Nathan Evaluation - Question 1

Question 1 - In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The Short Film

Other Short Films

After researching a variety of modern short films, it has become clear to me how they share many conventions, but also where they challenge some elements to create a more exciting and surprising experience for spectators. I extensively analysed the following four short films in the research and planning stage of pre-production, so will use them to demonstrate the trends used in short films, some of which we hoped to use going forward in our own work:

• Man in Phone
• Post-It
• The Fly
• Still

The mise en scene from one short film to another shows some obvious similarities. Each of these short films feature one key setting throughout the narrative. These locations all have significance to what is taking place, often in a place which signifies what type of short film it is due to genre conventions. One example of this is the bus stop in Post-It, which is a type of setting commonly used in films with a romantic genre. The inclusion of the bus stop with bright lighting and sunny weather along with the consistent two shots of the male and female characters allows audiences to immediately connect with it as a romantic short film. Semantic codes are used here to relate better to this particular audience. This would make many spectators more likely to continue watching if their expectations of what this type of film should include are met.

The Fly takes a setting which is semantic of Thriller films, a bank, and then aims to use it in a different and surprising manner to generate Comedy. The introduction with intense dialogue and desaturated colours help continue to signify a Thriller short film. As it progresses, it becomes clear that this is intended as a Comedy rather than Thriller, which is made funnier by the unexpected twist.

My analysis of the other two films (Still and Man in Phone) enabled me to draw comparisons between the slightest details in short films, from the use of modern technology as props to the intense final moments of each film. Though both films comply with many short film conventions, they are also very different from one another, with a variety of shot sizes in Man in Phone, yet just one shot throughout Still. This demonstrated to me how important it was to differ some aspects of a film in order to keep spectators engaged by keeping an element of unpredictability in the narrative organisation and the themes and issues involved.


Still is on Vimeo and was directed by Dan Woodliff.

A slow fade from black introduces the two main characters in the film, with a mid shot of each character in different settings taking up half of the screen. There is a thin black bar vertically down the middle of the screen to distinguish between the different settings, along with the contrasting colours and patterns of their duvets and pillows. These props are enough to differentiate between the settings of their bedrooms without including any clutter within the composition, allowing spectators to focus solely on the dialogue over the phone. The slight opposition of lighting also shows that these are two very separate locations. The introductory slow transition makes it briefly appear as if the two are in bed together, suggesting they could be in a relationship, but instead foreshadows the feelings for each other we later discover they still have.

The woman appears restless and troubled due to disgruntled facial expressions, with squinted eyebrows being shown clearly through this static birds eye mid shot. This constant static camera keeps focus on their detailed facial expressions and body language throughout the short film. She looks subtly yet cautiously over to her right, which is a seemingly unimportant moment, yet turns out to be significant when we later realise there is someone sleeping next to her. Her cautiousness is due to the phone call she is about to make, to someone we initially assume to be her lover. As she calls him, her facial expressions seem apprehensive, which is the first indicator that this perhaps isn't her boyfriend. His bemusement as he stares at his phone screen with slightly frowned eyebrows seems to confirm that these two are not together, as it appears out of the norm for this conversation to be taking place.

The initial dialogue reinforces the idea of these two being slightly detached, as the woman, now introduced as Ann, questions whether the man, Steven, has "work in the morning". The slight whisper to their dialogue suggests that they want to keep this conversation hidden, and as if there is someone they don't want to wake up. Ann asks if Steven has work in the morning, and he says yes, which reaffirms the distance between the two of them as they don't know what each other are up to. Ann then apologises, as she appears to question whether calling Steven was the right idea. There is then a pause where just slight ambient sound can be heard, along with the sound of Ann swallowing, suggesting guilt and adding to the sense of silence and awkwardness. Her body language whereby she places her hand on her head also helps to implement the idea of regret for calling Steven.

