I have written a first draft of a brief synopsis explaining the key points of the film to reference back to and convey what the story is based on.
Synopsis
Two girls are on their way to work in a small rural town in Somerset. One of them notices a strange character sitting on a bench, staring off into space. As they day passes the man remains on the bench as before. As the girls finish work and head home they notice the mysterious individual is still there. Once at home one of the girls looks out of her window, noticing he is still there she heads back out to see him and make sure if he is okay. As she introduces herself the man doesn’t reply at all. Feeling embarrassed the girl leaves. As she heads down the street the next day she notices he has gone, but there waiting on the bench where he sat there is a present with her name written on the tag.
This is a good initial move for my project as we can use it to base all my further work on this project.
I've chosen a few key words that relate to the main point of my film where a girl meets a mysterious man in her local town, from this I will rearrange the words and choose my favourite arrangement.
Title Options
New Beginning
Fortunate Encounter
Chance Encounter
Destined Acquaintance
Initial Encounter
Fortunate Destiny
Providential Meeting
Lucky beginnings
Chance of Fate
Primary Luck
Original Opportunity
My Title I have narrowed my title down to three options I will choose from when I finish my short film.
I've put together a schedule for December to try and get me up to date with the rest of the class by the time I come back to college after the winter break.
If I can stick to this schedule I should be ready to film as soon as I start the spring term of college and should hopefully be up to date by February.
My and my tutor have come up with a check list for me to refer to over the next chapter of my film project. Because I joined the course late and have to work on my project alone it is extremely important for me to plan out my work schedule over the next two months to avoid slipping behind the other groups and their projects.
These are the things I have to catch up with by Christmas:
I will be basing this using the basic three act structure of narrative as opposed to the Monomyth or Syd Field's Paradigm as this film will be based around five minutes long. I want this film to have a relaxed story line with much deeper denotations and connotations. The three act structure seems adequate for where I am in producing my story at the moment.
My teacher thought it would be a good idea to brainstorm some a few ideas for my short film to help broaden my options and better my project. I came up with three basic incidents with two ways for the initial story to digress to further the narrative and together we managed to decide on the most ideal option.
I like anything I film to have a clear sense of realism similar to the style of Federico Forcolini, for this a film often needs the audience to see characters undertaking menial tasks or having relationships we can relate to such as showing the relationship between best friends or mother and daughter.
There were a few issues raised about some of the ideas I had to start my project with such as the idea of filming a teenager drinking alcohol and going out for the night is very over used in student films and rarely executed well. A few other points came to light with other ideas such as reminiscing about a loved one would require flashbacks which will a minimal budget and equipment could easily end up looking tacky and poorly constructed.
My teacher and I discussed my options and we both voted for the use of 'Meeting a stranger' as it has the most potential as a successful short film, looking through my research into short films proves to be a popular choice amongst other film makers and allows me a wide spectrum of possible paths my story can take whilst being a realistic option for a minimal budget and provided equipment.
I decided to do some research on some iconic short film makers in an attempt to help me progress my short story into a short film.
SHANE MEADOWS
Shane Meadows has built up a very successful career having spent years making short films before his feature length films that made him the name he is in the film industry today. Shane Meadows films are known for being the epitome of gritty British drama, conveying a real depth to the characters and a strong sense of realism in his films which are all aspects I would like to bring alive in my short film.
Where's The Money Ronnie
Directed by: Shane Meadows
12 mins
1995
This is an early short film by Shane Meadows in which four characters give their version on recent events including a robbery, a street fight and two shootings. This film is a critically acclaimed picture and was the cause of Channel 4 funding him to continue making films.
On his official website in Shane Meadows biography it states:
"As Shane looks to future feature length projects, he still likes to return to the creation of short films as often as he can. As This Is England was released in the UK, Shane was busy shooting a short documentary about his life-long friend, the singer/song-writer, Gavin Clark. "
'The New Boy' is a short film about a nine year old boy who emigrates to Ireland from Africa. This story follows the boy struggling through his first day of school raising issues of bullying, racism and international politics. This film shows strong ethical points on social and political issues worldwide and confront key concepts for the audience to relate to. This theme of strangers or characters in a strange unknown land has proven to be quite popular amongst short films. I like the idea of a mysterious character as I feel it really draws the audience in such as in 'The New Boy' when the quiet, shy boy has obviously moved schools for a reason the audience is intrigued to find out how and why he got to be starting a new school in a new country.
