Evaluation - Question 1- Jess Smith

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real life media products?

Genre Conventions:

Our short film is a hybrid of genres, from being a Social Realism film to Psychological. 

1. Social Realism

This genre is uses based on how real life issues affects people in a modern society. Directors typically use quite a specific range of techniques to connote the correct feelings and the right atmospheres in short films. Popular themes for social realism films range from social class and substance abuse. The following list are examples of these techniques used:

-Location Shootings/Picking the right setting:

It is important that during a social realism film that 'real life' locations are using for the filming, such as parks, beaches and housing estates because they are based on being realistic. Therefore it would be extremely unusual and unique for a film with a social realism genre being filmed on a big budget, man made set or in large film studios. By using realistic settings the audience will feel a stronger connection towards the characters because they will be able to put themselves in their shoes, or use location to recognise certain themes, such as social class, religion and regional identity. A good example of this technique in use would be Fish Tank which was based on a real council housing estate and released in 2009 by Andrea Arnold. 

-Shot Types:

Wide angle shots are commonly used for short films with this genre as it can give the audience a good understanding of where the setting is or what is happening in the setting. However this obviously isn't the only shot type used throughout these films, however it is the most expected. Below is an example of a wide angle shot in a social realism film Bullet Boy (2004-Saul Dibb).

Wide Angled Shot

-Non Professional Actors:

Using non-professionally trained actors for social realism film will emphasise the real life feeling that directors try to convey as they will be more relatable for the audience to watch. Short film, social realism films will also not have a large budget, therefore they wouldn't be able to afford well known actors, even if they wanted them. For example, the main character in Fish Tank, Katie Jarvis was scouted by the director just on a train when she was heard arguing with her boyfriend. Andrea said she found her very expressive, yet calm and collected too, therefore wanted her to play the main role for her film. 

Katie in Fish Tank

Age of Characters:

The majority of films use a specific age ranging from 13-25 in order for their younger audience to be able to relate. The famous film Billy Elliot conforms to this and is based around social class, as well as Kidulthood which deals with substance abuse and gang violence issues. The British film, Sweet Sixteen also focuses on the effects social class has on teens. 

2003-Menhaj Huda

2000- Stephen Daldry

2002-Ken Loach

-Improved Scripts:

It isn't unusual for social realism films to create a rough script but allow it to be majorly adapted by the style of the actors and how they believe things should be responded to. By doing this, it achieves a more realistic dialogue sequences, into life like situations. The famous social realism film 'Kes' was made by Ken Loach who used this method and used semi-improvised scrips in this in order to give it this effect. 

Humour/Seriousness/Emotion:

The overall aim when creating a film based on social realism is to present everyday issues and events that effect people in different ways. Popular issues that are raised vary from social class, religion, someones regional identity and the difference between ability and disability. Although all of these topics have emotional and painful aspect to them, film makers also like to include a humourous aspect as well in order to keep their audience satisfied.  

The social realist, short film 'Unjust' uses many of these conventions. It is based in the subject of violence and in particular, stabbings.

1.
The social realist short film Unjust uses their setting to convey certain feelings associated to it. The first thing the audience see of the setting is flashing police lights, due to the dark lighting. This could cause concern for the audience as this wide angled shot could be interpreted as being used to represent a dangerous area. The fact that there isn't any people to be seen in the setting is also unusual and creates a quiet atmosphere, juxtaposing the on screen digetic sound of the siren. 

2. 
The audience then are introduced the first character, when he seen dressed in casual clothing. He shown in an artificially lit tunnel in what seems to be during the late hours of the night, therefore this can either create a sense of sympathy for the character as he is alone, whereas it could also lead the audience to feel uncertain about him and what his aims are. This then relates to stereotype themes, as a male standing alone in a tunnel at night wouldn't be represented well. 

