Evaluation - Beth Evans

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

 Short Film Analysis

Back in September I watched and analysed a number of short films so that we had an idea of the typical conventions. Connection is a short film with the aim of educating spectators about the struggling and homeless.


Camerawork

Extreme close up of zip

Throughout Connection a number of close ups and extreme close ups are used to capture the emotion of characters and draw attention to specific props that may be essential to the narrative. A non diegetic soundtrack then fades in, before it then cuts to an extreme close up of the zipper on a sleeping bag. The camera then tilts up as the sleeping bag rustles onto the face of a man, still in extreme close up, shivering and sniffing. The extreme close up is used to convey the emotion of the character - he is unshaved and his eyes appear sad. Throughout our film, we too used close ups to show emotion and props. In particular we used them within the hospital. The blood on Sophie's face and the hospital equipment seen around her gave the impression that an accident had happened.

Low angle shot example

Throughout Connection, various different angles of shots are used. High angle shots are used of the homeless man on the floor, oppressing him and portraying him as the weaker character. In contrast, low angle shots of the two passers by give them the control in the frame and represent the class difference. We did not use high or low angle shots within our film as distribution of power was not something we were focusing on.

Long shots are used within Connection to establish the location, and also show how little of the frame the homeless man take up, representing his insignificance. We used a long shot to show Sophie and Lucy walking to the car after coming back from the pub. Sophie can be seen stumbling and falling over which tells the audience that she isnt in a fit state to drive. 

Sound

A non diegtic sound track accompanies the film. A guitar can be heard with a lot of minor chords, creating a negative tone. 

The non diegetic soundtrack is silence by the sound of the coin hitting the pavement. The male passerby stops and looks down, and a handheld camera moves at speed moves closer to the homeless man, still sat on the floor, and captures the engrossed look on his face. The silence of the soundtrack and the focus on his facial expressions emphasises the significance of this one coin. Yet in comparison, low angle shot of the male passerby sees him merely glance down at the coin as if its nothing.

During the title sequence of our film, I added diegetic sound affects that would usually be heard within a hospital. I used a copyright free website to download a sequence of heart monitor sounds which I then layered to build up as the titles went on. The title sequence is the first thing the audience are introduced to and so from just the images nothing is revealed. However, the addition of the ambient sounds reveals that there is some connection with a hospital. Enough is revealed that the spectators interest is captured but not so much that the plot is ruined for the audience. 

Mise en scene

Extreme close up of eyes

He is unshaven, and his eyes appear sad as he looks down at the ground. The shot then fades into a long shot showing the man huddled in the corner to the left of the frame, with vast space to the right of him, signifying the passing of time, and suggesting that he has been sat there for a while. He is sat up against a wall, which then portrays to the spectator that this man is homeless. He is slouched and has his body drawn in underneath his sleeping bag, which suggests a level of vulnerability, and that the sleeping bag acts as some form of security. There is a cup positioned in front of him which tells the spectator that he is hoping for donations from members of the public. The large amount of space to the side of the frame and how small he appears in comparison causes him to appear alone and almost insignificant, and the spectator begins to feel sympathy towards him.

Similar to Connection, we used our characters costume to portray to the spectator their age and gender. During the conversation in the pub, Both Sophie and Lucy are in dresses and heels, with their makeup done and hair styled neatly. The length of their dresses is a key aspect of determining their age, as short dresses are typically worn my teenagers and young adults when doing out drinking. Their body language is casual, and they are laughing and joking with one another suggesting a close relationship between the two.

Editing

Match on action and continuity

Various cuts and fades are used throughout the film, similarly to ours. The cuts are used throughout the conversation between the two passers by, and a fade introduces the title and the soundtrack into the film. Multiple shot reverse shots are also used, particularly throughout conversation to capture the reaction and emotion of the passers by. The continuity of the film and the match on actions used througout are strong, an exmaple being when both passers by bend down to pick up the coin dropped on the floor.  An extreme close up from a worms eye view sees two people, a male and a female reach down to pick up the coin. A cut to another ground level medium shot shows the pair bending down to pick up the coin, and there is a strong match on action from the start of the movement seen in the previous eye level to where it continues at ground level. However, one could argue that the 180 degree rule is broken here. In the MS at eye level, the man is to the left of the frame and the girl to the right, but when they bend and the shot changes to ground level so does the perspective, meaning that the girl is on the left and the man on the right. Breaking the 180 degree rule, particularly during conversations can become confusing for the spectator.

Audience

The target audience for the film would be both males and females aged between 18-30, as they are more likely to be in full time work, and understand the effect of, the value and the importance of money. The upper, middle and parts of the working class spectators may be able to relate to the two passers by. Although the understand the value of money, not really having to go without could mean that they perhaps don't fully appreciate its value. However, lower parts of the working class and particularly the underclass may find it easier to sympathise with and possible relate to the struggles faced by the homeless man because of the vast amounts of wealth, power and perhaps even respect that are not available to them because they do not have what is considered an established and important place in society.

