Production Diary 1 (Post 5)

 Idea

Why do I want to make the short film, what purpose will it serve?

• I want my short film to present a political message, the myth of choice for the working classes in capitalism and the fim will present this message through dialogue and allegory.
• The reason I want to do this is for the purpose of educating the audience and attempting to disprove the freedom of choice that the working class has under capitalist systems.

Location

There are 4 primary locations within my short film, the bedrooms, the park and the estate

• The bedrooms will have to look distinctly different to further represent the class divide, this will be done through the mise-en-scene.
• The park will be one of the parks in the estate behind the Co-operative Food in Mulbarton, this is a relatively medium sized park and so should be spaced out enough to film in without being interrupted but also adding realistic and diegetic background noise.
• The estate will be the estate behind the Co-operative Food in Mulbarton

Inspirations from previous films

• I plan to make my film quite dialogue heavy, this is taken primarily from Skinny Jeans as the dialogue drives that narrative, similarly to how it drives this one and sets up the main main message of the film.         
• I'll have the opposite focus on aesthetic when compared to the student short film "Anniversary", which used to flashy editing to increase the focus on aesthetic effect, whereas my short film focuses more on narrative and the message and so the editing will be more naturalistic to keep the focus on dialogue and not aesthetic.

Where have I been all your life + Spider

 

Short Film Idea and Plan (Post 4)

Narrative

Plot 

• Opens with a phone call, Friend 1 got off work and wants to meet at a park, the other agrees, both of the interior of their houses are shown, Friend 2 is warned. 
• Friend 1 is at the park (that is in an estate) waiting, the Friend 2 arrives and they make some small talk and decide to go on a walk further into the estate.
• On their walk Friend 1 starts complaining about his work, how the CEO does nothing but reaps the most benefits, Friend 2 tells him to just quit his job and this starts an argument - Friend 1 lives - this argument is a commentary of the state of the working class how capitalism is unethical.
• The argument ends with Friend 1 running up ahead, further into the estate.. Friend 2 catches up and they go to argue again but they are ambushed by a mugger with a knife.
• The 2 plead for the mugger to just leave them but it doesn't work, then Friend 2 pushes Friend 1 at the mugger however Friend 1 is pushed into the knife and Friend 2 just runs away looks back and see's the mugger frantically searching and finding nothing and then continues to run.
• This is a commentary on both how the working class don't have true freedom and free choice under capitalism as well as the fact that the rich will use the poor to make themselves better off, symbolised by Friend 2 sacrificing Friend 1.

Micro Elements

Mise-En-Scene

• Setting - Bedrooms (scene 1), Park (scene 2), Estate (scenes 3 and 4) - naturalistic locations that aren't very flashy, they're more plain, this adds the the realism
• Lighting - Use natural lighting - bedroom lights for indoor scene and the sun for outdoor scenes - this will add to the realism of the start of the film which will strengthen the message the film is trying to get across.
• Costume - make the clothing look working class for Friend 1 and make Friend 2 look a little better off to reflect the ignorance of his friends struggle and strengthen the allegory of the ignorance of the upper classes and bourgeois.
• Character Expression and Movement - 2 characters - both supposed to be fairly young - Friend 1 should be more angry or have more angst while Friend 2 has to be more relaxed and condescending to further show the class divide and the ignorance of the bourgeois towards the proletariat.

Cinematography

• Primarily comprised of medium shots, however I currently plan to use close ups, tracking shots and long shots, these will be used to increase the realism of the film by putting more focus onto the dialogue instead of the aesthetics, this engages the audience more with the message than the spectacle.

Editing

• Use a variety of different edits however don't over edit and make the action to confusing and overcut, this makes the film more focused on realism and being naturalistic, this would engage the audience more with the message than the aesthetic.

Sound

• Use the sound picked up when filming - diegetic sound throughout the short film
• This will be done to further the realism and out more focus on the message.

