Blog Reflection Week three

                                  

Short Film Narrative

In this blog post I will be writing about the narratives in a short film.



Narrative Devices

• Flashback/forward-This usually goes to the future or the past.This does not really come up on short films.
• Red herrings-This is a wrong lead or distraction t the story which is very common in horror movies and shorts.
• Dramatic Irony-Audience knows more then the characters itself.
• Foreshadowing-This use hints out some elements which later come in the movies.
• Pathetic fallacy- The mood matches the weather.
• Plot twist-Something that changes the whole narrative in a unexpected way.
• Omnipotent narrative-the audience are godlike,knowing everything.
• Restricted narrative-The audience to really get that much information from one character or more 

Examples:

Pathetic fallacy- Porcelain Rising Short Horror Film

At 0.30-0.37 the Scene denotes a shot of a girl in her bed looking frightened and scared.A flash of lighting fills the room up whilst non-digetic sounds of the rain is Playing in  the background.This connotes the fear and emotion of the girl as she believes  that there is something in her room which wants her.The use of the rain and lightning suggest that something bad is going to happen and also heightens the level of tension towards the audience as to why the little girl is scared.The use of the sound creates a more dramatic/scary atmosphere as this is very common in horror movies and short films.

Plot twist- Moon Dust (short film by Ezequiel Romero)

Moon dust has a really good twist plot.The short film is about a  pilot who crashes a landing pod from the Moon in the middle of a forest. He carries a secret with him that could cost him his life.In this short film we realise that he is actually dead and this is shown After the astronaut is shot and the officer is looking at the celluloid pictures of the flag .As the audience we hear the astronaut's voice over saying "I think someone was there before us. And it was us."I thought this was a very clever twist within the short film.The use of this devices shocks the audience as it highlights the wrong lead or twist of the film.

Red herrings- Lights out

The scene denotes (0.31-0.37) a female switching the lights on and off and seeing the body of the demon. This connotes that the lights turning on and off is the red herring as that’s the wrong lead of the short film as she should not be doing that as it will provoke the creature. This is very common in horror films. 

Structure Driven

Todorovs approach to narrative-In this theory there are five stages a narrative has to pass through.These include:

• The equilibrium-state of normality,good,bad,or neutral.
• Disruption-An event which disrupts the equilibrium.
• Recognition-The protagonist recognises that the equilibrium has been disrupted.
• Restore equilibrium-The protagonist attempts to rectify this in order to restore the equilibrium. 
• New equilibrium-May have been restored,there are difference from original equilibrium.

Lights out!

The equilibrium of this movie begins off with the state of normality being bad. This is denoted at 0.19 as she turns the light of and sees the creature in the dark.This connotes the beginning of the short film to start of bad as something is in her house.This is usually conmen in short horror movies to start off bad.

The disruption of the movie which disrupts the scene is the creature who is lurking in the dark.This is connoted at 0.19-0.35, as the protagonist is turning the lights on and off which provokes the creature to come closer to her.This connotes that the lights is the distraction as it reveals the creature in the house.

The Recognition of the movie is shown through the protagonist facial expression as it is denoted at 0.36-0.38 of a mid-shot of her face looking shocked /worried  whilst her mouth is wide open.This connotes that the protagonist finally realises that something has entered the house and therefore he protagonist recognises that the equilibrium has been disrupted

The Restore equilibrium is denoted at 0.40-0.48 as she gets her tape out and she tapes down her switch.This connotes that the protagonist knows that once the lights are turned off that will provoke the creature to get closer to her and therefore she tapes down her switch.

The new equilibrium is that it has not been restored as the bad event occurs at the end as the audience see the creatures face as she turns the lights off.The tape did not work in that situation.

Character Driven

Propp's approach to narrative-There are  usually seven types of characters.This includes:

• Villain-struggles with the hero.
• Donor-Prepares/provides hero with magical agent.
• Helper-helps the hero.
• Princess-A goal which the hero marries or saves.
• Dispatcher-sends hero off.
• Hero-departs on a search reacts to the donor and weds at end.
• False hero-Claims to be the hero 

Lights out:Villain- The female here is the protagonist and the demon is the villain. The Protagonist is usually played as a female in horror films.The villain here struggles with the her which is the female protagonist. In Addition the antagonists is usually played as a female as well.the antagonist face is revealed very briefly when she turns on the light at the beginning and also at the end. In some length horror films, the antagonist is never revealed, 

The film is mainly based around romance however there is a lot of element of science fiction. The main focus of the short film is the examination of Sheldon and Francesca’s relationship and how it grows throughout the short film. Francesca’s is the princess in the movie as she’s the one who falls in love with Sheldon. The reason why they did this is to display the isolation of both characters and how love can pop-out in any situation and fix their lives.

