Distribution of my Short Film

Correctly determining the best form of distribution for a product is important. Without an accurate method of distributing a product to its audience, the short film in this case will not be successful and its aims will not be met. Taking into account the research from my audience questionnaire it highlighted that the most popular method of consumption of shot films was online using web 2.0.  The age of the target audience and the fact that internet viewing goes hand in hand with it reinforces that this is the correct method distributing a short film. The audience are constantly developing their relationship with the new media and continuing to distribute products in this format will allow it to be constantly viewed and keeps up to date with new designs and features that interest them.

Through this information this is the format I have chosen to distribute my short film. By placing video’s online it also creates a response mechanism for the audience to share their views and input about the films content. This is important as discussion about the film and their moral messages are crucial to a short films success. Online the video also has the opportunity to be seen globally due to the ease of linking videos onto a variety of social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook etc), Websites, Blogs and Forums; therefore raising the popularity of the film amongst its target audience.

Uploading and distribution can be undertaken by a variety of sites. The most commonly used are Youtube (www.youtube.com) for any form of video footage and Vimeo (vimeo.com) a community designed for the sharing of creative work.  As well as these general sites specific websites for short films are in use such as http://www.indiefilmpage.com/short.html where short films can be shared by those with a strong passion and knowledge for films of this style. Futureshorts.com is another example of a short film distributer within a creative community. Both of these websites would also be a successful method of distributing a short film to its target audience.

Ancillary Task - Film Review Example

Film reviews include a variety of aspects and traits that make them recognisable and simple to understand. The conventions used within a film review offer the chance to not only incite interest but portray the content of the film and its production. It also creates a range of views and interpretations that allow the audience to develop their connection with the film, raising debates and questions that previously may not have been considered.  Film reviews are also designed to entertain and give basic knowledge about the film e.g. genre, director, cast/crew. Below is an example film review that I have written previously. It contains some of the features expected within a film review and offers room for development and basic features that a review on the short film “two” should contain.

Alice in Wonderland - Tim Burton

Why is a raven like a writing desk? The answer to the riddle eludes us all and continues to in Tim Burton’s new imagining of Lewis Carroll’s highly acclaimed series.  Alice returns to Underland aged nineteen and finds the world in disarray under the rule of the Red Queen. The narrative offers an exciting and thrilling insight into the world of Alice Kingsley and her attempt to liberate her new found allies. The stunning visual imagery conveys the importance of mise-en – scene to the director, and what a perfect story it is for his world renowned style.

Mia Wasikowska plays the imaginative and stubborn young girl, who breaks all of society’s norms, refusing to wear stocking and her corset, forging a strong connection with a modern day audience. She is confident, cautious and dubious at her surroundings, rejecting everything a high class society would have expected of her. These features are crucial to her success in Underland, standing up against the Bandersnatch repeating with confidence that this is her dream.

The Hatter, mad eccentric but naive with his desires, is her kindest ally and offers a chance for the audience to engage in the passion of Underland and most importantly conveys the human need for friendship and familiarity. The moral and the most importantly concept of self discovery are represented by the bond created by Alice and The Hatter. With his vibrant red hair, and ever changing accent, Johnny Depp’s interpretation is the embodiment of Underland and the unique tones it creates.  A never ending friendship helps to bond the two realities together. The Dormouse, Cheshire cat and Absolem; Barbara Windsor, Stephen Fry and Alan Rickman respectively, add to the theme of friendship and the importance of casting within the film; continuing the Burton tradition of British casting.

The production of the film was shot using predominantly green screen. This allowed the changes of reality and to connote the importance of the characters and locations. Without this technology the content of the film would not be as vibrant or as stylised as they are. Green screen also had the chance to add depth and reality to the film, an important aspect of Burton’s new vision.

Although some may question the “muchness” of the film compared with the other recognisable styles in Burton’s previous work. The pataphysical state of Underland and the perversion of normal boundaries certainly connect strongly with his other films such as Beetlejuice. The Fantasy genre that the film possesses, allows the mise-en-scene to be in control of the film, also with the importance of the unusual and yet with the use of verisimilitude, relatable characters. The film culminates with the battle between Alice and the Jabberwocky, the long shot used as a classic image of victory for women and Underland.  In the words of the Hatter “You would have to be half mad to dream me up” and with this triumph, it shows that Burton had the vision to succeed with this challenge.