Similarly to Connection, we wanted to target those who would be directly effected by the issues raised in our film. Young car drivers (aged 17-24) had more drink drive accidents per 100 thousand licence holders and per billion miles driven than any other age group. In 2011 there were 280 deaths due to drink driving – accounting for 15% of all road fatalities. This is a massive issue that is constantly in the eye of the public and something that we were really keen to address, draw attention to and hopefully defer others from.

Narrative

The film uses a simple linear narrative, with events unfolding as they happen, but the narrative is rather restricted. The spectator does not know about the background of the characters, or how the came to be in their jobs or homeless on the streets, nor are the characters names revealed. The film is open ended, and so the spectator knows nothing about what became of the homeless man or the two passers by. There is also an ellipses at the beginning when the fade is used to show the passing of time. Bordwell and Thompson's theory on the chain of events in a film can be applied here. 

Our Short Film

We decided to make our short film a thriller because of the experience we had in AS making our film openings. A thriller film is a genre that revolves around anticipation and suspsense. The aim is the keep the audience alert and essentially on the edge of their seats. Typically, the protagonist in the film is set against a problem, however this is one of the things we challenged within our film as the characters are in no danger from an outside source. In 'Fault,' the danger and cause of death is Sophie's recklessness. It contained no epic car chases or violent battles, instead we gave our characters a sense of vulnerability and gained sympathy because of their naivete and recklessness. Our plot did not contain a specific hero and villain, another typical convention of a thriller. Instead, we decided to create a film based around every day situations in the hope that the audience would be able to relate to it a lot more closely. This is something that short films in particular often do, and the limited length of the film meant that we were able to address the serious issue of drink driving, raise awareness and hopefuly deter audiences from partaking, without our film becoming a documentary of some sort.
  

Quick cut examples

Quick cut examples

Creating suspense and building tension is aspect of a thriller film. To do this within ours, multiple quick cuts were used to speed up the plot and give the impression that the film is leading up to a specific event. An example of where we used this in our film is during scenes filmed in the pub. A conversation takes place between our two characters where Lucy asks Sophie if she is alright to drive after the level of alcohol she has consumed. Throughout this, I added multiple quick cuts to scenes of Sophie laying in a hospital bed.  

Foreshadowing example

Not only does this add elements of mystery and enigma, something we were particularly keen to include, it also foreshadows the outcome at the end. This is a typical convention of a short film that we challenge. Short films usually contain some form of unexpected twist within the plot to make the film more interesting in the short period of time. However, the turn of events within ours is more expected because of the emphasis we put on the amoung of alcohol Sophie has drunk. Foreshadowing works by triggering common associations or causal assumptions, such as that owning a gun leads to it being used to kill people, and that the owner is possibly a criminal or has something to hide. This then creates tension and has the audience guessing and anticipating what is to come.

Close up of hospital equipment

Alongside the quick cuts, multiple close ups and extreme close ups are used of the characters to show reactions and emotions. They are also used to focus on specific props that will add to the narrative. In our film, we used close ups on hospital equipments and extreme close ups of Sophie's face to give the impression of an accident.

Example of warm lighting

Lighting is a key part of a thriller film when it comes to creating a specific mood or atmosphere. The lighting we used reflects the mood of the scene greatly. During scenes in the pub, the lighting was warm with lots of oranges and yellows around the shot. At this point, we wanted to indicate that the characters were in no danger and make the atmosphere as calm as possible. In contrast, scenes shot in the car contained a lot of shadows and dark areas. The lighting works alongside the topic of the conversation to suggest danger, as the crash approaches the lighting gradually gets darker acting as a build up. During scenes in the hospital the lighting is extremely bright and white, a massive contrast to the darker lighting in previous shots. Because the lighting is so different, it seperates this particular area of the film from the rest. We did this to show Sophie's distance from reality in her coma, and the sort of liminal state she is in. 

Last shot of the film - Extreme close up

Another convention of both thrillers and short films are open endings. The spectators questions are often unanswered, adding to the mystery and enigma. It also means there may be the opportunity for a sequel if the audiences interest is captured. Additionally, there may not be enough time within a short film to wrap up all lose ends and so as I previously mentioned, a plot twist may come at the end with the intention of shocking the audience. In our film, Sophie's eyes opening is the last thing the audience see before a cut to black. This leaves the spectator wondering what the result of the crash was, and what punishment may await Sophie for her recklessness.

Short films usually only contain around two or three characters. Because they are only usually three to five minutes long, they do not tend to go into the characters history and back stories, and so low character numbers makes it easier for the spectator to relate to them in the short amount of time available. Our film is around four and a half minutes in length, and contains only two main characters and a brief voice over from Sophie's mum. The age of our characters links directly to our target audience, and so we really hoped that because they are able to relate to the characters, they may take on board the serious message of avoiding drink driving and hopefully understand how easy it is for accidents to happen.

Film Poster Analysis

 

My Film Poster

This is the design I have created for our film poster. Rather than take pictures seperately and specifically for the poster, I decided to use a still image from the film itself. I thought this would be a better idea as the audience can then directly link the poster to the film.

