Short Film and the Internet

BBC Film Network and Coffee Shorts are just two websites the internet has to offer full of short films. The internet alone has allowed the short film industry to grow and stay alive. The internet makes Short Film accessible to by anyone. It allows people to support indie film makers and watch short films that have won awards.

Allowing aspiring Film Directors to upload their short films on the internet allows them to gain recognition and also helps them get an audience for their work. Watching Short Films on the internet are also free of charge which means anyone can watch them without leaving you out of pocket.

Short film being on the internet will also open up the eyes of those who didn’t think they would like it. They will be enticed by the fact they can be very quirky, not predictable and that there is something for everyone.

Coffee Shorts in particular only upload by invite only, good, award winning Short Films so you can always expect quality when you go onto their website. Over time, Coffee Shorts has become one of the best known independent short film channels and has many of the best short films around. BBC Film Network tend to accept amateur work as well as widely recognised ones.

Both BBC Film Network and Coffee Shorts screen indie documentary films, short film animation and experimental short films.

Without the internet, short film would be harder to get around. It would be too expensive to put on TV or at the Cinema. The short film industry wouldn’t be the same.

Avante Garde- Maya Deren

From French ‘Avante Garde’ translates to ‘Ahead of the Crowd’. It is cutting edge or experimental.

Maya Deren is a famous ‘Avante Garde’ director. She made her films during the 1940’s and 50’s.

Her films have an anti-mainstream stance within her films and she promotes the idea or artistic licence and creative freedom.

‘Meshes of the Afternoon’ is one of her most famous Avante Garde films. It was made in 1943.

·         You interpret the film in your own way as if it were poetry.

·         The film has a circular narrative as it tends to repeat itself a lot.

·         The film uses technique such as slow motion when the woman is running.

·         The film seems like it has influences through dreams. Everything seems disorientated and non-realistic which indicates she could be dreaming herself.

·         Imagery: Knife, Flower, Grim Reaper, telephone etc could represent confusion between happiness and sorry.

·         The first shot appears quite sinister as a shadow appears to pick up a flower from the floor.

·         The key that the main character produces from her mouth could represent that the answer comes from within herself.

·         From watching the short film I felt that the main character was suicidal.

·         The grim reaper has a mirror for a face. Could this be representation of her?

·         The soundtrack sounds like humming or tribal music- sacrificial.

Preliminary Task- Continuity

The brief:

• A character opening a door
• Crossing a room to sit down in a char opposite another character
• They exchange a couple of lines dialogue

• Match-on-action
• Shot-reverse-shot
• 180 degree rule

Film as creatively as possible! 

For this task I worked with Kai and Samantha. All three of us agreed the canteen would be the best place to film as it was empty due to people being in class, there were doors that we could use for the match-on-action and there were chairs we could use to use for the dialogue, shot-reverse-shot and 180 degree rule. We started setting up the camera right away and decided our roles. I was to be on camera and Kai and Samantha would be acting in the scene.

The camera was set up fine by me and Samantha and I filmed the first sequence the match-on-action of Kai walking through a door. I filmed each shot a few times so we would have options when it came to editing the footage. Filming the match-on-action went well. I then thought it would be a good idea to play with the shutter speed and slow Kai down as he is walking towards his chair. We did this because it was a technique we had just learnt and wanted to try before it came to doing our short films.

Other match-on-actions we did included Kai grabbing his chair to sit down, Kai rubbing his head and him kicking Samantha off her chair. Whilst filming the conversation I stuck to the 180 degree rule and shot-reverse-shot.

Overall the filming was successful and we had no problems or technical difficulties.

When it came to editing, all was well. We had a few problems of which we overcame. This included cutting the match-on-action perfectly. When we uploaded the footage we realised that the tripod was in view of one of the shots and so were our exercise books. We should have cleared the filming area before shooting or watched the footage back critically after filming.

Sometimes Kais position had changed when doing an over the shoulder shot of Kai and Samantha in conversation. For example, in over the shoulder shot of Samantha, Kai’s hands are down but when the camera reverses its shot Kai’s hands are up. For future reference I should always make sure to tell the actors to do everything just as they did before and to memorise their exact movement.

Neither Kai nor I knew how to use Photoshop on the day Samantha was absent. This proved a problem when creating the titles.

