January 29th - Rachael Saunders

• Today we looked at garage-band and looked at the different sounds to use. We managed to find sounds which would work for out opening scene. the sounds we found were;
• Classic Rock Rhodes 19,06,2118.
• Delicate piano 01,15
• Acoustic picking 18
• strummed acoustic 02
• and the cinematic sounds we found were an alarm clock and a bird (sparrow)
• We started to think about when we are going to be filming and have decided on a date (Wednesday 3rd February)
• We started to discuss who we want to use for actors, however we are yet to come up with anybody available at the times of filming.
  
• We also thought of different shots for this scene and we decided to have a shot a bathroom door closing and cut to the front door opening.

Storyboard - Maiken Davidson

Here's is a few of our slides, the rest will be following soon and an Animatic.

Slide 1- Photo of Kate and Ashleigh, will be a slow zoom into the picture and then into a dissolve......

Slide 2 - ...dissolves in to a shot of Ashleigh waiting at a bus stop. She's looks paler than everyone...slightly faded.

Slide 3 - Cut to Kate running down the street, obviously late, towards the bus stop.







Slide 4 - Kate see's Ashleigh, and he face lights up as she see's her best friend, she then runs to Ashleigh and they hug.





* Have quick shots of their faces when they see each other, to show that they are very happy to see each other.

Slide 5 - We see them getting on to a bus, chatting away, Ahsleigh is still paler but not so faded, so the audience doesn't know yet that she isn't really there.





*Pictures drawn by Priya

Responses to our film idea

Family Responses -

Rachael Saunders

• 'If it works, it will be a very interesting idea.'
• 'It is an original and good idea.'
• 'It sounds like it will be a very creepy film, it just seems like it will be difficult to make.'
• 'It sounds good, but to make it work, you need to have the right sound. to give the eerie feeling.'
  

Maiken Davidson

• ' Sounds interesting and different'
  
• 'Good, and original but how are you going to make Ashleigh look different to everyone else?'

Priya Ahluwalia:

• a very good idea for the film, very diffrent and unique idea
• Liked the idea fo Ashleigh fading away
• intrested in watching the finished piece.

Friends Responses -

Rachael Saunders

• 'It will be very difficult for you to make this work, but, it does sound like a good idea.'
• 'The story sounds really good, the ending is quite sad. Hope it works.'
  
• 'It sounds like an interesting idea, you just need to make sure you use good editing, to make sure you give the right feeling the viewer.'
• I like the story, but I'm not sure how you're going to be able to make the girl seem different. If you can do that, it will be really good.'
  

Maiken Davidson

• 'Good idea, will be interesting to see what shots you uses and how you edit to see that Asheigh is different, to what Kate sees'


• 'Oooo sounds interesting, but really sad how it ends! I like the fact that we see her slowly fading away!'

Priya Ahluwalia:

• Idea sounds really good very different
• Ending very sad

Filming Locations by Maiken Davidson and Priya Ahluwalia

Crawley County Mall

Crawley,
West Sussex
RH10

County Mall Crawley is our main choice of site for our filming of the shopping scenes as it is big and busy and has many shop names that we could associate to being British e.g Topshop, New Look, Thomas Cook etc. Therefore bring social realism as shopping is the top leisure activity we do in the UK.

Health and Safety: We need to consider the health and safety of our group and the public, as it is a very busy place we will need to be wary at all times. As we would have permission from the staff and secrurity at the Mall this shouldn't be too big a problem, we will need to put a couple of signs up to let the public know that we are filming.

We're currently waiting for permission to film in the Mall, if we unable to film at the mall we will look at alternatives such as The Martlets in Burgess Hill.

*We're unable to film inside the Mall but are allowed to film outside it.

Grattons Park

Located in Poundhill
Here are some of the pictures for grattons park where some of the film would take place.


Further more due to the park being popular with the younger children we would make sure that we have the parents permission to film in the park as well as having some of the parents being part of the film as the public looking at Kate in a starange way.




Health and Safety: Are main problem with health and safety when filming outside is the weather, we shall have to carefully pick our days so not to get the equipment wet. We will also need to put signs up and let the public know we are filming there, as becuase it is a park we need to make sure there is no children where we film, so not to get into trouble.

LOCATION SURVEYS TO FOLLOW

Script: Out line of the script By Priya Ahluwalia and Maiken Davidson

The film start with a voice over, this would be Kate talking to/ informing the audience of her and Ashleigh's friendship and telling the audience how close they were.
it would then go into Kate and Ashleigh talking to each other.

