Pitch Feedback

We pitched our idea using Google Slides with the 'Presenter View', which allowed our peers to ask questions live during our pitch. After our pitch had finished it enabled us to see and answer all the questions that were uploaded whilst we was pitching our film. There were a range of questions asked throughout our pitch, which we managed to answer successfully to our audience. Here are some of the questions that were asked and how we responded to them in advance.

This question is quite significant to our short film as there is a social message to our film, which is that 'some decisions aren't your choice to make'. This relates to our film as Edward (the main character) makes decisions throughout our film, which have an affect on other people around him. Some of his daily decisions have consequences to them and towards the end of the film he will come to a realisation of this. Social messages are commonly seen within short films, which is why we decided to incorporate this message into ours.

When this question was asked we had to think crucially about whether we want Edward to have a superpower or if he actually has a mental illness. In the end we came to a decision that he should have some type of mental illness or condition to make the narrative more interesting and appealing towards our target audience. The fact he has a mental illness is not found out until the very end of the film, which allows suspense to be built throughout.

The climax of our short film is that we find out that the reason he was on the phone was to book a brain scan at the hospital, since he’s suddenly started having these pains in his brain, and thinks he can control his decisions. As he enters the doctor’s office, a solemn, dark, emotional soundtrack plays, as the voiceover begins to describe that he was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. It suddenly becomes apparent that his visions into the future were an illusion of his brain, as it began to falter from the cancer. He realises that the reason he predicted wrong the direction of the car, was because of the tumour taking over his brain, and the pain was a signal of this. Of course, some things in life can be controlled, yet sometimes, it’s not your decision to make that can affect your life forever. Treat people as if the shoe was on the other foot, you may not always be able to help. Live for today, be good.

Film Pitch - Decisions

I Miss You - Textual Analysis

The first thing we hear within the short film is diegetic sound as the characters are seen at a party. There is a mid shot of the main character who could be represented as a stereotypical typical teenager as he is seen smoking a cigarette and holding a bottle of alcohol in his hand. The camera then focuses on another main character, which is a young girl that could suggest a type of love interest between the two as it cuts back the boy again. There is the use of a dolly as the camera follows the young boy towards the girl in the scene. The smile on the boy’s face connotes he is happy to see her and could suggest certain feelings he may have for her. Then a voiceover begins over the shots, which tells the audience this isn’t actually he is saying this is only what he’s thinking.

It then cuts to a mid shot of the two characters in a cinema, which tells the audience that these two people must be a little more than just friends. Also, the voiceover of one of the characters says, “I miss you” and looks towards the girl, which gives away they were previously in a relationship. In the next scene there is a long shot of the couple sitting by a lake, which is quite a romantic setting so it helps establish that they are together. Also, the camera zooms in when the couple starts kissing as it highlights the emotions felt between the two characters. There are a frequent amount of jump cuts used that could suggest that time is passing by and how their relationship has progressed over time.

The voiceover that is heard in the background seems to juxtapose the shots of the couple seen throughout due to the fact the shots of them are very positive, whereas what the boy is saying comes across very negatively. There seems to be a variety of mid and long shots of the couple spending time with one another and then the shots begin to fade into darkness, which creates a negative atmosphere. The non-diegetic music changes into a much lower pitched and slower tone, which matches with the dark lighting to show that something has gone wrong. There is a mid shot of the couple arguing and then a long shot of the girl leaving, which continues to portray the darkened mood and atmosphere. Then there is jump cuts that go back to the previous shots of when the two characters were at a much more positive stage in life.

Towards the ending of the film there are long shots of the boy on his own, which suggests he is feeling lonely and a sense of sadness as the boy’s voice also changes tone throughout the voiceover. The use of editing as the shot fades out into a shot of the boy typing on his computer suggests it has been a long while since the two separated. The close up of the message being typed reveals that even though it has been a while his feelings have still remained the same. As the camera pans out of the boy on the computer we can see there is a lot of the colour white seen within the room, which has connotations of emptiness. This could also symbolize his life without the girl and how she is a part of him that will always be missing. The titles of the film were left until the very end of the film and photos and videos of the couple were seen behind the titles to make the audience sympathise with the character throughout until the end.

Plastic - Textual Analysis

The short film begins by following a small insect until it lands on the wardrobe door, which is also when the title “PLASTIC” is introduced on screen. The font of the title is red and in capital letters, which has negative connotations of danger. Also the colour red is quite alarming, which helps to catch the eye of the audience. There is a use of a handheld camera throughout the beginning, which suggests a sense of realism throughout the film. The use of a close up of the young women tells the audience that she is one of the main characters within the film. There are non-diegetic sounds heard in the background, which appears to be a piece of jazz music. This music slowly fades out and the use of diegetic sounds within the shot can be heard, such as the rip of her trousers and her grunting towards the situation.

The long shot of the woman running towards her phone suggests that it is an important phone call for her that she doesn’t want to miss. Within the mise-en-scene of the shot there is a canvas quoting “Be aware or you dreams, they might just come true” which is a way of foreshadowing the events to come. Then there is a mid shot of the women after picking up the phone, which reveals her happiness and a potential love interest within the film. The camera focuses to zoom in onto a close up of the clock, which suggests the woman has a limited amount of time until she meets her potential love interest. The insect is then see again but this time it decides to land on a magazine, which is called ‘Real Beauty’ and shows a blonde woman covered in make up on the front. This close up of the magazine symbolizes how society portrays beauty and what real idea of beauty is seen as.

