Critical Evaluation Of The Name Of My Short Film

The Package: I thought of this title because of the whole basis around the plot is what is actually inside the package (a photograph of the other spies) this title also does not give much away about the storyline or the characters involved. I feel that this title is a little bit too simple to be proffessional as I feel that if I used it it would look like I had not spent much time on the name of the film as I had on drawing the storyboards or the script. I want to use a title that is not too long but not too short at the same time and I feel that two words is too short.

Life, death And Other Consequences: I really like this title as it is one of those titles that does and doesn't match my short film. The reason it does match is because the spies are all trying to kill each other to live and in the end the boss pays the consequences for betraying them. The reason it doesn't match is because the title does not give the film a western feel. I feel that its a good idea to use this title as it does not give away much detail about the plot to the audience and allows them to try and think what the film is about before they see it. I think letting the audience try and predict what a film is about by a title is important as it gives directors to either live up to expectations or to shock audiences.

An Average Day: This is my least favourite title however it is probrably the best fitting for the short film, I don't like this title because I feel it is to plain and not interesting. The reason this title fits so well is because the idea is that what the spies are doing (going out killing each other) is exactly what an average day is for them. I coud possibly work on this title as I feel that it does have potential if I expanded it a little bit more although this is quite hard to do, however I could use words that stand out such as unexpected to interest the audience more. I feel that the title is a very important part of a film as I think that if the audience aren't interested in a title they already make judgment on the film without watching a trailer.

Overall: My favourite Title would have to be: life,death and other consequences. I like this title as it is bold but yet slightly confusing at the same time. This is an excellent thing as it will slightly baffel the audience and make them want to watch the film to fully understand the meaning of the title. The only thing I would have possibly changed would possibly turning the title a little bit more informal and rather using the , and the and I was tempted to use Life Death Other Consequences. However this did not quite fit with thengenre as other action films have not done this.

Ancillary Text 2: 3 Film Magazine Reviews

For the second part of my Anscilary texts I had to create a film review for my short film. To be able to do this I fist of all had to look at a variety of reviews on current films out at the moment.

The First review: Total Film: Shutter Island




The Second Review: Total Film: Jenifers Body

Third Review: Empire Online: Thor

Overall I have found that there is a difference between magazine and online film reviews, mainly in page layout where mostly online they use a portrait layout and in magazines they use landsape, but also the reviews are slightly different in themselves where they didn't go into as ,uch detail in the magazine reviews as they did on the online review, this was actually supprising as the magazine readers had to pay to read the magazine and the article was free online on the Empire website. I want to change this in my magazine review as I want to give my readers the in-depth information about my short film and the idea and actors behind it. One thing I deffinately do want to use is a rating system and a variety of images as I feel that this is what these reviews lacked and can uninterest the audience if all they see is articles with words.

Ancillary Text 1: 3 Short Film Poster Analysis

Here are three short film posters that have caught my eye for the way they were designed I am going to analyse them for the codes and conventions that have been used in creating them and try to apply these to my film poster.

The three posters:

Ancillary Text 1: Film Poster Analysis And Initial Thoughts

I am analysing the codes and conventions in both short film and blockbuster film posters to see the simularities/ differences between big screen and online and whether the conventions for the posters are the same.

Initial Thoughts:
Initially both posters present an idea of mystery around them. The film “Avatar’s” poster suggests that it is out of this world and is an occurrence that no one is familiar with, where as the “Purge” film poster suggests that something is instantly wrong by looking at the female’s facial expression. Both posters have dominating images presenting the idea that something is going to happen or is happening that is not necessarily a good thing.

My initial thoughts for my poster was to do a 24 (TV show) film style four box cut where in each box you would see a close up of the spies and the boss. I like the idea as it presents the idea of mystery around what connects these men to each other for people who haven’t heard of my idea.

Looking at the short film poster facial expression can tell a lot regardless of whether or not we can see the person’s full face. That is why I want to focus on the characters faces rather than bodies hence the reason for choosing a close up as I will be mainly focussing on the characters faces and shoulders.

Finally the thing I liked about the Avatar poster was the fact that it was not very detailed but very effective. It did not have a lot going on to tell you about the film however it does give enough to interest and persuade people to go and see it, I would also like to keep my poster simple as I believe that if too much is going on in the poster people will not want to go and see the film. I also want to include an interesting tagline to draw viewers in.