Ancillary Task - Typography for Poster

Typography is an important feature in representing the genre and the themes of a film. It is also important that the font is memorable as this is one of the most iconic features and is crucial for accurate representation of the film and its advertising. Legible and clear writing are also important for the information to be communicated effectively.The Font is one of the most important factors of a poster and should be considered in great detail.

Font

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Audience Questionnaire - Results

The first question asked was used in order to find out and classify the gender that is most interested in short films.  It is important to know the target audience as varying genders and audiences based upon stereotypes have different ideas and opinions on films content. Establishing the most predominant gender also is important as viewing the answers of the questionnaire influences the overall content. The questionnaire highlighted that the largest proportion of the audience are female, with the ratio 7:6. This information also details that males are also a predominant part in the viewing of short films. With this knowledge, the content and themes of my short film can be based around the female stereotype in order for them to relate to the film successfully. These results must also be kept in context as only twelve people carried out the questionnaire and the films audience is statistically much larger than this.

Age is an important feature to consider when producing a media production, especially a short film in which the content and themes are crucial to its success. Age is also a representative of how a product should be advertised and marketed.  Nine out of the twelve people who answered my questionnaire are aged 16-25 signifying that this is the most important age category to consider. It reinforces the form of marketing that could be undertaken. An example of this is advertising online, on websites popular with this age group.  Twitter, Facebook, Livejournal are all forms of websites that could successfully market the film. It is also an important concept to consider the life experiences and interests of an audience. Taking this information into account by product will quick cut with interesting shots and narrative in order to keep them involved with the film.

In order to find out the preferred genre of a short film, the questionnaire used a multiple choice answer system but allowed those partaking to rate them on a scale of 1-10. This allowed a fair perception to be created and detailed how effective and important certain genres are to an audience. The most popular genre was drama; this is a stereotypical choice for females but is also a broad genre. The boundaries used within the drama genre are flexible and reinforce the importance of creating a thrilling narrative and content. The second most popular genre was action.  Along with the drama genre it enforces the importance of movement, tension and strong emotions within a piece.  The third genre is order of popularity was horror. Horror is stereotypically a genre related to masculinity. This also represents the development of gender and how stereotypes are not always correct. Horror has basic concepts of needing tension, a threat and a protagonist and it also works in tangent with other genres an example being supernatural. These results show the importance of featuring these genre’s within my work as well as the conventions from each form that a vital in order to make this short film successful. It also represents genres that are not popular such as comedy that are not important to my target audience.

Discovering which is the most popular method of viewing a short film is important in the advertising process of the piece as well as making it sure it is uploaded to the location most likely to be viewed. The standard method for watching a short film is to view it via a computer using sites such as Youtube and Vimeo. Viewing films in this format allows them to be seen by a large proportion of people globally as well as offering the chance for repeat viewings due to no fee being exchanged. This makes the film more accessible for the audience. The second most popular answer was other. When asked to specify, the response showed that viewing short films through mobile devices was common, examples given included mobile phones, iPod’s/mp3’s and tablet devices. Making a short film for this format means it would require the ability to be downloadable in formats used by these devices as well as being of a high quality format so that visual content is not lost if it needs to be converted. Taking these factors into account during the production of my short film, will mean that it is accessible to the audience it is focused on as well as allowing it to be viewed simply.

The question “Are you aware of the conventions of a short film” is crucial in establishing how the audience interact and understand the content they are viewing. It is also representational of the quantity of short films the audience may have seen before, if they recognise the codes used within them. The results from the questionnaire revealed that over half of the twelve people asked did understand and could recall some of the codes used in a short film. Knowing this information allows for the codes to be used subtly or developed within my production. It also conveys the fact that the audience have previous knowledge of the style of a short film and will understand the methods used within it.

The final question asked was about how often they view short films. Knowing this information meant that it would represent exactly the audience for a short film. The questionnaire detailed that a large majority of teenagers have previously seen a short film, which is important as it supports the category I decided to make this short film for. The most popular choice was that they view a short film occasionally. This means that the production would be viewed by the age group it targeted. The second most popular answer was watching a short film at least once a week. Though this in enforces that short films may not be watched as frequently as the feature length counter parts but that they are an integral part of people’s viewing and that there is an interest in their production.

