For the short film brief I looked at a past students work called 'narco'. The student used sound and story to effectively grip an audience. This shows that making this film heavily relies on the story in it. This means I will have to develop my script writing in order to effectively write a string story that is original and can be gripping for the hole five minutes. The characters in the short consisted of criminals and this alone is enough to grip most viewers because we don't often see a lot of films about the criminals, they are usually just there to create conflict or to upset the narrative. The use of interesting typography without capitals really depicted the characters personality and views towards society, this is an important aspect towards making a short film.
A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes,
which may be live action or animation or a combination of both, together
with:
a poster for the film
a film magazine review page featuring the film
When
it comes down to this brief I believe that very specific skills are
required in order to pull off the professional look that just about
every short film has in the modern age. This is because I will have to research and develop my film making skills in order to improve upon previous work. Furthermore holding an audience for five minutes will be a challenge due to the fact that I have never made anything good over two minutes. In order to achieve a professional look for double the amount of time I am used to I will have to research
conventions for different genres of film and see of I can use them or
defy them if I was to make my own. Furthermore I will be looking at past
examples from A2 students to see how close they got to creating a professional short film.
An Exciting & Original Idea - This will make the short film stand out from the other cliche ideas that over saturate the current film market. Original ideas usually are inspired from past films or videos so it is always good to develop the idea before making the idea looking at conventions and how the will shape the film.
A Strong Script - If the film has dialog it is important that it sounds natural and complements whats on screen, without this the film will feel flat because the actors won't be selling the world that the film is trying to create.
Good Acting - Acting can make or break a film thereofore if the characters are not played by the correct actor it can be hard to believe the story. To avoid this I usually use just one actor or maybe two actors who speak so I can cast them correctly.
High Production Values - This is important because the right equipment can make a film look more professional than it actually is for example audio is usually a big issue in the student film making genre. This is because of bad equipment.
Make It Short - By using time wisely you van make sure that you are griping the audience throughout instead of dragging out the story.
Strong Beginning - The strong opening is important in order to keep the audience watching.
Avoid Repetition & Punchline Twists - By analsying the story and script it is easy to change conventions in order to surprise your audience and keep them gripped.
The first film I analysed as an example was 'Real Gone', the reason I wanted to look at this is because it used a very interesting topic to achieve comedy. I want to look at comedy because I want to try and make my own comedy short film for this assignment. I am comfortable with slapstick however this film raised the bar and very nearly crossed the line by combining drama and comedy. The film is a personal favorite of mine; the use of VFX to sell the story and improve shots: the fire, gun and TV. The color correction was based off the TV series called 'Breaking Bad', I dunno if you have herd of it. This is crossing the line of television and film, again something which is rarely done. The cinematography of the film really worked well with the story this means that while making a short film I would have to think about lighting as much as directing in order to improve my short film.
The second short film I looked at is a fan made short film about the power rangers, the film is titled 'Power Rangers Unauthorized' and is set in a much darker universe to the power rangers I grew up with. The opening was extremely interesting because it opened in first person, which is an interesting shot choice to open a film. It is these conventions that are usually broke within short films and that is why I love them so much. The action further takes place at the beginning to grip the audience, another aspect I would like to explore. This shows that short films can be used to explore other ideas about the same character however this is heavily VFX and is out of reach when it comes down t me doing it.
The student who made this really utilised the same typography in both the advert and the package, this would allow for the consistency to create a strong brand. Furthermore the use of characters in the adverts stayed consistent much like the brand this allowed for them to become more recognisable to an audience, therefore if they are liked it means that the advert becomes easier to watch. This is a similar technique used in Aviva adverts, which are brilliant when it comes for stereotypes. The Aviva adverts use the same actor to provide relatable comedy and this allows them to grip an audience and still keep consistency throughout. The student has used this to make the ad more relatable to teens by having a group of friends.
In addition the student has chosen an appropriate television program to sponsor because the Kardashians are often associated with makeup and fashion. This means that the viewers would be looking for makeup products, this means that the audience would be more likly to purchase the product because of the show they are watching. However while analysing the students advert I did notice that the advert didn't say they were sponosring the TV show, this could lose possible viewers because if you say that often people will look back at the screen because its associated with the program. Another problem was the unnessorsary walking shots, which only would lose an audiences attention.
An advertising package for a new product or service, to include two TV advertisements, together with
a TV programme sponsorship sequence
a radio advertisement
When it comes down to the other brief I believe that very specific skills are required in order to pull off the professional look and synergy to create the consistency within the product advertised.
Looking at television adverts and the packages that come with it there are some basic conventions that are presented throughout. In order for the product to be advertised professionally I would have to use the same typography in both the advert and the package, this would allow for the consistency to create a strong brand for the product. Creating a brand when advertising is important because it allows for the audience to recognise the product and therefore are more likely to interact with it, this in turn makes the audience a possible consumer. This would mean that the task would entail designing the products logo and slogan that would be present in every advertisement product for the product to provide the constancy. Furthermore the slogan could also be in the form of a jingle in order for the advert to be recognised through the radio, this allows synergy to take place easier throughout the package, TV and Radio adverts.
The examples below show some of the defying conventions of a TV advert and the differences in styles between them. The first example was the fist ever TV advert, the reason I looked at this is because I wanted to see if the format had changed. After watching the advert the evidence is there to show that the format hasn't changed, this is because right up until modern adverts the still are voiced over. The reason for this is because usually adverts need the best audio because they are aired on TV and radio. Furthermore if the advert is show abroad it can just be re-voiced over instead of remade. This is the reason that most international products don't show people talking.
