Post 13: Advanced Production Skills Workshop 3

In this workshop, we were shown a powerpoint about 'source' and 'colour'.
In this we were to point out the differences between artificial light and natural light, and blue filters and an 85 filter.

We were shown two picture from the film 'Forrest Gump'.

In this picture, we came to the conclusion that the light was far too harsh, that it elliminated any shadows. This is how we can tell it was artificial light.

Then we were shown this picture and compared it with the other. In this, we can tell that it is natural lighting. We can see the horse in the background, which has strong sunlight on it's back, so we thought that maybe a diffusion was used over the frame, so the people in the foreground weren't too flooded with sunlight.

We were then shown a picture of Harry Potter,

As shown, the artificial lights above are the main source of light in the shot. But there is a man holding white card next to the actors. This is so the light is also bounced onto their faces, so shadows aren't created on their face, which would block out the actors face and facial expressions.

this makes the shot 'consistent with the source in the setting'.

We were then told how light creates an atmosphere, and we were shown pictures of corridors with different sources of light in them.

This is an example,

We used 3 point lighting to explain the different kinds of lighting used in this picture.

3 Point lighting consists of 3 different directions of light. Front, Back, and Side.

You can see the different sources of light in this picture of this corridor.

We re-created a corrior shot with our class, using the artificial lighting we have in the media corridor.

First we filmed with the normal artificial lights that are kept on, on a day to day basis.

Then we changed the lights so we had one focusing on Jenna, and one on in the background.

After this, we learned about colour of light. We were told about the different filters, and the effect they have on a shot.

We learnt about Gels and Lens'. We use a red gel or filter for a warmer looking picture, and a blue gel or lens for a colder effect.

One short film that Becky has shown us is called 'That Old One'. In this, whenever the main character tells a lie, there shows a green light. This then uses colour to add effect to a scene in the film.

Another film which uses colour to add effect is Harry Potter.

So, in terms of our short film, we had to think how we could creatively use light to add effect to our scenes. We decided to use a blue filter when our character 'Grace' is at home, as this is when she is feeling the least happy, the blue filter will give off a cold and unhappy vibe.

We will also use the barn doors on 'Grace's Father', as we want him to be anonymous. This will then block the light on the father's face in the shot, so we can't see his features clearly.

Post 12: Advanced Production Skills Workshop 2

In our workshop lesson, we learnt how to fully understand lighting, and the different skills and tools needed for variety in lighting. In these workshops, we use the PD150 SONY, to get used to the more advanced camera, and to acheive a better quality in our experiments. After the camera was set up, we set the lighting up, and learnt all about the different tools that can be used. First, we learnt about diffusion. We were shown each slot, including a 1/4, 1/2, full and a little full. These were the different qualities in diffusions that we could use. A quarter was the thinnest, and full was the thickest, depending on how much light you want to block out. The little full was an insert that you could use so you could have a full and a 1/4, and so on. Following this, we learnt about direction of light. This was the result from this experiment:

The problems we found with direction was the positioning of the light, as wherever we seemed to place the light, it was seen in shot. For example at 0:16 the light was seen in shot, and we also had to re-film under with a 1/4 diffusion, as the light was far too harsh on Kelly's face. Throughout, the light seemed too harsh, so it could look to washed out with light, rather than being able to see the full effect of the direction in which the light was projected from. After learning the basics of direction, we learnt how to manipulate it, using barn doors. The function of a barn door is to shape light in any direction you want it to. In this we also learnt how to 'bounce' light. We bounced the light off the ceiling, tin foil, and paper. We experimented with this, and this is how it turned out:

We had a problem with the tin foil bounce, as it didn't seem to have much of an effect, so we used paper aswell. This seemed to work to our advantage. We also experimented with the light with diffusions, as we found the light was too over-powering for some of the shots. Apart from this problem, and the problem with the camera taking time to focus in on Zak after having the black sugar paper fully over the light at 0:17, this task, I felt, went reletivley well. The strength of this experiment was the visible changes you could see in the intensity of light when moving the sugar paper.

