I have researched two different types of questions that I can use in my final questionnaire which I am going to ask the public about what they want from my short film, these two types are quantitate questions and qualitative questions. Quantitate questions which are more closed questions such as yes or no answers, where as qualitative questions are more open to the publics answer e.g. what is your favourite film and why?
Here Are My Two Questionnaires:
Quantative:
This is for when I was thinking about creating a horror film, however I changed my mind to an Action Western film.
My Updated questionnaire to do with Action/ Western films
Qualitative:
Here is my updated questionnaire to do with Action/Western film
1. What have I learned about the two types of research and have i made progress?:
I have learned more about both quantative and qualitative types of research where quantative research assks more closed questions e.g. only 4 boxes to tick where as qualitative gives the audience a more open quiestion e.g. space to write they're answer. I believe that I have made progress as I am aware that I need to ask both types of quiestions in my quiestionnaire.
2. What where the objectives of the lessons in audience research?:
The objectives where to teach me the different types of quiestions that can be asked as well as testing my knowledge of them by making me create practise quiestionnaires preparing me to create my final quiestionnaire which i can go out and ask my target audience to help me with my short film.
3. How where the objectives different?
The objectives where different because the lessons contained the different types of quiestions that could be asked where one lesson was about quantative research and about what was effect about it to another lesson which was about qualitative research and how to ask open quiestions getting the audience to give more of an opinion.
4. Compare & contrast the two methods:
Both methods where individually unique, however I found that I could pretty much predict what answers the people who filled out the quantative survey would tick. Whereas the qualitative results did suprise me some answers slightly.
5. Relate to my secondary research:
This research method I know is reliable as I know that it cannot be bias as I am the person who asked people for their opinions and createdthe questionnaire so here can be no unfair results as I made sure to ask the same number of male and females. However secondary research is less reliable as I have no idea where it came from or who created it so the information could not be correct. I found a variety of information on the internet mostly coming from specialised websites for example websites that specialise in either creating or analysing short films.
6. Evaluate all methods of research:
Overall I have found that Primary research is deffinately the better and more reliable method of obtaining information as I know where the information has come from, however the secondary information has its use as well as most of the information I found came from proffessional critics or film makers. Overall i think i would probrably stick to primary research as i know that it is a hundred percent reliable and useable, thats not to say that secondary research won't be used at all, just not as much.
life as a package: A Package gets passed/taken around the town/ city and gets passed hand to hand, person to person and in the end of the film the package will reach its destination however a twist shall be included possibly that during the journey the package is switched with another replica.
short stories as a short film. A great example of this would be doing something from a famous authour famous short stories such as Roald Dahl etc.
My first draft mind map that has a few ideas and conventions needed of the genre of short film. I will upload a second mind map of ideas that ill be more relevant to my final project.
Comedy starring David Tennent about a traffic warden who is disliked by everyone.
Camera: - variety of extreme close ups and close ups,mid shots,long shots, point of view shots and shot reverse shots, panning,tracking, high angles and low angles: The directors variety of shots and angles help show a day in the life of our main character the traffic warden. There is a use of a variety of close ups and extreme close ups of the traffic warden going around town however he is hated by everyone as he is ignored. A variety of mid and long shots are used to show the warden roaming the streets and waiting on a car watching a woman having a fight with her boyfriend and leaving, this is shot using shot reverse shot, pov shots and panning which is done to emphasize the fact that we are watching these events from the traffic wardens point of view. His face is shot in an extreme close up and the is attempting to light a cigarette. This gives a negative connotation of the main character because of the cigarette and his job where he is disliked by everyone and smokes which gives a negative connotation of him. The use of an ironic mid shot is used where the main character is watching the woman come out of her house and the sign changes saying romeo, this gives the audience the connotation that he loves the woman. A variety of mid and long shots are used to show the warden watching the woman run off and the warden receiving dirty looks from all of the characters. A variety of long shots and tracking is then used to show the warden going to receive the item that the woman has dropped and of him going to give it back however he sees her going to catch a bus and decides to run after her. This connotes the idea of how he loves her and does not want her to get away before he can see her.
