Take Notice: Short Film

Take Notice: Film Review

Take Notice: Poster

Film Review: Final Review

Here is the final film review that has been revised and improved 

Film Review: First Draft and Feedback

Here is my first attempt at the film review. There were some positives as well as negatives that I needed to change to allow for the best final review.

Here is the first draft:

After my feedback, I had a lot of improvements to make. Firstly the biggest problem. My review, wasn't very focused on reviewing the film, it more so gave an overview of what happens throughout. So most of the text had to be rewritten so that it captures my opinion as the feedback recommends. 

Another less significant problem was the picture caption. It was taking up mots of the left third of the page and it shouldn't have been a caption. Rather a pool quote which summarises the review in a sharp line/quote. Therefore this was added and the caption was shrunk and moved into the lower right fifth of the picture (hadn't been taken yet).

The date issue and page number were too large so were also shrunk. In the issue of empire black lines are used to underline/ separate the top information from the review itself. 

Now the minor the layout needed to have at least a 0.5mm band all the way around, as well as having everything in line as opposed to scattered like I did. 

Finally I have to add the page number very small at the bottom alongside the name of the magazine, 'Empire' and the issue date of the magazine.

These are all of the different changes I need to make to create my final and best review. 

Film Review: Layout Research

After our film we needed a film review. For this we had to research different film review magazines and then considering all aspects such as font, layout and formality we will make a film review using the best suited magazine as a template.

 

These were the most appealing designs and magazines that suited my writing style and form of writing, in a more informal style. Therefore I have chosen to research these three magazines to come to the conclusion on which will be the best one to use for my film review.

Firstly is SFX. This magazine utilises a very scrambled design with pictures scattered, with text surrounding them. The articles are numbered and highlighted so the reader can follow what film and picture is being talked about. The writing itself if informal and addresses the general vibe of the film rather than going into depth about the exact production techniques used. The pictures used are also large and capture a moment of significance or a main character further intriguing the reader.  SFX also utilises a superhero/ hero sub genre throughout to maintain interest.

Next is Empire. Empire has a more formal layout than SFX with column writing with a chain of photos through the middle, more like a new article. The pictures appear in a circular form also capturing important pictures. The titles are in bold and are used at the top of the page. The writing itself however isn't very formal and still just highlights the overall film and its intentions rather than micro elements. 

Finally is Total Film. Total Film utilises a few large pictures within the top half of the page followed by columns of text bellow. There is also a pool quote within the centre of the left page, this is to attract the reader further by referencing the film or other films that would cause interest. Finally there is a insert on the right side, this can be sued to fill space, but very lightly talks about other films that may have relevance to the main talk point.

Overall I shall be choosing Empire to use as my layout for the film review. I have chosen Empire as they have a simple layout that's easy to follow and whilst also having informal text about the topic. I havent chosen SFX as they have a superhero sub genre which my film doesn't apply to and I haven't chosen Total Film not because of its poor layout, but because Empire has a better aesthetic.

Poster: Final Design

Here is my final design poster I shall use for the film.

I considered the feedback and made my adjustments to the best suited design. I changed the title to 'Take Notice' as it was the least cliche and I also took the font used as it best suited the drama genre. I also added the institution credits and the social media logos. 

Poster: Draft Feedback

After my poster creations I was given feedback on what to improve, remove and keep with my design  and overall what one to develop. 

 The overall consensus of the posters is that I had good picture manipulation from the original picture I took. However I did have to add institution credits  as well as social media icons to take up some room. The best poster that was voted on was the corridor poster as it best resembles my research, the only alteration was that I had to change the position from the bottom to the top and change the font to the second posters font as it had a more drama theme.

Poster: First Drafts

Here are my first attempts in making the posters for the film.

Poster: Research

To ensure that I created the most realistic poster possible I had to research other short film posters to ensure that my poster is the best it could be. 

Here is a variety of short film posters that I will analyse to see what and what not to include in the poster:

In this 'NAVIS' design there resides the title at the top. This in a unique font with a smaller narrative outline underneath in smaller writing. There is the main subject/ area of attention in the centre, a woman with flames behind her, making the woman very visible. At the bottom social media icons are also seen to indicate where information about the film can be found as well as the institution credits to show who was involved in the production of the film. One other stand out factor from the others that this poster is landscape and the others are portrait. 

