Culture clash finished film

print artefacts

evaluation

Question 1:

One of the ways my product uses the conventions of a short film is in the cast, the two I have researched, Standby and Connect, both use a small cast with only one or two main characters or one main character and a supporting character. My product therefore only uses two characters in the whole film which was useful because it meant when I was filming there were less people to direct and in turn that made the whole directing process more straightforward. However from a critical perspective it could have impacted the film because by only having dialogue between two characters it can make the script repetitive and therefore struggle to captivate the audience for the entire film.

I also developed the idea of individuality because in both Standby and connect it was an insight into the individual characters life which is what a short film is because it should be a 'slice of life' but I wanted to use the 'slice of life' I was presenting in my short film to show how different cultures are individual from each other because the basis of my film was Britain meets America and this allowed me to use the individual characters personalities to represent two different cultures so instead of having the insight to one persons life the audience gets the understanding of an entire culture.

I also challenged the codes and conventions as well because in short films the characters tend to not address the camera or acknowledge the audience directly and this links in with the idea of it being a 'slice of life' as a short film should be about the character living their life without the camera being there but I wanted to change this and break down the barrier between audience and character so I have used scenes which are the main characters thoughts and in these scenes he is sitting in a chair with these thoughts popping up behind him and he speaks to the audience about his feelings on the situations in the film. The concept is that those scenes are his inner voice inside his head made visual to the audience so they are put in a position of power where they know the truth but the characters don't. This is effective because it gives the audience a sense of purpose which makes them feel as if they are part of the film and allows them to immerse themselves into the film. However to make these scenes it took longer than the production itself because I had to edit the background using a green screen which affected the whole production time overall.

Question 2:

The film itself is very much focused on American culture being different from British culture and I believe that the two prints I have made are extremely useful in showing this message. Firstly the poster for the film works well with the film itself because the posters background is half an American flag and half of a British flag and as a result of this it shows the two different cultures colliding together in the form of the two characters who are in the foreground of the image staring down at each other on either side of the flag. Therefore I feel it is effective because it is very striking which gets the message across to the audience about the different cultures. However the downside to this print is that when I came to Photoshop the two flags together I realised that the American flag would need to be cut on the left side so that I had the stars and stripes instead of just the stripes. The downside to this was that the image for the foreground was already taken and I, acting as the British character was on the left in front of the American half of the flag which could therefore confuse the audience when actually watching the film.

The other print I made was a film review and his too complimented the film well because the message it gave made it clear what the basis of the film was. Firstly it showed the audience that it was going to heavily involve America as a theme and that was because of the image used in the review. it was from the film and was of the main character with an NFL badge in the background which is the key indicator that the film will involve American culture because NFL (American football) is a huge part of American culture and is a symbol of America all around the world. Other than the main body of text which reviews the plot and the characters there is a short character profile about the lead actor and shows that culture plays a big part in the film because it was based around what they wouldn't like about the UK which is useful because it sets the tone for the entire film. As a result of this I feel that this print is very useful because it simply outlines the key features of the film for the audience.

Question 3: 

The feedback received first informs me that our film is seen as average by the majority of the audience and a smaller proportion saw it as good. To me this suggests that people see the idea and concept being good but the execution of the initial idea is not reflective of the concept. This is partly down to the fact the initial idea for location was different and would have been original as it would have had a variety of locations. Despite the fact I do agree that in principle it is average and for me this is down to the restricted locations we used I do think that the use of the green screen is why some see it as a good production because I feel that it is an original idea that has been executed well, it is similar to the mockumentary sub-genre but takes the twist that the character is talking to himself in his mind. This has therefore showed me that I need to focus on the whole films continuity rather than individual aspects of the film for it to be seen as either a good or excellent film.

100% of my feedback says that the planning on my blog was only average which I again agree with because to begin with I had no plans of making a short film and in fact intended to make a music video but due to the difficulty of picking a narrative and a song to match the tempo of the narrative I decided to collaborate with Alessandro because his short film narrative allowed me to be much more creative as there are a lot of things to centre a film around the cultural differences in the USA and the UK. Therefore due to this there was not substantial planning into the genre as compared to the research for music videos. However at the same time I did create a strong target audience using yougov.co.uk which helped to form a narrative around the personality traits of our target audience and because of this we decided that the film should be about cultural differences because the target audience being young adults they would fit the category of adventurers who are people who want to see the world and experience new things so I thought this would be a selling point of the film because it is an example of how cultures are different and exciting. However the feedback has showed me that I need to focus on planning the production carefully and researching the conventions of my genre in more detail.

