Friday, 23 April 2010
Audience
We set out to target fans of the short film media, as a canvas for film experiementation as our film is experimental.
Through the content within our film, we wanted to target an entire range of society. The reason why our target audience is so broad, is because we wanted to see how different sections of society responed to the issues raised in the film.
We hope through our distribution methods to reach as many people as possible and get as many people as possible to think about fatherhood.
I think our blend of documentary and drama helps to make the film appeal to as many people as possible, as some people may have immeadiately rejected the film if they did not like documentary.
Through the content within our film, we wanted to target an entire range of society. The reason why our target audience is so broad, is because we wanted to see how different sections of society responed to the issues raised in the film.
We hope through our distribution methods to reach as many people as possible and get as many people as possible to think about fatherhood.
I think our blend of documentary and drama helps to make the film appeal to as many people as possible, as some people may have immeadiately rejected the film if they did not like documentary.
Audience Response
So far we have shown our piece to two student audience between the ages of 16 and 18. Obviously this is only one group of a much wider audience. Naturally, short films are aimed at fans of short film, but I feel that our film can also be targetted at people interested in real life issues such as fatherhood.
From our feedback I found that the majority of respondants felt that the film was understandable and that we had successfully merged documentary with drama. For example, 12 out of 15 respondants felt, after watching the film, that Drama and Documentary are a 'good combinantion in shot film'. The majority of respondants also felt that scripted drama and documentary work well within our film.
The respondants also felt that the films success was mainly down to the scipting, which, I feel, was one of the strongest aspects of our film. They felt that the script was 'to-the-point' and believable, not unrealistic, which is what we intially set out to achieve.
From our feedback I found that the majority of respondants felt that the film was understandable and that we had successfully merged documentary with drama. For example, 12 out of 15 respondants felt, after watching the film, that Drama and Documentary are a 'good combinantion in shot film'. The majority of respondants also felt that scripted drama and documentary work well within our film.
The respondants also felt that the films success was mainly down to the scipting, which, I feel, was one of the strongest aspects of our film. They felt that the script was 'to-the-point' and believable, not unrealistic, which is what we intially set out to achieve.
Influences
Before generating our initial ideas for our short film, I had watched many other short films which gave me inspiration for our film. We took inspiration for the tracking shots in the film mainly from the Short film ‘About a Girl’ by Brian Percival, which featured long tracking shots of the girl walking and talking as if directly to the audience. This is something I think we replicated well within our short film for the characters monologues. I think the main reason I wanted to replicate this technique, was because I was so impressed by the impact that ‘About a Girl’ creates. It really makes the audience feel as if the character is talking straight to them and also not holding back. Telling the audience what they are really feeling.
To see how tracking shots were used in a similar environment tot he one we were going to be filming in I looked at the music video ‘Bitterweet Symphony’ by the The Verve which was shot in a similar street to the streets we were filming in. Althoutgh for this music video the area was completely controlled, we felt we could achieve something similar on a smaller scale.
I also took took inspiration from documentaries I have watched personally, such as various Louis Theroux documentaries where the interviewer can be heard durning the interview, which is something we replicated. I was also influenced by the short film 10 Minutes by Ahmed Imanovic, which, in my opinion, presented the effectiveness of tracking shots more than any other film I have seen, and the use of the camera as a presence, as a person.
10 Minutes also shows the death of a boys parents, which may have sparked thinking about the role of parents and ultimately fathers, in a childs life.
Both 'About a Girl' and '10 Minutes' are posted below.
Bittersweet Video on Youtube cannot be embeded but the video can be seen here.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx3m4e45bTo
To see how tracking shots were used in a similar environment tot he one we were going to be filming in I looked at the music video ‘Bitterweet Symphony’ by the The Verve which was shot in a similar street to the streets we were filming in. Althoutgh for this music video the area was completely controlled, we felt we could achieve something similar on a smaller scale.
