http://www.surveymonkey.com/

The email I received from them when I signed up to the site to confirm my email address.

I think this website and having an account on it is useful to me as I will be able to create surveys to put on facebook and other other social networking sites or through email to get wide demographics of people within my target audeince age range opinions and answers on surveys to do with my short film.

Useful stuff.

http://justcreativedesign.com/2008/05/13/how-to-design-a-movie-poster-with-an-example/


I found this website above to be useful in learning about the different stages there is in making a film poster, from the research to planning to the final thing there is a lot more thought that you'd originally thought.




http://asanda2mediastudies.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-to-analyse-film-poster.html

Once again, useful in reminding me how to thoroughly look and analyse a film poster. I learnt about the unique selling point and how the layout is could actually be clues to the films narrative. Also, a poster can tell you a lot about the genre of that particular film.

http://www.skillset.org/film/business/#

This website is useful for the business side and different stages of film. I think sometimes people don't realise how much work actually goes into a film.

http://www.polleverywhere.com/

I like this website and i'm glad I signed up to it as I am now able to ask questions to my focus group/target audience and then get their responses via twitter, text message(SMS) or the web in real time and then embed it in my blog. I think this is an interesting and different way of viewing something and then being able to respond and reply to it.

Feeling boxed in ?

When researching the title boxed in I decided to type it into Youtube to see what came up. This photo being the top one and the most popular was funnily enough quite ironically similar to my idea of my short film. This Youtube video is about the 2010 Census in America and how they ask you 10 questions to identify yourself. The narration asks 'feeling boxed in about your identity?'  and then goes on to say stuff like 'be yourself' and 'because you count'. This reflects my short film as it is all about identity struggle and feeling trapped into being something that you're not, wanting to have the freedom that each individual deserves.

Title of my short film. BOXED-IN.

I had thought long and hard about the title of my film and wanted to incorporate the main theme of no identity in it and the fact that they are having to wear box-heads on their head.

BOXED-IN
came straight to my mind and I instantly liked it. It has that feeling of being trapped which the main character regularly feels and has the word box in it.

To make sure I wasn't using another films name or bands etc and to make sure I didn't get done for copyright I searched 'boxed-in' on the internet... and this is what I found.

Luckily there looks like there is no film or anything that I could get in trouble with 'copying' as with my title of my short film I have purposefully done it in capital letters with a hyphen (-) between the two words. Also after it there is a full stop.

I found the dictionary definition very much reflects my storyline and how my characters seem enclosed in being something they don't want to be.

A Focus Group

Focus group- Box Head from Bethany on Vimeo.

(When showing my clip the computer was being really slow and annoying and wasn't playing my clip smoothly, just wanted to make sure people knew it wasn't supposed to look like that)

I showed a group of people from the ages of 15-30 (my intended focus group's age) a short raw footage clip from my short movie. I decided to show them a clip in which you can see from the point of view of the main character (a fish eye lens is used) and the surreal box-head people. I asked them what their first reactions were and I think they were slightly confused by it, which is sort of what I intended and thought, I wanted them to have no understanding but just give me their first impressions with no prior knowledge. One of the boys said how there was room there for the audience to be asking questions in their heads.

I then asked them what they thought the plot might have been, and I liked the fact that one of my focus group knew straight away that it was from the point of view of one of my characters. Interestingly someone said it could be political based, as they associate political adverts with weird things "like boxes on their heads". Another said it could be linked with identity and categorisation. This same person made the assumption that my characters were wearing similar clothes, and whilst this was not my intention when choosing what costume my characters wore, I think it fits in well with how I want everyone one of my characters (what with the box heads) to look the same, with not much of an individual identity. The idea of taking the a clothing item or the box head off to "fight the power" is an idea I had previously thought of and was planning on using.

I asked does the silence annoy them when watching the clip. Most agreed no, as it adds mystery and suspense. My focus group followed my question up with a question of their own which I liked as it showed they were interested and wanted to find out more. They asked if there would be a score underneath. Obviously I had already thought about my options of sound and had decided on getting my musically talented friend to help my play and record an original song or my own version of a song already done. One of my focus group (a male) said it was good there isn't any background noise (diegetic sound) and I agree with this as it builds tension of the unknown, he also added it would be good if there was an eerie noise.

I really appreciated that a female from my focus group spoke up when I asked a question. She noticed and liked how it was and looked different to the norm. Another of the boys from my focus group cleverly noticed the enigma, making you want to watch more, and amazingly I even impressed another person (who is usually hard to please) as he would be interested in watching the rest of it.