As for the film itself, 80% of the feedback suggests that the editing is of a good quality, this is mainly down to the use of the green screen where I edited the background to fit with the characters mood and in one scene added a dissolve to change the background half way through. This gave a good quality finish as it did give the effect that the character was in his own mind as the audience were able to see what he was reacting too. The reason 20% of feedback thought the editing was weak is to do with the fact that other than the green screen there is very little editing required and the majority of it is continuity editing so that the narrative falls into place so most of the editing will not be noticed by the audience but the fact remains that the editing stage was mainly cutting down the videos to the exact points that I needed and then fitting them into place to create the narrative.

One criticism from the majority of feedback was the lighting with people saying that certain scenes were hard to see and this was a problem because we had filmed scenes with extra lighting but it caused part of the scene to be too bright and blocked out part of the scene and because of this I used the slightly darker scenes as it was clearer than the brighter scenes. Due to the fact I did this I had to keep each scene consistent so therefore the same lighting was used throughout filming. In the future it would be beneficial to add a filter to highlight darker areas of the scene and therefore make the scene clearer.

There have also been suggestions that the introduction is not clear and that the narrative begins with the audience not understanding what is happening. However in my research short films such as ‘Gasman’ or ‘Wasp’ tend to do this and begin with something vague that then builds up to the main part of the narrative. However I could make it simpler to understand by having the first scene where the two characters meet and then cut to the green screen for the main character (Austin) to explain the context rather than for the first scene to explain why the narrative is about to happen and ignore why there is significance to the narrative.

Question 4:

audience feedback sheet

Audience feedback:

 

How would you rate the success of the production in following the codes and conventions of a short film?

 

Excellent           good            average            poor            very poor

 

From the evidence you have seen on the blog, how well planned was the production?

(1 being excellent and 5 being very poor)

 

1     2     3     4     5

 

How would you describe the level of creativity of the production?

 

High imagination and creative flair               Some imagination and some creative flair

 

Little imagination and no creative flair         No imagination or creative flair

 

Please rate the technical aspects of the short film. (1 being excellent and 5 being very poor).

 

1. Camera Angles:     1     2     3     4     5
2. Mise en scene:       1     2     3     4     5
3. Editing:                  1     2     3     4     5
4. Sound and music:  1     2     3     4     5
5. Fonts/texts:            1     2     3     4     5

 

How could the production be improved? Please answer in the space below being as specific as possible.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do the print artefacts fit with the codes and conventions of other print products and does it show creativity in the design? Please answer in the space below being as specific as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Print artefact research

At the top of the page there will always be the lead actors name or names, it can vary whether it says the character they play or not.

 

There may or may not be a slogan underneath the lead actors name in this case of the poster for ‘good morning Vietnam’ there is but for the majority of films there is not.

In the middle of the screen there will be an image, it will always be of the main character or a number of main characters depending on how many lead or supporting roles the film has.

If there is a background to the image it will be of significance to the film, in this case it has an American flag which shows that the character is an American involved in the Vietnam War. Another example would be the Kong: Skull Island poster where the figure of Kong, the main character, is central to the screen but seen as a distant figure but the background and foreground show the island, which tells the audience where it will be set, it also shows the helicopters and troops which tell the audience who the enemy is.

The title will always be bold as it has to stand out to the Audience, this can be done in the style it is written in or the effect it uses, in ‘good morning Vietnam’ it uses a bold yellow that stands out from the blue in the military ring whereas Kong: skull Island uses a bold orange on a blue and black background to make the title standout.

Lastly there are the credits at the bottom of the screen, these consist of the studio that makes the film along with the director, writers, producers, lead actor, co-producers, executive producers, original score and any other main roles from behind the scenes.

For the magazine review I have researched empire magazine and therefore my final print product will replicate empire magazine.

The first convention they have is that they always have review written in the top left hand corner of the page to inform the reader that the double paged spread is of film reviews.

The most striking thing on the page however is the image as it takes roughly half of one side of the page if not more and is there to advertise the film as it will often not be a poster image or a scene from the trailer but in fact an entirely new image taken from the unseen film. This is used to advertise the film because it generates a buzz around the film because it is drip feeding images and information about the upcoming release.

Covering the image will be the film’s title in bold and white so that it stands out from the coloured image. This lets the reader know which film the image is from and the film that is being reviewed, often this is only necessary for the images that are not blatantly related to the film or for films that are not being advertised on all forms of media.

Underneath the bold, white title there is a slogan or remark made about the film. In the case of this magazine review of Sherlock Holmes: a game of shadows it says ‘the fabulous baker street boys’ which is reference to the main characters home in the film. The text for this will also be white but in a smaller font and is not bold.

