Synopsis:

More Research.

http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/films/past_entrants/332253/mixtape

This movie won the 2008 short film awards and was made by Luke Snellin.

I love the way music is used in this short film. Very simple shots capture emotions and are very effective.
I like the story line as it is cute and catchy.
Although it's a little bit shorter than ours is expected, but I really like some of the ideas used.

Marketing Research.

http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/films/entry/345289/sign-language

This short film called 'Sign Language won the short film award this year.

I like the general storyline throughout this short film, and the positive attitude of 'Ben'.
The twist in the story at the end is clever, and the music and mise en scene makes the audience feel empathy towards 'Ben'.

Our story line is quite similar in the way that Mr.White expects to be dissapointed but has a nice surprise at the end.

Hopefully our choice in storyline and choice of props, music, actors etc. will create the same empathy and happy/positive feeling.

Final Idea.

Mr. White in Sunder-Land.

We've decided to pursue the 'Alice in Wonderland' based story, as there are loads of things we can research and lots of things we adapt to suit our audience.

Questionnaire.

1, Do you watch a lot of films?
2, Do you watch them more at the cinema or on DVD?
3, What is your favourite genre and why?
4, Do you read film reviews? (If the answer is no advance to question 8)
5, If so do you read film reviews about films you’ve watched/want to watch?
6, If so do you read them before or after you’ve watched the film?
7, Which is your favourite film review magazine?
8, Have you ever watched a short film?
9, What is your favourite Fairy Tale?
10, What do you look for in a film?
11, Do you like fantasy or do you prefer things to be realistic?

These were the original questions we came up with, but we decided we didn't need all of them as the clip would be too long, below is the final outcome of our questionnaire being displayed by two bears!

Short film ideas.

Alice in Wonderland:

Based on the White Rabbit: Main Character.

The white rabbit lives alone in a little town called Sunder-land. He's actually a man called Mr.White, but he gets called rabbit due to his large ears and buck teeth as a child.

Mr White is known for being late, no matter what the occasion, he's always late, and always blaming it on his watch.

Mr White is supposed to have an important meeting with his business partners, Barry and Larry Tweedle. His alarm clock fails him, and he rushes to the meeting to find they've already left.

Next, Mr. White has a very important date with his lady friend Alice. Running late, he ends up at the wrong coffee shop and leaves Alice stood up.

Then Mr. White is supposed to be attending his good friend Mr. Hattersfield's tea party, but once again things get in the way and he misses all the fun.

After a long day, Mr. White returns home feeling sad. It's his birthday party tomorrow, and nobody will come because he's let them all down so much.
He goes to bed and cries.

The next morning, Mr.White still feels very sad, he climbs out of bed and plods down the stairs..

"SURPRISEEE!!!!"

In his living room, all his friends like Mr. Hattersfield, Larry and Barry Tweedle, Alice and many more are all stood around a big cake with lots of cups of tea and presents!

Opening his new presents, Mr. Hattersfield bought him a mobile, this means he can call to say he's late.
Barry and Larry bought him an alarm clock each, so there's no excuse to be late.
And Alice bought him a watch, but with a GPS! So he can never get lost.

Mr. White is ever so happy.

The end.

Short film ideas.

The ugly ducking:
At a college in England, a teenage girl is constantly bullied for the way she looks.
Her hair's never styled, she's not that skinny, she wears glasses and has a brace, as her family are quite poor she can't afford the latest trends in fashion, so she's basically an outcast.
All her parents want from her is for her to be normal, they want her to have friends and have a boyfriend and have grandchildren, but the girl is too focused on her studying, and after several attempts to be 'cool', she gives up.

She becomes depressed, and leaves the college, leaves her little town, and plans to explore instead of studying. She loves fashion, and wanders streets window shopping the beautiful clothes she'll never afford, constantly sketching in her little notebook full of her ideas, dreams and fantasies.