After we had got to grips with the lighting, with inspiration from some pictures shown to us on the slideshow, we tried to mimic a 'Vogue' pose. Charlotte placed her hands in front of her face in an attempt to create shadows on her face. Also, in this video, we experimented with 'spot and flood'. Spot is where you focus all the light on one object (i.e. Charlotte) and flood is where you spread the light across the whole frame.

This workshop has helped me to understand how to work the different directions of lighting and the variety of diffusions we can use. In the production of 'Bruises', I will use this knowledge when controlling the strengths of light in each shot, specifically the shots where we need to create chadows of Grace's Father on the walls.

Post 11: Advanced Production Skills Workshop 1

Last lesson, we were taught the style of 'Film Noir'. Film Noir is a style of film, created by Nino Frank in 1946. Although there were films made with the Film Noir style, this concept wasn't created until 1946. This style reflects American trends, in using Crime and Detective films, which was a contrast to the optimistic musicals and comedys that were around at this time.
This style was named film noir because of the dark, mysterious theme presented as such (left) in every sense, mood, point of view and tone.

A typical Film Noir story countained a cynical, heard-heartened, dis-illusioned man who encounters a beautiful, promiscuous, amoral, seductive "Femme Fatale" which literally means fatal female.
The female character would manipulate the man into commiting a crime, but they were often 'destroyed' by their plans, as they would fall in love with the man, and consiquently ending up with nothing. So, although Film Noir broke the convention that women were weaker than men, they still loose everything, and they suffer.


The Importance of Shadows in 'Film Noir'.

In class, we watched 'Rebecca', which show's us the importance of Shadows in film noir. Shadows created the illusion of mystery and show's the scale of importance on characters, shadows can created a special awareness, which makes the audience aware of the main character, by casting a shadow on everything else in shot.

There are two main types of shadows in Film Noir, Cast shadows and Attatched shadows.
Cast Shadows are the type of shadow when you put something in front of a light source and it casts a shadow, like a typical shadow from a person or object.
Attached Shadows is when a person or object is lit to highlight their importance, thus creating a shadow on anything that isn't of importance.

In class we also watched 'Lemon' by Hollis Frampton. In this video, Frampton play's with light on a lemon, to show the shape and texture of the lemon from different angles of lighting, and the different shadows that are cast upon it.

After watching this, we got into groups and created our own version of 'Lemon'.
After a few failed attempts, where are hands were seen in shot, which we had to correct, we created

Post 10: Job Roles Research

Task 1: Director: During Pre-Production, their job is to read over the script and to organise run-throughs with the actors, they are in charge of casting the actors, creating a shooting schedule and a call sheet. They are also in charge of a shotlist with help from the cinematography department.

During production, their job is to get the performance they want out of their actors.

Camera: During pre-production, along with the director, they are in charge of creating a shotlist. This department also create the storyboards, an equipment list and they book the equipment that will be needed for shooting.

Production: Their main job role is to film! They are in charge of deciding shot sizes, setting up the camera, framing and the composition of each shot.

There is a link between the Lighting and Sound department, as each roles share similar tasks.

Lighting and Sound: In pre-production they share the tasks of creating a risk assesment, the share the equipment list and technical recce's with the camera department. The sound department is in charge of soundtrack and any music they want to have permission from the labels and copyrights, the microphones, any voice overs they want to use must be done before production, special effect sounds and guide tracks.

In Production, they set up the lighting and sound equipment, the sound department monitor sound levels and positiong microphones.

Production Design: This department puts costume, makeup and set together. In Pre-Production, they are in charge of the location recce's, purely because it is important for the set designers. Then there is costume design, hair and make-up deisng and set designs or moodboards.

In Production they are in charge of continuity, i.e. taking pictures of the characters in costumes and make-up so they get it exactly right for the next shot, and monitoring the script.