" I never knew how close we were, we did everything together; Shopping, going to the cinema and even staying round each others house.
Time would fly ever so quick, we would have mum scearing at us telling us to come down stairs, but we would have so much to tell each other.
Doing everything together meant that we knew what each other liked and disliked we were practically like sistes. Shopping was like an addiction for us, we had so much fun. Swings were the next best things to shopping, we would see who woukld get the highest first.
People would give us the strangest look; i wouldn't blame them Ashleigh was so crazy when it came to shopping, she would rummage through the railes like a child would but at the sweet shop; i would just look back and smile thinking to myself shes not really a bad person once you get to know her.
But that same day something strange happened... i never knew how and why".

Ash: "Hey you wanna play a game?"
Kate: "A game?"
Ash: "Yeh a game?"
Kate: "What game would that be then?"
Ash:"Umm.. Hide and Seek"
Kate: " You being serious, how old are you (laugh)"
Ash: "Shut up.. and yes i am being serious, i will go and hide first whislt you count to 20 ok?"
Kate: " I suppose.. ok.. right go hide"......... 18..19..20.. coming ready or not.... (couple of minutes later).. Ash.. Ash... Ashleigh....

(Back to the voice over:)
"I couldn't.. I just couldn't find her anywhere, I looked everywhere in my bedroom,the kitchen the bathroom.. she was no where to be found.. she was just GONE!
She didn't even say goodbye to me, I tried.. i really did try but she... just GONE!
There was like an empty space inside that was just... missing
I hate going shopping.. so many memories that bring me back to Ash.. I hate the park now.. walking past there always reminds me the good time we had on the swings.
well suppose it was her time to go, so........ well she's GONE!"

Sound Track And Other Ideas: Priya Ahluwalia

Sound Tracks:
here are a number of sound track ideas that could be used in the film. When both girls are out and about, I was hoping to use a sound track that would show their happiness and that both girls enjoy each others company. I also had an idea of using a sound track/s that reflect the disappearing of 'Ashleigh' when Kate is unable to find her. I feel that the use of both happy and sad sound tracks would contrast the mood and the atmosphere of the scene.
I also had an idea of using a creepy type of sound track, this would be used when members of the public would be looking at Kate in a strange way. The idea for using a creepy type of sound track came from "Lou - Lou Lives Here" as it has used the same aspects as we would like to create.

Roles in the film:
We are looking for two characters to play the part of Kate and Ashleigh who will be the main roles in the film. The main characters are very close to each other (sisters or friends we are not sure) who do everything together, so we would like to show this relationship through the film as especially when Ashleigh goes to hide and is never found.


Role Allocation:
Camera Person/s: In order for the short film to be a success it would be useful if all three of us participated when using the camera. This is mainly because we all have the ability to use a camera as well as having different ideas of using the camera as to what shots and angles would be appropriate to use in a particular scene. As all three of us would be using the camera it would enable use expand our skills for the use of camera work as well as enable to learn new skills form other members of the group.

Lighting: Maiken Davidson would be in charge of the lighting. She would prompt when the lighting would be needed and also when she feels that the lighting is okay for the scene.
Further more as we are going to be shooting outside in the town centre as well as the park, there is going to be a lot of natural light, therefore the use of the redheads would not be needed.
Maiken Davidson - notes: Because of working outside we will not be needing redheads because of it's natural light however we could could use some portable lighting if we decided to do a scene at night highlighting that Ashleigh is not really there.

Props: In this film there are not as many props that will be needed in the needed in the film. However the main props that will be needed in the film are Shopping bags and a camera.

IDEAS FOR THE SHORT FILM - Priya and Rachael

Title: Close and Gone
Genre: Thriller and social Realism
Plot: This is a story of two very close sisters Kate and Ashleigh who do everything together, from going shopping to styling each others hair. However this is not an ordinary relationship as Ashleigh has past away and Kate has not got over the fact that she has gone.
In this film we will show Ashleigh slowly disappearing as the film goes on. We also see other people on the street staring at Kate and seeing her talking to herself as others can not see Ashleigh.
The film will end with both sisters playing hide and seek, where Ashleigh goes to hide first and she can not be found, therefore Kate then finally knows that Ashleigh has gone and is never coming back.
Location: Park, Town,house
Sounds: BackGround music (Happy when girls are playing together and very fast paced when Kate is unable to find Ashleigh)

