Short film idea

I have researched into short films and have watched and analysed four different films. I have put some thought into a possible idea for my A2 project and have come up with a few ideas for the film areas of subject, intention, settings, and special effects. . My idea for a film is based around the subject of alcohol and more closely the intention of portraying a message concerning responsibility with drink driving. The main idea i had was to show two possible outcomes of making a decision in this idea the decision being whether to drive home after having an amount of alcohol over the national driving limit. The two outcomes being having a great time at a party after making the decision to get a taxi home with the special effect of a rewind showing the decision in a second way of getting in the car crashing resulting in the death of a friend and attending the funeral. The probable certification for this type of film would be 15 and distribution in schools, universities, the internet, and television commercials to promote anti drink driving campaign to target an audience of drivers and those able to drink legally.  

Temptation

Whilst watching short films online I came across one called Temptation. I found it to be intriguing and was left thinking about its subject of temptation and the intended message of not giving in to temptation. This film appeared in a film festival and consists of a male voice talking about temptation in a poetic manner, but his voice over sees many different people. There is little camera work no settings and little sound other that the speech so I don’t believe that it is a showcase for talent but instead a film intended for a wide audience to portray giving in to temptation is not always the right choice. The use of a loud gun shot at the end of the film and strong language would lead the potential certification to be 12A pushing on to 15, these ages being the implied audience as temptation is a major area of concern for these age groups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKQ4Sbtq_rc

Noise

Whilst researching and watching short films I came across a short film called Noise which is a film based on the subject of the disability of not being able to hear. It consists of a man complaining about every day noises, who is involved in an accident resulting in the loss of hearing. It then goes on to show the intention of not taking the ability to hear for granted. This film is award winning and so is a probable showcase of talent in camera work, acting, and sound editing meaning that its intended audience is the film industry. The film revolves around one man but includes many others in the background to create a sense of realism in the settings used being his home, the street, and the hospital which is vital for the narrative as portrays how he came to lose his hearing ability. The use of sound is used to a great effect where at the beginning whilst complaining everyday noises are heard and after the accident there is silence to make the audience feel they also have lost their hearing. The inclusion of a car accident means a potential certificate falls in the region of PG to 12.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7VjYuKeowM

Signs

The second film during my research that I found to be enjoyable is a short film about two people who communicate with the use of signs called Signs. Communication being the main subject of the film, with the intention being the importance of communication in falling in love. This film was distributed at film festivals and was awarded first place at the Cannes film festival with the targeted audience being the film industry as a showcase of talent in several filming areas. The film includes two main actors which play the role of office workers who find each other and begin to fall in love. For the sake of realism there are many other actors who appear as office workers. The setting of two office blacks that stand opposite with windows that look upon each other is crucial to the narrative because it allows the possibility that two people can see each other through windows whilst at work and can begin a relationship with communication through hand written signs. The films soundtrack consists of no main speech to build the effect of only being able to communicate via signs and composed music that is related to the actions and imitates the emotions of the male character changing tempo to represent being bored, happy, and sad. A potential certificate for this film would be low, as the areas of concern for the BBFC are not issues raised by this film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy0HNWto0UY

Spin

My media project this year is based around short films and so I have been researching into this area of film. During this research I have been looking at many examples of short films and have come across four that I have found interesting which led me to analyse them.

The first is a film called Spin which revolves around a mysterious DJ who is sent to a city block to mend a series of events that occur in everyday life and hence the subject of the film is life and the intention of the producer is to represent that decisions in life interconnect. This film has been showcased worldwide and has won film festival awards meaning that its implied audience is the film industry and that it is a showcase for talent in several areas including camera work, acting, and composing. The film includes a main actor which is shown to control the events of the film and so holds power. The main setting is a city block, the use of this setting is crucial to the narrative as it’s a place where strangers come into contact and so their actions can affect others. The soundtrack is a composed piece that flows with the story, speed and tempo increases when the DJ is controlling and builds as actions lead to trouble. I enjoyed the narrative and found the message to be clear and believe a potential certification to be 12 because the main cause for concern is imitation of drugs, as the inclusion of no speech and no violence means language and violence holds no bearing on the certificate. However the inclusion of realist accidents such as being hit by a car means that it may not be suitable for those younger than 12.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP59tQf_njc

Certification

The British board of film certification is an independent, non governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and DVD’s since the video recordings act was passed in 1984. The aim of the BBFC remains to bring a degree of uniformity to the classification of film nationally. Today there are seven certificates that are widely used these beginning at universal (U), parent guardian (PG), 12, under twelve’s adult supervision (12A), 18, and restricted 18 (R18).

The means for the BBFC censorship’s and certifications falls upon six main areas of concern. Violence being the most thought about. The decisions being made on the basis of whether it is shown to be pleasurable, as means to a positive solution, or related to sexual action. Language also has bearing on certification the inclusion of foul words f*** and especially c*** is seen inappropriate to certain age groups. Nudity is widely excepted if it appears to be natural and sex is simulated depending on how much is shown is acceptable in 15’s and higher certificates, however if it real its classed as a R18 no exceptions. The use of drugs cause certificates to be higher and depends on the manner in which shown and the amount of glamorisation of the act. Imitation is a major concern for certification the use of weapons that children can get hold of increases the certificate and suicide is a big issue if the means to commit suicide is shown the certificate is raised considerable.

Certification can influence several areas of film. A certificate can limit the access of certain aged audience and so affects the narrative in terms of what and cannot be shown. The theme must be sociable acceptable, the intentions within the film should be widely agreed upon and it needs to made clear that specific views are that of the individuals and not necessarily that of the industry. Audience pleasure is also affected by certification as what shown is limited and may not hold pleasures such a fear, love, and realism. Certification is very important in the film industry today and involves many areas of concern which can influence several areas of film.

Creativity

Creativity is an independent process full of complexity which is limited by four factors, factors that I must take into consideration during the creative process of my A2 short film project. The audience as a whole has bearing, including trying to meet or beat their expectations, suitability for intended age group and intriguing for gender, sexuality, race and class. Having considered this my media group can also limit creativity with a clash of ideas leading to the project being a collective creative process. Time is also a limiting factor for our course we have around 6 months to plan, produce, and tweak our short film. In my mind the most significant factor that can limit creativity is institution and genre, because we have to make a 5 minute film with a specific genre but can not however copy or make to many changes so that it maintains classed as that genre.