http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4meeZifCVro
Short film: Lovefield
Written & directed by: Mathieu Ratthe
Genre: Horror, suspense
Run time:5.29
This short film, is set in a corn field on the outskirts of a town called Hedren hill county The film starts of with the feel of a horror film, but then as we carry on watching there is a twist as we realise the man is helping the woman not hurting her.
The short film starts with the title Lovefield on the shot of a corn field, this sets the scene as an audience we can tell that this is in the middle of no where, with most probably no one around to help anyone. Then non diagetic music starts of a violn playing, this is a high pitched noise it starts of really quiet building up as the camera pans up from the corn field to a old sign that says Hedren hill county. On top of this there is a crow, crows are stereotypical seen as creatures of death. As an audience when we see this we think that something bad has happened. Corn field are easy to hide things, and as the audience we let our imagination get the better of us and start thinking what could be hidden in here. This is a technique used in many horror films to get the audience tense and scared. The non diagetic sound stops and a phone tone is heard , this gives the idea that someone hasn’t answered there phone that someone has lost it and its been left while trying to ring someone for help after seeing the phone left open the camera pans further back to reveal money, a bag and some clothing with blood stains on it, we also see a hand touch the floor. A effective camera shot comes in when we pan further back again to reveal a foot. From this we know a human has been hurt as we can hear her crys and screams from pain. The foot on camera then tenses up and then relaxing giving the idea she has just died. This is effective as it doesn’t reveal anything to much about what really is happening, we can see the person fully so we cant be 100% sure what really has happened. However The audience again will use there imagination from the clues the director has left for them to put there own story of what has happened together. A knife is then pushed into the ground aggressively as this is done the music starts again very loud and vicious, giving a dramatic feel to the short film. The knife and blood are stereotypically related to something bad however in the short film this is not what the really reason is. There is then a shot of the mans legs as he is standing up, we see overalls, a tattoo with scruffy hair, he looks dirty covered in mud and dirt. This gives off a stereotypical bad image and impression of this man, he looks evil therefore the audience assume the worst from him. The camera is then a mid shot of the bottom half of his body, we see him backing away and running.
The man then comes on to a silent road, because of this again it gives and errie atmosphere. The man gets into a car, and goes into the boot. The crow mentioned early starts to crow louder and the cuts between shots get quicker and faster paced. This creates tension as the audience is feeling rushed and unsettled. There is shaky camera shot in the car, this acts like a point of view shot, so we as the audience assume something is watching him in the car. To add to this the crow starts to tap on the roof of the car, this makes us as an audience feel uneasy as we believe there is someone in the car and something is going to happen to this man. The man rummages in the boot till he finds a blanket, when we think of dead bodies we think of them being covered up, so we assume this is what the man is getting the blanket for. Another effective shot is as the man approaches the woman body again, it is a long shot however, her feet are at the front of the shot and the man walks into the shot from a distance standing over her with a blanket. There is another point of view shot this time we are the woman it is a low angle shot as she is on the ground. The man is looking over her and placing the blanket over the camera, there is then a cut to the man side on. This is where the twist on the story comes in as we then see a baby wrapped in the blanket passed to him. A new non diagetic sound comes on, this music is much lighter and happier. Then the man says it’s a boy and they both start laughing. This makes the rest of short film seem light hearted and not sinister at all. We then see the woman mouth to the man thank you. There are then shot of the people smiling, this creates a happy, carefree atmosphere and puts the audience to ease after all the tension has been built in the short film. A slow pan up to show the whole scene makes it seem much less scary and dangerous, there is car parked at the side of a road and a tractor in the field and the police come into shot.
The whole short film is done to build tension and then tear it back down, to keep the audience sitting on the edge of there seats. There is no speaking in the film apart from the one line “ it’s a boy” this is a stereotypical feature of short films. The title of the film is called love field, which creates a contrast of the bad atmosphere at the beginning however as the film does develop makes more sense, of a stranger helping a woman. This film tells a whole story from beginning to end which is a stereotypical feature of short films.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Short film analysis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Un20p1NGuw
Short film: The black hole
Written and Directed by: Phil + olly
Genre: Sci-Fi/ Comedy
Run Time: 2.51
This short film was made as part of a film competition. It about a sleep deprived worker who prints of a black hole and finds that by using it he can get to things through solid objects. His greed however soon takes the best of him.
The Beginning starts with a black background with a circle in the middle. In the circle is the film and the title, The Black Hole. This shot and title work together to represent the black hole. There is then a slow pan to set the scene, we can see an empty office letting us know that the character is all alone. This starts the eerie atmosphere that has begun to build. The colours in the office are all dull, and darkened this represents a boring, tired feel to the scene. The slow pan then meets the character, he is wearing black trousers, a white shirt and tie. The sleeves are rolled up and the tie is lose, with the top button undone. This makes him look sloppy and untidy. When we first see him his eyes are closed and his arms are relaxed by his side he then sighs, this all represents his boredom and sleep deprivation. The printing sound then begins as he starts his work. This printing sound is kept on through out the whole film, this shows how empty and alone the man is as it is the only sound you can hear. The graphics of the hole are well done as it seems that his hand disappears making it believable that this is actually happening. The sound used when he touches the hole or his arm goes inside makes it more realistic. It uses a Sci-Fi sound like the light savers used in star wars. People will recognise this sound and relate it to the Sci-Fi genre of star wars, realising that this item is a supernatural item. There is a close up of the black hole and the mans face, this shows the hole and his confusion as of what it is he has just printed off.