Rachael Saunders Feed Back:

Maiken Davidson Feedback:

Priya Ahluwalia Feed Back:

Research Task - Eight - By Stephen Daldry (1998) By Maiken Davidson

1) The opening shot is a medium shot of a young boy, he's standing on a deserted beach shouting 'My Name is Jonathan and I am 8', you then see him one along the beach with a plastic sheet. You can tell that he is a football fan, as his shirt says 'Liverpool FC' on it and coloured red by pen, he also kicks and red and white football - the colour red is apparent in this film. Jonathan is the main character, he talks about his father a lot, he has his best friend who he watches old football tapes, and his mother who is very sad and depressed, we find out the reason why later on into the film.

2) This film is unique as it only has the one main character who is a child, who narrates the whole thing, its of his life over a couple of days, it's very child-like in some ways but it's very sad, there is no bright colours at all apart from the red, the colour is in tone with the film.

3) The whole film is narrated by Jonathan, there is not real structure to the story, just an eight year old boy talking, he speaks child-like about his father, 'my dad's a train driver', 'my dads an astronaut', he obviously idolises him, he doesn't understand why his mum doesn't like him having an interest in football. As a child would, he is very revealing about his world and the people around him, which makes you as an audience to feel desperately sad when you realise his father is dead. We get hints that his father died in Hillsborough Disaster, hence why his mum doesn't like him having an interest in football. 'Eight' ends with Jonathan singing 'You'll never walk alone' which is Liverpool FC anthem, his football team and possibility his father who he would have seen at Hillsborough.

4) As Jonathan is at the beach a lot of the time, you get to hear the sound of the wind, which is effective with the story he is telling.

5) Themes raised in this film, is football. The good side of it, young boys dreams and hopes but also the down side to it, as you believe that his father died in the Hillsborough disaster. As an audience you feel very emotional, as he is very open about his mother being sad, and as he talks about his father you think he is just out of the picture, until near the end when he says he is dead. This film shows britishness as football here has a big following.

Research Task -Conversation Piece - By Joe Tunmer (2009) By Maiken Davidson

1) The mise en scene used in this film if very homey, we get establishing shots of a house were a couple live, we assume married, we get to see a kitchen where the woman is standing cleaning the dishes - stereotypical role of a woman, especially in British films, and her husband sitting in the living room just about to read a newspaper, when he turns on the record player. The camera zooms into the spinning disc and then cut to the male character and his newspaper. It uses typical characterisation of a male and female, the women is looking after her man.

The main narrative is on a vase, that has been chipped, the women notices it and goes to speak to her husband to find out how it happened, but instead of hearing them talk we hear the music that is in time with what they are saying giving it a comedic style.


2) Instead of having the couple arguing you can just hear the music matching every single piece of dialogue to a note, gives it a unique edge. Its not something you expect hear or see.


3) It uses the short film format well, we are introduced to the characters by seeing them in their roles 'the calm period', to then move into this chaos of a broken vase and the two of them arguing, it then gets resolved and you seem them then going back to what they were doing before they began to argue bring back the 'calm period' as everything is restored. This is a perfect way to show Todorov's theory, we have the equilubum - disequilibum - equilibum.


4) The use of sound is the most interesting part about this film, it is used in a very unusual way which makes it stand out. At the beginning before the music begins, we do hear typical sounds that you would hear around a house, the sound of dishes and so on. When the music begins to play, it is an unusual spin on diegetic sounds.

5) The film seems to represent a married couple in a routine on an average day, which brings in social realism, it’s also uses stereotypical roles which support Laura Mulvey's theory on how women are portrayed as being submissive however it makes it different in the way we hear the argument to the music

Research task - Lou-Lou lives here - By Hazel Grian (2003) By Maiken Davidson

1) The style used here is hazy and dark, this could be seen as it's from the dogs POV using monotone colours and sounds that have been dubbed. The themes and issues raised in this dark tale is that young girls should walk alone, especially in the countryside or in deserted areas, when a man starts to follow her, however it takes a spin when you believe that the young girl has more too her then what meets the eye.

The mise en scene used is simple but effective, the setting is in a typical British countryside, and the young girl is dressed in feminine clothes (a dress), however she seems to be doing unfeminine things like kicking and inspecting closely to a dead rabbit. We don't really get to see the man that is following her, but we think of him as the protagonist by the way the camera catches the white van, his footsteps and the way he moves and the young girls reaction to him.