Then there is the main body of text that makes up the actual film review which will give some details about the plot, the characters performance and review how effective the general storyline is. At the end of this review there is a small piece of text used for ‘extra’s’ which is a form of advertisement as it details any bonuses that come with the DVD such as the director’s cut, unseen footage or bloopers depending on the genre.

After this the writer of the review will have their name in bold underneath the text and then give the film a rating out of 5 stars and do the same for the extras.

Underneath the review there is a quote, it is unreferenced so its origin would either be from the writer of the article or from an audience member that has seen a preview of the film. It will compare the film to something else so that the audience has a reference point of what the film will be like. For example in the review of Sherlock Holmes it says “lots of escaping from traps, like MacGyver with sharp tailoring.” This gives people something to compare the film to because people recognised MacGyver as a popular television series and can relate the two main characters together with the comment about “sharp tailoring” used to reference the different time period.

Finally Empire use specific characters to do a 5 step piece, in this case they have used the villain and done 5 steps to make a great villain which then allows the reader to get to know more about the main cast as they have not been talked about in depth during the main review. This part of the review is also written in a navy blue with the background to it being a yellow long rectangular shape.

Role allocation

Role allocation:

Director: Joshua Stanley

I will be in charge of directing the short film and therefore the camera angles used as I will be in charge of the camera person but it is also my job to control the dramatic aspects of the film and use my artistic take on the script to help better the film. I will also have a say in the productions locations and any designs integral to the set while also having to choose the cast.

Camera Person: Daniel Brown

Their job is to control the camera and move it when necessary in scenes that require a pan or for the camera to be hand held. They must also listen to the directors instructions and follow them accordingly.

Writer: Alessandro Cappuccio

As the writer they are in charge of creating the narrative for the film and creating the dialect for each character in this case the film is a comedy short film so they will have to create an element of amusement for the audience.

Editors: Alessandro Cappuccio and Joshua Stanley

This job requires us to put the film into sequence to create the narrative and add the effects to the green screen which will be used in the film. This requires the green to be removed from the background of the image and replaced with an image fitting with the film. It also means we have to control the volume of any sound and add any sound that may need to be improved based on the initial filming. Filters may also need to be added based on lighting or for visual effects on each scene.

Lead Actor: Alessandro Cappuccio

The lead role is the character that the story/narrative is generally based on, in this case it is an American student who has difficulty adjusting to life in England.

Supporting Actor: Joshua Stanley

This role is smaller than the lead role but is important and the supporting actor generally appears on print artefacts with the lead actor, examples of films may be Sherlock Holmes or Star Wars.

production schedule

Production Schedule:

Date: Friday 13^th January 2017

Location: Sixth form, class C07 with green screen set up

Scenes to be filmed:

Scene 1, Austin introducing himself.

Scene 5, Austin reacts to watching a football (soccer) match.

Scene 9, Austin doesn’t take well to English food and reminisces about pop tarts.

Scene 12, Austin cannot comprehend (some) British terminology.

Scene 14, Austin has an epiphany and realises England isn’t quite so bad.

Required cast: Alessandro Cappuccio.

Camera person: Joshua Stanley.

Director: Joshua Stanley.

Duration of filming: 09:00 – 10:30 AM (1 hour 30 minutes).

Date: Monday 16^th January 2017

Location: 39 Suffolk way, Tamworth

Scenes to be filmed:

Scene 2, Austin finds his way to Josh’s house.

Scene 3, Josh greets Austin at the door and invites him inside.

Scene 4, Austin realises that he is watching soccer and not American football.

Required cast: Alessandro Cappuccio, Joshua Stanley.

Camera persons: Joshua Stanley, Alessandro Cappuccio.

Director: Joshua Stanley.

Duration of filming: 16:00 – 15:00 (1 hour).

Date: Wednesday 18^th January 2017

Location: 39 Suffolk way, Tamworth

Scenes to be filmed:

Scene 6, Austin finds out about some English food.

Scene 7, Josh makes Austin some crumpets.

Scene 8, Austin tries his first crumpet.

Scene 10, Austin opens his own food instead.

Scene 11, Confusion as the pair disagree the difference between chips and crisps.

Scene 13, Austin finds out that he can legally drink alcohol in England at the age of 18.

Scene 15, Austin overreacts to the super bowl 50. 

Required cast: Alessandro Cappuccio, Joshua Stanley.

Camera persons: Joshua Stanley, Alessandro Cappuccio.

Director: Joshua Stanley.

Duration of filming: 15:00 – 17:00 (2 hours).