Introduction of coursework.

I am going to create a short film and the theme is going to be based about love. I have chosen this brief as I believe that it suits my personality best and I will be able to complete the coursework to the best of my ability.

Linking texts together.

Links between texts are important, as it helps your target audience know what poster belongs to what movie and what movie belongs to each poster. Also it helps the message of the product come across stronger if 2 pieces of text link together or look familiar.




Alice In Wonderland.

Conventions in the trailer:

• Bright but bold colours.
• Fantasy Characters.
• Actors ( Johnny Depp).
• Fantasy Music.
• Director ( Tim Burton)
• Typography which links again with Fantasy and Tim Burton.

This is the Alice and wonderland poster.

It links with the poster because there is a close up shot of Johnny Depp which is a good advertising point for the film as those who are fans of Johnny Depp and who would just go and see the film as Johnny Depp is a leading character. The bright bold colours help it link to the trailer as it's the same to what is shown in the trailer above. The Typography is the same in the poster to what it is in the trailer which not only makes it look good it also helps with the advertisement of these 2 pieces of text because it makes it look advertised together and it's 2 different ways an audience can consume a media text. Also the typography is rather famous as Tim Burton uses it in a lot of his films and posters etc.

Independence Day Trailer.

Conventions in trailer:

• Science Fiction ( computers and technology used a lot).
• Famous actor Will Smith.
• Well known landscapes of New York.
• Space ships. ( Fear of the unknown).
• Explosions.

Before watching the trailer I was given a task to create an Independence Day poster to see if I could place the right code and conventions from the trailer into the poster, and this is what it looked like:

I mentioned the main actor on my poster Will Smith as he has a lot of screen time in the trailer. In the trailer you see and hear the mention of a space ship that is attacking the area so I thought to include it in my poster so my audience would know that it is a science fiction film. I involved a picture of the space ship attacking a tall building to show the audience that there is  a cause of conflict due to the space ship.

Codes and conventions of short films.

Todorov's theory.

It is important to look at narrative for a short film because you don't have a long time to build up the story in a short film so the audience won't get to know your characters either. So setting up a good narrative through images and small text is important as it saves time and it helps the audience to understand the film better.

Love Sick (Short Film) - How is love portrayed in short films?

How is love portrayed in short films?

In many short films love is portrayed in many ways, because in short films there is not enough time to tell the story through speech and narrative it has to be done in different ways usually by using visuals. Love is always portrayed as this 'big deal' and something that all of us has to have in our life time. It's always seemed as a negative thing if we don't have an ounce of love in our lives. In short films there is usually a happy idea and then the idea goes wrong and then everything ends up okay. For example in the short film above the plot represents this idea.

Analysing a short film of my chosen genre.

Coursework media from Courtney Burch

Target audience.

True Love Waits short film.

Target audience research.

Target audience questionnaire from courtneyburch30115

In conclusion:

After looking at my target audience research I have decided to direct a Love themed short film as I believe there is a strong market for it. Also some of my audiences suggested that they enjoy watching love short films to therefore I automatically know that there is a target market for that genre.

Themes in short films.

While doing my research and planning it's important to recognize the usual themes of love in short  films.

There are 2 major themes within love short films and they are:

• Unlucky in Love.
• Unrequited Love.

Unlucky in Love theme.

In this short clip it of 'unlucky love' short film. You see many of the code and conventions which create a short film. For example the comedic sense of the film. In many short films about love there is comedy themes to make it light hearted. Unlucky in love is a perfect theme for a short film because it is easy to add comedic themes as the protagonist usually is feeling for themselves as they aren't getting anywhere with love. Having a sad character is easy to make the audience feel sorry for them.



Unrequited love.
To begin with unrequited love is the idea that there is a one sided love affair.

A short film about unrequited love:





In the short film you see the usual unrequited love codes and conventions. Again there is some comedic themes while he is writing the poem for a girl that no longer loves him.The ending of this short film is based around the idea that he will die if he doesn't have her or that he can no longer live without her and that is demonstrated by him hitting his head and dying after receiving the text from his ex girlfriend.

Planning title.

Short film name.

I am currently planning my short film title. I am currently stuck between names,

My first name is 'Perfect Score'. I came up with this idea due to the whole point of the short film is for the leading male to 'score' with a female, and because he thinks she is the perfect female for him this is why it would be a Perfect Score.

