Film Opening - Final Product

Our final film opening with the final changes to contrast and brightness.

Film Opening - Pre-Contrast/Brightness Changes

Our final film opening without the final changes to contrast and brightness made as I  decided after this was uploaded that I needed to make final changes to contrast and brightness levels to brighten up some of the more boring scenes.

TA - Cool Unicorn Bruv

Now that we're moving our focus more towards openings as it is our topic and looking less at short films i'm not going to do a textual analysis of this clip, I'm merely blogging this because it's funny

"You know what I mean; Ping?"

TA - Rocky Horror Picture Show Opening

Mise En Scene

• The red colour of the lipstick has many connotations that foreshadow the events of the film for example: lust, sexuality, romance, danger etc
• The black background connotes mystery and the general darkness of the film
• The titles are red, bold and dripping with what is so all we can see is teeth and they go black and white but the credits continue to fade in and out layered over them

Camera Angles

• The whole introduction is filmed from one extreme close up

Sound

• Gentle acoustic music has been used to contrast the connotations of the mise en scene and counter the wild and odd events of the film
• The nonsensical dialogue reflects the films peculiar events

Editing

• The lips have been edited away from a face, ie the skin surrounding the lips isn't visible, they have been pasted onto a black backdrop
• The titles fade in then drip wit blood and proceed to fade out

TA - Papá Wrestling

Best song ever

TA - Report Card

TA - Treevenge

Textual analysis of

Treevenge depicts Christmas from the perspective of sentient Christmas trees. After being hacked down and shipped to homes, they are subject to "humiliation" by humans, who decorated them and make them stand in their living rooms. The Christmas trees have had enough, and go on to massacre and kill an entire town as part of their uprising.

Mise en scene

• The beginning of the film is a brilliant juxtaposition to the film itself, bright cheerful music, old and crackly like a record player. A nice side scrolling shot showing off your setting, a beautiful Christmas tree forrest
• We come to a very angry looking man screaming to his fellow 'pieces of meat'. He's smoking a cigar and wearing the traditional lumberjack attire
• we see bleak coloured shots chainsaws and axes implying that what they're doing is cruel and barbaric
• @3:55 a man is actually wrestling a tree, spinning round and what not
  
• We see a family looking to buy a Christmas tree this establishes the time of year
• People (and a cat) brutally murdered as the trees get their revenge at last
• Lots of blood and gore, it's great

Camera

• Close ups on chainsaws and axes
• The rolling camera angles and the general franticness of the camera movement give us a sense of evil, spite and hatred being displayed to these trees
• mid shots used when the family are out buying a Christmas tree
• Close ups on the girls' faces as they see the trees gang up around them
• big close up on the woman's mouth as the branch is slowly inserted and on the eye as the eye pops out and the branch is forced out, through the hole

Sound

• Squeaking noise coming from a sapling, first sign of the trees' sentience
• After the trees have been chopped the crazy lumberjack does some loud, unnecessary battle cry showing that this to him is like a war that he has evidently won
• At one point when one of the trees is 'talking', a dolphin sound has been added in, no need (god damn i love this short so much)
• Lots of swearing throughout the tree chopping scenes showing the lumberjack guys' anger and hatred toward the trees for some reason
• Trees screech as they burn
• Diegetic noise of the conveyor belt
• Sad music added when showing the chopped trees to make us feel sorry for trees
• Happy, Christmas music added when the family are decorating the tree, naive to the cruelty that they are part of
• Lots of screaming during the massacre scene
• Diegetic baby's head getting squished noise
• Gentle music during ending credits to contrast the events in the film

Editing

• Short takes used throughout to show 
• Subtitles added as the trees make their little squeaky noise showing that they are not only alive but sentient and are able to communicate to one another
• A bit of static has been edited in when the girl gets grabbed by the tree showing that this shot was taken from the man's camcorder
• Cut away used when we see the branch forced into the woman's mouth it cuts away to her eyes for her reaction and to the mans face to show his reaction
• Zoom in, into a mans mouth which blurs and fades into another scene

This is the best short film in the entire world 

Preliminary Task - Final Piece

This is our preliminary task piece, filmed and starred in by me and Kirby and filmed mainly by Imogen with help from me and Kirby.

I'm still not happy with the different video sizes and the tracking shot of the feet but I feel this is alright because
1. we aren't getting marked on this piece at all and 
2. this could just be a draft and we can fix that for the actual piece.

Preliminary Task - Film Clips 2

Filming on day 2 went much better, instead of filming every scene well twice we filmed them each once but if it wasn't good did it again so that we only had each scene filmed and acted well, once which made the filming process easier and quicker. i also preferred filming on the second day as i had to no acting and it was all down to Kirby i just helped Imogen with some Camera Angles and gave Kirby feedback on the acting and stuff, which made the day really easy on me as i was only in school that day for media, so i got to go home straight after this was all filmed

Our second and probably final day of filming, along with the footage from the previous filming we think we'll have enough for the whole video.It is a bit of a problem that this is 16:9 and the other video clips are 4:3 we can either leave that or if we can, then fix it but it doesn't matter too much because this isn't being marked.