3. 
There are then parallel cuts between this male and tracking another male character at a fast pace with abrupt cuts. During these cuts there is the diegetic ambiant sound of the surrounding area with a road nearby, yet when it cuts back to the first male (as shown below) there is a quiet on screen diegetic sound of coming from his headphones, which are clearly seen being placed at the front of the camera lense. This side angled close up shot below gives the audience a better view of the character as he is taking up the majority of the frame. From this it is clear this directer has followed the typical social realist convention of using non-professional actors and those in the typical 13-25 age range. The male being tracked from low and eye level angled, medium and long shots is also shown to be wearing very casual clothes that also seem very loose, creating a gangster image. The long shots the creaters have used are also wide angled, therefore conforming to the genre typicalities.  He has a tense and perhaps annoyed facial expression, therefore this is leading audience to feel a sense of foreboding, especially as the other male is alone.  


4.
The camera then uses the same side angled, close up of the male listening to his on screen diegetic music to slowly tilt to the right as the other male approaches him. This is a tense moment for the audience as they don't know what to expect. However the mood quickly changes into shock for the audience as the on screen diegetic dialogue starts and the male coming towards him begins to shout at an angry tone. The dialogue begins to get heated quickly as the one of the males seems very stressed and agitated that he is standing where he is. 

5.
The on screen diegetic dialogue continues to be vicious and intrusive and this then leads to one of the males being psychically violent, causing concern for the audience. There is also a sense of enigma created as it seems unclear as to why he is so angry at the fact that the other boy is in this area. It is also clear from these POV close ups that the other male is also in the usual age range for social realist films. A serious theme is also being conveyed here too. 

6. 
The serious theme is then emphasised as the annoyed male gets a knife out. This is shocking for the audience as they are still ensure as to why he is so angry at the the other male. The man opposite seems to back away, getting to a closer proximity to the camera, making the audience feel involved as well. He is then heard saying "put it down" repeatedly, ensuring the audience he isn't a violent character and is feeling threatened. 

7. 
However this quickly changes and he flights back and attacks the male provoking him, creating a very violent scene.

8.
The protagonist continues to beat him up, based on what he's saying, such as "I'll f****** kill your your family". I also am assuming that this was an improved script and that the writer gave a clear idea on things to include, but left it to the actors to see what they could naturally say. This then brings up emotional themes, which are very common in social realism films. 

The audience shock levels rise as he leaves the male for dead. 

9.
This shot at the end of the film represents the importance on creating awareness on issues like stabbings. The issue that this film deals with can be very relatable for a social realism target audience as it conforms to the conventions and themes often dealt with. 

2. Psychological

This genre is all based on the way people behave and how their mind is acting. It can cover many different themes in different short films, such as...

-Mind:

This theme is all about how peoples brains work and their overall human consciousness. Overall it will determine their personality, thoughts, reasoning, intelligence and how they control their emotions. This can also be a theme to use for narrative conflict between a character and their own mind, trying to reach levels of understanding or perception. 

-Reality:

This is about the quality of realism. This theme will often be presented when a character is trying to determine whether or not something is real within the narrative. 

-Perception:

Perception is based on how people interpret the atmosphere around them. However it is common for characters not be fully aware and have their perceptions altered by outside factors in the narrative story. 

-Purpose:

Every human should have a goal to strive for in their lives, in order to achieve something, yet many people aren't clear on their reason for existence, therefore they give up.This theme can be used in short films as it can quickly convey strong emotions, making a strong connection between character and an audience member. 

-Death:

Characters can be shown to be in fear of the idea or death, whereas others may have a fascination with it. However the cessation of life can always be an emotional concept to deal with. 

-Identity:

The definition of an individual and characters can be unsure and confused about what they are doing in their life, leading to self doubt and struggling to get find their self identity. 

The short film using a Psychological genre called 'Worthless ' displays these different conventions. 

1. 
The film begins with a side angled close up's of a male who appears to have an anxious, unsettled facial expression and body language. There is also a sharpe non diegetic sound that last for a short period as he enters the frame, creating a tense atmosphere. Off screen sound changes to a suttle, yet mysterious sound. 

2. 

