To Do List - 26/9/12

- Complete list of things I haven't done yet, ie.
. Plot summary
. Narrative - Story
                 - Plot
. Style - Camera angles etc
. Script - Dialogue & Direction
. Genre presentation - Comparison
                               - Videos
- Labels/tags for each post.
- Gadget boxes - Film
                        - Poster
                        - Magazine

I plan to do all of these things in the next 3 hour lessons, if I complete these tasks I then can move on to creating a presentation on representation.

- Next step - Presentation on representation

500 Days Of Summer - My Opinion

Yesterday I decided to watch 500 days of summer, one because I felt I could get inspiration for my short film as it's already a big contributor. And two......I just really love this film. 

Throughout the film I just kept thinking to myself how great the editing is nothing was done simply, every short scene was brought to the audience in a humorous creative way.  The film uses this..

as a way of showing us what day in the 500 days it was, they also used this to show what mood Tom (main male) was feeling and what stage of the relationship it was, either bad or good depending on the colours and season.
Another scene I thought was cleverly done happened on day 35, Tom was happy and dancing because his relationship with Summer couldn't have been better in his eyes his steps onto the lift feeling ecstatic.

The doors open to his floor after the day has changed, and the cheery music has stopped and he looks miserable.

Extra Small Ideas

While doodling random ideas I came up with a list of things that i've seen done in other types of media and so want to interpurate it into my own work.

. 'Camera zooms into a picture and it becomes the scene in the next part, or it plays a memory'

. ' See someone with headphones on, and the soundtrack sounds like it's coming through them, and when he takes them out the soundtrack either becomes better quality or stops.'

. 'Music is used instead of the use of dalouge to tell the story'

Films Related To My Ideas

After discussing my idea with my teacher, she then suggested a number of films for me that could watch involving the same kind of idea. '500 Days Of Summer' being one i've already used as an example. I plan to either ask someone who has them or rent them out to watch.
Each of the designs may also give me ideas on what I can make for my poster or magazine review.

500 Days Of Summer Split Screen

Hero - (500) Days of Summer from Music + Films on Vimeo.
When I thought of the idea for having a spilt screen to show what would happen when an event goes wrong, the first scene that I thought of first was the split screen in the film '500 Days Of Summer'. This scene also plays with the thought  of alternate ending, however this uses the expectations of a man (Tom) vs the reality of what is actually happening after he gets invited to a party by the woman he is still in love with. In one scene he ends up with the woman he wants, however in the other he finds out that she is getting engaged, this being the reality side.
What I love about this scene is how easy it is to follow, my fear for my work would be that if two scenes are playing at the same time how can you watch two at once? I figured like what they do here, a major event  could be happening while in the other eg a man is waiting outside a lift waiting to get on etc

Short Story Ideas And Possible Narrative

I was just randomly coming up with ideas for my short film, taking the influence from my previous storyboard of 'How Did It Get There', if I find a way i'd like to be able to create the film by using a split screen throughout. I would also carry on the idea, that if small or big events didn't happen throughout the day then small changes would happen to your day. Or there would be an alternate ending overall.

 

 Things to remember: 

 • Narratives don’t need to be linear. (Arranged in or extending along a straight or nearly straight line: "linear arrangements".)

• The progression from initial equilibrium to restoration always involves a transformation.

• The middle period of a narrative can depict actions that transgress everyday habits and routines.

• There can be many disruptions whilst seeking a new equilibrium.

Storyboard - How Did They Get There?

Storyboard - Last Man On Earth

I created my storyboard for my version of 'The Last Man On Earth', with this title I felt there wasn't much I could do with it to make it orginal. It is what the title suggets. The main thing in this that I favour is the trigger, eg the newspaper. The newspaper is the realisation that his dream is actually coming true and that the world is going to come to an end very soon. It's a very short but straight to the point film.

Mind Map

Our next task was to create our own short story ideas using the title headings 'How Did They Get There' and 'Last Man On Earth', the first thing I did was create this mind map. The blue ringed ideas are the ones I was planning to go for.

For my 'How Did It Get There' story, I'm interested in the concept that if one thing didn't happen in the day than there would be alternate endings to the day. That one thing or a multitude of small events can affect the day so vastly. My other idea is that people can affect a day, for example if someone is absent or in my stories case something is found before you and so you never found it etc.
I like this idea because it relates to real life so well, in this is what happens in everyday life. We can create alternate endings in the day. 

Keane - Bedshaped

After watching Vincent the only thing I could think of was this music video by Keane called 'Bedshaped', I remember watching this viedo when I was younger and actually loving the type of animation used. I feel this is why it has stuck in my memory all this time. The motions of the characters is smooth, I've always loved that because it makes it feel more life like.

Vincent - Tim Burton

Tim Burton - Vincent from Kaan Ozer on Vimeo.

Another example of short film is by Tim Burton called 'Vincent', however this is an example of an animated short story. A boy called Vinect Malloy wants to be just like a famous actor called Vincent Price.

I think this video is so well done, the animation and story is simple. But it's the narration I feel by Vincent Price that makes it so much better. I'm not normally a fan of Tim Burton, but I think this short film is amazing. It gives me the inspiration to create an animated short story like this for my final piece.

Short Films Research

A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film, it's any film that has a duration longer than one minute and shorter than 15 minutes. Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals. Short films are often made by independent filmmakers for non profit, either with a low budget, no budget at all, and in rare cases big budgets. Short films are usually funded by film grants, non profit organizations, sponsor, or out of pocket funds. These films are used by indie filmmakers to prove their talent in order to gain funding for future films from private investors, entertainment companies, or film studios.

The genre of films can go from animation, comedy, drama, documentary to experimental, horror, romance and sci-fi/fantasy. Longer films and shorter films coexisted with near enough the same popularity throughout the early days of film. However, comedy short films were produced in large numbers compared to lengthy features. By the 1920s, short comedies were especially popular, an example is the many outings of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy that eventually moved from short films to features.

How Did They Get There - Spike Jonze

How They Get There (Spike Jonze) from South P on Vimeo.

Here is another example of a short film called 'How Did They Get There' by Spike Jonze. A guy and a girl are playing copycat at the opposite sides of the road, when the girl attempts to warn him of an on coming car. However he mistakes her for still playing, his shoes end up on the side of the road. This story is a more comedic beginning, but a dark ending.

Unit Task & 'The Last Man on Earth' - Carlo Ortu

Our task for this unit is to research and create our own short film lasting no more than 5 minutes. The subject can be about anything of our choosing, be it animation or real life actors.
My fears for this unit is that the ideas I already have are too ambitious, that I wont have the equipment or time for the shots that I want. I'm also concerned due to this being a single person project that it will all be too much and i'll end up with a movie I'm not happy with. Although I am determined this year to learn from my mistakes in the past unit, as with this unit we can do about what we want. This makes me excited to get all of my ideas down to create a short film that I would be proud to show.

'The Last Man On Earth' - Carlo Ortu 

Here is an example of short film from the BBC website called 'The Last Man On Earth' by Carlo Ortu, it's a dark storyline of a man convinced he is the last man on earth after having no luck getting contact with anyone for 5 weeks and so he feels there is no need to carry on living. He takes drastic action and decides to drink a lethal mixture he made from substances found in the local chemist, only to be contacted in a comedic ending last minute by his brother.