Ben's grand Idea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2xKQnuwu38

Ben had an idea of a post apocolyptic planet with only two people left in the world and they had found eachother and were having to re-create the population but they both really hated eachother.
It was a great idea but the only problem was that we had to be in a really rural area just to have silence but the only problem is that we had hadideas of him doing yoga in the street this would be impossible as we can't ask no one to be around and even if we were lucky there would be sounds from motorways near by.
So there would be obvious problems.

Ideas Discussion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7pKTFpvqh8

This is a link of Ben and myself talking about our ideas and opinions. The camera cut out before Ben and I could unfortunately talk about parodies, horrors etc. But this really helped us to sit down and talk about our ideas.

Voiceovers and Narration

We were talking about narration today in class and the best kind of narration we said was when it came from the character in the past talking about his future or vice verser for example in American Beauty (seen below)

I learnt that there are certain ways to indicate that this is the voiceover in flesh, without physically pointing an arrow at the character. this can be done through a simple camera shot of the person getting dress and the narrator talking, the audience are obviously clever enough to work out that this is the narrator in the past or in the future.
What I really don't like is using the characters as narrators and getting them to break the 4th wall. This was done a lot in the 80's and 90's for example Malcom in the Middle and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (as seen below)

I know it is a soundmix but it shows the characters breaking the 4th wall and directing the viewers and audience.
Also a popular 80's show that broke the 4th wall is Saved by The Bell (seen below)

This is a good use of narration via the characters onstage/camera.
Popular movies that have used this are of course Ferris Bueller's Day Off (seen below)

I think when used properly you can break the 4th wall without it looking unprofessional and messy. I think when used in a comedy it can look fantastic but when used in say a horror film or a drama it looks amateur so my opinion is that to use a trick like this is very brave and can only be used professionally I would never use it in my own work.

Idea #2 Fantasy/Mystery

Again I got this idea from the film The Bair Witch Project. I liked this idea of the movie starting slap bang in the middle of a disaster or something curious and throughout the 4 minutes you have this idea that something I happening but you really have no clue but then your left with this cliffhanger that leaves you wondering what was actually supposed to happen could this happen could that happen etc, etc.
I mainly started to think about this last year during my AS media C/W when I was studying Brecht wholiked to alienate his audience and instead of them sitting there and realaxing whilst watching the movie they're constantly thinking and asking themselves these questions If? But? Maybe? How come? Where? Why? Just something that makes you actively work. I suppose a brilliant example of this would be The Matrix movies throughout the viewing you are constantly questioning the motifs of the film.

The only problem with creating a piece like this would be how are we going to create something so complicated and get all these questions going through the Viewers minds in 4 Minutes, without it looking amateur and awful my example of this is a previous A Level Short film that is so shocking that the only question that goes through your mind is Why on Earth Did I put This on?

Idea #1Thriller

I liked the idea of watching a movie that constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat and wanting to know more and more but also scaring you so much that you almost have to walk out of the room but your subconscious doesn't want to. I didn't really get this idea from a short film I got this from a couple of feature films.

Cloverfield

I liked the idea of having a documentary style type film where it's supposed to be about one thing but ends up being another a lot like Hitchcock and his idea of using a red herring to hide the real horror.

Others like this include

The Blair Witch Project

and

Paranormal Activity

How Are Short Films Consumed?

There are different ways that short films are consumed. From extras in movies to short film festivals. Although in my opinion I think that a festival is the best way for short films to be consumed because there is a crowd examples include:
The London Short Film Festival or LSFF:
The London Short Film Festival, now in its 11th year, is recognised as the premiere UK showcase for cutting-edge UK independent film.
Renowned for daring cross-arts programming, we showcase the very best of the country’s raw talent. The London Short Film Festival is a Mecca for the UK’s young creative talent and a significant date in the UK film calender.
Every year the Festival’s large and loyal audience flock to screenings and events, and this network has grown steadily over almost a decade.

This is a film that was shown in the LSFF.

Aesthetica Short Film Festival:
An established and dynamic player on the UK film festival circuit, the Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) is a celebration of independent film from across the world, and an outlet for championing and supporting short filmmaking. Join us from 7 – 10 November 2013 to take part in the experience.
Spanning all genres including drama, documentary, animation, comedy, music video, thriller, experimental and artists’ film, the festival showcases its films across 15 distinct and historic locations in the city of York. Moving between medieval halls, ancient city walls, boutique cinemas, galleries and museums, the festival invites visitors to create their own unique viewing experience.
Alongside screenings, ASFF also presents a series of masterclasses and workshops with leading industry figures, working with such organisations as BAFTA, Channel 4, Film4, Warp Films, Raindance, Sheffield Doc/Fest and many more. There are also guest screenings, networking opportunities and special events throughout the weekend.

This is an award winning short film from the Aesthetica Short Film Festival.

There are other ways of consuming Short Films for example the extras on DVD's these can be anything from interviews with the cast to bloopers and deleted scenes.
This is the deleted scenes from the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:

Of course these Short films are all distributed from YouTube. So another fantastic way to consume Short Films is through the WorldWideWeb. Here aere just  few examples:

This is by an independent short film company who work on a budget and make their money through the advertisements on YouTube.

This is a short movie created by the BBC and can be viewed via the BBC  website.

As long as the short films are distributed in the right way example: before a film at the cinema or before a largely viewed television show (Downton Abbey) then the short film will be able to make itself a small amount of money or just for amateur directors to advertise their brilliance.

Telling a Whole Story in a Few Minutes

The difficulties in creating a short film in a few minutes is that there has to be the right kind of story. It has to be well thought out. If the story is not strong enough then there is no point in creating the short film. Although in saying that if you have a good story but awful actors then the story will be useless.
It also depends on the editing and the diegetics and dubbing over when there is noises in the background and it's difficult to hear the speech.
There is the problem of having this huge idea but then having to fit it into a 4 minute time slot. Although this can be good at the same time because you can then use the best of this great idea and start it from the middle or the end or the beggining and throughout we have this idea that there will be a cliffhanger and you leave the audience wanting to know whats going to happen.
With the short storyit's so impoortant that there is a narrative that is clear. For example Vladimir Propp's theory of having:
A protagonist-Leads the narrative, is usually looking for something (a quest)
A antagonist-gets in the protagonist's way
A heroine-becomes a prize for the hero
A father-an authority figure who offers a reward to the hero for completing their quest
A helper-often avts as a sidekick
A donor-gives the hero something (a clue, or powers etc)
A mentor-teaches and guides the hero.
An example of this would be:

The Protagonist is Burn-E, the Antagonist is Wall-E and so on.