Storyboarding

Storyboards, a set on Flickr.

This link takes you to my scanned pages of storyboards for Solitude.

Storyboarding is a very important aspect to filmmaking, through planning how your shots are going to be organised and also giving you a look into how your film will actually look.
"The making of the new and re-arranging of the old" Bentley 1987
This quote goes to show how to make market successful media, you need to look at current existing products, through following common conventions you know what your target audience already like. When producing and creating shot types I used influences from other films, such as 'Hunger' by Steve McQueen, which contains lots of camera movement, steadicam shots and pans between characters. This technique is included in my storyboard, in my opinion helping to create a very fluid, smooth and professional looking film.
Steve McQueen's 'Hunger' is a great film for me to analyse, as it is evidently targeted towards a similar audience to mine. It's an powerful, independent British film which was funded by Film4 and won numerous awards at film festivals, exactly how my film is intended to be.

Shot list

1.     Long shot. Establishing.  Eye level. Camera focus pulls from hospital background to elder in bed. 5 seconds.

2.     Medium shot. Slight tilt down to show elder in bed. 4 seconds.

3.     Close up. Tight framing on the face, while elder says “No please. Not now!”  5 seconds.

4.     Medium shot. Camera tilted, looking down at elder in bed. 5 seconds.

5.     Point of view shot. Camera tilted towards the ceiling. 4 seconds.

6.     Medium shot. Camera tilted, looking down at elder in bed. 2 seconds.

7.     Point of view shot. Camera tilted towards the ceiling, shot being pulled away into black. 4 seconds.

8.     Extreme close up. Eyelevel. 3 seconds.

9.     Medium shot. Camera tilted, high up looking down at elder in bed. 3 seconds.

10.  Long shot. Eye level with elder. 3 seconds.

11.  Medium shot. Front on, eyelevel head and shoulders shot. 2 seconds.

12.  Over the shoulder shot. Camera pulls from the child’s shoulder to the elder in bed. 4 seconds.

13.  Point of view shot. From elder’s POV, long shot of child sat chair. 3 seconds.

14.  Extreme close up. Elder’s eyes. 3 seconds.

15.  Black

16.  Medium shot. Eyelevel. 5 seconds. Elder “Someone much wiser than me….”

17.  Close up. Low shot. Children’s feet running. 2 seconds.

18.  Long shot. Eyelevel. Camera pans to follow child running. 5 seconds.

19.  Medium shot. Eyelevel behind child. Following him running. 3 seconds.

20.  Long shot. High, dutch tilt to child. 5 seconds.

21.  Close up. Low level. Focus on stones. 3 seconds.

22.  Long shot. Eyelevel. Pull focus between elder and child. 5 seconds.

23.  Medium shot. Low level looking up at child. 7 seconds.

24.  Long shot. Pan from child searching for stones to elder observing. 5 seconds.

25.  Close up. Camera pans and follows the child’s hand. 6 seconds.

26.  Close up. Camera focused on blood as child finds it. 3 seconds.

27.  Close up. Point of view. 2 seconds.

28.  Extreme Close Up of rabbit’s face. 4 seconds

29.  Point of view (rabbit). Tilted up to see the child’s reaction shot. 4 seconds.

30.  Medium Close up. Low shot. Camera pulls from rabbit in foreground to elder in background. 4 seconds.

31.  Long shot. Over shoulder (elder). 3 seconds.

32.  Medium shot. Ground level. 4 seconds.

33.  Point of view (rabbit). Tilted up to see child inspecting and becoming upset. 4 seconds.

34.  Medium shot. Eyelevel with elder as he finishes his speech. 6 seconds.

35.  Medium shot. Eyelevel with child. Camera pans as the child runs away into woods. 5 seconds.

36.  Extreme close up. Elder’s face. 3 seconds.

37.  Faded to white

38.  Long shot. Camera moves into the hospital scene. 3 seconds.

39.  Over shoulder shot. Camera pans around from behind child to end of the bed. 5 seconds.

40.  Medium shot. Eyelevel with child. Rule of thirds. 2-3 seconds.

41.  Medium close up shot of brother. Eyelevel. 2-3 seconds.

42.  Long two shot. Eyelevel. We see both characters in the frame talking. 6-7 seconds.

43.  Long shot. Eyelevel as the brother starts his long speech. Camera slowly pans into his face. 20 seconds.

44.  Medium close up. Reaction shot of brother. 3-4 seconds.

45.  Long shot. We see the whole bed. The camera pans from the end of the bed to the head. 5 seconds.

46.  Long shot. Slightly higher than eyelevel. As they hug, the camera pans left. 4 seconds.

47.  Medium shot. Behind child, the camera follows him leaving the room. 4 seconds.

48.  Long shot. Brother turns in bed. The camera creeps into the shot towards him. 4 seconds.

49.  Extreme close up. Brother’s face. Close eyes. 3-4 seconds.

50.  Blank.

51.  Extreme close up. Elder opens his eyes. 2-3 seconds.

52.  Long shot. Behind the elder and child. Sat center frame on bed. 2-3 seconds.

53.  Long two shot. Elder and child on bed. 8-9 seconds.

54.  Close up. Cutaway of child holding elder’s hand. 3-4 seconds.

55.  Close up. Elder’s face. He takes a deep breath. 3-4 seconds.

56.  Long shot. Eyelevel with elder. Camera is pulled away into darkness as they disappear. 5-6 seconds.

57.  The title fades in.

58.  Credits.

Little White Lies magazine analysis

Little White Lies magazine analysis

In further depth, this magazine is laid out very differently to conventional magazines, for example the curved edges on the images connote a very retro feel and the use of interesting graphics are iconic to the magazine in question. The exaggerated first letter draws the reader into the smaller text through starting the sentence and wanting to read more. Using an image from the film also gives you a sneak peak into what you are going to see when you go to the cinema, and also shows the locations that you might expect to see. The choice of this particular image is interesting, as it is very blue tinted with a dull inner city lighting. This connotes the bleakness and deep nature to which the film will be concerning, in this case it is sex addiction.
With my film poster I intend to use images of one my characters in a hospital bed, with very washed out and blue/grey tones to get across to the audience the dark nature of my film. The use of columns in this particular article really fits with the generic conventions of magazines and newspapers, making the text very easy to read, whilst the use of four columns also makes the page very symmetrical and has a good flow to it.