This idea of beauty continues, as the next shot is a close up of the woman applying cream to her face and then trying to cover up her imperfection, which appears to be a spot on her nose. The camera then shows a side profile of the woman’s reaction, which is seen to be very emotional. There is a lot of CGI used throughout this short film, such as the insect and especially with the ‘plastic’ effect seen in this shot. There is a frequent use of jump cuts within the film to show the different angles of the woman’s face. For example, as she adjusts her nose there is a side profile shot, an over the shoulder shot and a close up of her face used to show the full extent. After this shot, the camera zooms into the magazine again, which tells the audience it is a key piece of iconography in the film. The jazz music in the background begins to be heard again as it matches in time with the various shots of the woman changing the way she looks. There is a long shot of a man walking up to her front door, who is dressed in smart clothing, which could be the one she was talking to on the phone previously. There are mid shots of the man seen outside the young woman’s door, which suggests he has been waiting there for a long period of time.

Next of all, there is a long shot of the woman standing in her living room. This shot shows how much the woman has changed herself for this date but she still does not look happy about it. The camera then follows the moth again to when it lands on the canvas with the quote on it. This quote could be see as the hidden moral throughout the short film as even though the woman wanted to change herself she still wasn’t happy with the outcome. The music in the background creates a negative atmosphere and could highlight how the woman is now feeling. A close up of an old photograph of the woman is shown and then the moth is seen to have died, which could be connected somehow.

As the man is seen about to leave a mid shot of him looking quite surprised to see the woman is used. This is done on purpose as the audience is mislead into thinking the woman couldn’t change herself back. Towards the end of the film the couple are seen walking down the street when the man says “You seem taller than I remember you” which tells the audience that the woman did not go back to her complete original self as she made herself taller. The film ends with a panning shot of the city, which appears to be special effects and more jazz music is played along with the credits.

2AM: The Smiling Man - Textual Analysis

The location of the film is seen to be a very open space in a street in the middle of the night, which is shown as a chilling and creepy place to be. The lighting is dark due to the time of day, which can also add to the negative representation of the night. The first character we are introduced to is the young, which shows him walking outside on his own. This can suggest that the boy is vulnerable to his surroundings and he can be seen as quite isolated from everything. The young boy is seen to be wearing casual clothes such as jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie, which fits the stereotypical look of teenage boys.

The use of non-diegetic sounds within the background of the first few shots are sounds taken from an electric guitar, which seems to fluctuate from loud to quiet throughout. This also helps build a climax in the film as these sounds create a very negative atmosphere and help to foreshadow the events later on in the film. The use of a hand-held camera throughout the film helps to make the film appear as more realistic towards the audience and shows the perspective from the characters eyes throughout. There is a frequent use of jump cuts from the different shots, which allows the audience to follow the narrative easily until the very end. The titles of the film are clearly shown in the first 30 seconds of the film, so it has a clear structure and does not allow the audience to become bored as the film begins. The typography of the titles is very simplistic, as they have used a thin, white font, which contrast against the dark background and is easy to read throughout.

When the titles are finished the audience is introduced to another character known as ‘The Smiling Man’. The use of a long shot shows the man wearing a suit and what appears to be him dancing towards the young boy. The camera continues to follow the boy as he assumes the man must just be intoxicated with alcohol. Then it cuts quickly onto a shot of ‘the smiling man’ who is staring at young boy. The use of a loud ambient sound creates a sense of shock and fear towards the audience, as it is not expected. There is a close up of the young boy’s reaction towards the man, which suggests he is scared and is not amused by the smiling man’s actions.

The smiling man could be seen as going against stereotypes and the representation of young people in society as it is usually the young people who are the ones that are seen as a threat if they appear to be drunk. However, within this short film it implies the elder man as being the one who is being presented in a negative light throughout. In the middle of the film it reaches a climax, where there is a mid shot of the young boy turning around to face the smiling man in the street. As the smiling man begins to get up the music becomes louder and faster in the scene. The music could suggest how the young boy is feeling as he becomes more panicked and weary of the man. As the man moves closer the non-diegetic sounds begin to change and this creates an even tenser atmosphere.

The sounds are then cut and dialogue is introduced with the boy who asks, “What the hell do you want?” but the man refuses to answer and continues to dance himself away. A close up shot of the young boy shows him taking a deep breath, which suggests he is relieved that the smiling man will no longer bother him anymore. Surprisingly, that is not the case as there is a long shot of the man running towards him soon after. The non-diegetic sounds are also used again and the sound of an alarm is introduced. This creates panic and chaos towards the audience, as they don’t know what could happen next. The smiling man is now portrayed as someone who could be psychotic or have mental health issues, as he will not leave the young man alone. The sound effect of a heart beating is used throughout this scene as it could symbolize how the young man is nervous and does not know what to do with himself. The short film then ends with a high angle close up shot of the smiling man and the narrative ends on a cliffhanger. This leaves the audience puzzled and wanting to come back for more.

Ideas Conceptboard

Codes and Conventions

Introduction

Welcome to my A2 Media blog!

This year as part of my coursework, my main brief will be to create a short 5 minute film based on a genre of our own choice. Also we had to choose between two of the three different briefs given to us which were:

1. Film Poster

2. Magazine Review

3.Radio Advert

Out of these three options I have chosen to do a Film Poster and the Magazine Review. I have chosen these options as I feel confident using photoshop to desgin and create a film poster. Also, I decided to pick the magazine review as it could be incorporated into my film poster. There are particular conventions that are needed to appeal towards our target audience. To use these conventions we will need to prepare a lot in advance and blog about our media lessons, planning, research and evaluate along the way.