Radio Trailer and Double Page Spread Interview

As part of the development and research into the production of my film, I decided to, as part of my marketing and research, create a radio trailer clip of music and a double page spread interview, as if speaking with producer, Spike Jonze. By doing this, I feel it will help me develop my marketing research in preparation for my own short feature film, and allow me to understand the methods in which advertisers and market researchers use to create an enigma around up coming film

Radio Trailer Music by ag4939

This radio trailer music took a while to develop, using the software, "Garage Band". As neither me nor any of my team members had used this particular software before, we found it at first difficult to get to grips with its different capabilities and many applications, but eventually grasped the concepts. We added various instruments and undertones of beats to our track, and eventually developed what is now our final piece. We thoroughly enjoyed its development, as we were able to build new skills in further programmes on the apple mac computers, and prepare for our very own film music, which we will need to create ourselves.

Our second production task required me to either create a film poster advertising the short film, "Im Here", or a double page spread of an interview with the director, Spike Jonze. I decided to develop the interview spread, as I felt I could best incorporate his reasons and details behind the production of the film through this method, and give more to the audience than a simplistic poster would. 

I found its production easier than that of the radio trailer, as I have used photshop previously for many of my media projects. I used the website, www.dafont.com to get the variety of fonts I used, and searched various websites for the main image used in the background. I asked questions such as, "What was production of the film like? I bet it was a tough journey?" and "Where did your inspiration stem from?". Of course the answers developed were not of his own words, but after extensive research and detailled answering I feel this finished product is professional and readable to a wider audience, and perhaps could be included in a film enthusiast magazine.

Double Page Spread Interview with Director Spike Jonze

In summation, I enjoyed this particular task of distribution. The research I carried out concerning Spike Jonze however has interested me to carry out a deeper level of investigation into why amateur and new directors choose to create a short film. I will now look at a further range of successful other directors, and their reasonings behind such methods of production of their chosen art form of short films.

''I'm Here"

One of the main short films we focused on was, "I'm Here"by Spike Jonze, an emotive short film about robots falling in love, and being completely selfless and devoted to the one you love. The central character, an old model robot named Sheldon, finds love in the form of the much newer, prettier pink model of Francesca. Their love blooms, and Sheldon no longer feels alone in a mad fast paced world that discriminates heavily against robot kind. When Francesca has an accident, and looses half an arm, Sheldon himself takes the old useless one, and replaces it with his very in own in an act of love, and continues to do this for a leg, and, finally, his whole body.


This short film is an excellent example of what our film should mirror, though is quite lengthy (30 mins approx.) It incorporates humour, video effects and graphics, and won many awards.
Below is the trailer for "I'm Here". We studied in detail the sound aspects, as now will create both a double spread interview and a radio trailer clip that could be used to advertise the film.



The trailer alone entices the audience, and involves the audience in the robots lives of seclusion and neglect, but also hope and new found happiness. I will now create both a radio broadcast trailer theme tune, and a double page interview mock up with the director Spike Jonze. By doing this, it will allow me to understand how to incorporate various features of media into my very own short film, and hopefully allow a deeper insight into the production and development.

Short Film Research

In order to fully understand some key concepts of producing a short film, I undertook some research into certain necessary components to involve in it. I found an article, entitled, "How to write a good short film script", written and included in the Sunday Times. 

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3336775.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

Many of the aspects outlined in this article highlight the importance of making an effective yet reasonably short storyline. Also, it addresses the necessity of being realistic of your film making capabilities; if you have limited funds, do not plan big car chases, fires and explosions and extra special effects that will astound even Hollywood directors. It is an extremely helpful article, and I will now include many important facts and features within that will help me to further plan and create an effective short film of my own. 

Any kind of dramatic story requires 3 basic elements:
 

• A world

• A character

• A problem

Short films are no different; you just have less time to establish and develop each element. Most successful short films focus on ONE moment or event in the life of ONE main character. Because of that it is unusual for a short film to take place over a long period of time – it’s usually just looking at the immediate build up to and/or consequences of that one event. A lot of the best short films play out more or less in ‘real’ time, and a story that spreads over more than a few days is unlikely to work well as a short film. 

Another popular setting for the short film is the journey. Most short films focus on a pivotal, significant event in the life of the main character so that the story inevitably takes the character on a metaphorical emotional journey and it can work well to use a literal journey as its setting.  

The most important questions to ask yourself when you begin to develop your story are:

Who is the main character?

What is their problem?

How will the audience recognize the problem?
Are the stakes high enough?

Am I telling the story from the best point of view? 

The audience must be clear from the outset who the film is about and they won’t be if you aren’t. Your main character is the one who has the problem and if there isn’t a character in the story with a problem then you don’t have a film, or at least not one that will work as a dramatic narrative.

What is driving your main character through the story must be one of the following:

• a want
• a need
• an obligation 

You probably don’t set out to write a film with a moral or even with a conscious awareness of what your story means but every story communicates some meaning to the audience. Once you are sure how the story begins and ends then you have a clear indication of its meaning and this will help you make important choices as you refine and develop your script particularly in relation to... 