I also took took inspiration from documentaries I have watched personally, such as various Louis Theroux documentaries where the interviewer can be heard durning the interview, which is something we replicated. I was also influenced by the short film 10 Minutes by Ahmed Imanovic, which, in my opinion, presented the effectiveness of tracking shots more than any other film I have seen, and the use of the camera as a presence, as a person.
10 Minutes also shows the death of a boys parents, which may have sparked thinking about the role of parents and ultimately fathers, in a childs life.
Both 'About a Girl' and '10 Minutes' are posted below.
Bittersweet Video on Youtube cannot be embeded but the video can be seen here.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx3m4e45bTo
Characters/ Representation
I believe that our characters do reflect a diverse cross-section of society in terms of their backgrounds. We had one character who had a very strong relationship with their father and is devastated after his death, another character who is being denied access to his children by his ex-wife and truly believes not enough is being done to help him get some custody, and one final character who is pregnant and does not want to raise her children without a father. I believe that this reasonable range of experiences of fatherhood.
Some issues were raised by a minority of our respondents who felt that there was a negative representation of what they determined as ‘Black’ fathers within the film. Despite the fact that a large portion of the audience disagreed with this comment, I feel we still need to address it, as there is the potential of offending some audience members. Despite the fact that we never took the ‘colour’ of our actor’s skin into consideration, in the same way that we never considered their eye colour, when asking them to act in the film. I now see our film as an opportunity for challenging societies stereotypes and question how people determine ‘Black and White’.
Some issues were raised by a minority of our respondents who felt that there was a negative representation of what they determined as ‘Black’ fathers within the film. Despite the fact that a large portion of the audience disagreed with this comment, I feel we still need to address it, as there is the potential of offending some audience members. Despite the fact that we never took the ‘colour’ of our actor’s skin into consideration, in the same way that we never considered their eye colour, when asking them to act in the film. I now see our film as an opportunity for challenging societies stereotypes and question how people determine ‘Black and White’.
Location
The location we chose for our short film was Brick Lane in East London (E1). We wanted to film in a busy shopping area that had character and would be visually interesting as a backdrop for our monologues. After I went on a location scout trip of the area I identified that the main street, brick lane, was far too busy to be able to film successfully without the public getting in the way. However I noticed that there were a dozen side streets that were much quieter but still had shops and cafes. I also noted that we needed to film on a weekday morning as this was the quietist time for the area as most consumers are at work. Weekends were far too busy and it needed to be morning as most workers take their lunch between 12.00 and15.00. As a result we decided to film between 10.00 and 12.00 which worked perfectly for us and we were only interrupted twice by vehicles passing.
One response we had to Brick Lane as a location was that it appeared ‘Urban’, with graffiti on the walls and litter in the streets, which, for some people, created a gritty and ‘street’ appearance which was then reflected upon the characters, and that this meant that all of our characters were from the same area. This was unintentional and I do not completely agree, I feel that the area simply represents a popular shopping location within London that is visited by a whole range of people from different backgrounds on a shopping trip, and actually is one place where people of different backgrounds integrate to do their shopping.
I feel that our locations for our interviews were good. They were visually interesting and are neutral that is the environment that the interviewees are surrounded by; do not necessarily reflect aspects of their personality.
One response we had to Brick Lane as a location was that it appeared ‘Urban’, with graffiti on the walls and litter in the streets, which, for some people, created a gritty and ‘street’ appearance which was then reflected upon the characters, and that this meant that all of our characters were from the same area. This was unintentional and I do not completely agree, I feel that the area simply represents a popular shopping location within London that is visited by a whole range of people from different backgrounds on a shopping trip, and actually is one place where people of different backgrounds integrate to do their shopping.
I feel that our locations for our interviews were good. They were visually interesting and are neutral that is the environment that the interviewees are surrounded by; do not necessarily reflect aspects of their personality.
