Research

Short film is defined as 'an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes of less, including all credits', by the Academy awards. According to short of the week 'short films are where innovative storytelling is born'. Just from this brief glance it is clear to see that Short Film can be a powerful medium of storytelling. On this page I will explore short film as a whole, as well as filmmakers, influences and more. I will be linking my research back to my project in order for me to develop my idea.

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Short Film Structure and Conventions

In order for me to understand short film in its fullest nature I will be watching a large variety of short films to help me understand short film structure and conventions. Spotting the unique Structure and Conventions of short film will allow me to build and develop on top of what I already know.

Short 1- I Love Your Guts

After watching this short film I have mentally noted some thoughts on the structure of the short. Firstly, when watching the short, you quickly realise that there is not much of an introduction. You are pretty much dumped right into the event of the short. It starts with no introductions of the characters as such, we work out what they are like from how they act and we see their names on the badge which links to the significance of costume. The 'conflict' of the story comes quite quickly, again linking to my idea that there is not really much of a introduction or build up section to the story. This is also very similar with the conclusion, you are left with lots of questions. Nothing is really tied up and you are sat there thinking 'oh my'.

Short 2 - The Archivist

This structure of this short is similar to the first short on the list. It doesn't have an introduction and we don't find anything out about the characters other than what we can obviously see, that they are 'close' with each other. In my opinion short films should leave you with lots of questions, throughout the whole short, and often specifically at the end. This short film absolutely achieves that right from the outset. You think question such as 'why' ,'who' and 'what'. The fact there is zero audio in this short helps play on this idea. Just like the first short film, this short does not really have much of a rounded conclusion (which I suppose fits with the whole aspect of getting you to ask questions) to it.

Short 3 - The Gallery

This short takes very similar elements from the first two shorts on the list. After watching this I have noticed a recurring theme that none of the shorts tend to have much of an introduction. You are almost dumped straight into the 'action' or 'climax' of the short. This is very much the case in this short. I feel like this is not just a structural norm when it comes to shot films but also a convention of the medium in itself. The lack of introduction in this short film adds to it mystery feel. This theory also goes with the conclusion.

The 'climax' part in this short film is what makes the film. It is essentially all the film and I believe in a short film you don't want to have much of an introduction because then you risk people losing interest.

Short 4 - Coin Operated

'Coin Operated' differed from the shorts we have already watched because it was the first animated short. This animated short came with many differences but also shared many similarities. As I have mentioned before, there was not much of an introduction or conclusion in this short and this seems to be a common trend throughout all the short I have watched.

This short also came with some conventions which I have began to notice now I have made my way through several shorts. One of the common conventions I have noticed is a small cast in each of the shorts. They all seem to come with just a few actors in. 'Coin Operated' shared this convention, despite the fact it was animated and did not require the physical cost, work require with physical actors. However, you could argue it would still be just as expensive to have more animated characters as there would likely be a larger team required in order to make this possible meaning the money would still be being spent.

In this short I noticed the limited use of dialogue. This is another trend which I have noticed throughout the short we have watched. Some shorts, like this one, contain no dialogue and then others do have dialogue but it tends to be a limited amount. I suppose there could be many reasons for this convention from building an atmosphere, developing a story to saving spends.

Structural Analysis

Having watched the first four short films I intend to watch, it became clear to me that structural patterns within the shorts are very similar. I found there being one 'model' of structure in which nearly all of the shorts followed. In order to help visualise this I created a diagram.

As seen in the diagram I created above, I believe with short films there is not really a focus on the introduction or conclusion. This could be argued and perceived in many different ways. While technically there are still introductions and conclusions in short films I personally do not believe they play as important of a role as of that in a feature film. An example of this is that, in the first short film (I love your Guts) the introduction was quick and did not introduce the characters in as much detail as a feature film would. This is very similar to my reasoning for the conclusion. My idea is that although there can be conclusions of feature films, they don't follow todorov's theory of equilibrium like most feature films do. Instead of creating a new equilibrium they often leave the scene quite disrupted or in dismay therefore allowing the audience to sit their puzzled and questioning a multitude of factors.

I believe the main reason that short films have developed structures like this overtime, is because of what they are - short. There is sometimes just not enough time to go into depth or detail in an introduction so why not just skip it? If you make a short film essentially 'action' or 'the climax' people are going to be really gripped. It keeps people watching and entertained. This is important in the short film industry and short films are well known for not making much money back. They often don't break even.

