This week me and the team (The Thunder Cats (I haven't discussed the team name with the others yet)) have been recreating a scene from "The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion and the Witch in the Wardrobe". In this scene, Lucy meets Mr. Tumnus. We followed directions from a script, but had to make a few changes as we went due to the lack of recources... and umbrellas. More info about this will be released in video form, for your entertainment!
BW
We thought we would use the woody area at the back of the field it was difficult to film as there was a PE group here. It has definitely taught me for when we shoot our own short film that location is vital and that we need a place that's quiet or find a way to hide the extra background noise. Most easily done by using Foley.
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Me and my totally sweet crew were set the task to recreate the iconic scene from "Narnia: The Lion and the Witch in the Wardrobe" in which Lucy meets Mr Tumnus for the first time. As you can see, below is a story board which I totally didn't rush and finish within 20 minutes. It actually took 40.
We were given a script of the scene and the task was to simply to focus on camera angle more than anything else.
The location we chose was some nearby woods, because of the high availability and mild resemblence, despite the lack of snow. The many trees made it the best location for this, considering the short time we had to film and edit. Around creating this masterpiece of a storyboard, characters had to be forged. Despite having seen the film already, it was decided that we would have our own take on the characters. This did however make Mr. Tumnus a really creepy fawn who may or may not have had ulterior motives. Unintentional, yet creepy and hilarious.
In my mind, Mr Tumnus was a Fawn who suffered with social interaction and is desperate for attention and friendship. In seeing Lucy he instantly sees an opportunity to make a friend and comes across as desperate and creepy, yet strangely lovable... After the creepiness. He has good intentions, but they don't always appear that way.
Lucy is a little British girl who has just stepped into the wondrous land of Narnia, and doesn't seem to really question why there is snow and a stupidly large amount of space in the wardrobe, which she originally went into to hid in a game of hide-and-seek.
It's because of this that we wanted her to come across as a bit dippy and easily lead, which she was. Her curiosity gets the better of her and she seems to lack common sense. Still, completely innocent if a bit annoying.
Again I got this idea from the film The Blair Witch Project. I liked this idea of the movie starting slap bang in the middle of a disaster or something curious and throughout the 4 minutes you have this idea that something I happening but you really have no clue but then your left with this cliffhanger that leaves you wondering what was actually supposed to happen could this happen could that happen etc, etc.
I mainly started to think about this last year during my AS media C/W when I was studying Brecht wholiked to alienate his audience and instead of them sitting there and realaxing whilst watching the movie they're constantly thinking and asking themselves these questions If? But? Maybe? How come? Where? Why? Just something that makes you actively work. I suppose a brilliant example of this would be The Matrix movies throughout the viewing you are constantly questioning the motifs of the film.
The only problem with creating a piece like this would be how are we going to create something so complicated and get all these questions going through the Viewers minds in 4 Minutes, without it looking amateur and awful my example of this is a previous A Level Short film that is so shocking that the only question that goes through your mind is Why on Earth Did I Put This on?
The project had potential but was ruined with the awful camera work, editing and acting. I think if I was to do this it would be a hundred times better and lot more organised and serious.
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I liked the idea of watching a movie that constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat and wanting to know more and more but also scaring you so much that you almost have to walk out of the room but your subconscious doesn't want to. I didn't really get this idea from a short film I got this from a couple of feature films.
Cloverfield
I liked the idea of having a documentary style type film where it's supposed to be about one thing but ends up being another a lot like Hitchcock and his idea of using a red herring to hide the real horror.
There are different ways that short films are consumed. From extras in movies to short film festivals. Although in my opinion I think that a festival is the best way for short films to be consumed because there is a crowd examples include:
The London Short Film Festival or LSFF:
The London Short Film Festival, now in its 11th year, is recognised as the premiere UK showcase for cutting-edge UK independent film.
Renowned for daring cross-arts programming, we showcase the very best of the country’s raw talent. The London Short Film Festival is a Mecca for the UK’s young creative talent and a significant date in the UK film calender.
Every year the Festival’s large and loyal audience flock to screenings and events, and this network has grown steadily over almost a decade.
This is a film that was shown in the LSFF.
Aesthetica Short Film Festival:
An established and dynamic player on the UK film festival circuit, the Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) is a celebration of independent film from across the world, and an outlet for championing and supporting short filmmaking. Join us from 7 – 10 November 2013 to take part in the experience.
