My Distribution Company - Sundance Institute

After a lot of thinking we decided to use the Sundance Institute as our distribution company. This is due to the fact that they have had a lot of experience working with new, young filmmakers in the short film industry. We have also chosen them as our distribution company as Sundance work very closely with other very successful companies such as iTunes, Netflix and Youtube, which are major streaming sites where short films can be found. The Sundance Institute frequently use a lot of social media such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, which have a huge, worldwide audience to them. This means if they distribute our short film we could gain a much wider target audience and contribute the success of our short film in the end.

Titles and Credits - Trial

Opening Titles 

End Credits

I made these titles and credits by using a software programme called 'Wondershare Filmora'. The programme allows you to have access to a free online trial and experiment with all of the features. Within the trial I managed to successfully edit and complete these title and credit sequence for my short film. However, as it was only a free trial I could not download them without the company logo appearing throughout. This is due to the fact as we are only a small independent film company we do not have a large budget and cannot afford the full access to the software, which means we are unable to use it for the titles and credits in our short film. Due to the small budget we have for our short film, we have had to continue using softwares such as WeVideo and Adobe Premiere Pro to create the title and credit sequence within our film.

Sound Research - Voiceover

After researching into the different types of sounds that are used within short films, I was really inspired by the use of a voiceover in the film 'Thomas'. The use of a voiceover throughout is very effective as it tells the story directly towards the audience, rather than having a range of different sounds, which can become quite confusing and they can distract the audience from the narrative. Within the short film 'Thomas' the tone of the voiceover appears to the audience as very calming and friendly, which can attract the audience's attention throughout. It allows them to create a personal relationship with the voice heard within the clips, which is due to the fact that the audience wants a voice that sounds authentic and genuine to them. A voiceover can be very powerful as it can create certain emotions towards a character within the film. For example, in 'Thomas' the tone of the voiceover creates a feeling of sadness and sympathy for the boy along with the soundtrack heard in the background of the piece. We have chosen to create a similar atmosphere within our own short film as it fits well with the genre of the film, which is a drama. Our voiceover artist will be recorded by the original character of Edward as we want it to appear as realistic as possible throughout.

Example of a Promotional Package

This is an example of a promotional package for the award winning short film 'ReMoved'. The film is an emotional story that follows a young girl who is taken from her home and placed into foster care as a result of domestic violence. The film was created to bring awareness, encourage, and be useful in foster parent training, and raising up foster parents. The short film gained such a large audience and success that eventually the producers released a sequel to it. The second film 'ReMoved Part 2' continues to focus on the young girl in foster care, whilst exploring the perspectives on the adults involved within the case. The second film was funded through a very successful campaign, which has led the short film to go viral and gain a huge audience across the world. This is the poster from the first film, which includes the an image of the main character that reveals who the film is going to be focused on throughout. The tagline "I am unseen unloved unheard unwanted" also highlights some of the themes that are shown in the film and it can reflect the genre of the film, which is a drama. The poster also includes the awards that it has won and the credits are located at the bottom of the image.
Another part of the promotional package is a film review, which is similar to what I will creating in my own promotion.The film review overall is very positive towards the short film and praises it throughout the review by using certain language, which can persuade the audience to view it. The review mentions the names of the people involved within the film including directors, producers and actors. This can allow the reader to recognise and create a personal relationship with the film. The film review goes on to talk about all of the festivals and awards that the film was involved in, which portrays the film as very successful. The review includes visuals from the film itself and there is even a link to a full version of the film towards the end. I have decided to analyse this example of a promotional package as it has had a lot of success through the making of it up until the film was released. The film poster and review include a lot of elements that I am hoping to include in my own promotion, which will hopefully lead to a successful outcome for my short film.

Click the link below to watch ReMoved.
https://youtu.be/lOeQUwdAjE0

Structure of a Film Review

1. INTRODUCTION

This should give a small overview of the characters and the synopsis of the film. Within the introduction it can also sum up the reviewer's overall opinion about the film. This allows the readers to form their own judgement on the film without reading the entire review.

2. MAIN BODY

This is usually made up of two paragraphs, with the first paragraph describing the plot and the action, whilst informing the reader which actors play each role. Within the main body it can also include analysis of the film, in terms of the director, cinematography, sounds and special effects. The reviewer can balance the positive and negative aspects throughout the film here.