Post 9: Script Feedback

When Becky Knapp came to visit again, she told us to assess each others scripts. We all had a look at everyone's scripts, and we had to give critical feedback on how they could be improved. Becky also had the chance to look at our scripts and gave feedback.
This feedback gave us the appropriate information to start improving our scripts even further.

My version of my script:


The general feedback I recieved was positive, my peers said they enjoyed my script, but was confused as to what genre it was. The format of the script was wrong, it was in the wrong font and I didn't have a front page cover for it.
When Becky talked to me about my script, she said there was some genre confusion, between comedy and drama. For a short film, she said it would be wise not to have the both, as we don't have enough time for character and plot development in the space of 5 minutes.

After this, we decided to work on Jenna's script, as her's was easier and more developed, so we could produce a better short film in the time we have.

Post 3a: target progress

1) Naturally, I am a creative person, but throughout the year I have been trying to push the boundries on my creative skills. I have shown this through script writing for my short film coursework. First of all, the idea for my script came to me in a lesson, a little bit out of the blue. But after hearing feedback, it changed significantly. So when it comes to my creativity, noticeably, I have been pushing myself more so this year, but can still use some work.

2) My second target was to keep up to date with homeworks and blogger deadlines. So far, I have been on time with my homeworks, and my bloggers haven't been too bad. There are times when my blog posts aren't completely finished, but they are still done to an extent. Last year, I was lazy with my blog posts and homeworks, which meant when it came to doing them, it was all last minute. Now I feel up to date and confident that my work is done.

3) When we were first told to use photoshop, I had no idea how to use it. So I was asking for help all the time. Since then I have used photoshop on many occasions, here is an example of this independent work:



4) I feel that my blogger has improved significantly during the course of the year. It is much neater, and more organised, and I am also fairly up to date, if not a few minor things missing. But compared to last year, I have become more organised and committed to making my blogger look presentable.

5) I haven't had the chance to really show my improvment in my interpersonal skills yet, as we haven't started on the coursework. But I have improved on taking all feedback on board.

Post 8: Decisions and Revisions

Thought process: My original plan came from an idea about a man who was an alcoholic and he had a girlfriend, but something happens, which makes him change his life around. But it was more like making it up as I went along.

Feedback I got: Some people said they liked the sound of It, but it was said my original script didn’t really have a resolving ending. Then I got some feedback saying how I could change it to a proposal at the end, and this is where my idea came from for my new script.

I researched different ways people have proposed, so I could get a realistic idea of how my character Henry might do it. Then I watched a series of short films which shows people trying to propose, so I could get an idea of how Henry might act.

My basic plot outline is that Henry is living with his girlfriend Eileen, and he decides that it is time for him to propose to her, but he has terrible confidence issues, and doesn’t quite know how to do it. Every morning he wakes up and practices in the mirror of how he might say it. He attempts a few times, but each time he does it fails. So he goes back to basics, and decides to propose to her where they had their first date. But Henry is so nervous, he decides a drink might calm his nerves, the only problem is, is that he has to drive to this place, and he ends up having too much to drink. Whilst driving, Eileen finds out he had been drinking, and they have a fight. Henry is drunk, so he can’t concentrate on the road properly, and they end up crashing. A few weeks later, Henry is waiting for Eileen outside the hospital, and he is proposing to her, but we never get to hear her answer.

When we watched 'Signs', a short film, in class; I decided I wanted to base my character Henry around the character in this film. He shares a lot of the same qualities as him, they both have confidence issues, and both want to ask the girls they like an important question, but doesn't know how, and when to do it.

First draft of script: Turmoil

Latest draft of script: The Proposal




























































For my latest script 'The Proposal', I got the titles idea from 'Donnie Darko' who reminds us of a time, and how much time is left, but we don't know what's going to happen at that time. This is similar to the titles in my script, as the date and times are leading to the crash that leads Eileen in a critical condition. I decided to change the ending. Originally, I was going to have Eileen come out of the hospital escaping with minor injuries to find Henry proposing. But I feel that this ending is better, as it not only leaves tension for the audience, but leaves tension for the character Henry as well. I decided to end it on the note that Henry had wrote a few days ago, as it leaves tension for both the audience and Henry, this may also make the audience want to watch on to see her reaction.