However my other idea for my short film title is 'desperado'. This is because the male is desperate to find a female in his life and I believe that adding the 'desperate' outburst of footage in my short film will bring a comedic factor to my short film which I think will work rather nicely. For example whenever I think of the word 'desperado' I automatically think about people wearing sombreros singing to someone for an event such as a birthday  to make people laugh and that's what I want my short film to do, make people laugh.

Props for my short film.

While creating my short film I will be using many props in order to make the film flow and to make each scene and location look realistic and believable.


One of the props I have already made is a Coffee Bar sign as all good coffee shops have a sign, and while creating a sign I can use a close up shot in order to get the point across that the coffee bar is significant location in my short film. Also as it is a short film there is not a lot of time to get the theme and point across so therefore using signs and imagery will make it a lot easier and more effective.

I will also use plenty of mugs as props in my short film again to show that the coffee bar is an important feature in the short film and that is where most of the action will take place.








 Also there is not much time in short films so therefore to get the point across that he is alone and doesn't do much it has to be done through visuals rather than speech, Also to get this point across I will use a teddy bear for him to wake up and cuddle to get the comedic fact
or in.

My 5 minute short film plan.

There is a close up male asleep and it flash backs to an ellipsis of him having a dream about falling in love and having a relationship.
It will then follow on from a high shot of a male hugging a teddy bear and then going to kiss the teddy bear to create a light hearted feel about my short film.
 It then quick cuts to a long shot of a pretty stereotypical fashionable girl, it will show that she is on the phone arranging to go to the coffee shop with her friends.
It then cuts back to a shot of the boy laying in bed surrounded by sweet wrappers to represent that he doesn't have much of  life. This is to get the point across of him being a 'loser'. It then shows him getting ready for work.
It then cuts back to the girl walking into the coffee bar going to meet friends.
This then carries on happening everyday as an ellipsis.
Until one day it shows him learning her order off by heart, and writing a love poem and then on the last day he goes to give her the poem in with the menus and waits nervously for her to read them. Until her boyfriend walks in and he quickly runs back to get the poem and to chuck it in the bin he then looks up and another pretty girl appears.


In evaluation my story line follows Todorovs theory of narrative theory structure.

My 'ideal' cast.

My ideal leading boy:

This is my ideal leading boy. He is wearing basic coloured clothing as he doesn't have much of a fashion taste as he doesn't really go out that much. Although he has nerdy aspects he also needs to be good looking for the story to flow and for the text to seem more realistic.

This is my ideal leading girl. She is a brunette. She's fashionable and pretty so she fits into the social group that I want her to be in. For example the stereotypical 'popular' girl group.

This is my chosen actor as he doesn't look like the stereotypical high school jock. He looks like he really cares about his education. He will wear a white t shirt and black skinny jeans in order to match this stereotype. He also comes across shy and someone who would keep themselves to themselves so he is the perfect match.

This is my chosen actor as she has the dark brown hair. She looks fashionable with the outfit she is wearing. 

Planning my short film through my story board.

It is important to note that the first half of my story board will be repeated twice as it's to emphasis how the leading boy has the same boring routine everyday and how he begins to learn the girls order off by heart really shows how desperate he is in getting a girlfriend.

PERSONAL FEEDBACK AFTER CREATING MY SHORT FILM:

While creating my short film I referred back to this very basic story board and made some changes for the good, as the project had to be about 5 minutes long, I had to add in more shots that weren't originally planned in order to make my film longer and to more importantly make the overall narrative flow better.

Analysis of my poster design.

Ancillary task - Film Poster.

Posters are mainly used when it comes to advertisement, they are made in mass order and are usually up to a large scale, this is mainly to be able to display them on walls,buses and outside cinemas to get the message across. Most posters I have researched have including graphical and textual elements to get the right message across, however a minority of film posters have just graphical or textual elements that doesn't give away too much of the films plot. Posters are designed to be informative and eye catching, this is a main element for advertising.

• Imagery of the main characters.
• The title of the film in big bold writing, in the central poster.
• The main actors names.
• A catchy slogan.
• A release date.
• The company.
• The director.

Audience feedback on poster design one.

Audience feedback on my final poster design.

Codes and conventions of a short film poster.

