- Questionnaire - primary (you have gathered yourself) and secondary (research from other places) - norfolk and norwich council census results
- Story boards, drawn layout plans
- Test shots, angles, filming ideas
- Link everything back to target audience
- Examples on most posts of films, photos, sound clips, sound
- Focus group!!! - draw out your plans yourself, then get a person of your focus group to right notes and comments on it, film them speaking
- Hyperlinks on the side of main blog page
Tuesday 13 December 2011
Christmas to do list.
Research of existing products.
general analysis
technical - how they created it
meaning behind what you see
target audience
how it can be related to my own product
technical - how they created it
meaning behind what you see
target audience
how it can be related to my own product
Tuesday 22 November 2011
A book... On Short Films... Part 2
I read some more of the short films book....
I read some more...
I discovered that most of it is about the different directors and interviews with them about their shorts, different genres being shown and expressed throughout. It is based around creative process, from initial idea to final cut and distribution.
One of the directors (who we all know and love) is Nick Park, creator of Wallace and Gromit and Creature Comforts (1989).
"Why animals, when up to then Aardman had used human models?
I suppose that was my way of saying 'I'm not doing the same thing. I want something to make my own mark here".
I like what he says here, his independence and imagination, rebelling against the norm, something I want to do.
You find out that the interviewer thought - "thing that amazes me about your own work is the way you use the depth of field. There is so often something going on in the background, which is very unusual for animation because of the complexity of the process."
Another director is Lynne Ramsay who started off as a stills photographer then moved onto cinematography in 1992, and began directing in 1995. She talks about her third short film Gasman(1997).
"I was interested in the form, and wanted to make a film completely from an articulate child's point of view".
One of the questions was: "Do you think in images"?
"For me the narrative is inherent in the images."
She also said : "sometimes a scene comes around an image, so I use photography as a reference like that."
From reading this interview I can relate to what she is saying because me being a keen photographer I can see how sometimes you need the images there as inspiration, helping you to set out the scene.
From watching the full short film I could see the hidden message and value behind it, how the little girls father has a secret family. I found it interesting that some of it was shown from a child's point of view how they would see it (some POV shots), some slow motion and the editing was a little choppy. It looked quite experimental in how it was filmed, which I wasn't expecting, in the scene where they are walking on the train tracks the camera has a partially closed iris which gives it this otherworldly dream like feeling, as though the reality of the situation isn't real. Ramsay captures the child's innocent and insignificant moments and still manages to spill out extreme emotion, developing into a piece that is mostly about form, not the text.
Link to a short clip of the short film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP-XQPGE71s
One of the questions was: "Do you think in images"?
"For me the narrative is inherent in the images."
She also said : "sometimes a scene comes around an image, so I use photography as a reference like that."
From reading this interview I can relate to what she is saying because me being a keen photographer I can see how sometimes you need the images there as inspiration, helping you to set out the scene.
From watching the full short film I could see the hidden message and value behind it, how the little girls father has a secret family. I found it interesting that some of it was shown from a child's point of view how they would see it (some POV shots), some slow motion and the editing was a little choppy. It looked quite experimental in how it was filmed, which I wasn't expecting, in the scene where they are walking on the train tracks the camera has a partially closed iris which gives it this otherworldly dream like feeling, as though the reality of the situation isn't real. Ramsay captures the child's innocent and insignificant moments and still manages to spill out extreme emotion, developing into a piece that is mostly about form, not the text.
Link to a short clip of the short film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP-XQPGE71s
Wednesday 19 October 2011
I'M HERE - A love story in an absolute world by Spike Jonze
In Year 11 I chose to do a photography project around the post modern idea of box-heads and hidden identity. From doing research into box-heads I found this short film by Spike Jonze. Before watching the 30 minute long short film, I watched the trailer. (Trailer is found below, link from youtube)
put it in from vimeo
review it
more info about it
put on short film
http://www.imheremovie.com/
voiced by andrew garfield who now stars in
The short film has given me great inspiration into the style of how it looks and how its messages and values are shown strongly throughout. I like its storyline and how it comes across as quite innocent but has a more serious undertone- in my opinion it represents segregation, perhaps how racism is, or it could show the absurdity of technology nowadays and perhaps how technology could advance in the future.
But of course one of the themes is LOVE (funnily named Robo-Romance)
"A library assistant plods through an ordinary life in LA until a chance meeting opens his eyes to a the power of creativity and ultimately, love. When this new life and love begin to fall apart, he discovers he has a lot to give. This short film proves that ordinary is no place to be."