I asked if there were any improvements that could be made, even though the clip I showed them was quite short.  The lighting was mentioned, but as a good things, how it made it look realistic like every day life. He liked that even though the plot has a dark underlay, the lighting does not portray this, confusing the audience by giving them a red herring. I asked their opinions on it being edited to black and white as I wasn't too sure and they said it would be better in colour to keep it realistic as though it is the actual future. Maybe the only reason it would be in black and white would be for a reason- "does someone take their box off at the end?" Suggestions are that I could change it to colour/black and white with fuzzy blending as he takes off his box.

What I have learnt from this focus group is that they like my ideas, which is a plus, and they appreciate the surreal idea which is different from the crowd. They seemed to get my ideas which is what I was surprised about. Their interest in sound (diegetic or non-diegetic) made me realise how important it is to creating emotional response. I appreciated all of the input and liked that it was coming from both genders.


The only thing I disagree with what my focus group said was about the black and white. I want it to look bleak, their futures are bleak and so are their lives and so I want to reflect this. Editing/changing the black and white monotones with dull repetition of manner and style really match my box-heads characters lives, making it seem even more brave and rebellious to go against the regime that the government has imposed on them.

As an added bonus, I was proud of myself on this day as I overcame a technology problem with showing the clip as I had to convert it into a different file. When me, a technophobe, overcomes a technology related barrier problem, it is a good day :) .

More Inspirations & Influences

Walkabout from Bill Newsinger on Vimeo.

Whilst I won't be using the stop motion animation in my short film, this did catch my eye as its very well done as it looks quite smooth so its edited well and almost looks too good for just photos. It gave me inspiration to maybe try it one day for a little project on the side as I think it would be quite fun to do and you could have a theme, like for in this one its as though he/she is showing you where he lives, maybe his everyday route. I like the different sounds and underlay of music as it fits in time with the pace of the film/clip and has different electronic sounding elements to it which contrasts with the theme of nature. The fact that its all been done by him is a great boost to me, as it proves that good things can come from one hard working person.




My Life in a Day; San Francisco from Scott Hammel on Vimeo.


The second short film that caught my eye on Vimeo, it links with how I'm going to use a fish eye lens for my short film, to show the point of view of what my main character box-head is looking at. Once again this film is done in photos but I think it works lovely and the music once again seems very much in time, making me want to have a successful song/soundtrack. The music seems quite tribal and could represent San Francisco to be this urban jungle of creative nightlife.




Luckily I'd got a fish eye adaptor for christmas so I could use it in my short film :)

                           I love the distorted effect that the fish eye lens gives, adding an instant twist to it. 

An Effective Focus Group

In lesson we got some information on creating an effective presentation to show our focus group.

• Purpose - what do you want out of your focus group (I would like honest answers and opinions, harsh or not, so I can then use that constructive criticism to improve my work).

• Participants - demographic, useful people with relevant feedback (It was handy because I was able to show my presentation to a big group of people that were the perfect age, 18-30) 

• Questions -  purposeful open questions or general questions or specific questions (Before my focus group I had already thought of questions I was going to ask so it made me look prepared and professional, so they would give me honest serious answers. I also made sure I had open questions that enabled many answers from all different peoples opinions, with some specific questions).

• Reporting - film it, summarise, conclude, graphs and charts, keep written responses, do ASAP and  make sure it fits with original objective (I decided to film it and then watch it back as to listen to their answers to summarise them and come to a conclusion of how I can improve my work).

• Incentive - a reason for people to want to help me by giving me feedback (I didn't really have an incentive, they were just nice enough to help me :]).

• Questions raised that weren't expected - (Any questions raised that I weren't expecting were good and useful from my focus group as I could get more opinions and more issues were raised of how I could improve and what they liked about it).

My ideas for my focus group is to show them something I have done so far as to get feedback on something I can then improve on. I could either show them some photos taken whilst filming or film stills or a raw footage clip that I could then get some advice on what they think of how I was going to edit it.

Photo documenting my day of filming.

Photo documenting.

 First to fit the boxes together, after you turned them inside out first as I wanted them to be clear to draw the face on.

 Then stick it down with tape to keep the box shape.

 All the different boxes my mum had gotten for me to try and find the right size and shape.

Testing it out to see if it was the right fit and if it would actually stay on their head.

 Sticking the sides together.

Close-up showing us sticking the tape down to ensure it looked professional.

