FormExplanationProfessional ComparisonUse, develop or challenge?Effectiveness successful or unsuccessful > bigger picture

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Shape of my film (Wide shots-cramped shots)Wide shots cramped shots used to build tension and surprise the audience and also to build a sense of antithesis spacious green leafy environment > a feeling of confinement and isolation Stripes wide shots of apartments and man to close coverage of two men, which dominates most of the narrative to capture the sense of being pinned and penned in imprisonmentI have a frame within a frame (him imprisoned in his own world encapsulated in the world, with the bigger world around him Two antithetical types of framing/distant/spaceThe tightness of the frame of the LCD screen looking on to the openness of the Grange.

DevelopEffective immersion in protagonists world and psychological well-being > his social difference and dislocation.Protagonists isolation as a voyeur against the womans isolation in the wider space.

Long takesLong takes create a sense of real time, and convey a sense of time passing. - used to create awkwardness and build tensionSoft opening long take conveys a sense of real time/a slice of life a view of life as it really is there is now urgency and immediacy of news footageUsed to create a sense of stasis sensuality, and is used to create awkwardness and build tension.In my film, the awkwardness of the confrontation cannot continue until the man obtains the courage to act upon the womans orders. I use long takes to draw attention to the tension felt between both characters, as the man is now under the control of the woman, and must obey her commands now he has been discovered.

UseIn the bigger picture, the long takes are effective in creating tension which ultimately leads to a drastic turn of events, culminating in a passionate moment between both characters. Without the long takes, either character may not have been able to derive the definitive passion felt from the situation.

Camera angle (example)Shooting from the young characters eye level, whilst they are standing or seatedTwo Cars One Night we are taken into the childrens world in a more absorbing way by everything being filmed at their eye level and from their point of view, and even when the adults appear, we only see their bodies, still from childrens eye level; this makes the audience feel that this is film is only focused on the lives of the children.Low angles to communicate vulnerability, fragility (+ more)

Develop it from mans eye level, but it is instead through his camera (frame within frame)

DevelopThe low angles help to communicate vulnerability and fragility of the character, which is a true exemplification of the mans emotions. The angles are therefore used as a metaphor to explain how our protagonist is feeling towards this situation.

Short time length Short films are, by their nature, short.The Most Beautiful Man in the World is short for the reason that most short filmmakers have only a low budget to work with. Therefore, they have a shorter time than features to develop characters and situations.UseAs a student film, I had low to no budget to work with. Therefore, I kept within the form of a short 5 minute length.Using this form was efficient, because It tested me to try and tell my characters stories within a very short amount of time, just as typical short filmmakers must execute.

Three Part StructureMarilyn Milgrom clearly signifies the order in which to tell the story through three phases; the Setup, Development, and ResolutionSoft has a clear set-up (the bullies bullying the son), a clear development (the bullies intimidating the father), and a clear resolution (the son standing up to the bullies, who eventually flee). Following this structure shows a commitment to the valued guidelines written out by the valued BFI member.I break this three part structure by not having a clear resolution. My young man exchanges an intimate moment with the young woman, before she abruptly leaves him standing in the stream.Therefore, this allows the audience to interpret the ending any way they want. This can be seen as an effective challenge to Milgroms guidelines, as the audience is thus given more power in imagining their own alternate ending.

Plain appearance of fontMost short film posters use plain font for any credits besides the title, so that the title stands outThis Two Cars, One Night poster is smothered in plain black and white text as is the film itself using informal grammar, with some of the text scrawled/small.Ive challenged this by making my film title relatively plain, but my other credits, such as actor names, more unique. I did this primarily through adding different colours and altering the font size and type, as I thought I could encode better representations this way.This is effective, because it provides an alternate route for finalizing short film posters; it provides a breakaway from the norm; for that reason, it automatically becomes more eye-catching, especially due to the increase in colour depth.

