Lauren's NEA blog

My intentions for my short film ( 1 New Message)   was to educate my spectators on the dangers of the internet. By creating a short film based on this idea it presents the idea that young people have too much of a dependence on social media and they are constantly being influenced even when they may not notice it. Therefore, this film demonstrates an ‘exaggerated’ version of what could go wrong if people are not careful when using social media. This develops the conventions of a ‘social realism’ genre as it is not taking a ‘realistic’ approach into the dangers of social media as although I wanted to educate, I also wanted to entertain. In order to achieve this, I had to make it   engaging  which is the influence behind the falling down the stairs which can be seen at the end of the film. My short film was influenced by other short films such as The Ellington Kid, The Operator, The Fly and The Arrival.   Image 1 Image 2 When considering the macro el...

Short film rough cut: So far I have produced a 19-second rough cut using my desired props and location. This first rough cut was useful as I was able to see which location worked well and what props I wanted to use. The music layered over the top is not going to be the music I will be using in my final cut as I want something a bit more unusual and not so cliché. I also used this rough cut to see how certain camera angles which I had planned to use looked on the screen, for example: This rough cut has made me contemplate the actor I want to use, as during the making of this rough cut I found it difficult to direct my actor as what I had in mind was different to what my actor had in their mind, therefore creating issues and making the whole process end up taking longer than I had expected it to especially as I only had to film a few shots. Therefore when filming the whole thing I think it would be more effective if I was to act in it as I know clearly what I want wh...

Own Cuts and Transitions: These different cuts and transitons that are shown in this video are a really effective way to make transtions smoother and more interesting compared to just a standard cut from each shot. These shots can give the illusion of no cut for example the invisisble cut that was used to show two different people sat at the desk. As well as this, we used a dissolve match cut to show the progression of time, showing one shot of a clock on the wall then dissolving into a watch showing a different time. Following on with the match cut, we also used one of these when we had a shot of the door and then a shot of someone walking away, the dark moments within these shots allowed us to bring them together and include a cut in betweeen this therefore creating the illusion that no cut has been used. By the use of a whip pan transtion we were able to show that the character had got from one side of the room to the other without having to show them walking across the whol...

Montage from UP: Montage from Rocky: What is a montage edit? A montage is a feature that is used in films which consist of short cuts to show the development of time. Such as the montage used in 'UP', audiences are able to see their lives develop together and we are able to see both their positive and negative times. The whole point of the montage is to cover a long amount of time in a 2 or 3 minute scene. Another example that we looked at was the montage used in 'Rocky' one that has become famous which has led people to recreate the iconic moment at the end. The montage in this film is used to show the development in Rocky's strength, we are able to see him get stronger and better at boxing therefore raising hope for the viewers. As well as this, montage shots are often used in Romcoms showing the passing of time in a relationship. Overall, a montage is the progression of time shown through a short scene.  Own montage video: ...

When experimenting with horror makeup we used a variety of resources such as flour, red food colouring, water and mud to create the fake blood and used the FX wax which allowed us to create the mould of the wound. Our idea was to have branches growing out of someone and we did this by getting sticks and leaves and using the wax to create a mould for them to be stuck into, once they were in place we used the wax to shape the wound around the sticks and leaves and used our fingers to smooth out the edges so that when we applied the blood it would look realistic. For the first injury we did it on the hand and had a stick coming out of it, to give this effect we used a larger stick and then used a smaller stick to be attached on the side of the hand to make it look like it had gone straight through. We then covered the wound in fake blood and added grass and mud to it. For the second injury, we used a twig with some leaves on it and secured it to the side of the arm, near the shoulder. ...

Considering my short film will be set at one continuous location I have decided it would be more realistic to have all of my characters in naturalistic clothing, this decision was made to make my film fit in with my naturalistic style. My main character will be wearing casual clothing, such as jeans, a black t-shirt and perhaps a jumper at some points. I think it would be effective to have an item of clothing in a bright colour to juxtapose the mise-en-scene to the overall message and actions within the film.   The makeup will also be naturalistic as this is a realistic short film. As well as this, it's important to have the makeup suitable for harsh lighting as this is something which I aspire to use within my short film, therefore the makeup has to still look natural under these lights, therefore, I will have to bear this in mind when deciding which make up the main character can wear. For the stranger, they will only ever be seen from the legs. therefore I have decid...

My short film requires two characters, one being the online 'stranger' and the other being the 'victim' of online stalking. As my short film planning process developed, I thought about using two online 'strangers' talking to just the one 'victim' to be a representation of how easy it is to talk to someone who you do not know, the victim assumes that they are talking to one person whereas the viewers know that they aren't therefore showing the overall message of the short film. When discussing this idea with my peers, I am still undecided on this aspect of my film however I do think this would be an effective 'spin' on the exsisting videos focussing on this subject. *UPDATE* After discussing this idea of using two antagonists and one victim, I think it would be more effective to keep to the original idea of having one protagonist and one antagonist. This will be more effective at conveying the overall message of my film as I think having two...

The main setting for the short film will be in the room with the laptop, to show how our lives evolve around technology and how we actually spend the majority of our day looking online. When thinking about the setting, it would be ideal to have a small cramped room however this may be difficult when filming, I will make the room appear to be small by using lots of close up shots as well as this I want to have depth to my shots and so I will do this by shooting through doorways, not only does this make the shot more interesting, it will also give an idea of the size of the room.  I want to have a small cramped room to act as a representation of the restrictions which talking online brings to people, we no longer properly interact with people, we just talk over a computer screen. The second setting will be in the main characters house, where we will see the intruder come in at the end of the film. This setting choice has been made to show how they now know wh...

