Audience feedback

This is the video my group produced when responding to audiecne feedback

One Idea for coursework piece + RESEARCH FOR FILM

Prior to producing our short film, I wanted to do some investigation into how my narrative will flow and what general theme I can use. I decided to go for one which is a simple idea in theory. However as my film will be at a maximum length of 5 minutes, a simple narrative will be the most effective as the audience will have a chance to grasp the concept of the film. My idea was to feature a day in the life of one person, a day in which everything goes right and they have felt the happiest they have in their entire life. However my film is to end in tragedy with this person dying. The audience should hopefully be left with mixed feelings of both sorrow yet an undeniable feeling of joy due to the brilliance of the person's day. My inspiration for the film stemmed from a video from Just Jack titled "The Day I Died".

The Day I Died-Just Jack (Music Video)Just Jack

I intend to replicate the theme of the video but change the narrative completely to make this film completely original. I created a Prezi to help develop my thoughts and help make some ground in the preparation of the film -

Bittersweet Demise on Prezi

For example, this scene in Kick Ass epitomizes the comedic element that could be instored via the use of a voice over and non diegetic sound RESEARCH One example of a film with a love triangle in it- Another example

Blog Task 7

Propp's theory on narrative characters: The Hero – a character that seeks something The Villain – who opposes or actively blocks the hero’s quest The Donor – who provides an object with magical properties The Dispatcher – who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message The False Hero – who disrupts the hero’s success by making false claims The Helper – who aids the hero The Princess – acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villain’s plots Her Father – who acts to reward the hero for his effort

Todorov's theory: 1. The fictional environment begins with a state of equilibrium (everything is as it should be) (normality) 2. It then suffers some disruption (disequilibrium)(problem) 3. New equilibrium is produced at the end of the narrative (resolution)

Time Structures-

Anachronic modular narratives involve the use of flashbacks and/or flashforwards, with no clear dominance between any of the narrative threads. These narratives also often repeat scenes directly or via a different perspective. Examples include: Pulp Fiction and Memento.

Forked narratives juxtapose alternative versions of a story, showing the possible outcomes that might result from small changes in a single event or group of events. The forking-path narrative introduces a number of plotlines that usually contradict one another. Examples include Groundhog Day and Run Lola Run.

Episodic narratives are organised as an abstract series or narrative anthology. Abstract series type of modular narrative is characterized by the operation of a non- narrative formal system which appears to dictate (or at least overlay) the organization of narrative elements such as a sequence of numbers or the alphabet.

Anthology consists of a series of shorter tales which are apparently disconnected but share a random similarity, such as all ‘episodes’ being survivors of a shipwreck.

Split screen narratives are different from the other types of modular narrative discussed here, because their modularity is articulated along spatial rather than temporal lines. These films divide the screen into two or more frames, juxtaposing events within the same visual field, in a sustained fashion. Examples include Timecode.

Barthes Codes

Hermenuetic Code

This is part of any story which is unexplained and creates a mystery. We call this an enigma which gains the audience's attention by persuading them to think about what the mystery is and how it can be solved.

Proairetic Code

This code is the intense interest which the audience can't fight which is triggered by an action. For example, a man is being chased and gets cornered in an alley. We wonder, what will happen? Our minds scan over countless possibilites almost instantly; will he escape, will he die, will he fend off his pesuers?! It is this code which is the culprit for causing this thought process.

A perfect example of the proairetic code can be seen in this extract from The Bourne Supremacy. The car chase increases with tension and intensity until it reaches it's conclusion which is a crash in an underground tunnel. As Jason gets out an approaches the Mercedes we begin to wonder; Is the other driver alive? Will Jason have to kill him or be killed? Could the car explode? Will the police arrive? Will the rest of the enemy catch up with Jason? This code is crucial in creating extreme tension in these parts of films.



Semantic Code

Semantic Code: The Semantic Code refers to elements of the text that carry referential, extra-literal meaning. Elements of the Semantic Code are called Semes. In the starred reading, the Semantic Code is represented as SEM.

Seme: A seme is an element of the Semantic Code. The seme has a connotative function in the text. It has an extra layer of meaning in addition to its literal meaning. An example of this would be saying something and meaning something else.

Symbolic Code

Symbolic Code: The Symbolic code refers to organized systems of semes. When two connotative elements are placed in opposition or brought together by the narrator, they form an element of the Symbolic Code. In the starred reading, the Symbolic Code is represented as SYM.

This code is aptly explained by character Vance Munson in this extract from "Hitch". At 2:07 in the clip he explains him imagine by saying "Power suit, power tie, power steering". He is referring to his image that, he believes, symbolises all of these things.



Cultural Code

Cultural Code: The Cultural Code refers to anything in the text which refers to an external body of knowledge such as scientific, historical, and cultural knowledge. In the starred reading, the Cultural Code is represented as REF.

This code can be seen in this extract in which the BBC or analyzing comments made by Jeremy Clarkson. They explain how people are outraged at the crude remarks Clarkson made on BBC's: The One Show. During the show he exclaimed that those going on strike should be "shot in front of their families". This alone is a disgusting comment which would sicken anyone. However, it also runs deeper as those with an adequate knowledge of World War 2 will know that thousands of Jews were actually subjected to such brutality. Therefore as the scenario he is trying to make humorous has actually happened on a massive scale in recent history, the audience would be all the more angered than at the initial comment alone.

