Media Studies Blog 2009-2011

All films were sourced from http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/.

The main aim of this excercise is to explore the use of credits and titles in short films. I.E. what jobs are listed, and in which order.

This excercise also gives a real insight into how many different people and roles it takes to make even a short piece of film.

Short Film – “Shelf Life”.

A view of a room fades in with the company name present in white font towards the bottom of the shot.  “H3O films presents.” That title dissolves as a character walks into the space that those titles would have consumed.  A distinct jangly sound is made during the dissolve. A short while later the character walks out of shot and the main title comes up, in the same font as before. “S H E L F   L I F E”. It then dissolves in the same fashion as last time. The next title is the Director. This appears to be it for the opening titles.

Closing titles. The actors titles come up now. Higher up in the shot. Both actors are on at the same time. 

 Then producer and co producer.

Then director of photography, and production designer.

Film editor, sound design, title design.

 Then written by, and based on an idea by.

 Then Location manager, 1st assistant director, camera assistant, production assistants. 

Camera and lenses supplied by, lighting supplied by, film stock supplied by, film processing by, insurance by, catering by.

Special thanks.

Short Film – “Goodbye To The Normals”.

“The In Good Company Co Ltd Presents” enters on a blank screen and sort of zooms out getting smaller whilst fading. It is only shown for a short time. Possibly too short.  The film then starts instantaneously after the title has faded out.  Then “an IDIOTLAMP film” comes up on a black screen and exits in the same fashion as before. Then there is a short bit of the film, then back to a black screen and the films title appears and exits as previously. “Goodbye To The Normals”.

The final shot of the film fades out in a sort of circle, then the same style of Credits runs for the ending credits as it did for the opening credits.

Director, writer, producer, editor, director of photography.

After those, each on an individual screen, the credits then roll more conventionally scrolling up from the bottom of the screen.

Cast. Casting director. Production co-ordinator. Production Assistant. Runners. Script Supervisor. Focus Puller. Camera Assistant. Gaffer. Costume Designer. Hair/Make up designer. Production Designer. Sound Recordist. Film Scanning. DI Technician. DI Consultant. Colourist. Online Editor. Sound Editor. Dubbing Mixer. Film Stock. Camera Supplier. Lighting Supplier. Lab. Offline Suite. Insurers. Post Production (however the companies name is larger and in their own font.) Filmed on location. Thanks.

Then “for the IN GOOD COMPANY FILM CO LTD”  comes up in larger lettering. Then back to normal.

Production Accountant. Associate Producer. Producer. Executive Producers.

Then a small section about the song used, which was by Robbie Williams.

Then all sorts of idents and logos come up such as EMI.

Short Film – “The Black Hole”.

The Black Hole appears in a big white font on a black screen, but a circle starts expanding out of the black screen revealing the first shot. This film has no other opening titles.

The ending titles start abruptly on a black screen.

Starring. Written and directed by.

Exec Producers.

Producer.

 Director of photography Focus Puller. 1st AD. Gaffer. 2nd Ass Camera. 

Art Directors. Assistand Art Director. Propsman. Art Dept Runner.

Stylist. Hair and Makeup.

Sound. Spark. Grip. Runner.

Edit. TK. Post Production.

Sound Design.

Camera. Light. Sound Equip.

A Diamond Dogs film made in association with H.S.I.

Special Thanks to B.I.G, Arri Media, Fab Sound, Rushes, Unit and Simply Drinks.

So what is screenwriting? Screenwriting is basically writing out a piece of film. This is usually known as a script. Writing a script is a painstaking and in depth process, with so many different aspects to consider. For example, you’ve got your idea for a film, this usually comes with a genre. So then you know what style the film is, but you still have to consider, characters, location, dialogue and how all of those translate from the page onto the screen, and if they all work together to create something worth watching. Nobody wants to watch something with bland characters that don’t really do anything. Okay, so maybe people do like Eastenders but, USUALLY people want excitement and emotion in the characters. Then what happens to said characters? There must be some sort of obstacle or adversity to overcome, wether it be violent conflict, or conflict of the heart. So when all this is considered and thought out you can begin writing the screenplay.

Screenplays are standardized in format and feature dialogue with some direction. Each scene in the screenplay tells us where the scene is, when the scene is, and who is in the scene. The most difficult, and possibly most critical part of screenplay writing is making the dialogue seem authentic for the characters in the piece. You wouldn’t have a character in a Shakespearian drama using modern words and slang, so it is of high importance that dialogue of the era, and locale of the piece is researched.  Yet you don’t want the dialogue to be so true to the socialect of the characters that it alienates possible viewers. It needs to maintain the correct balance of realism and legibility.

3 Male characters, 1 female.

Locations: Classroom. Bedroom. 

Party not actually shown, just referenced.

Some scenes filmed with character in shot, however that character not actually present as proved by photographs.

Short Film Genre – Social Realism Drama/Comedy. Skins style.

Characters, realistic stereotypes. Between 16-20. Male.

Starts off in school. Talking about a party later on.

Middle part is that party.

Ending. The aftermath of the party. Big twist involving mental health.

 Whilst this shot appears to be very well lit however when recording the scenes seemed much darker.

 This shot shows the filming of the punch to camera and also various other members of the cast.

 This shot here is the rival firm waiting for the green light to come around the corner and into the scene.