Ann then reminisces on a time when the two of them went camping, smiling as she asks "do you remember?" The timings of dialogue and facial expressions in the film are excellent, with the two of them smiling at the same moment despite the different shots and settings. This synchronised use of emotion allows spectators to see the connection they have, suggesting that there could still be strong feelings between these characters, which is reaffirmed by the dialogue where they joke about Steven's "sunburn from hell" and Ann "leaving the tent screen open all night long". As this dialogue continues to flow more, they display a variety of emotions, with their laughter suggesting that they miss each other, but then followed by confused expressions implying they have something to hide. This generates enigma for spectators as we are yet to see what is in their surroundings, and learn about what other situations they are in.

When Ann ridicules Steven about his "inability to change a flat tyre" whilst giggling to herself, he responds by saying "you are never going to let that go, are you" in a similar laughing manner. Though when he says this, Ann looks to her side and appears to be tearing up and breathing more heavily. The camera then begins to zoom out in both the shots of Ann and Steven, slowly revealing the dark truth that they are sleeping with other people. This generates shock for spectators as the original composition made them feel like they were next to each other, and now they appear to be acting in a disloyal way to their own partners. This new composition places the two other sleeping partners in between Steven and Ann, which is incredibly symbolic of the idea that they are in the way of the feelings the main characters still have for each other. This reveal is also illustrative of the thoughts inside Ann's head as she appears to rethink what she's doing, as she feels remorse for what she's done, and says "I have to go" before hanging up on Steven. The title "Still" then appears on the screen, and concludes the themes and techniques used in the film, such as the stillness of the camera and characters. The title also breaks the characters apart further, acting as another barrier between Steven and Ann.

Man in Phone is on Vimeo and was directed by Mackenzie Sheppard.

After an enigmatic opening, we soon discover that the man in a phone seems to be in there to contemplate his obsession with technology. This non-linear experimental short reveals different aspects of the story throughout the film in an exciting way.

After a short burst of flickering shots, the main shot in the opening is a slow motion mid shot POV where we appear to be falling away from a girl looking down at us. As an initial shot, this is very enigmatic due to the lack of an explanation as to why these camera movements and angles are creating this falling motion. This shot introduces the idea of the man being trapped, and clearly inferior and insignificant. The extreme low angle looks up at the girl and prop of the table which makes it look significant and massive compared to the man who is stuck in a phone.

The establishment of inferiority continues as we see the man at a close up with shifty facial expressions, as his eyes dart from side to side with cutaways to the comparatively large props he looks at with shock. The POV is first emphasised through an occasional black flickering which suggests he is blinking, along with a blur effect to show that he is waking up dazed and confused. The low angle extreme close ups of certain props including a ship in a bottle and a small model of a girl helps to emphasise his size in comparison to other small items. These cutaways continue as we flicker between extreme close ups of his eyes and the daunting props that surround him. We are shown his eyes in such detail that we see every millimeter of his distress as he begins to discover that he is trapped inside a phone.

After the initial blur and flickering in the opening of the film are used as restricted narration, it soon becomes clear to spectators that this man is stuck inside a phone (if it wasn't already given away by the title). The high frequency parallel cuts between the real world and his virtual world help create a connection between the two, demonstrating how he can't escape. The entrapment is confirmed when his screaming dialogue and terrified facial expressions look up at a passing train, which is then shown passing by the phone.

We soon discover the name of the man to be Hiroshi, as his girlfriend Yuni is walking around searching for him. The setting changes dramatically when Yuni drops the phone into her handbag, which is terrifying for Hiroshi as he appears to fall towards the camera. The turbulent body language with spinning camera movement allows spectators to empathise with Hiroshi, as it feels like we are falling with him. The low key lighting forces us to focus solely on Hiroshi, and gives the impression that he is completely alone in this virtual dimension. There is a diegetic thump sound as the phone hits the bottom of the bag, and we see his scrunched facial expressions as he feels the impact.