The fifth question asked within the survey was in place in order to discover what other interests the audience hold. The genre’s and themes of the programmes they watch may not always necessarily be linked but it gives a representation of their social class, their education and passions which are important to take into consideration when producing a short film.  It also means that an intertextual references that could be made, are in formats that the audience would recognise. The following are some of the answers to the question posed.  The similarities highlight the important concepts and traits that my short film should posses if it is to interact and interest the audience.  The results from the questionnaire cannot be deemed accurate for this question as some participants named more television shows and films than others.

Television:

-          Waking the Dead

-          Silent Witness (x3)

-          Criminal Minds

-          Bones (x2)

-          Blackpool

-          Sherlock (x6)

-          Doctor Who (x9)

-          Torchwood (x6)

-          Being Human (x3)

-          House (x4)

-          QI (x7)

-          Only Connect (x3)

-          Have I got news for you (x5)

-          Miranda (x4)

-          Being Human (x3)

-          Mock the Week (x5)

              Film:

-          Secret Window (x2)
-          Harry Potter Series (x7)
-          Inception (x5)
-          Saw Franchise (x2)
-          Sweeney Todd: The demon barber of fleet street
-          Nightmare on elm street (x2)
-          Donnie Darko (x5)
-          Severance
-          Edward Scissorhands
-          From Hell
-          The wizard of Oz
-          The sword and the stone
-          Coraline
-           Atonement
-          Psycho (x2)
-          Dracula
-          Sherlock Holmes
-          House of Wax
-          A clockwork orange

Ancillary Task - Film Review Layout

Film magazine reviews

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After analysing the layout of magazine reviews the next step was to consider the importance of the content and the conventions that exist. Reading reviews in popular and successful magazines such as Empire, Total film and SFX and in a variety of genre’s revealed the traits that a review should contain.  Reviews often have details on how the films adhere to narrative theories and how they may break the expected conventions. Another feature is discussion about key characters and an analysis of their behaviour and the representation they have been chosen to portray and how this affects the moral message. Genre and themes are also a common component of film reviews. The significance of theme and how it is conveyed as well as how the genre may or may not adhere to what is expected is a vital point in discussion, in order to convey whether a film has been successful in its aims or not. An important factor that is not a pivotal point but is relevant in explaining the films interpretation and style is the director and the crew. Each director has a personal style. Technical codes are also commonly discussed. The codes are what construct the film and by reviewing them it conveys the effect and impact they may have on the audience. Overall, one of the final points is about the wider picture. The context details the reason behind the approach taken by the films crew. A successful film review also depicts the opinion and view of the reviewer to the film. By including these features within a review it reinforces the conventions and expectations whilst intriguing the audience and highlighting the positives and negatives of the production.

Ancillary Task - Poster Designs

The first poster is of simple design. Two nooses are hanging from the top of the poster which is representational of the beam. It is on a plain black background. The basis of this design is that it conveys the moral message and theme to the audience, as well as detailing the importance of creativity. These factors are common conventions of short films and therefore are crucial within a poster design. The black background conveys the importance of the central image, making it the focal point of the poster. The colour black is representational of fear and death both of which are key themes of the films narrative but are also central to the horror genre. Dark imagery is also an important element of the genre. The image of the two nooses represents a key and memorable feature of the mise-en-scene and the narrative of the film, making the concept and moral easier to understand and remember. The use of nooses is an ambiguous element and consequently does not suggest the narrative to an audience before watching the film. The number of nooses is also important. The fact that there are two conveys the two characters of the film, the two minutes that Rhys has to decide as well as the two decisions that have to be made. It connotes this information subtlety to an audience and allows them to interact with the piece on a variety of different levels. The main text of the poster is at the top so it does not detract from the focal point. This feature is found commonly in both short and feature length films posters. The information at the top of the poster details facts such as director and cast to the audience without dominating the lay out. The film’s title “two” is placed directly under the image, so that the eye tilts down towards it. The title of the piece is representing the narrative, but upon the poster is not the main feature of representation of the films moral or genre.