The mood quickly changes to feelings of danger as there is a wide angled, long shot of the male in a bedroom setting looking at what appears to be a gun. This is then confirmed in the next, close up shot clearly display him picking up the gun. This is very clear due to the light, natural lighting coming through the windows. The fact that the film then turns compleatley silent during these shots, emphasises the seriousness of this subject and the foreboding atmosphere. However on image number 4 (the extreme, low angled close up) off screen sound is then reintroduced and matches the same sound used in the first shot, giving the film continuity. Due to the fact that he has a gun placed on his bed strongly suggests that this character has been complentating this for some time and that this hasn't been a rushed decision. This then deals with conventions of a Psychological genre, looking at the mind, how their brain is working and what it's telling them. 

1

2

3

4

3. 

This extreame close up shot of the gun in his hands also allows the audience to see the purposely placed prop of a ring on his wedding finger. This tells us that he is married, therefore emphasises the enigma as to why he is thinking of ending his life, especially now as we know he has a partner. However this implies he is in an unhappy relationship or that everything seems ok on the outside but inside his mind, nothing is write. This is representing the genre well. In addition, the fact that he doesn't appear to be fazed by holding this powerful item and later holding it next to his face, with a very calm facial expression is unusual, leading to questioning of this characters perception on his actions and causing and sense of worry for the audience. 

1

2

4.

The protagonist is then shown to be calling someone in a behind the shoulder long shot and a high leveled close up. However as the on screen diegetic sound of the ringing becomes longer and longer, there is then a voice message, making it clear to the audience and the character that no one is going to answer. We then see his facial expression become very low, with a sense of disappointment. This could then relate to common themes in films with a psychological genre, such as feeling distant from everyone else and questioning your purpose in society. 

1

2

5.

Following on from the previous phone call, there are then two more close up shots with bright lighting to show the character phoning another person on his mobile. The fact that he's trying someone else suggests he's reaching out to talk to someone as he feels so alone. Similarly, this phone call just rings out as well and the on screen dialogue of a voice message is heard. However, it is clear that after having two unsuccessful phone calls, this character feels rejected and simply that no one cares. 

2

1

6.

The feelings of being rejected and loneliness is then emphasised in these various, long and extreme close up shots. Especially the extreame close up of his face as the light is concentrating on the left side of his face, showing his dull eyes, yet focused facial expression. The scary, tense off screen soundtrack is also adding a foreboding atmosphere to this scene. 

7.

The audience then feel shocked and a strong sense of emotion as there is quick paced side angled extreame close up of the gun being quickly placed on the top of his neck as they know is about to happen. 

1

The diegetic bullet sound then occurs and the camera immediately switches positions to a long shot, behind him, showing blood splatter as he falls to the ground, in the centre of the frame. This two shots are very shocking to see for an audience, therefore it leaves them feeling emotional and fradgile. 

8. 
The fade to black emphasises the death and closure of this characters life.

9.
The close up of the phone displays his wife calling him, which leaves the audience on a cliff hanger as they are unsure why he felt so desperate and what the relationship between him and he wife was. For example, was she aware of his self doubt, did she feel the same, did she dislike him and how did it come to this horrific position of suicide being the only answer for the male. Overall this short film uses many of the psychological genre conventions, especially as it used the most common one (death), yet also raising issues of perception, identy, the mind and purpose. 

Short film conventions:

-Characters:

2010-Glen Glenna

                                                            The two characters in the film

Short film creators usually only use between 2 and 3 main characters and this is mainly because the film isn't long enough to give the audience long backgrounds on different people. Therefore by only using a small amount of characters it allows the audience to have a stronger connection to them and time to relate time to each person in the short viewing time. A example of this would be in the short film 'The Boss' which only includes two male characters sitting together in an office for the whole duration of the film. This then made is easier to clearly see each characters personality. 

-Twist:

2010-Diamond Dogs

It is extremely unusual for a short film to not incorporate a twist into its narrative as they make a story more interesting and gripping for an audience. Many viewers would agree that watching a short film without a twist would be un-entertaining and not eye-catching. However film makers need to ensure they aren't giving a expected, cliche twist and that it's unique, in order to shock their audience. The Black Hole is a short film that includes a twist when the regular night at the office turns as a a black hole enters and sends of unique powers. 

https://vimeo.com/15759511

-Length

Short films can have a maximum running time of around 45 minutes, however the majority of them last between 5 to 10 minutes. Therefore if the film was to run over the maxium time, it would turn into a feature length film. 

