Synopsis of 'Drop'

Synopsis of our short film 'Drop'

In our short film called 'Drop' the story is revolved around a middle-upper class couple who are going out on a date, however they are already in a long term relationship, this isn't their first date. The story starts with alternate shots of the man and women getting ready for the evening involving things such as the man putting on a tie and the women putting on lipstick, these being shot from different angles. Shortly after this the man rings his partner to discuss a time for him to pick her up.

After the phone call the next stage of shots begin which is at a different location, the car will drive into the entrance of the country club and we'll take several close up and long shots of the car driving down the private path with views of the golf course and clubhouse as the scenery is gorgeous. From there the car will park and the couple will get out the car and walk up to the stairs which overlooks the fountain with some dialogue. Following on from this the couple walk through the clubhouse to the old fashion lift which then takes them down to the floor the restaurant is on.

The couple proceed to the restaurant where they sit down and the female offers to go up to the bar to order the drinks and speak to the waiter as she is secretly having an affair with him. Once the drinks are brought over to the table by the waiter the couple engage in conversation. Little do they know that the male has been poisoned.

Once it cuts to outside after the drinks we see shots of the couple walking to the car park chatting, once the male opens the car door he collapses, his partner is stunned and surprised as to what is going on. We see the waiter looking out from the window at the couple. After this a flashback to inside the restaurant shows the waiter dropping a pill into the males wine glass and we see the waiter read something on his phone which explains his actions.

Starting The Planning Process...

Today we started to come up with ideas for our short film; We presented these ideas on a mind map to show our thoughts clearly. Tomorrow we will continue planning and hopefully decide on our storyline in detail. 

Initial Research into Short Films - Olive

Representation:

In 'Olive' the female character is shown to be glamorous but also extremely selfish. 

A common stereotype of wealthy people is that they are 'snobby' and disapprove of anybody below them - they are very much concerned with social hierarchy. 

This stereotype is very apparent in this this short film as we can connote that the female has seen a way into getting what she wants - which the audience can assume is some sort of inheritance. She is portrayed very negatively through her body language and facial expression:

• A medium close up shows her fiddling with her rings behind her back upon approaching her partner, implying that she is hesitant on whether she genuinely wants to be with him or if she is just in it for the money. 
• At first when the male character begins to choke on the olive, she stands in a hurry, looking concerned, however after realising the situation, she begins to stand back and return to sitting. This shows the women to be depraved as she has seen a route to get what she wants but in a very evil way..
• We are positioned to feel empathy for the man as whilst he is choking, the women who he loves merely sits there watching until finally deciding to give him a kick with her shoe. She continues to sit in a casual way when she swings her leg from under the table showing that she isn't bothered as she barely makes an effort. 

Narrative:
Within this social group there is still a binary opposition between the two characters. 

Binary oppositions were proposed by Clause Levi-Strauss. Although both are rich and live within the same household, we can see that the male is the better natured of the two. After she prevents him from dying, a close up is used to allow the viewer to see his look of sadness and disappointment which suggests how he loves her and is disheartened by her reaction. 

On the other hand, the women does not show much emotion - medium close ups show her almost blank expression. 

here is a prezzi presentation on binary oppositions!

Initial Research into Short Films - The Dinner Party

The opening titles of 'The Dinner Party' uses a very common typeface that is very clean which sets a formal/professional background to the film.
The size of the font and the central positioning makes is appear small and own its own, which could show what is to come with the man being left by himself.



Media Language:
As the titles fade out, a slow pan movement is used to show the edge of the table and the props on top of it; tumbler and wine glasses with fine detail are shown which conveys class and wealth. The blue and white china plates demonstrate high class as they are normally used for occasions, and are not simply plain white plates. 

This is accompanied by the diegetic sound of a (grandfather) clock ticking. This is the only sound present which emphasises the silence and therefore a still yet curious atmosphere. 

The medium close up of the male character allows us to see his facial expression which looks saddened as his eye flutter looking down on the empty table. A cut transition to a long shot then shows his body language; he sits there as if he expects them still to arrive, even though really he knows they wont as we see him turning himself and looking around.
Enigma is created as the audience are unaware yet as to why the man is alone. 