The second poster design relies much more on the actual danger present. The image on this poster is of two pairs of legs belonging to Lucy and Kathy upon the trapdoor that is keeping them alive as well as representing the threat of death. The image at the top of the poster is shot in colour, so it contrasts with theme of danger and death in the bottom ¾ of the poster. The information about the film is then underneath this image upon a simple black background connoting the fact that this is being kept back from the two characters in the darkness of one of their deaths. Compared to the first poster this design gives more information away about the narrative of the film, although crucial details and factors are not shown.  The fact that the two characters are shown is a common feature of posters using a key character to advertise the film. By only showing their legs it uses this factor but manipulates it in a more creative and stylised approached suited to short films. The danger and death aspect as well as the two lives that are potentially at risk reinforces the genre (social and horror) to the audience. The reason behind showing two pairs of legs is that once again it relates to the importance of “two” within the film highlighting the two choices that have to be made. This aspect only becomes clear after studying the narrative, allowing the poster to be used in varying interpretations.  The title is the second element of the poster to be seen, conveying the importance and relevance of it, as the middle of the poster is commonly were attention is drawn first. The information about the film is at the bottom of the poster so not to detract from the themes in the image. This is found commonly in all film posters.

The third design creates a focus at the centre of the page. The two eyes in the middle are those of Rhys who the narrative of the film is based around. By keeping the focal point of the design at the core of the poster it helps to create an eye catching and memorable design for the audience. The choice behind the two eyes is that it helps to portray the importance of characterisation within the film. It also reinforces the importance of humanity and emotion in the plots moral message. Rhys’ eyes are used because he is the character in which the narrative is hinged upon; he has the important decision to make.  The image is once again on a black background; by using the colour black it reinforces the darkness and horror aspect of the genre.  It also helps to generate an ethereal tone to the image of the eyes which unsettles the audience which is representational of the social genre. The poster design was kept simple so it did not detract from the important information and message it creates for the audience. The title is underneath the eyes so that the information and image are connect and retained by the audience. Also by placing this information here it links the two the concepts together. Basic film information is placed at the bottom of the design as it a common location on film posters for this information. It also displays the information in an accessible manner without distracting from the focal point of the image.

The fourth image was inspired by the poster design and the trailer for The National Theatre’s production of Frankenstein. The image uses superimposition of both Katy and Lucy at the centre of the page to represent the strong connection, similarities and differences between them. This notion was created by the blurring and repetition of Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller as their respective characters on the poster; as well as by the editing used on the trailer. The image of Kathy and Lucy takes up the majority of the poster space and focuses upon them as being the important characters of the plot. This concept is true as they are the decision for life that Rhys is facing. The fact that two of them are shown together and joined, links back to the importance of the number two within the narrative.  They are the two difficult decisions that Rhys has to make. The design like all of those previous is on a black background; this not only creates a stylised and professional appearance, but is representation of the dark themes of the narrative and does not draw attention away from the main image. The title is placed at the top of the poster in order to detail its importance to the film and what is represents. It helps to engage with the audience on different levels. After the main image of the two women, this is the next most important piece of information and by placing it at the top it reinforces the title helping to advertise the film more effectively. Once again the film information is at the bottom of the poster, but in this design it is overlaid upon the focal image. It shows the importance of the information and it also helps to make it a clear connection between the actors of the film, its narrative and those who worked on the film during its production.

This is the poster that inspired the fourth design for the advertisng poster for the short film "two".

The fifth and final poster design is a variation of the image used in design three. The central image of this piece is two sets of eyes appearing out of the darkness. Unlike in design three, the eyes used within the shot are never specified and are ambiguous in order to allow the audience to draw their own interpretation of the poster, allowing it to interact on a variety of levels. The fact that there are two pairs of eyes connotes back to the theme of two, and can depict the variety of relationships that could exist between the three lead characters.  The eyes are in the middle of the design in order to attract the attention and become the focus point. By doing this it allows factual information such as the title to be communicated and understood effectively. Eyes are an important concept to the moral of the short film as they are believed to represent a window into the human soul, and the message of the film is all about the flaws and imperfections of humanity. This design like those before it is based on a black background. It helps to create the sense of danger and death of the film and communicates this to the audience in a subtle format. The title of this design is just above the top of the image but not at the top of the page. This can indicate the often common use of the location but show it as developed in a more artistic style. It also helps to create a link between the image and the title of the piece. The film information is at the bottom of this piece in order not to detract from the message of the eyes, also for the reason that it helps to make the information easier to read.

Each of the designs above helps to advertise and portray vital information to the audience about the short film “two”. The artistic style and tone of the poster are important as they are the first contact with the film that a perspective audience may have. They also offer the ability to subtlety represent key traits and conventions such as the genre to them.  All of the poster designs above convey the central  themes of the film but designs two and four convey unique and artistic designs that could be developed into a successful representation and form of advertising for the film.