Spanning all genres including drama, documentary, animation, comedy, music video, thriller, experimental and artists’ film, the festival showcases its films across 15 distinct and historic locations in the city of York. Moving between medieval halls, ancient city walls, boutique cinemas, galleries and museums, the festival invites visitors to create their own unique viewing experience.
Alongside screenings, ASFF also presents a series of masterclasses and workshops with leading industry figures, working with such organisations as BAFTA, Channel 4, Film4, Warp Films, Raindance, Sheffield Doc/Fest and many more. There are also guest screenings, networking opportunities and special events throughout the weekend.
This is an award winning short film from the Aesthetica Short Film Festival.
There are other ways of consuming Short Films for example the extras on DVD's these can be anything from interviews with the cast to bloopers and deleted scenes.
This is the deleted scenes from the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:
Of course these Short films are all distributed from YouTube. So another fantastic way to consume Short Films is through the WorldWideWeb. Here aere just few examples:
This is by an independent short film company who work on a budget and make their money through the advertisements on YouTube.
This is a short movie created by the BBC and can be viewed via the BBC website.
As long as the short films are distributed in the right way example: before a film at the cinema or before a largely viewed television show (Downton Abbey) then the short film will be able to make itself a small amount of money or just for amateur directors to advertise their brilliance.
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Synopsis: Dominc waits by a van outside a residential building in South London. He's joined by an old fiend Nico and it's an awkward reunion. Dominic has contacted him after a long gap and financially challenged Nico has asked him to help collect a free sofa from one of the flats. The friends walk into a heated break-up scene as the couple argue over the ownership of the sofa; it's a full-blown furniture custody battle. The guys finally acquire the sofa and struggle to get it outside, and that's the easy part.
Short Fact: This is the follow up to the Short Film Deadpan Valentine (2006) which also stars Mark Parsons and has music by Gavin Saunders.
Crew: Director-Robin Lindsey Writer-Robin Lindsey Producer-Robin Lindsey Director of Photography-Sam Edwards Editor-Steve Lennon Music-Gavin Saunders
Cast: Dominic-Mark Parsons Nico-Elio Ruggieri Rugby Shirt-Simon Balcon Sofa Lady-Sarah Thomas Lane
Funded by: Self Funded.
My Personal Review:
Mise-en-Scene: The Urban city that Nico and Dominic walk through with the sofa connotes how far they have to go. It also looks like they have stolen the sofa which is quite amusing. It's also good because they have started off at what looks like the central city with all the flats and then made it to the park and then to the street of houses. throughout the majority of the sequence there's an Enigma, why is Dominic so awkward around Nico and we later find out it's because his wife is pregnant and he doesn't think he's cut out for parenthood.
Sound: There is no music just dialogue and non-diegetic sounds of the airplanes and the cars that are nearby. I think in short films you don't necessarily need music especially in a comedy because it's the dialogue that's supposed to be concentrated on the hardest. As this is the humour.
Editing: Like Get Off My Land there is no fancy editing but I think this is partly to do with the budget. I would also say that because it's a comedy the editing is irrelevant it's merely the script that has to be perfectly hilarious for people to watch and enjoy. as long as the short film flows and isn't jumpy I think t would be fun for the audience to watch and is easy to watch as well.
Camera shots, angles and movement: There is a tilted wide shot that connotes how big the sofa is and it also focuses on how strained the men look not just with the weight of the sofa but the weight of the relationship they are obviously finding it hard to get talking to each other again. There's also an over the shoulder shot which is crucial right at the end to explain the joke that Nico has just said which is "here give us the remote this s*** is rubbish" and we find that they are sitting in front of rubbish bins. If this shot was not here the joke wouldn't have been half as funny. It's nice as well that they had a reaction shot from Dominic and Nico as laughing is contagious and it makes the audience laugh even more.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p00gs4yj Synopsis: A couple on a countryside walk meet the farmer who owns the land they're walking across and get into a slight disagreement ending in a series of unfortunate events. Short Fact: Shot in Trent Park, North London.
Crew: Director-Douglas Ray. Writer-Douglas Ray. Producer-Johnathan Rawlinson and Amaka Ugwunkwo. Editor- Ted Guard. Director of Photography- George Steel. Sound Design-Oli Cohen.