Independent Research:




As well as getting inspiration from 'Donnie Darko', I researched into ways of proposing. I read many magazine articles to find realistic ways of proposing. Most top answers included having 'Marry Me' spelt out in rose petals, putting the ring in a glass of champagne and creating a webpage that their partner will see. This gave me my main idea's for the way Henry was to propse to Eileen.

Notes on Audience theory

http://www.theory.org.uk/tenthings.htm


Passive audience- Negative theory issues of moral panic.

We are fed the information and we accept it.







Active Audience- We think we've got control!


Some may think that this isn't possible because:

• we can only watch what is presented to us.




• Watershed?




• BBFC




• Pegi




• Ofcom




• Self-regulating




• Parents.

Dominant Hegemonic Position- Audience agree's with preferred meaning.

Oppositional Hegemonic Position- When the audience understand preferred meaning but doesn't agree with it.

Negotiated Hegemonic Position- Audience has opposed or adapted preferred meaning.

Abberant decoding- Audience reads texts in a different way.

Audience theory:

· Genre theory and effects theory is still in debate, as no one is able to tell how an audience will react to a film and the genre chosen for it.

The Hypodermic Needle Model:

· This theory was introduced to try and explain how mass audiences may react to mass media.

· This theory was developed when the mass media was still fairly new.

· It suggests that the audience receive the information passively through the media text, without any attempt to process the data for themselves, i.e.- the media text is fed into the audiences brain.

· The theory suggests that we are manipulated into what the media producers want us to hear or believe. It suggests that the audience is passive.

· This is where the idea that the media is ‘brainwashing’ us.

Two-Step Flow:

· This theory suggests that the audience are influenced by ‘opinion leaders’.

· The information that they learn from these opinion leaders are passed onto others, and this is how the two-step-flow works.

· *very much like word of mouth*

· Doesn’t have to be a person

· We create a pre-conceived opinion of the film.

· This theory diminished the power of the media to their audience and decided that social factors are also important when considering a mass audience.

Uses & Gratifications:

· In 1948, Lasswell suggested these media functions for the media audience. Surveillance, correlation, entertainment and cultural transmission.

· An audience’s need. Reflecting what the audience want. Active audience.

· 60’s- Bulmer and Katz expanded this theory and published their own. They stated that that individuals may choose and use a text for these purposes (i.e. uses and gratifications) :

1. Diversions- escape from everyday routine

2. Personal relationships- using the media for emotional and other interaction (e.g. Relating soap opera’s for family life)

3. Personal identity- finding YOURSELF reflected in texts, learning behaviour and values from these texts.

4. Surveillance- Information that could be useful for living.

· Since then, the list for uses and gratifications has been extended, especially since new media has been introduced.

Reception Theory: 80’s

· This theory explores the way in which the audience receive and interpret a text and how their circumstances affect their reading. (i.e. Gender, age, ethnicity)

· This theory is based on Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model of the relationship between audience and a media text.- The text is encoded by the producer, and decoded by the reader.

· By using recognised codes and conventions, and by considering audience expectations, relating to aspects such as stars or genre’s, producers can position the audience. This is known as ‘preferred reading’.

The Advantages and Limitations of a Focus on Audience in Media Studies- Philip J Hanes

‘A text does not have a single meaning, but a range of possibilities which are defined by both text and audience.’- (Hart, 1991)

Andrew Hart is among many writers, theorists and researchers who identify and value the existence of the audience in relation to the media.

Supporters of the Effects model assume the audience is passive in the receiving and interpretation of media texts.

-*The Frankfurt school considered society to be composed of isolated individuals who were vulnerable to media messages. This school believed in the hypodermic syringe theory.*

The followers of the hypodermic model of Effects adopted a variation of Marxism, emphasising the dangers of the power of capitalism, which owned and controlled new forms of media.