Editing
Because of the way we filmed our short film, with long tracking shots, we did not have much to do during the editing stage of the project. I choose the best tracking shot for each of the characters we filmed and cut them down for the film. After we had then discussed which parts of the interviews we wanted to use, based on what we felt was most relevant, I cut the questions and added them to the film. However when we initially watched the interviews through, after adding the cutaways to create a clean transition between questions. We thought that the interviews seemed bland the way they were and seemed very slow when put alongside the monologues. We then decided to use jump cuts, rather than cutaways to make the interviews more interesting as well as increase their pace so that they fitted in with the fast pace of the monologues.
We also changed the title, after the first titles we chose alongside the films name 'Baba Yangu', created an 'African' style that confused the audience, who thought the film may have something to do with Africa and Swahili language. We subsequently changed the text to a simple white text which lessened the confusion. We did not change the title however as we had positive responses from our original pitch regarding the title, as it creates interest. Also having ‘My Father’ instead as the title would create pre conceptions within the audience as to what the film would be about for everyone how cannot read Swahili.
We also changed the title, after the first titles we chose alongside the films name 'Baba Yangu', created an 'African' style that confused the audience, who thought the film may have something to do with Africa and Swahili language. We subsequently changed the text to a simple white text which lessened the confusion. We did not change the title however as we had positive responses from our original pitch regarding the title, as it creates interest. Also having ‘My Father’ instead as the title would create pre conceptions within the audience as to what the film would be about for everyone how cannot read Swahili.
Camera
As the cameraman for the shoot I faced great difficulty as I was required to film whilst walking backwards. This was difficult as I had to make sure that the character was in frame and the camera was steady enough to not be distracting to the audience. At the same time we did not want the camera to be perfectively steady as we wanted to create the feeling that, 'you', the audience were the camera and were walking alongside the character being talked too. This took a few takes to get perfect for every character but I feel I achieved this well enough. I believe the tracking shots make the film much more visually interesting than filming a static character, sitting down for example. I also feel that the movement in the dramatic monologues, in contrast to the static nature of the camera during the interview, helped reinforce the divide between reality and drama within the film, for the audience.
Despite being static I feel that the interviews are still visually interesting and the locations are generally vibrant in both. We used interesting angles for the interviews, generally using low angles for both to create our own visual style and make the interviews more interesting to look at, and when the angle is more interesting it is easier to engage with the interviewee.
Despite being static I feel that the interviews are still visually interesting and the locations are generally vibrant in both. We used interesting angles for the interviews, generally using low angles for both to create our own visual style and make the interviews more interesting to look at, and when the angle is more interesting it is easier to engage with the interviewee.
Sound/ Music
We had some problems with sound within our short film. The main problem occurred during the shoot with the wind, which was being picked up heavily in the boom mic that we needed to use because of the nature of our filming. In hindsight, I cannot really see how we would have avoided this problem as we had a very tight schedule, and, since we only had permission to film on certain days, were at the mercy of the weather. If, in the future, I was making a film with more time on my hands I would allow extra time for filming just in case the wind was a problem, or have equipment that can reduce the sound of the wind. Apart from this though I think we handled the sound during the shoot well. I had headphones in during the shoot to make sure that the Actors could be heard clearly. I also feel that we filmed successfully in a busy urban environment by shooting in the less busy streets, but still picking up the ambience of the main hustle and bustle of Brick Lane, which I planned in advance from when doing the location scouting.
I also feel we chose good music for the introduction titles of the film as the music was engaging. I also edited the music so that it was in time with the text which made the titles more visually interesting. The music used at the end of the film is also effective in my opinion as it provokes emotion and brings in the seriousness of the film.
I also feel we chose good music for the introduction titles of the film as the music was engaging. I also edited the music so that it was in time with the text which made the titles more visually interesting. The music used at the end of the film is also effective in my opinion as it provokes emotion and brings in the seriousness of the film.
