces of work and text efficiently. For example, one can now upload their own videos on to the internet through the website Youtube. This acts like a show case where creators can show off their work to the rest of the world. Also, blogs can be used to share information on topics to larger audiences, such as the site we have used throughout the assignment. I believe that new media allows creativity in all areas of technology.
Using Media technology in research, construction,
planning and evaluation
Throughout our Media assignment I have used different media technology. At the beginning I researched short films using youtube. I believe that this website is very effective as it has millions of videos you can watch on every subject you can think of. This means that researching short films and its history was very simple. During the construction period of our assignment I used the editing software to edit our short film and digital cameras where we took pictures for our posters and other texts. Lastly, we have evaluated the project through blogging. This was very efficient as the site was practical to use and easy to upload each and every blog.
I believe that the whole project has been a success. I have learnt analytical skills during the construction process and I am overall very pleased of how our short film has turned out.