However, other factors are presented in society, like personal religion, gender and age.

· The Effects model is considered to be an inadequate representation of the communication between media and the public, as it does not take into account the audience as individuals with their own beliefs, opinions, ideals and attitudes:

· “Audiences are not blank sheets of paper on which media messages can be written; members of an audience will have prior attitudes and beliefs which will determine how effective media messages are.” (Abercrombie 1996)

In this, theorists were not asking how the media affects the audience, but how the audiences were using the media, and receiving it.

They suggested that audiences have specific needs.

The audiences in ‘uses and gratifications’ were seen as active, as opposed to passive audiences. U&G recognised that audiences have a choice of what media they can consume.

Despite this, U&G have limitations. This theory STILL suggests that the messages are viewed by all the audience in the same way. It does not consider how the messages are interpreted.

*The Uses and Gratification model assumes that the audience’s wish for satisfaction results in a media output to fulfil their desire, rather than acknowledging that audiences have to enjoy whatever is produced by the media.*

Screen Theory:

In the 70s, the academic journal Screen suggested that audiences were positioned by the media text

Screen theory suggested that all media texts have a "mode of address”. This suggests that media texts address its intended audience in a particular way, creating a relationship between the producer and the audience.

An example of this screen theory is that films are usually shot to suggest reality. A way of suggesting this reality is by using unusual shot’s and camera angles.

It is suggested that viewing is done in groups of family. This is why channels choose not to view any sex, violent, or drug scenes before a certain time, as it is assumed that the younger audience are not watching tv at this late time.

The mode of address is vital in constructing and audience’s thoughts about an issue raised in the media. *Just because producers of media texts have a certain opinion and meaning does not mean that this meaning is obvious in the text*

Semiotics- study of signs. (Codes)

Structuralism- study of formal structures. (Conventions)

The existing methods of studying audience do not measure how and why the audiences differ in their viewing. For instance the audience watching one episode of a serial will not necessarily watch the following episode or, indeed, any of the other episodes. Additionally, the existing methods do not consider what meanings the actual audience is constructing. Questionnaires are limited by the questions that they ask and audiences will be trying to answer what they think the researcher is trying to find.

Negotiating reading- we interpret something different to others. Adapting a preferred meaning.

*Laura Mulvey*- “Male Gaze”

----------------

Post 7: Creating your own script

At the beginning of the lesson, we were told to talk about yesterday evening in one minute. Most the people in my class, including myself, chose to tell the story in chronological order in first person narrative. What we told was a story, we chose to talk about the exact events that went on in our evening. when we asked our teacher to do the same, her story was a narrative. She chose to talk about her events in detail, as though she was telling us a story from a narrative point of view, rather than a series of events.

In class, we were shown a picture of this yellow fish

We were told to write a story around this picture, in 2 minutes. This is my story:

"A man called Fred had recently moved from his home in Shropshire to a faraway place called Yemen. He missed his family dearly, so he decided that he needed something that reminded him of his home. Back at home he had a fish called Steven, so he bought a fish and called it Steven. In every way it was the same, it was yellow and it swam about and it was all lovely. He shared many fun times with his fish, him and his fish went to the cinema, and even went bowling. One day when Fred came home, the fish had gone, someone had robbed him. Fred was distraught as he grew attached to the fish, and therefore moved back home with his family and his previous fish love Steven. Eventually, Fred stopped having these strange delusions about the fish called Steven and he lived happily ever after."

We were shown this powerpoint in class to help us develop our ideas on Narrative.

http://klsmediadepartment.blogspot.com/2010/10/narrative-theory-powerpoint.html

To have a 'good' short film, you must start off with the basics. A world, a character and a problem.

Then you must consider what is driving the character. They must have a want, a need and an obligation.

Signs

In class we watched a short film called Signs. The film starts off with a man, at this point I created an analytical spider diagram.

