Week 1:

This is the first week of being introduced to the A2 OCR media course. We were directed to the OCR brief page in order to choose what brief and what coursework we would like to select for A2. Compared to the AS course there is a much wider choice of media we could select, for example video games and music videos. Selecting the brief was an overwhelming process as it determines a large amount of our A level grade. Originally I selected the film trailer brief, I began to analyse trailers such as the Godzilla trailer and the Son of Rambo trailer. After analysing these trailers I made a U-turn and decided against the trailer, this felt like a big decision to make as I was off and running on the research. However I believe making a successful trailer proved very difficult without telling a story and giving to much away which would have greatly affected my production marks therefore I turned against it and opted for the short film process.

That night I began watching different short films in order to see what makes a good one and what makes bad one. The ones I found most moving was Love field by Mathieu Ratthe and Elefante by Pablo Larcuen so I began to analyse them.

Week 2

This week I will be looking into institutions that can distribute short films. I have decided to study Film London’s London Calling. This is an independent organisation that typically distributes first time film makers and script writer’s projects. Studying this organisation has given me the opportunity to look at the types of short films that get distributed and the quality that they reach.

I additionally this week looked at the BFI and the short films that they produce. Comparatively to London Calling, the BFi tend to distribute and produce known and experienced script writer’s work. This in my opinion is clear to see in the final product, for example it is obvious that the short films produced by the BFI had a much larger production budget with higher quality actors.

If I was to choose between these organisations who would distribute my short film, I would choose the BFI. The BFI are an internationally known distribution company, therefore if my film was to be distributed by this institution it is highly likely that viewing figures will be much higher than that of London Calling. Additionally if the BFI were involved I would have a much larger budget available to my disposal.

I found this section of research interesting as previous to the research I was not aware of institutions that produce short film other than the BFI. It was interesting to see how an independent organisation operated and distributed their films compared to the BFI.

Week 3

My aims for this week were to produce a research survey that would enable me to see and understand what my target audience would like to see in a short film. I attempted to be as open as possible with my questions to try and get as I tried to get detailed opinions from my target audience on what they believe makes a good short film. This is the, in my opinion, most important aspect of my research as it enables me to collect responses from my target audience and therefore directs the way my short film will flow and the content of my short film.

To create this survey I created Survey Monkey. This is a website which allows you to create and distribute surveys over the internet for free. The use of the internet enables me to collect results from all over the world and not just my class. It also allows me to see what different cultures think of short film and how they should look and what content message should be. My questions I included are below.

Week 4

I completed research this week into film classifications, I found this section of research very challenging for my research. All I could

find was classification systems for films, not short films, therefore I decided to do in depth research into the BBFC and films that they have certified. I researched the BBFC and the process that they go through to classify a short film. To further research I looked at how the institutions would classify to film at different ends of the spectrum, Shrek and Snatch – an 18 and a PG.

This week I also decided to start looking at posters for sci-fi films. This was done to allow me to see the common conventions in a sci-fi film. I thought posters would be the best way to do this as it is the common codes and conventions which will draw the audience in to watch the film, this would also be highlighted within the poster it is a marketing mechanism to draw the audience in. I looked at Tron – the sci-fi, fantacy Disney film this week.

Week 4

I continued to look into posters this week as last week I feel it helped me develop my knowledge. This is greatly beneficial for me as it enables me to understand what my audience are looking for in the short film. This week I analysed two posters. I looked at The Matrix, an award winning sci-fi film and I also analysed Thirteen, a film about a relationship between two teenagers. This was done because I intend for my short film to be about the developing relationship between two characters.

Week 5 and 6

This week my results came through for my survey. I sent it off to people in my class, teachers and other media knowledgeable people. It was interesting to see what my target audience came back with as I genuinely did not know to expect. In my survey I asked the audience for information such as their age and gender as it enabled me to see whether they would fit into my target audience and therefore how valid there responces would be.

I continued this analysis for the next week as well as I only had 8 responses to work with. It also took a lot longer to interpret the results and what they meant for my final piece.

Week 7

This week I decided to complete another short film analysis. I did this as all the posters I was looking at were posters for full length films. By analysing another short film it allowed me to get back into the short film mind set.

For this short film analysis I worked with George Feast to create the analysis. This was done because he is the person I will be producing my short film with, it gives us the opportunity to work together for the first time and see how one another take apart and analyse a short film and understand how one another works.

Week 8

This week I created and edited a Vox Pop. I enjoyed this section of my research as it was the second opportunity I have had to use a camera and practise my camera framing, even if it was just created a Vox Pop. It also gave me an opportunity to speak personally to my target audience and see what they would like in a short film. It is also a lot less direct than the questionnaire as they get to choose how they answer. I think that the Vox Pops is more significant than survey with regards to research as it gives me to opportunity to home in on my target audience and get a personal insight on their opinions.

Week 9

I created my typical target audience member this week to try and put myself in their shoes to attempt to understand what they believe makes a good short film. This task was similar to the vox pops but from my opinion, this was more enjoyable however as I could create an avatar. I attempted to say that they would be a bit of a sci-fi geek.

This week I also furthered my knowledge of narrative theories by looking over past works done in class and additional research on the internet. I looked into Roland Barthes plot theory, Prop’s stock characters and Todorov’s narrative theory.

My favourite narrative theory that I studied was Propp’s Stock characters theory, I felt that I could identify and put together the characters to films that I have recently watched which I felt made me understand the theory more.

Week 10

This week I looked into what different colours mean and there significance to a story. I did this because in my survey there were some people who said that using symbolism was more important than dialogue, so I am doing research into colours as this will help me decide on costumes for my characters.

This week I also began investigate into different possible camera shots that I could possibly use for my short film. I found this an exciting task as it showed me ways in which I can portray different feelings and emotions of the characters and therefore evoke emotions from the audience.

Week 11

This week I studied the common conventions of a sci-fi. This helped me decide what to incorporate within my film to insert it into the genre of sci-fi. Enforcing sci-fi was my plan as the genre will entice my target audience (which can be seen above).

I decided to put the conventions I was thinking of using in the form of a video montage as it illustrates the conventions using a different medium of presentation and it enables me to visualise what these conventions will look like within my short film.

Week 12

This is the week I decided to start the planning of my short film as I feel I have done enough research to gain information on different short films, audience profiles, the Sci-fi genre, conventions and use of cinematography to evoke feelings from the audience. I started planning my film by developing the script. This was I feel the most difficult part of the planning was creating the script as it sets a template for the whole film.

George and I created a script each as we were both creating the short film together. Once we had each read each other’s script, I took the responsibility of combining them to create our final script for our short film.

Week 13

In order to be able to figure out what properties and the amount I need to spend on the properties I created a Prezi to illustrate what extras I will need to shoot the film. This Prezi also included costumes and factored in the location, I will alter go on to do a full location report however for now it will enable me to see how I will use the props in each location.

This week I additionally began to create the shot list from the script, this was an exciting process for me as it enabled me to see how each scene would be set out and how it would be viewed by an audience. It was tough however as the shots used can cause the audience to root for a character or dislike them.

Week 14

This is the week I developed a location report form so I could work out the space that I need to make the appropriate precautions for the actors, actresses and myself, accompanying this I also created the appropriate risk assessment for the project.

Week 15

This week George and I decided that we were going to do a mock presentation to demonstrate our short film, in a Dragon’s Den style manor. It allowed us to visualise how our short film would come across to an audience and how we each tell our story in front of an audience.