We Media

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11989723

this is a very good example of 'we media' in the world today, and with one of the best websites to represent it, Facebook.

New script

We have had a new idea again. Our new idea is that our main character Dick has a dream. This dream is his ideal day and everything goes right, he gets a car for his birthday, he gets pulled inside 'the girl next door's' house and he has a great day. But then he wakes up. This is a great advantage to us because we can constantly remind the audience of the dream and the fact that the normal day doesnt go to plan. and throughout Dick is noticing things that he saw in his dream and he wants them to be real. but it doesnt turn out that great for him.

New film ideas

This short film I found on BBC short films and it has a scene exactly like we were thinking of having in our film. The scene is from 27seconds-40seconds.



This is another short film that I have got an idea from. The idea of a boy/man being alone in a house and he gets a strange phone call then someone walks in on him.

location photos

These are our location pictures, one character mood board and an aerial plan of our first set of shots.

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storybords and shot list

These are our finished storyboards we have stuck up in our booth to make it easy to see what work we have done

Our production booth

This is our production booth and i have taken this picture straight from my phone and uploaded onto this blog.

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Audience Research

Our target audience for our short film is 16-24. This is part of the main cinema going audience and the sort of themes in our film is relevant to this age group. Also the type of humour would be suitable for the age group.

I think our film would target a smilier audience to that of 'The Inbetweeners'. We have this because the type of humour and themes are similar and so are the characters. We have done mood boards and used characters from 'The Inbetweeners'.

Music (youtube playlist)

This is a play list I made on youtube to show our music. The type of music this is, is conventional to the genre we are working in and the songs are for different times in the film depending on what happens in the film. For example if the character is feeling bad then we will have music to mirror his mood and when the film is at a high point we will have music for that too.

Props Mood Board

Music

The sort of music that we want in our film is very conventional to the genre we are doing. We want indie, guitar based (at times) jumpy music. These are the some songs we have found as a base for what we want. We will expand and find more music in case we cant use the songs we have already picked.

Titles/opening scene: It's The Little Things We Do by The Zutons - Upbeat, Alternative song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=530X3sggoxE&ob=av2n

Scene 10/gets soaked: Buttercups by Cajun Dance Party

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY4AkGNtC6g

Scene 12/caught with porn mag and tissues in hand: Amylase by Cajun Dance Party

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POIdaranmxs

Mood board [Sally]

I have chosen both of these characters because in the shows they are from they both know they are pretty and are carefree about their looks and how they come across to people.

Mood board [Dick]

I have chosen a picture of Tim from 'The Office'. I have done this because his character in 'The Office' is a funny cool guy but at the same time he is lonely. Ive then chosen Will from 'The Inbetweeners' because this shows the more geeky and loner side of our character Dick.

*NEW* scrpit

This is the most recent version of our script. We have a few more drafts to do because we have had feedback from teachers and more idea we as a group have had.

Opening titles research

This is the opening titles for the TV show 'The Inbtweeners'. This show is a teen comedy and is similar to what we want to create. I have looked at the opening titles because this is one of the ways we can make our film fit the conventions of the comedy genre. What i would like to do is try and re-create the way they have made their lettering and the effects they have put on them. It introduces the show in such a way that you will know that is a comedy. This is because they have made their in a conventional way to show this.

NEW script

This is our latest update on our script. We have drawn inspiration from various media texts such as 'The Office' and 'Curb your enthusiasm'.

int. Bedroom 10.00am

Alarm "beeps"

Dick wakes up, gets out of bed and puts a tracksuit on.

int. house 10.35am

Dick goes down stairs, looks at a note on the fridge.

"out for the weekend on business. have a good birthday. I will make it up to you, Dad"

Dick takes the note off the fridge and it uncovers a board that shows his list of things to do during the day. it reads "1. walk dogs. 2. call friends for birthday.

