What Makes A Good Short Film
During our class studies we were fortunate to have a visit from film industry producer Rebecca Knapp. She provided us with vital information and the key criteria of what is expected within industry (industry standard). She explained exactly how to go about, and what to include, when producing a short film. It was extremely helpful for me to hear her experiences and advice and I have transfered her guidance and expertise for use in my own work.
An extract taken from Vision Picutres website about Rebecca knapp
“Rebecca is an award-winning producer who has worked in film and television production on programmes ranging from drama to documentary to entertainment for over ten years.
Since graduating with an honours Law degree from Edinburgh University UK
Rebecca's session began with a lively discussion about short films and exactly what significance and reasoning is behind them. We then discussed and addressed the many different kinds of short films that are out there. We took into consideration that the length of the film would not normally exceed 5 minutes and that the plot and the story line would have to be easily distinguishable within those 5 minutes. We went on to examine the purpose behind short films.
Why a Short Film?
The idea of a short is to showcase the producers ability and creativity to certain members within the media industry. The producer would also be looking for funding and may even be hosting a feature film, using the short as an incentive to further investigate the individuals potential.
When creating a short film, you are trying to entice and capture the mind of your audience within a short time period of around 5 minutes. Trying to create a complex story line with over complicated character plots would just cause the audience to misunderstand/misinterpret what is going on and could make the difference between a career and failure. We considered, the conventions surrounding the short film industry, and how to go about producing a short film which would fulfill strict criteria.
Rebecca handed out a variety of different scripts and texts to read through and provide feedback to the rest of the class. We then gave our own personal opinion of what we thought of each script and text. These comments consisted of;
Rebecca handed out a variety of different scripts and texts to read through and provide feedback to the rest of the class. We then gave our own personal opinion of what we thought of each script and text. These comments consisted of;
- what we thought the outline of the play was about
- how enjoyable it was for us to read it
- whether we understood the script.
The two scripts were 'Donna' and 'Does God Play Football'. I chose to focus on 'Does God Play Football'. I found it easier reading but also, as a class, we came to the conclusion that Donna was not a very interesting piece of text. However, after watching the film, we discussed it again to see if our previous reactions on the script had changed.
Unlike when we watched the film Donna, our reactions changed after having read the script and watched the 'Does God Play Football', as it had much more dialogue and we all found ourselves being very attracted to the script and the short film. We covered questions like; what i think/thought of film, was it good to watch, is the storyline compelling, what was my favourite part, is there good use of music, etc?
Independent study tasks - Short films.
The first piece of work I did for my independent study task was to watch a short film called "STALKER" by Brett Driver and Clinton Jones. The film features a lone SAS soldier as he creeps his way around what initially looks like a deserted science laboratory. You follow his journey round the building, whilst the camera shots and the music creates suspense and really gives the audience the feeling that the soldier is being watched and "stalked". The scientists who are in the white radiation suits appearing to be looking for the soldier, effectively give the creepy edge to the film. However, when they hear a noise and they speak, it ruins the eerie effect. I was expecting them to be silent which kept them scary, rather than typical American voices which ruined it for me. I found that the overall narrative of this short film was understandable and I found that music along with the visual effects made a very pleasing first short film.
The second short film we watched was "Lovefield" by Mathieu Ratthe. This film manipulatively plays on the senses. Mathieu states "that this film takes the audience on a roller-coaster ride of emotions." The use of the crow and its constant cry really build tension into the film, making the audience believe that a crime has just been committed, but the climax reveals something very different; Life! There are clear changes in the lighting from the beginning of the film and the end, when you see the baby. This enhances the tension and I would say that this is a very well made short thriller.
"Apricot" By Ben Briand, was the third film studied - a moving short about remembering and reminiscing. I researched into Ben Briand and his masterpiece 'Apricot', and found out that his film won the Vimeo award for best narrative, voted for by over 3 million people. It was credited for its none-traditional success not through film festivals but on the internet, gaining 300,000 views within a short time of release. 'Apricot' shows a montage of memories from the past and the exquisite imagery really helps to shape this into a heart moving short film.
http://www.campaignbrief.com/2010/09/ben-briands-apricot-one-of-the.html
The fourth film I watched was "Snap" by Manolo Celi. - For me this shirt film by Monalo Celi was not very interesting and although he has won many awards and is actually currently producing a feature film based on his recognition of this short film, this is still not enough me to personally like and understand this film. I found it difficult to understand why the both characters change throughout the chase scene and why a white tourist suddenly turns into a black African military looking guy. This film does have some very interesting camera shots and I do like the slow motion shots of the chased man having paint thrown upon him and this has given my some interesting ideas for my own short film.
The fifth and final short film that I watched was "Signs"
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