Comparing my structural analysis to a research source

In order to help me understand the short film structure in more detail I decided to find some academic sources which will help me develop the understanding I have already gained. Reading through a book called 'Writing the Short film' there is a whole section titled 'The relationship of Long to Short film' which is really insightful in helping me to understand short film structure. This section of the book goes into detail about the theory of the three act structure proportions (1:2:1 - 30 minutes Act 1, 60 Minutes Act 2 and 30 Minutes Act 3) However while this is in good for a long film 'In a short film of fifteen to thirty minutes, it is doubtful that this proportion would hold'. This statement is already extremely true in my mind, and the book is highlighting how this is not well recognised by sources. This is no surprise due to the well known and taught structure of a feature film in comparison to that of a short.

The section of the book goes on to talk about how 'The catalytic event that would begin the action of the film, which could be viewed as the beginning of Act II, must come much more quickly than a quarter of the way into the film'. This is essentially backing up parts of my idea that the 'action (referred to as catalytic event in the book) comes to soon for an introduction for have enough time to be 'an introduction'. It also proves that the theory that works for long-form act proportion just would not work in a short film. The Act one and 3 in shorts are very short because there is not lots of time for setting up of the story.

The final part of this section in the book refers to how in a long-form film act two often has a lot of character development and and relationship developments which slow down the conventional conflicts. This is obviously the opposite when it comes to short films. It often means it's harder in a short film for a character to find a resolution. This is often a contribution to why short film conclusions are very short in length. The book suggests a one or two act structure might be more suited in a short film. This section on the ending develops my thoughts. I realise now its because of the lack of development we often have with the character throughout the short meaning its harder or less relevant for a resolution.

Google Books. (2013). Writing the Short Film. [online] Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Zr3NLxva9bgC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=short+film+structure&ots=6ehCbSA-LZ&sig=oB1wKZCjfHf6W59kDMCiKUj8KCs&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=short%20film%20structure&f=false [Accessed 26 Feb. 2021].

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Short 5 - Dig Your Own Grave

This short film not only continues to follow the short film structure that was discussed above but also continues to have some repeating conventions which I have continually noticed in most of the shorts I have watched as part of this research. The includes, use of limited location and use of limited characters.

In this short, the conventions fit hand in hand and make for a more tense and enjoyable short that you want to watch the whole way through.

Short 6 - Red Rover

This short film is an example of where the rules that I have seen throughout the previous short films are not followed. In this short film there is a larger number of locations that in any of the other shorts. At the start of the film there appears to be a larger number of characters, however a lot of them do not speak. We spend most of the short just following two characters but even then, they eventually find more.

On the other hand of things, there are also a lot of conventions I can see which I have also seen in other short films, such as the fact the characters do not have deep backstories, if any at all. In this short, it adds to the suspense. Another convention which is obvious if the fact it's a short film - it has a length of less than forty minutes.

The short ended on a disequilibrium. It did not follow todorov's theory that all films will end up establishing a new equilibrium and leaves the audience curious. This is another trend I have noticed throughout a few of the short films I have watched. I think it is effective at leaving the audience on the edge of their seats, making them ask questions and want more. This is something I will be working into my own short film.

Short 7 - Craig Shouldn't Smoke Weed

In this short the whole film is short in just one location with two characters. This, as mentioned, is a common convention. In my opinion It is most likely a cost saving measure that takes place in the pre-production of the short. In this short, there was also no backstory of the characters and no new equilibrium at the end.

I also began to realise a new trend that only became clear to me after watching a large variety of shorts. This is that throughout short films I believe the intention is to make characters as 'relatable' as possible. They feel like your average human and always in an average place. This engages the audience more in my opinion, as it is something more realistic to them.

Convention Analysis

In any media form you find conventions. Conventions are defined as 'a way in which something is usually done'. In films and short films, these are important to help tell a story, often in the most cost effective way.

After watching seven different short films above I began to pick out some recurring themes which I personally deem to be conventions. These consist of:

Limited Characters
Limited Cast
No new equilibrium
Relatable Characters and locations
Not much backstory, if any

Once you begin to hear about, or notice these conventions it suddenly becomes a lot easier to notice them when watching a short film. I believe that some of these conventions I have noticed come with the intention of cost saving. This is because short films are known for being notoriously hard to get funded and often when they do, they have small budgets. Limiting cast therefore means they are paying less for actors - this also goes for locations.