For the second poster 'LOGAN', the subject/ protagonist is in the centre of the poster. This time the title resides in the bottom sector of the poster. Underneath this once again the institution credits and this time the website in which information and the film itself can be viewed. The only text at the top is producer of the film, however this is only relevant if a well know actor/ producer/ director is used so in our case this wont be necessary.

In the final poster 'CHIEF', once again the subject of interest is in the centre middle with no other elements around it, the title follows the first poster by being placed at the top. This poster has awards at the bottom of the screen which could be used for space filling. Finally as the same for all of the posters, institution credits are present at the very bottom. 

To conclude, for the best poster, I will utilise the portrait style with the title at the top. I will also try and have the subject of interest in the centre as well as the institution credits at the bottom. In addition I may add social media icons or awards. 

Film Draft: Additional Content

After our feedback we decided that it was key to have a audio clip of Harry over the top of the action to express the emotion and context behind his actions. We also decided to add a scene at the end which reveals Harry speaking to what appears to be a police officer interrogating him. It reveals that Harry had committed an act of terrorism, and was unravelling how he came to the stage where  he thought it was necessary to act.

First potential script for voice over.

I was just like everyone else: A teenager; School; Exams; Studying; I had a future. I’ve always wanted to be popular, but I wasn’t. I guess I was ‘too nice’ to be hung around with? Some might say nerdy, I dunno. I couldn’t understand why nobody liked me? Why no one spoke to me?

Since my Dad's passing,everyone just disappeared, they didn’t ‘Take Notice’ of me. My Mum certainly doesn’t - she slipped into the same monotonous cycle of an empty existence that I feel. Video games keep me entertained as a way in which I can unwind - there’s nothing else to do, except extend my personality and life in the form of HD pixels. Here I was occupied, entertained, I could take my frustration out with no consequence.

School time meant I had to fall back into a reality of routine disappointment, where I felt I lived separate from others, as some sort of freak show at which they could look out at an wonder… I wonder - why was I so rejected? I hated them for it.

I always dreaded school time. Friends that I once had are just a distant memory, forgotten along with the boy I was before dad went. I said I changed - maybe they think I’m strange because I like to stay organised; or wear my hair differently now. People don’t understand how much it can affect you when you’re constantly being given a hard time. Little gestures matter. Daily life was lonely. It was a struggle. Ergh. It was the same old really.

I had been speaking to Amid for a while now. I signed up to a chat website to make some friends. To make some company. Anybody I really didn’t mind. He was nice to me. He was online as anonymous and he told me his real name. I trusted him. He had no reason to lie to me, I had nobody to tell… We messaged each other every day.  He asked me how my day was and I asked him. He seemed to care.

He didn’t have the issues I have anymore, but he used to. He told me eventually how he overcame it all. The pain, the isolation, the self-hatred. He began to fit into a group which society rejected, like me. He was taken in by those who nobody else wanted to and amongst themselves they made a brotherhood. He told me how his life had improved. He was enlightened. He was so relatable. He had experienced everything  I was and more. Amid improved his life and encouraged me to do the same for myself. How couldn’t I be inspired when I understood just how peaceful and happy Amid was, which he never imagined he would have been. He was my friend. I honestly believed he wanted the best for me.

I didn’t quite understand what he was asking me to do, but I would have done anything to be like Amid. I admired him. He was my one and only real friend. And I truly believed we would be friends for life. I didn’t know what Amid meant when he told me of his brotherhood. But I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to belong somewhere. They revolted against society by becoming one, which I admired.

Obviously I didn’t understand what Amid meant by this.. I thought they revolted by coming together as society desired their separation. Society wanted us to be alone. I wanted to be a part of Amid’s brotherhood no matter what it took. He told me they was all excited to meet me and I couldn’t wait to meet them. They told me to meet at London Bridge and the rest would be revealed then. I didn’t know what i was getting into. And now I’m here...

