P1:
Research into Genre
Camera:
- Tilt shots or disorienting angles to create discomfort in the viewer
- Close and extreme close ups of the protagonist
- High or low angle shots to portray one characters dominance over another.
- Starts off with a slow tempo
- Eerie music to create suspense and tension
- Heightened diegetic sound
- Silence
- Fast cut
- Long scenes to build up tension and suspense
- Aim is to create suspense and thrill for the audience
- Violence can often be features as the main theme
- Immoral protagonist
- Movies begin with an equilibrium which is then disrupted and later brought back by the protagonist
- Blood
- Low-key lighting
- Dark colour pallets
- Weapons
- Antagonist wears dark clothing
- Set in isolated places
- Silence of the Lambs
- Sixth Sense
- Psycho
I also looked at two different short thriller films in order to identify genres and conventions to help me make my own video as effective as possible. I have attached the two videos below.
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I have found that this short thriller film follows genre conventions quite strongly. An example of this is the heightened diegetic sound that we hear. This is done in this video by the sound of a machine from 02:55 onwards in the video. This helps make the audience immerse themselves in the thriller as they are hearing what the characters are feeling and this has the effect of putting an audience on edge when watching it.
Another genre convention that this video follows is the use of long scenes in editing to build up the tension. This video does this effectively by not cutting away from the action the whole time. This forces the audience to watch it all the way through and it creates a suspense as the audience doesn't know if anything scarier will happen. I could use this in my own video as I think it's especially effective for thrill seeking audiences and those are my target audience. Lastly I think that the video follows the mise-en-scene convention of the thriller genre by being set in an isolated place. In the case of this video the isolated place is a warehouse that was made into an operating room. Having the location isolated is effective in a thriller because it creates the narrative that no one is there to help the protagonist which makes the antagonist seem more powerful and scary to the audience. |
After looking at this short thriller I saw that it also heavily follows many genre conventions of thrillers without subverting many expectations. A good example of this is the mise-en-scene use of blood near the end of the video. This follows the mise-en-scene convention of using blood in thrillers. I think it is an effective element of the video as blood naturally signals to the audience that there is danger. This in turn puts the audience on edge as they are shown more and more detail. Using blood is especially effective for younger audiences like teenagers who are more thrilled by the sight of blood than maybe adults.
We also see the narrative following a general convention of thrillers in that the narrative's main theme is violence. We see this in the short thriller here as it is completely about the protagonist hearing an abusive boyfriend being violent to his partner. In order to resolve the issue our protagonist gets into a violent fight with the abusive boyfriend. Violence is an effective narrative theme for thrillers because it is easy to make violence thrilling and gory which are both things that thrill seeking audiences and the target audience for thriller films would like to watch. Lastly I think that the short thriller film here also effectively uses a dark colour pallet which plays to the general thriller film convention. This video does this by having scenes in a very dark corridor. I believe that this plays to the thriller convention by making the scene seem menacing and dangerous because the audience often associates the lack of light or low lighting as danger because they can't see everything clearly and neither can the character. This is an effective technique as it allows the film maker to hide certain aspects of the narrative from the audience in order to have them later be shown to thrill the audience. |
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Below I have attached a video of me presenting my pitch and getting feedback on it.
Brief
A short film
This will be a short fictional film that is set in local area featuring one or more areas
of interest in your area as a primary location. The genre of the film is thriller and the
narrative is centred around a group of friends and intended to have a BBFC rating of
15.
This will be a short fictional film that is set in local area featuring one or more areas
of interest in your area as a primary location. The genre of the film is thriller and the
narrative is centred around a group of friends and intended to have a BBFC rating of
15.
Proposal
Working title and summary
The working title of my short film is "Radio Requiem" and the film is based around a group of friends are hosting a radio show in which they read a radio drama in a sound studio. In the short film there will also be a character who listens to the radio podcast. The group of friends who are hosting the radio show are reading a thriller radio drama which is interrupted when the door to the studio that they're in get locked. From there the drama unfolds as the group of friends panic and try their best to escape the studio that they're stuck in. All the while just outside the door there is the antagonist who is responsible for everything that goes wrong. The radio hosts do not possess their phones on them and try to reach out to their limited audience through the podcast however the listener who is introduced to the audience earlier does not recognise that the radio drama has been interrupted and assumes that their pleas for help are part of the radio drama which he tuned into. Near the end the radio podcast cuts out all together and the listener is still oblivious to what he just heard until he too hears his door lock and the short film ends.