When wandering the towns, she feels very lonely and lost. She doesn't know any body and has no friends.
One day, she gets so angry, she throws all her sketchbooks away, but these are only to be found by a modeling agent who loves the ideas and looks up the girl.
He finds her in a tiny studio flat and offers her a job for a big modeling agency, designing and modeling clothes.
But she becomes sad, knowing she's not beautiful enough to model clothes.
"But you are!" He says, and pulls down a mirror to show herself what she looks like.

Over time, her hair had grown luscious an long, she'd had her braces removed and contact lenses instead of glasses made her eyes look beautiful!

"You're perfect." Said the agent.

After doing several photo shoots, and earning lots of money, her family get in touch saying how proud they are, and they want to be back in her life.
Some of her old colleagues from college also get in touch, but she decides she doesn't need them in her life.

She buys a new posh flat, and lives happily ever after.

Short film ideas.

Modern Hansel and Gretal:
A teenage boy and teenage girl's parents split up.
The father loves the children and the wife decides to get revenge by taking the children into a nearby big city and trying to lose them.
The children are clever, and first they find a tourist information shop, get a map, some bus times, and eventually find their way home.
The next day, she does the same thing, but they use the GPRS Sat Nav on their phones to find their way back.
Lastly, on a Sunday, she steals their phones and money and abandons them once again.
The tourist information is closed, the buses aren't running, and the children are well and truly lost.
Whilst wandering the streets, an old friendly woman offers food and shelter in her high-tech orphanage, so they follow her to a big house.
Once inside, the woman turns evil and traps them in a room, activated by a keycard.
She feeds them colossal amounts, making sure they eat it all, fattening them up to be butchered.
The two children devise a plan to escape the next time the woman brings their food.
She brings them their food and they run behind her and push her in, stealing her keycard they lock her in to die.
They steal all her money and jewels, then escape from the house.
After wandering the city, then run into police, who have been searching for them for days.
They take them back to their father, who is thrilled.
They are now rich with the woman's belongings, she gets arrested for pedophilia, the mother has left with another man and they live happily ever after.

Making a good review.

What makes a good review?

* Good exciting layout
* Enticing pictures
* Bold fonts
* Main highlighted points
* Star ratings
* Personal views
* Actual good review of the film
* Informal so it's easier to relate to
* Comparisons of similar films
* Predicted Interest Curves, to make it more exciting
* Not giving away to much of the plot
* Small credits
* Short, basic outline of the story

What makes a bad review?

* A full detailed synopsis meaning you know the ending of the film
* Basic layout
* Loads of credits
* Unnecessary information
* A small simple picture
* No personal views
* More like a directory than a film review

How to make a successful short film

There are no set rules as to what makes a good short; as with features, different audiences love different films and an award-winner in one viewer's eyes will be a dull cliché in another's. Obviously there is an element of subjectivity to any short film programme as different exhibitors will set their own criteria as to what they think makes a good short, which they feel their audience will enjoy. Whilst this can be frustrating for filmmakers it isn't necessarily a bad thing, as, what one exhibitor rejects another will love and promote – so it is important not to get disheartened by rejection. In many ways it is an exciting time to be making shorts in the UK as there are wealth of different festivals, screening organisations, websites and content providers looking for short films to exhibit. Our advice would be to submit your film to as many places as possible.
However there are a few things to consider when making a short film are:

* An Exciting & Original Idea
* A Strong Script
* Good Acting
* High Production Values
* Make It Short
* Strong Beginning
* Avoid Repetition & Punchline Twists
* Exciting New Techniques & Style


A few of the above points elaborated in more detail:

An Exciting & Original Idea

Original ideas are not easy to come-by but a good way of avoiding clichéd ideas is to watch lots of other short films, look out for any trends and stay clear of them (See our Related Links: Recommended Watching for places to watch shorts). Even if your idea isn't completely original try to look at the subject matter from a different angle or using a different style/technique. If you're struggling for ideas, you could try to find inspiration in your experiences or those of the people that you meet or through the stories that you read in newspapers, magazines and online.