I would genre is a mystery and a thriller, as it keeps you raising questions but also has aspects of thriller.

2) 'Lou-Lou lives here' is unique because of the way it uses camerawork and editing, you get close-ups of the young girls face and parts of her body and the dog, you closes up of its face and legs when it runs. They use many dissolves and fades, that crossover, making it more unique and individual. They uses clever ways, such as when the girl and dog running, just dissolves into the dog running, giving us the impression that, that is her dark secret.

3) In 'Lou-Lou lives here' doesn't have an exact narrative structure, where you would usually be introduced to the characters and then the setting, then have chaos, something that ruins the equilibum (disequilibum), and then completely resolved at the end, however 'Lou-Lou' doesn't do this, you are still asking questions, therefore this doesn’t fit into Todorovs theory.

4) The use of sound is very muffled, however there is a lot of outdoors sounds like the sounds of birds, leaves rustling etc, this bring some realism to the piece as we can identify it to be outside. Other than that, we hear the man speak once, however its muffled, which makes us ask the question is this what the dog is hearing, as he appears in the next clip.

5) The film seems to be about a young girl walking alone in the countryside and the dangers that can happen. Though it causes confusion to the audience when we start to see a dog replace the girl with the effect of dissolves, raising questions about what and who the main character actually is.

Research Task 'Wasp - By Andrea Arnold (2003) By Maiken Davidson

1) The opening shot of 'Wasp' we see a women carrying a baby with 3 little girls with her walking down flights of stairs in a hurry, as she is wearing a nighty and has no shoes on, the children’s clothes look dirty and their faces don't look washed. You start to see more as the clip goes on, you realise that they live in a block of flats and as they walk outside it looks like a typical estate. You realise that the children are the young women’s as she has a fight with another women in the street about their children. There is lots of close-up of characters, especially the children’s faces, and when Zoe see's a guy she used to like, they have close-ups of his lips and eyes, this is from her POV and lets us know that she likes him.

The camera pans out to show a street sign 'Shakespeare’s Road' which links to the britishness of the film, the children also use a lot of reference to Victoria and David Beckham, who are also well known Britain’s. We then get more establishing shots, which show us that this is a run-down estate, Zoe is shown to be the stereotypical young, unemployed, single mother living on an estate she goes on a date to the local pub.

2) 'Wasp' is a short drama, the way it makes itself stand out is the way it uses the camera, with close-up shots of the characters face to show their body-language and emotions. It's POV shots as well give it a more gritty feel, it's quite jolty as the children watch their mother when she's fighting and in the kitchen.

3) You are introduced to the characters early on in the narrative, and you can tell that Zoe isn't really able to look after all 4 of her children, she seems neglectful and selfish as she tells her children to wait outside a pub for many hours, starving, while she meets Dave, however you do know she cares for them as at the begining of the film you see her fighting other mums for them, but her bad judgement seems to get the better of her by the end of the film, revealing her caring role to the man she likes. The way the narrative goes leaves you in suspense, as you are worried for the children who are being left to fend for themselves, but feeling empathy with Zoe by the end.

4) The estate the family live on our by a main road, so you hear a lot of cars and machinery, not much of nature. The scenes at the pub you hear people chatting away as you would, and as its by the motorway you can still hear the cars, which makes you worried for the children by playing next to something dangerous, the loud music coming from the pub is songs that we all recognise and can link to being British.

5) 'Wasp' is a very gritty drama, showing life on a council estate as a young single mum, it shows us the life’s of the working class as you have a stereotypical pub with a pool table and everyone drinking cider. The audience are put in a position of suspense and a lot of emotion as they watch Zoe and how she looks after her children, it raises issues of poverty in Britain today and shows us how some people could be living. You feel protective of the children as she leaves them with her eldest child, whose about 8 years old, who are starving and bored while she goes for a date, however by the end you do start to see her side, she does care for her children but she is lonely and just wants someone.

Research Tasks - Joyride - Jim Gillespie (1995) By Maiken Davidson

1) Identify the genre/s or style/s used

Joyride is a short 10 minute thriller set in the UK. As a thriller it uses certain conventions that we identify with that particular genre and style.

First of all the mise en scene used, setting is night and it is raining something seen as to be typically British. Our main character is a power line repair man, because of his costume is a uniform of one and you get a shot of him looking at an electricity pole, he is also on the phone talking to a work colleague about it. We also have the two physco's, dressed like any normal person, however incredibly violent in what they say and what props they have, axe and a knife.

