Today we filmed the meeting scene at the ADP Offices in Staines.
The only difficult part about this shoot was seeking security clearance to shoot at ADP and to locate the actors and actresses we needed to help us out.
We spent a long time traveling all over the place to pick people up and then get to Staines but it should be worth it.
Sunday 27 September 2009
Saturday 26 September 2009
Day 1
Today was the first day of filming, we shot some scenes set in the morning based around our protagonist waking up.
It all went quite smoothly except for one shot, we had hoped to have a bodge style dolly shot at one point but in fact it proved too difficult for us to get right so in the end we scrapped it.
Other than that, things were very good. ManFlick is back in business.
It all went quite smoothly except for one shot, we had hoped to have a bodge style dolly shot at one point but in fact it proved too difficult for us to get right so in the end we scrapped it.
Other than that, things were very good. ManFlick is back in business.
Friday 25 September 2009
The Decision
After much deliberation, we have decided on the short film about dreams. It's going to be our opportunity to explore the world of acting in our work, after Witness didn't contain any dialogue. Here's hoping we can pull it off.
Tuesday 22 September 2009
This Looked Familiar...
After we discussed the idea of the man running in the forest, I saw this music video from an group called Florence And The Machine. I've been a massive fan of their Mercury Prize nominated album "Lungs" for a while now, however I only saw the video after we made our idea so I had to laugh after seeing it.
It's very similar to our idea so I watched it a few times to see if it could give us some ideas.
It's very similar to our idea so I watched it a few times to see if it could give us some ideas.
Friday 18 September 2009
Textual Analysis: Strangers
Strangers is a 2004 short film by directors Guy Nattiv and Erez Tadmor, upon it's release it won many awards including the Sundance Online Film Festival Viewers Award and a BAFTA Award for Excellence at the Aspen Shortsfest. Since making Strangers, Guy Nattiv and Erez Tadmor have taken the same format of a chance meeting of some strangers and created a feature length film of the same title. It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival 2007.
Strangers is the story of a Jew and a Muslim who encounter each other on a train and are quickly threatened by a group of Skinheads. The theme of the piece is religious tension. It is first seen between the Jew and the Muslim but then (more menacingly) between the Skinheads and the Jew and the Muslim. The ending of the play brings a lighter note to the theme, indicating that there can be compromise between most beliefs.
The first shot is a simple establishing shot of a train passing the camera. It lets the audience know the location of the story. The rest of the camerawork in the film is used to establish the characters. A variety of close ups show the ethnic backgrounds of the characters. A close up of the Muslim’s paper shows he is reading in Arabic, a close up of the Jew’s neck shows his Star Of David pendant and a close up of the skinheads reveal typical piercings, boots and Swastikas. These are key to establishing the intentions of the characters and also clearly set the theme of the film to be Racial Tension within the first 2 minutes. AT first we see tension between the Jew and the Muslim but later, when both threatened we see unity between them. This unity is however still separated in the final shots of the film, when the pair are on separate sides of the railway tracks after thwarting the skinheads. This is a clear message for the film that although people can be separated by their beliefs, they can come together to defeat evil.
The sound of the piece is key to building the tension until the pair decides to escape the Skinheads. Short, sharp drumbeats signify the heartbeats of the pair as the skinheads approach, quickly increasing in tempo. For a while, the music continues in this drumming style until the Jew attempts to exit at a station. As he does so his phone rings, playing a traditional Jewish song as his ringtone. The drums are then interrupted for this moment and until he shuts off the phone. The next sounds heard are two short, sharp, higher pitched sounds which are accompanied by camera cuts showing the Jew and the Muslim looking at each other and nodding. They quickly jump from their seats surprising the Skinheads and allowing them to make their escape. Whilst this is happening, fast paced bongo music is playing, implicating the urgency and danger of this attempt to escape. The pair escape to freedom and the music immediately stops, signifying their safety. Other than this, general diagetic sounds of the train and platform announcer can be heard throughout, mainly to create realism in the location.