Short film length examples:
-Connected: 7:20 minutes (2015- Luke Gilford)
-Luv Deluxe: 5:21 minutes (2009- Cinnamon Chasers)
-Heartwork: 9:26 minutes (2010-  Nils Struven)

-Situation

Short films are also usually believable as they are based on everyday situations that everyone can relate to, yet the directors still try to flip the film over is one way, in order to keep the audience interested. This also ensures the viewers are intrigued as well and being able to link it to their lives. 

How did our short film 'One Year' conform/differ to these conventions?

-There are many elements to our film that conform to the genre and short film conventions and overall I think this is a positive judgement. This is because it shows that we researched every factor to the film, before jumping into the filming stage. It also means that the typical target audiences for psychological and social realism films will be interested in our story, yet it may also appeal to those who don't typically watch short films. Below are a list of factors of One Year that conform to the hybrid of genres used, in addition to short film conventions. 

• 2 actors-There are only two main characters in the film, which applies to typical short films. Although there is a mother figure and classmates shown for small duration's in the film, they are not significant characters. Similarly, the short film The Boss only includes two characters. 

(The Boss)

• Young Actors- The two girls featuring in our film are aged 15 and 17 and are sisters in real life (as well as in the film). This conforms to the social realism genre conventions as it believes the age group between 13-20 will communicate issues well as many young people experience them in today's society. The Choice, which came out in November 2012 and directed by Melissa Owens also uses young actors because it is all based on an unplanned pregnancy, which is something many teens are faced with. 

 (The Choice)

• Including real life situations- We used Brighton as one of the settings for the sisters to visit because it is such a popular place for locals, as well as tourists and especially for teenagers. Therefore we all agreed that the girls enjoying walking on the pier, going on a ride and sitting on the beach was something that many teenagers do on a day to day basis. We could all speak from experience as well as we have all grown up within 15-30 minutes from Brighton. We also tracked the girls as they walked to school and when Emily in the classroom setting which emphasises the realism of this narrative. I have also found many short films I have analysed such as The Boss and The Screen both include everyday situations, like going to work or sitting down for the evening watching TV, therefore I wanted to ensure we included elements like this in our film that the audience can relate to. 

(The Screen)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wWJfFQOnHw (The Boss)

• A twist, leading to death- We wanted to have a shocking ending to our short film, therefore we told to audience (through a voice over whilst looking at the gravestone way) about the death of one of the characters at within the last 20 seconds of the film. Overall this defiantly gave our film a twist as the character shown throughout the whole film wasn't actually there, only through the imagination of her sister. Including death in our film conforms to the social realism genre and a twist is always aimed for in all short films, therefore it followed these traits well. Similarly, there is another short film that has a twist leading to death would be 'After You' which was released in 2008 by Adam Lindzey which can be found on this link: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8588678849152719768#editor/target=post;postID=4478844608157568063;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=41;src=postname

(After You)

• Within the typical running time (7 mins)- Short films tend to usually run for 5 to 10 minutes and our film was 7:23, therefore we were in this section. This means that short film fans will be encouraged to watch our film as it isn't too long for a short film, yet it also isn't so quick that you are confused on the narrative or plot. However when we finished our first edit of the film, it lasted for around 9 minutes and we we were strongly advised to reduce the running time as it could become boring. Therefore we had to delete different establishing shot and cut other scenes down, but everything we wanted to be included was in the final product, therefore it was a wise decision to cut in down slightly. I think the reason it was so long was because we were all so set on recording lots of footage on our shoots so that we had choices to work with in the post production stage. 