Nominated 'Best Live Action Short Film' Academy Awards 2009
Winner 'Best Short Film' Berlin International Film Festival 2008
Winner 'Best Short Film' Belfast Film Festival 2008
Winner 'Best International Short Film' Cork International Film Festival 2007
Winner 'Best Irish Short Film' Foyle Film Festival 2007
Winner 'Best Short Film' Irish Film and Television awards 2008
Winner 'Best Irish Short Film' Kerry Film Festival 2007
Winner 'Best Short Film' Melbourne International Film Festival 2008
Winner 'Best Short Film' Rhode Island International Film Festival 2008
Winner ' Best Short Film' Seattle International Film Festival 2008
Winner 'Best Narrative Short' Tribeca Film Festival 2008
BOOTH STORY Directed by: Kasimir Burgess 11 Mins 2006
'Booth Story' is a short film about a lonely man with no-one in his life, who finds an egg and mothers it until it hatches into a duck. The story follows their friendship as he cares for it up until the stage where he must release it into the wild. A heartfelt story filled with humour, love and sadness it won many awards along with 'Film of the festival' at Raindance Film Festival 2006
winner “Film of the festival” raindance uk 2006
winner “1st prize best in festival” realm of the senses aus 2007
Winner “Best Editing” flickerfest international aus 2007
winner “Craft Award” St Kilda Film Festival aus 2007
winner “Best Original Score” St Kilda Film Festival aus 2007
TWO CARS, ONE NIGHT Directed by: Taika Waititi 12 Mins 2003
'Two Cars, One Night' is a short film about a young girl waiting in a car as well as two young boys waiting in a car next to her. The film focuses on the interaction between the three children, mainly the way a friendship develops between the lonely girl and the eldest boy. At first they're appears to be hostility when the eldest boy calls the girl names but over the course of the film it evolves into something gentle and compassionate.
This idea of a coincidental meeting of two people who gain comfort or anything positive from the opportunity is often used in short films as means the characters don't need a lot of detail of their background to be used in the film for their relationship to be clear to the audience. I quite enjoy the idea of using this is my own short film as I feel the classic story of two characters meeting by chance and helping or benefiting from it can be very touching to an audience and can convey a strong connection as well as a variety of emotion in a short amount of time.
2005 Nominated for Live Action Short Film, Academy Awards.
2004 Short Award at the AFI Film Festival
2004 Panorama Short Film Award, Berlin International Fil Festival
2004 Hamburg Short Film Award, Hamburg International Film Festival
2004 Award of the Theatre Owners, Oberhausen International Film Festival
2004 Short Film Competition Award, Seattle International Film Festival
2004 Best Short Film Performance, NZ and Film Awards
2004 Best Short Film Screenplay, NZ and Film Awards
2004 Best Technical Contribution to Short Film, NZ and Film Awards
THE MUSIC BOX Directed by: James Parrot 30 mins 1932
'The Music Box' is a short film starring the iconic comedy acting duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. In this film Laurel and Hardy have started up a delivery/moving business and are asked to deliver a Piano in which they attempt to achieve ending in humorous results. The film focuses on the many mishaps and accidents Laurel and Hardy manage to cause or encounter along their journey using a classic 'Slapstick' style of humour.
Winner - 'Academy Award for Live Action Short Film' (comedy) 1932
(The first film to be presented this particular award)
From the advice I've had from college it seemed like a good idea to look at the history of short films, an easy and efficient way to do this is in time line format. Having already done some research on Luis Brunel and the French new wave in my first year of film studies but having a complete record of evolution of short film production could help push in the right direction for my own short film.
This was the most interesting and in-depth time line I found, it not only gives basic yet vital information including dates and large changes to the short film industry but also provides information on film makers and directors iconic to short films and it's development. This time line can help me with the technique's and the path in which to focus my own short film, including more renowned short films to watch and directors to research.
After voting for 'Two Ladies on a Hill' at the Brief Encounters Film Festival I decided to do some research on the director as found his previous work interesting and I would like to be able to capture the sense of realism his films possess in my own short film.
FEDERICO FORCOLINI
I found another short film by Federico Forcolini called 'Two Men & a Car Park' which turned out to contrast a lot with 'Two Ladies & a hill' this intrigued me even more as he shows a lot of range in the films he makes. 'Two Men & a Car Park' is extremely different as it follows a man who has to deal with a Minotaur in a car park, however even though this film has an aspect of fantasy about it Forcolini has still managed to maintain a sense of realism with his portrayal of his characters and the other aspects of their routine.
I managed to find this film on Federico Forcolini's profile on www.filmaka.com which has more work by him as well as information about him and where his films are being screened.
Forcolini's official site has more films such as 'The Penny Drops' a very well received one minute film as well as a back catalogue of all of his work including other projects such as 'Honour Wedding' a short film dedicated to helping a charity against violence of honour, highlighting the brutality of it and the indecency surrounding it.
The second half of the day we met back at the Watershed for the second half of the Brief Encounters International film festival where we had the opportunity to see a group of Canadian films from Quebec. Unfortunately our trip was cut short due to getting the coach on time but I managed to find and watch all the featured films online.