The Tone of the Film

Tone is intimately connected to genre and though genre is less of an issue in shorts than in features it is still important to think about what kind of film you are writing in broad terms.

These helpful elements and extracts have assisted me in my understanding of the world of short films, and from their guidance I will now research other aspects that are important to the general composition of my film, such as the pre-existing extremely successful short film by Spike Jonze, "I'm Here", funded by Absolut vodka. The end product will definitely include each aspect i have researched in depth, and hopefully tie all loose strings of audience preference, location choice and filming techniques together to create an effective and highly entertaining five minute short film.

Across The Hall - Short Film vs Hollywood.

Another interesting aspect of research into the world of short films showed the contrast of the blockbuster Hollywood production, and the composition of the short film. The short film, "Across the Hall" was created in




The original 25 minute long short film, "Across the Hall", was created in 2006 by director Alex Merkin. A relatively new director, this being his only well know publication, was an instant success as it was received with great appraisal at a number of film festivals, winning Audience Favorite at Palm Springs in 2006. Below is the short film trailer, created on a small budget, yet with an extremely effective profit turn out and a highly suspenseful film.

Across the Hall (Short Film) Trailer from Gary Gimelfarb on Vimeo.

It was so successful in fact, that Merkin was contacted and asked to direct a full length version of the film, in which the final product was a 93 minute Hollywood adaption. Below i have again included the trailer yet this time for the blockbuster version, and the differences are minimal, apart from the style of filming and the inclusion of well known actors, such as the late Brittany Murphy.

Across The Hall Feature Film Trailer from Gary Gimelfarb on Vimeo.

When looking from a comparative angle, it is evident the second version has been extremely glamourised, and often fails to retain the gritty harsh reality of the situation that the short film does so well, and so briefly. The short films length adds to the heightened sense of urgency and suspense, as the audience is aware it must come to a heart stopping climax, and fast. In this case of short film vs hollywood adaption, it is of my own opinion that the short film is most effective in shocking and horrifying the audience using time as a key aspect of fear and urgency. When creating my own short film, I will aim to include aspects of suspense to keep the audience engaged and unable to guess what is coming next. I thoroughly enjoyed this production, and hopefully my final piece will be effective and successful. 

Passage of Time- Palindrome

We recently looked at an extremely unusual short film, entitled 'Palindrome'. After much research into how my overall film will be produced and layed out, the topic of time still came into much consideration, as it an extremely interesting and versatile, yet necessary element that must be incorporated into my final piece.

Its overall seemingly complicated composition would not be very difficult to recreate; it is merely shots taken, played backwards, and positioned in an order that allows the individual to be able to decipher what is happening on screen. Its black and white tone gives a film noir effect, and we subconciously immediately recognise it as being a foreign film, before the subtitles have even began.

Short Films

To begin research on producing and planning a 5 minute film, we looked at several examples of popular short films in the media currently. Each incorporated a different new twist, and fitted a lot of interesting footage, camera angles, effects, and sound into such a small slot of time, whilst maintaining a clear storyline, and a start, middle and finish. I have embedded some examples of the ones watched that I felt were most effective, and could be used as the basic principle behind my own short films production. 









This short film, entitled, "Temptation" has won many awards for its effective manner and serious tone. Though it is not set in an orinary "film" manner, and structured in the form of a poem reading, it is effective in remaining poingnant in the audiences members mind, and question them to consider its message, and think about what is truly being said. When looking with consideration to my own coursework, it is a possibility that the concept of using a serious message as inspiration could work, and be the basis of my films ideology. 








Another short film, though 7 minutes long, entitled "Spin" is an alternative look at the outcomes of one minute action, and what would happen if things changed and altered. It has a clear and concise set of events, and toys with idea of magic and mystery, through use of video effects. I would highly consider using an idea similar to this in my short film. The aspect of time alteration is a flexible and interesting one, and I will definitely research further into using such an easily achievable yet highly regarded effect, with other short films that address this idea.








The humorous short 7 minute film above, is called, "They are made out of meat". It uses setting and character to effectively create a mock serious situation, with a discussion between two apparent other worldy beings. Its main device is the humorous aspects, and it uses little video effects, which contributes to its drama yet comedy basis. The setting is seemingly very basic, as the entirety of the film is set in an American diner. This particular type film would also be easily achievable, as settings would be limited in my own film, yet none the less significant in its success and effectiveness. This film is interesting and humorous partly due to its simplicity, and I feel that aspect could be extremely versatile, and easily incorporated into my own short film, to make it just as effective.


After researching these short film examples, I will now look at the means behind the production of them, and the reasoning as to why they were produced in the first place, and who for; what audiences are atttracted by short films? How are they publicised? Where is funding attained from? I will research into these questions in order to gain a deeper insight into the industry of short film making as a whole, resulting in successfully producing my own, with a purpose and an intended audience. 

Barthe's Five Codes

Here I have created a presentation using the website www.prezi.com to show the linguist Roland Barthes' five narrative codes, that are used throughout narrative development and storymaking.