Dick then tiredly opens the fridge, picks up the milk. looks at the expiry date and smells it and throws it away.

int. shop 11.40am

he gets milk from fridge, walks to the card section. stops, picks up a card. shot of him standing alone in the shop staring down at a card he has picked up. sound of the card playing a happy birthday tune. puts it down and pays for milk and leaves.

INT. BEDROOM 1.00pm

Dick anxiously plays fifa. He gets beaten badly

commentator V/O

and he's lost it!

(recorded commentators show this). he throws the controller onto his sofa and decides to have lunch.

int. kitchen

decides to have a microwave lunch, grabs a pakaged lunch and shoves it in the microwave. halfway through cooking it blows up. now Dick cannot eat.

INT. BEDROOM 2.00pm

Dick exitedly tries to call his friend to try and get them to come to his house for his birthday.

Friend 1 V/O

sorry cant come the the phone right now, leave a message and call back later.

V/O plays as he is leaving to walk the dogs.

ext. waiting outside dog owners house 2.15pm

Dick rings the doorbell. the door swings open, camera goes low and you see the dog run out and a pair of giant bunny slippers waiting at the door.

old woman

make sure you take care of him

ext. walking dog 2.30pm

Dick is walking the dog in the park. he spots a girl on the other path. he starts looking interestedly at her. as he smiles he walks into a lap post. cuts back to the girl walking off and giggling.

the dog then stops and does a poo. but he forgot to bring carrier bags so he doesn't know what to do. then it plays one of Dicks ideas of what to do. 1. he kicks it away and it hits someone 2. looks around and runs off 3. he steps in it. in the end he finds a stick. tries to pick it up. it doesn't work so he runs away.

EXT. WAITING OUTSIDE dog owners HOUSE 3.00pm

Dick walks up to the front door and it opens, he hands back the dog and the woman is still in her bunny slippers.

OLD WOMAN

did he do any poos?

Dick

no

he then walks through the front garden and leaves through the gate.

EXT. walking to the shop 3.15pm

Dick is on his way home still looking depressed and fed up. he is walking past a car wash. as soon as he walks round the corner a man throws a bucket of water all over him.

man

oh sorry mate!

INT. SHOP 3.20pm

Dick walks into the shop with a clear intention. He buys a porn magazine and tissues. the audience do not see what he buys. he feels that he will be alone on his birthday...

ext/int. house 4.00pm

Dick arrives home. a sight of relief for him. he opens the door and walks into the hallway with magazine and tissues in hand. as he looks looks up and the lights turn on. All of Dick's friends are waiting for him in his house and he is caught.

shot of him from his friends POV of him looking very surprised/very embarrassed. over the shoulder shot all of his friends and their reactions to what he has come home with.

fade to black.

New scene list

 This is our new scene list. We looked over our story and decided we needed to change our story and make a more rounded narrative about our character. We came up with the idea of having a tragic comedy about our character.

Scene 1.

Wakes up gets out of bed puts on a tracksuit.

Scene 2.

Goes down stairs looks at note on fridge saying his dad is out on business (out for the weekend again. sorry)
opens fridge gets milk smells it, it smells disgusting.

Scene 3.

Goes out to get milk. walks past the card section and picks up a card. shot with open framing, him standing alone looking down at the card with the music playing.

Scene 4.

Cuts to him later in the day playing fifa, gets beaten badly (commentaters voice over saying how badly he is doing), throws the controller on the sofa then decides to have a microwave lunch by himself, puts ..... in the microwave and it explodes so he cant eat.

Scene 5.

Trying to call his friends to get them to come to his house for his birthday but it keeps getting to there anwser phones. leaves for his job as a dog walker, as he is out he keeps getting to his friends happy answer phone messages in the backround of the action. the dog does a poo, he doesnt have any carrier bags, he does know what to do, he 1.covers it up 2.kicks it away 3.runs away and someone steps in it 4.he steps in it

Scene 6.

Then starts journey home, drops the dog off at the owners house the owner runs out of the house and shouts "how nice to see you!" but she goes for the dog over him, takes the dog and slams the door and he walks off. after he goes past a man washing a car. as he walks past the man throws the whole bucket of water over him. stops at the same corner shop as before, buys a porn magazine (the audience dont know its porn)  and some tissues, because he feels he will be alone for his birthday. 

Scene 7.

Arrives home, opens the door, walks into the main room with the magazine and tissue in hand, then he is caught by all of his friends who have been waiting for his birthday party. over the shoulder shot of him facing his frineds. cut to him holding up the porn and tissues. cut to black

Scene List

 This is the Scene list our group have drawn up with the intention of each scene.

Scene 1.

Wakes up gets out of bed puts on a tracksuit.

Scene 2.

Goes down stairs looks at note on fridge saying his dad is out on business.
opens fridge gets milk smells it, it smells disgusting so gets dressed.

Scene 3.

Goes out to get milk. looks at the card section opens an audio card playing happy birthday.

Scene 4.

Cuts to him later in the day playing fifa, gets beaten, throws the controller so decides to have a microwave lunch by himself.

Scene 5.

Trying to call his friends to get them to come to his house for his birthday but they all make excuses. after lunch he leaves for his job as a dog walker close up of him picking up dog poo, dropping off dogs at houses.

Scene 6.

Then starts journey home in dusk gets sprayed with water as a car goes through a puddle, stops at the same corner shop as before, buys a 6 pack of beer, because he feels he will be alone for his birthday, to make matters worse, it becomes clear to the audience that he is being followed home, shown by a series of P.O.V and handheld shots.  

Scene 7.

Arrives home to find the door ajar, appears his house is being burgled, walks in to investigate grabs a bat walks up to the kitchen door slowly turns the door handle.

Scene 8.

Finds he has been thrown a surprise birthday party.

My favourite directors

1. Ridley Scott-Alien (1979)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/

Ridley Scott is on of my favorite directors because he makes films that I like and watch. Alien is one of my favorite films because I am very into horror films and the way they can scare/make the audience react in a certain way to them. I think that it is very hard to make a good horror film with all of the films today like Saw. You cant tell because they all have to keep up with one another and no one really makes horror film like they used to, its all gorenographys today.

2. Edgor Wright-Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365748/

The reason why I like Edgor Wright is because he makes comdeys with very good writers and plays with the conventions of eg. zombie or cop action films.

3.Alfred Hitchcock- Rear Window (1954)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047396/

I really like Alfred Hitchcock films and i would have to agree that he is the master of suspense. I think Rear Window is one of his best films he made. I love the idea that a man just watching his neighbours uncovers a man who has murdered his wife.

Short Story research

Gifts To The Dark Gods-Thriller

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/GiftDark857.shtml

This is the first story i looked at. This story is all about a woman, Helen, who is obsessed with stealing things. it isn't clear why but as the story progresses we learn that it might be because of OCD. We also learn that she is very skilled at stealing things and goes by a very specific set of rules, and if she doesn't do that then she starts to get panic attacks. All of the things she steals are 'Gifts to the dark gods' in her mind. It is very obvious that she has some sort of disorder and it is interesting to learn what happens to her if she doesn't steal things.

The reason i was drawn to this story is because it is a very interesting idea, its not just a woman stealing things, she has to steal things (in her mind) to stop her from having wild panic attacks. And it shows the length that she is willing to go just to steal something.

There's a Man in the Habit of Hitting Me on the Head with an Umbrella-Comedy

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/TherMan.shtml

This is a very strange story, as the title says it is a man who hits another man all day everyday over the head with an umbrella. This is obviously a comedy but it is very interesting to see how the man reacts to it. At first he finds the man very annoying and wants him to stop. Like he used to keep him awake at night but at the end of the story he talks about how he has an awful feeling that if the man does leave then he wouldn't be able to live without him. This is an example of binary opposites about his feelings at the beginning and end of the story.