Overall the filming was successful and we were happy with the result.

The Stairwell- Shane Meadows

A micro-short film shot by British film director Shane Meadows on a mobile phone

• The first of the two characters is introduced from behind which builds tension and curiosity in the audience.

• There is dim lighting on the characters face which seals the their identity from the audience, further increasing curiosity.

• The camera remains steady and the music is quite sinister which leads the audience to believe something big is about to happen.

• The journey is being shown through creative shots such as hand held and birds eye view.

• The second character is being introduced, as was the first in dim lighting to not reveal the character too soon.

• The lighting on the first character becomes lighter to indicate something is about to happen.

Steal Away- Tube Tales

The title is introduced with upbeat music and the title of the film appears on money. The hand that reaches for the money has many rings on it. First impressions suggest this film is about a robbery. The first couple of shots are shown from the driver’s point of view; this makes the audience feel more involved in the action. There is a crucifix hanging in the car which gives a religious connotation and it could be significant in the film. The diegetic music is coming from the car and gets louder and the narrative moves along. The action in the film takes place very quickly, unlike in a mainstream film.

The briefcase is stolen by two characters who appear to be working as a duo. The woman appears to be ‘common’ due to the tattoo on her lower back. A loud gunshot sound can be heard and it is highly exaggerated, this makes me realise it is a significant part of the film and is important. Slow motion is used after the gunshot so we can see the woman’s reaction. At the end of the tunnel she is in, there is a bright light, this could symbolise something good about to happen. We soon see the male character running around the corner and then they both run off together. Where they are running appears dark and grimy. The dark lighting of this location could mean dark times lie ahead.

Their next location looks abandoned and generally like somewhere they are not supposed to be. When they open the briefcase, red dye is sprayed on the money which means it can’t be used anymore. They still appear to be excited, in particular the woman. This shows that they are quite childish and only did it for the thrill. The red dye could reveal blood, anger and love. They don’t seem bothered by the fact they can’t use the money. They use water in the fire bucket at the platform they are to wash themselves. They are cleansing themselves; another religious connotation. They then start kissing and embracing each other on the empty platform. A white tube train pulls up so quietly you don’t notice it until it’s visible. The train appears to be empty but when the two characters get onboard it is in fact full with a preacher onboard. There is a certain irony about a priest being on the train after they’ve done something bad. In my opinion I believed the white train represented heaven and the priest and person washing the passengers feet were more religious connotations.

The saying ‘Money isn’t everything’ is shown through the man who’s washing feet refusing money. The bible the priest is reading from is red which could mirror sins being committed and blood being spilled. A drunken bunch of men come onboard, more sinners. The man washing feet got knocked onto the floor by a drunken man the train. Michel, the main male character goes to help him but the woman holds him back. He offers money to apologise but the feet washer refuses as if to say ‘money can’t fix everything’. Steal away is being sung in the background; Michel then offers the feet washer his seat and washes his feet. The preacher heels the feet washers’ nose; a miracle performed in the bible. Michel appears to be a good person but the woman he’s with seems otherwise and is clingy. The feet washer after touches Michel’s face and the lights begin to flicker which I believe represents passing. From this I got that the feet washer was an angel and has shown that there’s good in every bad.

The ‘angel’ and Michel smile and make eye contact, it also seems as though no one else on the train realised the lights were flickering. When we next see the two main characters in full view, we see that the red dye from their clothes has vanished and from the money as well. It seems as if they had been given a last warning and that is the last crime they can commit. When exiting the train, the woman gives a homeless person some of the money they had stolen. 

A Mothers Tear Short Film

The beginning titles are shown with no audio so it automatically grabbed my attention. The titles were in the colour red so I got the impression it could relate to blood, anger and love. The lettering also dropped like blood or a tear which instantly links with the film title. From the introduction credits the theme of death was already upon me before the film had even started.

I liked the pathetic fallacy at the beginning where it was raining heavily whilst a woman was crying. She was also behind a window whilst crying which gave me the impression she felt trapped for the reasons she was crying.

The narrator addresses the audience directly which made the film more personal and engaging. When the narrator says the word ‘bang’ we see blood appear on the window and start to drip as it had done with the title’s lettering. This revealed the storyline; her son had died.