MAN:

Quiet/shy
Desperate
Intelligent
Unfulfilled
Lonely
Socially inept

The world in this short film is a life based around work. The man has moved from the countryside in Austrailia to an ambitious job promotion in the city. The character is a man who is living an unfulfilled life without friends and family. The problem is his lack of confidence to talk to new people.

The want that is driving the character is a relationship, he feels he wants to be close to someone, this is proven in the scene where he smiles at a girl, but doesn't find the confidence to talk to her. This is his need, his need is the confidence he wishes to find. The obligation is to fulfil his parents desires, we can tell this from the phonecall he gets from his parents in the country telling him how proud they are of him.

These targets that are set for a 'good' short film are all fulfilled in this short film, as he overcomes his conifdence issues, and eventually plucks up the courage to talk to the girl he has been comunicating with through notes.

Part ways through the film, it was stopped so the class could guess what might happen next. There are a few times where we got it spot on, but there were a few where we were completely wrong. We are conditioned to think what the most typical response would be. But the film successfully keeps the audience interested in the film, by putting in little twists that we weren't to expect.

Post 6: What makes a good short film?

In our media lesson, just as we were starting to write our scripts, Rebecca Knapp joined us for a lesson on how to write a good short film. She told us the critical information and tips for a short film script.




Rebecca Knapp:

First, Rebecca told us that we had to visualise our scripts, to see if what we write in our scripts match the action you visualise or not.
After the time spent with Becky, I learnt that there are three different time lengths for short films.

The first is 5 minutes long. These short films typically show stereotypes and an ovbious visual experience. The short film 'The Black Hole' is a perfect example of this. It is set in an office, which is clearly recognisable to the audience immediatly, through the mise-en-scene and props used. He is clearly unsatisfied with his life, the film plays on the comedy of a typical office worker feeling this. The male character finds that he has the power to steal anything he wishes by reaching into this black hole on a piece of paper, and in the last scene, he reaches into a safe, but unfortunatly, as a result from his new found greed, falls into it trying to reach for more, and gets stuck in the safe. The storyline is easy to follow, well developed and has a character, a world and a problem.

The second time scale that is typical for a short film is 5-12 minutes. In these short films, the audience follows a characters, going through a life-changing senario where the audience can see a character change. The use of stereotypes are not typical for these short films, as there is enough time to develop the character without them in the amount of time there is. The short film 'About A Girl' is an example of this short film time scale. The audience are unsure of the girls situation, however the storyline is well developed throughout the film. In the end, we discover that the girl was pregnant, and throws her dead baby into the river, as she has become "good at hiding things" from her mother.

The final time scale is 12-30 minutes. There will be secondary storylines, those that are not unlike feature length films, as there is enough time to develop a character and a complexoty to them or a storyline.




Then Becky showed us scripts of short films she had been involved in.
The film I focused on primarily was 'Does God Play Football', as this was the one that immediatly caught my attention from the script alone.


Does God play football?

My initial reaction from reading this script was an unsure one. The plot seemed a little complicated, and the topic didn't seem too interesting. To my surprise, it was one of my favourites from the day.



The cinematography, I felt, was really well put together, which made the complicated script seem easy to follow. The contrasting colour between the flashbacks such as the 85 filter on the flashback to the childs past, made it easy to understand which were real time and which were flashbacks. The era was simple to recognise, as all the mise-en-scene were from the correct time (60's). The music also plays an important part in developing the era and the the storyline. The first example of music we have is chamber music, immeditatly suggesting the the story has religious content.
However, I still found that the script dragged on too long, and that the topic wasn't interesting enough for me. Nevertheless, if it was to my liking, I found it was done extremely well.

Therefore the script was written well in the ways it didn't give too much of the plot away, however it could have been improved by a little more direction in each scene.




On A Life's Edge.

This is a short film Rebecca produced herself.

Again, when reading the script, it seemed a little confusing. I didn't grasp the plot idea, so I was a little hasty when watching the film. Nevertheless, I was looking foward to it too. To my surprise, I enjoyed the film thoroughly. The shots and locations were very clever, and the film didn't give any of the plot away until the end, so you had the surprise factor. It didn't fufil audience expectations, but I believe that this is a positive thing about the film, as I tend to dislike the obvious plot films.