Taken from IMDB- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1571404/plotsummary
More information : http://www.slashfilm.com/spike-jonzes-short-film-im-here-is-now-online-in-its-entirety/
"Unfortunately, the film’s sponsor/financier Absolut is strictly limiting the amount of screenings per day. As we checked, there were 700 or so available"
I found this very interesting and intriguing that they would limit the amount of views per day, but i suppose this would make it more special, making the viewer feel more privileged to have seen it, paying more attention to it, and could also make people want to see it more.
put it in from vimeo
review it
more info about it
put on short film
http://www.imheremovie.com/
voiced by andrew garfield who now stars in
The short film has given me great inspiration into the style of how it looks and how its messages and values are shown strongly throughout. I like its storyline and how it comes across as quite innocent but has a more serious undertone- in my opinion it represents segregation, perhaps how racism is, or it could show the absurdity of technology nowadays and perhaps how technology could advance in the future.
But of course one of the themes is LOVE (funnily named Robo-Romance)
"A library assistant plods through an ordinary life in LA until a chance meeting opens his eyes to a the power of creativity and ultimately, love. When this new life and love begin to fall apart, he discovers he has a lot to give. This short film proves that ordinary is no place to be."
Taken from IMDB- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1571404/plotsummary
More information : http://www.slashfilm.com/spike-jonzes-short-film-im-here-is-now-online-in-its-entirety/
"Unfortunately, the film’s sponsor/financier Absolut is strictly limiting the amount of screenings per day. As we checked, there were 700 or so available"
I found this very interesting and intriguing that they would limit the amount of views per day, but i suppose this would make it more special, making the viewer feel more privileged to have seen it, paying more attention to it, and could also make people want to see it more.
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Students' British Board of Film Classification
Formed in 1912, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), originally British Board of Film Censors is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and some video games under the Video Recordings Act 2010. President- Quentin Thomas.
The official British Board of Film Classification website- http://www.bbfc.co.uk/
They've even launched a new bbfc wesite for parents to help them share opinions and give the parents the information they acquire.
The BBFC currently issues the following certificates. The category logos were introduced in December 2002, replacing the previous ones that had been in place since 1982.
Films under this category are considered to be unsuitable for very young people. Those aged under 12 years are only admitted if accompanied by an adult, aged at least 18 years, at all times during the motion picture. However, it is generally not recommended that children under 12 years should watch the film. Films under this category can contain mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, commonly used milder swear words, and moderate violence/sex references.
Nobody younger than 12 can rent or buy a 12-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game. Films in this category may include infrequent drugs, infrequent use of strong language, brief nudity, discreet sexual activity, and moderate violence.
| Can only be shown at licensed cinemas or sold at licensed retailers or sex shops, and only to adults, those aged 18 or over. Films under this category have material the BBFC does not allow for its "18" rating, thus the violence and sex activity will be stronger in R18-rated VHSs, DVDs and films than those rated "18," however, there is still a range of material that is often cut from the R18 rating. More cuts are demanded in this category than any other category. |
(Information from Wikipedia)
Screenshots from the official BBFC Website: The Classification Guidelines (from 2009 onwards, last updated June 30th 2010)
I didn't put the 18 or R18 classifications up as I will make sure my short film doesn't meet any of its classifications, as i'm aiming more for a 15, 12 or 12A.
This is the British Board of Film Censors certificate.
Distribution
Leading on from my trip to Cinema City I could see how my film
could be distributed in Cinema City
(already took trips to it- state films ive seen)art huose cinemaMonday 17 October 2011
Trip to Cinema City
http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/
With my Film Studies class we were able to go and see a free screening at Cinema City on monday the 17th of October. The film was 127 Hours and as part of watching the film we also had a lecture from a senior examiner from the British Board of Film Classification who actually classified the film 127 Hours and gave it its age certificate of a 15.
He talked about how they classify a films age certificate with the different criteria they match it to, having to deal with different issues in a film and how they sometimes have to cut parts of the film out to even make it acceptable to view to anyone, in very extreme rare cases they ban the film entirely, but of course this decision is not made lightly.
At '15' the BBFC guidelines state that violence 'should not dwell on the infliction of pain and injury' and 'the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable'.