You could say that this particular film and the way that it is presented in the magazine fits in well with Katz and Blumer's Uses and Gratifications Theory (1974) and Dennis McQuail's more detailed breakdown which suggests that audiences are more likely to consume a text for these specific reasons:

• Gaining insight into circumstances of others
• Self-education
• Satisfying curiosity and general interest

This relates to my article as the audience would be more likely to consume a text such as information on a film about sex addiction because they would like to gain insight into the addicts life, learn about the character's problem and/or satisfy their curiosity and interest into an intimate and powerful film. This similar theory relates to my own film, due to it's dark nature concerning a topic that not many people seem to talk about.

Empire magazine analysis

Very much unlike my film this poster features a product that is very heavily reliant on mise en scene to create verisimilitude as it is set back in ancient greek times. Therefore the opening photograph on this magazine is going to immediately connote themes such as ancient history and fighting, whilst also relating to similar films such as 300 and Jason and the Argonauts. Unlike Little White Lies, the background of the page consists of two images, not just plain colours. This adds the appearance of a full page and unlike LWL the spread isn't consistently symmetrical.

"Humans use patterns to help them deal with a chaotic world. As much as some humans enjoy chaos or the randomness of life, most are upset by it, and probably ancient humans even more, as they hadn't a clue what was going on." (Kunu Chuck 2010)

This explains why humans are drawn to symmetrically, because some are upset by the chaos and randomness of life. I like to think that also having a clean cut and balanced layout looks far more professionals, and this is reflected in LWL's target audience of independent film enthusiasts (more likely to be social grade c+, my target audience).

I believe that the images and background within the page causes an interesting contrast between the dark moody atmosphere of the greek soldier and the white of the ancient marble, this links in with Levi Strauss's binary opposition theory which states that "great contrast is created to draw the viewer in and create interest". This relates to this double page spread, as well as my film and possibly my poster, not necessarily because of my choice in colour scheme, but because I intend to feature my two main characters who have a considerable age gap between them.

Unlike Little White Lies, this article has a title, whereas LWL has a page before it explaining "In this section we review Shame". This isn't something that I would do because I only need to do a double page, so including a title to the article could give a better impression on the audience. The use of a large section of writing that leads into the main article is really interesting too, as it draws the viewer deeper into the main article, which is also relevant to the exaggerated first letter which does this also.

All in all, I intend to use some of these conventions that you would find in generic magazines, such as the main title of the review page, the image(s) of the actors within the film, exaggerated first letters, the name of the film and the use of large titles. Using these conventions, I feel that I will create an interesting, professional looking magazine review page that will be suitable and attract my target audience to see my film.

Empire Layout Analysis

Tyrannosaur Film Poster

Tyrannosaur Poster Analysis

This is my second poster analysis of Independent British film, 'Tyrannosaur' directed by Paddy Considine. I have been aware of this film through my Magazine, 'Little White Lies', which is good for images and posters. I have started to see conventions on these posters, such as the director's name, the age certificate and the clear indication of the title. With these analysis' in mind, I intend to create a professional looking and eye catching film poster.

In more detail, the use of colour on this poster is very bleak which connotes the dark and intense themes that are underlined in this film such as domestic violence. The image of the small figure in the midst of a large landscape really connotes the insignificance of the protagonist in relation to reality and the council estate on which he lives. The graphic of the dinosaur underneath the ground not only links to the title, but also relates to the theme of underlying messages, that there's always something beneath or behind someone that you don't know about.
As with films that have dark meanings and underlying messages, the reason audiences view them is to gain an insight into the life of others and educate themselves in the subject matter. For example, Katz and Blumer's Uses and Gratifications Theory (1974) and Dennis McQuail's more detailed breakdown which suggests that audiences are more likely to consume a text for these specific reasons:

• Gaining insight into circumstances of others
• Self-education
• Satisfying curiosity and general interest

This all relates directly to my film through the dark themes of death, if my poster connoted that then I'm sure that I would attract the viewer to see my film out of curiosity, which is a great way of making sure my film meets the right target audience.

Treatment

“Someone much wiser than me once said that hindsight was a glorious thing. A chance to line our choices in front of us and show how every decision affected the outcome of our life”.

‘Solitude’ is a thought provoking short five-minute drama following the moments between life and death, looking back at your life and regrets before finally accepting that death is nothing to be afraid of.Following a dying man in hospital, we witness his death and are taken into a bleak empty space where he sees his younger self. The child takes him back to re-live his first experience of death, a dead rabbit. As the child stares at the dead rabbit, the elder narrates over what is happening, explaining how he became fascinated by the grandest mystery of all, death. As the memory fades away, we are taken forward to a memory of a near death experience that his brother had. The child asks him questions, such as “What is it like to die?” further continuing his strive to understand the concept of death. As we are taken back to the empty space, the man talks to his younger self about death, and finally accepts the fact that he has lived life to the full and that death is natural. At the end, the man decides that it is time and passes away. These scenes are set in three locations, a hospital, an empty, endless space representing limbo and a wood where the man recalls his first experience of death. The hospital and woods represent an idea of fear, isolation and the concept of life and death (life circle). Although the overall theme for this film is upsetting, it is something that everyone can relate to, therefore making the characters involved in the film on the whole more powerful and relevant to the audience as they could easily associate themselves, or people they know with the concept of death.

The dark nature of the film really contrasts with the uplifting ending, as the elder dies we can see that he is happy, in turn creating more of an emotional impression on the audience, hopefully giving them something to think about after they’ve seen ‘Solitude’. In short, members of the audience will definitely care about characters in my film, as they symbolise the futile battle that every human has against death. Furthermore, the characters represent the audience directly and people they know, such as elderly relatives or children.In terms of style, my film takes inspiration from films such as Steve McQueen’s ‘Hunger’ for the hospital scenes and Shane Meadow’s ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ for the drama and hard hitting tension built by narratives, I feel that this film would fit in well with the independent British film scene. The use of fluid steadicam shots, interesting cinematography, powerful acting and hard-hitting narratives really reinforce this point, helping to make my film follow the conventions of real existing products that, like my film, are targeted to a niche market.