The room in which the character waits connotes a senses of wealth as many of the props are very elite:

• The candle stand placed in the middle of the table is very extravagant and appears to be made from silver which implies his upper class status.  
• The layout of the cutlery alongside the plates suggests a formality to the occasion as the have been placed according to the different courses which further implies the lavish event.
• The painting on the wall above the piano is framed by with gold - this immediately connotes wealth to the audience.   

Part 1 of eye-line match

An eye-line match is then used to show the character looking at the clock.The clock is a large grandfather clock which is very imposing which contributes to suggesting his well off lifestyle.

Part 2 of eye-line match

 This is followed by the diegetic sound of him sighing
The audience can denote from this that the man has been stood up by his guests. This makes us empathise with him as we can see the effort he has put into the event and we see him raise his glass and begin to drink by himself. 

Very few transitions have been used up to this point in 'The Dinner Party'. I think this is because it slows it down. It sets a more slow pace by having the action within one long shot. The next transition used other than a simple cut, is a fade to black. The shot has changed from an extreme long shot showing him awaiting his guests, to a medium close up of him being awoken by the diegetic chiming sound of the clock. The fade shows a passing of time and the chime supports this as it implies that the next hour has been reached. His facial expression appears tired as we can see that he has just been woken from sleep, connoting to the audience that his guests will not be attending. 

Shots showing the fade transition

Audience:
I think the targeted audience for 'The Dinner Party' would be:

• men and women - I have chosen both as I feel that this situation could apply to women aswell. The guests he were waiting for were probably of both gender too. Although i would suggest that there would be a split of roughly 65/35 of men to women seeing as the main character is a male, making it more relatable to them and also being able to empathise.
• aged between 30-50 - I think this would be an appropriate aged demographic because of the plot used. The character is wealthy and in a nice home which wouldn't commonly come to somebody of a younger age. Again I believe the character would sit in that age category meaning that people that age would be more interested in viewing it.
• of upper class - I think this is because the character denoted belongs to this category, hence viewers would understand the situation and plot better and therefore be more engaging. 

Initial Research into Short Films - Just Say Hi - Ettie Greenwood

Just Say Hi -John McPhail

Synopsis:
This short story entitles two teenagers who meet at a bus stop but are too nervous to talk to each other. During the length of the film they keep looking at each other and catching each others eyes. But at last they both gather the confidence to speak to each other as the film ends. Hence its title: 'Just Say Hi'.

Audience:
As mentioned before in the other short films that I have studied, the ideal target audiences for a short film are the bigger companies. So the directors make short films to build a portfolio to attract those companies.

However, a leisure audience will also watch short films so these people would be:

• People aged 15-25 - This is the age group that are similar to the main characters denoted therefore I feel that a similar aged audience would be those most likely to watch the short film: this is because they can relate to the events in the 'Just Say Hi'. (demographic)
• People in education - Most of the audience here will be in education, or at least have experience of it. This is because the characters in this film seem to be around 16-18 and would most likely be in college - or possibly university -. This is because they are not wearing school uniform and seem to catching the same bus everyday to their place of education. (demographic)
• Social classes A-C1 - I think this as people of these classes (Middle class) have leisure time to watch short films and have the technology to access them. Also as the characters are in further education, these social groups are the most likely to continue onto further education as well. (demographic)
• People who use social media - This is because short films are constantly being shared on different social media sites. So this is the way that most people will access the short films, so they would have to have used social media in order to see this. (psychographic)

Examples of social media

Uses and Gratification theory - Blumer and Katz:

This theory denotes what the film 'does' to the audience. A slide show defining the theory can be found here (click link).

• To Entertain - This is an obvious goal for the directors to achieve, as most short films are used for entertainment purposes. The film therefore entertains an audience by emerging them in a story line.
• To Identify - I think this would be achieved as the target audience would be of similar age to the main characters: The film has realistic values meaning that members of the target audience could have experienced similar events and therefore would be able to relate and identify with the short film. 
• Social Interaction - This could be applied as if the audience like the film, they would hopefully talk about it to other (guerilla marketing) or share it on social media (viral marketing). Therefore this is an example of social interaction as consumers can share the film to other potential audiences.