Mise-en-Scene: When the short film starts we find that we are looking at two pais of feet one is wearing Walking Boots and the other is wearing tennis shoes. The tennis shoes are a connotation of how the man doesn't belong there and is seemingly out of place. This theory is supported later on when he tries to climb over the gate and claims that "it's a bit rickity". The fact that the woman is walking a little ahead and he is dragging himself along behind creates an Elipsis giving the audience an idea that perhaps they had argued before hand and the man clearly does not want to be out. A little ahead we find ourselves seeing the Farmer for the first time and the costume and props create a very stereotypical farmer; flatcap, wellingtons, 4x4, overalls and the dirty muddy colourings of his clothings. when the audience first sees him they immediately know that he is the farmer and most probably the owner of the land. Later on when the farmer shoots the man and it leaves a gory blood spatter on the woman's face it immediately becomes humorous. It also creates a sense of ridicule to the whole situation.
Sound: There is no non-diegetic sound but there is diegetic. At the beginning we can hear birds singing which creates a contrast to the East London accent of the man creating a sense of outcast. The whole Ambient sound of the wind and the rustles of leaves makes the film seem more realistic and less surreal than it actually is. What makes the Short Film funny is the use of the pointless dialogue. The only significance of the speech is when the Farmer says this is private land. But the rest of the dialogue with the man asking the question of the Farmer's inheritance just seems pointless but amusing at the same time because that sort of thing wouldn't result in murdering two innocent people.
Editing: The black fade out half way through connotes the passing of time but other than this we have no other use of fancy editing it's just simple cuts because the majority of shots are shot reverse shot. But because of this it leaves the audience believing the situation a lot more than it should because it gives a more documented style rather than a scripted movie.
Camera shots, angles and movement: When we first get introduced to the couple we only see a tilt shot of their feet and it moves ever so slightly to a backwards tracking shot this helps us to understand the fuss the man has with being around the natural landscape. later on there is an Establishing shot of the couple walking through the field past the trees on what is clearly a path, this shot adds a sense of irony as the reason they both get murdered is ecause they were supposedly trespassing when clearly it seems they were not. my favourite shot has to be the last one where it's a close up of the farmer's face and he looks into the camera leans against the 4x4 holding the shotgun and directs his thought to the audience breaking the 4th wall saying "actually I have a feeling this is a public footpath."
CM
The difficulties in creating a short film in a few minutes is that there has to be the right kind of story. It has to be well thought out. If the story is not strong enough then there is no point in creating the short film. Although in saying that if you have a good story but awful actors then the story will be useless.
It also depends on the editing and the diegetics and dubbing over when there is noises in the background and it's difficult to hear the speech.
There is the problem of having this huge idea but then having to fit it into a 4 minute time slot. Although this can be good at the same time because you can then use the best of this great idea and start it from the middle or the end or the beggining and throughout we have this idea that there will be a cliffhanger and you leave the audience wanting to know whats going to happen.
With the short storyit's so impoortant that there is a narrative that is clear. For example Vladimir Propp's theory of having:
A protagonist-Leads the narrative, is usually looking for something (a quest)
A antagonist-gets in the protagonist's way
A heroine-becomes a prize for the hero
A father-an authority figure who offers a reward to the hero for completing their quest
A helper-often acts as a sidekick
A donor-gives the hero something (a clue, or powers etc.)
A mentor-teaches and guides the hero.
An example of this would be:
The Protagonist is Burn-E, the Antagonist is Wall-E and so on.
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What Is a Short Film? An interesting question, a short film can last from 3.5 minutes to 45 minutes all depending on what it is that we're watching and the difficulties that are behind the plot.
Short Films are to be simple but enjoyable.
Short films are often created by professional and amateur film makers and are usually for non profit, either with a low budget, no budget at all, and in rare cases big budgets. Short films are usually funded by film grants, non profit organizations, sponsor, or out of pocket funds.
Although they are lower in status than a feature film some of the worlds best comedians moved up from shorts to features such as Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin and buster Keaton.
This short film both features Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
In the 1920's people would have paid to see a movie but before and/or after the movie they would have seen up to 5 shorts including a newsreel.
this became incredibly popular in the 30's as people would have depended on the comedy that came with the shorts, comedy was the most common genre to create a short film in.
Later shorts included the works of Walt Disney and Warner Brother cartoons seen below:
This is one of Walt Disney's Shorts made in 1938 Ferdinand The Bull an Oscar Winning short!
This is one of Warner Bros shorts the Looney Tunes.
Since then the world has evolved and with it technology people now depend on the interne to broadcast their short films via YouTube and Vimeo. The BBC filmmakers site focus on showing curated shorts.
Nowadays shorts are starting to become popular with certain film company's like Disney Pixar who made these films:
This is La Luna by Walt Disney and it was played just before certain Disney movies like Brave and Cars etc.
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