In short, Rebecca showed us these scripts to show us how important the script has to be in order for your film to get recognised.

We did some research on the book 'Get Your Short Film Funded, Made and Seen', written by The Shooting People Shorts Directory.
The booklet then told us that Short Films should include, 'having an idea for a novella and then deciding to tell it as a haiku’, which suggests that Short Films should be easy and simple to follow.

As mentioned above, the booklet suggested three area's that should be considered when making a short film, these are:

• A World




• A Character




• A Problem
  
  
  
  

A World:-

When creating a short film, develop the character's world. Make the 'world' easily recognisable to the audience, for example the world in 'The Black Hole' is simple, an office. However the world could also be events, such as Christmas, or a birthday party. By doing this, the problem is easier to develop, as it could be problems with work or being home sick (like the problem in the short film 'Signs') etc. Having a 'World' gives the film a defined time frame, which is also mentioned to be a key factor by the Sunday Times booklet 'How To Write A Good Script' by Marilyn Milgrom.

A character and the problem:-

Writers, directors and producers need to consider the character carefully, to introduce their problem that will be recognisable to the audience. The point of view that the story is from is also important, as the character's problem may only be recognised if the story is from their point of view. From the beginning of the film, we need to be following the characters want, how he will overcome his problem, their needs and any obstacles that prevent them from their need, or overcoming their problem.

As indepedent research, there was a short film in which I believe followed all these conventions of a good short film.

Different- A Short Film:

There is an obvious story line here, the short film presents us with a world (university life, possibly older living on his own), a character (the curious male) and a problem (his struggle with gender issues). As the 'Character, World, Problem' conventions are clearly considered and developed in this short film, it is an easy storyline to follow in a short space of time. It plays in 'real time' which again, according to the booklet, is the best time frame to go with, as it is easier to follow in the short amount of time you have in your short film.

We were then asked to consider target audiences for short films.

As scripts are the documents people in the industry need in order for a short film to be published, it must portray what you visualise enough for the professionals to see a potential, but also not to give too much about the film away in the script. People within the industry are the first main audience for your first short film, as they are constantly looking for new, promising writers. Short films are used to market your writing skills, therefore short films are important if you are an aspiring director or writer, as they get you on the market, and showcase your talents.

However, Short films are not only for the directors to get recognition, it is also for lighting technicians, scriptwriters, actors, and camera operators to show their talents off too.

We were then told to consider all these theories and conventions in writing our scripts for our short films. We were asked three questions, that would summarise what happens in your script. What is revealed that is significant to the plot? What is revealed that is significant to the audience understanding the character? And, Is there an identifiable theme?

In conclusion, the feedback we recieved from Becky has been extremely useful in the editing of my script, and has encouraged me to make some dramatic changes for the better. Also, learning about what people in the industry look for has helped in recognising what is conventional about my script that is fundamental for my target audience.




Independent study area's:

1) Cinematography- this can begin with rolls of film or a digital image sensor. Filters can be used as a technique in cinematography, this is to change the colour of the shot. These are used to enhance the mood or dramatic effects. Lenses can also be attached to the camera to give a certain look, feel, or effect by focus, colour, etc. Light is necessary to create an image exposure on a frame of film. The art of lighting for cinematography goes far beyond basic exposure, however, into the essence of visual storytelling. Lighting contributes considerably to the emotional response an audience has watching a motion picture. Special effects, camera movement, camera shots and angles and frame rate selection are all part of cinematography as well.

2) Understanding 'Real-Time' - Real time within the media is a method of narrating wherein events are portrayed at the same rate that the audience experiences them. For example, if a movie told in real-time is two hours long, then the plot of that movie covers two hours of fictional time. If a daily real-time comic strip runs for six years, then the characters will all be six years older at the end of the strip than they were at the beginning. This technique can be enforced with varying levels of precision. In some stories, such as 24, every minute of screen time is a minute of fictional time.