Genre:
I think the genre of this film is a 'Rom-com' (Romantic Comedy). This is because the short film features semantic codes (Altman) of Love and Comedy, therefore making it a sub-genre. It is not a hybrid genre, due to the fact that this genre is denoted a lot in film, so it becomes the product of what started off as a hybrid.

The semantic codes that I have spotted in this short film are denoted in this Prezi that I have created:

(Click photo to open my Prezi presentation)

 Media Language: 

Example of the deep depth of field

One of the main features of this film that stands out to my whilst comparing to others, is the deep depth of field used throughout. I think this gives a greater sense of realism to the audience as it is looks like it was filmed on a not so professional camera, giving the effect that this could have been filmed by anyone who watched the two teenagers waiting for a bus; Therefore implying to the audience that this could happen to them too. The setting: a bus stop is also realistic, as it is is a common activity to be waiting at a bus stop. This also implies to the audience that you can find love anywhere potential giving them aspirations for the future.

The characters facial expressions - CU

Long shots and group shots are also used throughout to denote the characters relation of space to each other and to get an overall view on what is happening. However close ups are used as well to denote the characters facial expressions for the audience to interpret. Here the facial expressions of the male character imply that he is overly happy due to the fact that he is smiling extensively - here a shallow depth of field is used to focus the attention on the subject and not the background.

The non-diegetic soundtrack

The non-diegetic soundtrack in this short film is: Celeste by Erza Vine. This is a suitable choice for the short film and the lyrics are parallel to the events in the film:

"...The way you looked is still vivid to me,

You're something out of a dream,

Messing with my head,

And I've been looking for you-u-u... "

These lyrics match the events in the short film as they describe a man who sees a girl and is fantasied by her, which is therefore denoted in 'Just Say Hi' as well.

Throughout the film, the costumes have been changed frequently to connote that the characters are meeting on different days. This is a simple way to film different days and the give the impression of time passing. Some wipe transitions are also used between shots to add greater significance of time passing and to show how the teenagers grow closer overtime. 

 Some of the different costumes to connote time passing.

Match on action makes this film seem professional and the cuts flow without being noticed. This is essential when making a film as it allows the audience to fully understand what is happening in the film, but it is used to give the viewer a more omniscient view on what is happening . One successful example of match on action in this film is where the girl is sneezing:

Shot 1

Shot 2

My Thoughts:
I chose to look at this film, as I thought the technique of using costume change to connote time passing was successful and it is something we could do if we need a way to show this. Also, the story line in this short film was simple - a girl and boy meeting at a bus stop- but this worked out to create a successful short film. By only changing the costumes, this would be easier to film than 'Touch' which used setting change as well. That film would have taken even longer to film  to film which would be near impossible for us as we have limited time to film our short film.

Also, as the characters in this short film were similar ages to us, this is the short film which is most like ours will probably be like, as it wouldn't be too hard to film and the characters would be around the same age as the characters we can access. But we try to include more advanced techniques to make our work more sophisticated.

This is me

This is me - A short film by Sam Arthur.

In 'This is me' there are several Semantic and Syntactic codes as founded by Altman. As well as this there is Neale's repetition and variation. In addition to Buckingham's Negotiation and Change.

Through Altman's theory we can tell than objects communicate meaning. We can see this in the short film because there is one particular object/prop (the little plastic red toy aeroplane)which communicates meaning and is the centre of the whole story. However we don't find out about the object until half way through the short film when we see the little boy swallow it. And still yet do not know the full extent of its significance however through the mans tone and expressions we can tell that it could possibly have something to do with him and why he is in a coma.

From this screenshot of the timer that his wife has brought a long to 'visit' him we can tell that she really is not bothered about anything and feels like coming to visit is a chore. Which could be why she only gives him 10 minutes of her silent boring company which she doesn't even try to talk to him in, she simply starts reading a magazine about cruises and how to spend her husbands money from the compensation. We can tell by her facial expression in the picture below that she isn't at all bothered that her husband is in a coma and wants to go and enjoy her self and her money which we can tell through the props she has such as an expensive handbag and jewelry as well as keeping well groomed. She looks different here to the second time we see her which is actually before the incident, she looks younger here and like she takes care of herself now she has the money to do so.

