Scenario:
For my short film, I have chosen to use Idea 1, which follows the story of a man who has accidentally recorded over his Wedding video tape with a recording of an old football match. The short film will start with a box of tapes, clearly labelled, ‘Tapes’. This immediately tells the viewer what the narrative is based around. It will then follow several match on action shots of the man carrying the box and frantically trying to find this specific tape. This would allow the viewer to understand the importance that this particular tape has to this man. When the man cannot find the tape in the box, his frantic facial expressions intensify, and he looks in silly locations around his house – even in places where it seems impossible for the tape to be. When the man finally finds the tape hidden amongst books on a shelf, there is a sense of relief felt by both the man, and the audience. This would seemingly be the resolution. The arc of the story being, the man (character), with a goal (to watch his video tape), but faces an obstacle (unable to find the tape), however, then a resolution (finds the tape after a moment of suspense and panic). This narrative has a clear story structure, but does not have any genre, or connection with the viewer. This element comes in at the end of the film, where the man plays the tape, to find it has been recorded over. This adds the comedic element and leaves the viewer happy and satisfied with the film.
Production Requirements:
For this short film to appear realistic, there is several requirements that I will need to consider. Firstly, the use of props is very important to think about. There are several props that I will need to help tell the story effectively and carry the narrative. For example, these being several video tapes (these will be used during the moment of panic – the use of many tapes will help to create an overwhelming and chaotic emotion), a video player (used in the moment of relief after finding tape – this will then lead on to the comedic element in the next moment), and a television (which will clearly display the recording over of the tape at the end of the film). Furthermore, I would like to use other props to create a more realistic setting. I am particularly interested in using props that represent a Wedding and Football, in the beginning shot of my film. A way that I might do this is in my establishing shot, where the main focus is on the box of tapes in the centre of the shot. However, either side of the box, and slightly blurred, I would consciously place some items that represent a wedding – perhaps a cake topper, bow tie, order of service booklet. Whereas, on the other side of the box, I would place items that represent football – perhaps an old football, and a football scarf. By doing this, it discretely hints to the viewers some elements and themes that might be visited throughout the film. I have chosen to use a video tape, instead of a piece of advanced technology because of the value that it holds. The fact that its on a tape also shows that the footage is old and therefore, has greater sentimental value than something that can be found on streaming services. The added dust on the box and tape at the beginning of the film helps to further imply this idea, hinting that the tape hasn’t been touched in a very long time. This would make the mans panic and relief more understandable later in the film. After reviewing some feedback from my questionnaire and group discussions, I would like to use the idea of having various locations, within the house, as places where the man is searching for his tape. In order to use this as a comedic method, I would pick silly locations, such as, inside the fridge, in the oven, in the bathroom, in a flower bed, etc. These little humorous elements throughout the film help to keep the viewer engaged and ultimately, builds up to the reveal at the end.
Skills Requirements:
When filming my short film, there will be several skills that I will need to use to create an effective one-minute video. One of the main skills that I will use will be to focus on what Shot Types I use. In order to create a varied piece, I will use a range of different shot types and angles. In the opening shot of the box of tapes on a shelf, I intend to use a close-up, establishing shot – perhaps an unusual choice of shot for the opening, however, I am keen to focus on the box in particular, rather than the character, to allow the viewer to immediately understand the main subject in the film. Throughout the film, I would also experiment by using different angles, such as high angles and low angles. I would also use a Dutch angle during the moment of panic and distress, to display the mans emotions. I will vary these throughout the course of the film to ensure that I have a wide range of shot types. I would also need to focus on Lighting elements in my film. Overall, I intend to use a bright, white lighting to keep the light-hearted theme through the narrative. Whereas, if I used dark lighting, this would create a more sinister and frightening tone. I would also like to use hard lighting, particularly in the moments where the man is panicking and where he finally realises his mistake at the end of the film. At different points in the film, I will use all three light sources (key light, fill light, and back light) to create a bright shot design. To add to this, during the opening scene of the box on the shelf, I would like to use slightly dimmed lighting to suggest that the door to the shelf is closed, immediately suggesting that the box is shut away and out of view, perhaps stored at the top of a wardrobe. After the title fades, the light will suddenly brighten, cutting to the shot of the man opening the doors.
Areas of Research:
After watching several comedy short films, there are a few ideas and elements that I would like to replicate in my own work. One of which is the change in focus on one single shot, an idea I got from the short film, “Perfection”. For example, if I did a medium-long shot where both the character and the box was in shot, I would start the shot with the cameras focus on the man’s eyes, and then changing to the box. I would do this by using the actor’s facial expressions, of his eyes looking downwards at the box, guiding the viewer where to look. I would also use this technique in an extreme close-up shot of the camera panning along the name of the tape to clearly highlight what footage it contains. This could act as a POV, hand-held shot to represent the man reading the name on the tape box. Also, to add to the humorous nature of the narrative, I will use comedic style music throughout the film to foreshadow that something funny and unfortunate is imminently going to occur for the character. However, at the point of realisation that the man has recorded over the tape at the end of the film, the music could immediately stop, with no fade or lowering of volume. This will create the feeling of sudden shock for both the character and the viewers.
After completing some secondary research by watching other short comedy films, I have noted a few ideas which I could use in my own work. For example, when watching the short film, “Black Hole”, I was particularly intrigued at the shots where the camera was placed inside the hole. I would like to use a similar approach in my own work by placing the camera inside the box of tapes and using a low angle shot. This will allow the viewer to feel immersed in the action and provides an opportunity for the viewers to see the characters face and his facial expressions, which will help to convey his emotions. An element that I would like to use in my film during the editing process would be on-screen text of the film title. I particularly like the graphics used in “The Sense of Sight” short film. I like how the text appears to be imprinted onto an object, for example, a label or piece of paper, and then dissolves, leading the shot into the first scene of the film. I will research further how this could be possible during the editing process.
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