Final Film Draft 1 and Feedback

Our first compilation of the film. 

Feedback on our first attempt:

The film needed more sound that would create more of an atmosphere throughout the entirety of the film.

However the film does jump around from location to location without a smooth transition, breaking continuity for the drama genre which is detrimental and needs to be fixed.

The final issue with our film was the lack of context behind what he does throughout the entire film. Therefore one piece of feedback was that we needed to add a voice clip with a scene at the end which reveals the context behind his actions, but also creates an enigma until the end of the film. 

Summary of Re-Planning

A summary of the changes that we made in consideration of the 4 micro elements 

New Line of Narrative Events (Screenplay Alterations)

After we made the changes in the narrative, such as removals of clips as well as additions, we decided it was necessary to arrange the events to make it more clear where they fit into the screenplay.

Changes and Additions to the Narrative

After our animatic feedback from our teacher and class, we realised that it was necessary to make some changes to our narrative. Therefore we decided to remove some elements, keep some and add some. We have developed these ideas for days and have came to the conclusion of what needs to be done.

Elements have been altered:

Elements that have been removed/added:

Required Sound Research

After our animatic we found what sounds worked well that we will keep as well as sounds that may have been missing and that need to be added, here is the sound we decided we needed:

School Indoor

Walking Footsteps

Running in Corridor

School Bell 

Ambient Talking Noise

Eardrum Ringing

Clock

Door Opening 

School Outdoor

Walking on Pavement 

Running on Pavement

People Playing Football

Harry's Room

Keyboard Typing

Sobbing Lightly

Trial Shots

These are the shots first shots of the film which we tested to ensure our equipment worked well as well as the quality of thew filming. This was the result we came out with for our first shots:

Case Study: Panic Attack

Panic Attack is a short film created by Fede Alvarez.

Production

A trailer of the film was uploaded to YouTube in October 2006, with some scenes from the finished version. The official production budget of the film was given as only $300. In addition to writing, editing and directing the film, Álvarez created the visual effects based on computer-generated imagery.

Narrative

Giant Robots appear out of the mist and attack Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Accompanied by a squadron of spacecraft, they fire weapons at the city and destroy key buildings, leading to mass panic.

The military fights back to little avail. At the end of the film, the robots fuse together to form a giant sphere, which then detonates and engulfs the city in a fireball. No explanation is given for the attack.

Premiere

The film was premiered on October 31, 2009 at the Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre film festival and uploaded to YouTube on November 3, 2009.Following widespread media coverage, Álvarez was offered a $30 million Hollywood deal to develop and direct a full-length film, such as Evil Dead and Don't Breathe.

Panic Attack contained the key to creating a successful short film, therefore we will try and find those successful elements and use them in our film.

Animatic Feedback

This is feedback from our classmates and teacher after they watched our animatic.

Firstly our teachers feedback. The first bit of feedback was that our diagetic sound was good and therefore wot have to be changed. The next was that we had to cut down on the loneliness, as it appears to be the subject of the film, however it isn't as extremism is, we will cut down the classroom scene to 1 minute maximum to tone down the loneliness.  Next was the suggestion of changing the music throughout as only two soundtracks were used, however there should be more changes. Also the findabuddy.com website appeared comical to the audience and isn't how it was supposed to be portrayed, therefore must be changed. Finally the message of the film wasn't even shown until 5 minutes in and therefore should be drip fed throughout the entire film. 

Within the class feedback we found out that: the audience understood that Harry was lonely and was bullied as well as found comfort online. One thing that wasn't clear however was the extremism as it wasn't drip fed. It was also recommended that more of the conversation between Harry and the extremist is shown. We were also told that we had a wide variety of shots although tracking shots could be used as well. Our non-diagetic sound wasn't good as there was no variation between shots and movements. Also the music used was very boring after a while as it didn't change, therefore additional tracks should be used. It was also recommended that some dialogue between the bullies and Harry is exchanged as the non-diagetic ringing occurs.