3.CONCLUSION

Within the conclusion of the film review it can tell the reader when the film will be released and sometimes even where it can be found. Towards the end of a film review, this is also where the reader can find the reviewer's overall opinion of the film and whether they think it is worth watching or not.

A Day at The Guardian

Last week our teacher organised a trip to visit The Guardian's office in London,which gave us the oppurtnuity to practice writing a feature article for their newspaper. Our feature article was based on our own opnions of a particular topic,which meant we had to be honest and truthful throughout. This visit to The Guardian gave me a better understanding of the style and tone of our film review that we will be creating. It also allowed me an insight into the design and layout of the film review as the article was similar to the overall layout of a film review, including headings, straplines and graphics. As a feature artcile is mainly based on personal opinions this is similar to what you would find in a film review as the reviewer gives their own verdict on the film. Lastly, as the feature article was based in The Guardian the language included had to be quite formal and intellectual due to its target audience. Overall, this trip has really helped me by giving me experience into some of the important elements that I could use within my own film review.

Film Review Layout - Empire Magazine

This is a film review taken from the Empire magazine, which I have annotated in order to see what types of things I should include and think about when creating my own film review. As I have chosen the Empire magazine to include my film review within I am going to follow a similar structure to the example above. I am going to only create a single page for my film review as it is going to be written about a short film, which don't usually have a double page spread in magazines. I am going to include many of these elements within my own film review to make it as realistic as possible and successfully achieve my target audience.

Film Review Analysis

Empire Magazine

Sight and Sound Magazine

Titles and Credits in Short Films

Control - Film Poster Analysis

Brenda - Film Poster Analysis

Case Study - London Short Film Festival

London Short Film Festival

The London Short Film Festival has been known as the premiere UK showcase for cutting-edge UK independent films and now they accept international submissions from around the world. London Short Film Festival have showcased the very best of the country’s raw talent for 12 years now. The London Short Film Festival is a key part of the UK’s young creative talent and is a significant date within the UK film calender. Every year the festival’s huge audience come to watch screenings and take part in the events, and this network has grown steadily over the years to create an extensive network of short filmmakers. They offer 38 new programmes dedicated to documentary and international screenings for everyone who loves the short film culture. They have currently just decided to pick all of the best bits of London Short Film Festival 2016 to be screened in 19 cinemas across the UK, which allows new and emerging filmmakers to showcase their work. The audiences of the festival are also given an insight into the people behind the cameras as they share their knowledge and exeprtise with the audience.


2015 Facts and Figures:

• Over 10,000 tickets sold
• 1500 UK and international submissions
• 94% of events sold to capacity
• Over 450 films screened

I think that distributing my short film by applying for a film festival is a good way to widen my audience and get access to future contacts if I were to make another short film again. By distributing my short film through a festival it would allow me to successfully target my audience as a lot of young people between the age of 18-30 seem to attend these festivals. It also will allow me to network with other filmmakers and could be a way to find future collaborators. Film festivals can open a door to traditional distribution oppurtunities within the film industry and there is even a chance to win awards for elements within the short film. I believe that film festivals are good ways to meet a variety of different people involved in short films and could help create a much larger audience than expected for my film.

Short Film vs Blockbuster Film Reviews

Lights Out Short Film Review

As we can see from this short film review, the title is very simple and clear stating what is going to read. Below the title it consists of the date the review was posted and the website's name, which tells the reader how recent the film was released and where the review came from. It also shows who the film was directed by and who is starring within the film as they could be names that the audience seem to recognise, which could draw their attention towards the film. Throughout the review there is a frequent use of colloquial and short sentences, which is conventional for short film reviews. This is due to the fact the audience appear to be quite a young, lower class audience compared to those targeted for much larger, high-budget films. Within this review of Lights Out, particular names are highlighted in a bold text, which stands up towards the reader and these names could be popular or well-known people within the short film industry. The review includes two images from the film, one being the titles and the other being a shot of one of the characters that is seen throughout the short film. Including images within a film review, gives the reader an idea of what genre the short film is and can even give an insight into the action and plot of the film, without giving away too much information.  In this example of Lights Out, there seems to be no negative aspects of the short film pointed out in the review. The writer of this review has decided to talk mostly about the strong points and successful moments of elements seen within the film, which could be different in contrast to blockbuster film reviews as they include both positive and negative aspects of a film. At the end of the review there is a link, which leads to more short film reviews on the website. This allows the audience to continue reading more short film reviews of a similar genre and this can cause a word-of-mouth situation where the audience communicates and shares the short film review to others, leading to a wider audience altogether.

