We were asked to create a logo for the studio our short film is by. Here is the logo i created.
I created this logo with various ideas in mind. Firstly i wanted to have the visual image of the the film reel to show that they concentrate on the films themselves. i also wanted to have the film reel represent the silver lining of the cloud or the sun coming out from behind it to represent that in a heap of boring grey films this companies stands out and brings light to the film industry. I also did this to make the company stand out. The font is in a bold, black font to show how the company overshadows all the other film companies that are grey and boring. It also presents the company as bold and powerful to tell people the kind of content they will see and messages they will receive from the company.
I decided to look at trends of successful film in the past few years to see what types and genres of film have been the most successful. This will allow me to get an idea of what kind of elements, genres and ideas are popular among different target audiences.
The first show i will be looking at is HBO's Game of Thrones which began broadcasting in 2011 and has become massive with the last episode of it's fourth season receiving over 7 million viewers in the states alone.
The show has a more mature audience mainly aimed at 17+ because of the more complicated plot line, gore and sexual scenes. I believe it does a good job of appealing to it's target audience in a few ways. One way it does this is by having no main character and developing a whole set of characters and sharing their ideologies with you. By doing this you can understand and connect with all the characters even though they may be enemies and having characters you feel for is key to bringing in an audience. The way they do this also results in you finding characters that you connect with more than other ones, this method of making the audience have favorite characters actually works very well as a device to keep a big audience as people feel more inclined to watch as they will want to find out what happens to their favorite characters. They also appeal to their target audience well by respecting their maturity and creating a universe in which anyone can die and they often kill off main characters. This brings a sense of tension that the series is famous for as you never know if you're favorite character is going to die. I like this technique and think that putting these characters in situations where the audience feels a sense of danger can be very effective and one of the reasons the show is so popular is most likely it's ability to invoke these emotions in their audience. The creators definitely did this purposefully.
Now i will look at AMC's Breaking Bad. With it's first TV broadcast in 2008 and it's last in 2013 Breaking Bad was incredibly popular during it's run on television with it's final episode having 10.28 million viewers.
Breaking Bad follows many darker yet very interesting and different themes throughout it's various seasons. I believe this is one of the reasons it may have been so successful because the focuses of this show address and look at many things in society in a very original way. For example the main character being told they are suffering from a very serious cancer almost straight away tells us their fate but the character reacts in a completely original way as to what we would normally expect people to react like which intrigues the audience and makes them want to continue watching. Breaking Bad often uses this technique of foreshadowing events that happen towards the end of a season and then using the season itself to build up to what was hinted at/shown at the start. This is very effective as the creators used this technique on purpose to draw peoples interest in the events leading up to something and then give them a very excited feeling when they see the events they now understand unfold.
We can see music being used to add depth and emotion to scenes in film. A few examples are:
Video 1:
Here we see heroic music being used to make the heroes seem very powerful and victorious to the audience but then the music goes silent for when one main heroes get hit with an arrow. I think the film maker purposely did this to invoke a sense of victory for these characters and make you think they are going to win only for the music to stop and one of them to start to lose. This is effective because it creates a contrast that shocks the audience and makes them feel the sense of loss which makes the audience connect with the story and characters more.
Video 2:
Here we see the music being used to set a definite image in the audience's head. As well as making the fans of this film series connect by using the characters main theme that has been consistent throughout the films it also gives you a representation of who James Bond is. This music delivers the image of class and sophistication while also being sneaky and charming. I believe the film maker did this to specifically define the character and show them exactly what James Bond is about.
The camera angles in scenes are intentionally used to create moods or imply meanings to the audience.
Video 1:
The camera work in this scene is very interesting as it is done with a few close ups to start with to get across the character's mood and how they are feeling in this scene but then we see a lot of medium shots which i believe they did on purpose to represent everyday life as we easily associate shots like that with scenes where characters are doing everyday things however because we think of it as such a natural view is the reason we notice the things happening in the background like the blood and zombies that the character doesn't notice. I feel like the film maker did this to add a sense of humor to the scene by making the character seem so oblivious to his surrounding as for him it is just an everyday trip to the shop. I believe it is important to use the camera angles to show the audience things that the character might not always see too as it adds a layer of storytelling and development aside from the actions of characters.
