research

what is a short film? 

 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as a film which has a run time of less than 40 minutes although for the purposes of this project we are focusing on films which are around 5 minutes although this can veary by 30 secands to a few minites as well as this the plot are usal simple foucsing on one chrecter.

famous short films you might know  

1.   steamboat Willie-original Micky mouse film  
2.   Wallace and gromit a matter of loaf and death-as well as by typicality many of Wallace and gromit works
3. burn-e-wall- spin off 

As you can see short films are both popular and if first one on list dose not show it have had a big part in film history.

although short films of late have taken 2 forms, the first from is that of interdependent film makers making their own original works and unseeing them further a career in film these films usually shown at events like http://tropfest.com/ an international event  which takes place all over the world as well many other similar which helps people show there work.

the other type of short film which has become popular is the fan film based of video games and popular fiction these kind films usually are made by fans for fans and are quit successful online on place such as  http://www.reddit.com/r/Shortfilms/  and http://io9.com and are supported by fans of series or franchise an example of this would be the power ranger short film which although it is not 5 minutes was extremely successful online, they also would uses websites like https://www.shortoftheweek.com/channels/fan-film/ and YouTube to show their works and get popular though sharing on social media and word of mouth.they are usually also crowed founded like the  http://huntforgollumfilm.github.io/website/ which was made on  3000 pound  budget.

finding conventions in short films

the conventions 
simple plot which may or may not be resoled at the end of film but it depends on what the plot is or what narrative themes run though out such as in Detroit  2029 where the ending gives the idea that this is one part of a much bigger story and so leaves the fate of the protagonist and the world of the short film as a whole in the hands of the advice son showing that enigmas are also common in short films. short usually 5 mins or more depending on the genre and on what the plot is as many can go up to 10-15 mins although many of these are not common in short films with small budgets. Uses of limited special effects instead of over use in comparison to the mainstream Hollywood films who over use it depending on the genre, horror generally does not uses any kind of special effects and instead stick to using  effects. Uses of close ups in a way which focus on the protagonist or on the villain of the piece which also shows key points in the plot. Uses of some kind of info dump to explain the plot or some kind of voice over which gives all the information relevant to the plot and in most cases uses for the protagonist to show story other than though limited visual aid usually given in short films. As well as this another convection is how the protagonist re shown usually as heroic no matter the genre well as this they are also usually learning something new and in narrative revolves around them learning.
target audience for short films
given that short films have been growing in popularity due to easily the easily accessibility tech and distribution though the internet this means that the audience for them has expand above what it was before  as it has gone from just cinemaphiles  and those looking to improve their career whist now with fan films becoming popular almost everyone can appreciate a short film although in the end it depends the choice of film maker and short film as to what the target audience as it can vary widely.

response to the brief

The brief i have chosen is short film  and two ancillary task I have chosen is a poster for the film and a review in the magazine of the film. I have chosen this brief because it is most interesting as well as allowing for me at least the most creativity and their is a lot I can do with it. .I wont to create a horror short film based of the work of H.P. Lovecraft books specially the call of Cthulhu and shadow over  insmouth as well as movie based on the books such as dagon.although when I deciding which brief to chose their was some aspects of choice  as I also have had some ideas for a documentary on topic of ww2 and specially Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as gaming and its effect on peoples lives I chose not to do this because of lack of content for this and chose to do a short film  as I also have props for it.