I believe some of the other conventions come at a time saving measure. Short films are short in nature (as the name suggests) so by not giving each character or the situation a backstory a lot of time is being saved in the short. This allows the short to stay short, and within the timeframe the creators decided that they wanted it to be.

Integrating short film structure and conventions into my own short.

As looked at above, short films use certain structural and conventional techniques in order to make the best final result they can. This research will come in handy with the creation of my own short as I will be able to think about the different conventions and structure types I have seen and implement them into my own.

An example of a convention of short film which I already had in my short film was limited location - I was planning to use just the location of the coffee shop in order to make it easier in the current covid-19 pandemic. In an opposite fashion originally I was planning on trying to give my protagonist a bit of a backstory into his life. I was planning to do this so the audience understand him, and the whole narrative and story more. However, after watching the short films above, I realised this is not needed, and by removing it will allow for me to fit the short within the length of time I am aiming for with more ease.

In terms of what I learnt about the structure of short films, I learnt I do not need to try and make a short film that follows a three act structure because if I did it would make me struggle to fit my time goals. Instead I will think about writing the short in a two act structure, where the catalytic event happens pretty much right at the start. This eliminates the need for the first act.

Influences in Film

Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson is a filmmaker who was born is Houston Texas. Anderson is extremely well known for his unique style of filmmaking that provokes 'a fierce loyalty and violent antipathy and little in between' as described by Mark Browning in the book Wes Anderson: Why his Movies Matter. Browning simplifies his saying when he says that Anderson's work is much like marmite, you love or or hate it.

I recently completed a deep dive research task into Wes Anderson. I looked how his career started and the processes along the way to get where he is now. I was particularly influenced by Andersons pathway into feature films. Anderson’s interest in movie making dated back a long time, when we was young he was writing super-8 movies and going on to create them. This was like his first little spark. Over time, Anderson went through college studying philosophy where he met Owen Wilson. Wilson would go on to act in many of Anderson's films. One of the first films that Wilson did and acted in for Anderson was his short film, Bottle Rocket.

Wes Anderson - Bottle Rocket

Bottle Rocket was a short film created by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson that went on to get screened at the Sundance Film Festival. While the short was screened it was successfully received so well that it went onto get funding to be made into a full feature length film. Unfortunately, following the release of the Bottle Rocket feature film, it bombed at the box office. Just before the release of the feature film Anderson was recorded saying he was the most confident he had ever been in his life while making the film because he believed that they were creating something truly hilarious and magical'. The film flopped so badly that at one point Owen Wilson considered signing up for the marines as he thought it was the end of the line for him.

Looking back at Bottled Rocket today, farout magazine rates it a 3.9. They say it is clear that bottle rocket it not as polished as some of Andersons later films but for what the film is it is important. It goes on to highlight just why the film is a masterpiece and states 'Bottle Rocket is definitely an underappreciated gem in Anderson's filmography because it shoulders the tragic burden of being compared to Anderson's later brilliancies.

Personally I believe it is important to think back even further. People have a dismay of the feature film for Bottle Rocket, however the short film was a masterpiece absolutely praised upon. It was Anderson's true first dive into film - and it started with a short. I took a moment to watch this short film, and it became clear to be that despite its age, Anderson employed many conventions of short films seen in films today and was ahead of his time.

The most important thing to take away from Andersons adventure with Bottle Rocket, is despite the fact that the feature film version got panned, Anderson did not give up and just carried on creating film. Now days Anderson has created award winning masterpieces.

Wes Anderson - Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene refers to everything that is in view of the camera. This can include set, makeup and costume. Mise-en-scene is essential in any film to help ensure a number of factors, for example in a period drama, the mise-en-scene of the setting is essential to make sure it looks like something of that period.

Anderson is known for having his own way of doing things. In my previous research into him I found out his style is even dubbed the 'Anderson Style'. However, this does not just cover elements of Andersons Mise-en-scene it also covers, music, cinematography and story structure.