Also three police men/women appear, wearing typical costume as we would expect British police to be dressed as.

There is non-diegetic sound used to build up the tension that works extremely well and keeps your mind wondering, especially at the end when you believe that he is safe you then got the shock sound of him dying, using diegetic sound.

The characterisation is making the main character a bit of a hero, Gillespie himself said he based the main character on Die Hard, using similar costumes (vest) and being caught in tight situations.

The main issues and themes in Joyride, is obviously Joyriding, it involves the stealing of a car and beating a victim.

2) How does this film use genre/style conventions uniquely?

It uses its genre of a thriller uniquely as it keeps delivering surprises, for example when you see the man lying in the road, you assume that he is dead, but then he turns round to be the kidnapper of our main character. A final example is the ending, you believe that he has been saved and that everything will be okay, until you see the sparks flying on the electricity pole, knowing that he is covered in petrol, the camera then starts to tilt and you hear the sound of flames going up, you know as the audience that he hasn't survived.

3) How does the film use the short film format?

The advantage of a short narrative is that it's more fast paced, it leaves no time clips that have no relevance to the film at all, its also able to shock us, with how quickly it can go all wrong and can keep surprising us with twists. 'Joyride' has a good narrative structure and ordering as where we start at the beginning of the film is also where it ends, giving us closure.

4) What do you find interesting about the sound?
The sound is well placed and time, giving us the impression that it is real. You can hear the bad weather that we associated with British weather (rain and thunder), the sounds of the car slowing and speeding also give us the pace of the film.

5) Themes and issues and representations

The main issues raised in this is obviously the stealing of a car and beating its victim, the protagonists seems to enjoy this, there is no real reason why they have stole this car and chose to be violent towards the main character, whereas they could of let him go. We are a restricted audience, we only know what is happening through the main character.

Rachael saunders

The conversation piece – Stewart - 2009
This seems to me to have the genre of comedy, although, it is hard to tell as we never actually hear the voices of the people speaking, just their mouths moving and different sounds of music matching each syllable. However, there is something slightly amusing about this short film, so therefore i think that the genre would be comedy.
Sound is an important part of this short film because the whole thing seems to be based on the music being played and the different notes.
I didn't find this as interesting as i have found the other short films, because i didn't really understand what was going on. Although, i found it clever how the different sounds matched the two people speaking, i wouldn't use this in my own short film because i think it has more clarity if the audience are able to hear and understand what the actors are saying.


Mix tape – Luke Snellin
The genre for this short film, i think is social realism. With the accents clearly being typical British accents and the street the young boy is walking down to get to the young girls house, seems to be quite clear that it is in the UK.

I liked this short film because it managed to fit quite a detailed story into such a short time, of under three minutes. I think that i would like to use this style because it wouldn't leave the audience asking what had happened.

I think that the sound had a very important part to play in this film because of the actual title of the film 'Mixtape.' I liked how the music worked, when the boy was walking down the street to the girls house, the choice of song worked really well and the abrupt stop when the lady answered the front door. The music chosen in films is always important, and even more so in a short film. I liked how the song at the end at first seemed to be a diagetic sound, but when the boy and girl start singing, it becomes a non-diagetic sound. This is something i would like to use in a film as i think it worked really well.

I wasn't very sure about the themes and issues of this film, however, i think that it had quite a romantic genre, so therefore it may have been about someone's first love. I think that the audience is positioned to really like the young boy, and have slight sympathy for him because he seems slightly nervous about giving the girl the mixtape.



Lou Lou lives here. Director Hazel Grian!
Genres and styles used
There seems to be a slight thriller aspect to this short film, along with a sense of mystery, with the uncertainty of what is happening and what is going to happen next. When the girl is running through the woods, you can hear her breathing which adds to the feeling that something bad is going to happen, us, as the audience, are just unsure of what it's going to be. There is a dark style used, to make this seem almost, scary. The audience are left wondering what has happened at the end, when there is a transition, when the girl changes into the dog and we are no longer sure who the man actually is - at first we think he is someone chasing the girl to possibly hurt her, which adds to the thriller aspect, but then, when there is a dog, rather than a girl, we are left wondering if he is the dogs owner - adding to the mystery aspect. The mise en scene used helps to clarify the location of this short film, because it shows the typical British countryside, with the woodland area and the country lanes. There is also the gate at the end, which has the sign on it saying "Beware, Lou Lou lives here" A lot of dog owners have signs which say "Beware of the dog." The themes and issues of this film may be about children staying safe, and not going out alone. However, because of the transition when she turns into a dog, the themes and issues are left unclear to the audience.