Audience Questionnaire

In order to find out vital information about my audience a questionnaire was used. This is the paper copy handed out to people in a variety of social groups. In order to get the widest example of people taking part I also published a questionnaire online  at www.surveymonkey.com so it can be taken easily by anyone. The results from this questionnaire are crucial in establishing the interests, passions and knowledge of my target audience. This will mean that the content of my film is aimed correctly as well as the marketing and the distribution reaching their intended audience.



Research - Film Posters

Posters, are an important advertising tool for a film. Posters are used to intrigue the audience, by representing a key concept of the narrative. They also supply important information such as the cast and crew and the release date and occasionally the location. These conventions are commonly found in both Short and full length films. For Short films, that will not have the budget or marketing that full length films will have put into them, so the poster has to represent the concepts behind the film. Examples of this in the short film sector are the creative aspects as well as the theme of the film. It helps signify its content to the audience of these productions.

The poster for the short film "Unstoppable". It is creative and visually attractive. The use of the vivid blues and the imagery contained and layered within in it are unique and appealing to an audience. The use of this creativity is representative of the perspective that short films contain. The focus of the poster is the central image. The layering of images, colours and textures make it unique and stand out to the audience. The use of it against black background, conveys a large contrast. The names of the cast and director are at the top of the poster are traits shared with posters of full length feature films. The information underneath the title, means that attention is not removed from the representational image but details to the perspective audience the films key information. These features are found in both a short film as well as feature length film posters. The use of these conventions allows the audience to understand and retain information about it.

The 2008 short film "Purge"; winner of a variety of awards such as Best dramatic short film, AOF festival is featured around the struggle of a young women named Joy, and the sexual abuse she has come under and her escape from it. The use of the image of the young girl is representative to the audience that she is the main focus and character of the film. The fact that only half of her face is shown, can signify the portrayal of her hiding, wearing a mask and therefore trying to protect herself. It is open to a variety of interpretations. The creativity and difference of opinion this offers is crucial to the audience type as well as the category of short film itself. The typography on this piece is feminine due to the shape and curve of the font. Again connoting the link to the young women which the narrative focuses upon. The fact that the font is simple, can also represent the importance of theme and creativity of the film. The simplicity can also convey the title of the film "Purge". Again, like the majority of film posters, details about the cast, crew and other information are detail at the bottom in order not to detract from the main focal point. The choice of background is plain, conveying the importance of the young female character, but the choice of green, can represent nature and freedom, linking to the theme of the title. Green is also representative of modern existence, as it is a calm and focused colour.The background on the original picture is blurred, creating a focal point of the young girl, instead of her location. By keeping it out of focus it can suggest the changes and development of the main character that are needed to make her life clearer. This is a tool used in order to successfully convey the theme and focus of the film to its audience.

Although, this film poster is not one from the category of short films, I feel that it offers a wide range of important conventions that could be used within my product in order for it represent and market a short film successfully. This is the film poster from Tim Burton's, Alice in Wonderland. The choice of background and imagery are important as it is a strong connection with the film. The iconic imagery is bright, and the key focal point of the poster. This feature would be important in a short film poster, due to the common conventions found in them. This poster, although for a feature film, is creative and artistic in its style and approach to the narrative and imagery, an important link to short films. This poster, does change the perception of film posters, as the name of the film is at the bottom in the right hand corner. This feature would be used to make sure attention is drawn first by the image, and that the audience is forced to take in the entire poster in order to receive this information. The font and colours used throughout this poster, are crucial in portraying the theme of the film. One trait this poster does share with other film posters is that important information is once again shown at the bottom of the poster, keeping the attention of the perspective audience.

Each of the posters above, uses a variety of different conventions in order to successfully demonstrate to a perspective audience, the theme of the film. Iconic images of the film, are used as the main focal point and attraction of the poster. This helps to market the film clearly, without the need for a large quantity of text. The positioning of the title and the typography are also important in representing the content of the film. Films in which creativity and the unique content they posses such as "The Alice in Wonderland" poster are represented by the lack of conventions shown on it. Colours and tones are also an important aspect to be considered when producing a successful poster. In order to make the poster for my short film successful, I will have to apply the conventions of posters in the genre of my piece, such as dark colours, unusual fonts and dark imagery. The conventions of varying short film and feature length films posters will also be used within my work. Images that represent the film, typography and the choice of colours are all important in making sure that the poster can represent my film accurately and successfully to its audience.