Overall

Positives:

• Easily identifiable genre
• Good portrayal of isolation
•  Good range of shots

Negatives:

• Not a clear narrative
• Poor non-diagetic sound 
• Poor music use
• Too long of a classroom scene
• Dialogue 
• Unrealistic website name
• Not enough interaction with extremist

Considering these details we will go back to our storyboard and alter some aspects and well as keep some that worked well. There are elements that don't need to be changed, however there are elements which need to be extracted, and some elements that need additions. Over the coming days these aspects that we had feedback on will be altered. 

Animatic of Short Film

This is an animated version of our storyboard. We have done this to make sure that the the sound we want matches the actions, as well as the narrative flows well as is understandable, as well as bordering the 5 minute mark. Below is the animatic:

Camera Work in the Drama Genre

Mise En Scene in the Drama Genre

Textual Analysis 5:The Most Beautiful Thing

Just the portrayal that we want to achieve in our film. The protagonist is a lonely isolated boy, who looks for acceptance and confidence. Now nearing the end of his school days, all he seeks is to end it with someone who he can consider his friend/ girlfriend. Therefore half way through the film he meets a girl, a deaf girl by the name of Emily and they live out their relationship through the use of a pen and paper. Further following the convention of a simple plot, often not involving in-depth dialogue. Their love is momentarily halted by an arrogant "cool kid", who tries to steal and kiss the protagonists girlfriend. However she eventually speaks out to him and he ends up asking her to prom, which was one of his greatest concerns for the boy.

Due to the time constraints on a short film, plenty of enigma codes can be seen throughout. One enigma code that I first noticed was when the boy first returns home at the beginning he calls to his parents, only to receive no answer, but he called as if he expected them to be there at that time. They're not there and could be why he feels so alone and isolated. If this film were to be extended it could be easily drawn out, thus proving that the plot has depth and interest even though presented through a shortened format.

The film starts at the beginning relying heavily on the use of a bench, using it as a catalyst to fuel the relationship between the two characters. However as there relationship blooms you see her visit his home and other places around the school, thus broadening the variety of setting as well as delving further into the plot.

Going back to the repeated use of the bench, due to the position of the bench it indeed limits the use of cinematography. Thus leaving the shots to mostly consist of medium shots and close ups, as well as shot reverse shots. However close ups are used throughout the film, due to the emotional nature of the film to convey the characters true emotions, thus allowing the audience to empathise and relate to the characters.

Sound in the Drama Genre

Editing in the Drama Genre

Textual Analysis 4: 2am The Smiling Man

Often in horror, the narrative is not about the characters but rather focuses on atmosphere and tension through sound and music. This is why not much attention has been paid towards the main character. He is also made to be purposefully young so that the target audience of the film can relate to the position of the character to receive scares. Considering that the main demographic for horror is young adults and males, this is a perfect set up. 

We can assume that the genre of film this will be is horror. Going off the cliches of the horror genre, conventionally atmospheric music will be used throughout to portray how the characters feel throughout. In the beginning, the main protagonist is walking down a dark road in what we can assume is the US. There is no music, diegetic or non-diegetic throughout, but a few interruptions of musical notes every once in a while connoting to the audience that there is something wrong. Coupled with the stereotypical time of night, we can only assume that this will be of the horror genre. 

Whilst there is equilibrium, the shots are fairly slow, with the camera mainly remaining still with some pans to establish the setting. This is to establish the narrative that this man is clearly walking home from somewhere. However once the short film progresses the shots are edited together at a faster pace, to show that there has been a disruption. During the chase we see quick editing to make the audience feel frantic and tense. In these quick shots we see him primarily in either long shots or close-up shots of his face. The long shots place him in the centre third of the screen making him seem small and obsolete to his surroundings, meaning he is inferior to the smiling man. The close-ups also exaggerate his emotions, also blocking the view of anything else in frame, shrouding the killer, leaving the audience in a state of panic.

Representation of the main antagonist in the short film is very cliche to show that there is a threat to the audience. He is costume consists of nothing but an ordinary jumper and jeans. It usually plays on the fears of society, and more particularily the fears of the audience. The antagonist has a suit, and is designed to look like a rather abnormal, ominous man. He has no clear motive and that is what scares the audience. I believe it is playing of the fear of being attacked or robbed at night as he is alone and often in society, acts like this are blamed on those who are not mentally stable enough. By creating a deformed man who does not know how to act properly this is portrayed to the audience.