The particular focus of my film is to give a production which impacts my audience, in order to do this I will use the Uses and Gratifications theory in the way it gives my target audience a chance to gain social approval from seeing my film, I need to challenge the question ‘what people do with media?’ (Katz 1959) By doing this I can include features which will gratify my audience in their every day life. My initial thought into achieving this is offering my film as a product of a more higher class social trend, as the upper class B and above are more likely to attend film festivals and watch more independent films as part of their hobby or with friends on a social occasion.

My film is only going to be five minutes long, and therefore the fact that I have a limited budget doesn’t seem to really impact my production as such. I feel that with high quality digital footage, I can create a professional grade, thought provoking drama with only paying for essentials such as petrol money.

Synopsis

“Someone much wiser than me once said that hindsight was a glorious thing. A chance to line our choices in front of us and show how every decision affected the outcome of our life”.

‘Solitude’ is a thought provoking short five-minute drama following the moments between life and death, looking back at your life and regrets before finally accepting that death is nothing to be afraid of.

Following a dying man in hospital, we witness his death and are taken into a bleak empty space where he sees his younger self. The child takes him back to re-live his first experience of death, a dead rabbit. As the child stares at the dead rabbit, the elder narrates over what is happening, explaining how he became fascinated by the grandest mystery of all, death. As the memory fades away, we are taken forward to a memory of a near death experience that his brother had. The child asks him questions, such as “What is it like to die?” further continuing his strive to understand the concept of death. As we are taken back to the empty space, the man talks to his younger self about death, and finally accepts the fact that he has lived life to the full and that death is natural. At the end, the man decides that it is time and passes away. These scenes are set in three locations, a hospital, an empty, endless space representing limbo and a wood where the man recalls his first experience of death. The hospital and woods represent an idea of fear, isolation and the concept of life and death (life circle).

Although the overall theme for this film is upsetting, it is something that everyone can relate to, therefore making the characters involved in the film on the whole more powerful and relevant to the audience as they could easily associate themselves, or people they know with the concept of death. The dark nature of the film really contrasts with the uplifting ending, as the elder dies we can see that he is happy, in turn creating more of an emotional impression on the audience, hopefully giving them something to think about after they’ve seen ‘Solitude’. In short, members of the audience will definitely care about characters in my film, as they symbolise the futile battle that every human has against death. Furthermore, the characters represent the audience directly and people they know, such as elderly relatives or children.

In terms of style, my film takes inspiration from films such as Steve McQueen’s ‘Hunger’ for the hospital scenes and Shane Meadow’s ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ for the drama and hard hitting tension built by narratives, I feel that this film would fit in well with the independent British film scene. The use of fluid steadicam shots, interesting cinematography, powerful acting and hard-hitting narratives really reinforce this point, helping to make my film follow the conventions of real existing products that, like my film, are targeted to a niche market.

Hal Smith directs ‘Solitude’.

Magazine Institutions

Little White Lies 

LWLies is a bi-monthly, independent movie magazine that features cutting edge writing, illustration and photography to get under the skin of cinema.

As they say on their website:

“Because movies don’t exist in a vacuum, we venture beyond the boundaries of the big screen, exploring the worlds of music, art, politics and pop culture to inform and illuminate the medium we love. Bold, beautiful and unique, LWLies is a magazine on a mission – to reshape the debate across the movie landscape”

I am subscribed to Little White Lies, and I love it because it gives me reviews of independent films, which I prefer to read about, whereas a magazine like Empire will tend to feature a Hollywood blockbuster, which just doesn’t interest me as much. LWL tends to review British films too, which is the industry that I hope to go into in the future too, so this magazine is ideal for me, especially because I’m interested in art, photography graphic design too. The people who read this magazine would more likely be an audience from Social Grade C or above and more likely to attend a film festival to watch short films.

Empire 

Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008. It is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain, consistently outselling its nearest market rival Total Film by over two-to-one and is also published in Australia, Turkey, Russia and Portugal. Unlike Little White Lies, it is released once a month and doesn’t tend to feature and entirely independent film on its cover or in it’s feature story.

In my opinion, my film would be more suited to featuring in Little White Lies, mainly because it has a review section for short films, whereas Empire doesn’t. My film is also targeted towards the same kind of audience as LWL and therefore it only makes sense to model my own magazine review page on this so as to make sure my product reaches my target audience.

Examples of shot types

Before I start storyboarding, I felt that I had to explore different shot types so that I know what to try and use in each scene when planning the cinematography. The first of my storyboards will be uploaded soon.

The use of various shots can really help to create continuity, whilst also creating representation with certain characters. Most importantly, the job of choosing shot types is just one of the many aspects of telling a story a story that I love doing as a filmmaker. The cinematography, framing and movement of the camera is the key to showing the action of the scene and can really make or break a film, no matter how long or short it is.

The Vimeo video school

The Vimeo Video School is an online community for anyone to learn how to make better films. On it there are many submitted videos about certain filming techniques, mainly about DSLR filming, a way of filming that is becoming increasingly popular.

Vimeo have many videos of professional Philip Bloom to run through the ins and outs of using a DSLR camera, which could be very handy for me because I will be shooting on a Canon 60D stills camera and also a 5D mark II stills camera too. Vimeo Featured Lessons give you in-depth information and tutorial videos that you can follow, or you can just browse thousands of tutorial videos on their website, which are organized into different categories and skill levels. This is good for me, because I already know a fair bit about filming through DSLRs, so if necessary I could look at the more advanced section of the film school.

Lessons are created by the Staff at Vimeo and structured to give you more details and in depth examples about the topics you want to learn about. Vimeo are continuing to expand on its film school to the point where anyone member of the public could upload their own lesson to the online community to display techniques so that eventually Vimeo will have an online resource to clearly explain and teach film-making to anyone with access to the internet.

This online collection of films could be a very good resource for me if I’m ever stuck or need ways to enhance my filming techniques. There are a number of video tutorials that could help me to fully use my own DSLR in an effective way. Looking at the examples online, you can see how effective DSLRs are at producing fantastic full frame HD video, and how good these cameras look in a fully edited and produced film. An interesting technique that I have recently seen on Vimeo is a way of using a neutral density filter to darken down the image which means you can in tern turn down the aperture on the camera to help create a vey shallow depth of field which is what DSLR camera are becoming renowned for. It’s techniques like this that I hope will really turn my film into something more than just a storyline, something that is visually pleasing and beautiful to look at.