When in this dark isolated setting of the handbag, Hiroshi is alone with his thoughts and this is shown through ghostly duplications of his face floating around him. These emotions are then presented through visual effects which replicate phone application icons. Each icon is used as a flashback of Hiroshi as a human having an obsession with his phone. This part of the short film acts as an interesting transition between linear and non-linear narrative, as we question whether this is taking place chronologically or actually going back in time. This confusion is created to replicate the thoughts inside Hiroshi's head.

The flashbacks go through many settings, ranging from train stations to taxis, all of which showing Hiroshi's love for his iPhone. This obsession is shown through mid shots which capture his excited facial expressions as well as speedy body language as his thumbs speed through content on the phone. This montage shows that Hiroshi was constantly on his phone, even in places such as a smart restaurant which is blurred in the background with a premium blue colour and props such as a fish tank. The background is restricted as the focus is on Hiroshi and his phone, as this is what is most important to him. This is also demonstrated through Yuni's angry dialogue.

The end of the film is incredibly dramatic and is presented as a countdown to the battery on the phone running out. The prop of the phone moves with a vibration sound, showing the clever way that Hiroshi is getting gradually closer to the charger. A non diegetic dramatic soundtrack is used to crescendo to the point where the charger is agonisingly close to being connected. This is an exciting and tense moment for spectators due to the close ups, countdown and movements all working together to show him edging towards the charger.

The final shots of the film are the same as the initial shots of the film, making it a circular narrative. The phone is falling through the air with Hiroshi inside, but this time we have better feelings about what is happening as it's as if the smashing of the phone is symbolic of him breaking free of his obsession. The close up and intense shattering sounds used help emphasise this impactful ending, as we also see the man flying out of the phone.

Our Short Film

On The Brink features many short film conventions such as a twist when John is shown taking drugs and leaving the house. Twists are a key feature of short films, and are included in all of the films I researched. Twists are often what make a short film unique, and in our film we used a twist to move from an upbeat introduction to the film into a very sombre tone. This change in genre acts as the disruption from Todorov's narrative theory, and we constructed it in a shocking way as the rest of John's family are initially oblivious to what he is doing. This unrestricted narration is used to contrast what I had researched from a short film like Still, where the entire narrative is based around the restricted narration of not being able to see their partners. We felt that it would be an interesting take on this frustration felt by spectators if we were to flip it, and instead the audience knows more than the characters in the film. 

We hope this will allow them to become more engrossed in the short film as they are desperate for the family to discover what John is up to and to put a stop to it. The contrapuntal diegetic soundtrack and close ups on the family's happy faces were used to generate a strange sense of tension for spectators. There is a very clear contrast between their delight and John's despair.

Like in the short films I researched, we wanted to have a key setting in the film which represents the tone we hope to achieve, whilst including other locations to emphasise the contrast between the happier scenes and the more depressing ones. The cliff edge is the setting we hope to be most memorable and significant in On The Brink, as it underpins the theme of suicide that grows as the film progresses. Again, we wanted to put a slight twist on this idea as is common of short films, so we first introduced this setting as John's "happy place" with bright colours added in post production to show the cheerful flashback. This generates more suspense for spectators when this setting soon changes to a very dark one.

We wanted to ensure the ending of the film was incredibly intense like in 'Man in Phone' and 'Still'. Through the use of handheld camerawork, a dramatic soundtrack and complex editing techniques, I felt we achieved this very well. 'Man in Phone' finishes the narrative with a cliffhanger, and we felt the same technique would be appropriate with our own film, so did just that.

9 Frame Analysis:



Frame 1:
We wanted to introduce the film in a calm and relaxed manner just like in 'The Fly', which also sets out to create a false sense of security and equilibrium. Steady camerawork, subtle ambient noise and slow body language were all used to put spectators at ease at this point in the film. We wanted to generate a sense of normality, whilst also introducing the big piece of news Rebecca and Alfie are preparing to tell the family. Slight nerves show in their dialogue as they question "how do I tell them?" This news acts as a red herring for some of the film, to direct spectators attention to their upcoming announcement in the opening minutes, which generates shock when they see the tragic events which unfold in the meantime with John.