Click to zoom in on the analysis.


Short film clip:

Codes and Conventions of a movie poster.

These are the conventions which makes a love film poster and these conventions make it successful and work well in order to get an audience to watch it.

*Double click to enlarge*

Poster draft one and analysis.

In my first poster draft I will have a long shot of the 2 main characters. They will be in a park as a park represents freedom and it is a public place so you are more likely to meet someone new there. Its going to be a sunny day as it creates happiness and love in a shot. The 2 main characters are going to be the main purpose for the shot for advertisement reasons and for the audience to get to know the main characters so they can really connect with them. Which will make the short film more successful for the company and will make the film more enjoyable for the audience.

Hand made final poster design.

Creating my poster.

I have used photoshop in order to create my short film poster. First of all I have started off with a basic image of the leading girl, I have contrasted the colours of the photo in order to make it brighter.

I then used the magic tool in order to cut the image well and to get rid of the background, I then softened up the edges and I also used highlights and shadows to edit the picture, this was the end result so far.

I then had to do the exact same to the other main image in the poster while using the same magic tool.

Once I had finished cutting the image using the magic tool I then had to decide where to place the image to make sure it fitted properly on the poster.

After I had successfully placed the 2 images in the correct places. I then began to type the title of desperado...

I decided with a fancy font in order to make it look romantic, I then decided on the colour of the text. I decided to make the text red and to keep the background white as red and white contrasts with each other and represents love and purity, it's different from my planned poster and not all the images would fit on the page scale and also while creating the short film I started to change my plot so I think this poster fits better with the story line.

This was the end result.

Then to make the poster fit in with my genre more I then decided to have fun with the shape and lines tool and create 2 love hearts to go in-between the characters to show that there was love towards each other, this again was my end result.

my final poster design.

        

This is my final poster design.

Ancillary Task - Magazine Review.

The reason why magazine reviews are formed is because it's a chance to provide audiences and the public information regarding an upcoming film. Magazine reviews are good sources to use when indicating whether a film is watch worthy as many critics write their opinions on the text. One aspect of a magazine review is to provide the synopsis of the film, but each magazine review is different as the level of detail of the synopsis changes regarding to which magazine review and who has written it. However it is argued that the more vague the synopsis review is the better as the less detail given away about the short film is best. This is because if a magazine review gave away the whole synopsis of the film, there would be no point in going to watch it. However it is important to give some level of detail just to get a rough feel about what the film is about and where it is going to give an idea on what theme it is.

Also another main aspect of a film magazine review is the interviews. Many magazine reviews carry out structured interviews with certain actors that appear in the film and most importantly the director of the film. This is important as it helps explain why the film was made in a certain way with the director interview. Also interviewing the actors is important as they explain how fun it was to make etc.

In conclusion magazine reviews are important when it comes to film as it helps the films marketing as magazines reach a wide range of many different types of people, so therefore it helps to get people to watch the film. However little criticism is used when developing a film magazine review as the review is used to promote the product in order to create more sales.

Magazine review codes and conventions.

Click to enlarge.

There is a predicted interest curve graph on the magazine review. This is used so audiences know whether they would be interested in the film or not. There is also examples of films that are similar to Spider - Man which is helpful so that fans of similar films will know whether it's to their taste or not.

A  star rating is a vital convention in a film magazine review. It's the experts telling audiences whether the film is any good from a professional point of view. So it will then allow for audiences to make up their own minds whether to see the film or not. So for example films with lower ratings in magazines may have a lower in take with the box office compared to those with a higher rating.

Hand made magazine review.

This is the over all lay out I would like my finished magazine review to look like, I would like to have a nice balance of text and a couple of still shots, but not too many as I wouldn't want to give my short film away.

On the top left hand corner I will have the title in black bold font. Underneath I will have a critics rating on how they rated my short film out of 5 stars *****? By the side of the rating I will have the critics review on my short film, using comparisons to ones that the critics have seen.

In my magazine review I will have photos of the scenes the critics are taking about.

Also on the bottom right hand corner I will have a similar to column so it will show and list and explain all the short films that are similar to mine as that's what i found out during my research of magazine reviews.

Magazine review draft audience feedback.

Planning Stage one:

The structure of my magazine review:

Hand made magazine review, the final copy.