Ancillary Texts: A Starting Point

The second part of my coursework is to create both a film poster and an article in a film magazine both promoting my short film. To start with I am going to look at and analyse various film posters and articles and look at what features are used to promote the film to a variety of age groups. I shall start my research at Blockbuster film posters and compare these with short film posters.

Animatic Feedback:

After presenting my animatic to the rest of the class I got mixed reviews, some said that they liked the idea however the ending was too slow and some said that there was too much dialogue included, below is a list of changes that have been suggested that I should change:

Less Dialogue

some of the drawings do not match the shot e.g. I have said c.u but drawn m.s

Make text more visible

make careful changes to dialogue

use photography rather than drawings as it shows a clearer picture

make the ending faster and more dramatic e.g. the three spies kicking down the door

rather than using a split screen idea, use a cross screen idea similar to 24 as it may be easier to film and maybe include a ticking clock

add a title sequence

I will take my piers feedback and try to encoporate this into my final piece of work I shall try to follow all bits of advice, however I may also change some scenes completely as well.

Animatic With Complete Sound Effects

Animatic:Third Draft

Heres my complete animatic without the scrolling effects:

Sounds From Animatic

http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/sound-effects.html

http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/soundfx/door_sounds.shtml

This website i what I used to get the sound effects for my annimatic is royalty free music, I used this website due to its sound effects being free and non copyrighted as well as its decent sounds it has to offer, I may use this website to get sounds for my final piece.

Things To Do:

storyboard analysis: complete

annimatic 1st and 2nd draft: complete

character photos and analysis: complete

props photos and analysis: complete

setting photos and analysis: complete

change questionnaire to do with action films not horror: complete


Final storyboard with suggested changes: complete


Filming sessions and edited work: complete


Rough Cuts: complete


Final Cut: complete

Change Of Locations: complete


Templates of poster and film review: complete


Analysis of short film posters and film reviews: complete

Second Draft Annimatic (With Sound)

Here is the second draft of my animatic with sound effects and a few transition effects that I was trying out it is the closest thing to my final piece:

First Draft Animatic (no Sound)

Here is my annimatic just the images placed together my second draft shall contain the sound effects that I am likely to use.

Setting List Analysis:

My whole short film shall mainly based around Gerrards Cross however I have also used the office where my Mum and Dad work at British Airways to film the oppening and ending scenes. I also used the Chikara centre at school for a couple of shots as well.

below are the following places that I used to film:

British Airways Office: I used both the office and the corridor just outside to film the spies walking up to and in the room to recieve their mission and their packages. I decided to use this office as it wasn't too big or small and was easy to hire out, but most importantly it had everything I needed to set the scene with the chairs and table and the outside corrider was really useful as it was quite narrow again giving me a lot of opportunities to film from different perspectives.

The Gerrards Cross High Street: I used the High Street to film the chase scene between the spies, where they where narrowly just missing each other and where the contents of the packages finally get revealed. I chose Gerrards Cross as it was easy to get to by everyone and because the ammount of streets and alley ways where realy useful to film in as again I had a choice of how and where I placed each shot.

Finally Gerrards Cross Train Station: This is where I filmed my western stand off scene with all spies, I decided to film here becuase it was the perfect setting to hold a western stand off as there where a variety of points for each of the spies to enter and it was an easier shot than expected to film because of the layout of the trainstation. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take my own photo of the trainstation

Props List: Analysis

My Props List:

the packages containing the photographs of the other spies, this is the main centre of the storyline the packages depict the spies fates, therefore arguably they are one of the most important props.

The gun which one spy will own, this is a fake BB gun but from afar it looks quite realistic, this was really useful as it allowed me to create quite a descent ending without it looking fake or cheesy.

ll three spies will be in smart dress, I wanted this to be a theme in my work, a formal "Buisness meeting" if you will. I wanted to show that this is a formal transaction and that this is their jobs.

I shall have the boss sitting behind a desk, this desk is where the Boss will slide over the packages to the spies. This is an important prop as I believe it makes the Boss look formal and powerful as The Boss is shown to own this massive building and this meeting room, making him seem dangerous and almost overpowering.

The Spies Mobile Phones, These props are important as this is how the spies eventually meet each other and realise that they have all been set up.

My storyboard

View more presentations from Graham Forward.

Storyboard Analysis

I am pleased with my idea as I believe that it is not too simple nor too complicated to complete. My idea also gives me room to improve re shoot or change in any way that I may feel is necessary. I am pleased with my variety of shots and angles as I feel that they tell the story from different perspectives and from different view points. The only thing that I feel is letting me down is my drawings only due to the fact that I cannot draw and so my ideas may not be as clear to the audience as they are too me which could present a problem.

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly An Idea For The Ending Of My Short Film:

I want to have an ending similar to the good, the bad and the ugly where all three of my spies will meet in a similar location to the cowboys in the good the bad and the ugly. I want to show my spies about to have a stand off when they realise they have been sent by the same person I want the stand off to be similar to the good the bad and the ugly where we see all the spies facial reactions and their weapons as they are about to shoot each other when they realise that they were sent to kill each other by the same person.


Here is the final stand off:

Final Idea: Shot-list Life, Death & Other Concequences

Here is the initial shotlist I have, over time shots may be changed (added or taken away)

Shot:

1. opening long shot across the road from building where boss works, a long-shot of a spy 1 (the loud) who appears from round a corner and enters the building.

2. A ms of man walking up to room and up to the door

3. cu of door opening

4. cu of the bosses face saying "your late"

5. ms of spy 1 walking in saying "watever"

6. cu of spy 1 sitting down putting his feet up on desk

7. over the shoulder midshot of boss having a go at spy 1 for being lazy

8. cu of spy 1's face laughing saying are you going to give me the briefing or not?

9. ecu of boss taking package/ envelope out of pocket and placing on table

10. ms of both boss and spy 1 but spy 1 is grabbing the package and placing it in his pocket

11. over the shoulder ls of spy 1 walking to the door.

12. Over the shoulder ls of The boss calling to the spy who looks round and the boss merely says don't screw up this time.

13. ms of Spy 1 looking back and snorting a fake laugh

14. m/ls of spy leaving building round the corner

15. ls of spy 2 approaching/ entering building (the quiet)

16. ms of spy 2 approaching door

17. cu of door opening

18. POV longshot of Boss looking up and saying "welcome, sit down"

19. ms of spy 2 sitting down

20. cu of bosses face saying "here's your most difficult briefing"

21. ecu of boss taking exact same package out of pocket and placing on table

22. ms of spy 2 taking package and looking at it

23. pov cu of boss explaining "inside is all that you will need for this"

24. pov ms of spy 2 getting up and leaving the room saying "thanks"

25. ls of spy 2 leaving the building and walking a different route from spy 1

26. ls of spy 3 approaching from a different road from the other spies (the violent)

27. ms of spy 3 walking up to door

28. cu of door opening

29. cu of bosses facial reaction which drops as he says "ah"

30. pov ms of spy 3 sitting down saying "im here for this job"

31. ms of boss saying "yes of course" and reaching in pocket for package

32. ms of spy 3 leaving room

33. ls of spy 3 leaving building and exiting down a road

34. splitscreen of all 3 spies opening backage

35. splitscreen cu of photos that where inside the packages of each other

36. cu solitscreen of spies faces as they pull out their guns and the chase begins

37-45 variety of longshots/midshots/close ups of the spies narrowly missing each other in different places around town.

46. splitscreen all 3 spies recieve a text from the boss saying meet me at the trainstation

47. all three spies meet in a circle and draw firearms shot in a high angle ls

48. cu of spy 1's (the loud) saying to spy 2 (the quiet) "im not here for you, im here for the violent"

49. cu of spy 2's reaction (the silent) and saying "im not here for you the violent im here for the loud"

50. cu of spy 3's reaction (the violent ) and him saying "im here for the quiet"

51.ls high angle a three way stand off is about to begin with guns pointed at each other however the loud says "who sent you two"

52. splitscreen cu of all spies saying "the boss"

53. cu look of realisation on all 3 spies faces

54. ms the loud saying "we know what we must do then" lowering gun

55. ls similar to start of film however all 3 spies enter building

56. cu of door opening

57. pov ls of boss at desk

58. bosses pov shot of all 3 spies bursting into room shooting him down

59. Bosss dies fade to black

Potential Final Idea!

After re planning my first ideas I sat down with Mr Michie and had a look at an old western film starring Clint Eastwood called the good, the bad and the ugly and is about three men out for gold which is buried underneath a grave and a chase ensures about who can get to it first the film contains one of the most famous three way battle an idea that I would like to use in my final piece.

Here is a rough storyline of what is going to happen:

1. three spy's are given a package and briefed about what their mission is (to kill each oher)

2. The spy's each make their own ay around town and narrowly keep missing each other

3. after a couple of minutes all three spy's meet up with each other getting ready to kill each other (in a three way stand off)

4. The spy's explain their possisions (they are all sent to kill each other) untill one asks who sent you

5. all three say The Boss

6. a realisation that the boss had sent them all out to kill each other

7. Spy's return to headquarters

8. Spy's burst into hq and kill he boss

Potential second idea storylines and endings

One spy is a proffesssional and another person is just a rondom person off the street where he is given the package by the boss on a bench whilst reading the paper showing that he is innocent and merely caught up in this problem.

A potential ending is a western or mexican stand off between both spies which ends in a draw with both spies ending up killing each other.

Another ending is that the boss appears at the place where both spies are at and as it has gone past the time limit he kills both spy's and says that he warned them that they would have to pay the conciquences.

second idea

After speaking with Mr Michie we came to the conclusion that my origional ending was a bit too cliche to do so here is a rough second idea of what I want to happen in my short film.

Splitscreen
2spys/assasins
recieve half photo who they have to kill
Briefed by boss told have an hour to kill or pay consequences
Chase revolves
meet in one location
look at watch one minute over the hour
boss kills both spies

Character Analysis:

For my short film I had to cast four actors who would fit the roles of three spies and the spies Boss I used the following people as the following characters, The three spies photos are also the ones featured in their packages in the short film:



Daniel Parslow as: The first (main) spy, I chose Daniel because of his height and because I wanted to challenge some of the typical stereotypes of an Action/Western film by having a poweful blonde character rather than the stereotypical dark haired character.



Lewis- Harvey Mott as: The second spy, I chose Lewis because of his height and ability to act but also because he fits the bill of a stereotypical spy (tall, dark haired) therefore I still wanted to follow some the conventions of an action/western film by still following the stereotype.



Jordan Smith as: The third spy, i chose Jordan similar to Lewis because of his height and ability to act, he also fits into the whole challenging the hollywood stereotypes ordeal as I have not cast him because of her colour but because of acting skills and height as I felt these where essential to the spy's to give them power and make them seem more dominant than the boss especially for the ending scene.



James Hall as: The Boss, I chose james because of his looks and how he can act very serious and menacing at times. This is exactly how I wanted to portray my Boss character as I wanted it to seem that The Boss was in total control throughout the Short Film which lead in nicely to the twist ending.

Cast List

My Main Cast I Only Have Four Main people:

James Hall: As the boss (the character who assigns the spy's their mission)

Jordan Smith: As First Spy (the loud, a very obnoxious, loudmouthed spy)

Daniel parslow: As Second spy (the quiet a spy who does not speak much but is very expirienced)

Lewis Harvey Mott: As Third Spy (the violent a spy who is known for his killings and one of the most feared spies)

Change Of idea

For my original idea I wanted to do a gory horror film,however due to lack of time and the fact that I would have a hard time adding in all the detailed gory effects and I feared that the storyline would not be good and quite cliche.

Instead I have decided to go down the route of an action film, I looked at a variety of short films and one that really caught my eye was a romantic comedy starring David Tennent about a traffic warden who witnesses a woman breaking up with her boyfriend and dropping a handkerchief, because he has feelings for her he chases her throughout london in order to give her handkerchief back. I wanted to use ideas and concepts from this short film but however relate them more to an action genre.

My Idea is based on this and includes a spy and his journey to find a specific person, however he is not given much detail about this journey and is only given half of a torn up photograph. Below is the full synopsis of my short film:

Rough Synopsis:

1. Our main character (the spy) is given a package/ envelope by "the Boss" and is briefed on his mission, the only thing he is told is to keep that package safe as it is the key to his happiness in life The spy agrees to this and accepts his mission and is told to open the package in due time.

2. The spy leaves the main building and thinks nothing of the package and merely places this package in his pocket and merely walks around town for a bit (the camera shall follow him)

3. The spy goes on his mobile phone and makes a call to the boss, meanwhile someone bumps into him and apologises, what the spy doesn't realize is that he has dropped the package.

4. The man who has bumped into him looks around and sees the package on the floor and picks it up, he decides out of curiosity to open it, inside is half a torn of photograph of a baby.