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Distribution
The best way to get a short film distributed at the moment is on the internet. Baba Yangu is already available on popular video websites Vimeo and Youtube, which makes the film easily available to anyone with an internet connection. We have also posted our film on Facebook, which is a uber popular social networking site, which allows for video sharing within a vast online community. Our short film has also been distributed on DVD within the Brit School Media department, which whilst being a much more expensive way of getting our film out to an audience, is still a form of distribution.
We can also enter our film into online competitions. For example we are currently thinking about entering Baba Yangu into the 'Future Shorts' competitions which is currently taking entries.
We have entered our film into the BBC Film network which is a portal for films where filmakers such as myself can get feedback and possibly recognition for the films we have made.
We can also enter our film into online competitions. For example we are currently thinking about entering Baba Yangu into the 'Future Shorts' competitions which is currently taking entries.
We have entered our film into the BBC Film network which is a portal for films where filmakers such as myself can get feedback and possibly recognition for the films we have made.
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Friday, 12 February 2010
Other Ideas from "Inspiration Week"
Another idea that i came up with for a short film was inspired but the photograph of the butterfly and the concept of a 'fly on the wall'. The story would follow a family argument from the point of a butterfly trapped in the house, flying from room to room developing the narrative. The butterfly is eventually caught by the little girl in the house who never speaks, and lets the butterfly out into the garden.
We also had an idea inspired from a piece of artwork showing an empty table. I came up with the idea of he camera being static throughout the short film. The narrative would happen around the table but never at the table, representing the family being disconnected.
Idea Generation
I was put into group with Maureen, Alana and Callum to create ideas for short films with inspiration from poetry, photographs, newspaper articles, song lyrics and art.
The first idea that we came up with was inspired by the poem "infidelities". The poem was about a women collecting penny's from her husbands pockets and places them on the windowsill. When one day he comes in, takes the penny's and then uses them in a phone-box to make a call "he could not make from the house".
Our short film based on this was going to follow the poem closely. We would start by having shots portraying the them as a happy couple, eating together and her folding his trousers and taking the change out of his pockets and placing them on the windowsill. The film would then have shots of the coins with voiceover from their perspective feeling guilty about how they will be spent. The coins gather dust, which reflects their guilt.
Eventually some of the coins are taken up by the husband and the camera cuts to a phone-box in the street at twilight. The camera takes up voyeuristic positions of the phone-box as the husband turns up, looks around and enters the phone-box, before the camera fades to black.
Our second idea was inspired by the lyrics of the song "Mr Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan and an ABBA song. The idea was based around an ex-drug seller who has died but cannot enter heaven until he does enough good to pay for his sins. He finds a depressed businessman who he begins to follow around playing the Tambourine as a kind of guardian angel. The businessman then meets a girl who he wants a relationship with and rejects Mr Tambourine. The relationship fails and he looks for his guardian angel Mr Tambourine but only finds another guardian angel who cannot play the same songs.
I have realised that the Mr Tambourine idea is not realistic for a short film, as there are too many aspects to the narrative to get across in the 4 minutes that we have. The idea is also very abstract and I am not sure how we would get any kind of message across to the audience.
Our first idea, based on "Infidelities", is a more realistic idea for a short as it has a very simple concept that can be portrayed easily to the audience. Our final idea will need to share a similarly simple concept, but at the same time be more creative.
Monday, 8 February 2010
Inspiration Week Blog 1
My original story that got back to me was:
Jonathan was a marine biologist...
Her name is lolly and she is a kinky nurse...
They met via a chatline for singles in the paper. They met up in the centre of primark...
As she walked into the shop she asked "Sorry, but do you sell bananas?"...
Suddenly, the van across the street opened and five strange people got out...
Her husband walks in and shoots the dude and has fish and chips for dinner.
From this I wrote the following synopsis for a film:
A lonely marine biologist turns to an internet site to find his soul-mate. After talking and sharing photo's with a nurse named lolly, he spots her in primark whilst out shopping. He is about to say hello before he hears her asking the check-out staff whether they sell banana's and begins to have second thoughts, thinking she may be insane. Suddenly a van pulls up outside the shop and 5 strange people get out and drag her into the van. Then a man turns up and starts shooting at the van before recognising the Jonathan. As the van drives away he tells Jonathan to come with him to the fish and chips shop where he will explain everything.