Voice over script: Unnamed Protagonist: Social media is used by millions everyday. Allowing us to connect with those near and far. It's expanding all the time, new accounts, new friends, upload, like, retweet. The internet has a dark side too. A dark side which our parents cannot protect us from. A dark side, that we are exposed to. And you might not even know about it. But it's there. Plot outline- So far, the basic plotline for my short film is based around the dangers of the internet and how we never really know who we are talking to. The film will begin showing a POV shot from a yet unknown character, they will be looking at two adults leaving their house through the trees. We are then introduced to the protagonist of the story where they come home and see a note that their parents left them telling them that they will be out for a while. They then go upstairs and go on their laptop for a while, scrolling through their different social media accounts. They then leave th...

When considering the forms and conventions of films I will be using the genre rules for a thriller film, which are: Low saturated lighting, quick cuts, music adding to tension, shadows, extreme close ups, and to zoom in on the characters emotions, zooming in can also be used to focus on props which develop the narrative. As well as this, a lot of films have a subliminal message which is a feature that I aspire for my short film to include. My overall message from this creative piece will be that we can never be sure about who we are talking to, even if we think we are educated enough on the dangers of social media. Where are you planning to develop on existing forms and conventions? A conscious decision that I have made for my short film which will challenge the verbal forms and conventions of film as no speech will be used in my short film. The conversation between the two people will be shown through screen recordings and shots of the screen. I have made this decision to add to th...

Plot synopsis for a short film based on this article The short film would begin with a family sitting down outside having a family picnic. It is then realised that they have placed their blanket over a wasps nest and as the wasps slowly start taking over their picnic the family start to swat the wasps away, however they then look in the sky and see that hundreds of wasps are heading their way due to the distress signal that wasps have. The wasps then make a formation of the family's surname in the sky and starts darting towards them trying to get their nest back and even when the family move their blanket to a different area of the field they get attacked by even more wasps. The wasps have taken over everything, the drinks, the fruit and the sandwiches and they have even started to crawl on the baby that everyone seems to forget about during the wasp panic. The short film would end with the family suddenly dissapearing and it is hinted that they have ended in the was...

Idea and genre This second idea is based around the lottery, and what would happen if someone found a winning scratch card on the floor that belongs to someone they know and see the questions they are faced with: Do they keep it? Split the money? The genre would be a comedy which is one of the factors holding me back from this idea of producing a funny short film is challenging as everyone has a different idea of 'whats funny'. Mise-en-scene The mise-en-scene elements which I would primarily focus on in this short film would be character expression and movement and props. Character expression and movement is an important element to focus on in this short film as it would be character prompted meaning that the characters are the main feature of the film so they have to be comedic in order to fit in and be suitable for the chosen genre. Props is also an important aspect of this film seeing as the plot is all about a scratch card, and what the character decides to do with the m...

The genre of the film  Thriller/Social realism My idea for my short film is all based around the dangers of the internet and how you do not actually know who you are talking to, even if you think you are. I wanted to create an exaggerated response of what could happen if you are not safe online. I plan to use one continuous setting to represent the isolation that young people go through due to social media. People are constantly scrolling through other people's lives and comparing themselves, thinking that their life is not as exciting as someone else's. I plan to use an older character in my film to highlight how it is not always younger people who get into problems on social media. I intend to break the stereotype of young people not being careful enough therefore doing this by using an older person instead of using a teenager. However, I am not sure how effective this is, as after doing some practice shots it was difficult to direct the older character to create a be...

Idea and genre Mystery : Someone is walking past a phone box and every time they walk past it starts ringing. When they eventually answer the phone they go missing. It then turns out that this has happened before and on the back of the phone box door hundreds of missing signs are plastered over it. Mise-en-scene The Mise-en-scene elements that I would focus on during filming this short film would be lighting and props as the lighting would show the darker meaning behind the phone box through low saturated lighting, the obvious prop in this short film is the telephone box as this is where most of the attention is focussed around as well as this, however, the missing posters would be a significant factor of the short film as this is the confirmation to the viewers that anyone who uses this phone box eventually goes missing.  Inspiration Before I had this idea, I knew that I wanted to use the phone box in the short film, I chose to use a particular phone box down the road from ...

What's the point in short films? Short films are created to allow the director to get recognised for the work they have created. An aspiring director may need to create a few short films in order to get asked to create a full scale movie. Short films are mainly platforms that young directors can go to in order to get recognised. As well as this, short films may be used as a way of getting across a social or politcal message, seeing as the films are significantly shorter than feature films it may be easier to get this message across. Aspiring actors may also get a beneift out of a short film as it gives them a platform to work on and get recognised before making it big in a feature film, a lot of well known celebrities and actors first featured on short films to get themselves known. Who makes short films? Short films are made by directors who want to get recognised by bigger companies. Short films are often a way for a director to show others what they can do, and show the exte...

Characters- An old man who is always complaining  Locations- Where everything is weightless Situations- Someone screaming for help  Objects- A gun When- On a cold night  Mood Board Genre The genre of this short film would be a thriller, as there are some features that will bring the spectators to the edge of their seats as well as leaving them with questions about the world the film in. Plot Synopsis A little boy is being tested on in a lab and then escapes. Then we see a chase between two beings as they are running through the woods. One boy is barefooted and because its the middle of December, his feet are getting ice burnt by the slabs of ice laying on the forest floor. We then see what the boy is running from, a gun being held by a hooded figure, he screams but no one can hear him, the gun is fired. The little boy then wakes up still in the forest and his body has a purple tinge due to the freez...