I was drawn to this story because i thought just like the short film 'Blackhole' this is very surreal. And it also shows us that at the end how the man worries that he wont be able to live without this man hitting him. 

An Uncomfortable Bed-Comedy

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/UncoBed829.shtml

This story is about a man who throughout the day suspects that his friends have invited him on a trip only to play a practical joke on him. In the end they do. This story shows his suspicions and anxieties about his friends very well and almost comically about just how paranoid he is about them.

I put this story on my blog i thought this would make a very funny short film. And also i think that the way that this boy feels is very normal for someone.

The underlying reason why i chose these stories for my blog is because i was interested in all of the and wanted to find out the ending. And also while i was reading them i was playing over in my head how it could be shot and made into a short film.

What is an Auteur?

An Auteur is when a particular film maker has his/her own style of film making. You can see this with directors such as Tim Burton, Alfred Hitchcock and Quentin Tarantino. They have their own ways and styles of filming their films.

There are frequently very similar themes and styles in their films.

Short film research

This is a short film i found and is a very good example of binary opposites. Instead of man fishing for the fish, the fish is fishing for man. The mise-en-scene of the short tells something about the nature of the film. If it was all bright and strong colours then it would be a very different film. Also from the low angles that it is shot is gives the audience the feel like we are watching him, like the fish is, and it makes the character feel more alone on the beach.




This short film is about a man who is reflecting on the good and bad times of his relationship. This short film is made up of all flashbacks the man is having then cross cuts back to the present day and his reaction to the memory. This is very clever because we build an idea of the couple in our minds about what the memories are of and why they happen. We are taken on a trip through the relationship and are made to sympathize with both characters depending on what happens in the flashbacks. But finally we are made to sympathize with the man because his girlfriend dumps him.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/ This is a website that I have gone through and looked at short stories similar to what we would like to achieve and just to brainstorm some ideas on what we would like to do.

Short films: Lucky

I think one of the best things about this short film is how it builds suspense. At the beginning when he is in the trunk, you cant hear anything. And as his knowledge about where he is builds, so does ours. The when he is out of the boot of the car it is a fast pace action film. The camera keeps up with this because it is probably hand held which makes it seem more frantic.

With the narrative of this short it could be from a feature film. With the questions like who put him in the boot answered. That is what makes this short so good because it works very well as a short film and it could be from a feature film. The narrative is so simple, man wakes up in moving car, climbs into the car and then stops it, then car explodes. It gives the viewer a rounded beginning, middle and end.

French new wave cinema

French New Wave cinema came from the influence in the 1950's and 60's by Italian neorealism and Hollywood cinema at the time. In French New Wave they experimented with different editing techniques narrative and the style the film was shot in.



For example in Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard things like just taking your camera out onto the streets and filming was a revolutionary way of filming. Usually all the films were filmed in studios with sets made for the film and lighting. But this way of filming was brand new and had never been done before.

Film Noir

Film Noir was a name for typical crime dramas that were very popular in the 1940's and 50's. The way the film was shot and the style is what gives it the name film noir. They focused on being stylish by using mainly low key lighting and playing with peoples shadows. The films focused on the 'underground' of city life and had conventional characters like the detective and femme fetal characters.

Here is an example of Film Noir

Avant-garde

Avant-garde films were know for the experimental techniques used in the films. They were very different from mainstream cinema. Dogme and Fench New Wave could be called Avant-garde because of there unusual styles and how they differ from Hollywood cinema.

Cinéma vérité

Cinéma vérité or truthful cinema is very similar to documentary or Dogme. The reason its called 'truthful' is because the film maker wants to get across the realism of the film. This means they might just use natural lighting, hand held cameras, no effects to make the film look glossy and perfect. They want the audience to see it like they see everyday. This is a very clever way of getting the audience more involved in the film becuase when the conditions are more real it is easier to empathize with characters and relate to the film.

Here is an example of Cinéma Vérité