The mise-en-scene of the piece creates the religious stereotypes which help us to see the situation we are looking at. The Jew wears a Star Of David pendant, signifying his beliefs. The Muslim is Asian and reads an Arabic newspaper, signifying his beliefs. The skinheads wear large boots, have piercings and have baldheads with iron crosses, signifying their beliefs. The expected audience knowledge of these signs are what allow this piece to be successful and camera detail which shows the signs is what makes the viewer notice them.
The editing of the piece has a symbiotic relationship with the sound, camera and mise-en-scene to reinforce the religious stereotypes. When the Jew first gets on the train we see him look across the carriage at something, then revealed through the use of editing to be the Arabic newspaper that the Muslim is reading. When the Jew notices this he pulls out his pendant, making sure to show the Star Of David to the Muslim (again, recognition of this symbol is shown through the editing). This same technique is used when the Skinheads hear the Jew’s ringtone.
Overall, the combination of sound, editing, camera and mise-en-scene come together to make the film perfectly understandable despite it having no dialogue. It effectively beats the viewer over the head with symbols and signs of such widely known stereotypes that it is accessible to almost anyone with a slight knowledge of religion.
Guy Nattiv and Erez Tadmor
Strangers is the story of a Jew and a Muslim who encounter each other on a train and are quickly threatened by a group of Skinheads. The theme of the piece is religious tension. It is first seen between the Jew and the Muslim but then (more menacingly) between the Skinheads and the Jew and the Muslim. The ending of the play brings a lighter note to the theme, indicating that there can be compromise between most beliefs.
The first shot is a simple establishing shot of a train passing the camera. It lets the audience know the location of the story. The rest of the camerawork in the film is used to establish the characters. A variety of close ups show the ethnic backgrounds of the characters. A close up of the Muslim’s paper shows he is reading in Arabic, a close up of the Jew’s neck shows his Star Of David pendant and a close up of the skinheads reveal typical piercings, boots and Swastikas. These are key to establishing the intentions of the characters and also clearly set the theme of the film to be Racial Tension within the first 2 minutes. AT first we see tension between the Jew and the Muslim but later, when both threatened we see unity between them. This unity is however still separated in the final shots of the film, when the pair are on separate sides of the railway tracks after thwarting the skinheads. This is a clear message for the film that although people can be separated by their beliefs, they can come together to defeat evil.
The sound of the piece is key to building the tension until the pair decides to escape the Skinheads. Short, sharp drumbeats signify the heartbeats of the pair as the skinheads approach, quickly increasing in tempo. For a while, the music continues in this drumming style until the Jew attempts to exit at a station. As he does so his phone rings, playing a traditional Jewish song as his ringtone. The drums are then interrupted for this moment and until he shuts off the phone. The next sounds heard are two short, sharp, higher pitched sounds which are accompanied by camera cuts showing the Jew and the Muslim looking at each other and nodding. They quickly jump from their seats surprising the Skinheads and allowing them to make their escape. Whilst this is happening, fast paced bongo music is playing, implicating the urgency and danger of this attempt to escape. The pair escape to freedom and the music immediately stops, signifying their safety. Other than this, general diagetic sounds of the train and platform announcer can be heard throughout, mainly to create realism in the location.
The mise-en-scene of the piece creates the religious stereotypes which help us to see the situation we are looking at. The Jew wears a Star Of David pendant, signifying his beliefs. The Muslim is Asian and reads an Arabic newspaper, signifying his beliefs. The skinheads wear large boots, have piercings and have baldheads with iron crosses, signifying their beliefs. The expected audience knowledge of these signs are what allow this piece to be successful and camera detail which shows the signs is what makes the viewer notice them.
The editing of the piece has a symbiotic relationship with the sound, camera and mise-en-scene to reinforce the religious stereotypes. When the Jew first gets on the train we see him look across the carriage at something, then revealed through the use of editing to be the Arabic newspaper that the Muslim is reading. When the Jew notices this he pulls out his pendant, making sure to show the Star Of David to the Muslim (again, recognition of this symbol is shown through the editing). This same technique is used when the Skinheads hear the Jew’s ringtone.
Overall, the combination of sound, editing, camera and mise-en-scene come together to make the film perfectly understandable despite it having no dialogue. It effectively beats the viewer over the head with symbols and signs of such widely known stereotypes that it is accessible to almost anyone with a slight knowledge of religion.