As the short film progresses he colours start to get darker this represents his greed and hunger for power. When the man places the black hole on the safe and he starts getting t he money the shots and sound get quicker and louder this builds up the tension for the pivotal point in the film, when something bad is going to happen. This keeps the audience tense and on the edge of there seat as they can tell something bad is going to happen. Then when the pivotal point is reached the sound is stopped and again all you can hear is the printer this shows again that he is alone and trapped. There is then a staggered zoom, by a shot then a shot further away and another shot further away. The reason this is done to show that there is no on to help him that he is alone. By the camera zooming away it also takes the audience away from the scene of the incident.
There is no talking through out the film this is convention of short films as there is usually none or little speech through out them. There is a moral to the film of don’t let power get to you, don’t get to greedy. This again is another code and convention of short films. There is a beginning middle and an ending, also a slight twist in the end, as he gets stuck which isn’t what many people might think would happen. By using little sound through out the short film it creates the feeling of loneliness but also the eerie Sci-Fi feeling that something bad is going to happen
Short film: The black hole
Written and Directed by: Phil + olly
Genre: Sci-Fi/ Comedy
Run Time: 2.51
This short film was made as part of a film competition. It about a sleep deprived worker who prints of a black hole and finds that by using it he can get to things through solid objects. His greed however soon takes the best of him.
The Beginning starts with a black background with a circle in the middle. In the circle is the film and the title, The Black Hole. This shot and title work together to represent the black hole. There is then a slow pan to set the scene, we can see an empty office letting us know that the character is all alone. This starts the eerie atmosphere that has begun to build. The colours in the office are all dull, and darkened this represents a boring, tired feel to the scene. The slow pan then meets the character, he is wearing black trousers, a white shirt and tie. The sleeves are rolled up and the tie is lose, with the top button undone. This makes him look sloppy and untidy. When we first see him his eyes are closed and his arms are relaxed by his side he then sighs, this all represents his boredom and sleep deprivation. The printing sound then begins as he starts his work. This printing sound is kept on through out the whole film, this shows how empty and alone the man is as it is the only sound you can hear. The graphics of the hole are well done as it seems that his hand disappears making it believable that this is actually happening. The sound used when he touches the hole or his arm goes inside makes it more realistic. It uses a Sci-Fi sound like the light savers used in star wars. People will recognise this sound and relate it to the Sci-Fi genre of star wars, realising that this item is a supernatural item. There is a close up of the black hole and the mans face, this shows the hole and his confusion as of what it is he has just printed off.
As the short film progresses he colours start to get darker this represents his greed and hunger for power. When the man places the black hole on the safe and he starts getting t he money the shots and sound get quicker and louder this builds up the tension for the pivotal point in the film, when something bad is going to happen. This keeps the audience tense and on the edge of there seat as they can tell something bad is going to happen. Then when the pivotal point is reached the sound is stopped and again all you can hear is the printer this shows again that he is alone and trapped. There is then a staggered zoom, by a shot then a shot further away and another shot further away. The reason this is done to show that there is no on to help him that he is alone. By the camera zooming away it also takes the audience away from the scene of the incident.
There is no talking through out the film this is convention of short films as there is usually none or little speech through out them. There is a moral to the film of don’t let power get to you, don’t get to greedy. This again is another code and convention of short films. There is a beginning middle and an ending, also a slight twist in the end, as he gets stuck which isn’t what many people might think would happen. By using little sound through out the short film it creates the feeling of loneliness but also the eerie Sci-Fi feeling that something bad is going to happen
Product placement
Product placement
Short films are usually made by independent film companies and are sometimes used as a way to make there work noticed before they go onto bigger projects. This means that the companies don’t have distributors therefore the filmmakers must rely on themselves to present there work. This can be done in several ways.
The main event are festivals and conventions, where film makers can get together and show there work to a large audience. A few of the festivals available to do this are: Edinburgh international film festival, British urban film festival, Toronto international film festival.
The Cannes international film Festival is seen as one of the most influential and prestigious film festivals of our time, its located in france and was founded in 1946. It is a film festival for all sort of films. Feature length, mid length and short films. They hold competitions and non competitive sections in the festival. The prize that short film, film makers, go for is the “Short film palme d’Or”
Other short films can be found in cinema however these are rarely found. The main source of these are Pixar short films usually found before there own films. Like the short films ‘for the birds’ and ‘mikes new car’ makes new car involves the characters from monster inc which is one of there feature length films.