Preliminary Task - Film Clips 1

After one day of filming, this is what we have got, now I watch it back I'm doubtful that very much of footage this will be useful but I don't know yet. Also it appears the camera was on the wrong setting and filmed at an aspect ratio or 4:3 instead of 16:9. If we can switch the aspect ratio to 16:9 then most of the footage (excluding the outtakes) will be usable with exception to the tracking shot of my feet walking because the video is too shaky and out of focus due to the shakiness of my skateboard, also the loudness of my bearings in my wheels may be a problem but i think we'll be able to edit it out 

Preliminary Task - Planning

Initial plan plus ideas for individual scenes

Incredibly drawn storyboard done by myself including shot type information plus dialogue and other information 

These photos suck, blame it on Apple.

The plan and the story were thought of by Imogen which is why the video is going to be so weird. This is what craziness goes through her mind

TA - Still Life

 

I really like this short as it is quite a simple concept that the mannequins are people, but what i like most is it never really sums up why or how he saw the people as mannequins to begin with.

Mise en Scene

• At the beginning of the film we see a plain snowy landscape with a few dark trees with no leaves this sets the initial scene and works as an establishing shot this snowy landscape may also indicate the time of year (winter) and setting of the video (canada)
• Man appears tired, then takes pills possibly to remedy his fatigue or perhaps he get hallucinations for which he needs medication (this would explain later events) 
• The village appears empty of people
• He sees a very still, unanimated woman on a bench, this is our first hint of what the short is about

Camera Angles and Movement

• Straight away we see an establishing shot of a snowy landscape with trees
• Close-ups used to show the character's reactions to the events taking place around him
•  close up of the fuel gauge indicates us that he has to get some gas

Sound

• Straight away we hear a fuzzy static noise, this maybe coming from cars on the road however i doubt it because it seems like quite an empty desolate place
• The character is listening to the radio in his car, possibly to keep him from falling asleep
• The "diegetic" quiet bleep indicates the character (and with help from a close up of the fuel gauge - indicates us) that he has to get some gas
• The non-diegetic noise of a bird emphasizes the silence of the village
• Loud diegetic bang as he hits a "man" with his car

Editing

• A fade transition is used (from black) right at the begining of the short
• @1:15 a dissolve transition is used, going from a shot of the road to one of the chracter's face

TA - The Black Hole

TA - Doodlebug

Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception) is now a major Hollywood director and this 1997 short short film, Doodlebug, displays the darker tone that would serve him so well in his later, feature film career. The story consists of a somewhat ratty man, in a much rattier flat. There, he seems intent - and possibly even driven to insanity -with catching the doodlebug of the film's title. However, after over two minutes of cat-and-mouse chasing, it is revealed that the bug resembles a miniature version of himself. He squashes the bug with his shoe. The audience comes to realise that every move that the doodlebug makes the man reciprocates a second later. Into this Kafkaesque situation enters a large face, that of the man; thereby making the man the doodlebug, and he proceeds to get squashed by this newer being.

Mise en Scene

• The whole short film is in grayscale rather than full colour possibly to show how the character's life is dull and uninteresting
• Ratty, disgusting apartment

Camera Angle and Movement

• Numerous extreme and big close-up shots of objects in his apartment mainly ticking clocks implying he's in a hurry or that he is anxious about something which is also hinted at through his actions and general mannerisms
• Low angle shot as we see something run across the floor which is matched when he, too realizes it
• Close-up on the phone as it rings, disrupting his 'mission'
• The camera is shaking slightly throughout to indicate he is not of a sound mind

Sound

• Hyper diegetic clock ticking and phone ringing show his senses are heightened
• Ominous, surreal music which establishes the character's feeling
• Diegetic noise of the phone being put in the pitcher of water
• No dialogue to emphasise the man's loneliness

Editing

• Image is blurred maybe to indicate how crazy this bug thing being in this apartment is making him but it may be to show that this guy is in a weird dream-like state
• Short-takes to show the character's craziness

TA - About a Girl

Warning! this is a tad gruesome

I had a good time analyzing this short as it was interesting and shocking (not to mention horrifying), the acting of Ashley Thewlis (main character) was astounding and I thoroughly enjoyed the attention to detail in her flippant/naive expression when talking about such serious matters.

TA - Splitscreen: A Love Story

Can two people who live on opposite sides of the world have anything in common? This is the story of two parallel lives, one in New York and one in Paris and the journey that will lead them together. Told simultaneously through the eyes of both characters.

-J.W. Griffiths

Mise en Scene

• The same scene is shot at different time so the lighting is different as most of it is outdoors
• The woman at the end of the  scene is dressed nicely, looking both casual and smart whereas the man has pretty much chosen to wear quite smart clothes
• Nothing particularly extravagant is shown in the clip just normal everyday stuff

Sound

• The music throughout the clip is parallel to the sound as it is mysterious to begin with and gets less mysterious as the clip itself starts to make more sense
• Alarm sound at the beginning of the clip shows us what time of day it is
• The music is slow and calm when all we can see is clouds to show the beauty of the world
• Diegetic noises such as the curtains at the beginning and the sounds of the planes and the trains have been used to make it seem more realistic

Camera Angles & Movement

• Close ups used on things such as shower head and boiling eggs etc. this gives us a deeper look into them as people and their lives
• Long shots used to show the scenery and nature
• Tilt shot used as they both look up from their own maps to see each other stood there

Editing

• The two sides of the clip are shot at eye height so that it looks like we're seeing the world directly from their perspective
• The shots have been matched up so that for example the train comes in on the right side of the screen and goes out to the left when in fact these are different trains, different occasions and different times entirely