• Deals with purpose issues- When deciding on our plot for the film, we wanted to ensure we were representing everyday issues that teenagers face, therefore we focused a lot on the concepts of being bullied and feeling alone in the world. This then lead to the full story line being based around Amy who has no friends and only feels happy when shes with her sister. However once we know he sister has been dead for one year, it deals with the themes of self worth and the lost purpose of her life without her sister,conforming to the psychological film genre. Overall all the issues included in our film are all very emotional and can effect viewers in a strong way, but doing this meant that the audience would feel something after watching it and I think we achieved this, especially as they become very attached to the close relationship between the two sisters. In addition to this, there are many films that I have researched that deal with social realism themes. Drugs is a very popular subject to create a narrative around and below are a list of films dealing with this issue:

1. Seahorse 

2. Influences 

3. Drug Addiction 

4. Sweet Dreams

• Non professional actors- We wanted to a friend of Maria and Tash in our film because she is a performing arts student and enjoys acting. She then suggested using her sister to play her sister in the film as they had a close relationship and could balance well together. However Emily's sister Hannah hadn't had any previous acting or drama experience, but this didn't phase us as we knew they would work so well together and you don't tend to see professional actors in films with a genre of social realism. 

-Following on from the similarities between our product and social realism, psychological and short film conventions, there was one element that short films usually conform to that we didn't match. This was the fact that we didn't follow Todorov's narrative structure theory, based on equilibrium. The reason we didn't comply to this structure was because we didn't want the story to be resolved. We left the audience with the element of shock and the feeling of the unknown as they were unsure of how Ashlee had in the previous year. However by not complying our short film to this trait, makes our film unique and different, therefore makes it stand out to our target audience. 

Research into Film Poster conventions:

Why did we do research into film posters?

It was important to find out what the typical conventions of a short film posters were so that  we could include these elements onto our posters. Due to this research we were confident with how to produce a film poster and what we needed to ensure we embedded for the audience to see.

Feature Length Film Poster Conventions:

• billing block
• clear title of the film
• starring actor/ actors
• star ratings
• main image relating to the film
• release date
• distributors name
• taglines
• reference to the creator

Harry Potter- David Yates and J.K Rowling

Cheaper By The Dozen- Shawn Levy

Looper- Rian Johnson

The Hangover- Todd Phillips

Short Film Poster Conventions:

• billing block

• main image including an element of the film

• film magzine logos/names
• short quotes from reviews

• film festival references/ logos

• social media links and logos

• production name/logo

• title of the film in a clear position/font/colour

These conventions are shown throughout these different posters:

Alfie- Thomas Mathai

Kabat Gembira- Nicholas Yudifar

The Lost Purse- Katy Ward

The White Helmets- Von Einsidel

The Gravedigger's Son -Directed by Jake Yard
 -Found on shortfilmposters.com

The Gravedigger's Son- Jake Yard

Daydreaming of Peggy Lee- James Everett

Flyspy- Dan Smith

Final Poster:

When designing our own film posters, we wanted to include every typical convention as it would give it  a professional look. We ensured we had film magazine reviews, social media references to market our brand, a billing block and a large, eye catching image and title. We also wanted to make sure we included film festivals and any awards they entered our film for because this gave the poster another eye catching element and also made it so unique as they are places in different positions to other posters currently out there which place them at the top of the poster. 

As you can see, we used all the short film poster conventions...

Final Poster 1

Final Poster 2

We then wrote our film review based on the typical style and conventions of Little White Lies magazine. This meant that we had to do thorough research into their whole brand layout, what their aim is and how their critics write. During this research I learnt a lot about the company, such as them being based in London since they started in March 2005 and that each magazine is individually styled around a recent release, aiming to appeal to their unisex target audience of 24-35 year old's. 

These images below were roughly annoted prints from Little White Lies when I first saw the layout of the magazine.

I then broke down each paragraph to find the different techniques that they use when writing the review. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jake Reacher

I also wrote down what each paragraph of each review was based on. This helped me understand how the professional write their reviews and how we could follow this example for our review.

Zero Dark Thirty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life of Pi

 

Life of Pi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little White Lies Conventions

Content:

This film magazine includes many different aspects the it, making completely unique. For example, readers will see:

• Film reviews
• Photography
• Adverts
• Interviews

Front Cover:

-always an illustration image (never a printed photo)

-paper 

-pop art styled images of a featuring actor

-includes a bar code

-the brand logo is always positioned in the centre at the top, quoting "truth and movies"

-no coverline

 

Little White Lies are very active on social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instgram, however they also have a YouTube page. This allows them to post videos of the process of creating each print. Such as this time-lapse video to the left, showing each stage, giving their target audience an insight to the company.