Master Shots by Chris Kenworthy

For Christmas I recently received an interesting book on Cinematography, called 'Master Shots' by Christopher Kenworthy. Inside the book there are some amazing examples of shots and how to achieve them, including layouts and framing.

My film is very heavily dialogue based, which I feel might be quite hard to make visually interesting. In this book however, there is a whole section dedicated to shooting dialogue. I have included an interesting section below:

There's also a very interesting section on representation of characters through camera shots and movement and this is something that I could use with various representation theories such as:

“Old people in our culture are also segregated and treated as though they are waiting to die. There are close associations between dependency, illness, dying and death. It seems that increasingly in our culture there are pressures that encourage a reversion to infantile feelings which have to be madly defended against.” (Evans 1998) This theory is made incredibly relevant through the age of my elderly character and the use of carefully constructed camera angles could really help to build on this representation theory.

I feel that this book might become very useful to me when I'm doing the storyboarding process, helping me to create interesting and professional shots.

Snowtown Poster Analysis

For my secondary task, I need to create a film poster for my short film 'Solitude'. I thought that I should analyse some current film posters in my specific genre at the moment. The first of my film posters is of 'Snowtown' a gritty independent low budget film about cocaine.

With such a really thought provoking and gritty film, I feel that this poster really does it justice with it obviously attracting the right audience to see the film. For example, the use of a not very well looking main character with a predominant use of red that really connotes rage, anger and death, let's the viewer guess what the film is about as it really connotes murder and anguish. The actor featured on the poster looks particularly vulnerable, weak and ill which again connotes themes of young people and solitude as there isn't anyone else within the frame. The vague outlines of a landscape in the background and the stony wall that is behind the actor really gives an impression into where the film is set, in a poor suburban area of Australia.

"Adolescence is inherently a time of storm & stress when ‘all’ young people go through some degree of emotional and behavioural upheaval, before establishing a more stable equilibrium at adulthood." Stanley Hall (1904). This particular quote fits this poster and film rather well, because it features an adolescent as it's main character. The dirty and ragged outfit that the teenager is wearing really gives the impression that he is poor and stereotyping would lead you to presume that he's homeless or antisocial. The red that features on the poster and the grittiness in the background doesn't give a good impression on the main character as it represents him as a thief or murderer due to red connoting to rage, blood and anger. However, when you watch the film you know that this really isn't true, as this main character is sensitive, ill and innocent but unfortunately gets caught up in trouble. Hall's point is also relative to my poster as I intend to use an image of the child in my film on it, put instead I will be using lots of white to connote purity and heaven, to avoid producing a negative portrayal of teenagers.Snowtown Analysis

Edited Script

Solitude

I
[The scene opens with the Elder in a hospital bed, the lighting is moody and we see he is unwell, we can see he is pale and see bags under his eyes. We can hear beeping in the background of a cardio machine, the beep speeds up and the man is in pain. We hear him quietly plead “No. Please. Not Now.” He struggles and turns over, facing the ceiling, we see his vision falling backwards, the ceiling is being pulled away from him and his eyes close]

[We see the Elder’s eyes open, and there is a bright light. There is a spotlight on the hospital bed, and everything else is black. The Elder feels something squeeze his hand and he looks to see the Child sat beside him looking solemn. There is a moment of silent eye contact]

[Beat]

[The boy smiles awkwardly and the scene fades into a bright white into the next scene]

[End of I]

II

[The Elder stands in the woods, and begins talking. He isn’t as scared as before and seems to be relaxed, although he still is very engrossed in what he is saying and what is going on]

Elder: Someone much wiser than me once said that hindsight was a glorious thing. A chance to line our choices in front of us and show how every decision affected the outcome of our life.

[Two children enter the clearing]
(They appear as if they are playing in the woods, one child carries the sheet like a comfort blanket)


Elder: As children we are all blissfully unaware. Never knowing what’s around the corner or how we’d get there. (pause for thought) back then you had no idea that if you hadn’t explored further into that particular clearing, on that particular morning that you may have postponed your first experience of death.

(The children stop playing and stand silent as they spot a dead animal, The Elder acknowledges the children for the first time, watching what ensues)

Elder: You stand in tentative awe at this unfamiliar horror whilst the image bores deeper into those infantile eyes. Even though you can’t quite tell what this is, you know your world has changed forever. The universe has given you a sneak peek into what awaits; a small facet of the biggest secret on offer.

(One child wants to explore the dead animal, poking it with a stick and studies the remains as it is tossed about, mangled and twisted. The other child sobs, in shock and confusion over what has been found)

Elder: It’s this secret that drives a part of us to learn more, our curiosity and fear of the last and grandest mystery of all, death.

(As the child sits there sobbing for the dead animal, shadows approach from the edge of the stage)

(Fade out to black)
[End of II]


III

(Sound of phone ringing)
(The phone is answered)

Child: Hello? ...Yeah, I’ll go get her.

Voice: Hello? ... Yes that’s me.

Voice: ... Yes I’m still here... Yes I understand. Umm, yeah, yes, I’ll be down straight away... Thanks, thank you, goodbye.

(Phone hangs up)

[Fade into scene in a hospital. This could be in the same bed at the start of the play that the Elder dies in. But it doesn’t matter too much]

(The child sits next to a hospital bed in a wiry and uncomfortable chair. Another person lies on the bed in a white sheet, covered in bandages and wires. A monotonous beep echoes in the background)

(There is awkwardness and silence between them)

(Beat)

Child: They said you were dead.

B: (beat) Well, for a couple of seconds, yeah I suppose I was.

Child: I just wondered, what was it like?

B: Um, wow. Uh, you want to know what being dead is like? (A pause as he searches for the words)

Child: No I’m sorry I asked; you don’t want to talk about it.

B: No, no, don’t be silly, if you can’t ask me, who can you ask... so umm, so being dead?

(The Child sits closer, eager to listen)

B: Well it’s, it’s kinda’ scary actually. Umm, I know people say that when you die it’s like seeing this light at the end of a big tunnel, and I guess that much is sort of true, but I wasn’t going towards the light, I was going away from it.

