Kathryn's A2 Blog

I looked at some short films of shortoftheweek.com for inspiration for my short films and also to see how other drama/thriller films are set out and what storylines they use. THRILLER Inside I watched a short thriller film called "Inside" by Trevor Sands which was about a doctor trying to resolve the conflicting voices inside a mind of a patient with multiple personality disorder. I thought the story was set out really clearly and cleverly as it represented the multiple personalities of the character as human beings which the audience can see. I also liked the blue filter over the top of the shots which gave the film a dark setting and feel to it, which reflected the feelings of the character. Furthermore, I liked the shadows they used in order to introduce all of the different personalities of the character's to the audience, which proved to be very effective for the storyline of the film. Overall, I liked the ideas used in the film and especially enjoyed the...

Here are my ideas for my short films storyline: Thomas murders someone Pro:  Raises awareness of people with mental health problems Con:  I don't want to portray mental health problems in a negative way. Helps rehabilitate someone out of prison. Pro: Positive story will audience will enjoy - upbeat feelings. Con: Difficult to make the story believable Witnesses a teen being abused by his/her parent, flashes back to his abuse and tries to help the teen Pro: Helps raise awareness of child abuse and the repercussions of child abuse Con: Don't want to portray this storyline in the wrong way. Evicted from his house, can't keep up wit h the bills - becomes homeless. Pro: Raises awareness for the problems of homelessness. Con: Keeping it looking 'realistic' - would have to do research such as watching 'Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away'

The history of short films:  Moving image technology most recorded footages in the past were short, it was not until the end of the 20th century that they became longer. The first short film was made in 1894 using Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope. In the early 1900s there were improvements in recording and editing technology which enable makers to produce longer, multi shot films. Short films were shown along side news-reel and sometimes live acts. During WW2 short films became a government tool for war propaganda. The 90s are considered as a landmark decade for short film making, because of the affordable video recording equipment. The biggest new demand for short film comes from the internet as people are interested in bite size pieces of information.  Youtube is the most popular viewing platform for shorts online and it is popular alternative for short film makers who can not afford to distribute their films on DVD or Blue-ray.

I filmed my Preliminary Task, attempting to Replicate the film 'We need to talk about Kevin'. Overall, I think the filming went well, however, It was difficult to replicate the shots exactly and there were many errors I made whilst filming. In one of the shots you can hear a dog barking in the background. I did take some other shots but  they too had mistakes in them, which I didn't realise until I looked over the shots whilst editing the sequence. Also, the camera is very shaky. However, when Margaret (Eva) starts talking the sound bridge over to shot two is very good. Overall, most of the shots are good and match the shots in the film sequence I replicated. However, the eye match between Daniel (Kevin) and Margaret does not match as they don't look like they are looking into each others eyes. Also, in some of the shots in the scene with Eva and Kevin the background sound doesn't match up, this mistake I will not do in my actual short film. I also, struggled w...

I have decided to research the conventions of a Drama as I have decided that my short film is going to be a drama/ Thriller. They portray real life situations, with characters, settings and stories. There is intense social interaction throughout these films. Usually the main storyline and focal point is conflict which include realistic struggles, difficult and pain. Usually a happy ending with a form of realisation. the audience can usually relate to the characters. Here are some examples of Dramas:

Here is a collage of different pictures and shots from movies in the Thriller Genre:

Here is my treatment:

I have decided to base my Short Film on someone battling with severe depression, in order to raise awareness for the illness. I will look into and research how severe depression can affect people in different ways and also think about how to set this all out into a story. I have decided that my character will be a man in his early thirties, called Thomas and the story will be told through his point of view.