Pitch

In class yesterday, I delivered a pitch to my media class regarding what I want to create for my short film.


This allowed me to see who my audience would be for my film, and to see whether it will be successful in having a strong sense of genre and narrative.

Somewhat surprisingly, both males and females were interested in watching my film, which means it has a wider demographic than most films set after an apocalypse.

Feedback I attained from this included:

Make sure the script is succinct so the film does not run over 5 minutes,

Overlay a record button as well as date and time over shots filmed on the GoPro to give a more 'home recording' feeling.







The process of doing a pitch is extremely useful in making my film as it enables me to find an audience, as well as check that I am making a product which will have a strong genre and narrative, as well as something which is manageable to do within the 5 minutes.

Short Film Research

I had been told that a way to prepare for making a short film is to watch an abundance of short films in order to see and learn how it is possible to tell an effective story in a short time.

 One film that really interests me is 'The Living Room' made by Shane Meadows (This Is England) this is because it is short in POV (point of view) and the handheld camera angle is something I want to include in my film.












Another film which took my interest was 'Delicacy' by Jason Mann - this is because the film followed 3 people in the wilderness, so has given me inspiration for shot types, as my film will include 3 people in the wilderness.

Mood-board For My Film

Here is the moodboard for my short film, creating a moodboard is useful in planning a short film as it helps create an understanding of what the film should look like stylistically. It also includes photos of the the location I am wanting to film on. 

Pitch In 25 Words

Here is a basic outline of the plot for my film in 25 words:

Inspiration For My Film

The idea I have for my film is influenced by several existing texts.


For instance, I want the genre characteristics to be similar to Zach Braff's 'Garden State' in terms of balance of drama and comedy.



On top of this, I want my film to be visually similar to the short films made by Bertie Gilbert, for instance 'Let it Be' or 'Stray Dog'






Taking influence from these films will be useful for me in making my final piece as it will give me a guideline to follow in order to maintain a strong sense of genre.

Response To Brief

My brief for the final task has been set:

I can chose from a wide array of tasks, and I know I am going to opt to do the following:



I will most likely opt to create a poster and magazine review for the ancillary tasks.

I already have the plot for my film, and am beginning to storyboard it. Essentially, it will be a dark, independent comedy set after a nuclear apocalypse - following a group of 3 teenagers who visit their old holiday home. They do this because they know that the radiation in the air will eventually kill them soon, so they want to spend the end of their lives happily.

There are already locations which I know will fit the feel of the film. Such as the area of Dale in Pembrokeshire in Wales - where my friend has a house.

The poster will likely be an image replicating a scene from the film, with text superimposed on it.


The film magazine review will be something similar to the content of 'Little White Lies' - an independent film magazine.  

Evaluating Other Pieces of Work

In class, we were shown: a student short film; a student music video; and a professional music video.

This was done to help us decide what we want to do for our final project.

I already knew I wanted to make a film instead of a music video before this lesson, but it was helpful in showing me what quality to aim for.

AS Coursework Evaluation

1. What practical tasks have out carried out so far?

Throughout my AS course, I have made 3 films:

My 1 minute copy


I  chose to make the films I did as they were pieces I would want to see, on top of this they are all relatively easy to make (eg. no special effects)

I was interested to use the themes I did as they were able to provide me with the opportunity to tell a good story in an effective way.


My Preliminary Task

My Main Task

2. What Did You Look For In Terms Of Influences?

We had several influences for our film, all of which being independent British Dramas. However, the most influential film was 'Nowhere Boy' which had a very similar plot to the one we were trying to create. We picked this film as an influence as it gave us a very clear goal and framework.

















3.What Technology Did You Use?

We used a wide array of technology in our film, including:

A Nikon DSLR camera with multiple lenses
An additional microphone
Adobe Premiere Pro
Tripod/monopod







We typically used the camera the most in our sequence, which is to be expected. My least favourite technology used is definitely Premiere Pro; it is an old piece of software which frequently broke.







4.What Have You Learned About Editing From Your Past Year?

I Have mainly learned that editing takes a long time; its not as simple as it looks. I have also learned how to go about editing text in order to fit the genre.














5. How did you use sound and lighting in your practical task?

I believe I used sound successfully in our practical task, for instance creating an original soundtrack for our film, as well as using sound effects appropriately. I also recorded a monologue of our main character to be placed in the film non-diegetically.  Although the diegetic speech didn't sound particularly nice as the microphone we used was of a low quality.

However lighting wasn't as successful. We didn't make full use of our school's lighting equipment, resulting in grainy footage.


6. How well did you use your blog to document your practical work and to cover the theory behind it?

I believe my blog consisted of lots of documentation of my practical work - with lots of behind the scenes photos. However I didn't use my blog very well in covering the theory.

7. What would you like to produce next year?

Next year, I really want to make a short film. This is because I have been watching short films since aged 11, and have always been interested in conveying a powerful narrative in a short time frame. While I would like to work in a group, very few others are interested in making a short film, and I am not so opposed to working on my own.

Introduction

Welcome to my new A2 media blog. This is where I will be documenting key things I have learned in my A2 lessons, as well as the processes behind making my coursework.