source ideas 

my source idea is a book he wrote  called the shadow over inmouth to some up what happens i will uses the wiki plot summery   
The story is divided into five chapters. In the first chapter, the narrator begins by recounting to the reader of a secret investigation that was undertaken by the government at the ruined town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts, and that the story told to them by the narrator himself is the reason for this investigation. He proceeds to describe in detail the events surrounding his initial interest in the town (antiquarian and architectural), which lies along the route of his tour across New England, taken when he was twenty-one. While he waits for the bus that will take him to Innsmouth, he busies himself in the neighbouring town of Newburyport by gathering information from local townsfolk; all of it with superstitious overtones.
The second chapter details his ride into Innsmouth, described in great detail as a crumbling, mostly deserted town full of dilapidated structures and people who look just a bit odd and who tend to walk with a distinct shambling gait. All of this is off-putting to the narrator, who describes the people as having the "Innsmouth look", "queer narrow heads with flat noses and bulgy, starry eyes". Only one person in town appears normal, a young clerk at the local First National grocery store who comes from neighbouring Arkham. The narrator gathers much information from the clerk, including a map of the town and the name of a local who might be a good source of information: an ancient man named Zadok Allen, known to open up about the town when plied with drink.

i will uses the idea of a town which not right as bases for the narrative for my short film as well as this i uses grim dark aesthetic put forward in some of the hp Lovecraft based film such as dagon I also will uses in my short film. 

in relation to the film the books have had 14 books made about them and one of the most susseful has been re-animator which was the most sinful as well as this daogon  as well as this there have been may film inspired by his ideas such as alien and mouth of madness. as well  as this most og one which are turned in movies in some way. They also joke around with the metal.His story's became popular upon his death.

 we can uses his work as the biggest part used in film are the narrative themes and aesthetic look to the films and books also the protagonist are male as well as narrative themes such as the nature of sanity and what is beyond are world.   

influential figures in film 

the main influential figure in film is sturt gorbon who has produced re-animator which is most successful and well none hp Lovecraft direct translation of the book to film film produced and has produced other direct translation such as dagon.he infuanced us as his film has set stated for the asthitic look of a film  a well as how the narrative looks like and is presented from the translation to the book.

Alfred Hitchcock

He is widely known as the master of suspense and England’s Best director.

His shots almost always tried to maximise a feeling of fear, anxiety and empathy from the audience. Emotions we want our audience to feel while watching our production.

Many of his films ended on a twist making his films unpredictable. Which we shall try to use in our own production as it keeps the audience guessing.

His best known film Psycho is known for killing the heroine early on, to achieve the effect he used 77 camera angles and over 50 cut shots to create the fast pace editing that scene is known for. We could use the added shock of killing someone of early to our advantage to grab the audience and try to keep them in suspense.

my ideas (music,narrative,target audience,music)

 the most likely target audience for my horror short film  is to be from 25-40 year old who are westerners and middle age earners. The music i will uses will be ambient music that build tension and i will not uses any music with my short film and i will get my music from sound cloud and free sound.my narrative involves several murder chases in a village where a former detective is saying with family and goes for walk one night and it gets strange as he is attacked and we follow him as he survives this encounter.    

horror short films analysis

ancillary task analysis

marketing and branding

dagon

Dagon uses a pull quote on the front which show‘s Govbor’s best film since re-animator’ which shows that it would part of an auteur in similar types of film and so attract a fan of that type of genre and work.as well as this the face of the villain on front gives the vide of an old school 80s monster movie and as it seems to be focal point for the threat to the protagonist .As well as this the it show equilibrium of villain losing but the audience still knows he will be defeated gives the idea from that.as well as this like a 80’s monster movie poster the villain is centre frame making it seem very important to the plot this creates a shared indemnity and convection's that they would understand and wont.as well as this we can see the uses of an eye line and low key lighting expect for parts of the face which is usually for these types of films as it shows the villain directly. Another thing is there is an eye line match which also shows this. Also the culture behind the film maybe one of laughing at realign and its effect on people as it turns them into monsters or makes them go insane.it is also masculine as the it is a male villain on the cover which shows that film will shows a masculine victory as film of this era it is trying to make look like and this create this idea. 

Form of Short film Research and what short film uses the form

Credits at the end – Fist of Jesus

Gore SFX – Unedited footage of a bear, Fist of Jesus, Waterborn

Brief feeling of normality (Equilibrium) before the action takes off. The locations seem normal as if nothing would happen.

