This year in my media class, I decided to present my portfolio as a short film. Obviously I can't just launch straight into making the film without any attempt to draw inspiration from the skills involved in various other short films. I decided to analyse three short films that have already done well in the industry, mainly to see if there were any patterns or conventions involved in the making of the short.
I turned to Short of the week to find some of the most weird and shaky shorts in the industry. Below are two short films that I have analysed for any likenesses in their patterns. The third is a control factor for comparison.
1) Undying Love
This is a Horror about Love from Norwegian director Omar Hauksson. Undying Love is the tale of a lone survivor, fighting for his life in a world overrun by the living dead. Equipped with his trusted baseball bat and a selection of protective clothing, our protagonist goes about his daily routine of searching for food with ruthless efficiency. This film is indeed extremely abstract and has a huge plot twist as was expected from a short film. We follow the film the whole way through with a certain degree of satisfaction as things are going the way we would expect them too for a typical zombie film. However, as we get to the end a huge secret is uncovered and instead of the boy and girl living happily ever after, the protagonist feeds the survivor to his zombie girlfriend.
With regards to the film's elements, the story was conveyed in a very different way as would be expected from a short film as people are always trying to find new ways of telling the same story in the film industry. I've included examples of where the different crew members were directed to think outside the box:
Cinematography - The camera was handheld to give a more natural feel and everything was framed in perfect symmetry.
Sound design and sound - This element of the film was the most pronounced with very abstract sounds that wouldn't generally be associated with the film.
Editing - At the start of the film, the editor flicks back and forth between the memories of the girlfriend then and of her now as a zombie, using bright tones to convey positivity and red and black tones to convey a more sinister point in the film.
Screenwriting - The story for this film starts off as very normal but the screenwriter has incorporated an extreme twist to the end of the film to make it shocking and interesting in it's short 10 mins.
2) Afterlife
Afterlife is a short film that I created with a production team at the BFI Film Academy earlier this year. It's a comedy and a tragedy in its own right and tells the story of a middled aged man, Martin Stevens, who finds himself in the waiting room of the Afterlife, after being hit by a car. The film has a very abstract and quirky style and I know myself during pre production that we planned for the movie to be as weird and unique as possible. We all agreed that there was far too much normality in film and we wanted ours to stand out in the industry. As well as this, I specifically remember our group wanting the end to be absolutely shocking whereby Martin is plunged into eternal darkness. The film followed the codes and conventions of a short but challenged them in a lot of ways too.
Cinematography - the cinematography for this film was completely out there. There where whip pans and out of focus shots to give a hazy effect.
Sound design and sound - I worked on the sound for this film and remember that I wanted to take my own dynamic twist things to tell the story in a different way. A lot of the sounds where comprised from different parts of the soundtrack. This was made from reversed piano notes recorded by a microphone that was under water.
Editing - The editing for Afterlife was also extremely different. I remember in the editing studio, we had to try a number of different things to make it suit us.
Screenwriting - The script for this film was absolutely off the wall. Some of the jokes bordered on the absolutely insane. However, this is typical of short films. Another factor likening Afterlife to the codes and conventions of short films was the twist at the end conveying an unhappy ending. It didn't sit well with the audience and hence, worked effectively.
3) Dotty ( Control Factor )
This funny and touching little film about an old lady struggling to send a text message has been charming the pants off film festival audiences from Tokyo to Nantucket – where it won Best Short Film. It will have you both laughing and reaching for a tissue.
Cinematography - Long shots without much variation give a degree of monotony in accordance with what elderly life might be like. e.g. Non-Moving shot of the old man crossing the garden with his zimmer frame.
Sound design and sound - very low key and natural. Funny implications with the annoying beep of the phone.
Editing - Very natural, almost boring, which is abstract as it takes extreme measures to follow the life of the elderly.
Screenwriting - The script for this was absolutely stunning. It began very slowly and I was very sceptical, however, at the very end there is a huge plot twist which keeps in with the idea of the structure of short films.
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