The equilibrium - Jonathan finding lolly online and chatting with her and generally feeling optimistic about the incident.
Disequilibrium - The primark incident and the following narrative of Jonathan and the other guy trying to find her and get her back from the people holding her captive and using drugs to suppress her sanity, hence why she was acting crazy and asking for bananas in primark.
The Equilibrium - They get her back safely, she goes cold turkey from the sanity suppressing drugs and gets together with Jonathan after all. The other guy's story is resolved.
Good vs Evil, Sanity vs Insanity, Two Guys vs Big Corporation, Male vs Female, Love vs Cynicism.
Friday, 5 February 2010
Convergance
Convergence describes the way in which media products cross over and can perform many different tasks. This ultimately means that short films are more and more accessible with the development of new technologies and convergence. Many mobile phones now have the ability to access the internet and sites such as youtube where shorts can be exhibited. Phones such as the popular Apple iPhone and Blackberry have this capability and nearly all new phones produced in the coming years will have this capability. New Samsung televisions now also internet capabilities as well as games consoles such as the Playstation 3 and the xbox 360.
On top of this television providers such as Sky TV have channels dedicated to short film such as 'Shorts International'. The BBC and other channels also often show short films in gaps in there schedules. This maybe would not have happened as much when there were only a limited amount of channels and air time.
Short Film Distribution, the Internet and the future...
Distribution of short films has changed dramatically since the turn of the century and with the rise of technologies that have now become indispensable to short films. The rise of the internet has created huge potential for the medium of shorts as they are small in file size and can be distributed around the world in seconds and posted up on video sites such as Youtube.com and Vimeo.com .
The rise of the internet has also been coupled with the availability of video equipment. Video cameras were, to the vast majority of people, unaffordable before the 21st century, and have only really become truly affordable and portable in the last ten years. The quality of home video equipment has also recently improved dramatically which is now supported by internet sites such as youtube.com with their HD compatibility.
This is all good news for short film as it makes it available to almost everybody for a fraction of the price years ago. As a result there has been a huge rise in amateur filmmakers who can afford to fund, exhibit and distribute their own short films on the internet.
The rise in short film festivals has also increased the popularity of shorts as it provides amateurs as well as professionals to gain recognition for their work and provides them with the possibility of being spotted and creating opportunities for them to break into the industry.
Festivals such as 'Future Shorts' combine all of these new technologies and concepts and provide a chance for filmmakers to distribute their work internationally as well as the opportunity to network with other filmmakers around the world. Future Shorts can distribute a filmmakers work to screenings in 60 cities in 18 countries in the world, as is quoted on their website: http://www.futureshorts.com/htmlViewer.php?id=12
This kind of international networking would never have been possible 20 years ago and shows how technological developments have opened new doors for short film as a medium and is why short film production and popularity will continue to increase as the technology develops and the equipments becomes more and more available.
The UK Film Council and Lottery Funding
Many British film festivals and film institutes in Britain gain funding from the UK film council, which is in turn funded by the national lottery. The chances are that if an amateur short filmmaker gains financial backing or filming opportunities from a film festival or institute, that money will have come from the UK film council and the national lottery. Film festivals such as the Encounters short film festival are funded by the UK film council. Short film is taken seriously within the UK film council as it is considered to be the training ground for future British filmmakers as well as acting talent. By funding festivals such as the Encounters short film festival the UK film council are hoping to kick-start the careers of future filmmakers and spot potential talent.
The UK film council have also introduced the 'Short Film Completion Fund' which aims to fund the completion of short films that show 'outstanding potential' but lack the funds to be completed to the films full potential. This is another example of how aspiring filmmakers have the opportunity to receive financial backing.