Frame 2:

To continue the initial bright tone to the film, we used high key lighting and warm colours like in Post-It as well as low frequency cuts to generate a relaxing mealtime scene. Close ups on cheerful body language are also used to show the close relationships in the family as they chat to one another. A faint piece of upbeat diegetic music is playing in the background in this scene, which adds one more low-key layer of radiance to these shots without distorting the dialogue too much.

Frame 3:
As the disruption begins to take place and John consumes the drugs, the previously parallel music becomes louder and is suddenly contrapuntal to what is taking place. Parallel cutting is used to transition between the laughter and jubilation downstairs, and the pain John is going through mentally upstairs. There is a clear difference between the agony in the bathroom where John is, and the lack of awareness from people elsewhere. This same idea is used in 'The Fly', but instead to generate Comedy when the main character is trapped inside his car screaming, followed by a cut to the outside where no one else knows of his pain. In On the Brink, we used a similar technique to generate suspense rather than humour, with John's entrapment distressing for spectators to watch as his family are to distracted by the fun they're having downstairs.

Frame 4:
Though this scene of John in the church is only a short one with very little happening, we felt that it was an important addition to the narrative which generates unrestricted narration. Spectators are shown where John has escaped to, putting them a step ahead of the family on their search for him. We felt that this would put an interesting spin on the film, as spectators are allowed to see the whole picture (emphasised through this extreme long shot) prior to the recognition of the disruption from Jenny and the others.

Frame 5:
Jenny rushes into the bedroom just as Alfie and Rebecca are waking up, so we wanted to demonstrate this through shallow depth of field as she approaches. Her speedy and loud dialogue along with high frequency cuts and distressed facial expressions create a frustrating scene for spectators as we see them panicking as they don't know where John is, yet we do. The attempt to repair the damage comes later in this scene, with Rebecca giving orders to the rest of the family as they split up to search for John.

Frame 6:
After an initial shock generated when John is nowhere to be seen in the church, we then went on to create a sorrowful tone to this scene when Rebecca finds the note her father left. A depressing guitar soundtrack compliments the despair in John's voice over. The use of Rebecca's reactions at a mid shot allows spectators to see her growing pain as she reads the note, with the use of body language of wiping away tears like in 'Still'. This short I researched also features zero cuts throughout, which allows spectators to just focus on the characters and their raw emotions. This was such a successful and gripping idea that it seemed appropriate for this scene in our film, so we used very low frequency cuts.

Frame 7:
To illustrate the thoughts in Rebecca's head as John mentions his "happy place", we used a flashback which also indicates to spectators where John may be going. The use of editing in this shot overlays the bliss two shot of the two main protagonists on top of Rebecca reading the note, demonstrating that this is what she thinks of when he mentions his "happy place".

Frame 8:
After a drone shot which was edited to show John on the very edge of the cliff, we cut to a big close up of his face which is a very significant one also used in our ancillary products. We felt it was successful due to the isolation and different emotions which are all captured in John's face. The shallow depth of field emphasises a distance between himself and the rest of the world, whilst his facial expressions portray a powerful combination of relief, hesitation and terror as he looks out towards where he is soon to jump. Big close ups similar to this are used in 'Man in Phone' to show how secluded and terrified he is when trapped inside the phone.

Frame 9:
This is one of the final shots of the film and was intended to create huge suspense as Rebecca approaches John, yet we know he could jump at any moment. We used shallow depth of field to demonstrate that there is still some way to go for her to get to him. The crescendo of intensity in the soundtrack along with handheld camerawork and fast tracking were all elements we found to be successful when generating suspense in a short film. We finish the film by leaving spectators to question whether a new equilibrium was created with John still alive, or whether he continued to jump.