Target Audience
As stated by my brief, the BBFC rating for my short film must be a 15. This means my target audience will be anyone aged 15 and over. However due to my plot and the conventions I have thought about I believe my target audience to be 15-21 year olds who seek thrills. I place my target audience at this age because it is mainly teens and young adults who seek thrilling experiences such as horrors or thrillers. I am also given quite a lot of leeway when it comes to the content that I can include as the BBFC rating of 15 allows for distressing scenes as well as moderate use of bad language.
Setting and locations
My short film will be filmed inside the film studio and the sound studio which is located at my school. This is the most effective and convenient place to film my short thriller as it is actually based in a sound studio and therefor my location and setting will be most convincing. The other scenes of the listener will be set in a bedroom however the film studio can be manipulated to look like a bedroom as there are already sofas and blankets there as well as a wide array of props which I can use to the make the setting convincing. These locations will also be very convenient because I can film in there at almost any time whilst I am in school and it will be easy for me to get permission to do so. My actors will also be from the school itself as this is a student production so having the actors and location in one place will be very convenient and will allow me to make the most of my filming time.
Equipment
In order to film my short thriller I will need a camera. I will be using my own camera for this which is the Canon 750D. This is the best choice for me as it is of a higher quality than what I can get from school and I have no budget to hire a better camera as this is a student production. It is also convenient because I own it so I can use it whenever I want and for how long I want without restrictions. Alongside the camera I will need an SD card to record my work to. I will also use various light set ups for different shots to achieve an effect visual look for my short thriller. In order to do so I will use an LED panel light which I can get from the school media department free of charge. This will be effective because it is dimmable and you can change the warmth on the light too so it allows me to change the lighting to suit my scene the best. I will also use a tripod for any still shots as it is the best way to avoid any shaky camera shots which aren't intended. For more dynamic scenes where I want a hand held option for filming I will be brining my own camera rig which will allow me to move with the camera whilst maintaining to a fairly stable shot. As this is my own piece of kit I can use it as long as I want and whenever I want which is effective when filming on a tight schedule.
Job roles
As this is a student production I will be fulfilling most of the roles due to a tight budget and limited resources. I will be therefore fulfilling the role of the Director, producer and camera man. I will also be in charge of sound and lighting. I will however need 4 actors in order to make my short thriller. I will be using other students on my course to do the acting as it is most convenient and I feel fairly certain that some of them are capable in acting. However if this was not a student production and if I had a budget I would hire various people to help me make this short thriller.
Budget
There will no budget for my short film as this is a student production made as part of my course. I will be able to make this short thriller without a budget as the actors I will be using will be free as they are fellow students and friends of mine. The equipment I will be using will also be free because the equipment is mostly mine and the only equipment that I'm borrowing is provided to me from my school which is not charging me for it. I also don't have to pay for the location of my movie as it is also from my school which is not charging me to use it. I would have to pay for all these things if I was working in the film industry as well as for other things such as food for the crew as well as petty cash for the cast. In order to get a budget I could pitch the idea to a publisher who could fund the project. Alternatively I could use crowd-funding in order to fund the short film.
Legal and Ethical Issues
The main legal issue I need to focus on when creating my short film is the intellectual property act which states that I cannot use any copyrighted work in my short thriller without the permission of the owner of that copyrighted work. This might be an issue for me I was planning to source music and sound effects for my short thriller film from the internet. However a lot of music and sound effects are often copyrighted and therefor protected by the intellectual property act which would stop me from using them. In order to prevent this I will using the service of www.pond5.com who offer a free library of music which is not copyrighted and therefor I can use it in my piece. Another legal issue I may face could relate to the risk assessment. I need to complete a risk assessment which outlines any possible risks and their severity because in the case that an accident would happen on set I would not be covered by any insurance if I don't carry out a risk assessment, this could lead to me being persecuted.
As for ethical issues the main one I face is the issue of representation. This means that I need to carefully consider about how I represent minority groups or certain aspects of people such as gender, ethnicity or sexuality. I will overcome this issue by being careful about how I represent any actors that are in my short film. I will do this by making sure that I don't use any stereotypes or any offensive language or behaviour which may target any specific group of people, especially those who are prone to being misrepresented.
The working title of my short film is "Radio Requiem" and the film is based around a group of friends are hosting a radio show in which they read a radio drama in a sound studio. In the short film there will also be a character who listens to the radio podcast. The group of friends who are hosting the radio show are reading a thriller radio drama which is interrupted when the door to the studio that they're in get locked. From there the drama unfolds as the group of friends panic and try their best to escape the studio that they're stuck in. All the while just outside the door there is the antagonist who is responsible for everything that goes wrong. The radio hosts do not possess their phones on them and try to reach out to their limited audience through the podcast however the listener who is introduced to the audience earlier does not recognise that the radio drama has been interrupted and assumes that their pleas for help are part of the radio drama which he tuned into. Near the end the radio podcast cuts out all together and the listener is still oblivious to what he just heard until he too hears his door lock and the short film ends.