When it comes to his mise-en-scene Anderson does not take it lightly. In a cinemascope article by Jake Kenner he talks about Andersons Mise-en-scene in his film 'Life Aquatic'. Kenner talks highly about Andersons thought into costume of the crew. Kenner talks about one specific costume - the costume of the Belafonte crew. They wear a bright costume contrasting the rest of the mise-en-scene of where they are. This has been thought through even more because their bright clothing is directly juxtaposed with the khaki clothing of others in the movie. This careful thought of colour in costume highlights something I have noticed. Anderson cares immensely about colour. Upon looking into this I came across a journal about Wes Anderson's colour theory which has allowed me to gain a larger insight into how seriously Anderson takes colour. The journal talks about how in 2021 Yumibe stated 'Through its sensual appeal, colour can move the mind and the emotions of the spectator'. This emphasises on how important colour is in terms of conveying emotion. It is known that when Anderson starts to work on a film, he goes into the production from the very start with a colour palette in mind. If you watch a film like Andersons well known Grand Budapest Hotel, you will clearly be able to pick out a colour pallette. Andersons colours often tend to be quite vibrant and can frequently contrast one another which often created an 'exaggerated environment'. This type of environment is not a bad thing - in fact it allows the film to be easily memorable to the audience which is essential to any film. According to scientific research the majority of people forget most things about a film quite quickly, but with Anderson's films it's a lot easier to remember due to the vibrant colours.

Another major Mise-en-Scene technique which is employed by Anderson is his use of symmetry within his sets. I find this to work like marmite. You absolutely love it, or you just don't. Reading into an article by TopSheet it talks about the reasoning behind it being that when he was studying philosophy there is a good chance that he learnt the psychological connection between the human brain and symmetry and the way it pleases people.

What I can take from looking at these two main sections of looking at Wes Anderson's Mise-en-scene is that it is not just the acting that matters. Everything that is seen on the camera matters in some way. Anderson chooses to take the norm and add loads to it to add that 'twist' to it. I will be implementing elements of Anderson's style into my own short film in order to make it stand out as a more unique short film than will be more memorable.

Walter Murch

Walter Murch is a well known movie editor and sound designer in hollywood who is famous for his theory: the six rules of editing. Murch has worked on films such as The Godfather, THX1138, Apocalypse now and much more.

Murch was born in New York in 1943, and it was while he was in new york that developed his first interest in film, however it wasn't until in his later life he found himself actually acting on it. It was when he was at John hopkins university studying liberal arts he decided he was going to move his collegiate career over california where he attended the university of southern california's film school.

In 1995 Much published a book which is called 'In the blink of an eye: A perspective on film editing' which explains the art of editing from his perspective. It is where Walter Murch first discussed his idea/theory of the six rules of editing to make a great cut.

Walter Murch - The Rule of Six

The rule of six was created by Walter Murch in order to ensure the best cut can be achieved all the time. When reading the article on the rule of six by studiobinder they state something very important, 'It is important to note that Murch doesn't believe all of these rules can or should be employed at once. He suggests this list as basic criteria for your edits'.

The Rule of Six:

Emotion - 51%
Story - 23%
Rhythm - 10%
Eye Trace - 7%
Two Dimensional Plane of Screen - 5%
Three Dimensional Space - 4%

When I first saw this for the six rules, I was a bit confused. However, after reading into each rule it quickly started to make a lot more sense to me and I realised that the rules were actually sensible.

The rule of Emotion is highlighted as the most important in Murch's eyes. It comes in at 51% importance. Immediately from just hearing the term emotion I was a bit confused as I did not know how it was referring to emotion, did it imply emotion in a sense as the right cut should give out the right emotion or is it implying you should do something in order to achieve the right emotion. In order for me to understand this I found an article online by aotg. The articles goes onto talk about how In Murch's eyes emotion is an invaluable resource; if it is not there, the movie is in trouble. This is really emphasising to me the importance of emotion being in your film. 'If your work has a through line of emotion that is true to what intended your audience to feel "you have done about as much as you can ever do"'. This is essentially pointing out the key idea that the audience should always be first in an editors mind.

The second most important rule is story which comes in at 23%. After reading into the emotion rule, I would assume that this story rule is linked to how the story flows and moves on in comparison to feeling slow and boring. Aotg says Murch states 'A story must be dynamic. There must be motion behind it; an underlying force hurdling the events forward.' This quote implies to me that the story needs to progress or advance the narrative - It needs to make the audience feel like they 'put one foot forward'.

As you get further in the list you get Rhythm which refers to how the first to rules bond and how the film flows. You then have Eye trace which refers to how a cut my nos disorient the viewer. The last two rules and Two dimensional plane of screen and Three dimensional space.