Audience Research

Audience is an important aspect to consider when considering aspects for a film. Knowing the target audience means that it is successful within its genre, as it is interesting and easily understood by them. If the film is targeted at the wrong audience, it would make it unsuccessful as the content would be inappropriate and possibly uninteresting to them. The audience for short films is very specific due to the content and style that they deal with.  Due to the fact short films aren’t often sold, or classified, there are no customer reviews or BBFC classifications, the research on audience interests will have to be conducted by a questionnaire.

A stereotypical audience for them would often be of higher education, often to University level. The manner in which short films convey their content through metaphors and strong creative imagery would require a large degree of interest in content similar to it, like literature. Due to the education level of a typical audience member and the importance of imagery and visuals for the moral message the audience members would typically be middle to upper class, to represent the well educated creative society. Gender is an important category to consider, unlike films of stereotypical gender genres such as Romantic Comedy and Action, the morals and content of a short film can be deemed suitable for both genders.  After analysing and viewing a variety of comments on video sharing sites such as YouTube the mainstream television shows and films mentioned convey the theme’s ad content that that the typical audience are interested in.

From comments they have shown an interest in shows such as “Sherlock”, “Doctor Who” and “Silent Witness”.  These shows convey the passion for imagery and unique content, due to the strange cases that are solved in the majority of the productions. “Sherlock” and “Silent Witness” also show the interest in programmes that require thought and concentration, an aspect that is heavily involved in short films.  Films that they may also have an interest in are supernatural and have content that is unique and carries a moral message to the audience such as “Donnie Darko” and ”The Secret Window” they are also films that have certificates and content that are suitable for the age category stated above.

Genre - Social Drama

Social Drama is one of the genres that my short film will be based upon. The social drama genre is about questioning the morality of situations and societies that can be found throughout humanities existence. It conveys issues that individuals can face as well as problems facing humanity. The key factor of a film of the social drama, is dealing with features of humanity that can be difficult to portray to an audience or are relevant to humanity as a whole. Social Drama films often use creative methods to reinforce and portray the message to the audience. An example of the content used in social drama, would be issues such as poverty, consumerism and death. The idea of these films is to convey other interpretations and idea's about these situations to the audience. Films of the Social Drama genre often try to demonstrate a cure to what is shown. It may have a negative or positive portrayal of the social concept of the film. Social Drama's often feature in other sub genre's such as medical drama's and political drama's.

The social drama genre is relevant to my short film idea because of the theme and content I plan to use. The basic outline of my film is about the idea of decisions. Within my short film the decision is about the life of one of two characters. The main character can only save one of them and the decision has to be made about whether it should be made for the benefits of society or for personal reasons, because they love the second character. Even though this decision is the extreme, it links back to the basic and often difficult decisions that everyday people have to make in real life. It connotes to the audience, that the message of the film is about the variety of choices that need to be made and that coming to the right conclusion isn't always quick and simple.

Genre - History of Horror and Conventions

One of the main features of a horror film is that is has to engage with the audience by inciting emotions such as fear and disgust about what they are witnessing on screen. The Horror genre can overlap with a variety of other genre’s in order for it to progress and continue to terrify the audience. An example of the genres that horror can link to is the Supernatural genre as well as well as Thriller. Plots and narratives for horror films often use images for the actual world and pervert and change them by adding in monsters or accentuating real violence from society. The varieties of fictional characters that stereotypically appear are ghosts, werewolves, Satan and vampires. Horror also features characters that could exist within real life, such as Jack the Ripper and other forms of killers and torturers. Some of the original horror films were based upon Gothic Literature. Examples of these are Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein and Dracula. A large amount of the original horror films were created in Germany. The Hollywood films began in the early 1920’s, where popular films such as Phantom of the Opera and Waxworks were created. The 1930’s is when Hollywood horror films became intended for mainstream audiences. It was during this time period that notable actors such as Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff became famous for their portrayals as Dracula and Frankenstein respectively.

Hammer Horror was a production company that had large amounts of success with the Horror genre in the 1950’s – 1970’s, these films contain blood and gore in colour. They often stared the respected actors of horror at this time such as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. They had large success with films such as the curse of Frankenstein and The Mummy. The director of these films, Terence Fisher, is deemed the creator and biggest influence for all modern Horror films. Hammer Horror films were popular until the 1980’s when the studio ceased to produce up until 2007, when larger Hollywood budgeted films took over. Horror films after this developed into psychological films, in which the perpetrator and the object of horror are not revealed to the audience, an example of this being the popular film Halloween.