Narrative task

Narrative Exercise 1. Start with a mid shot of a calendar on a wall that has recently being painted with the year on it, and then go to a shot that has the same calendar but the date 100 years later and the paint being all flakey on the wall. 2. A long shot of a house with the trees being very fresh and making it look like spring, then move onto summer very bright the trees very green, then go into autumn with the wet weather and the orange leaves on the trees, then onto winter with the snow and no leaves on the trees. 3. Changing between seasons, putting a message at the bottom of the screen saying “1 year later” or going from someone’s 50th birthday to their 51st birthday. 4. Start at night with the man being sat in a chair with a digital clock in shot, go 12 hours into the future when it is light, then go another 12 hours into the future when it is dark again. 5. Show a man falling asleep then make the camera zoom into his head and the next scene have a blurry effect on it to make the audience know that it is a surreal situation and that its not real life. 6. Have music playing in the background and have a series of shots that make up a montage type scene where none of the characters in the shot are speaking so it makes it obvious it is a voice over.

blog task 6

Blog Task 5

Short Film Review Across The Hall The short Across the hall I feel was an interesting concept that could have been better executed. I found the actors wooden in there delivery of lines, which took away from an interesting narrative concept. The twist at the end of the film I also feel took away from it slightly I don’t feel it ties in well with the rest of the film and I feel that it could have been changed to suit the rest of the film more. I do find the opening scene very effective, it caught my attention and interested me even with some very long and stationary camera shots. Overall as a shot film goes I feel that it is effective in grabbing your attention and keeping it however as a feature length movie concept I feel it is lacking and could use some work. -Newspaper Review Fact paced with an attention grabbing story line let down by poor acting and unsurprising twist at the end. More thought could have been put into end narrative but overall an above average performance. -Rotten Tomatoes Review For the newspaper review I have chosen to go into a lot more in depth review as when people are reading newspapers they expect the reviews to be a lot more informative and interesting. They want to have an indepth look into the film and make sure they are making the right choice as an audience so you often find that more informed critics will review films for newspapers. Comparing this to the internet and look at the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes people want a quick short and snappy review that they can look at quickly so they can compare it with other critics. Online review are a lot more informative in my eyes since they bring together 7 or 8 top critics opinions on the film so you can base your decisions on a wide range of sources. I feel that online reviewing is the future and the majority of reviewing is going to be online as it allows you to bring together a wide range of critics reviews form all over the world which is much more informative than just have one critics review as that one review could be biased. I feel that I can trust the review found on the internet as I like to compare the reviews to see which things are similar and base my opinion on that. Going to see films in the cinema I often base around reviews online or in Empire magazine as I feel that going to the cinema I want to see a good film so I look to see what the general consensus on a film is and if it is good I will go and watch it. This is useful as I don’t want to pay £5 to go and see a bad film.

BLOG TASK 4

Blog task 3

Genre's change over time. They are adjusted to exceed audiences expectations. As the audience become more wise to films the begin to demand more, which is why Hybrids are created within film.

Blog Task 2

My 3 short films

I enjoy this short film because it is light hearted and has a great sense of fun. This is suitable for all ages and has a twist in the storyline. It is of an acceptable length.

Address Is Approximate from The Theory on Vimeo.

I really loved this short film is it is a simple concept with very little props required other than an every-day office. The fact such a story was created in a short space of time was very impressive

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

This final short film was my favourite. It is the shortest and simplest of them all yet it transport you around the world in 60 seconds!

blog task 1 - short films to be added from home

blog task 1 on Prezi

our own film

Prezi on short films

How to make a good short film on Prezi

OUR TASK

Before we even begin to contemplate our main production, we must first become accustomed to the software and basic requirements needed to produce a high quality short film. This is why we will be doing a practice task initially. The film we produce will be no more than 30 seconds long

SHORT FILMS RESEARCH

SHORT FILMS A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits". The term featurette originally applied to a film longer than a short subject, but shorter than a standard feature film. The short films that teenagers will most recognize will be the ones produced by pixar which feature before the main feature at a cinema or on dvd. They usually don't include any speech and are a great way to get the audience in the right mind-set for the the film I really enjoyed the following short film as it was deeply humourous. It is only 5 minutes long which is an effective time-length for a short film which ensures that the audience remains thoroughly entertained. The editing of the shots has a direct link with the pace that the action is happening. We gain a clear understanding of the characters as they are stereo-types for a magic act. There is a clear sense of narrative here as it follows a clear structure.(set-up, problem, resolution).

INTRODUCTION TO MYSELF

My name is Will Walters and I'm a loud-mouthed fun loving teen. I enjoy being around friends and generally acting like an idiot (largely when appropriate). I aspire to successful and wealthy yet have no plan of action nor any form of motivation. Basically your average lazy care-free 17 year old. I'm currently in a Sixth Form studying English Language, Media Studies and Business studies. I hope to get into a decent uni and grow as a person into something that resembles an adult form. One day when i've had my fun I plan to settle down and go into teaching. There is many benefits involved in education including the fact that a majority of my time will be spent on holidays kicking back whilst I enjoy my inevitable mid-life crisis. Now for some actual work-