The national lottery fund British film as it is considered to be an integral part of British culture as well as being an industry that employs around 50,000 people in Britain. The film industry also turns over billions of pounds annually that goes back into the British economy. British film also promotes Britain around the world and can promote tourism.
Encounters
Encounters is a short film festival that is the result of the merging of two film festivals, Brief Encounters and Animated Encounters, in 2006 and has since become one of the most prestigious festivals for short filmmakers within the U.K.
Based in Bristol the festival consists of different regional and specialists awards including awards for under 12's as well as the 'Depict' award for a short under 90 seconds.
The festival is a registered charity and is run on sponsorship money contributed by companies such as the BBC and Kodak, as well as being funded mostly by Bristol City Council. The festival also get funding from the UK Film Councils Lottery Fund.
Maya Deren
Maya Deren was originally born in Ukraine but her family moved to New York shortly after her birth in 1922. She met he future husband, Alexandr Hackenschmied, a photographer and cameraman in Hollywood who encouraged her into the media of film.
After her fathers death she spent some of her inheritance on a 16mm camera and subsequently went on to produce possibly her most famous short film 'Meshes of the Afternoon' in 1943. She was very much known for being highly individualistic in her short film work and this is certainly reflected in 'Meshes of the Afternoon' as the overall theme of the film is extremely abstract and clearly reflects her mentality and ideas. This film in particular is often regarded as having set the tone for post war Avant Garde filmmaking and has been attributed for ensuring the success of Avant Garde filmmaking after the end of the second world war.
Deren reflects an anti-mainstream stance and her creative freedom throughout her filmmaking career. Her films such as 'Ritual in transfigured time' often feature creative spark, such as discontinuous editing and manipulating angles for effect.
The Big Shave
The Big Shave by Martin Scorsese was made in 1967 whilst Scorsese was still attending the New York University film school, which was where he made many short films. The Big Shave was a comment on the American war in Vietnam and the films alternative title was Viet 67. The film represents Scorsese's view of the Vietnam war by showing the main character pointlessly cutting himself, which reflects the pointlessness of the war and the the fact that America were only crippling themselves by fighting a war that they could not win. The repetition of the act also reflects the longevity of the war and the fact that America carried on fighting despite the fact that they supposedly were not making any progress whilst taking heavy casualties.
Cubs
Length: 9:52
Cubs is a disturbing short film directed by Tom Harper and was released in 2007, about the new illegal sport of Urban fox hunting. The low key lighting creates the films gritty and dark feel with the grim setting not well lit and many characters come across as being intimidating. The music used throughout the chase sequence is fast paced which reflects the action in the sequence. There are also low angle shots of the dogs which creates a sense of fear and gives the dogs a sense of power.
The film won the BBC New FIlmmakers Award in 2007 and is an example of how corporations such as the BBC are always opening competitions for Short film and is a good way to get noticed and gain funding for making more films.
Wasp
Length: 26 Minutes
Wasp is a dramatic short film released in 2003 and directed by Andrea Arnold. The film has won many awards since it's release including the Short Filmmaking Award from the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in 2005.
Andrea Arnold then went on to make a feature length film (Fishtank) in 2009, which not shares its gritty style with Wasp, but is also about gritty urban life in Britain. This is a prime example of how an aspiring director will move into making feature length film after gaining success and recognition with a short. The fact that the two films share similar style and narrative also show how Wasp was probably a training process for Arnold and gave her a clearer idea of what she wanted to achieve with Fishtank.
Wasp is a dramatic short film released in 2003 and directed by Andrea Arnold. The film has won many awards since it's release including the Short Filmmaking Award from the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in 2005.
Andrea Arnold then went on to make a feature length film (Fishtank) in 2009, which not shares its gritty style with Wasp, but is also about gritty urban life in Britain. This is a prime example of how an aspiring director will move into making feature length film after gaining success and recognition with a short. The fact that the two films share similar style and narrative also show how Wasp was probably a training process for Arnold and gave her a clearer idea of what she wanted to achieve with Fishtank.