I drew the face in pencil first to see what it would look like.

Doing the same here.... very carefully.

 I then went over it in pen to make it bolder so it stood out more.

Finishing up.

The final box-head finished, this was the main characters box-head.

The final scene needed boxes for my characters with different facial expressions, so instead I just filmed all I needed with the first facial expression then changed it and filmed the final scene.

Interview with Hitchcock and its Relevance to me.

I like this interview with Alfred Hitchcock as I like the views he is expressing.

He says how he "doesn't give a damn about whats the film's about". He doesn't really believe the content is what makes the film and doesn't care what its about. He cares much more about how the material is handled and how it can create a strong emotional response in an audience.

If you were painting a some apples on a plate it would be like "worrying whether the apples were sweet or sour, who cares, I don't care myself".

Such bold words and strong opinion really influence me in being strong in my decisions with my short film and I agree with him. It's not all about the content, if it were just about that then an audience would come out of the cinema after watching it emotionless, confused and their mind not made up. Through thinking about how the audience would react to certain things in film is what makes it, you want to provoke a response, you want the audience to feel something.

Copyright.Music.

Possible song choices..

My first song was 'Can't get used to losing you' by Andy Williams. 1963 record release.
It has this odd sound about it, it sounds happy yet I personally feel on the edge listening to it. It's what I expect to be in a horror movie, in a tense scene, trying to lighten the scene by juxtaposing it, heightening the atmosphere.
I think the reason it will fit in with my short film is because of how it will contrast with my downbeat storyline and feel of the film.
But, I won't be using this as it doesn't quite sound right and the lyrics are too love related, the only two lines that would fit are "Can't get used to losin' you no matter what I try to do
                                      Gonna live my whole life through-loving you"
These would relate if you were to perhaps change the meanings of loving a person to loving life, and how its not nice losing it, the lovely feeling of living life to the full.

Same song but by the The Beat. Same lyrics so I think they're too love and relationship related, and as my main character doesn't have a love interest I don't think the song is a good representation or isn't very related. I do prefer this version from the 80's though as its more upbeat and and I like the ska feel and the saxophone instrumental in the middle.

MY CHOSEN SONG .....The main song from one of my film inspirations 'eternal sunshine of the spotless mind' (2004). It's a beautiful song and really tugs at my emotions when I listen to it. It was originally by a band called The Korgis, but I think this version sounded too 80's as it had a techno style synth noise underneath, and I think this cheapened the sound of it.

The singer Beck done a cover of it and I preferred this one as it has more of a softer acoustic feel to it and it's very elegant and relaxing, it keeps with my slow paced feeling short film. The song sounds very lonely and gives me this empty feeling yet allows my head to think, listen to the lyrics and how the song flows effortlessly.

 Lyrics :
Change your heart
Look around you
Change your heart
It will astound you
I need your lovin'
Like the sunshine

Everybody's gotta learn sometime x3

Change your heart
Look around you
Change your heart
Will astound you
I need your lovin'
Like the sunshine

Everybody's gotta learn sometime x 3

I need your lovin'
Like the sunshine

Everybody's gotta learn sometime
Everybody's gotta learn sometime

Everybody's gotta learn sometime x3

Everybody's gotta learn sometime x3



I love the lyrics, they are very simple yet beautiful and inspiring. The line 'Everybody's gotta learn sometime' is repeated quite a lot but I don't think its repeated too many times for it to get annoying or boring. It links with my short film as I see it that the characters in it need to learn different lessons, whether its how to deal and live with the box head regime or why has the government gone to such drastic ways to suppress the people.

I definitely wanted this song and so instead of dealing with all the copyright stuff, as it was obviously copyrighted, I decided to record it myself and get a friend to help by playing the song with piano/guitar to keep it simple sounding. I'm not too good with music editing software so I will keep it minimal. I may or may not sing of get someone to sing as I want it  to sound professional, and someone else's voice could cheapen or ruin the feel of the song.

M Y P L O T

Having being compared to the film 'Equilibrium' (2002) by one of my focus group and target audience when I explained my plot to them you can already start to make your own assumptions of what it is going to be.
I researched the plot of Equilibrium and found that it was about a futuristic world that has got a strict regime that suppresses emotions and anyone that feels feeling is punished with death. Obviously there is the hero (Christian Bale) that can go against the regime, which I suppose in my short film is my main character.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238380/      .....     Equilibrium trailer.