He talked about 127 hours' issues, for example its gory injury, some swearing and mild nudity/sexual references. He told us how some people argued that it should be an 18 becuase of when James Franco as Aron Ralston cuts off his own arm. But it was eventually decided as a 15 becuase it was based on a true story, the actual cutting off the arm was not glamorized or sensationalized and was simply part of what happened to Aron in his ordeal, having to go to a real life extreme in order to survive, self-inflicted out of necessity. Danny Boyle was just being true to what really happened. They felt that it has appeal to a slight younger audience and thought it would be unfair to not allow them to view it, arguing that stronger violent or strong horror films were passed at an 18. Because of the graphic detail in the scene there was a warning before the film advising that the scne carries the potential to cause distress and physical discomfortsick/vomiting-warnging
"This isn’t a horror image which relishes or invites pleasure in the gore or injury. In fact, although it presents like violence, or self harm, this is the portrayal of an improvised surgical procedure, conducted in the most extreme of circumstances and is required to save a life. It also takes place in a work which is exploring thematically ideas of survival, independence, help and self-reliance." From http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/CaseStudies/127_Hours
scan in that sheet
With my Film Studies class we were able to go and see a free screening at Cinema City on monday the 17th of October. The film was 127 Hours and as part of watching the film we also had a lecture from a senior examiner from the British Board of Film Classification who actually classified the film 127 Hours and gave it its age certificate of a 15.
He talked about how they classify a films age certificate with the different criteria they match it to, having to deal with different issues in a film and how they sometimes have to cut parts of the film out to even make it acceptable to view to anyone, in very extreme rare cases they ban the film entirely, but of course this decision is not made lightly.
At '15' the BBFC guidelines state that violence 'should not dwell on the infliction of pain and injury' and 'the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable'.
He talked about 127 hours' issues, for example its gory injury, some swearing and mild nudity/sexual references. He told us how some people argued that it should be an 18 becuase of when James Franco as Aron Ralston cuts off his own arm. But it was eventually decided as a 15 becuase it was based on a true story, the actual cutting off the arm was not glamorized or sensationalized and was simply part of what happened to Aron in his ordeal, having to go to a real life extreme in order to survive, self-inflicted out of necessity. Danny Boyle was just being true to what really happened. They felt that it has appeal to a slight younger audience and thought it would be unfair to not allow them to view it, arguing that stronger violent or strong horror films were passed at an 18. Because of the graphic detail in the scene there was a warning before the film advising that the scne carries the potential to cause distress and physical discomfortsick/vomiting-warnging
"This isn’t a horror image which relishes or invites pleasure in the gore or injury. In fact, although it presents like violence, or self harm, this is the portrayal of an improvised surgical procedure, conducted in the most extreme of circumstances and is required to save a life. It also takes place in a work which is exploring thematically ideas of survival, independence, help and self-reliance." From http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/CaseStudies/127_Hours
- From the trip I learnt more into how they classify films and the different criteria that decides the films age certificate.
- I will use this gained knowledge in deciding my own age certificate for my short film, and will be more aware of keeping to guidelines of the particular age group.
scan in that sheet
Sunday 16 October 2011
Industry Research- short film adverts
Both commercials were directed by Jonathon Glazer
surfer march 1999
ice skating priests april 2006
Both visually stunning, not what you'd expect to be called a short film/commercial,
both similar styles, added humour, black and white.
analysing AVANT-GARDE
My main influence is surreal and obscure elements in films that stand out from the crowd with different techniques/camera angles and shots used.
I found the word Avant-Garde amongst the many words that may be used to describe elements in a film. The word itself refers to people who's work is seen as experimental or innovative.
It is not often seen as the norm and pushes the boundaries of what is accepted of it,
primarily in the cultural realm. "The notion of the existence of the
avant-garde is considered by some to be a hallmark of
modernism, as distinct from postmodernism".
An example of a film that I have seen that you could class as having an avant-garde style is Mulholland Drive.
LINK :
Experimental Film-Wikipedia
thirty fives aside0 damian odonnels 1995 27 mins
john smiths black tower 1987 24 mins
anthony minghellas-play 2000 16 mins
tessa sheridans is it the design on the wrapper? 7 mins 1997
jonathons glazer-surfer, commercial 1999 one minute
vimeo
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/dec/19/short-films-documentary-animation-viral
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridley_Scott
what film directors think of short films
spike jonze- box head
the couple one walking down either path ?
short films in a film- paris je tame, others?
I found the word Avant-Garde amongst the many words that may be used to describe elements in a film. The word itself refers to people who's work is seen as experimental or innovative.
It is not often seen as the norm and pushes the boundaries of what is accepted of it,
primarily in the cultural realm. "The notion of the existence of the
avant-garde is considered by some to be a hallmark of
modernism, as distinct from postmodernism".
An example of a film that I have seen that you could class as having an avant-garde style is Mulholland Drive.