We get a well executed animation of the child's digestive system an

 

Initial Research into Short Films - Shortcut

Shortcut is a mysterious short film that involves a man continuously running..but from what?..

Media Language:
'Shortcut' has a  short non diegetic soundtrack at the beginning that is very suspenseful and unpleasant to hear, building an eerie atmosphere to the film. 

long shot showing the location

A long shot allows us to see the location - the terraced houses and dump skip imply that the area is run down. 
The lighting used is low key which makes shadows appear more apparent and the use of just one street light creates enigma as we want to know the unknown of what is down 'Santayana's Passage'.

the passage sign

The passage sign appears to be quite run down due to the untidy paint and the wall having several cracks demonstrating an unpleasant and derelict area. 

diegetic sound definition from filmsound.org

The diegetic sound of the mans heavy breathing conveys how he is feeling scared and panicky and is reinforced by his body language; he is very hesitant as he walks going rather slowly, and also tilts his head slightly to try and anticipate what is coming up...

The prop of the beer bottle is another factor which shows the derelict area he is in - it conveys low class and somewhere quite dirty and untidy. Its sudden movement also makes the audience question whether he is alone. 

At the end of the film, the non diegetic sound returns but is now more dramatic -  including loud drum beats and a diminuendo of piano notes. These create an abnormal and thrilling atmosphere.


Genre:
Steve Neale's theory of repetition and variation
Neale's theory suggests that a genre of film will repeat conventions of the genre formula but also make new variations in order to make a profit. If not, the genre will not succeed in such a competitive media world.

He proposed that to be successful, a film must be creative which I think 'Shortcut' has done.
The plot shows the man running down an alley to then find somebody else also there. He then turns around to see another man who appears to be the same man.
When he runs from him he ends up back at the start where he began. The men also appear to be doing the same thing which causes confusion and enigma for the viewer.   

Rick Altman's theory of Genre
According to Altman we associate particular objects (otherwise known as codes) with certain genres - when we see these codes, it allows the audience to conclude what genre it and therefore know what to expect from the film. 

Semantic codes are ones which convey a meaning to the viewer, so for 'Shortcut' these include:

• the dark alley - this is very stereotypical of thriller or horror films so we associate with that genre.
• low key lighting - this creates shadows and silhouettes which is typical for the genre as it adds suspense.

• diegetic/non diegetic sound - the sound used in 'Shortcut' uses a range of low and high pitches which creates an inconsistent and therefore on edge feeling. The music sets the tone so therefore allows you to associate the genre from it.  

Narrative:
David Bordwell and Kristen Thompson - Plot & Story
Bordwell and Thompson distinguished the difference between plot and story. 

Story - is everything that has happened to the characters. This doesn't always include events that the audience sees. The viewer has to assume what has happened 
Plot - only includes the events of the story that are seen by the viewer in the film in the order chosen to tell the story. These events are 'plotted' to create the narrative. 

In 'Shortcut' we are only shown the plot. The audience are unaware as to why the man is running and where he has just ran from, hence creating enigma. Other questions raised are:

Diagram I have made demonstrating story and plot.

• where is he?
• who are all of the male figures?
• why is he there?

 

Initial Research into Short Films - A Favour

'A Favour' is a short film that questions stereotypes of ethnicity. 

The title of the film would suggest that the content and storyline is positive however this is soon changed. 
The titling text of 'a favour' is presented in a slightly pixelated typeface which could suggest a sense of forshadowing - perhaps the following events involve technology. Why hasn't a normal font been used?.. 

The colour scheme in this opening shot is all very light and bright which connotes a neutral atmosphere; the use of fill lighting creates a normal and positive looking environment.