The second and example both show that most products or services are advertised with the aspect of comedy. The reason behind this is because they want the advert to be rememberable for the viewer; one of the best ways to do this is by making an audience laugh. Furthermore by using comedy the audience is more likely to watch the advert and with the aspect of the internet it can make the advert sharable. however this does mean that because adverts have to achieve comedy in such a short space of time they usually consist of really bad stereotypes, which are exaggerated for a quick comedic effect. For example the extreme posh lady in the cream egg or the two teenagers in the third example. This would be something I would have to think about if I was to make one.
The first student I looked was Oscar Bath, the reason for this is his work was considered a 'good piece' of work. The student took to the streets of London and Uxbridge to create a conventional rap music video. The urban set in the video shows the backstory of the artist and reflects their background. The use of the greys and darker colors challenges the conventions of those colors being negative and instead I felt portrayed a very positive tone throughout. This music video shows that making the music videos entails a lot about setting and location. This is because while the artists sings the song, the background reflects more about the artist and what they are trying to say. I did like the way in which the video did this effectively. Furthermore the use of timelapses worked well to set the tone and location.
However I do believe that the video lacked visual stimulation for the viewer, this because of a lack of color correction and lighting to create interesting shapes within the frame. This made the video repetitive for the viewer and ended up causing a flat frame. For example in the shots where he is rapping to the camera, the student could have used shallow in order for the artist to be the center of attention. Furthermore the a variety of angles would have kept my attention better.Lastly the videos audio is the most off putting, this is because the audio was muffled and made it a huge distraction when trying to understand the artist.
AO3: your ability to plan and construct media products using appropriate technical and creative skills
AO2: your application of knowledge and understanding in evaluating your own work, showing how meaning and responses are created
AO4: your ability to undertake, apply and present appropriate research
You will produce the following:
a media portfolio, comprising a main and ancillary texts
a presentation of your research, planning and evaluation in electronic format
When it comes down to this brief I believe that very specific skills are required in order to pull off the professional look that just about every music video has in the modern age. This is because I will have to research what makes a good music and what doesn't by analysing other peoples work from semi-professionals like YouTubers all the way to the professionals at the top of the music business. I will have to research conventions for different genres of music and see of I can use them or defy them if I was to make my own. Furthermore I will be looking at past examples from A2 students to see how close they got to creating a professional music video.
Firstly I went on the internet to have a look at some of my favourite music videos, this was important for me because I am not the biggest fan of music; I am more of a visual person. However I do love it when a music video compliments the music and they work in unison to create a truly amazing experience.
I looked at several music videos from both YouTubers such as 'Smosh' and 'NigaHiga' to get an idea of what they have done even though they aren't fully considered 'professionals' although I'm sure others would argue differently. This is because these people aren't mainstream music artists and usually make music videos that either mock the mainstream industry or simply defy the conventions within it. The reason for me looking at these is to get a better understanding of what can be achieved by using and defying conventions.
Furthermore I looked at music artists considered to be more 'professional' because they are within the music industry and have made countless hits both on the web, television and radio. The artists included: Eminem, Taylor Swift and Sia. This is because of their incredible music videos made with extreme budgets and bundles of talent. I looked at these because I wanted to know what makes a music video different from a film with music and how they allow a story to be told while still maintaining a music video.
These music videos are all very different, this is because they have different objectives besides entertainment. Firstly we have the two YouTubers 'Smosh' who's aim in this video is to sell their constant running joke of "Dixon Cider". This shows the comical aspect of some music videos, which is rare in the mainstream industry but is often seen as a common theme across YouTube with creators such as: The Lonely Island, Bart Baker and Shane Dawson all using music videos to parody artists like Taylor Swift. This tells me that making a music video like this would have to contain visual jokes/gags that link in to the lyrics in order for this to work. I also know that this would only work with songs wrote for the video and would have to be planned together. This is possible however would take a lot longer because I would have to work with someone to write a song.
Sia's music video 'Chandelier' focusses on emotion through both the hard to understand lyrics and the power of dance. The reason I looked at this is because of the beautiful simplicity of the video, by following this child dancer around the warn down decaying house presented in the silence at the beginning provided a massive impact when the chorus kicked in. This shows that the music video can really help the music get the message and emotions across. However as this would be my fist music video I wouldn't be to confident in pulling this off because I would firstly need really good lyrics and an even better idea for the music video. On the other the equipment used to make this was straight forward and easy to get hold of, therefore I would defiantly try it if I found an artists. Lastly I loved the colour correction in the video because of the greys and blacks, which made the sunlight really look magical. Eminem's music videos are extremely well made however I really liked 'RapGod' because the music video helps the build up towards one of the fastest raps I have ever heard. This is also great because of the use of a green screen in the video to create digital backgrounds to link with the lyrics "Rapbot". The use of the video provides an impact in all of these videos making it very important that the song links well and that they work together in order to create this impact. The issues I have with the music video is the artist and the song because I need to pick a genre and at the moment I am unable to choose one if I was to do this. Furthermore the music video I have in mind requires a lot of editing and time, which I don't know if I have yet. The next step I shall take is analysing past students work and seeing if it's possible to achieve and then look at the other brief.
For the short film brief I looked at a past students work called 'narco'. The student used sound and story to effectively grip an audience. This shows that making this film heavily relies on the story in it. This means I will have to develop my script writing in order to effectively write a string story that is original and can be gripping for the hole five minutes. The characters in the short consisted of criminals and this alone is enough to grip most viewers because we don't often see a lot of films about the criminals, they are usually just there to create conflict or to upset the narrative. The use of interesting typography without capitals really depicted the characters personality and views towards society, this is an important aspect towards making a short film.