Macro Elements

Narrative

• Linear Narrative - no flashbacks, completely chronological narrative.
• Allegory - The film is an allegory to how for the working class, there is no free choice under capitalism and how the upper classes will sacrifice the poor for their betterment.
• Ellipsis - break between the argument and when Friend 2 catches back up.
• Restricted Narrative Viewpoint - The film will be from the characters point of view and the audience will have the same information from them as they get it.
• Claude Levi-Strauss' Binary Opposites - wealth/poverty - there is a clear wealth divide between the 2 main character to exemplify the ignorance of the wealthier classes to the working class.
• Todorov's Theory of Narrative Equilibrium - equilibrium being the friends meeting up, the disruption being the argument between the friends, the recognition will be the ambush of the mugger, the repair will be friend 2 sacrificing friend 1 to get out, the new equilibrium will be friend 2 escaping.

Genre

• The genre of the short film will be drama, the seriousness and realism of the drama allows the message of the film to be more easy to understand.

Representation

• The two character of the film will be shown to be a representation of class, Friend 1 being of the working class and coming off as a bit more rough and shown to be living a bit worse to the more upper class Friend 2, who will be more relaxed and shown to be more privileged and ignorant of Friend 1's problems, representing how the upper classes can be ignorant of the difficulty of being working class.

Audience

• The film won't aim towards a specific audience but the primary purpose is to educate an audience through the allegory presented by the short film.

3 Student Short Films (Post 2)

 Student Short Film 1 - THE IDEA

 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPOJ4i2BGGI&ab_channel=WymondhamHighFilmStudies)

Micro Elements

Mise-En-Scene

• Setting - the only setting is a classroom, establishing the protagonist is a student doing work.
• Lighting - the film makes use of 'natural lighting' only using the lights already present in the classroom, making the film more realistic
• Costume - The student is seen wearing a suit, reinforcing the establishment of the character as a student and makes the film more realistic.
• Character expression and movement - the protagonist is shown to be annoyed and struggling when trying to do the work and once they figure it out they become a lot more active and are shown to be happier

Sound

• It is  not made clear whether the ticking of the clock is a diegetic sound or not, regardless of this, it is used to signify the concentration and mood of the protagonist, trying their best to get the work done.
• The diegetic music then used is to show the happiness of the student now that they've completed their work and then is shifted to use for comedy as their mood spirals down when their work is taken.

Cinematography

• The film primarily uses medium and close up shots to best display the mood of the protagonist by giving lots of shots of their face.

Editing

• The short film has pretty basic editing, using mostly regular cuts with a few jump cuts to keep the film flowing at a good pace.

Macro Elements

Narrative

• The short film follows a linear narrative, it's in complete chronological order with no flashbacks.
• The film follows Todorov's theory of narrative equilibrium, the equilibrium being the work in the classroom, the disruption being their work not being good enough and they have to continue working while everyone else leaves, the recognition being the teacher said his work wasn't good enough, the repair is working a lot harder to get the work done, and the new equilibrium is their work getting accidently thrown away.

Genre

• The genre of this film seems to be a comedy as signified by the end when the work is comically thrown away and it is played off like a joke.

Student Short Film 2 - The Delivery

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap9PTYleYqE&ab_channel=FinnSheridan)

Micro Elements

Mise-En-Scene

• Setting - the short film takes place both within the protagonists house and outside in the street, this is meant to show the protagonists agoraphobia.
• Lighting - the short film uses natural lighting and darkness to accentuate the fear of the character as well as add to the realism of their phobia.
• Character expression and movement - the main character's expression and movement are quite slow and anxious and he looks very uncomfortable and scared, this goes very far to show the severity of his agoraphobia as well as making the audience sympathetic to his struggle.