This was a shot that I particularly liked due to the wideness of her eyes and the fact that they are the most obvious and prominant part of the poster. The hospital lights can be seen in the reflection of her eyes although it is not exactly clear to the audience what they are, adding to the enigma. Her smudged makeup suggests that she may have been crying, and the oxygen mask gives the impression that she is in hospital without revealing too much about the story line. 

I used the same font for the title as we have used in our title sequence because of its resemblence to blood. The title 'Fault' is the biggest and boldest out of all of the text and is therefore the most noticeable aspect. I placed the actresses names above the title, a decision commonly made in the making of film posters. I also made the actressess sirnames bolder as within film this is the most recognisable part. However, I decided to go for a simpler font for the actresses names and for the tagline as I wanted the title to be the boldest text on the poster. The eyes are the most powerful part of the poster, so I placed the text in the lower half so they are not obstructed.

A billing block is a legal requirement for a film poster. It contains the writers, cast, crew and directors. I again added this to the bottom of the poster, and placed film festival awards either side. The London Short Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival are highly recognised and so boost the appeal to our audience.
 
The purpose of a tagline is to be catchy and memorable for the audience, and I struggled to come up with something that I felt would be effective. Eventually however I decided on 'One drink too many' because of its simplicity yet powerful message. It suggests that an accident happens because of drink driving, supported by the main image. It could be argued that this gives away too much about the plot, but I feel that although an accident is revealed, the outcome of the characters is not and so the film is not ruined for the spectators.

2) How effective is the combination of your main product and your ancillary tasks?

Transcript (Film to follow)

I feel that combined, our poster, review and film work very effectively and compliment one another. This is then reinforced by the audience feedback I have received. The image on the poster I designed was taken directly from the short film. I thought this would be best as there would then be a clear link between the two and the spectator will be able to relate the image to parts of the film. From the poster alone, it is not exactly clear what the film is about, however there are hints and clues. The tagline 'One drink too many' suggests alcohol is involved. Paired with the blood and oxygen mask seen on Sophie, the main character, the implication is that there is some form of accident more likely down to the drink. The eyes are the most dominant part of the poster, and the wideness paired with the blood and suggestion of an accident means that the poster and therefore the film are of the thriller genre. I decided to use the same font on the poster as I have in the title sequence of our film. This way the audience are able to make a connection between the two. I got the font from a website called dafont.com. I thought it worked particularly well as the splatters across the letters resemble blood which the spectator will then associate with the accident. 





3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?


Social media was a massive part of gaining audience feedback. I posted all three of our products on sites such as Twitter and Facebook as these are most commonly used by our target audience of 17-25 year olds. These are some of the responses that I got.

 Throughout the process of creating our film, poster and review, I often asked people I knew who fit our target audience to look at the progress we had made and give us feedback. Particularly while editing the film, a few of my friends would join me in the editing suite and give me their opinions on the work I had done so far. Aspects such as lighting during particular shots, some lengths of shots and sounds that should accompany were all elements that underwent a lot of scrutiny to ensure we addressed our target audience the best we could. Once all three products had been completed, I again asked for feedback on the final pieces. These are some of the responses we got.

The majority of the feedback I got came from girls. This was something I anticipated as there are no male characters within our film. This is perhaps a flaw as it was not solely females we were targeting, meaning that the lack of male characters may have made it harder for boys to relate to Sophie and Lucy and gain an interest.

The majority of feedback I got from the film was positive. Spectators found the topic and message of drink driving particularly powerful which was what we were hoping for. Those who drove and gave response said they were especially effected by the accident, and that it really 'hit home' at not only how easily these things can happen, but how easily they could be avoided. I had quite a lot of good feedback on the variety of shots used, particularly the shot reverse shots during conversations. Those who gave responses said the continuity and match on actions were very smooth which made the transition between shots flow a lot smoother. Additionally, responses to the lighting used were also very good, a number of people really enjoyed the way the lighting reflected the mood of the scene, and said it was a really effective way of building tension.


Feedback on the flashbacks was again useful. A few said that they thought it was a really good way of adding enigma and maintaining their interest throughout. It had them questioning what the relevance was and attempting to guess what the outcome may be. Additionally, the foreshadowing caused by the hospital sounds and then the consumption of alcohol was another extremely effective way of creating suspense. However, there were a couple of people who said they were a bit confused by the flashbacks at times, particularly during the pub scenes. Although some enjoyed the mystery, others found the story a bit harder to follow when flashbacks happened.

I posted our poster on Facebook with a few questions that I hoped would be answered. I asked users;

1) What do you think the film may be able just from aspects of the poster?

2) What genre do you think the film may be?

3) Is there anything you think works particularly well?

4) Is there anything that you think could be changed?

5) Would you go and see the film based solely on the poster?

The first comment I received answered all of the question accurately. Bethan is 19 years old, and so I am very happy with her response as it means that my poster addresses the target audience perfectly. The fact that she was able to recognise the thriller conventions, the plot of the film and would also be interested in going to see it based on the aspects of the poster means that it is a very effective advertisement for our film.










Other comments that were made either agreed with Bethan or had slightly different interpretations, but perspectives on the title, plot and tagline were nearly all the same which is again positive. Although I recieved no male comments or feedback on Facebook, many did 'like' the post which expresses interest.








4) How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?


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