Cause and Effect

Barthes narrative codes include:

• Enigma code-anything that sets up a question in the narrative
• Action code-those plot events that move the narrative forward

Enigma code and action code in the short film the black hole.The narrative and character in this short film uses key moments such as the discovery of the black hole when printing the paper out.This is the action code as it makes the plot events move forward and make more sense. This therefore invites the audience and to present a different unique style to short film. This Short film only features one actor as his the one to discover the black hole. This makes it hard for us and the audience to identify for pick out the enigma within the film. But on the other hand the key reason for the back hole ends up with the actor (protagonist) becoming overwhelmed and hypnotised by causing himself to use the black hole a lot of the time and by punishing him  where he locked himself in the safe as the paper fell towards the ground. This creates an enigma as the audience wants to see what happens next due to the number of opportunities this short film may have ended  which is an action code and also how would the guy get out of the situation.

Copyright Music Permission

In this blog post I will be writing about my song permission which I can use for my short film.

This is the song which I will be using for my short film Latch.

                             

Permission 

Copyright renewal is a process through which an initial term of copyright protection for a work can be extended for a second term. Once the term of copyright protection has ended, the copyrighted work enters the public domain, and can be freely reproduced and incorporated into new works.

Short film Pitch Presentation

This blog post will view my presentation which I used for my short film the latch.

      

Short Film Pitch and Feedback

In this blog post you will see my final pitch on my short film the latch and also the feedback I received from my short film.

The Pitch

The feedback

Short Film Genres

In this blog post I will be writing about the genres in a short film and how they are portrayed to the audience.

What is a Genre?

A genre is a specific type of music, film, or writing. For example genres from a short film include Animation, Comedy, Drama, Documentaries, Experimental, Gay & Lesbian, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thriller, and War.

Clear genre

Definition: A dominant, important category-it should be relatively obvious and easy to define/or spot.

  For example the short film Lights out depicts a clear genre of horror.This is shown through the use of mise-en-scene.

Lights off-Genre-horror

 This image (0.10-0.13) denotes a night image of an isolated hostel with a women who is all alone in her house. This connotes a typical settings for a horror film as they are usually isolated and abandoned locations. This creates a build-up of tension and enigma for the audience as they do not expect what will come up during the 3 minutes of the short film. In addition the characters are usually placed in a setting which they are alone in and typically it’s set at night time. This short film is a clear example of that as the location is isolated and also it set at night. But on the other hand some setting in a horror genre can be diverse as they might film in the day or in a busy location.

The image here denotes (0.31-0.37) a female switching the lights on and off and seeing the body of the demon. This connotes that the female here is the protagonist and the demon is the antagonist. The Protagonist is usually played as a female in horror films. In Addition the antagonists face is revealed very briefly when she turns on the light at the beginning and also at the end. In some length horror films, the antagonist is never revealed, such as  devil inside the audience will never  know who did the sinister acts and violence towards the protagonist  in the film. Therefore this creates enigma and suspense towards the audience as to when are they going to reveal the antagonists face.

This image (0.57-1.01) here denotes non- sounds of creaking floorboards and creaking doors. The use of the sounds are emphasized throughout the short film which is typical in the genre of horror.Having these sounds creates a lot of mixed emotions towards the viewers/audiences as the sounds are fast paced. This will create a chilling atmosphere because the use of fast pace sound predicts that something scary will occur or jump out.

Below is the short film example which I used to analysis the genre horror,"lights out"

Sub-Genres

Definition: A sub-genre is a more specific categories that allows the audiences to identify them specifically by familiar and what becomes recognizable.

The black hole-Genre-comedy/crime

This images denotes a zoom in of a workplace with an isolated man looking depressed. The use of dark blue lighting within the images is giving away the genre of crime as the use of the dark colors such as blue grey and black symbolizes death and violence which therefore links to the genre crime as crime is associated to negativity. In addition the use of the naturalistic lighting reflects the realism within the film as they are hinting out how boring the workplace is and also the use of the blue tinted lighting is reflecting his mood of being depressed and bored.

At 1.02-1.07 the image denotes a static still image of a man. In the short film the hole they did use a sub-genre however they did not portray it as much in the short film. For example in crime films such as seven they used a lot of camera work such as pans, tilts zoom in and a variety of closes-ups. In the short film they used static screen shots therefore not that much movement occurred in the shot and this is therefore deviating from the conventions of the genre of crime/comedy as they usually use a lot of movement in those types of movies. In addition the comedy was not that clear at time as I believed that they mainly focused on the black hole more than the comedy and the crime.