Its plot is unusual to say the least and no-one really knows what it means, me myself finding that I sit there shouting WHY and WHO and WHAT at the screen. But I suppose this makes it interestingly different, and my sorta film.
Experimental Film-Wikipedia
thirty fives aside0 damian odonnels 1995 27 mins
john smiths black tower 1987 24 mins
anthony minghellas-play 2000 16 mins
tessa sheridans is it the design on the wrapper? 7 mins 1997
jonathons glazer-surfer, commercial 1999 one minute
vimeo
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/dec/19/short-films-documentary-animation-viral
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridley_Scott
what film directors think of short films
spike jonze- box head
the couple one walking down either path ?
short films in a film- paris je tame, others?
A book..... on short films
Because it is quite a long book and I have to be in the right mood to read it I will be reading it in small sections, blogging about what I learn as I go along....
16/10/11- From the first chapter I found that newspapers in Britain and North America had begun to take interest in short films between 1999 and spring 2001. What with digital short film websites, the news and the release of nineteen films, a lot of them being shorts, of the complete works of Samuel beckett.
http://www.themodernword.com/beckett/beckett_film_bof.html
Shorts were the only films in the early days of cinema, my already known knowledge being confirmed with the book saying how they were commonly used as First World War propaganda, they were extremely popular in the 1920's and 30's with stars such as Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel and Hardy and Langdon but started to become only present in specialist cinemas and festivals in the 1960's and 70's.
Short films are not just shortened films, they are cinema and television commercials and music videos of all different styles including animation, advertising, educational and avant-garde among others (of course my short film will be your typical short film).
A lot of film festivals say that short films should have a maximum duration of 30 minutes (a definition based purely on duration is arbitrary, and many superlative shorts are often very short.
Overview: Short films offer the opportunity to allow people making films to practise their art outside the pressures of feature film and television production, but this also comes with sometimes limited distribution, which restricts the amount of viewers to that film. Short films involve sound and image that communicate a story to the audience in a creative short space of time. "The combination of diversity of product and interconnectedness of practise is an important aspect of short film production". Short films should leave their audience with a lingering feeling of resonance after viewing it. Directors can experiment with different things such as structure, ways of working with actors and other crew members and subject matter without the pressure that failure will bring an end to their careers.
I must think about my distribution of my short film and my intended audience when making my film.
"The right to fail is an important aspect of all experimentation".
"Experimentation and a powerful personal vision must be at its centre".
Thursday 13 October 2011
Research into Surrealism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealist_cinema
"Surrealist cinema is a modernist film theory lanched in Paris in the 1920s. Related to an earlier tradition of Dada cinema, surrealist cinema is characterised by juxtapositions, the rejection of dramatic psychology and a frequent use of shocking imagery."
From his 2006 book Surrealism and Cinema Michael Richardson argues that surrealist works "cannot be defined by style or form, but rather as results of the practice of surrealism. Surrealists aren't bothered with making up something that can be defined as 'surreal', they are more concerned about exploring the points of contact between different realms of existence.
My opinion... Whilst I have no idea what on earth he's on about, I also don't agree, I think that surrealism has been going for so long that anyone can have any impression of what they think surrealism is, whether you're a surrealist or not. This relates to the theorist Jean Francois Lyotard and how he thought that because of the meta-narratives being ignored and replaced by micro-narratives people had the realisation of difference, diversity and freedom to have your own opinions. This is what I believe surrealism reflects , the range of nothingness into which you are confined, you are allowed the freedom of anything.
Surreal films :
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"Surrealist cinema is a modernist film theory lanched in Paris in the 1920s. Related to an earlier tradition of Dada cinema, surrealist cinema is characterised by juxtapositions, the rejection of dramatic psychology and a frequent use of shocking imagery."
From his 2006 book Surrealism and Cinema Michael Richardson argues that surrealist works "cannot be defined by style or form, but rather as results of the practice of surrealism. Surrealists aren't bothered with making up something that can be defined as 'surreal', they are more concerned about exploring the points of contact between different realms of existence.
My opinion... Whilst I have no idea what on earth he's on about, I also don't agree, I think that surrealism has been going for so long that anyone can have any impression of what they think surrealism is, whether you're a surrealist or not. This relates to the theorist Jean Francois Lyotard and how he thought that because of the meta-narratives being ignored and replaced by micro-narratives people had the realisation of difference, diversity and freedom to have your own opinions. This is what I believe surrealism reflects , the range of nothingness into which you are confined, you are allowed the freedom of anything.
Surreal films :
- Un Chien Andalou by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalà (1929)
- L'Âge d'Or by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalà (1930)
When I think of surrealism Salvador Dali instantly pops up into my head...