(Looks at Child to see whether his question has been answered, the Child’s gaze tells him that he wants to know more so he continues.)

(Throughout this next piece of dialogue, we can see the action happening that the Brother is talking about. All the imagery is bleached and blurry, like a distant memory)

B: Um, so I’m facing the light, and the light is really just what my eyes are seeing, I can see the doctors and their equipment and I can still hear them talking. And as this is happening I’m drifting backwards, the view at the end of the tunnel feels like it’s being pulled away. In my head I’m thinking, ‘Oh God, this is it’, I’m floating away into darkness and I can still feel everything around me. I suppose that’s the scariest thing, I’m dead but my brain is still alive, I can still feel and think, but there’s nothing else, I don’t even have a body.

(The images of equipment and resuscitation fade away to an image of the Brother’s face in a cold sweat)

Child: Did it hurt?

B: Yeah. At first anyway, but it fades. It gets to a point where you can’t feel anything actually.

Child: I wish I could see it.

B: No you don’t, trust me; it’s definitely not something I’m looking forward to doing again.

(Sees that the Child is troubled by this comment and tries to encourage him)

B: But don’t worry, if you’re that excited, you’ll see it someday, just do me a favour and don’t go wasting your life waiting for it okay?

(Beat)

Child: Is there anything you want to change now you’re back?

B: (Chuckles) Well, hindsight is a glorious thing little brother, there was a lot that I thought about. But it’s late, you need to get out of here and I need to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow okay?

Child: M’kay

(The child leaps off the chair and hugs the brother)

B: Ow, hey, I’m tender remember.

Child: Love you.

B: Love you too buddy.

(Child breaks the hold and runs off)

(The brother lies down as if to go to sleep, he looks around and we can see that he is very alone)

[Fade to black]
[The beep that was in the background stops echoing and plays out one final prolonged ring]

[We see the Child and Mother walk through a graveyard to the Brothers grave and place flowers. The Elder is standing there too and speaking the dialogue, as the child and mother are grieving. They can not see him]

Elder: When he was gone I couldn’t help thinking that he now knew something I didn’t. A secret you only discover the answers to when it’s all over, when you give yourself up and pass on. If it really was like the tunnel he’d told me, I hoped that he wasn’t as scared as before. I hoped he wasn’t alone.

[Fade to white into the next scene]





IV

[Fade from white back to the spotlight hospital bed scene in scene 1]
[Elder is in his bed]

(A pause, the Elder studies the Child and tries to break the silence)

Child: A poet once said that ‘Man is the only being who knows he is alone. He is aware of himself and of his lack of another, he is aware of his solitude.'

Elder: Are you lost young man?

Child: No.

Elder: Then why are you here all by yourself?

Child: I’m not, you’re here too.

(The Elder laughs quietly to himself)

Elder: Why are you really here?

Child: Because you didn’t want it to be like your Brother said, you didn’t want to be alone.

Elder: No, I didn’t.

(The animated characters of the Elders life disappear, leaving him alone.)

Elder: Thank you young man, for not leaving me alone in this place.

Child: The dark can be a scary place by yourself. I think you’re ready to find out what the secret is now.

Elder: Oh yes, I think I’m quite ready to find out what it is.

Child: So it’s time?

Elder: I think we’re ready.

(The Child hold the Elder’s hand encouragingly and smiles as the Elder closes his eyes)

[Fade to black]

[Sudden fade to white and the title appears, followed by the credits]

[End]

Location Hunting

Location Hunting, a set on Flickr.

These are some photos that I took when on a family walk through a place called Respryn Woods.

I think that this would be a suitable place for Scene 2 of my film, where the child has his first experience of death. I placed objects in various places to see how I could frame the shots and where to place the dead animal in relation to the camera.

This is my first location scouting session, and I will look out for other places that are suitable too.

Script changes

To fit all of the script that I have chosen into my five minute short, I have had to make a number of changes. Whilst making these changes, I have also had to adapt the script into a screenplay, so that it can suit the screen, not just a performance area. These include:

• Cutting out all of Scene 3 and 4
• Cutting down unnecessary dialogue
• Making the film appropriate to the screen


The decision to cut out all of Scenes 3 and 4 was a tough one, because it seems to thicken out the whole story, but I still think it all flows together nicely without them there. This also makes the filming easier as I don’t have to film more scenes on location or worry about casting other actors and actresses. Some of the dialogue, certain words and lines that I didn’t think were necessary for the scenes continuity were also cut out, because I felt that I needed to cut a lot of valuable seconds so that I could fit it all into my five minute time frame.

You can see my amended script in the next post.

Original Script

Solitude

I

[Lights down as audience enters]
[Lights up but dim]
(A Body is lying down in white sheets. No movement.)
[Enter Child]
(Cautiously and childlike as if just woken up and sneaking from a bedroom, the Child peers over the top of the rail. His face lights up as he sees the body and runs down the stairs toward it. Throwing himself next to body excitedly he interacts with it, picking up the hand, looking at it as if inspecting it then putting it down. The Child sits back, watching the body, waiting.)

(Beat)

[Light up]

(Child takes hand and the Body gets up, music begins. The Elder is weary, confused and scared as if woken too early from sleep; he searches this alien space frantically with eyes. The Child is reassuring and strong but still childlike as it steps forward and offers a hand forward. Staring hard and with hope the Elder takes the hand; there is a strong connection as they turn and run. Shadows appear as obstacles as the Child leads the Elder and journeys around and away from them. The Elder stumbles and falls, the Shadows circle closer. The Elder is not ready to be alone as he stumbles around in utter fear; he is totally lost without the Child. The Child is knowledgeable and brave; he controls the situation by taking the Elders hand and leads them from the darkness. The Shadows dissipate and together they exit the stage as the song fades out)

[Lights down]
[End of I]

II

[Elder stands at the rail]
[Lights up]

(Takes a moment to familiarise self with crowd, then speaks)

Elder: Someone much wiser than me once said that hindsight was a glorious thing. A chance to line our choices in front of us and show how every decision affected the outcome of our life.

[Two children enter the stage]
(They appear as if they are playing in the woods, one child carries the sheet like a comfort blanket)

Elder: As a child I don’t think you can ever understand the gravity behind something like that; then again, I suppose as a child there’s an awful lot you don’t know.