The drawing stage of the front cover

Designing Process

Page Designing

Interior:

-paper pages

-bound spine

-3 separate text boxes
-3 ranking boxes with a description to the left
-a main image taken from the film itself
-a page number, in the centre at the bottom
-the title placed in the centre underneath the image
-details of the release date and director underneath the title in a separate box


Holy Motors LWL Review

The Place Beyond The Pines LWL Review





Little White Lies ranking system

How we followed LWL:

We created our Little White Lies film review in the format of the magazine, in order to create a professional piece of writing. We also used a specific type of language when constructing the review so that it would match the chatty, yet sophisticated style of writing that reviews write for Little White Lies. 

There were specific stages we had to follow when creating our LWL review, such as:
1. Create a layout following the measurements given by the magazine and insert main parts (image, title, ranking, page number and the name of director, starring actors and release date).
2. Annotate your InDesign review with conventions
3. Discuss as a group what you want to include in your review and divide up who will write each section
4. Write a draft of your section of and receive feedback from your advisor
5. Write up a final and improved copy
6. Put each section together and link them so that it all flows together as a review
7. Insert final review onto a LWL layout that has been created for your film

Annotation of how to construct a Little White Lies template on Indeisgn




My Indesign Layout

1st Edit:
Having similarities to Shyamalan’s, The Sixth Sense, Marshall’s has used the same touching yet psychologically challenging concept and hybrid of genres. With both characters representing a close sibling relationship, this is something that many audience members may watch and desire, making the film can either be very heart-warmingly pleasing or uncomfortable to watch. Furthermore, this film has also challenged viewers by embodying admix of psychological and social realism themes throughout, such as questioning the mind, how personalities are moulded for different people, leading to them not being able to ‘fit in’ and why people feel a certain way. This directs you into having the urge to protect the troubled protagonist.

The cinematography further focuses on the current issues of concern that every country in the world is currently dealing with, associated with teens, like brutal bullying, leading to individuals feeling worthless, out of place and dejected from society. Depression is a powerful, yet pressing issue that Marshall wanted to highlight throughout her film and this apparent within the protagonist, however only for a minimal duration of the film, emphasising the positive factor that there can always be light at the end of the tunnel for those suffering.

2nd Edit:

Having similarities to Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, Smith has used the same touching yet psychologically challenging concept and hybrid of genre. With both characters representing a close sibling relationship, this is something that may result as heart-warming or difficult to watch, depending on your point of view. Furthermore, this film could also challenge viewers by embodying an admix of psychological and social realism themes throughout. From questioning the mind, how personalities are moulded for different people, leading to them not being able to ‘fit in’, directing you as a viewer into having the urge to protect the troubled protagonist.

The cinematography used, (such as intense extreme close ups), further focuses on the current issues that every country in the world is currently dealing with, associated with teens, like brutal bullying, leading to individuals feeling worthless, out of place and rejected from society. Depression is a powerful, yet pressing issue that Smith wanted to highlight throughout her film and this is apparent within the protagonist, however only for a minimal duration of the film. Smith actively emphasises the positive feelings that there is hope and a light at the end of the tunnel for those suffering.

3rd Edit:

Having similarities to Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, Smith has used the same touching yet psychologically challenging concept and hybrid of genre. With both characters representing a close sibling relationship, this is a film that may result as heart-warming or difficult to watch, depending on your point of view. Furthermore, this film could also challenge viewers by embodying an admix of psychological and social realism themes throughout. From questioning the mind, to the familiar problem of not fitting it. The film directs you  into wanting to protect the troubled protagonist.

The cinematography used, (such as intense extreme close ups), further focuses on issues that every country in the world is currently dealing with, associated with teens, like brutal bullying, leading to individuals feeling worthless, out of place and rejected from society. Depression is a powerful, yet pressing issue that Smith wanted to highlight throughout her film and this is apparent within the protagonist, however only for a minimal, duration of the film. Smith actively emphasises the positive feelings that there is hope and a light at the end of the tunnel for those suffering.



Final LWL review on Indesign

This is a video that we recorded discussing what we wanted to include in our Little White Lies review: