The working title for my short film is “Peak Sheffield”. This is because it would be about the countryside around Sheffield - in the Peak District - and because the word “peak” has connotations of something being very good and at a high level. Therefore this working title has multiple meanings.
The narrative/subject of my short film: I will visit a few places in the countryside around Sheffield, such as Edale and Grindleford, possibly. I want to go there and take lots of wide shots of the key points of interest, using pans and zooms to engage the audience, giving them a feel for the place and what it would be like if they visited. I will put a voiceover over the top of these shots to tell the audience what they are looking at and to make them even more interested. It will also give a bit of history and background to the places I visit. If I find anybody out walking, I may interview them about what they think of the area/why they like going out there.
This film would be of the nature documentary genre, because it would inform viewers about the countryside around Sheffield. They would hopefully learn something by watching it.
In terms of characters in the short film, there wouldn’t be many people in it, as for most of it I would be doing slow pans and zooms of the countryside. However, as I mentioned above, I may interview people I encounter while I am out filming to get different points of view on the countryside. These people would be the only people seen in the short film.
A brief synopsis for the documentary: I aim to show the best places to visit in the Hope Valley based on their natural beauty and sights available to see, giving a guide on where to go and what to do. I want my short documentary to be a bitesize guide to the country around Sheffield, encouraging tourists to visit it.
The only required crew for this short film would be me; I only need me to operate one camera and equipment, taking shots of the countryside. With a film like this, shots don’t need to be filmed quickly or in a hurry, as there isn’t any fast action. Therefore I can take my time setting up my shots from different positions and angles.
The equipment I would require: a DSLR camera, a tripod, a slider and a microphone. With these, I can do all of the panning I need while the camera is kept in a stable position. The microphone would be used for any interviews I might do, to pick up high quality audio. Possible locations for the short film: Edale, Hope, Grindleford, Dore. All of these places have their own great patches of countryside which would be suitable for my documentary.
Current production plan (will be updated as I progress):
Narrative
The narrative of the short film "Gift" is one of a boy who didn't like his father as a child, because he was "poor and unsuccessful", and the boy didn't think he was very smart. He wishes that his father had more money and that he was more of an inspiration. As the boy grows older, he cuts his father out of his life and doesn't see him. However, when his father passes away, he realises how much his father helped so many people, and how much time he gave up for others. He sees how much he meant to the people he helped, and his son regrets deeply his resentment for his father when he was alive.
Characterisation
The first character we see in this short film is a man, saying "I didn't like my father". The film then goes back to when this man was a boy, showing the reasons why he didn't like him as he grew up. This is immediately engaging for the audience because when a short film begins with a statement like that, they are going to want to find out the reasons why the man said that and whether they are justified.
Moving onto the boy's father, the short film develops him as a character throughout. At first, we see him through the boy's eyes, making him appear lazy, unintelligent and neglectful of the boy. But as the film progresses, the boy grows older and his father passes away - we are then shown how hard the father worked in the community, how he gave up his time for everybody, and how highly people thought of him. We also see how he tried to teach his son important lessons as he was growing up, and how upset he was over his son not going to his reunion dinner.
I feel that the character of the father really added value to the short film, as he showed how important it is to appreciate loved ones and try to see the good things that they do while they are still here. Then you will not regret your resentment later, when it is too late - this is the moral of the story, I believe.
Camerawork
One key piece of camerawork in this short film is denoted at 2:42, as the son leaves home. As he walks away from the house, a shallow depth-of-field is used as his father is out-of-focus in the background of the shot. This has connotations of how, at that time, the son felt his father was unimportant and how he resented him. In addition, the way that the son's face is in-focus means his facial expression is denoted clearly, which has connotations of a lack of emotion and attachment to his father. He is leaving him behind in more ways than one - physically and emotionally.
Another key piece of camerawork in this film is the close-up of the son's face at 5:14. His face is the only thing on the screen, so his expression is clearly denoted after he has a flashback of his childhood. His expression connotes grief, regret and realisation that his father was actually a great man. We can see that the son wishes he had never treated his father like he did when he was alive, and how much he now appreciates his actions. This would affect the viewer because they might be able to sympathise with the son and how he is feeling. It would also encourage them to appreciate their loved ones while they are still here.
Editing
One piece of editing seen in this short film is the shot-reverse-shot structure seen at 1:37. We see the father's and son's expressions as they "pay their taxes", and as the boy asks "why are we not rich?" The expressions as they look at one another in their conversation connote a lack of understanding and not much of a bond between the two. The boy's expression connotes confusion and unhappiness at not being allowed to have more money, while the father's expression connotes sternness and a little disappointment that his son doesn't understand what he is trying to do.
Another editing technique is seen at 5:31, when an insert shot is denoted. A man in a wheelchair, who wanted to speak to the son about his father, opens a book at a certain page. The insert shot then denotes a bookmark, saying "you will be a great man!" The audience will recognise this bookmark from earlier in the film, when the father said to the son "it's not for you", and they will realise that this man is someone who the father saved from depression as a child. This shot connotes happiness and gladness because we continue to build a true picture of the father as a good man who always helped others.
Visual Effects
In this short film, there aren't any visual effects - it is intended to be a realistic, touching story, without the need for adding effects in post-production. Even the credits don't have any effects added to them - the text is white, with a black background. The minimalistic approach works well for a short film of this nature.
Never Give Up - SPORT
Narrative
This short film is about a man who has been injured and has lost the use of his body from his waist down. Starting out in a wheelchair, the short film tells the story of how he gets back to being able to walk and then eventually being able to run, taking inspiration from athletes he sees on the television. He achieves his goal by never giving up, throughout all of his frustration and difficult experiences. The short film shows all of the hard times he goes through on the road to being able to walk again.
Characterisation
Right from the start, the injured man in the wheelchair engages the audience straight away. This is because the first thing he does is get out of bed, sit in his wheelchair and look out of the window, helpless to do anything else. There is a shot which lasts for about 15 seconds, showing only the man's eyes as he looks out of the window. You can see his emotions change from sadness, to shock, to horror as tears roll down his cheeks. It is a deeply affecting moment right at the beginning of the film, ensuring that the viewer is rooted to their seats for the rest of it.
His character develops throughout the short film as he goes from feeling sad and down at the start, to ecstatic and alive again at the end as he jogs around a running track. After the scene in which he gazes out of the window, he contemplates the beauty of the world around him and watches his children running around fields in the sun, and decides that he is going to get back on his feet - nothing will stop him. Over the next seven-or-so minutes, we see his grit and determination, as well as frustration, as he goes through rehabilitation and training exercises in being able to walk again. It is inspirational for the audience watching.
In the end, the main character personifies perfectly the theme of the short film - "Never Give Up". We see his relief, happiness and satisfaction at the end as he has been through all of his hardships and has achieved his goal of being back on his feet.
Camerawork
One piece of camerawork seen in this short film is a pan upwards at 2:53. This movement denotes the man's clenched fist on the floor, before moving upwards to show his facial expression as he tries to move his toes and feet, which were previously paralysed. The connotations of his clenched fist are anger at his current condition, and determination to return to how he used to be. His facial expression connotes concentration and focus on getting his toes moving again. The pan upwards combines all of these connotations in one shot, making it very powerful.
A tracking shot is another piece of camerawork seen in the film briefly at 7:31. The shot denotes the man's stomach and hands as he runs again for the first time, and the camera moves along with him for a couple of seconds. This camera movement translates the man's feeling of running once again to the audience - there are no other tracking shots in the short film, meaning this is a new sight for the viewers, as well as a new feeling for the man in the film. It has connotations of freedom, relief and exhilaration.
Editing
One example of an editing technique used in this short film is action match. At 7:20, the man is denoted setting off on a running track for the first time since his paralysis. Over the next few seconds, the camera shows the same running action over lots of different shots, from different angles and positions. This action match has connotations of being free from the shackles and being able to experience the world in any way whatsoever. He isn't confined to a chair anymore (in the same way the camera isn't rooted to the spot) - he can go where he wants, when he wants.
A second example of editing is the non-diegetic sound used throughout the short film. Powerful organ and piano melodies are denoted in many parts of the short film, as the man goes through hardships and comes out of the other side. The music has connotations of anguish, pain and sadness at times but then achievement, relief and extreme happiness at others, corresponding to what is happening in the film. Obviously only the audience can hear these sounds, and they create verisimilitude because they convey how the man is feeling in a different way to the visuals.
Visual Effects
The only visual effects seen in this short film are on the "Capture-that Films" title, denoted for the first ten seconds. Bright red and yellow licks flicker rapidly in the background, before they fade to black and the short film begins. Similar to Gift, in film itself, there are no visual effects - everything is shown by camerawork and editing techniques. The credits are also minimalistic, done in black-and-white. This is because the film largely has a sombre and serious mood, and visual effects would look out of place.
Is This Free? - COMEDY
Narrative
This short film is a comedy sketch exploring a range of responses to the classic question "is this free?" which is used when somebody wants to sit down at an empty chair, for example at a restaurant or at a bench. The main character in the short film tries to confuse the people who come up to him asking "is this free?" by giving them a totally unexpected response (anything other than "yes" or "of course") in an attempt to make them think on their feet.
Characterisation
The main character in this film is different to the usual main character. He speaks directly to the audience at times, such as towards the beginning, when he explains what he will be doing in the short film (see "narrative" section above). He also speaks directly to the viewer at the end, when he jokingly himself asks "is this free?" Obviously, by looking straight at the audience and speaking to them with a smile, he engages them and keeps them watching for longer.
In terms of development of characters, this doesn't really apply here, as the main character is just responding to the question "is this free?" which is asked by a few people who approach him. We don't learn much about this man or the other people who talk to him. It is a light-hearted comedy film, so it is more about the dialogue than being able to empathise with characters. However, the longer we watch the film and the more responses we hear from this man, we sense that this man is satirical, sarcastic and has a dry sense of humour. This adds value to the film's genre and theme of comedy, as many people would find the man's antics amusing.
Camerawork
Right at the start of the film, at 0:06, a piece of camerawork is seen. A shallow depth-of-field is initially denoted, focusing on the man in the foreground reading a book, before changing to a deep depth-of-field as the man looks over to the woman at the counter. Initially, the woman is blurred, but then the man is blurred in the foreground in the deep depth-of-field shot. This has connotations of the woman catching the man's eye and him being attracted to her; initially he his totally focused on the book and nothing else, as indicated by the shallow depth-of-field. But then he sees the woman and becomes focused on her, and him and his book become irrelevant. This camerawork is a good way of showing attraction and connection between the two.
Another piece of camerawork denoted is the two shot at 3:17. In the shot, we see the main man in the film sat on a bench with a girl, after he has told her that "they are watching this spot very carefully". For a few moments, the girl's actions are denoted whilst the man buries his face in a newspaper, neither of them saying a word. Her actions have connotations of awkwardness, suspicion and a sense that she thinks the man is mad. This is funny for the audience because they can see that she doesn't know what to make of the situation.
Editing
Moving on to editing, at 6:20 there is a shot-reverse-shot structure denoted, with quick cuts between the face of the main man and another man, as they have a fast conversation. The main man asks "Do you consider yourself to have any kind of mental illness? Drug addiction? Lactose intolerance?" in an attempt to bamboozle the other man. He just replies "no!" to everything, and while this is going on, the camera cuts between the two men's faces rapidly. This has connotations of confusion and being overwhelmed, which is what the main man was tried to do to the other man. The structure comes to an amusing end with the question "are you male?" being asked, to which the reply is "no... wait!"
Finally, another editing technique in this short film is non-diegetic sound. Music played on various different instruments is denoted throughout, playing in the background of the conversations. It has connotations of cheekiness, light-heartedness and amusement, fitting with the comedy genre of the film and helping the audience to enjoy the film more - it adds to the entertainment value.
Visual Effects
In this short film, visual effects are denoted at 0:55 in an introductory graphic. A fully animated sequence is shown, lasting for about fifteen seconds, which uses strong red and blue colours. A man and a chair with eyes move around the screen after the text "is this free?" bounces off. This is done to get the viewer into a light-hearted mood, and it relates to the cheeky nature of the film. This type of animation is perfectly suitable for a comedy film, as the content throughout is not sombre or serious.
Letter - THRILLER
Narrative
This short film of the "psycho-thriller" genre shows a man driving whilst we hear a voice, presumably his, reading out a letter which he sent to a "Dorthy" who we presume is his partner. The voice continues for a few minutes as we try to work out what has happened between the driver and Dorthy - it sounds as if he is leaving her as he isn't happy with how she treated him. We don't know much else, until he stops next to a river and dumps a body in it, in a disturbing end to a mysterious short film.
Characterisation
The only major character in this film is the man driving in his car. It appears that he has left his partner and is driving somewhere new. This character engages the audience because the camera focuses intensely on his facial expressions while he is driving, while the letter he has written to his partner is read out in the background. We are trying to glean information about how he is feeling and what is going on from his face, as we are left mostly in the dark about this.
As the film goes on, we see him continuing to drive and his character develops as the audience tries to build a picture of what he is thinking. From the letter that is being read out and his expressions, it appears that the man is feeling depressed and worthless after how his wife treated him. We are lead to believe that this man might be contemplating suicide, and these thoughts appear to be confirmed as he gets out of his car on a bridge over a river. But in a plot twist, the man takes a body bag out of the boot of his car and throws it over the side of the bridge, as the film fades to black. The character was built up and developed in one direction, but then everything we thought about the character turned out to be wrong.
This character therefore adds value to the film of the sub-genre "psycho thriller" because he did something totally unexpected and evil, as psychopaths tend to do. In addition, thriller films tend to have plot twists towards the end, as this film did. It would have most likely satisfied a young audience of ages 18-30, as these ages would be most likely to watch this.
Camerawork
One key piece of camerawork seen in this short film is a shallow depth-of-field at 2:53. The man is seen in the shot in the foreground, looking into his car boot while buildings and street lights are out-of-focus in the background behind him. This shot connotes that the man is wrapped up in his own world, and in the job he has to do - dumping his partner's body in the river. He isn't too focused on anything else that is going on around him at this point. This might make the audience feel disturbed.
Another piece of camerawork seen in "Letter" is the low-angle shot at 3:04. Here, the man is denoted standing right over the camera, looking down into the boot of his car. The connotations of this low-angle shot are the control and power of the man in this situation - he is looking down at his dead wife/girlfriend in a body bag. There is obviously nothing she can do - it is up to him what he does with her now, and this low-angle shot conveys this.
Editing
At 1:45 in the film, the editing technique "eyeline match" is seen twice. First of all, the man is denoted looking to off to the right, before the camera shows us that he is looking at a petrol gauge. Then he looks off to the left, where we see that he is looking at a guard at the petrol station, who has fallen asleep. The eyeline matches here connote that the man is highly wary and aware of everything that is going on around him as he is on his way to dump the body in his boot - he is checking in each direction to make sure nobody is suspicious. Of course, if the audience hadn't seen this film before, they wouldn't know he was about to dump a body (that is the plot twist at the end), but they could still see that he is wary about something.
Another editing technique in this short film is action match, which can be seen at 3:18. Here, the man is denoted taking the body bag out of his boot and placing it over his shoulder - a movement which is done over multiple shots. The connotations of the various camera positions and angles in this action match are a physical struggle in lifting the bag, as well as a mental struggle because the man is about to dump his wife/girlfriend in a river. The action match connotes that it is not an easy thing for him to do, in more ways than one.
Visual Effects
This short film is the one that uses the most visual effects, out of the ones I picked. There is a computer-generated title at the start, denoting the "Predators" logo (the makers of the film) on a cracked, dark red background. Also, at the end of the film, the credits roll over a flickering blood-red background, with pieces of white drifting around it. Eerie music plays over the top of the title and credits, making the viewer feel unsettled right away, and leaving them feeling that way after they have finished watching.
In addition, the whole of the film (other than the title and credits) has a monochrome filter applied to it. Everything we see the man do in the film is in black-and-white, which has connotations of disequilibrium, murkiness and evil acts taking place. So the visual effects in this short film really add to the atmosphere and make the "psycho thriller" genre very obvious.
Life After Deaf - DOCUMENTARY
Narrative
This documentary tells the story of a teacher at Lincoln College who teaches British Sign Language. She is completely deaf and she teaches students the language, as well as helping them to understand what it is like to be deaf, or to live with a deaf person. The documentary contains interviews with members of the class, as well as with the teacher herself, as she explains what her life is like and how she tries to help others.
Characterisation
Since this is a documentary, there aren't any "characters" - just real people. The main woman in the film is called Pauline Bacon, a teacher who is deaf and who uses sign language to communicate. The audience for this documentary would be primarily people who are deaf or wanting to learn more about being deaf, and Pauline definitely engages this audience because she has a great story to tell. She explains in great detail (using sign language, with a voiceover playing at the same time) what it was like growing up being deaf, the hardships she went through, and how she and others came to terms with her condition. She engages the audience because you can tell she is genuine and a good person, and she tells her story with clarity. She would also help them to learn something new about the disability.
In terms of development of characters, we learn more and more about Pauline throughout the short film as she tells us more about her life and her journey. This means that the viewers empathise more with her as they watch; they feel for her after hearing about the hard times she went through as she grew up, and about how her parents never fully understood her condition. Also, we see Pauline's students' progression in learning British Sign Language as this is what she teaches. The viewers get their opinions on Pauline and how they find the classes, building up the audience's understanding of the condition of deafness.
Pauline Bacon and her students all add to the value of the documentary as an educational film and eye-opener, because they help the audience to understand a condition that they might not have understood before. This allows them to empathise more with deaf people they may encounter in the future, which I imagine was one of the reasons behind making the short film.
Camerawork
One example of camerawork in this short film is the establishing shot right at the start. It denotes a stone, with "welcome to Lincoln College" written on it, with the front of the college building in the background. The shot stays on screen for about eight seconds, and goes from being out-of-focus to in-focus in this time. This shows the viewer where the documentary will be taking place, and sets the pace of the film also, allowing them to get settled.
A really key piece of camerawork in "Life after Death" is the medium close-up shot of Pauline Bacon (the profoundly deaf teacher) which is seen throughout the documentary as she is interviewed. This shot is probably used for over half of the whole film, so it is very important. Since it shows her head and shoulders, it allows the viewer to see her facial expressions clearly, as well as the signs she uses while speaking sign language. This means the viewer can see how she feels as she explains her story - her expression throughout has different connotations at different times, such as sadness, pride and feelings of exasperation. Her signs with her hands only emphasise these connotations, meaning that we can really empathise with Pauline as she tells her story.
Editing
Since this is a documentary mainly consisting of an interview with Pauline Bacon in a static medium close-up shot, there aren't many editing techniques used like there would be in a dramatic film. The only editing technique that is really used is the insert shot, at points like 0:26, 5:35 and 7:40. At these points, the camera goes from an out-of-focus shot of Pauline in the wider room to a medium close-up of her, in-focus. This might connote how Pauline felt she was shy and misunderstood when she was younger and wasn't treated right, but now she is confident thanks to her ability in British Sign Language.
Other than this, there aren't any other editing techniques like action match or cross-cutting, simply because it isn't the kind of film that could use them.
Visual Effects
Like Gift, the first short film I analysed, this film uses no visual effects. As a documentary, there is not really a need for them, as it is an informative and nondramatic film. The credits are black-and-white, simplistic and not animated.