Technical research

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSjBi_TGNJE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2cnMCUr814

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efbhGnqb2K0

what I have learnt from this

from these videos i have laernt the basics of Photoshop and how to uses the editing soft where of the camera becomes unintentionally shaky  which was an issue in are palimary production so this well help me to deal with these issues if they happen again,also it was good to refresh on hoe to edit in it as over time i may and have forgotten which was point of looking into as these have both been issues in the past. 

genre

Horror Genre research

This genre of film tries to gain a reaction from its audience normally fear.

The various areas that horror normally steam from is people’s nightmares and the fear of the unknown. Normally the antagonist in a horror film is some sort of paranormal entity such as zombies, ghosts and some sort of spirit/ demon or if the antagonist is human they have some sort of mental illness.

The there are various sub-genre such as Gore with films like Saw and the House on the Left, Psychological with films like Psycho, Killer/Slasher with films like Friday the 13^th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Monster films can be further divided into sub genres of itself for instance films that use Zombies 28 Days later, Vampires with films like Dracula, Werewolves with films like The Wolfman, Classic and Mythological with films like Frankenstein. Another sub-genre would be sci-fi with films like Alien. The next Sub –genre is the paranormal one which contains films that use everything from Ghosts and Spirits (Poltergeist) and Possession (The Exorcist) to films with the Devil (the Beyond) and Haunted Houses (the Haunting). (See the grid for more examples0

The Final sub-genre and the one we have taken most of our inspiration from is the Lovecraftian this sub-genre focuses on the cosmic horror and the fear of the unknown or in some cases the unknowable the concept of sanity is also played with in many cases the main character loses his sanity or his life. There are very few happy endings in Lovecraftian horror.

Another convention which is a part of the sub genre is the sound as in many of the films which are in this genre usually  are low beget and uses some kind of  gruesome death scene the sound which goes along with that is usually some kind of cartoon style blood splatter which always happened in this sub genre so there for if I was ever to uses this kind od scene I would have the sound to go along to this.

Another conventions is the location as most if not all of the films in this genre is set by the see most of time and so the sound of waves is common and so deepening on are location we may do the same.

Another convention of this sub genre is that the antagonist is not clear to hero as is in all of the hp Lovecraft related movie as they are usually an unknown force to the hero and usually only seen for dramatic effect or the reveal  at the end. although the villain at the same time like a monster film maybe focus on heavily on the cover.
 such as theses films which all uses the villain as main point for selling the film.

     

Although this is not a convection a common factor between all of the films is that usually low budget and given we are working of a no budget production this means living up to that common factor between all of the films. This is why this sub genre has a lot in common with monster and paranormal sub genre as is shown below. They also feature the villain on the front in there marketing on front cover or poster.as you can also see from the two posters below there is also a narrative of monster capturing or killing an innocent usually a women in all of them this is also a convection of the subgenre as well as this narrative runs thought out all of the subgenres.

monster film poster



monster film poster




paranormal film poster

As well in the conjuring poster as  we see a focus on the villain of the piece and this again shows the conventions in play. Another convection of this sub genre is that it uses some idea from other sub genre's as stated one of these is the idea of the villain being a force of nature and less a human being and so its villainy cannot be stopped. The sub genre of monster also has a lot in common with lovecraftian genre as both genres focus on one single villain who is usually shown on screen as you can see both an old school monster films and lovecraftian films as shown below therefor we can do the same in are short film when we reveal are villain.


This graph shows all the different genres although because of the lovecraftian genre of films only having 34 films or mini series being around the convection's of the genre with other works simply being inspired by it such as alien and the thing being examples of This also shows the audience may be very niche as very few are likely to know the genre exist  let alone known the short film of it does. This does mean though that part of these sub genres will not be uses in my production.

Another convection  which is common in hp Lovecraft in terms of narrative is the film usually draw heavily from the source text in terms of the aesthetic and in terms of dialog and plot point used although this can change depending on the short story used.

the media language used is consistent  uses of long shots to show location of the film this can be seen at the start of Dagon .As well as this we see that there is use of close up when it comes to showing the hero or the villain this is also common in the monster subgrene.