Video 2:
The camera angles in this scene are purposely used by the film maker to show how large and intimidating the enemy is and to set a clear theme that the good characters are at a clear disadvantage compared to the bad one's. It does this by having a wide shot of space to show how massive the events taking place are. It keeps this angle as a small spaceship moves away from our view which instantly tells us as the audience that they are running away and then we see the much larger spaceship move in after them. When it first appears the larger spaceship covers almost all of space which is to compare them to the size of space to show the audience who has the power in the scene. This is important as it tells me that camera angles can be used to make things seem more or less powerful which can be really effective in storytelling.
Representations of Old People/Pensioners that are common in western media:
-That they are incapable and can't live without help e.g the image of an old woman needing help crossing the road or younger people helping them to live at retirement homes
-That they are weak/disabled e.g it is common to see pictures of old people in wheelchairs, mobility scooter or with walking sticks
- That they are victimized against by younger people in society e.g you often see pictures or read news about old people that have been robbed, hurt, etc. by younger people in society
-That they are respected e.g when events such as remembrance day happen we often see pictures of old people that represent them as proud and something to look up to
I decided that starting by looking at the introduction scenes of a few already existing short films to see the different techniques and methods used throughout them. I didn't really focus on a particular genre of short film and just decided to watch a variety to get an idea of how different types of short film go about introducing their films.
First i watched the science fiction short film Time Trap by Michael Shanks.
Video:
We can see that this short film uses a few techniques to have different effects on the audience. The first shot of the film is a very shaky, fuzzy and hazy blurred shot which we can't really see much of. However it gives us as the audience an almost dizzy and surreal feeling which already emphasizes and tells us that this film is not at all any kind reality. This is effective and interesting as without clearly showing us any kind of image of a scene we already know about the themes and ideas of the film. I think it is important to start a short film with something that will introduce the audience to the kind of themes the film will be presenting throughout it. I think the film maker did this to purposely hit the audience straight away with what this short films ideas are and it allows the film maker to create a sense of being lost so that we can relate to how unknown and strange space is.
The scene then comes into focus where we see a small spaceship fly past and the camera follows it and pans to a large wide shot showing space and planets to set the scene. This was effective as the camera following the spaceship tells us that we will be following this spaceship and/or the people inside it throughout the film. I think this technique is very good as it introduces us to our fist moving thing/ character well and allows the audience to gain some basic understanding of what is going on. The large wide shot of planets is also great for setting the scene after the confusing hazy shot as we keep the confused and dizzy effects from the first shot and are then overwhelmed by the vast size of space which shocks us as viewers into seeing just how large the space and scene is. I believe that the creator did this to straight away make us focus our attention on the ship so that we can recognise it as a main object throughout the rest of the short film. He also used a very colourful space with a lot of the colours bright and sharp which i think Michael Shanks used sprecifically to set a more light hearted theme and instantly tell his audience that this is a comedic short film as well as sci-fi
Then i watched the introduction to Post It another short film by Michael Scott
Video:
The first shot shows a post it note on a bus stop. The shot has lots of bright colors which puts us as the viewer in a happy mood and sets the mood and atmosphere of happy, sad and a more emotional film focused on characters. The first scene instantly introduces us to a character to and shows us clearly what he looks like and how he dresses to allow us to recognize him as the main character. He is also carrying a box with nothing on it and we can't see what is inside. This adds a sense of mystery and hooks the audience straight away. This is extremely important as if you don't establish clear characters and their roles the narrative can become sloppy and confusing which makes the film not enjoyable for the audience. Also hooking the audience straight away is a great way of ensuring viewers are entertained and want to watch more to find out the mysteries. I believe that Michael Scott used this as his first shot to specifically set the audience's mood to be quite happy and carefree so that they are set up for the whole short film
Overall from watching these clips i have seen that some very important techniques of making films that i should include and take into account when creating my own short film such as setting the mood and atmosphere for the film, clearly establishing key characters to develop narrative ans setting the scene of the film well so the audience can understand characters relationships with their environment.