Aradaman animations are an academy award winning animation studio. Their first big break was morph on a Childs channel. They are better known for their famous characters Wallace and Gromit, they ran a series of short film. Recently how ever they joined forces with dream works to make a feature length film Wallace and Gromit: the curse of the Wererabbit.
Short films are rarely distributed through mainstream companies such as music stores like HMV, however some short films like creature comforts come in DVD packs of series of them. You can purchase DVDs of short films from stores however these are rare and not as popular as feature length films. Most of these can also be found on the internet on websites such as amazon.com. Like mentioned earlier about the cinema viewing of some short films from Pixar, these can be found in the extras on most of the Pixar DVD’s.
One more place film makers can show there work is on the internet. Websites such as Bbc film network. Where Artists that want to present there work can go online and place short films on to the site for viewers to watch and rate and comment on. An easier site for this would be YouTube, there is no contract and easy and simple to upload videos where you get a wider larger audience and people comment on your videos. This would be the method I would chose to distribute my short film along with the placing applications in at the film festivals.
Short films are usually made by independent film companies and are sometimes used as a way to make there work noticed before they go onto bigger projects. This means that the companies don’t have distributors therefore the filmmakers must rely on themselves to present there work. This can be done in several ways.
The main event are festivals and conventions, where film makers can get together and show there work to a large audience. A few of the festivals available to do this are: Edinburgh international film festival, British urban film festival, Toronto international film festival.
The Cannes international film Festival is seen as one of the most influential and prestigious film festivals of our time, its located in france and was founded in 1946. It is a film festival for all sort of films. Feature length, mid length and short films. They hold competitions and non competitive sections in the festival. The prize that short film, film makers, go for is the “Short film palme d’Or”
Other short films can be found in cinema however these are rarely found. The main source of these are Pixar short films usually found before there own films. Like the short films ‘for the birds’ and ‘mikes new car’ makes new car involves the characters from monster inc which is one of there feature length films.
Aradaman animations are an academy award winning animation studio. Their first big break was morph on a Childs channel. They are better known for their famous characters Wallace and Gromit, they ran a series of short film. Recently how ever they joined forces with dream works to make a feature length film Wallace and Gromit: the curse of the Wererabbit.
Short films are rarely distributed through mainstream companies such as music stores like HMV, however some short films like creature comforts come in DVD packs of series of them. You can purchase DVDs of short films from stores however these are rare and not as popular as feature length films. Most of these can also be found on the internet on websites such as amazon.com. Like mentioned earlier about the cinema viewing of some short films from Pixar, these can be found in the extras on most of the Pixar DVD’s.
One more place film makers can show there work is on the internet. Websites such as Bbc film network. Where Artists that want to present there work can go online and place short films on to the site for viewers to watch and rate and comment on. An easier site for this would be YouTube, there is no contract and easy and simple to upload videos where you get a wider larger audience and people comment on your videos. This would be the method I would chose to distribute my short film along with the placing applications in at the film festivals.
Questionnaire
Short Films Questionnaire
1) Are you male or female?
Male □
Female □
2) How old are you?
15-25 □
26-35 □
36-45 □
46-55 □
3) Do you watch short films?
Yes □
No □
4) Do you prefer a dramatic/shocking, end or beginning?
Beginning □
End □
5) What type of Short film would you prefer to watch?
Entertainment □
Comedy □
Influential □
Scary □
Fantasy □
6) Would you prefer a realistic film or non naturalistic film?
Realistic □
Non-Naturalistic □
7) Do you like the credit sequence to come at the end or beginning?
End □
Beginning □
8) How long would you prefer a short film to be?
1-3 minutes □
4-6 minutes □
9) What gender would you prefer the main character to be?
Male □
Female □
10) Would you prefer a short film that you as an audience can relate to? (everyday situation)
Yes □
No □
11) Name a social situation you believe needs to be addressed. E.g underage drinking, drugs…
12) Would you prefer a twist in the end of the storyline?
Yes □
No □
13) At the beginning of the film would you prefer the setting to be shown, or for the film to go straight into the action.
Setting of the scene □
Straight into the action □
1) Are you male or female?
Male □
Female □
2) How old are you?
15-25 □
26-35 □
36-45 □
46-55 □
3) Do you watch short films?
Yes □
No □
4) Do you prefer a dramatic/shocking, end or beginning?
Beginning □
End □
5) What type of Short film would you prefer to watch?
Entertainment □
Comedy □
Influential □
Scary □
Fantasy □
6) Would you prefer a realistic film or non naturalistic film?
Realistic □
Non-Naturalistic □
7) Do you like the credit sequence to come at the end or beginning?
End □
Beginning □
8) How long would you prefer a short film to be?
1-3 minutes □
4-6 minutes □
9) What gender would you prefer the main character to be?
Male □
Female □
10) Would you prefer a short film that you as an audience can relate to? (everyday situation)
Yes □
No □
11) Name a social situation you believe needs to be addressed. E.g underage drinking, drugs…
12) Would you prefer a twist in the end of the storyline?
Yes □
No □
13) At the beginning of the film would you prefer the setting to be shown, or for the film to go straight into the action.
Setting of the scene □
Straight into the action □
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