It is supposed to be set in the future about 50 years from now. It's not going to necessarily look futuristic or like it would come from the sic-fi genre as I want it to look realistic. Their length of life is normal and their form is like how we are now, apart from they have a box on their head.
The government has imposed a regime on everyone that every living person has to wear a box on their heads to ensure no one has their own identity. Clothes have to be of a bland nature and and conversations are restricted daily. The reason is that the government wants the world to carry on in peace and harmony, to ensure no wars and thus no creative freedom, no freedom of speech etc.
If they take their box off their head- simply they die. It sends an electric current to their brain-shocking them to death. This awful way of killing is to ensure people don't rebel against the regime. Which is why at the end of my short film when my main character see's his dead family in the garden, he realises that everyone's had enough of it all and has committed suicide and so he decides to do the same and when he lands dead on the floor the colour changes from black and white to bright vibrant colour, to symbolise that they've all gone to a better place.



I was going to have some dialogue in it but found it to be more effective without it. I was going to either have  "I suppose as soon as we are born, we start to die, just some are luckier than others, some are born with dents in their heads, some are the wrong way up, some weren't handled with care"

There were also some other scenes that I had in mind...


A flashback that would encounter him to be being interviewed by a high up government person asking him about rebellious nature and that any more and he would be in big trouble. Lighting would be spotlighted on him and it would be like good cop/bad cop.

In hospital, in a bed, a box-head woman is holding a baby-box head. The effect would be old and grainy to show it was the main character after being born.

eugenio recuenco short films

distribution

film 4 late

4od

bfi

film four


before a feature film

not as popular

warp?


Perhaps my main distribution, and my most safest and obvious choice is on the internet, with sites such as...

http://www.shortsinternational.com/html/about.htm
This site offers people the chance to show their short movies to audiences from the United States, Europe and Asia in all different formats such as cinema, on demand television, phones, online to ipads. It is apparently the worlds leading short movie entertainment with a very large catalogue of short movies.


This website and company offers a good chance for unknown directors work to be shown, there being a submission page in which you can download a submission form, if they select your film they send you a license agreements that requires exclusive distribution rights over the licensing period and a detailed breakdown of the delivery materials that they require.

I think this website is a good way of showing my short film if I chose to show it as it gives a chance to people who don't have as good of a chance as well known short film directors.

A book... On Short Films... Part 4

Resources....






Atom.com-   Originally founded in 1998, offering original short subject films, animations and series by independent creators.  BUT   it was later bought by MTV Networks, making it more comedy based. removing most of the indie films.... bad times.



bmw films- "The BMW film series, The Hire was a series of eight short films (averaging about ten minutes each) produced for the Internet in 2001 and 2002. A form of branded content, all eight films featured popular filmmakers from across the globe, starred Clive Owen as the "Driver", and highlighted the performance aspects of various BMW automobiles." - Wikipedia.


ifilm- was an online archive of short films and movie trailers, until it was later bought and rebranded as the online site of Spike.

Short TV- http://www.shortstv.com/






























http://www.v2.nl/archive/works/the-new-venue




StudentReel.com
britishfilmcommission
sundance
summer shorts
the film council
the first film fund
mainestream.nu
urban chillers












This is a good website for new and upcoming directors of short films, giving them a chance.

A book.... on Short Films... Part 3

Contemporary Film-makers and Shorts Production... ... ...


SHORT FILMS = A Creative Space               Well that definitely counts for me anyway.


The realisation is that funding is awful and most don't make money from making short films.
But that won't stop me from making them.

Getting the film shown in a "good" place is equally as difficult. Television, the different film festivals and the new digital age (internet) has proved to be useful to wannabe short film directors wanting to show their creations.

Advice... show iniative.... the company Levi supported film festivals and started to show short films on monitors at their flagship London Store after seeing a link between short films and people who buys its products. Levi's supported the production of four short films with Alliance Atlantis Reading. Levi's said the short films should be commercially viable and shown in cinemas, not just seen as a cultural product. They were successfully released with features and were shown on virgin airlines and one even helped to open Film Four.


Conclusion... Keep at it, keep commited... short films are essential for the future development of the moving image and of film-makers.

Film Campaigns

I decided to look at the film 'Bridget Jones' and its campaign to advertise it and its products. It was very interesting to look at as it linked well and was very cleverly thought out. The way the book then film, soundtrack and online website and competitions looked inspired me to make sure I had a particular audience that would recognise my products and I wanted to make sure it had a running theme (box-heads) that was similar to bigger films with larger budgets.

Technological Determinism Theory

My journey.. through technology.