Delilah's Media Blog 2

After showing my first treatment of my short film, Abracadabra, to my teacher, he thinks that the twist at the end is too random. There should be something leading up to Ben's sudden ability to do magic.

In media, we have been assigned to create a short film. This is my first idea of what the plot could be for my short film: A teenage boy, Ben is an aspiring magician. It is first made clear that he is not good at it, yet he doesn't give up and even wants it as a career. He is shown attempting a few different tricks, and failling. His parents are disappointed and worried, because of his determination to have a career in something he isn't talented at, and wouldn't be realistic, even if he was talented. They are reading an email from his school, stating that he hasn't been doing his homework. He attempts another trick, and fails. His parents lecture him about not doing well in school, and him wasting his time with trying to do tricks, and threaten to confiscate all his magician things. Then, Ben makes them disapear, with a magic trick. 

In films, there is usually at least one character that is easily relatable to the audience. This character is normally the protagonist, but there can be exceptions. In the beginning of the film, Mean Girls, the protagonist, Cady, is portrayed as being easy to identify with. It is her first day at a new school, and it is made clear that she feels isolated.  She doesn't make any friends on her first day, therefor has to eat lunch, alone, in the bathroom, as there is nowhere for her to sit in the cafeteria. In this scene, it would be easy for anyone who has felt isolated/alone to identify with her. Especially for someone who feels that way in a particular social environment.  In the film, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, everything works out for Ferris Bueller, and he is unrealistically popular, to the point of being adored by every social group at school, the police hearing that he's sick, and wishing him well, a water tower and the Chicago Cubs stadium, having ...

Since I have to create a short film, I am researching short films. This is a very known short film, called The Black Hole. It follows the joke structure narrative, which is the kind of narrative I want my short film to follow. We immediately see the character and he looks miserable. He is clearly in an office, and he is wearing a button shirt and a tie, which indicates he works there. This is done to make him relatable to the audience, as there are plenty of people who are unhappy with their job. He then discovers a paper, that has a black hole on it, that he can put his hand through. He puts it on a vending machine, and gets a chocolate bar from it. This seems relatively innocent, but it sets up what happens after. He goes to his work's safe, and grabs some money from it, with the black hole. He gets greedy and takes a lot of money. He gets so carried away, that he climbs into the black hole, to try and get in the safe. The twist at the end is that the paper with the black hol...

Experimental  Experimental  film,  experimental  cinema or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non- narrative  forms and alternatives to traditional  narratives  or methods of working.

Punchline  A punch line concludes a  joke ; it is intended to make people laugh. It is the third and final part of the  typical joke structure . It follows the introductory framing of the joke and the narrative which sets up for the punch line. In a broader sense punch line can also refer to the unexpected and funny conclusion of any performance, situation or story.

The three act structure  The three-act structure is a model used in screenwriting that divides a fictional narrative into three parts (acts), often called the Setup, the Confrontation and the Resolution. The first act  is usually used for exposition, to establish the main characters, their relationships and the world they live in. Later in the first act, a dynamic, on-screen incident occurs that confronts the main character (the protagonist), whose attempts to deal with this incident lead to a second and more dramatic situation, known as the first turning point, which (a) signals the end of the first act, (b) ensures life will never be the same again for the protagonist and (c) raises a dramatic question that will be answered in the climax of the film.  The second act , also referred to as "rising action", typically depicts the protagonist's attempt to resolve the problem initiated by the first turning point, only to find him- or herself in ever worsening...

These are conventions of short films: Characters - Short films tend to stick to 2 or 3 main characters. Short films don't have time to create deep backstory for the characters, therefore character numbers are kept low in short films to allow the viewer to relate to the characters in a small amount of time.  Twist - Short films nearly always contain a 'twist'. The reason for twisting the storyline is to make the short film more interesting as they don't have much time for other aspects, that you would see in feature films. Without a twist in a short film the storyline would simply not be interesting. Example: J'Attendrai Le Suivant  Budget - Short films typically have a low budget. This is because most short film directors are independent without the sufficient backing in terms of funding. They keep the budget down by sticking to sticking to to one or two locations and only using one or two actors.  Length - Short films are typically 'short' and usually ...

A  short film  is any  motion picture  not long enough to be considered a  feature film . The  Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences  defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits".  The increasingly rare term "short subject" means approximately the same thing. It is an industry term which carries more of an assumption that the film is shown as part of a presentation along with a feature film.  " Short " is an abbreviation for either term. Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals and made by independent  filmmakers  for  non profit , either with a  low budget  or  no budget  at all. They are usually funded by film grants, non profit  organisations ,  sponsor , or personal funds.  Short films are generally used by filmmakers to gain experience or prove their talent in o...

Here is a list of short films genres. Romance - Plots that follow passion, lust, and emotion, usually makes the audience follow the characters journey for love. Examples of short films about romance: Paperman, Pink Grapefruit, and I'm Here.  Comedy/Dark Comedy - These are often lighthearted dramas and can sometimes be humorously dark but are used to make the audience laugh and usually have happy endings. Examples of short films of the comedy genre are: The Gunfighter, Yes, God, Yes, and Official Selection.  Sci-Fi/Fantasy - These are often set in futuristic environments that show advances in technology, special effects are widely used throughout(Sci-Fi). Usually influenced by scientific truths and is often dependant on the audiences imagination and beliefs(Fantasy). Examples of short films in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre are: 2048: Nowhere to Run, Zygote, and Piano.  Drama - Often portrays real life situations and based on real people and often used to show humans in th...

The process of making a short film, will be long, so figuring out the schedule of it all will be important. It should be shot by the end of term, and by easter, everything should be done.  This is the order of the process:  1. Research & Development  Researching story conventions & structure  Script formats  Timelines  Brief  Development ideas  2. Pre-production  Script breakdown  Shotlist  Storyboard  Location  Actors  Props  Production Equipment (cameras, microphones etc)  Finalise story  3. Production - 1-3 days, done by the end of this term  Execution of pre production  Filming  4. Post Production  Editing  5. Distribution  Burn to DVD  Film Poster  Magazine review  6. Example Questions - done by easter  Evaluate your process 

A short film in its entirety lasting approximately five minutes which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together, with two of the following three options a poster for the film  a radio trailer for the film  a film magazine review page featuring the film  I haven't made a short film before, and am looking forward to it. I will watch and analysis short films, to possibly have an idea for mine.  Process:  Research  Development  Pre-production  Production  Post-production  Distribution  EQs 

In lower sixth, I had to create a film opening. I chose mine as thriller, and had to create scripts, a storyboard, a shot list, and organise the filming schedule as the preproduction process. After the filming was finished, I edited it so it would be like a real film opening.