Fantastic Beasts Film Review

Firstly, the title of the film review includes more than just the name of the film but it also uses a pun, which can appeal towards the audience by adding a comedic element to it. Underneath the title of the review the newspaper article incorporates a star rating, which isn't usually seen within short film reviews. This rating for the larger blockbuster movies can be seen as a percentage or out of five stars, five being a very successful film. Below the title of the review there is also a short sentence describing the overall narrative of the film and the main character that is starring in it. The review begins by including an image of the main character with a small caption showing who they are in the film. The style of language used throughout this review compared to the short film review is quite different as it uses a lot of jargon and much more formal lexis than the Lights Out review. This is due to the fact that newspapers such as The Guardian are targeted towards a much older and upper class audience than compared to the short film reviews. This film review includes various links to different articles and themes that are common within the film, which allows the reader to read further into certain elements that are included in the film itself. Towards the end of the review, the writer has decided to add in the trailer of the film, which allows the audience an insight into what happens and who stars within the film. However, in short film reviews writers cannot include trailers as they do not exist due to the short length of the actual film. This means the audience will have to watch the actual film through before making their own judgement on it. This blockbuster review finishes off by summarising the themes and a positive sentence describing the film overall. This summary can allow the audience to skip reading the whole review and get a brief overview of what to expect when eventually watching the film.

Codes and Conventions of Film Reviews

Funding Short Films

Institution Logos

I decided to take on the role of creating our institution logo for the short film and I managed to make one using a free online design website called 'GraphicSprings'. The website allows you to create your own logo by choosing from a range of images and fonts that they provide. Firstly, I decided that picking an image related to film/photography would be quite relevant for the logo as we are making a short film. There was a very wide variety of images to chose from but I found a few of my favourite ones and started to work from there. I also knew I wanted to include a very simplistic font for our institution logo as short films tend to have much smaller and simpler designs. As a group we came up with the name 'EOA Films' which stands for the names of our group members (Ellie, Owen and Anthony) and agreed to include this title in our logo. This is a few of my ideas that I produced throughout the process of using 'GraphicSprings' before choosing a final design.

This is the first concept I came up with, which includes a blue and yellow colour scheme with a hand-drawn style font. I really liked the image of the camera within the design as it is quite quirky and unusual from any logos I have ever seen before in the film industry. However, I was concerned with the colour scheme as it involves bright colours, which do not correlate with the themes in our film. For this reason we decided not to go with this design as it could give off the wrong message.

This is the second design I had created on GraphicSprings, which was different to how I imagined it would turn out. I really like the font within this design as it is quite dramatic, which is significant in our short film as it is categorised in the drama genre. However, I think the image in this design could have been better if it was smaller or a different style altogether. This design wasn't exactly what we was looking for so I decided to continue experimenting with more designs on the website.

I really liked this logo because it was very simple but effective and looked quite professional for a film company. My favourite part of this design was the colour scheme within the font and image, which consisted of light and dark purples. We was considering this to be our final institution logo as it caught our eyes really well, which would be appealing towards our target audience. The colour purple has symbolism of creativity and independence, which would represent our film company perfectly. However, we still felt like there was something missing within the logo so I carried on looking for a potential final design. 

I wasn't too sure about this design but the other members within my group really seemed to like this one so it had potential to be our final design. The only problem I had with this logo was the image on top of text because it looks quite unstructured. Apart from that I really liked the colour scheme and font within the whole design. This was my favourite font on the website as it looks the most professional and appropriate for our short film. As I wasn't keen on this design I thought it would be best to continue looking for a better design that everyone agreed on.

This design was a winner with everyone as the whole group voted for this to be the final design for our institution logo. This design incorporated all of the things we was looking for such as the purple colour scheme, a simple font and the perfect image. My favourite part of this logo is the image of the camera lens actually represents the letter 'O' in the name of our institution, which was an idea that I came up with and it worked successfully. The colours grey and purple contrast really well against one another and makes the logo stand out in a professional way. I still decided to go with one of the original fonts I experimented with as my group seemed to like this one the most. This institution logo is a very simple design with minimal features but we think it would be really successful in the film industry and targeting towards our target audience.

Short Film Institutions

Camera Shots and Angles in Drama