These rules are just one of the reasons Murch is such a big influence to me. Murch has shared his opinion on what makes the best cut. This is really helpful for aspiring editors and even ones with lots of experience. I will definitely be implementing his six rules into my cut.

Producing the Short Film

In order to ensure I complete the production to the highest standard, this section of my research will be looking at researching what I need to do from start to finish.

Pre-Production Essentials

In the past I have worked on a few different short film projects, so luckily I have an idea of what goes on in this stage of the process. However, I believe the most sensible approach was not taken in a lot of these past projects. My aim is by researching the process it will allow me to get everything I need to done, without stressing I have missed something and end up being squashed for time.

In order to help me understand the pre-production process I am referring to a handy guide by studio binder.

StudioBinder. (2015). Make a Short Film in a Few Short Steps. [online] Available at: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/making-short-film-pre-production/ [Accessed 5 Mar. 2021].

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As we dive into the article, it talks about how everything in pre production links back to one of three documents:

The Screenplay
The Schedule
The Budget

This implies to me it is important to set out each of these documents from the very start. In regards to the schedule document, I have already established a schedule at the start of the project, however I will think about establishing a day by day schedule for the time I allocated for pre production.

The budget document is lesser important for me, as there is not really a budget I have for the short. This is because it is funded and produced by myself. While I will not be creating a budget document for this short film due to this nature, I could look at the normal budget for short films, however this dramatically ranges for different short films. A lot of the time people receive grants to make short films, and these grants will be different.

The Screenplay is essentially the script for the film. This is a stage of the short film which I am yet to start and will be one of the most important parts to get right as it will impact a lot of other things. When writing a script it is important to follow proper script writing format.

Proper Script Format

When you write a script it is important to write it in the correct standard of style. Below, I will look at what this style is. In order to help me understand script formatting in the best detail I will be using an article from Master class.

MasterClass (2019). Learn How to Format a Screenplay: Step-by-Step Guide. [online] MasterClass. Available at: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-a-screenplay-formatting-tips-and-tricks#how-long-should-a-screenplay-be [Accessed 5 Mar. 2021].

‌When writing a script, there is certain standards that are designed to help make the script or screenplay easily readable and to help ensure the rule that a page of the script equals to a minute of screenplay. One of these rules is that scripts should be written in the same size and font. This is 'Courier font, 12-point size, single-spaced'. This is because the font is 'fixed pitch' or 'monospaced' font, meaning each character and space is exactly the same width.

Once you have set in space your size and font, it is important to understand Magins. According to the MasterClass Article:

Top and bottom of every page should have a 1-Inch margin
The left margin should be 1.5 inches, so that there is room room for a hole punch when it's printed
The right margin should be 1 inch
These margins result in roughly 55 lines per page

Now everything has been setup to write the script it is important for me to understand the format. Once again this was explained to me by the article on MasterClass:

Scene Headings (Slug Lines)
Action lines
Characters
Dialogue
Parentheticals

The article does mention that, while this is the most common format - you can play around a bit with it.

Each section of the Formatting has its own formatting.

Headlines/Sluglines

The point of a slugline it to tell us where we are in the films world and what time of day it is. There will always be part of the slugline telling us if we are inside or outside. Whenever you see a slugline or headline you will notice that they should be capitalized.

In this Image taken from the script of 'The Hangover' I can see how they followed the slugline in the formatting that was described. It is easy to tell when and where it is taking place.

Action

Action (sometimes referred to as a scene description) describe a scene. Anything the audience can see on the screen can be described by the action lines. According to MasterClass 'Action lines are always written in the present tense. Words can be underlinez, capitalize or italicize for added emphasis.

In this example, the word 'slams' has been capitalized to emphasise the aggressive nature intended.

Character

When writing a script all characters should be introduced before their first line of dialogue and the first time they are introduced their name should be written in caps. This includes minor characters.

In some scripts, characters are introduced alongside some information

Dialogue

Whenever a character speaks, there speech must be in dialogue. Dialogue must be centred on the page and be one inch away from the margin.

Parentheticals

When I have read scripts in the past I have noticed describing words in brackets; the masterclass page I am reading outlines exactly what these are for me. It states 'A parenthetical can be used to add a pause between two lines, indicate singing or shouting, or provide an adjective that indicates or that suggests tone.

Pre-Production Documents

From my previous work on short films, I have a good idea of the different pieces of work I need to complete in the pre-production stage of the project however, I will be using an online source to ensure my knowledge is correct.