The editing throughout the time we see the families eating breakfast is clever because it allows the viewer to feel a sense of the chaotic environment:

• Quick cut transitions create a faster pace which makes the scene appear very disorderly and chaotic.
• The slight zoom movements pick up the smaller insignificant parts that all together build a very real and normal household. 
• Quick staccato pans are used to make it appear more busy and allow you to follow what is going on.  

The diegetic sound of people chatting in the kitchen and cutlery and plates knocking beside each other also contributes to the normality of the situation.

When the two characters meet, they both appear to be similar in class as there cars are alike and are both dressed smartly (connoted by the mans suit, and the others briefcase which we assume to be leather). 

The difference in body language is where we begin to tell the difference between the two characters. The white man is sitting laid back with his leg propped up in his car whilst the other stands.
When asked to call his mobile for him, he fumbles around in his pocket hurriedly to find it - this suggests the difference in status as he is obeying his request and trying to do it quickly. 

There is a lot of focus on the mans phone, shown by the close up used on the prop. Therefore suggesting that it could be significant to the story. 

The man takes off in his car in a hurry which is then followed by shots of heavy traffic. The cut transition joining the two shots could suggest that the antagonist rushing off had something to do with the following event. These shots are accompanied by diegetic sound such as sirens and braking traffic. Both of these convey that some sort of emergency or accident has occurred.   

match on action shot no.2

Close ups and extreme close ups are used on the protagonist in his car which allows us to see his look of confusion. The match on action shows him turning on the radio (diegetic sound) to which he hears: "multiple casualties". The camera then does a slight zoom on his face which implies that he is a focus/culprit (he looks enclosed) and that this could be his fault. This is reinforced by: "the bomb was detonated remotely" as the audience can piece together that he was set up to trigger the bomb explosion. 
Narrative:
The use of parralel editing allows the audience to see two families (of two different ethnicities) during the normal everyday routine. We can apply this with Todorovs Theory as being the Equilibrium:

Equilibrium

• Equilibrium - The two families are at home eating breakfast, looking after and arguing with their children, getting dressed for work etc - the lighting remains high key to suggest a normality and neutralness to the situation.
• Disruption - This can be depicted as the part when the two male characters meet as this is the point where the 'disruption' begins, even though the audience are not yet aware of it. 

Disruption

• Confrontation -  As the man is traveling to work, he begins to realise that something isn't quite right. The audience are able to understand the character through the use of -extreme close ups to allow facial expression to be seen, diegetic sound of the news on the radio and also the helicopter; these conventions all contribute to create a tense atmosphere.

Representation:
In 'A Favour' I believe that the director is trying to make the audience empathise with the male Muslim character. To begin with, both of the male characters are shown to be very normal and of equal status as the cross cutting shows them to be in similar situations.  However the director has very cleverly tried to challenge the stereotype of people of Muslim ethnicity being terrorists. 

In the present time we're in there has been a lot of conflict in Western Asian countries. For example: "Terror threat from al-Qaeda veterans"

Due to the majority of war related conflict being publicised on the news, we begin to associate people from certain religions or countries to be violent. 
'A Favour' changes the stereotype of Muslims being represented as terrorists as the cause behind the incident is a white man - somebody you wouldn't necessarily accuse. This film aims to change peoples views and assumptions on ethnicity and that everyone is equal.

 

Initial Research into Short Films - Little Larry - Ettie Greenwood

 

Little Larry - Andrew Lee Potts

Synopsis: 

This short film is about a middle classed, professional,  mid-twenties man named Larry who feels lost at work and life, and cant seem to grow up. The film denotes a young child to represent what he feels like as he struggles to find love. The film ends when he finds a woman who is alike him, this is presented as two children  who meet and 'grow up' together.

Media Language:

One of the main aspects that stands out to the audience when watching this film is the black and white high-key editing: This desaturated colour may connote that Larry is unhappy, and the contrast from the high-key may suggest a contrast that he has between what he wants and what he has. This therefore creates two binary oppositions: Young vs. Old, and Reality vs Non-reality.

High-key desaturated editing

Over saturated editing (also high-key)

However after the character Larry finds someone alike him, the editing shifts to an over saturated style. This therefore creates a significant change between the two edits, and the saturation may connote his happiness and new pleasing lifestyle.