The short film is base on real life events and is relatable to its target audience, which are young people. The film has a cause/purpose and has been made by people who have been affected by it or seen it happen; this makes it more realistic.

There is no dialogue throughout the film and this allows the audience to focus on the message and the emotional aspect.

There are close ups of tear drops throughout the short film. The victim’s blood appears as tears and it connects all those involved and those affected together.

About a Girl directed by Brian Percival

Genre: Gritty British Short film

The title is similar to the film About a Boy starring Nicolas Hoult, both films have a running theme of loneliness. The title of the film came up as a text message would; the audio was also how a text message would sound as it was being written. This gave me the impression that the film was modern, it could be a teenage girl texting and the short film could be aimed at young people.

The first shot was of a young girl singing Britney Spears ‘Now I’m Stronger’ by herself in a dark field. Only her silhouette was visible and because the audience can’t see her face, it builds curiosity. The audience find out about her slowly. The first thing we here in the next scene is the girl talking, her first line is ‘If Jesus were alive today he’d be a singer’. We gradually find out that she is a tough character and chavvy. Our opinion about her changes from the first scene. She has a hard exterior and her northern accent gives away she is from Manchester. She doesn’t come from a rich background and we can tell this from her clothing and the fact she sees singing as the best career choice she can achieve, and she is not well educated. The short film is filmed in a documentary style as it looks as though she is talking directly to the audience or to the person behind the camera. She lives in a council estate with her siblings and mother. She has revealed to the audience that her parents are divorced and have a poor relationship with each other. The mum used bad language around her young children, and refers to their dad as a ‘bastard’.

I got the impression that she has a poor relationship with her father, and the parents argue a lot. I also gathered that the father is unemployed. The girl makes excuses for her dad in order for the audience to think he’s good. She is 13 years old and she feels as though her dad treats her like she is younger, this could reflect the fact she has had to grow up fast.

The quality time she spends with her father includes watching him play football with his friends. Her line ‘Dad could have played for Manchester City- not’ reveals to the audience that she doesn’t believe everything she is told. She is neglected and ignored by her dad who buys her crisps and a can of coke yet leaves her outside and drinks in the pub with his friends.

She reflects the qualities of a normal teenage girl. We see as sweet, young, innocent side to her when she is singing on the bus with her friends. Her friends are similar to her in the sense they come from the same background. The cutting in this short film shows she’s really chatty and its cuts at a choppy rate from her walking to scenes from her life. She has a cheeky streak, when she says ‘I think that woman liked it’ after her and her friends were singing on the bus. This reminds us that she is like any other teenage girl. Once again she was singing Britney Spears but the song ‘Stronger’. The songs she sings could mirror how she feels inside; singing appears to be her escapism.

She thinks perfume is ‘smelly’ which reminds us she’s still young despite her exterior. During her monologue she appears to be walking around by herself, talking to herself even. Her mum smokes and plays scratch-cards. This could be her escapism. The girl thinks that the alcoholic drink Bacardi Breezer is high end, this emphasises the fact she isn’t from a middle or upper class background as the drink isn’t expensive.

She wants to live with her dad but he doesn’t want her to; she wants to run away. Throughout the film the weather is dull and grey; this is pathetic fallacy as the weather is reflecting how she is feeling. The title and the film don’t mention the main characters name, this could be because it is not important, and she represents many girls in her community, not just her. However, her parents names are mentioned, Terry and Paula.

After the mum threw their pet dog in the canal because she can’t afford it, she has become a product of her own environment. She has managed to hide she is pregnant for nine months. She threw her baby in the canal as her mum did with their dog. The shot was filmed with an underwater camera and makes the audience feel claustrophobic. Her baby was thrown in a plastic bag as she was into the world. The plastic bag could be a representation of her; common and disposable. The baby comes head first out of the plastic bag which makes me think the bag is a representation of her even more; it looks as if the bag is giving birth. The baby sinks to the bottom of the lake but the bag gets trapped in the wire fence, this could possibly mean she will never escape her current life.

I noticed there was no music throughout the short film perhaps not to draw away attention from the storyline and because it was made to look like a documentary. The reasons I think she got rid of her baby was that she didn’t want to become a mum and the baby could ruin her singing career that she wants so much.