Pre-Production comes with a large amount of sheets that need completing. These help ensure multiple things. I have used the earlier mentioned article by studiobinder to help me ensure these stages below are correct:

Shooting Script - This gives a base for the cinematographers to go off on the shoot day and also allows you the cinematography of the film to be more carefully thought out in advance.
Detailed Plan
Storyboard - This helps everyone working on the film to visualise it clearly.
Recce's - Ensures the location is fitting for the film.
Actor Release forms
Ethical and Legal analysis
Budget analysis

Project Production

Reading an article by Masterclass it states that production is another of 'the five stages of film production'. This statement challenges my thoughts, as I personally believe there are only three stages - Pre-Production, Production and Post Production.

MasterClass (2020). Understanding Filmmaking: The 5 Stages of Film Production. [online] MasterClass. Available at: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/understanding-the-stages-of-film-production#the-5-stages-of-film-production [Accessed 8 Mar. 2021].

The production section of this article states 'Production, also known as principal photography , is when the shooting begins. It then goes on to talk about how usually in this stage, you find extra crew hired. This might be the case for a high budget short or feature film, however in my short film, if there is anyone helping they will be volunteers. This is because I do not have much money other than what I am spending out of my own pocket.

The article goes onto talk about how hair, makeup and costume become extremely important in this section of the production. This is also true in my production. This is because costume and makeup can help tell the story. It is another way to tell you who is who and what they are or may be doing - It's a storytelling method.

During this short film, it is important for me to ensure that I stick to a colour pallette. In this short I am aiming to stick to a very simple colour palette and scheme. This will use a colour palette that is essentially white and pink. These colours give of a comforting feel. It also is a colour that fits with the Wes Anderson theme of having a specific colour pallette.

https://www.facebook.com/richard.lackey (2015). 5 Common Film Color Schemes - Cinematic Color Design. [online] CineD. Available at: https://www.cined.com/film-color-schemes-cinematic-color-design/ [Accessed 10 May 2021].

Reading further into colour from the website above, it talks about how different colours can have different psychological effects on humans. For example, if in a moment of high tension, the colour red is used it can often lead to the person thinking danger, blood or a warning. This theory is very much one I have considered, by using neutral and softening colours I am creating a warm, calm and welcoming atmosphere that will not contain any hard, scary colours.

Overall, In my short I will be using a Analogous colour scheme. This Is where one colour dominates with a second supporting and then a third supporting that.

Project Production - Colour

Project Production - Practical Research

With the country, and similarly, the world experiencing different restrictions and lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic I am not one hundred percent able to get steady hands on a piece of filming equipment. In light of this, I will be looking more closely at what I have on me that can record the short film. I will look at devices such as different mobile phones, old camcorders and whatever else I can find.

In order for me to choose the most suited recording device I will always have access too I will be conducting a little research experiment. I will take all the devices I will consider and put them side to side in recording the same scene. I will do this with a variety of different scenes. Once I have done this I will upload all the footage to my macbook pro and evaluate them blindly. This should allow me to fairly workout which camera I would like to use most.

To conduct this experiment I used two phones. One phone was a Galaxy S21 Ultra and the other was Iphone 8. I held them side by side and shot in an interior environment to best replicate the one I will be shooting my short film in.

From blindly watching the videos it quickly became apparent to me they are very similar. The device which shot the video on the left has shot with a much different white balance to the one of the left. This gives the feeling that the video on the left is much darker and gloomy in comparison to the one on the right.

Both devices show a little bit of grain due to unlit nature of the room, however this is not a major issue in my eyes because this is something which will not be a huge problem to me as my set will be well lit.

The detail and smoothness in both shots are very good. Personally I would be happy to use either device but I am more leaning to the one on the left.

Having a look at the files I worked out the left is the Samsung. I have also looked at the settings, there is a chance for an even more improved shot due to the fact it can shoot in ultra HD or 8k, yet this video was in full HD. This is something that the Iphone cannot do.

Project Post-Production

The post production stage of the short film I am very confident with. During the edit I will be using the Adobe creative cloud sweet. This contains premiere pro for the cut and edit as well as adobe after effects for any compositing and visuals.

During the post production stage I will be following Walter Murch's theory to of the six rules to get the best cut.