As children we are all blissfully unaware. Never knowing what’s around the corner or how we’d get there. We never knew that taking a left at the oak tree would take us to our first kiss, or that jumping into the river would result in your first broken bone and a nasty cut, (pause for thought) back then you had no idea that if you and your friend hadn’t explored further into that particular clearing, on that particular morning that you may have postponed your first experience of death.

(The children stop playing and stand silent as they spot a dead animal, The Elder acknowledges the children for the first time, watching what ensues)

Elder: You stand in tentative awe at this unfamiliar horror whilst the image bores deeper into those infantile eyes. Even though you can’t quite tell what this is, you know your world has changed forever. In this moment you age more than you could through any passage of time, taking your first glimpse into the turmoils and ills of adulthood. The universe has given you a sneak peek into what awaits; a small facet of the biggest secret on offer.

(One child wants to explore the dead animal, poking it with a stick and studies the remains as it is tossed about, mangled and twisted. The other child sobs, in shock and confusion over what has been found)

Elder: It’s this secret that drives a part of us to learn more. As we grow and learn I suppose that’s the one thing that shall always remain the same, childish and inquisitive, our curiosity and fear of the last and grandest mystery of all, death.

(As the child sits there sobbing for the dead animal, shadows approach from the edge of the stage)

[Lights down]
[End of II]

III

[The Child is on the stage]
[Lights up]

(The Child lies tangled in the blanket staring at the ceiling, one hand clutching his blanket)

[A knock]
(The Child flinches at the sound and rolls to face away from the door, the knock is immediately preceded by the entrance of the Mother)

Mother: Are all your things packed?

(The Child shrugs his shoulders)

Mother: Are you alright?

Child: You know I’m not.

Mother: That’s exactly why I came up.

(There is no response from the Child)

Mother: If you wanted something to eat there’s some Mac’ & cheese downstairs.

Child: I’m not hungry.

Mother: Well it’s your last chance to eat before we leave. It’ll be a long journey.

[Beat]

Child: Why didn’t you tell me?

Mother: Now’s not the time. Just believe me when I say it’s the best thing for everyone.

(The Child leaps up to face his mother, as if all his emotions finally explode from him.)

Child: It’s not fair. I don’t want to go. Why do we have to leave?

Mother: You know very well that we can’t stay in this house any longer.

Child: But this is my home! It was his home too!

Mother: Listen-
Child: You can’t take this away from me.

Mother: Stop, Will you just-
Child: This is all I have left of him.

Mother: I’m trying to-
Child: This is all we have left of him.

(The Child throws himself at the Mother)

Child: I’ll give anything, just let us stay.

(The Mother tries to remain calm with her answers but The Child’s repeated interrupting causes her to lose control)

Mother: Enough! Shut up. Just shut up!

(The Child retreats back into his blanket)

Child: Why do we have to go? Why don’t I ever get a say?

Mother: Because you’re too young! You don’t understand, we’re not staying in this house any longer. I can’t do it, you’re father can’t do it. We cannot stay here.

(The Child can only stare at her with a fiercely questioning look)

Mother: We’re all hurting, we all miss him; any of us would do anything to bring him back, but it doesn’t work like that. Please understand, it’s too hard for us to stay here.

[Lights down]

[End of III]
IV

[Child and Elisabeth on stage]
[Lights up]

(The Child is scribbling on the blanket with crayon, Elisabeth sits with him)

Child: That’s you there, and that’s him there, and I’m over here.

Elisabeth: Yeah I see, that’s really good.

(A pause as the Child is lost in his drawing; Elisabeth is awkward, poised to tell the bad news but unable to find the words.)

Elisabeth: Can we speak?

Child: We are.

Elisabeth: I mean properly speak, about things.

Child: Hang on, I want to finish the grass first.

Elisabeth: It’s important.

Child: I’m almost done.

(The Childs crayon strokes become slower and shorter as he looks up gradually. See’s Elisabeth’s face and pulls away from his sheet.)

Child: Is he gone forever?

(Elisabeth is taken aback by the nature of the question and takes a while to recollect herself before answering.)

Elisabeth: W-What?

Child: Do you think he’s really gone forever?

Elisabeth: Yeah, he’s gone.

Child: You don’t think he’s coming back?

Elisabeth: No, he’s-he can’t.

Child: This is what you wanted to talk about isn’t it?

Elisabeth: No, not at all.
(The Child goes back to focusing his attention on the picture)

Child: It’s okay; don’t feel bad, he doesn’t hurt anymore. I think that’s a good thing.

Elisabeth: You’re Mum wanted me to tell you something.

Child: He told me it didn’t hurt anymore.

Elisabeth: Listen to me Buddy.

Child: He didn’t meet God, but I think he will. Maybe he’ll even decide to come back again.

Elisabeth: You’re moving away.

(The Child drops the crayons and stares at the picture)

Child: I hope he comes back.

Elisabeth: You’re moving house, in fact you’re moving quite far from here, you’re Mum, you’re Dad and you. Starting again they said.

(The Child searches for a reason, his gaze still on the picture)

Child: No, we can’t move, all of his stuff is still at ours. If he comes back he knows where everything is.

Elisabeth: He’s not coming back!

Child: If we were going Mum would’ve told me.

Elisabeth: She didn’t want to tell you, said she couldn’t bare to see your face when you found out.

(The Child is shaken and too numb to respond)

Elisabeth: I’m so sorry. Do you want to talk?

(A playful comment as before, but this time his demeanour has changed, he is different)

Child: We are talking, we’ve been through this, silly.

(He smiles ambivalently and Elisabeth sighs)

[Lights down]

V

(Sound of phone ringing)
(The phone is answered)

Child: Hello? ...Yeah, I’ll go get her.

Voice: Hello? ... Yes that’s me.

Voice: ... Yes I’m still here... Yes I understand. Umm, yeah, yes, I’ll be down straight away... Thanks, thank you, goodbye.

(Phone hangs up)

[Lights up]

(The child sits next to a hospital bed in a wiry and uncomfortable chair. Another person lies on the bed in a white sheet, covered in bandages and wires. A monotonous beep echoes in the background)

Child: So what’s it like?

B: Being stuck in a hospital bed with wires poking out of me? Oh yeah it’s fantastic, dream come true mate.