A Strong Script

A good script is key to narrative-based short films and in many ways it's harder to write a short than a feature because you need to condense your story and develop your characters in a very short space of time. All too often films are let down by weak, overwritten or underdeveloped scripts. Before investing money, time and effort into shooting your film, it's a good idea to test your script out on friends and strangers (as friends might fear offending you) and get as much feedback as you can. See our Film making Guide: Writing a Script for more advice & our Related Links: Writing for scriptwriting organisations, resources and communities. If you write and direct your own films, it's a good idea to consider where your strengths lie. It's great if you can do both but if you think you're stronger at direction/animation then why not consider collaborating with a talented scriptwriter and see what results come of it?


Good Acting

Unless your friends are actors or demonstrate acting talent, it's a good idea to avoid casting them in your film. Even one bad actor in a film can really let it down and destroy the viewer's belief in the reality that your film is seeking to create. There are lots of great actors out there who are willing to work for reduced fees to learn their trade and make a name for themselves. You can find actors through advertising on the message boards of film making communities (see the Film making Communities Section in our Related Links: Film making Organisations & Communities or via online casting sites such as The Spotlight. For more information on finding cast see our Film making Guide: Cast & Crew or see the casting section of our Related Links: Production

Photo's demonstrating different lighting techniques.

This is an example of backlighting, it creates a silhouette and is used quite a lot in horror films as it gives off and eerie effect.








This is an example of a red filter, by using the colour red it gives off a feeling of danger and would be used in a horror or action film.







This is an example of hard lighting, this creates a shadow on the face and is commonly used on villains.






This is an example of ambient lighting, is lighting that belongs to scene like form a window or if the shot has been taken outside, none artificial light.

Three point lighting.

-The backlight is used to provide separation from your subject and the background.

-The key light is the primary light source, it provides a base light for your subject.

-The fill light provides some fill into the shadow area of your subject to balance out the contrasts created by this key light.

Health and safety when using the redheads:

-Extremely fragile: when transporting use the bag and padding. Do not knock them, two people should carry them.
-HOT! Take extreme care when handling the lights, they are very hot.
-Do not cover them with anything.
-Do not look directly into the lights.
-Switch of the lights when they are not is use.
-The bulbs are very expensive and break very easily. Extreme care should be taken.
-Tape the cables down to the floor to prevent people tripping over them and knocking over the lights.

Notes from Friday 17th

Shark Model:

The bite - The beginning of the film where something big happens that draws the attention of the viewer in and makes them want to carry on watching the film to see what happens next.

The body - The main part of the film where most of the action happens.

The tail - The end of the film, usually where all the loose ends are tied up and there is a conclusion to the film.

Course Brief:

You are to create a short film in its entirety, lasting approximately 5 minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following ancillary task options:

• A poster for the film,
• A radio trailer,
  
• Or a film magazine review page featuring a review and analysis of the film.

Synopsis of a horror movie.

After three hours in a mini van the five of them where relieved to finally be at the camp site. They got all their gear out of the van and began to pitch their tent. Emily, who had organised the party, her two best friends and their boyfriends. Sam, Katelin's boyfriend had had too much to drink so she decided to put him to bed. "I'll be back soon, just putting Sam to bed" She laughed as she escorted a very inebriated Sam to their tent . When Katelin didn't return they just assumed she'd just gone to bed.

Film poster analysis

From the tab lines, you find out that the film is about these five men (on the cover) who don't know each other but they've been brought together, by someone, for some reason. From the poster we can't tell where the film is set but the actors are American and from the way they are dressed I would imagine it is set in America, possibly the rough, downtown areas as it seems like a bit of a mafia/gang film as they are all in black suits with black shades. From their outfits and design of the poster it looks like it was set in the 1990's. Just from looking at the film poster I would say there is going to be a lot of gun action, sly plots, gang senario.