3) Understanding tone: The tone of a film is usually linked to genre, as the tone of a film can be considered comic, or dramatic etc. Usually in a short film, there is one tone that you stick to throughout, so the audience find it easier to follow the plot of the film. In short films, you don't have time to make shifts in tone like you would in a feature film, as the audience are looking for clues as to what the tone is in the film, they don't have the time to decipher two different tones. The tone of a film emerges from the way in which each element supports the underlying meaning of the story. The first indication of tone comes from the script.

Post 5- Audience theory

1. The Effects model tackles social problems backwards- E.G. How can you consider the effect on audience without looking at their background info.




Desensitisation- when an audience has got used to seeing something. For example, if someone has had a bad life, and are used to seeing violence, doesn't mean that they will be a violent person themselves.







2. The Effects Model treat children as inadequate.



the issue raised in this discussion was that half of the class are still 17, and the other are already 18. Technically, a child is someone under the age of 18. Yet we all equally have our own opinions and voices when it comes to discussing media. Therefore classing anyone under the age of 18 as inadequate is a huge loss in a range of audience view points.







3. Assumptions within the effects model are charactorised by barely concealed conservative ideology.


Civilised messages and meanings we associate with. Appropriate messages.


For example, assuming that everyone agree's that some things shouldn't be shown before 9pm.



The problem with this theory is that some may argue that their kids stay up past 9pm, and therefore can watch if they like the programmes after the watershed. Another theory is that most kids have televisions in their rooms. This means that they can put their television on whenever they like and watch whatever they like.
Therefore, the audience are in charge, we get to decide what to watch, not what the 'rules' say we can watch.


4. The Effects Model inadequatley defines it's own objects of study.
- for example, this means that they get to choose what to study, and from what they choose (which would probably be something that has a lot of negatives to it) they only focus on the bad things about the topic of study, not the good thing.
Therefore it is all completely biased, and we wouldn't get to hear the other side of the argument in the study is.


5. The Effects Model is often based on artificial elements and assumptions within studies.

With evidence from the last point, this means that the effects model is based on opinions, there are no facts within their theory. They are fake assesments.
The problem with this one is obvious, we aren't given actual facts, just theories and opinions made up from the Effects Model. Therefore how can we believe what is true, and what is just an opinion?

6. The Effects Model is often based on studies with misapplied methodology.
Similar to the last point, this means that this is just the way they do the research. It shows that the ways they choose to do the research is just, once again, opinions.

7. The Effects Model is selective in it's critisisms of media depictions of violence.
For example, the news.
10 years ago, the news wasn't allowed to show any pictures of the dead or violent crime.
But now, for example, a few days ago in the news, there was a video shown of the Taliban shooting down innocent passer by's. These shocking images are all over the news now, so this shows how the news has changed dramatically in the past decade.
This point means that the effects model works like the news did 10 years ago, it isn't realistic in what they depict in terms of violence or crime.

8. The Effects Model assumes superiority to the masses.
This suggests that people are affected by what they see in the media, and this leads to the violence in the community that is depicted in films or the news.
The truth is that almost no one says they are affected by the media in those terms. In actual fact, everybody has a sense of violence from different things, whether it be from a violent background, or violent friends or bullying. But people don't admit this.
This is why the effects model assumes that people are affected by the media, as people don't admit to their violent lives.

9. The Effects Model makes no attempt to understand meanings of the media.
This just shows that the Effects Model doesn't look deep enough into a situation. They don't attempt to try and understand the audiences, and the impact of the media on them. The whole idea is that they assume, amd that their theories are just based on those assumptions, and opinions, as they don't try to understand anything to do with the media.

10. The Effects Model isn't grounded in theory.
This means that the effects model has NO theoretical meanings. It only looks at the outcome, not all the theories and facts in between. The glamourise the situations.

In conclusion, The Effects Model does not explain media consumer's thoughts. It is all based on interpretations and opinions. NO FACTS.