Real Life Research

In the past I have been invested into film and short film. I have attended events and read articles all with the intentions of improving and developing my knowledge of short film. These examples of practical research are listed below:

Cambridge Film Festival
Regional BFI Film Academy
NFTS Film Academy
NFTS Online Masterclasses
Film Clubs

It is clear to understand that film festivals play a major part in the 'recognition' and distribution of short films. I read an article by raindance (A film festival) about the importance of Film Festivals. The article lists reasons such as:

Exposing independent cinema to new audiences
Test screenings - allows for filmmakers to decide if they want to make any changes before commercial release
Marketing exercise - gaining recognition from awards and reviews, chance to sell the film.
Learning - Allows festival goers to learn about how the film was made.

These are just some of the reasons for why I have attended film festivals in the past and why I intend to attend a lot more. They are really insightful for me to learn about short film and film production and develop my skills from then on.

https://www.facebook.com/raindancefilmfestlondon (2019). Importance Of Film Festivals | Raindance - Raindance. [online] Raindance. Available at: https://www.raindance.org/importance-film-festivals/ [Accessed 10 Mar. 2021].

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These practical real life events all allow me to gain insights into the creation of short films. I can listen to the directors views, learn from what they did and more. These events have all allowed me to broaden my insight into film creation. On Top of these events I have already attended, I plan to attend many more events such as the southbank film festival, BFI Film labs and eventually my university course.

As I have learnt from all this research and other work with short films, they are not just short films, they are somewhat an art form. As with any Art form I think it is essential to look at the history of shorts.

In order to help me expand my knowledge I am using a page from 'Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library' titled 'A short History of Short films'.

Ziegler, J. (2019). A Short History of Short Films | Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library. [online] Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library. Available at: https://tscpl.org/books-movies-music/short-films-a-short-history [Accessed 19 Mar. 2021].

‌It was already in my knowledge that some of the very first short films were a few seconds in length captured on a device which was created by Thomas Edison (Yes, the lightbulb guy). Most short films at the start where just short films of scenery - there was no narrative.

The article makes a very interesting statement 'As film technology took off so did the film industry'. I believe this statement is very true, and can be seen by viewing the development of olden day short films. The article states how one of the first successful longer short films was 'Trip to the Moon' by Georges Melies in 1902. This Film is classed as an inspiration to other filmmakers because Melies use innovative editing ad special effects. These are both used in short films today!

With the success of some short films, more audiences began seeing films at gatherings and fairs! This is still similar in today's society - you go to film fairs or festivals to see new shorts and new films! As the audiences were enjoying it even more, the demand for more and more short films skyrocketed. The increase of demand turned out positive for the development of short films as it lead to more complex stories and characters. This cycle kept happening until short films have developed into what they have today.

This article goes onto talk about a different viewpoint on the modern day development of short film - the 'Internet Impact'. It talks about the fact that Internet gave a new life to short film with the birth of Youtube and Vimeo. These were free places for creators to share their creativity. It talk about how it has allowed people without any qualifications to have a go at short film and show it to the world without breaking the bank - this is essentially me! In the past an example of the internet impact was when Director Damien Chazelle was unable to get financing for a feature length film which he wanted to create. Instead he decided to make an 18 minute short film version and upload to it the internet. This short went on to win awards at the sundance film festival which allowed the director to get the funding to make the oscar winning feature film.

Brief History of Short Films

Analysing a short Film Script

In order for me to develop even more script understanding before I begin to write my screenplay I have analysed the first page of a script for a show called 'Amelia'.

Post Production Software

One of the most important stages of the film is the edit. The editor is often classed as the 'third storyteller'. Editing falls into the post production stage. According to the dictionary, post production is 'work done on a film or recording after filming or recording has taken place'. As I want to work in the post-production sector, and am studying it at University, I believe my knowledge is accurate and this description is basic but accurate.

When it comes to post-production and editing there is a large variety of software out in the word which is available for use. Many of these require a hefty monthly subscription to use.

When it comes to Hollywood, the gold standard, top of the block, industry standard editing software is called 'Avid Media Composer'. Avid is used in a large amount of Hollywood feature films such as Mission Impossible: Fallout and 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Personally, Avid is an editing software I have wanted to get to know for some time, however have never found the time to get round to it. Some Pros which the software comes with that might lead to its success are:

Script Integration
Natively edit HD media and high resolution footage
Dynamic media folders
Edit HDR
Multi-Camera editing
Multi-user collaboration in real-time.