Friday, 29 January 2010
Film Festivals and Short Film
There are hundreds of film festivals globally each year which are either aimed specifically at short film or have categories for shorts. These are mainly where short films are now showcased, and where young directors go to get recognised.
The Raindance festival, which is held at different times around the world shows, is specifically aimed at celebrating and showcasing short films. With categories such as "best international short" and "best documentary short" the Raindance festival features short films from all around the world and has categories to showcase pretty much all film genres, including animation and documentary categories.
Other world recognised film festivals such as Sundance and Cannes, which are famous for showcasing feature length films, also now have special categories for shorts. For example the short film 'Short Term 12, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, won the Jury Prize in U.S. Short Filmmaking at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
It is important for aspiring directors, such as Cretton, to get their shorts into such festivals as there is the potential to be scouted by studios, who sometimes fund potential future directors to create more films.
Video Activism
Many pressure groups such as Green-peace and Amnesty International commission short films to gather evidence that supports their cause and at the same time create powerful videos that they hope will shock the population and gain their support.
Greenpeace are an organisation funded by donations from the public. Some of the money that they receive they use to create documentary films which they hope will inspire more people to donate and/ or act on an issue that they are trying to the raise the profile of. The following short film is and example of a video commissioned by Greenpeace about the government spending what they claim to be vast amounts money on unnecessary military defense projects.
Short Film and Politics
Many journalists and aspiring filmmakers have made political short films to highlight usually controversial news stories that are not shown in the mainstream, usually for their own personally motives or to gain recognition as a filmmaker or journalist.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have both inspired many humans rights groups and anti-war campaigners to create short films as video activism, but there are also documentary filmmakers such as...
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have both inspired many humans rights groups and anti-war campaigners to create short films as video activism, but there are also documentary filmmakers such as...
Martin Scorsese made an experimental, surrealist short film whilst he was at film school in 1967, which was supposedly created to criticize the American War in Vietnam. The pointlessness of the act featured in the film reflects the supposed pointlessness of the war in Vietnam. Also the fact that the protagonist is 'self-harming' also reflects the pointless damage that America were inflicting upon themselves during the Vietnam war.
Avant-Garde
Avant-Garde is experimental art-house cinema that utilizes short film as a media with which they can be experimental and push the boundaries of normal film.
The first real Avant-Garde experimental film movement occurred in the 1920's in Europe as film and cinema was becoming established and becoming available to a wider audience, rather than just the upper-class. The movement was mainly initialised by surrealists such as Salvador Dali, who looked to film as the perfect medium to experiment with their art.
Salvador Dali's and Luis Bunuel's avant-garde film 'Un Chien Andalou' was one of the first ever avant-garde films, released in 1929. Due to the films experimental nature, it shows how Avant-Garde films can and have pushed the boundaries of normal film.
The first real Avant-Garde experimental film movement occurred in the 1920's in Europe as film and cinema was becoming established and becoming available to a wider audience, rather than just the upper-class. The movement was mainly initialised by surrealists such as Salvador Dali, who looked to film as the perfect medium to experiment with their art.
Salvador Dali's and Luis Bunuel's avant-garde film 'Un Chien Andalou' was one of the first ever avant-garde films, released in 1929. Due to the films experimental nature, it shows how Avant-Garde films can and have pushed the boundaries of normal film.
Avant-Garde is produced by artists and is often exhibited in art gallery's as a piece of art. Many art galleries now have cinema type rooms which literally play Avant-Garde work on loop for audiences to come and view as any other kind of work. The art can then be distributed with modern medias such as DVD and on the internet as a download.
Friday, 15 January 2010
Strangers by Erez Tadmor & Guy Nattiv
Length: 7:11
2004
The Life and Death of a Pumpkin by Aaron Yonda
Length: 4:56
This short film is a Low Budget amateur production that has become popular online with over 1,900,000 views on youtube alone.