The only diegetic sound we hear is the man saying 'What the hell do you want?'. This being a stereotype of the genre as usually the main story arc of horror to find out why the antagonist of the film is performing the horrific acts. The sound has its climax in the last chase part of the film where the smiling man is chasing after our protagonist accompanied by a loud disarray of musical sound. This obviously reflects the manic thoughts of both of the characters and is a common trope of horror to build tension. Sound throughout is minimal, the non-diegetic sound dominates the film, with the atmospheric long notes to build up the tension, commonly seen in horror to climax to a jump. There are also several beats throughout, mimicking the sound of a heartbeat to show that there is a threat, setting up for the narrative of the man being a danger to his life.

Actor Interviews

After narrowing down the candidates to two, they both needed an interview, therefore Mia Simpson interviewed me and Owen to see who is more eligible. 

Owens Interview:

Sean's Interview:

After reviewing the interview we settled for out main actor to be Sean McGrath (me). We chose myself as I had previous experience in that field as well as an open schedule. Owen did have the GCSE grades to show his talent as an actor, however had an unpredictable schedule and couldn't be relied on.

Questionnaire Responses Evaluation

 This is the questionnaire responses that we got from random people that saw the questionnaire on our social media.

Over 2/3 of people that took the questionnaire were females, showing that they are equally or even more interested in films, or more specifically the drama genre, than males

The majority of people that took our questionnaire were from the age range of 15-18, landing them directly within the age range of out protagonist, with the next closest range of 19-25, which is also close within the protagonists age range.

For this question there was a near fair mix between the platforms of viewing films. By 8.1% was online and the internet. Followed by YouTube a more safer platform for viewing content and finally Netflix, a common platform for motion pictures. Showing us what platforms its preferable to release our film onto.

For this question a huge majority of 70.3% only watched 1-3 films a week. Meaning that we need to make our production and marketing as good as possible to ensure people want to watch it.

This question was also very split, with romance and comedy at the top, followed by horror and action. Below that was our genre of drama, only at 10%. Meaning that our piece may have to incorporate some of these other genre aspects or have the drama be outstanding to make sure people watch it.

If we were to release a DVD version, we wanted to know what price to sell it at, the final verdict from our responses was  the cheap price of £4-8.

Most people preferred a linear narrative as opposed to a non-linear narrative, so we have come to the conclusion our narrative will have a linear style approach.

For this question there was an interesting mix, with a thin majority wanting a happy ending followed by ambiguous and cliff hanger. We wanted a more cliff hanger and ambiguous approach. And when combined it had a total of 56.7% making it highly favourable. 

Over half of the responses for this question was learning bits gradually as the plot unravels, which is the approach we wanted to take, and what we will stick to as its what people favour.

Our protagonist a male and a thin majority pitied males more than females, meaning a male protagonist was the right choice for our piece.

Finally, most people found out about short films through social media with a large majority, meaning for the largest coverage on our film we will post out piece to social media as well a YouTube as it was the most realistic runner up.

Character Analysis

This analysis is to be provided to candidates that want the role, this will outline the type of personality that will have to be portrayed. Also this further develops the character to make him more sympathetic to the viewers.

Potential Actors

We interviewed boys for the protagonist role for our piece.
Below are the contestants who offered to act in our piece:

 Name: Ryan Dutch
Age: 19
Availability: Sundays
Experience: None
Contactable: Mobile

Name: Ellis Hutson
Age: 19
Availability: Monday evenings and Sunday daytime.
Experience: GCSE Drama grade B
Contactable: Mobile and E-mail

Name: Owen Taylor
Age: 18
Availability: All weekdays except from Saturday mornings and Thursday evenings
Contactable: Classmate, Mobile and E-mail

Name: Sean McGrath
Age: 17
Availability: Every day except from Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings.
Contactable: Mobile, Classmate and E-mail

We decided as me, Sean and Owen are the most accessible and therefore it is necessary to conduct and interview to see who is most eligible.