As well as this we see the media lague uses in the from of 

Conventions of a Horror film

One convention of a Horror film that we will most using is the idea of minimalist cast as we will be using the ‘hero’ and the villain which is common in almost all film as well as this the hero must also over come the villain which is another common convection although given we are in the lovecraftian sub genre  and in all those films such as dago the villain wins.

Another convention would be the over use of mist (If we can get it) and shadows as this will hopefully increase the atmosphere for our production and so be a part of the aesthetic style which we are usesing.

Another convention would be the use of shots to amplify an emotion (normally) fear in the audience which is all horror films other than those which are joint comedy  although this is a small sub genre. 

The use of horror styled props such as masks and weapons with blood on them will also be used tis gives the idea of a gory aesthetic which is a common in all horror films.

Another convention that we will be following is a twist ending as this will hopefully shock the audience as the will not expect it.

The convention that we will be breaking will be the fact that the Villain will be victorious over the ‘hero’ as in all the films we have analysed the endings  have done this as well and so has the source material.

theoretical research

audience theory

they will be niche as it both a short film and based off and around a book series and so some level of large income will be required although the short film being free also mean it will working class people as well. it will be male from 30-40 and teenagers who like the gothic style. as well as this they will be reformers because they will not follow the main stream and are into niche media such as short films as well as this as more than likely book readers they are likely to be will read and so might feel a need to change the wold around them. as well as this they may also create identity with in the fan bases who like this genre of horror and like short films.  as well as this it may also entertain them and teach them about the world this is how uses of gratification theory applies to my production. They may also be a innovators as they are into media which is constantly changing and evolving like short film and into books so again they may  have a basic understand of more modern media such as film. Two-step flow as a niche hp lovecraft would be my productions option leader and so his ideas may be injected into the audience mind. The piece will also help for fill the need for self-actualization as it may give insight into some interesting ideas and themes. It will also be for achievers because of this

narrative theory

in are short film to follow the conventions of the genre we will not be have any narrative strands as this is what is common in the books and the others types of media made use sing his work.as well as this it will be non-linear as it starts at he being with the characters grave and so like the others films and books we will start from the end because it is non-linear this will mean that we cannot follow the 5 narrative components  as it starts at the new equilibrium and ends at it and goes back wars and then forwards this is known as reverse chronology.to apply toddorov theory of character given there will be one main protagonist who would severs as this as well as a dispatcher and there is only one villain who would also serve as an  anti-hero.

Audience profiling

The audience for my short film will be male from 18-40 with a female minority. (From a survey done by fans of H.P. Lovecraft’s work 85% of them were male and 15% were female)

With a taste for short film, they would be from the B and C2 in the social economic groups as they would have disposable income for books like H.P.  Lovecraft or they would be working class and look at them for free online. They would also be the part of the reformer group as they would like media which is not be main stream. They would also be the kind of people who look for a more niche section of the media world. Those who find it randomly as many may not go out and find H.P. Lovecraft short films and short films in general. There would be two main groups of people. The first being people who are looking for H.P. Lovecraft related media such as short film and the other being those who love short films. Their interest will short films and the H.P. Lovecraft books.

The younger section of our target audience would be the ones who are more likely to actively go and look for new short films to watch. So they would be more likely to watch the film because of the fact that it is new rather than the niche horror section it belongs to though that would be a factor for a minority of them.