Cinematography

• The short films makes use of primarily close ups and wide shots to exemplify the main characters agoraphobia, the close up showing the extreme uncomfortability and fear of being in the open space where escape may be difficult and the wide shots showing the feeling of fear by being in such a large and open space.
• To further display the protagonists agoraphobia the director makes use of making shots less focused to show the uncomfortability and fear of leaving the house.

Editing

• The short film uses pretty standard editing, however there is some areas used to accentuate the uncomfortability and fear, such as the twisting and turning of the camera when outside.

Sound

• The score across the short film reflects the protagonists mood, when he's safe and indoors the score is calm and as his situation worsens and he knows he has to leave the score begins to get louder and overcome the diegetic sound to display his fear.
• There is also an overlay of heavy breathing throughout the short film, this displays his fear and anxiety.

Macro Elements

Narrative

• The film follows and linear narrative, all in chronological order and no flashbacks, and meks uses of ellipses when waiting for the pizza.
• The film follows Todorov's theory of narrative equilibrium, the equilibrium being when he orders pizza, the disruption being when it appears that the pizza is delivered to the wrong house (this is simultaneous to the recognition as he observes this event), the repair being going outside and crossing the street to get the pizza and the new equilibrium is the revelation that it wasn't his pizza and that his has just arrived.

Genre

• The genre of the short film is a drama, evidenced by the serious tone throughout the short film, this makes the message of the film (spreading awareness of agoraphobia) more serious and reaffirms the importance of what people who suffer go through.

Representation

• This film is representation for people who suffer from agoraphobia and spreading awareness from what they go through on a daily basis.

Audience

• This short film doesn't cater towards a certain audience however the intention of the film is to educate the audience of people who suffer from agoraphobia in a dramatic way.

Student Short Film 3 - The Anniversary

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ySJm9MHDak&ab_channel=LouisJones)

Micro Elements

Mise-En-Scene

• Setting - The setting of the short film are the main character bedroom, his car, the grave and his girlfriends house, these settings go to increase the aesthetic effects of the film by having wide variety of environments as well as putting lot's of things into a short amount of time to increase the panic of getting the present.
• Lighting - The short film seems to use natural lighting, using sunlight and the lights in the bedroom, this adds to relatability and realism of a situation like this.
• Props - the primary prop of the short film is the flowers, as they are the driving force of the plot as they are the anniversary gift the main character is hastily trying to get.
• Character expression and movement - the 4 main instances of a focus on character expression and movement are when he looks shocked and worried when he realises he forge his girlfriends anniversary, his annoyance that the shop where he could get a gift was closed, the sorrow of taking flowers from a grave and the look of defeat when he finds out that day wasn't the anniversary. All these instances serve to make the main character more relatable.

Cinematography

• The majority of the shots are close ups to get a better view of the characters expressions to increase the reliability and emotion of the short film.
• The film uses a zoom for shock value and comedic effect when the character believes it is his girlfriends anniversary.

Editing

• The clear primary focus of the short film is the editing, which is very stylish and fast to build the aesthetic effect of the short fil and to move the narrative along at quite a fast pace.
• The film uses a variety of editing methods to increase aesthetic effect and make the narrative fast paced, these methods are primarily a large use of whip pans and montages to greatly increase the speed of of the short film and greatly increase the aesthetic effect to capture the audiences attention and keep them engaged.

Sound

• The short film primarily uses diegetic sound (the dialogue, background noise, etc) to increase the realism and relatability of the short film as they make the environment more realistic.
• The use of narration clearly establishes the narrative and the story taking place.
• The use of sound effects add to the shock and comedy of what's happening at guides the audiences emotions.

Macro Elements

Narrative

• The film follows a linear narrative as well as following Todorov's theory of narrative equilibrium, the equilibrium being the main character waking up in the morning, the disruption being the feeling he's forgotten something, the recognition is him realising that it's his anniversary with his girlfriend, the attempt to repair being going to the shop for a gift but it's close, the repair being him taking flowers from his dad's grave as a gift instead and the new equilibrium being that the anniversary is actually tomorrow.