Poster Research


Two film posters I found very useful in the creation of our own were for 'The Blair Witch Project' and 'Gulls and Gods'. One being a feature film, and the latter a short film, a wide variety of techniques were used in their construction to portray similar messages that we wanted to in the posters for 'On the Brink'. The carefully composited structure of text and images generates certain meanings in these posters. One similarity between the two is the placement of the characters below the titles to suggest inferiority and a supernatural presence. 

The Blair Witch Project:

This low budget film of only $60,000 was a huge success with audiences all over the world, indicating that it is not always about how much money you put into the film, but the way in which you promote it. The title of this film is unusual, and longer than a typical short film, leaving audiences wanting to know more about the 'project' as it is said to be based on a true story.

The main image of the woman is blended into the dark forest, connoting where the film is set, in the woods. The composition of the poster places the woods higher up, suggesting that it is the more powerful force with the woman laying below, inferior to it. The low key lighting helps reinforce the typical horror conventions seen in feature length films, generating enigmatic shadows. The fearful facial expressions are illuminated by a torch, and could represent that she is hiding from something. The restricted narration used in the poster leaves audiences wanting more, and desperate to find out what is happening to her.  The almost greyscale effect of the image is typical of Horror films, using a red, back and white colour scheme. These colours can represent many different meanings. Red often suggests blood, black connotes darkness or death and white implies ghosts or paranormal activity. The use of these elements could be to draw in audiences of higher budget productions, as it matches the conventions they have come to expect.

This poster includes many conventional elements of a standard Horror feature film, such as a focal image, tag line/plot line, film title and billing block. The small text that surrounds the image helps to emphasise the important picture which has become famous and representative of the whole Horror genre.

The target audience for this film seems to be all genders 15+ who enjoy Horror. The producers were looking for people to be excited about this new technique in filmmaking, where the film revolves around 'found footage'. The Blair Witch Project has set the pace for these kinds of films, despite starting out as a small independent production. The poster helped to generate these new and fresh ideas about a new direction for Horror films as it shows the woman at an unflattering, unprofessional, and badly lit angle. This suggests authenticity, which was used to generate a more thrilling response from spectators in the film itself, as it feels like a more realistic POV as the terrifying events unfold.

This poster influences me to create a more powerful and enticing poster for On The Brink through the use of minimal key pieces of imagery which have significant meanings within the film. I must ensure to stick to short film poster conventions in the creation of the piece, therefore staying away from some of the feature film techniques used above.

Gulls and Gods:

This poster for Gulls and Gods, a short film directed by Austin Ludwig, creates an intense and enticing scene to attract spectators towards the low budget short.

The monotone and unsaturated blue colours dominate the majority of the poster, demonstrating the despair the sole male character as he appears to be alone in this setting of a beach. The sea behind him connotes liminality and adds to his desperate body language and facial expressions as he looks to be shouting up to the gods which are referred to in the title. The placement of the title above him reiterates the idea of the man crying out to the gods for help. The large, clean font is a convention of many short films as it emphasises the most important piece of text, with the billing block and actors names much smaller as they are less likely to influence spectators to watch Ludwig's film. The prop of a message in a bottle is on the table next to him, and is reiterated within the title behind the word 'gods' to suggest that this will be a significant message sent by the gods. The handwritten style of font adds to the idea of the message inside the bottle, and therefore generates continuity throughout the poster. Multiple hidden meanings appear to be placed within the poster, which is conventional of short films as they want audiences to expect an exciting and well crafted narrative within the short amount of time.

The bright, warm and vibrant colours generated by the fire suggest a glimmer of hope within the film, perhaps brought through the message in the bottle. This contrasting light creates a focal point of the poster, which is a convention of many short film posters which often have one image which dominates in order to convey meaning. The fire allures peoples attention to this point in the poster, highlighting the possible importance of this symbol of hope, as it could be the one thing keeping this distressed man warm in this deserted setting.