Child: That’s not what I meant.

B: Oh, you wanna’ know what the sludge they call food here is like? That’s also great.

Child: Now you’re just being an ass.

B: Yeah I know, blame the medication. Sorry, what were you asking?

Child: It doesn’t matter.

B: No, no, it does, you wouldn’t have asked else. What is it?

(Long pause)

B: C’mon, I was only playing.
(Another pause, slightly shorter)

Chid: They said you were dead.

B: (beat) Well, for a couple of seconds, yeah I suppose I was.

Child: I just wondered, what was it like?

B: Um, wow. Uh, you want to know what being dead is like? (A pause as he searches for the words)

Child: No I’m sorry I asked; you don’t want to talk about it.

B: No, no, don’t be silly, if you can’t ask me, who can you ask... so umm, so being dead?

(The Child sits closer, eager to listen)

B: Well it’s, it’s kinda’ scary actually. Umm, I know people say that when you die it’s like seeing this light at the end of a big tunnel, and I guess that much is sort of true, but I wasn’t going towards the light, I was going away from it.

(Looks at Child to see whether his question has been answered, the Child’s gaze tells him that he wants to know more so he continues.)

B: Um, so I’m facing the light, and the light is really just what my eyes are seeing, I can see the doctors and their equipment and I can still hear them talking. And as this is happening I’m drifting backwards, the view at the end of the tunnel feels like it’s being pulled away. In my head I’m thinking, ‘Oh God, this is it’, I’m floating away into darkness and I can still feel everything around me. I suppose that’s the scariest thing, I’m dead but my brain is still alive, I can still feel and think, but there’s nothing else, I don’t even have a body.

Child: Did it hurt?

B: Yeah. At first anyway, but it fades. It gets to a point where you can’t feel anything actually.

Child: Where do you think it went?

B: What? The pain?

Child: No, the tunnel. Did you see God?

B: No, I didn’t see anyone.

Child: And no one came and got you?

B: Nope, it was just me. Just my thoughts for company, can’t imagine how much longer I could have put up with it, an eternity by myself, sounds like some sort of hell, I mean it’s bad enough being stuck in this bed.

Child: Maybe that’s why you came back.

B: I didn’t actually go anywhere, you get that it wasn’t a real tunnel right?

Child: Yeah but you’re soul could have been going to heaven or something.

B: Ah, well if I did come back from heaven or whatever, then I should imagine it was the doctors that did it, but who knows, maybe you’re right. Maybe that is why I’m here now.

Child: It doesn’t sound like everyone says.

B: It wasn’t the fairy tale ending you’d expect.

Child: I wish I could see it.

B: No you don’t, trust me; it’s definitely not something I’m looking forward to doing again.

(Sees that the Child is troubled by this comment and tries to encourage him)

B: But don’t worry, if you’re that excited, you’ll see it someday, just do me a favour and don’t go wasting your life waiting for it okay?

(Beat)

Child: What are you thinking now?

B: What do you mean?

Child: Isn’t there anything you want to change now you’re back?

B: (Chuckles) Well, hindsight is a glorious thing little brother, there was a lot that I thought about. But it’s late, you need to get out of here and I need to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow okay?

Child: M’kay

(The child leaps off the chair and hugs the brother)

B: Ow, hey, I’m tender remember.

Child: Love you.

B: Love you too buddy.

(Child breaks the hold and runs off)

(The Shadows that lurk beyond the edge of the stage return for the person in the hospital bed)

[Lights down]
[The beep that was in the background stops echoing and plays out one final prolonged ring]

Elder: When he was gone I couldn’t help thinking that he now knew something I didn’t. A secret you only discover the answers to when it’s all over, when you give yourself up and pass on. If it really was like the tunnel he’d told me, I hoped that he wasn’t as scared as before. I hoped he wasn’t alone.

[Lights up]
(Piano music plays in the background as the Child and his Mother walk across the stage hand in hand bearing flowers that they then place on the ground. Gradually the Mother lets go off the Child and leaves him alone on the stage.)

[End of V]

VI

[The lighting has changed, it is mysterious and dreamlike]
[Elder enters]

(The Elder picks up the flowers and handles them carefully. The Childs eyes do not leave the flowers)

Elder: They were for my brother.

Child: I know.

(A pause, the Elder studies the Child and tries to break the silence)

Elder: Are you lost young man?

Child: No.

Elder: Then why are you here all by yourself?

Child: I’m not, you’re here too.

(The Elder laughs quietly to himself)

Elder: You know, it’s strange, in moments filled with an excess of time all I can think of is the past.

Child: Is that such a bad thing?

Elder: It is if there’s a lot you regret.

Child: No life is perfect.

Elder: No quite, but I always imagined my life could be different, that if I could make it amount to something more then maybe death wouldn’t be as intimidating.

Child: A poet once said that ‘Man is the only being who knows he is alone. He is aware of himself and of his lack of another, he is aware of his solitude.'

Elder: Why are you really here?

Child: Because you didn’t want it to be like your Brother said, you didn’t want to be alone.

Elder: No, I didn’t.

(The animated characters of the Elders life disappear, leaving him alone.)

Elder: Thank you young man, for not leaving me alone in this place.

Child: The dark can be a scary place by yourself. I think you’re ready to find out what the secret is now.

Elder: Oh yes, I think I’m quite ready to find out what it is.

Child: So it’s time?

Elder: I think we’re ready.

(The Shadows swallow the Elder and the Child who acknowledge it without fear; they give each other a reassuring nod and take one last look at the world the Elder knew. He breathes deep as they darkness draws in. The Shadows take them and the lights cut to black.)

[End of VI]

VII

[Lights up, the brightest they can go]

The Child sits wrapped in the white blanket surrounded by the rest of the cast. The ending music plays and everyone stares up in amazement, bathed in brilliant light for the first time. They stand, bow and exit.

[End of play]

Advertising in the film industry

Without advertising, the film business would not achieve nearly the success that it does for the movies that are released. Although some movies are able to depend upon word-of-mouth to get viewers, that is not the norm. Movie advertising is the key to success. People who work in the movie advertising business must understand a variety of marketing practices in order to be successful in promoting a wide variety of films. "The making of the new and re-arranging of the old" Bentley (1987) To create a market successful product you need to look at existing and similar media projects, and take inspiration from the way they target their audiences.This shows that movie advertisers need to know how best to take advantage of their target audience through the success of existing advertising techniques that have been used on similar films to successfully advertise their movies.