Another very popular software in the editing space is Adobe Premiere Pro. Premiere Pro is a favourite in the industry of online video content. Premiere pro is one the most widely used video editing softwares in different industries and while it is not Hollywood standard, it has been used to edit several Hollywood movies such as: Deadpool and Avatar. Premiere Pro is the main editing software I have spent years learning, and will be editing this short film on. Some of its pros are:

Multicam angles are limitless
Creative Cloud Integration
Stellar Stabilisation
Supports importing of up to 8K resolution.
Can import raw file format from cameras, smartphones and DSLR's.

You may have noticed one of the above advantages for me is Creative Cloud integration. Creative cloud is Adobe's package that comes with all of its creative software such as Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects and much more. Benefits of creative cloud means that you can drag After effect compositions directly into Premiere pro for easy edits. It also unlocks the ability to save the projects to the Creative Cloud, cloud. This means you can access your projects from wherever.

In creative cloud there is one other main piece of software that I will likely be using in my post-production stage. This is Adobe After Effects. After effects is described as a 'digital visual effects, motion graphics and compositing application'. Essentially After Effects is used for visual effects and compositing (Adding elements to a video). After effects will help me in my short with title graphics, phone screen overlays and any tracking which needs to be complete.

Target Audience

As I have previously proposed for my short film, I am aiming to attract an audience of twelve to thirty (Young adults and teens) because they sit in the generation which has the most people using smartphones. This comes hand in hand with the most people addicted to smartphones.

In the past I have worked out that my audience fits in the 'active audience' category. An active audience is an audience that reacts differently to the message being presented to them throughout. This means they are the opposite of a passive audience who would largely just accept the information provided to them.

In order to help me get across my message to my audience in the most effective way possible, I will be taking the hypodermic needle theory into consideration. I will use the site below to help me describe the theory.

MyTutor (2013). How did the Hypodermic Needle Theory impact Audience Theory? | MyTutor. [online] Mytutor.co.uk. Available at: https://www.mytutor.co.uk/answers/25948/A-Level/Media-Studies/How-did-the-Hypodermic-Needle-Theory-impact-Audience-Theory/ [Accessed 19 Mar. 2021].

This post clearly talks about how the idea of the hypodermic needle theory originated from use in propaganda in the past. The article describes the theory as 'a syringe that inserted ideologies into the mind's of its audience. This article also does talk about how the theory was intended to work with passive audiences and now it has been discovered that active audiences are more thriving that it does not generally work. However, I do not believe that will be the case in terms of my short film - I think that due to the nature of the relatability of the topic, even if people in the active audience take the final message differently, slowly injecting the main idea into them throughout the short will do the job.

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Reflecting so Far

So far in this project I have completed the research for my short film. It has allowed me to develop my knowledge of short film and learn new skills. In order for me to complete the research I compiled all my findings onto this blog page. This gives me easy access to constantly refer back and use what I learnt in the production of my film. During this stage I worked with just myself to ensure the research was done to the level I wanted. I believe I did what I set out to achieve at the start of the research, and that was to help develop my short film making skills to help me make the best short possible.

At the start of the research, I felt a little daunted as I did not really know exactly what to do. However, I thought carefully and referred to the mark scheme which allowed me to develop a direction of travel for my research. During the research my feelings at points were calm and I felt happy, and then at other times when I realised there was something major I needed to add I would suddenly feel worried and like my research was bad due to the fact I thought I would be tight for time. Once I finished the research however, I feel quite happy and quite proud of it. When I allowed others to look at it, they said it was really insightful research.

The research is good because it develops my skills, I found myself taking away a lot of ideas and developments which I did. I think the bad bits of this research is that there were times I found it so incredibly boring and it was really hard to motivate myself to continue the research.

I think that this research went well for a few reasons. One of these reasons is the fact I used a large range of sources including academic articles and journals. There were parts of the research that probably didn't go so well compared to others, and I believe this happened when I couldn't find enough sources on the subject but still wanted to include it. I searched through a lot of sources which gave me clarity on a lot of the topics.

If I were to do this research again I would consider adding another influence to research - possibly a director of several short films. This would allow me to take someone else's experience and use it in my own work in a way that relates more topically. In order to develop my skills in research I think that one of the most sensible paths would be to read other peoples research for their own short films or feature films. In order to make sure I act differently next time I will constantly reflect on my research after every section to make sure if is different from this, time and the best it can be.

FMP

Final Major Project