Target Audience
As stated by my brief, the BBFC rating for my short film must be a 15. This means my target audience will be anyone aged 15 and over. However due to my plot and the conventions I have thought about I believe my target audience to be 15-21 year olds who seek thrills. I place my target audience at this age because it is mainly teens and young adults who seek thrilling experiences such as horrors or thrillers. I am also given quite a lot of leeway when it comes to the content that I can include as the BBFC rating of 15 allows for distressing scenes as well as moderate use of bad language.
Setting and locations
My short film will be filmed inside the film studio and the sound studio which is located at my school. This is the most effective and convenient place to film my short thriller as it is actually based in a sound studio and therefor my location and setting will be most convincing. The other scenes of the listener will be set in a bedroom however the film studio can be manipulated to look like a bedroom as there are already sofas and blankets there as well as a wide array of props which I can use to the make the setting convincing. These locations will also be very convenient because I can film in there at almost any time whilst I am in school and it will be easy for me to get permission to do so. My actors will also be from the school itself as this is a student production so having the actors and location in one place will be very convenient and will allow me to make the most of my filming time.
Equipment
In order to film my short thriller I will need a camera. I will be using my own camera for this which is the Canon 750D. This is the best choice for me as it is of a higher quality than what I can get from school and I have no budget to hire a better camera as this is a student production. It is also convenient because I own it so I can use it whenever I want and for how long I want without restrictions. Alongside the camera I will need an SD card to record my work to. I will also use various light set ups for different shots to achieve an effect visual look for my short thriller. In order to do so I will use an LED panel light which I can get from the school media department free of charge. This will be effective because it is dimmable and you can change the warmth on the light too so it allows me to change the lighting to suit my scene the best. I will also use a tripod for any still shots as it is the best way to avoid any shaky camera shots which aren't intended. For more dynamic scenes where I want a hand held option for filming I will be brining my own camera rig which will allow me to move with the camera whilst maintaining to a fairly stable shot. As this is my own piece of kit I can use it as long as I want and whenever I want which is effective when filming on a tight schedule.
Job roles
As this is a student production I will be fulfilling most of the roles due to a tight budget and limited resources. I will be therefore fulfilling the role of the Director, producer and camera man. I will also be in charge of sound and lighting. I will however need 4 actors in order to make my short thriller. I will be using other students on my course to do the acting as it is most convenient and I feel fairly certain that some of them are capable in acting. However if this was not a student production and if I had a budget I would hire various people to help me make this short thriller.
Budget
There will no budget for my short film as this is a student production made as part of my course. I will be able to make this short thriller without a budget as the actors I will be using will be free as they are fellow students and friends of mine. The equipment I will be using will also be free because the equipment is mostly mine and the only equipment that I'm borrowing is provided to me from my school which is not charging me for it. I also don't have to pay for the location of my movie as it is also from my school which is not charging me to use it. I would have to pay for all these things if I was working in the film industry as well as for other things such as food for the crew as well as petty cash for the cast. In order to get a budget I could pitch the idea to a publisher who could fund the project. Alternatively I could use crowd-funding in order to fund the short film.
Legal and Ethical Issues
The main legal issue I need to focus on when creating my short film is the intellectual property act which states that I cannot use any copyrighted work in my short thriller without the permission of the owner of that copyrighted work. This might be an issue for me I was planning to source music and sound effects for my short thriller film from the internet. However a lot of music and sound effects are often copyrighted and therefor protected by the intellectual property act which would stop me from using them. In order to prevent this I will using the service of www.pond5.com who offer a free library of music which is not copyrighted and therefor I can use it in my piece. Another legal issue I may face could relate to the risk assessment. I need to complete a risk assessment which outlines any possible risks and their severity because in the case that an accident would happen on set I would not be covered by any insurance if I don't carry out a risk assessment, this could lead to me being persecuted.
As for ethical issues the main one I face is the issue of representation. This means that I need to carefully consider about how I represent minority groups or certain aspects of people such as gender, ethnicity or sexuality. I will overcome this issue by being careful about how I represent any actors that are in my short film. I will do this by making sure that I don't use any stereotypes or any offensive language or behaviour which may target any specific group of people, especially those who are prone to being misrepresented.
Risk assessment
Call sheet
Script
Below is my storyboard
Location Recce
Below I have attached images from when I conducted the location recce.
Location Recce Considerations
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