Our Posters

 

Our four posters all aim to generate enigma to attract people to our short film. Some elements differ from one poster to another, but we ensured that the following parts were used throughout all posters to match conventions of modern short film posters which we found in our research:

• A large, bold title
• Reviews with key words standing out
• Laurel leaves for film festivals
• Billing block low in the frame
• Social network icons to connect with our target audience (15-25 year olds)
• Companies involved at the bottom of the poster
• One key image with just one or two key characters

These elements used throughout our marketing creates synergy across the different posters, to bring them together despite the differing tones between each one.

Like in the poster for 'The Blair Witch Project', we decided to use close ups of our main character in two of the posters. The facial expressions and lighting in 'The Blair Witch Project' poster worked so well together to reflect the tone of the film that we felt the same may be possible in our own poster.

Review Research

Little White Lies magazine was an ideal place for our film review to be placed in order to attract the right sort of audience to watch 'On the Brink'. Their young designers and writers who are mostly in their twenties and thirties bring a trendy and stylish approch to all elements of the magazine which should appeal to our young target audience. The engaging drawings and colours used create an intriguing experience for readers as they aim to generate an entertaining yet informative magazine. This video demonstrates the construction of the magazine, and the incredible amount of effort put in by the LWL staff:

 

The audience for Little White Lies corresponds very well with our target audience for On The Brink. Targeting 25-35 year olds, LWL has a similar fanbase as the people we too would like to attract, with our short Drama being well suited to this age group through the themes and issues we cover. Characters in the film like Rebecca and Alfie fall into this same age group so should make the film more attractive to the LWL readers. The quirky and energetic, yet professional tone to their writing suits our target audience very well.

60% of their audience is male, which is appropriate to On The Brink as we are targeting a predominantly male audience, with the core issue of suicide being most relevant to this demographic. UK group Samaritans found in 2015 that the male suicide rate is the highest since 2001. This statistic not only supports Little White Lies as an appropriate magazine to review our film, but also demonstrates how we are covering very recent and important issues in this film, which should enable us to reach a wider audience.

In our review, we met the conventions of layout and style which is used throughout Little White Lies' magazines. In their reviews, Little White Lies use certain fonts such as 'aparajita' and 'century gothic' which we used in the appropriate places in our review to match their style. The font sizes and positions are also identical to in a LWL magazine, with the film title being the largest aspect of the review. This makes 'On the Brink' the standout feature along with the header image which ensures that spectators know what title to look out for. This helps us in our marketing for our film, as the title is the most obvious piece of text just like in our posters. These elements of the review were carefully planned in drafts we created which featured the exact measurements and conventions of a LWL review:

 

The header image features the flashback of John and Rebecca which is a key part of the film and also features on one of our posters. The connection between the review and poster helps generate a brand for the film and make spectators question what the importance of this shot is. The image in the review features body language of John pointing towards something off screen in the distance, which generates further enigma for spectators as they question what could be over there.

This idea of creating enigma is a convention we found to be important in other Little White Lies reviews. In their review for 'Side Effects', a header image of Jude Law shows him glaring towards something off screen with distressed facial expressions which generates a similar feeling of intrigue from spectators as our image as they question what he's looking at. The red lighting and shallow depth of field used in the image help add to the sense of danger in the shot, which compliments the Thriller genre of the film. The positive reviews at the end of the review then add to the interest created for their readers, with a rating of 3, 4 & 3. Our similar rating of 4, 3 & 4 for 'On the Brink' should be a great way of enticing more people to watch the film. The use of comedy and intelligent language within the review to match the standards of other reviews in the magazine.

Overall, we felt that 'On the Brink' and Little White Lies magazine are a perfect match for each other, both using an engaging style to keep an audience's attention. The placement of our review in this magazine should attract a wider audience to watch our film.