ConventionExplanationProfessional ComparisonUse, develop or challenge?Effectiveness successful or unsuccessful > bigger picture

Naturalistic setting

Limited development of elementsMarilyn Milgrom observes that, as short films, there is not enough time to develop each element needed (the world, character and problem), which any dramatic story requires.Stripes used only two characters to convey the story between them both. The film solely focuses on one pivotal moment in one characters life the black British character relives when his Caucasian counterpart previously bullied him, and what the consequences are.ChallengeI challenged this particular convention, as whilst my cast also consisted of two characters, whose storylines were solely focused on, the focus continuously shifted from character to character sporadically. Therefore, this challenged all characters to enhance the audiences understanding of the story. It also challenged my actors to feel their way into their role, and properly sympathise with and express with their character they were playing.

Using different settingsUsing different settings allows different storylines to be introduced, and show different sides to a situation.About a Girl used a number of different locations, such as the streamline, the street, and the caf. The protagonist recalls past events, which help the audience understand and sympathise with her situation.I challenged this convention of using different settings, due to the limited availability of locations. I had little to no budget to work with, meaning I could not rent/buy places to use, and I had a very short time to shoot my product, meaning I had to keep the location simple.Challenge

Location shootingIn the social realist genre, real locations have been traditionally used in preference to studio sets.The Most Beautiful Man in the World, Gasman and Cubs are all location shoots. Interiors and exteriors have been carefully selected for their capacity to represent specific class, status and regional identity.I have used this convention by shooting every scene of my short film in an exterior setting, situated by a stream in a local park. This conveys naturalism to my film, and expresses a sense of realism added to the product. It also allows my characters to express their desires in an open space; the young man is able to shoot his film peacefully, whilst the young woman is able to sit quietly by herself; ironically, both characters motives intertwine in a location they both assumed was uninhabited.

UseThe real location I chose for have wide-spaced dimensions with little to no inhabitants, which very effectively communicates the reasons behind both characters choosing to use this location as means of fulfilling their respective goals. This powerfully conveys a sense of neglect by the rest of the society, as despite being an exterior project, this location seems cut off from the rest of society.

Untrained/ natural actorsWhilst feature films heavily use trained actors, as short filmmakers have no alternative but to use untrained actors, due to a low budget, or not knowing hierarchal powers in the film industry.Love Me or Leave Me Alone used untrained actors; this has the effect of adding to the realism as untrained actors tend to give the most natural performances.UseI stuck to this convention as I was making a student film. I chose to use people relatively close to me to act, people who hadnt necessarily acted before, giving a natural feel to it.

Lack of speechMilgrom advises short filmmakers that establishing the world and the character can be accomplished through maximum speed and minimal dialogue. The Most Beautiful Man in the World rarely uses dialogue; this has the effect of letting the actors performance communicate their emotions, as if they dont rely on dialogue then they can use action to drive the narrative forward.DevelopI developed the convention of lack of speech, so as to create the specific mood I wanted. The mood I was aiming to create was one of stillness and tension as a quiet afternoon is being disrupted. Towards the end, there was a higher amount of speech used, as I wanted to let the characters finally express their true emotions once they came face to face.It allows me, as the director, to show character changes, via relationships and props, rather than dialogue. Often in film, actions speak louder than words, which is why it is effective to minimise dialogue within short films.

Child actors

Diegetic soundThis convention fits in with the social realism genre, and is an integral part of filmmaking. It is the sounds that can be heard by both the actors as well as the audience (whereas non-diegetic sound is where only the audience can hear the sound)About a GirlThe use of diegetic sound adds to the realism of the film, as the characters and audience alike can decode the dialogue, mood and feelings expressed by other characters.DevelopI developed this by having diegetic sound edited in rather than recorded. However, I did record location sound. These sounds were such things as the waterfall. The quality of these sounds was fairly high, as I used a separate microphone to record sound.My rationale for these sounds was mainly due to my thought they drove the story. However, some sounds, like dialogue, were placed where the performance wasnt enough to know what was happening in the scene. Other sounds, such as the twig snapping, had ambiguous meanings that the viewer had to decode.

Natural lighting