5. The camera now focuses on the man's reaction as his face suddenly drops into shock as he pulls out of his coat an envelope similar to the spy's addressed to him and opens it inside is the other half of the torn photograph.

6. A look of shock and of urgency as the man runs after the spy, he follows the spy in different places e.g. train car bus etc.

7. The man is determined not to lose the spy and so we see him jumping over walls and fences determined not to lose the spy.

8. eventually the man catches up to the spy, who is shocked at the fact that the man who had bumped into him has been following him

9. The man shows the package and puts together the two halves of the photo which go together to show two babies being held by a mother.

10. The spy's reaction to the photo is shown and a shot reverse shot shall be used to show both the man and the spy's reactions.

11. Man says "I haven't seen you since we were separated when we were children brother"

12. The final shot of the short film is of the man saying to the spy (who are long lost brothers) "dad gave you the other half of the photograph.

Qualitative research results:

1. 10/10 people answered: gore

2. 7/10 people said moderately entertaining 1/10 said boring 2/10 said disgusting

3. 9/10 people said for a scare 1/10 said just for entertainment

4. 8/10 people said no 2/10 people said yes

5. 6/10 people said yes 4/10 people said no

6. 9/10 people said yes 1/10 said no

7. 10/10 people said yes

8. 10/10 people said yes

9. 8/10 people said yes higher budgets 2/10 said no direct to dvd can be just as good

10. 8/10 people said unsure 2/10 people said no

Positive: More reliable audience had to put their own opinions some answers i could not predict

Negative: some people where unsure on what answers to put.


Updated questionnaire results to do with Action/Western genre:

1. 10/10 answered "A final stand off"

2. 7/10 answered "Exciting"

3. 8/10 answered "For Entertainment"

4. 7/10 people said "No Different Plotlines And Characters"

5. 10/10 people answered "Yes famous Faces Are Better"

6. 8/10 people answered "Plot Twists Are A Good Idea, They Make The Story Interesting"

7. 9/10 people answered "Sound Is Important In An Action/Western Film

8. 10/10 people answered "Setting is Important"

9. 10/10 people answered "Yes Feature Action/Western Films Are Better"

10. 8/10 people answered "No The Action/Western genre Has Not Gone Downhill"

Positives: people are saying what I was expecting especially about sound and location, i just need to take all considerations into account when creating my short film.

Negatives: This questionnaire got a more diverse range of results and so I will have to take this all into consideration especially who my short film is aimed at.

Quanative Research Results:

Question Number:

1. 8/10 people enjoy watching horror films

2. 6/10 people do not enjoy gory horror films

3. 7/10 people watch horror films for a scare

4. 6/10 people believe horror films are too cliche

5. 6/10 people don't enjoy famous faces in horror films

6. 5/10 people enjoy having a plot twist

7. 7/10 people believe sound is important in a horror film

8. 8/10 people believe setting is important in a horror film

9. 9/10 people prefer feature horror films

10. 7/10 people don't believe the horror genre has gone downhill

Positives: always got clear answers from target audience gave me specific answers that i can use for my final short film.

negatives: the results may not be very reliable as i am really giving the answers that i know will be ticked therefore the data is unreliable and is quite limiting

Updated Results after changing my genre of short film to Action/Western:

1. 7/10 enjoy watching Action/Western films

2. 7/10 enjoy action packed action/western films

3. 9/10 people watch Action/Western films for a thrill

4. 2/10 people believe Action/Western films are too similar

5. 8/10 people enjoy famous faces in Action/Western films

6. 9/10 people enjoy there being one main character in an Action/Western film

7. 10/10 people believe setting is important in an Action/Western film

8. 9/10 people believe sound is important in an Action/Western film

9. 10/10 people proffered feature Action/Western films

10. 1/10 people believed that the Action/Western genre has gone downhill in the last 50 years

Positives: The genral feedback was very good and useful, I now know what people look for in the Action/Western genre and to make sure that I base my short film around their needs.

Negatives: unfortunately I cannot please everyone and so there will be people who probrably will not like my short film as I cannot cater for everyones needs.

Overall Conventions Of A Short Film:

Any Short Film is defined as a short film by following these conventions:

Mostly Low Budget



Lack of effects



Approxiamtely from 1 minute long to up to 30 minutes in length


Can have more than one character/ main character



The film must explain setting, characters etc and the role they play



The film must have narrative (a meaning/purpose)