These short films all have a very sinister feel to them, they also have a more art-house feel to them and have vast differences to the British films we watched in the first have of the film festival. These films relate in some way to the films I have already researched for example Danse Macabre has a very surreal theme and Reverence (Subservience) uses puppet animation relative to the animated films I have seen so far.
My clear favourite from these films was 'Reverence (Subservience)' as I feel it proved to be the most original by far and although adopting a surrealist style of film making still had a clear meaning, a statement on society and class 'presenting the tragicomedy of a society in its death throes' (http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/2010-programme/brief-encounters/quebecs-dark-side.html). The film has no words, a common aspect of short films and surrealist cinema, this film follows two puppets representing the bourgeoisie each walking across a baron waste-land over two pieces of red carpets whilst their servants/slaves , two puppets representing the working class, must relentlessly switch the carpets for them to walk on. There is a substantial amount of symbolism to be interpreted from this film and it conveys a strong ethical message. 'Reverence (Subservience)' has a very melancholy vibe as well as a lot of these films but the way in which it is filmed ,although conveys negative emotions, is a beautiful depiction of the idea and story it illustrates.
On the 17th November 2010 we went on a class trip to the watershed, an independent cinema in Bristol to see the Brief Encounters International Film Festival where we had the opportunity to see a group of British short films and a group of Canadian short films and vote for our favourite from each category
BEST OF BRITISH 1:
GOLD TOP Directed by: Sat Johal, 2010, UK, 10:58 Mins
HOTEL 66 Directed by: Anthony Chen, 2010, UK, 14 Mins
NATIVE SON Directed by: Scott Graham, 2010, UK, 20 Mins
MY DAD THE COMMUNIST Directed by: Lab Ky Mo, 2009, UK, 17:17 Mins
TWO LADIES & A HILL Directed by: Federico Forcolini 2010, UK, 3:45 Mins
VISITING HOURS Directed by: Steve Hughes, 2010, UK, 7:03 Mins
I LOVE LUCI Direceted by: Colin Kennedy, 2010, UK, 12:30 Mins
After watching all seven films I voted for 'Two Ladies & A Hill' I felt it embodied everything I view as a successful short film. 'Two Women & A Hill' is the shortest film in the group at 3 minutes 45 seconds, a classic British film, shot in the countryside and focused on two elderly women who portray Britain at its roots flawlessly. Starring the iconic TV star from such series as 'Coronation St' and 'One Foot in the Grave' Doreen Mantle and her co-star Christine Ozanne who has also featured in TV series such as 'Two Ronnies' and 'Casualty' fit into the roles of two old biddies going through their routinely walk in the British countryside perfectly. This film offers a heartfelt short story of two old friends sharing a routine without giving away where the walk is taking us the film carries on to reveal the relationship between the two ladies and eventually reveals the comedic and unexpected ending. This film offers a brilliant narrative hook as the audience follows the women trekking across the hills to achieve their mysterious goal. As an audience it is easy to relate to the friendship these women have through excellent use of realistic narrative by the director, we are also introduced to a sense of humour by the director based on the end result of this film which is endearing, realistic and classic style of British humour.
TWO LADIES & A HILL
Tuesday 16 November 2010
"Stories are... they can be abstract and people can still understand them, more often than not stories are pretty concrete and there's not a lot of room in them for abstractions, I love abstractions."
David Lynch on Film Making.
"Film to me is sound and picture moving along in time and its like music because music flows through time.There are movements and there are changes, and there's many opportunities when you play with time."
I have decided to confront the difference between full length Hollywood films and short films in order to help me make my own short film a success. Understanding the main differences between aspects of full length films and short films may help me to avoid potential mistakes when writing and filming my project.
I have come to the conclusion that there are three main differences...
Budget
Famous people (directors/actors)
Audience
Hollywood films have budgets of millions of dollars to play around with, this often pays for well known directors, actors etc.. to star in and make the films. This helps rope in a bigger audience as well as the amount of money spent on advertising, which helps bring in large amounts of money back to the film industry.
Short films more often that not have a more modest budget not only due to the fact that the screen time is a lot shorter but also because of the smaller audience it caters for and the type of companies that fund it. This means short films are less likely to use widely known directors such as James Cameron and Peter Jackson who know make films with budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars sector but instead are often made by up and coming directors such as Christopher Nolan's 'Doodlebug' which came before his blockbusters like 'Batman' and 'Inception.' Because of the smaller budget it means not a lot will be spent on advertising. This alongside the lack of iconic people included in the making of these films means these films will draw in a much smaller audience than those of full length Hollywood films
This is a simplified diagram to show how things are done with large budget films.