The Importance Of Genre

Genre is an important device in the creation of new films, used by producers to develop upon films of a similar nature, so the audiences are able to, to a certain extent, predict whats to come, and know what to expect. Certain aspects are kept similar throughout films of a similar nature, such as murder and spooky settings in horror films, or love and a problematic situation with humorous consequences in a Rom Com. However, though most aspects of a new film of a specific genre can often be anticipated, producers attempt to introduce new and exciting features, unpredictable within a common genre structure to entice audiences and keep them guessing.

Examples of this include-

Horror
Mass murderer
Damsel in distress
Desolate landscape/ building
Blood and gore
Fast paced cuts and quiet creeping piano music

Sci Fi
Futuristic settings (e.g. space)
Far advanced technology
Aliens and other-worldy creatures
Fast paced action
Battle scenes/ warfare


All these features are instantly recognisable within the audience members mind as aspects of specific genre based films. However, through trailers and poster promotions selling a specific film to an audience, stars and celebrities common to certain roles, be they action heroine or quiet serial killer, can also make a films genre pre-recognisable, and be the deciding factor in whether or not someone decides to view a particular film.

For Example-

Angelina Jolie is renowned
for her active, heroine roles,
where the female takes
control and saves the day,
although has also been known
to perform well in more challenging,
drama roles, such as 'Changeling'.
She challenges many typical
conventions of a female role
in a film, and the individual
may choose to see a particular
film, solely due to her participation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is another example of an individual commonly seen in specific roles. Known for action packed Hollywood Blockbuster films, he is nearly always the hero, jam packed with guns and machines to complement his muscley physique, and saves the day, rescuing the damsel in distress. Though, similar to Angelina Jolie, a select few of his roles include a softer side to the hard man, such as, "KinderGarten Cop", a comedy where he is a soft and gentle teacher. However, though this is an unusual role to see him in, the incorporation of crime fighting and fight scenes keeps his main role expectancy alive.

Lesson One- Film Trailers and Genre Recognition
We have looked at many different film trailers, to attempt to identify whether or not genre can be easily recognisable from a quick paced serious of clips and plot summary, which we often briefly see in a film trailer.

Kill Bill.








Within this film trailer, it was immediately evident the main genre throughout would be action, due to its fast paced sequencing and iconography, of long bladed knives and martial arts. However, a Western theme from the graphics and the close ups of weaponary and just the eyes is evident, perhaps adding a different twist to a seemingly straightforward search and kill tale. Music is heavily digetic, with the clinking of blades and shouting. Camera shots and angles focus on tracing and mid shots, with the camera constantly moving and changing direction to maintain interest, and add to the fast paced action and immediacy.
I thought overall this film trailer was effective in distinguishing genre , though failed to clearly detail the narrative, or give clues as to whether or not it was chronological, its place of setting, or what the general idea was. Perhaps the director chose to do this, in order to pull audiences in with clues and mystery, making them more inclined to go and see the film.


Kill Bill Vol 2.







In order to distinguish whether or not director Quentin Tarantino often did this with his many successful blockbuster films, we then watched Kill Bill Vol 2, the sequel to the first. The second trailer cohears alongside the first, with its western iconograpy and bloody violence aspects. This time however a clearer picture can be built, due to its revelation of her life before the first film, and reasoning behind her vengeful journey.


Lesson Two- Further understanding of film classification.


Hybrid Films
Where more often than not films tend to consist of one sole genre, for easy recognisability, some times directors choose to combine two or more, to create a hybrid film. This consists of two genres, such as horror and romance, or possibly more, mixed together to add a brand new exciting aspect to a previously predicatble tale. There are many more emerging in todays society, as an expanding audience of all ages grows more and more hungry for new and unexpected twists and turns in hollywood blockbusters. Examples of hybrid films include :

1. Twilight- a horror tale of vampires, with an intergrated fresh young love story, bringing a modern twist to an age old taboo.

2. Harry Potter-  A wizarding spellbinding story of magic and mystery, with many interlinking mini- genre aspects, such as love, action, and horror.

3. White Chicks- This film is generally under the category of comedy, with its humourous antics and unrealistic storyline, though is throughout closely linked with crime and action, as the two central characters battle to unearth lies and fight the bad guys along the way, with a madcap outcome.


Hybrid films are particularly effective in keeping audiences entertained, and curious, as the plots tend to take unexpected routes, and turn what would be an average predicatble storyline into an intriguing enjoyable watch.


Summary- In 250 words, explain why genre is important to both directors and audiences when watching and the production of films.

It is evident that there are many advantages to using to genre to form the foundations of a film. By choosing a specific genre, aspects of narrative can be identified, and thus incorporated into the film, such as blood and gore for horror, to create an effective and easily recognisable genre film. Directors find it essential in development, as without it, there would be little to go by on how to form characters, setting, and general plot. Also, by using genre as a basis, new exciting twists can be incorporated to allow a fresh outlook on an ageing plot. Audiences find genre essential, as their favourite can be identified. Then, the specific aspects of their favourite genre can then be recognised in other new films, and from this, they are more likely to want to go and watch a film of their preferred specification.