By using children as characters in this short film, I feel that this clearly infers how Larry does not feel comfortable with his lifestyle, as the child in the film acts out adult activities which would not be expected of him. This is also denoted in one of the first shots where the post-production editing of text is placed on to denote Larrys thoughts and to give the audience more context so they understand the short film more.

The edited text on one of the first shots.

The non-diegetic soundtrack in this short film sounds slightly tribal: The track has a varied pitch and a rhythm to it which makes it seem slightly 'childish'. This therefore suits the context of the film - as it is child focused- making it asynchronous. 


During the length of the short film, close-ups are used throughout to capture the characters facial expressions with ease. When looking at these facial expressions, the characters emotions seem to be mpstly negative as his facial expressions connote a fed up and sad emotion. This highlights how the adult character larry is fed up with life and cant seem to 'grow up'.

The time-lapse at 1:06 also highlights Larry's stuggle in life as it shows the other character moving around the office while he just sits there unmotivated. Time lapses' are a good way to connote time passing, and this example, how he is lacking motivation. (see photo below left)

The time lapse

Larry denoting his feelings

Larrys feelings are also denoted in the shot of him making a paper sign saying 'Lonely' and placing infront of his name sign to read 'Lonely Larry' (see photo above right). Here the alliteration is used to give a more childish approach as aliteration is common in childrens books, therefore again highlighting his desire to grow up when he can't. In the background of this frame, there is a group of colleagues chatting, whilst Larry, in the foreground  is on his own. This captures his feelings of lonliness successfully.

Representation:  

I think that the representation in this short film is shown clearly due to the use of actual characters to connote Larry. The child used in the film is used to represent his inner thoughts and actions of how he still feels young, even though he is now in his mid twenties.

When Larry (as a child) finds a girl also represented as a child. This is when they both grow up together and the colour then becomes saturated. I think this is because in modern society there is empahsis on getting a job -which larry has done-, finding love, then settling down with a family. The last two points are what larry lacks, so inside this may cause him to feel as if he is not growing up. Therefore they both can grow up together and this is denoted in the fade transition to two adults who were once represented as children.

Audience:
The reason why most directors create short films, is to show larger companies their work and to try and get signed to that company, so ultimately the audience for most short films is bigger companies.

I think that the target audience for this short film would be:

• People aged 15-30 - I think this because this audience would be those who are mostly likely to come across short films - due to them being posted on social media frequently- but it also includes the mid-twenties age group which is the age that Larry is at. Therefore this may appeal to people who are feeling the same as the characters giving them sort of emotional support that they are not the only ones. (demographic)
• Classes A-C1 - I think this because the characters denoted are of middle class and therefore a middle class would be most likely to view this short film as they can relate to themes shown such as: an office job, the costume, the dog walking and the dates that Larry participates in. (demographic)
• Males and Females - Both genders would watch this film, but I think it could have more of a 60/40 split due to the main character being male. But also it is more common for males to feel 'lost' in work so this could appeal to males who feel the same. (demographic)
• People who go to the cinema - This short film was shown at the cinema before the start of a movie (which would have had a similar target audience to this film). Therefore the target audience would have to enjoy going to the cinema to see this short film in the first place. (psychographic)
• People who use social media -  Most short films get shared on social media, therefore the target audience would use social media as these are the people who share the videos for other to see. (psychographic)

My Thoughts:

I liked the colour use in this short film as it was used to create an effect. Therefore I may consider doing that in our short film if we need to achieve a certain effect or atmosphere.

I also enjoyed the way that the director chose to use actual children to represent the characters thoughts a feeling clearly. The text put on top of the image was also a good idea to denote to the audience what the short film was about and to stop any confusion.

The titles were also good in this short film as they were very typographic:  

 Here the word 'little' is small which mirrors its meaning, whilst the word 'Larry' is big to fill up the screen and to denote to the audience the name of the character/film title.



Here the credits are placed next the the character to identify to the audience the names of the actors. I like this technique because it is a clear way to denote the characters, but also is visually appealing to look at.