During the 1990’s Horror films took a step backwards as the gore aspect had worn out and the audience had changed and developed. The new audiences wanted films that challenged them instead of simple slasher films. The Horror genre has inspired a variety of different productions, that span a variety of genre because of the well recognised traits it posses. It has had a variety of documentaries and show dedicated to the progression that has happened since horror began. One of the most recent is “A history of horror” a BBC 4 production that stared Mark Gatiss running down a list of some of the most arguably influential films produced in this genre.

Horror is an important genre, within my plan for a short film. The idea of frightening the audience and to push the boundaries of their perceptions is a concept used in my short film. The fact that my plan consists of two characters stuck on a platform that is counter weighted with a noose around their necks; if one of them is removed from the platform, the weight on the platform shifts and the second character is hung. This aspect of the characters death, could be deemed gruesome, even though this action is not conveyed on the screen and is only suggested to the audience. The idea of the audience perceiving the death in their own minds, not only links to the psychological aspect of the film, but makes it terrifying in its own way to the individuals watching the film. It also signifies that all though the threat of death is a crucial piece of content, it is not the main feature of the film or the narrative. Due to the fact this film contains a constant threat of death as well as images of people being ready to be hung; horror is an important genre choice for it.

Preliminary Research - "Intangible" - Short Film Analysis

- Part One


-Part Two

The basic plot outline of the short film "Intangible" is that the character of Billy, portrayed by Arthur Darvill, believes that the most important people in his life are replications. He carries out an experiment to test his theory, while his psychiatrist believes him to be suffering from a serious delusion. The film opens to Billy on a trip to the bathroom before shaving himself, a regular activity that conveys to the audience his normality in the strange unsettling camera and editing work of the beginning. By portraying his normally to the audience, it allows them to connect with him and empathise with him. In doing this it makes his opinion about the doubles more believable. By cutting himself on the cheek and the camera filming a close up it adds emphasis on what could be described as a normal action for the process. A quick cut is used into the next scene, of Billy and his psychiatrist. The location is white, clinical and professional, contrasting with the only other location of the film, Billy's home which is cluttered and has a darker filter on it.

In these scenes, character development and narrative are progressed by the dialogue of Billy. Billy explains to his therapist that his mother had a cut on her finger (scar) one day and that it was gone the next. The use of close ups and over the shoulder shots, help to portray that this character is key and important as is the dialogue being spoken. The tone of voice, the fact he is a well spoken character, with intellectual abilities is also important in his story being believable. Dialogue is also used as a tool, to convey the theme and message to the audience. The fact he corrects the psychologist reinforces this. The dialogue used throughout, such as him knowing the "destroyer of worlds" also help to present him as a slightly mad and a deranged character. The artistic nature of the film is also conveyed by the close up shots of Billy, cleaning a paintbrush in water, covering his brush in paint and finally by painting on his girlfriend. These a visual representation of what is an important concept of the film. The variants on normal social behaviour, such as clearing up and moving from room to room, are small but significant representations about the characters mental state. The accident that apparently causes these delusions is uncovered again through the dialogue of the counselling sessions.

The use of the varied camera recordings taken by the therapist is another technique used in order to vary the method in which the audience uncovers information about Billy and his life, but it also helps to support a claim about being watched, paranoia that unsettles the audience and makes the question the character of Billy.

By showing the removal of the painting on Anna's (The Girlfriends) shoulder it leaves a questionable feature to the audience about whether it’s really happening or it’s just Billy's perception of the situation. The use of the voice over at the end of the film, creates a believable and closed ending to the story, bringing in a calm collect voice, makes a final and serious ending to the film and the existence of Billy but also still questions the mental state of the character. This ending leaves questions that are not answered and representing pity or fear of the character of Billy. Creating this impact and leaving these questions, makes the theme of the short film more memorable.

During the film, a variety of techniques are used in order to make the film as interesting as possible and to convey as much information as needed to make the film a success. It also uses a variety of aspects and features found in Short Films. The use of only a small number of locations and the small number of characters is important. The creative and imaginative style in which the theme is conveyed is also another feature. One of the most significant is the way in which the narrative is moved forward by dialogue and the narrative is portrayed by imagery on screen is vital to the film and its audience.