Thursday 17 September 2009
Short Film Reserch: Target Audiences
With short films being the niche, almost underground genre that they are, finding the target audience for one is imperative.
Whilst we know that our target audience can easily fall into our peer group and those we know, we also need to define the target audience if we were to look on an international scale.
Looking at the subject matter of our film, it is suitable for anyone. It contains a light tone and family friendly storyline so it could be aimed at all ages. However, not all ages will seek out short films. Reserch tells me that the audience of short fillms is typially male, aged 19-40 so they are the largest target demographic and all others would be subsidiary.
Looking at this we have noticed that these findings generally line up with Witness so we like the thought of adding in an intertextual reference to it. This is a tricky business because if the intertextual reference isn't spotted but it is critical to the plot, then everything can be lost. With this in mind we will make our reference nonchalant so that those who understand it will be happy, but those who don't will also still be able to follow the film.
Whilst we know that our target audience can easily fall into our peer group and those we know, we also need to define the target audience if we were to look on an international scale.
Looking at the subject matter of our film, it is suitable for anyone. It contains a light tone and family friendly storyline so it could be aimed at all ages. However, not all ages will seek out short films. Reserch tells me that the audience of short fillms is typially male, aged 19-40 so they are the largest target demographic and all others would be subsidiary.
Looking at this we have noticed that these findings generally line up with Witness so we like the thought of adding in an intertextual reference to it. This is a tricky business because if the intertextual reference isn't spotted but it is critical to the plot, then everything can be lost. With this in mind we will make our reference nonchalant so that those who understand it will be happy, but those who don't will also still be able to follow the film.
Wednesday 16 September 2009
Initial Ideas
e're currently developing a few ideas for the short film and once it has been created we'll know what we need to do for our ancillary pieces.
The first idea is an exploration of dreams. We're considering having a character who dreams he is a successful busisnessman at night but is actually a schoolboy in truth. In his dreams however, he keeps seeing a girl who he becomes infatuated with. Eventually he ends up meeting her in real life.
This idea is one of the front runners at the moment because it would be quite simple to make in terms of shots and editing. The only drawback is the numerous locations and cast members we would have to source.
The next idea is very arty and pretentious. A man wakes up in the forest and sees a thin string running between trees. He begins to follow it (all the while music is building up to a loud and inspiring finale) and soon notices others following different pieces of string too. They all begin to sprint following their individual stings until they all meet atop a hill to see the sunrise.
This is a very typical short film idea and it is possible for us to film, however it was an idea that Oli had been planning to do alone so we may allow him to do so, keeping this project a more team effort.
The final idea is also quite arty. It explores the idea of one persons consequences on the world. In this case, an apple recieves the consequences of lots of peoples actions and ends up saving a man's life.
I like this idea because it is arty and original as well as being achievable.
The first idea is an exploration of dreams. We're considering having a character who dreams he is a successful busisnessman at night but is actually a schoolboy in truth. In his dreams however, he keeps seeing a girl who he becomes infatuated with. Eventually he ends up meeting her in real life.
This idea is one of the front runners at the moment because it would be quite simple to make in terms of shots and editing. The only drawback is the numerous locations and cast members we would have to source.
The next idea is very arty and pretentious. A man wakes up in the forest and sees a thin string running between trees. He begins to follow it (all the while music is building up to a loud and inspiring finale) and soon notices others following different pieces of string too. They all begin to sprint following their individual stings until they all meet atop a hill to see the sunrise.
This is a very typical short film idea and it is possible for us to film, however it was an idea that Oli had been planning to do alone so we may allow him to do so, keeping this project a more team effort.
The final idea is also quite arty. It explores the idea of one persons consequences on the world. In this case, an apple recieves the consequences of lots of peoples actions and ends up saving a man's life.
I like this idea because it is arty and original as well as being achievable.
Monday 14 September 2009
Textual Analysis: BURN-E
BURN-E is an accompanying short film for Disney Pixar's 2008 feature film WALL-E. Made by Angus MacLane who was lead animator on WALL-E, it tells the story of BURN-E, a maintenance robot whose day is interrupted and made very difficult becuase of WALL-E's presence. The film was added to the special feature's of WALL-E's DVD and Blu Ray release.