The older section of our target audience would be the ones that are more likely to watch the film because of the niche section of horror that it takes its inspiration from. (Lovecraftian horror). The fact that it is a new short film set in this niche horror section would be a contributing factor for the older section as they would be happy that an area that is quite small is increasing in size because of its small fan base we will get some people who are fans of the genre to watch it.

it will subvert Todorov's narrative structure as it will start at the end if the narrative itself with use seeing the characters grave and the seeing the shadow of the villain over it. This will also be the end as well ,and the being if the film will be the protagonist coming into the town location where the time takes place. We will do this and break this to make the audience wondering what is going to happen and leaves on enigma for the audience to solve. 

analysis of student work

second sight(horror)

This uses fast shots and cuts between the villain and the victim as well as this the fast pace and short run time for fills the genre serotypes same with the effects of colour used to give the idea off as a slather as well as this music is used to build tension and move the plot forward. even though this piece is not high grade it is in the same genre of short film.Several protagonist which die as victims and the villain stays the same, although it is clear this work is not top grade  it clearly shows me to be successful I will need keep the plot simple and the run time to a very short length of up to 5mins.

As well as this

sketch(a* grade short film)

This though not in the genre I am working on it is a high grade piece and will hopefully show use how to produce a short of a similar level. The first thing we see is that the run time is 3 minute's which is pretty convectional when it comes to short films  and so we will try and do the same as well as this the piece it self is a fantasy epic with teenagers in the style Narnia as we see a wardrobe being the entrance and start of the plot similar to that work. As well as this the other location of a forest also fit the piece correctly we should also try and do this. As well as this the piece was successful as both the heroes and villains are shown ,as the protagonist is clearly as the female character we see them as the view point character and the one who defeats the villain. this again sticks to the convection of the genre really well.
given that this is a short film we can also learn that the run time 3 mins is a good run time for a short film and given the lack if dialog we can also see that this is a good way ,show not telling your plot we can take this when we are creating are own short film.

Networked

Mise-En-scene

The Mise-En-scene for the first shot and for the majority of the film is quite normal we start in a normal enough village and see a group of friends the costume of the actors are what we would expect from a group of 16-18 year olds jeans, branded tee-shirts and one of them carries a bag the then split off and go their separate ways. The next location is where the majority of the film takes place in what is a normal bedroom. Nothing seems to be unusual until he clicks on the “Like this and you will die” button and that’s when things start to go strange but the location and setting doesn’t change for the rest of the film.

Camera and Editing

The use of camera and effects in this short film are very well done and seems to blend in seemlessly such as Facebook being in the foreground and the pixilated view when what is this films antagonist gets closer and closer to our hero. These shots add tension and makes you feel like you are the antagonist. The editing of the short film is also well done each shot lasts just as long so it doesn’t seem drawn out and it keeps you hocked and willing to watch more.

Sound

The sound in this short film is all non-diegetic as there is no diolouge just the sound effects that they have put into their production and if there was diolouge I think that the short film would suffer. As without dilouge the sound builds up the tension on it’s own and even though we know that something is going to happen when it does it is, still shocking when the inevitable jump happens and that is all thanks to the high quality sound that the production uses.

audience servery

the pilot survey

findings 

We found that psychological we preferred sub genre and jump scares and the build up of tetion as well as helpless victims where also a populore awner.As well as this the target people did not mind where the plot was twist or not.

We found that they wanted the hero to be a white,male,aged 20 and below to be middle class.As well  as this the villain who will be aged 40 ethnicity does not matter and must also be male.

  evaluation of the survey

The issue with the survey are that question 4 did not work and we did not mention more conventions and other information which was not mentioned first time round. This has now been done and you can see the improved results below.

finial survey

results

Gender of audience

Male 17

Female 9

Other response given 1

Age of audience

17 15

16 1

18 6

29 1

32 1

43 1

38 1

other 1

Hero gender

Female 8

Male 13

Other 6

Hero ethnicity (one person did not answer this)

Black 2

Afro-American 1

White 13

Caucasian 2

Other 8

Hero Class (one person did not answer this)

Upper 2

Middle 10

Working 5

Other 8

Other Information given about Hero

• Drug lord
• Macaulay Culkin
• Quite dench,cool voice so that we grow close to him (and then he dies)
• Generic
• Google
• The focus of a horror movie shouldn’t be the protagonist, it should be how they survive the challenges posed by the villain as such these things don’t matter.
• A man caring for his family
• Pretty fly for a white guy
• Hot
• I’m Thinking Rick Grimes here!
• Based on stereotypes could deviate
• Lighter clothing more conservative
• To have good morals