Below is the short film example which I used to analysis the genre comedy/crime,"the black hole".

Hybrid Genre

Definition: A hybrid is a combination of major genres that sometimes creates another type of film.

I'm here-Genre-Drama and Romance,science fiction

The film is mainly based around romance however there is a lot of element of science fiction. The main focus of the short film is the examination of Sheldon and Francesca’s relationship and how it grows throughout the short film. The reason why they did this is to display the isolation of both characters and how love can pop-out in any situation and fix there life’s.This is demonstrated well in the picture above as it conveys The science fiction in the short film compliments the romance as it’s quite strange to see the relationship in both characters but it’s suitable for this type situation. The romantic conventions of a short film is very clear as there is a clear narrative of two characters who have different personalities and looks, they both get closer and form a relationship however their relationship is in danger so therefore they had to sacrifice certain element in their life. During the end they saved their relationship and they have become closer. This has a clear genre as to what the short film is trying to portray across the audience.

Below is the short film example which I used to analysis the genre,"I'm Here"

Generic Conventions/ Genres Themes

Mise-en-scene/visual style/Recurring camera language	The mise-en-scene is demonstrated well for example the use of the camera language. This image denotes the woman eye balls portraying the facial expression shocked. This connotes to the audience the tension and the sense of surprise of the women. In addition this is the only close-up in the short film which therefore stands out compared to the other shots.
Typical narratives 0.42-0.45	The genre of this short film is romantic/comedy. This is portrayed throughout the narrative of this short film. The story is about two shy workers working in their office. They both start to express and highlight their love for each other by posting notes and images to the walls and surfaces and trying to create a message for each other. The women and the man take turns to create these messages and creating it in a better way. Towards the end of the storyline they both notice each other and got caught and both share a cheeky embarrassed smile symbolizing the love between them. This is a typical narrative a the genre romance is usually between to working people who are bored of their life’s and they start to talk to each other and then their love/passion starts to increase. This is denoted 0.42-0.45 when they both catch each other starting at each other. This connotes the sign of love as they starting to notice each other.
Typical representation (1.00-1.05)	The representation is very executed in this short film. The main two protagonists in this short film is a young male and female aged between 20-30s. They are represented as to shy people as the previous picture shows them looking at each other and being shy and giving a slight cheeky smile conveying the love between the two. The representation stands out in this image. The image denotes the women and man both looking at each other and smiling at each other. This connotes and proves that the women and man have an interest in each other but then the shyness overtakes this situation as she leaves a piece of blue paper with a sign of a smiling face made out of loads of sticky notes. This is a typical representation in a romantic/comedy films.
Typical sound Design	The use of non-diegetic sound was present throughout the short film. The music only played instrumental music for example the recorder and the flute and a triangle. The use of the instrumental music was effect throughout the short film as it helped to denote the narrative and the genre of love as the music was light-hearted and lovey. In addition the piano is also introduced mid-way of the track. This could symbolize that their love is coming closer and it’s not too far when they actually know that they love each other. At the beginning the tempo of the music is slow as they first meet each other and around about 1.19 the pitch becomes a bit lower to show that they caught each other. Towards the end we are introduced by a trumpet and drums to build the tension between each other as they finally meet.
Typical editing style/Recurring camera language	The image denotes a constant panning movement towards the right as this connotes the office work and demonstrates the same action of both characters which therefore highlights the fact that something is going to happen between them. The use of the pan helps to emphasise the use of props and action within the narrative. They would always use a pan when both characters are copying/mirroring each other to demonstrate the fact that they are the same kind of person.

Below is the short film example which I used to analysis the genre,"Post-it love"

The three mains themes in this short film is love, friendship and romance.

The love is connoted in the image of them creating an image with sticky notes. They both start to express and highlight their love for each other by posting notes and images to the walls and surfaces and trying to create a message for each other. This is a typical narrative as the genre of romance and the theme of love is usually between two isolated working people who repeats their lives by doing the same thing .As they start to approach each there their love/passion starts to increase highlighting the theme of love

Blog reflection week two

                             

Skills reflection

                           In this blog I'm going to write about my first skills refection post   

                             

Blog Reflection : Week One

In this blog post I will be writing about my first blog reflection. This will include what are you initial ideas for advanced portfolio? Who would you like to work with? What are your hope and fears about the project?

                                

Conventions Of A Short Film

In this blog post I will be writing about the different types of convention which a short film has. I will also be analysing a short film to gain the knowledge as to how a short film works.
  

             

Evaluation For Thrift Shop Remake

In this post blog I'm going to introduce my evaluation of the remake of thrift shop.