Ideas for a short film

During class, we came up with a list of ideas for a short film and where to get ideas from.

Here's the list:

• From a film you've seen


• Old people


• Kids


• Poems - William Blake - Innocence vs Experience


• Death - Murder


• Songs - Lyrics


• Love - Cute/Old/Obsessive


• Crime - Twist in the tale


• Sentimental


• Comedy


• Other stories/books - make it modern


• Shakespearean story/tale


• Betrayal


• Rework a fairy tale - Canterbury Tales

We also thought of what problems would occur with doing a short film:

• Have to write a screenplay - one thats interesting


• Continuity issues - hair change/clothes changed/nails/makeup etc


• Talent - actors ill/unwilling/lazy


• Having too much in the film - too many camera angles/sound effects etc


• Time


• Planning


• Organisation


• Deadlines
  

Homework - Film Genres and Time eras

For this piece of homework we had to find 5 different films from 5 different time eras for a set list of genres. Here's what I did:

Western

1910's - 1920's - Straight Shooting (1917)
1930's - 1940's - Under Western Skies (1945)
1950's - 1960's - The Searchers (1956)
1870's - 1980's - Blazing Saddles (1974)
1990's - Present - Wild Wild West (1999)



Horror

1910's - 1920's - Frankenstein (1910)
1930's - 1940's - Dracula (1931)
1950's - 1960's - Psycho (1960)
1970's - 1980's - The Shining (1980)
1990's - Present - The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)



Crime/Thriller

1910's - 1920's - The Lone Wolf's Daughter (1919)
1930's - 1940's - King Kong (1933)
1950's - 1960's - The Night Of The Hunter (1955)
1970's - 1980's - The Godfather (1972)
1990's - Present - Goodfellas (1990)



Action

1910's - 1920's - The General (1926)
1930's - 1940's - The Public Enemy (1931)
1950's - 1960's - Seven Samurai (1954)
1970's - 1980's - Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)
1990's - Present - The Dark Knight (2008)



Romance

1910's - 1920's - The Woman God Forgot (1912)
1930's - 1940's - Casablanca (1942)
1950's - 1960's - Romeo And Juliet (1968)
1970's - 1980's - Grease (1978)
1990's - Present - The Notebook (2004)



Sci - Fi

1910's - 1920's - The End Of The World (1916)
1930's - 1940's - The Invisible Man (1933)
1950's - 1960's - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
1970's - 1980's - E.T (1982)
1990's - Present - Men In Black (1997)



Documentry

1910's - 1920's - The Life Of A Salmon
1930's - 1940's - The City (1939)
1950's - 1960's - Seven Up! (1964)
1970's - 1980's - The Thin Blue Line (1988)
1990's - Present - Supersize Me (2004)

Conventions Of Music Videos

Recently during class, altogether we came up with a list of conventions of a music video.

Here is what we thought of:

• Lip Sync


• MTV Cutting/ Editing matches beat


• Pastiche/Parody/Homage/Intertextuality


• Purpose - To promote band, promote song, sell product


• Act out 'story' of the song


• Direct address by performer (breaking the 4th wall)


• In-concert 'as live' footage (more naturalistic)


• Symbolism


• Artificial Performance (non-naturalistic, like a classic musical where they burst into song)


• Challenging or using existing memes and tropes


• Interpretive abstract approach


• Narrative/mini-movie approach (compressed narrative)


• Choreography


• Multiple locations, situations and costumes


• Genre affects style


• Montage, anchored by music

Choosing an A2 Brief

Hi! As I'm carrying on with media studies, our class have already been given the briefs for the A2 course.

The Briefs are:

• Promo Package Music Video
• Promo Package For Film Trailer
• Short Film

Promo Package Music Video
For this I would have to do two out of the following subsidary tasks:

• Website Homepage
• Cover of Digipak
• Magazine Advert For Digipak

I really like the idea of this task. It interests me because...well firstly, I'm obsessed with music, secondly, it's a really creative. I will more than likely choose this option.


Promo Package For Film Trailer
Again, I'd have to choose two out of the following:

• Website Homepage
• Film Magazine Front Cover
• Poster For The Film

This option doesn't interest me as much as the other possibilities, although it could be quite a challenge...

Short Film

I'd have to choose from the following:

• Film Magazine Review Page
• Radio Trailer
• Poster

I have decided to make a music video along with the subsidary tasks. I've chosen this because I can really relate to music, music is really expressive and I can tell lyrics are more than just lyrics - they are a message - they'll help me broaden my ideas.