Villain Gender (one person did not answer this)

Male 20

Female 1

Other 4

Villain Ethnicity (two people did not answer this)

White 9

Caucasian 2

English/German 1

Other 12

Villain Age (one person did not answer this)

10000 1

12 1

10 1

40’s 4

60’s 1

30’s 6

Adult 3

other 8

Villain Class (two people did not answer this)

Upper 5

Middle 7

Lower 4

Other 8

Other Information about Villain

• Swag Lord
• 
  

  Joe Pesci
• Female fatale
• Devil Child
• The Villain should be simply opposition for the Protagonist, and this can come in many forms so these things are unimportant.
• Ugly
• Based on stereotypes could deviate
• Dark clothing
• Have a supernatural element

Idea’s people had to help us with our production

• A guy wakes up with bruises and then begins to remember parts of the torture, but keeps why to the end of the story
• Maybe you could kill off most of the characters including the camera operator
• Needs some banter
• I used google
• Don’t film in the woods
• Watch the Walking Dead
• Used conventional low key lighting where necessary, conventional sound (diegetic and non diegetic) typeography usually uses a serif font unless it’s a more modern narrative and then sans serif, conventional colours e.g black, grey, red and white. Consider the locations and clothing carefully. Use more than one costume per character  

what I have found

Are villain should be a white male who is around age 30 who is middle class as well as being the opposite of hero  and could possible be based on a stereotype of this age and class group and having some sort of supernatural element.

the hero should be a white male again who is working class. As well as this we also given advice to usesing convectional low key lighting and sound as well as not filing in woods as a location and   

email to professionals

we did email them but failed to get a response and image of such failed to upload

social network research

we did try but got on repose

focus gruop

summary

we can learn that we need to keep the plot linear as not to confuse the adoiuce as well as this we can uses flash backs but only if it makes sense this is because they see most other kinds of structure as either confusing in the context of horror and so dont help to add horror also it can come off as pretentious also stated that we should focus on the villain and the horror.they also wont the protagonist to go ageist the stereotype so he will need to as we jokingly said to be an ugly black man ,although this does mean that hero will not have to be active and will be able to go ageist the streotype as well as this they also said the hero will have to be morally dubious as well as this we where also no afraid to kill off characters and build tetion when we do so dont be repetitive with are characters.The editing we could use is going to be fast but only i the action scenes and that we need make sure we do not hold on long shot for long that may not be need and may just draw put the sequence as it can be over sued as well we where told not to 2001 a space odessy and that when action takes place to use quick editing when action is happening lastly the wanted the aesthetic to be realistic and to uses conventional dark forest not unrealistic lighting make sure it looks like the light is meant to be there not to much fog. 

consent from for showing on YouTube and participation

focus group

transcript

Do a normal linear story line, as if this does not happen  and the it needs not confuse people as those other types such such as revers plots, as well as this we need to have a clear villain although it might be stereotypical and cheap to do so, as well as this in terms of plot we need to able make sure you dont have to work it out ,the participant nick  agree that we need to keep it simple.Also we need to kill of characters this has bin applied as we kill are main charterer in are finale piece and we dont allow for any main character status to be put anyone as we kill are mc.the example of game of thrones was given.harrion mainly say stay to horror norms and conventions.also focus on quick editing and use stereotypical font.          

 

progress report 

So far we have found out what kind of charterers are good for are target audience which are different from what we started with as well as this we also know how the print media we are going to make looks like and which genre are short film is and how it looks on print cover and how it will look as well as this we also know how it looks asthtic we will still uses the hp lovecraft universe but the villain which can be seen by the research above is what we will uses as well as this we may also need to change location as well as this their is also also a clear time by other stunt work where the time was around 3mins which will be about as much content as we plan to create.  other than this so far no new information has been gained.