It is a short film typical of Pixar in that it focuses mainly on humour with a lighthearted storyline. It bandwagons on the success on WALL-E and therefore aims at the same audience of children and parents who helped WALL-E to gross $534 million worldwide. It could therefore be said to be in the Childrens Short Film Genre.
The narrative is linear and tells the story BURN-E. He's a maintence robot sent out to the edge of his ship to after a small rock breaks a light. BURN-E is given a replacement light which he begins to install until he is disrupted by WALL-E's pursuit of EVE. The clips of WALL-E and EVE are actual footage from WALL-E and are therefore quite rewarding to those with the cultural capital to recognise them. BURN-E loses the replacement bulb and then heads back to fetch another, only to again be disturbed when fitting it. He is distraught and angered at this and so he heads back for another replacement which is begrudingly given to him by SUPPLY-R. This time, BURN-E fits the light without a hitch, however when he attempts to re-enter the ship, WALL-E and EVE beat him to it and thus BURN-E is sealed outside. After a few attempts to get back in, we see a montage af shots which indicate temporal elipsis as BURN-E waits to get back in. Eventually, he realises that he can cut a hole in the door using a blowtoch and proceeds to do so. After travelling back to the robot which will allow him to turn on the light, BURN-E's story looks to be complete, however once again WALL-E's antics disrupt BURN-E's plans and make the entire ship begin to roll, sending BURN-E rolling uncontrolably back out to the light he just fixed. BURN-E is left clinging to the light until the captain puts the ship back on course and into hyperspace, which leaves BURN-E pinned to the hull. Eventually, the ship slows and lands on Earth so BURN-E heads back inside to finally reactivate the light. However he finds the ship is deserted and there is no sign of SUPPLY-R. To overcome this, BURN-E heads to the flight deck and uses a periscope to search for SUPPLY-R. He eventually finds him and uses an ejection pod to get down to him. He bursts out of the pod and goes to SUPPLY-R where he turns on the light and is ecstatic. However his joy in once again shortlived as the roof of the ejection pod he just got out of hits a light and breaks it again, causing BURN-E to faint to the floor in disbelief and anger.
It's is shot in a standard way, using general shots and editing to tell the story in a simple, accessible way for children. Because none of the robots talk, their body movements are exaggerated to tell their feelings and this works successfully to convey the story brilliantly. The body movements are combined with small soundbites of robot 'voice' which are basically one word repeated but in different tones to create the effect of emotions.
My interpretation of the film gave me the message that your actions always affect those around you, whether you are there to witness those effects or not. This is communicated by showing small clips of WALL-E but then large segments of BURN-E that show the effects of his actions. It's a wholesome message which is the sort of thing Disney Pixar is aiming for, given that they are targeting not just children, but the parents which pay for the children to go to the cinema or buy DVD's. Having this wholesome, apolitical and clean image means that parents will have no qualms about taking their children to see a Pixar film because they know it will not be rude or innapropriate.
In conclusion, I find BURN-E to be quite innovative in that it is neither prequel nor sequel to WALL-E but manages to recreate and add to the experience and storyline of it. It is shot genreically but not in a boring way and is mainly something to tack onto the DVD special features of WALL-E.
The Return Of ManFlick
After last years' momentus success at AS I (along with the 3 other members of ManFlick) have decided to carry on with Media Studies at A2 level.
The crew remians the same; Me (Sam Thorpe), Jack Parfitt, Oli Clubb and Joe Sullivan.
This year we will be creating a (roughly) 5 minute short film and 2 accompanying pieces. The first of these pieces is a poster for the film and the second is a magazine review page. We're hoping to establish a brand identity across all of these pieces.
Here's hoping for another great year!
The crew remians the same; Me (Sam Thorpe), Jack Parfitt, Oli Clubb and Joe Sullivan.
This year we will be creating a (roughly) 5 minute short film and 2 accompanying pieces. The first of these pieces is a poster for the film and the second is a magazine review page. We're hoping to establish a brand identity across all of these pieces.
Here's hoping for another great year!
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