Movie theater advertising is one popular method used to promote future movies. What better opportunity is there for movie advertising than in movie trailers? There is already an audience available who are present to watch a movie, and so the previews that run before films can be a great way to reach out, inform and draw in. Movie advertising specialists can also take advantage of movie rentals and provide valuable previews to advertise future videos or movies on DVD movies. 

Digital movie advertising is one of the most exciting new venues for promoting films. It can be a great way of capturing the interest of viewers and priming them for future movies. Multi-media websites are being built for new movies, which provide clips and cast information, as well as games and other interactive features. Another popular way to use the Internet is purchasing pop-up ads that appear when relevant sites are visited. Film advertising methods can also include placing a small clip of the movie in an advertisement so that it begins playing as soon as a site loads.

In terms of my film, I doubt that a short like mine would have sufficient funding to achieve some of these methods of advertising, although websites such as Lovefilm will use a film each month on their website design, which could be a good means of advertising for my short. The design on my poster would be suited directly for online advertising on websites, or a cut down version of my film for a trailer.

Ideas

Having a good story in a short film is crucial, more so than a feature length film as you have less time to tell your plot and introduce characters. In fiction films storytelling is crucial, and good filmmaking really can bring to life any story, old or new.

This time last year I helped create a short play called ‘Solitude’ that was written by a friend called Ricky Sweet and co-produced by me. The play was performed at Falmouth University and I starred as one of the characters. Based around the subject of death, Solitude follows a main character who is about to die but in the moments before death he is taken back to review his childhood until finally, he accepts he isn’t scared of the unknown.

I was given the script for Solitude recently, but it is 15-20 minutes long, whereas my film needs to be 5 minutes in length. I will try to cut the script right down as I turn it into a screenplay so that it can still fit in the criteria, but I have to be careful of what I cut down, because I still need the story to flow.

This play fits into the drama category, which is ideal because my audience research told me that they would rather go and watch a drama over any other genre. The film will be very powerful too, which is something that I love about film, how it can change peoples minds, open their eyes or change their opinions.

I will post the original script up as soon as I can

Pre-Production Stages in the Film Industry

Production Stages of a Film on Prezi

This is a Prezi that I made online exploring Pre-Production, funding, crew, scriptwriting, Pre-Production packages and equipment. It is important for me to research into this, because for my film I am treating this as a professional shoot with all of the relevant planning and Pre-Production work.

My Film Shoot Experience

This is a short podcast about my recent experience I had on two film shoots, Snow White and the Huntsman (a Universal Pictures Blockbuster) and a small music video shoot with director Ian Bucknole.

What makes a short film good?

This is an interesting article that I found:

http://pov.imv.au.dk/Issue_05/section_4/artc2A.html

The title is called 'What makes a short film good?' and is a large study upon the short film industry. Using quotes from film critics and heads of film organisations this essay explores themes such as funding, productivity and public demand.

A section I was very interested in of this of study is the debate into "How "good" are short films in terms of giving the director valuable experience for future feature production?"

This is because, in the future I wish to study film production at University and I would like to think that I would gain sufficient experience from making short films for when I go to University and perhaps onto bigger film shoots in later life.

Through these points, I feel I have benefitted largely from this article, as I have read that I should use various points to make my film successful. The article takes quotes from film professionals such as:
"Probably anything sub 30 minutes narrative/non-narrative designed to entertain/challenge a theoretical audience.' Paul Swadel".
"For me a short film is a piece of work under half an hour which tells a story - narrative is very important to me.' Jeena Murphy"
I personally think that if I want to create a successful short film, I should listen to these professionals, to help me along the way.

Moodboard

This is a layout of famous characters from various films, which I have posted on here to show my inspiration for when I finally create my short film.

Film and Magazine Review Results

Survey Results on Prezi

Film and Magazine Review Survey

"The making of the new and re-arranging of the old" Bentley (1987)
To create a market successful product you need to look at existing and similar media projects, and take inspiration from the way they target their audiences. Through the use of demographics created for this particular task, such as the BARB classification of social grades and Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, I have decided to target my audience against these profiling structures, as this what real media professionals do. I will also conduct primary research which is particularly relevant to my own productions, also meaning that I represent the needs of my target audience directly.

To find out my target audience and what genres and styles of films are the most popular to increase the success of my film, I have created an online questionnaire on a website called ‘Survey Monkey’. Using this website, I can create a user-friendly questionnaire which can easily display the results that I receive in an interesting format, such as diagrams and charts.

This is important for my film to be a success, because I need to know that my film is appealing to the right audience for it to be a success. I have already made assumptions about the social grades of my target audience and where my possible viewers could fit into ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ (as pictured below).

With this in mind, I feel that the people that would be more prone to watch my film would be ‘innovators’, ‘self-actualizers’ and ‘disconnected’. The reasons why I think this is because my film is going to be something different to most films, and innovators seek new and different things. It is focused on relationships and will be very creative, therefore fitting in with the self-actualizing audience. Finally, I feel my film would fit in well with the disconnected, because I think it would appeal to people who live in the ‘ever present now’ as it is a very modern film.

BARB, Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, is the organization responsible for the official measurement of UK television audiences. While doing surveys, they measure a household status using a social class system:
A classification of household social status based on the occupation of the chief income earner. BARB reports the following social grades:
AB - higher (A) or intermediate (B) managerial, administrative or professional
C1 - supervisory or clerical and junior managerial, administrative or professional
C2 - skilled manual workers
D - semi-skilled and unskilled workers
E - state pensioners, casual or lowest grade workers

With this in mind, I feel that my film would appeal more towards C2 upwards, because I feel as I am creating a short film, it would generally be shown in art houses and small cinemas and the lower social grades would not generally go to see it, or be aware of its existence. However, I am not ruling out that D and E social grades wont see it; I am just predicting that higher social would probably be more likely to see it, while the lower grades might go and see a Hollywood Blockbuster. I don’t think any AB’s would see my film as having such high jobs might mean they are literally too busy to watch it and show no interest, regardless of if it being five minutes long.