Editing: - Constant cutting: similar to the laid off short film There is not not a lot in terms of editing where because we are meant to see these events in one characters point of view so there is only the use of constant cutting to and from scenes to increase the pace of the extract as this is a comedy and the idea that his love is getting away from him.
Sound: - digetic, non digetic: the main use of sound in the extract is mainly digetic sound as this is only a comedy there is no need for many non digetic sound effects except some city style ones such as busses car horns etc. There is also constant slow music in the background of the extract again the mood of the music is quite relaxed and even suspicious the type of music you would expect to find in a comedy film. The main use of sound comes from the actual characters where they will be talking shouting etc. This is done because of the fact that this is a comedy and in comdys there is little effects needed as comedys mainly rely on the characters dialogue or their actions to tell the story and make it funny for example the traffic warden running after the bus and the bus warden on purposely keeps moving off whenever he gets near in this scene the only sound we hear is of the traffic warden panting and the bus sound effects.
Mise En Scene: - town, shops, buildings scaffolding etc: In terms of mise en scene there is a variety of things you would expect to see in a comedy used and a lot of things that you would expect to see in a town from shops to scaffolding etc, all of these help the realism of the extract and help the audience relate to the character and the situation that is being presented to us.
Titles: - various titles on everyday things such as ice cream van menu, sales card, traffic warden Notepad etc: The titles are cleverly created to sync in with everyday things such as price cards, on the traffic wardens note book, in a fish display case and on an ice cream van menu etc. This is cleaverly done and relates to the mise en scene of the extract as it could be a real life situation.
A short film about a man who passed away three and a half years ago who gives us an insite in what being dead is like:
Camera: - long shots, midshots, clode ups, extreme long shots, point of view shots, high angles low angles: The directors use of camerawork all revolves around the main character who is seen in every shot. At the opening of the extract h e is shot from mid and long shots as he explains about his death, giving the idea that he is further away from us and that we are too late to be able to reach him. The variety of shots are shown in different angles as the main character goes around and gives us an inside on what life is like for him because of the fact taht he is dead. He explains the fact that he ha no powers and is powerless and cannot do simple tasks such as opening doors, this is shot from an els and a high angle reinforcing the negativite tone and message that the main character is trying to give to us. There are a variety of long shots used when the main character explains about the counbsiling sessions he has to attend and how if he does not attend then he will not be able to get into heaven this is shot in a variety of long and mid shots which reinforce the negativity of the sessions. There is a lot of use of close ups on the main characters facial expression a lot of the time and how sepressed he is connoting the negativity and restriction he has over life now. When explaining his life we see various mid and long shots of normal shops and towns which are very important for the mise en scene of the extract. Finally when in the counsiling sessions we are introduced to other dead people who have mixed feelings about being dead, this is reinforced by the use of angles and camera work on the facial expressions of the characters where one character feels over excited another character is suicidal and depressed like the main character. This is shot with various close ups and low angles to reinforce the feelings of the characters.
Editing: - just constant cutting: because this is meant to be a film about a day in the life of a dead man there is a lack of editing where we are constantly just cutting to and from either the main character or scenes, this is done to remind the audience and show them what a day being dead is like for the main character and what he has to do or has done since he passed away.
Sound: - digetic, non digetic: The directors use of digetic sound is the main use of sound in this extract as in a way the short film is similar to a documentary where the main character is telling us about his life and what he gets up to now that he is dead. We also hear noise from the street such as conversations cars busses etc helping add a sense of realism to the extract. The use of non digetic is a variety of effects from the city to slow and deppressing music to go with the tone of the extract this is continued all the way through out the extract.
Mise en scene; - main characters clothes, the shops/the city, the other dead characters clothes, the counsiling sessions: The directors use of mise en scene is really important in this extract to make the extract seem realistic to the audience. This is done well in the use of scenery and setting where we have the typical city setting and the busy streets etc adding the realistic effect. The main characters clothes reinforce the negativite tone of the extract where the clothes are scruffy and dirty connoting a negative attitude. The clothes of the other dead characters give a similar effect where they are wearing scruffy tracksuit bottoms and hoodies etc. Finally the buildings in the extract especially the one where he goes for the counsiling sessions where most of them are old and run down and isolated reinforcing the negative tone.
Titles: - The titles are cleaverly created by the director as they are just plain white text on a black background. This is interesting as the extract is about death and life after death and the connotation of the white could be for life or heaven and the connotation of the black could be for dieing.
The Very First Saw was actually a short fim that was created into a feature film:
Camera: - extreme close ups, close ups, Pov Shots, zooming out,Long Shot,extreme long shot, rotating, panning, low angle, high angle and tracking: The director has used a variety of angles, shots and camera effects to show the importance of each shot as we are introduced to very few characters however the use of props and scenes is important. This is enphasised by the use of ecu, cu and zooming in, props such as a ciggarrette which are shown in a variety of shots from ecu's to cu's etc. The use of angles and shots is important as they help explain the importance of the characters to the audience where the first character we meet in the interview room is shown as weak which is reinforced with the pov shots, long shots and high angles where as the interviewer is shown as stroong and important however the directors use of framing tells us that he is not the main character as he is always pushed halfd of screen in nearly every shot he is in. Finally when we see the flashback and we are introduced to the room and thes enario the use of angles change to show the weakness and helplessness of the character and his facial expressions whilst in the trap this is reinforced by the ls's and ms's and high angles all connoting weakness. Finally the killer character is always shot from a lower angle and a variety of cu's this reinforces the idea of the power and control he has over the victim. The overall use of shots and angles is important as they help set the scene and reinforce them idea of helplessness of the main character.
Editing: - Variety of cuts, videotape effects, fading: The directors use of editing is cleaver as he has reinforced the idea of past and present especially in the interview room, this is done through the use of the effect of the video tape like editing where the shot will become blurry and will fade back to the present. This i done to remind the audience that the extract is shot in both past and present and helps the audience desipher which is which. The use of the various cuts throughout the extract help the suspense of the piece and adds a thrill and scare to the extract. Finally the use of fading shows the end of a scene and the start of a new one, ironicly this is done in a bright light which again could be a connotation of death.
Sound: - rock music, eerie tense, non digetic lightning etc, digetic. The directors use of sound is interesting because of the variety of sound, where we have the digetic sound of the main character speaking quietly in the interview room as supposed to the loud strong voice of the interviewer and finally the very quiet voice of the "Jigsaw Killer" this is interesting as usully the killers voixe would be quite bold and deep, the director has subverted this to add tension and suspion to the thriller element of the film. The use of non digetic sound is also interesting as the use of music is shown in stereotypical horrors such as the lightning effects and the eerie tense music and the rock music. The directorm has slightly subverted the digetic sound however not the non digetic sound.
Mise En Scene: - the cigarrette, the plain interview room,the trap room, the trap, the tv: The use of mise en scene helps reinforce the genre of the extract as it has all of the conventions of a horror film. The use of props and scenery is interesting as they all reinforce the idea of weakness of the main character for example the ciggarette connoting the idea of addiction and weakness to it, the trap the character was helpless in. The use of the video tape being shown to him also reinforces the idea of entrapement and weakness hwere he has no control. Finally the use of scenery also represents the main character as weak because of the use of mise en scene for example the blank interview room where he is having to answer questions in an interview, the trap room which is all dark and seems as if its in a basement and finally the hospital where he says Im only a janitor giving the audience the idea of weakness and lack of importance. Overall the use of mise en scene is interesting as it reflects the main character in a negative way.
Titles: - Bold and red on white background, blueprints: The titles are interesting as the main use of colour suggest innocence because of the use of white background however this could also represent death and heaven etc. Secondly The Bold Red text that has been used could possibly connote danger and even blood. FInally the use of blueprints that show contraptions could suggest tools that could be used in the extract. All of these are negative connotations and suggest that the film genre is a horror.