A photo with no real explanation of how it could have been taken or why its composition is like that.
But thats what I like about it, surrealism doesn't have to be explained or have a reason behind it.
A painting this time, and just like the photo above it looks random but obviously from looking close you can see hidden meanings and messages that the artist thought about before painting/creating it. The withering clocks could symbolise the heat and humidity or the way time drags along in certain places etc...
Thats what I want in my surreal short film piece. Meanings and messages and values that I and only some certain other people that know my plot and is interested in it, understands.
Soooooo random, but so fun, these photos are exactly how i'd explain my love of surrealism. How it doesn't have to make sense. I found these photos on google images when typing in box-heads as I wanted inspiration for my already thought out idea of having a short film all about box-heads.
Already I was looking into different types of facial expressions I could draw on the box-heads as their face.
Tuesday 4 October 2011
Get ahead OCR Media
I found this website on the Kett Media blog.
(http://kettcreativemedia.blogspot.com/)
From what I can see it has been closed and no further material and posts have been added, as they have made a new website - http://ocrmediastudies.weebly.com/index.html
But the blog is extremely useful with relevant material such as links for websites and other blogs etc that will help with me in my research toward my brief.
Tuesday 27 September 2011
In the lesson of the 27th of September
From todays lesson and after some much needed constructive critisism from some people in my class after looking at my first draft of my questionnaire I can see that I need to make some changes :
From asking people from both genders, all ages, all ethnicitys etc, I will be able to define my final intended target audience.
From thinking about how people might react and then in turn complete my questionnaire, I think that perhaps they might feel honoured of being chosen to take part in it. I am aware of course that people may not be honest in completing it and I will try my hardest to make sure it is very clear and all media terminology is fully explained.
From research into how people react to questionnaires, I came across the book 'Questionnaire design, interviewing and attitude measurement' by A.N Oppenheim- that brings across the point that perhaps sometimes your target audience is inclined to want to impress you, decreasing the reliability of the questionnaire, the person thinking that they should answer with what you want to hear.
From this I need to make sure my chosen people feel comfortable with taking my questionnaire, with a balance between quality and quantitive based questions.`
- Perhaps include audit questions
- Use both :
- Quality based questions- 'Rich' data(full of stuff you can interpret), opinion judgement, open questions, subjective, less valid.
- Quantitive- statistics, factual, demographics and closed questions.
From asking people from both genders, all ages, all ethnicitys etc, I will be able to define my final intended target audience.
From thinking about how people might react and then in turn complete my questionnaire, I think that perhaps they might feel honoured of being chosen to take part in it. I am aware of course that people may not be honest in completing it and I will try my hardest to make sure it is very clear and all media terminology is fully explained.
From research into how people react to questionnaires, I came across the book 'Questionnaire design, interviewing and attitude measurement' by A.N Oppenheim- that brings across the point that perhaps sometimes your target audience is inclined to want to impress you, decreasing the reliability of the questionnaire, the person thinking that they should answer with what you want to hear.
From this I need to make sure my chosen people feel comfortable with taking my questionnaire, with a balance between quality and quantitive based questions.`
Saturday 24 September 2011
Representations
This task helped us in how in our own short films or products the images and what it looks like will be instantly judged so you need to make sure its giving off the right impression and message to your audience.
Thursday 22 September 2011
My Target Audience
- My intended target audience is within the age range of 15-30, of both genders (perhaps more male as I think they would be more likely to accept the surreal elements of my short film).
- To find out what my target audience likes in a short film I shall be sending a questionnaire to them in paper form and posibbly email. Also, as I use social networking sites such as twitter and facebook, I shall put it probably on facebook for anyone to answer. Just incase the people on facebook are in a similar age range as most are my age, I shall make sure I give it to older people within a wider age range either in paper form or email.
- Through thinking about my target audience I realised that an older audience wouldn't be as open minded about my surreal and odd ideas and visuals, and in contrast the younger audience might not appreciate or understand it.
- I also think that educated people may understand more my odd plot, being an active audience, being able to follow the twists and turns.
Tuesday 6 September 2011
Two Step Flow Theory
When it comes to this theory, I think I am the individual in social contact with the opinion leader as I listen to people that expresses stuff from the media and am sometimes influenced by them and their opinons of it.
Tuesday 19 July 2011
I'VE DECIDED....
TO DO...
The Short Film brief
Lasting approximately 5 minutes in length WITH...
Lasting approximately 5 minutes in length WITH...
- A poster for the film
AND
- A film magazine review page featuring the film.
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