The film also won the Best Concept award and Best Short Film award at the Chicago Horror Film Festival in 2006. This is an example of how a short made on a limited budget, by amateurs, can get recognition through entering a film festival.
The short is intended as a comedy by conveying a pumpkins point of view during halloween. This is a good example of how a short film can have interesting and creative concepts that are very rarely reproduced in feature length films.
This is also an example of how the production, exhibition and distribution of short films have changed overtime as this short was made my an amateur on a budget and yet has still gained recognition through being exhibited and distributed online and being available to a huge audience. The short is now listed on short film websites and portals, some of which scour the internet for short films such as this to showcase them.
Signs by Patrick Hughes
Length: 12:13
Signs is an award winning romantic short film made by Patrick Hughes.
The film only has two characters and is unique because it has no dialogue throughout from the main characters and all the conversation is done through signs. The music within the short is very effective as it follows the mood of the main character.
History of Short Films
The first ever film made was a short made in 1895. Workers Leaving the Factory by the Lumiere Brothers was a short film around 39 seconds in length. However it was not classed as a short film at the time as the genre of short films was not established until after the introduction of feature length films in the early 20th century. The first films were short because of technological restrictions.
As mainstream cinema and the classical narrative came into effect and short film was pushed aside by the mainstream, short film became a niche cinema and found a new home as a new medium for artists in experimental artistic movements such as Avant-Garde cinema.
"The Classical Narrative"(90 minute films), were introduced by the cinema's to increase profits, meant that there was no longer time for shorts alongside feature length films and shorts were subsequently axed from cinemas.
As mainstream cinema and the classical narrative came into effect and short film was pushed aside by the mainstream, short film became a niche cinema and found a new home as a new medium for artists in experimental artistic movements such as Avant-Garde cinema.
For the Birds by Pixar
Length: 3:24
Animated short comedy which was included as a DVD extra with some Pixar films. This is typical of short films, as they are not released in standard cinemas and are often only seen at film festivals or on the internet.
For the Birds is a good example of how a short film can appeal to a wide audience due to the simplicity of the narrative.
Codes and Conventions of Short Films
- A short film is classified as any film under 50 minutes.
- Short films often only have one or two characters as there is not enough time to portray any others.
- A short film could be any genre, including a documentary.
- Short films are often more experimental as there is less financial risk when compared to feature length film.
- Short films are often produced by aspiring directors to make a name for themselves and as a way into the film industry. However some big name directors will still occasionally produce shorts when they want to experiment with new ideas or characters for example.
- Can often feature well known actors and actresses from feature length films as the experimental nature of shorts can attract them.
- Low financial risk due to lower cost to produce.
10 Minutes by Ahmed Imamovic
Length: 9:15
Good example of a simple concept working effectively within a short film. Only two main characters. Majority of the film is shot in one long tracking shot which gives the short film its distinct style. High production value with good quality special effects. Music is used subtly throughout which is in contrast with the action and violence being portrayed. The nature of the tracking shot is similar to the opening scene of 'Saving Private Ryan' where the cameras reacts to the environment around it and acts almost as if it was a real person. This creates the point of view sensation and engages the audience.
Bibliography Post
Wikipedia. (2010). 10 Minutes. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Minutes. Last accessed 5 February 2010.
Kamau, R. (2007). A Brief History of Short Films. Available: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/199025/a_brief_history_of_short_films.html . Last accessed 1 February 2010.
Signs. (2008). Signs. Available: http://www.facebook.com/SignsShortFilm . Last accessed 1 February 2010.
UK FIlm Council. (2009). Short Films. Available: http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/shortfilms . Last accessed 5 February 2010.
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/autofrontpage
http://www.lotteryfunding.org.uk/uk/uk-film-council
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10893&gclid=CML9nt7D258CFdoB4wodpCS8Fg
http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/
http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/
http://www.futureshorts.com/htmlViewer.php?id=12
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