I found that the film was set with quite a dark style, which made it seem even more eerie. It was set in black and white too, which made it seem like the camera was the dogs eyes, which i found quite clever.

I think that this film only works well because it uses the short film narrative. If this was a film which was to last two hours or more, it wouldn't be as much of a mystery. If my group decides to do a thriller or mystery when making our short film, i will watch this film again, to get some ideas on how to make it work and give the wanted effect.

The sound used in this film helped me to understand what was going on, as i didn't find the transition very clear. The breathing didn't seemed very heavy - like a dogs and the barking, you could also hear the footsteps and by the speed they were going, it was clear that it was a dog. I think that the sound made this short film seem even more sinister.

I found that the film's subject matter was confusing, i watched it twice, but, i was still left unsure as to what the writer was trying to say. This could have been about how children shouldn't be out on their own, as it isn't safe. But, then, this doesn't explain the transition into a dog. I think that this is why it works as a mystery, because so many questions are left without answers and this makes the audience think about the meaning even more.

Joyride – Jim Gillespie – 1995
Identify the genre/s or style/s used
The genre used for joyride is thriller. The lighting is dark, a man is driving down a road, when he sees the body of a man lying in the middle of the road. Already, by this point in the film it is clear to the audience that the film is going to be a thriller. During the film, however, it becomes clear that the film also has aspects of action and violence in it, when the victim knocked out by another man and wakes to find himself locked in the boot of a car. There is more violence throughout the film, with the victim desperately trying to escape the car and his kidnappers, this shows the aspects of the action genre. Although we don't always see the violence as it happens, we can always hear when there is something bad going on, so sound is used well to add to the thriller effect. The themes and issues of this film is Joy-riding, with the victim being tricked into getting out his car and ending up being locked in the boot of his own car and his fate left unknown, as the two kidnappers drive him away somewhere.


How does this film use genre/style conventions uniquely?
The film tends to use different tactics to shock and surprise the audience. Both the audience and the main character (the victim) don't always know what is going to happen next and seem surprised by each of the events as they unfold. I found that the moments of the film when I wasn't able to see what was going on, when the police officers get murdered, were the most interesting. The reason I thought this is because we expect this to be the ending of the film, however there is even more violence instead and this adds to the shock elements of the film. The audience are left wondering if the victim is going to get out of this alive or whether he is facing the same fate as the two people who attempted to rescue him. At the beginning of the film, when the victim sees the man lying on the floor, there is suspense, as the audience aren't sure whether or not the man is dead or if he is going to suddenly stand up, this leaves the audience wanted to know what's going to happen next, adding to the thriller genre, the audience are on the 'edge of their seats.'

Eight - Daldry

Rachael Saunders

This short film is slightly confusing regarding the genre, there are some comedy parts to this, however, the ending is upsetting, as we realise why his Mum doesn't want him to play football, as his Dad, her husband was killed because of his love of the sport. So there are maybe two genres for this film, one being comedy, and the other, tragic. I think that the themes and issues of this film are the Hillsborough Disaster, the events at a football game, leading to the deaths of 96 people, leaving 766 injured. the mise en scene used in this short film are very British, for instance - the beach, this looks like a typical British beach, with the gray sky and windy weather. Also, two young boys sitting around, watching football or playing football, is very typical of young males in society.

This film doesn't give off too much, until the very end. The audience knows that there isn't something right, regarding the young boys father. If i was to make a short film, which used social realism, i would definitely watch this film again, as i found the way it was made kept me wanting to watch more. It gave certain information to the audience, not too much so we knew what the ending would be, but enough so that we would want to keep on watching.

The sound was very naturalistic, which made this film seem very realistic and added to the social realism aspect. I would again use this if i was going to be making film, with the social realism genre, as it would make it very clear as to what out chosen genre actually is.

The film is about the Hillsborough Disaster and how it actually affected people, the young boy is the son of one of the victims and he just wants to get to know the Dad he never met and in order to do this, he wants to do what his Dad loved - play football, his Mum however doesn't want him to do this as this is what killed his father. The family are from Liverpool, the young boy however mentions that they don't live there anymore. The family in this film seem fairly working class, and i think that it is very apparent that the family is a single parent family, with just one child, there is a very quiet, calm feeling about their home life, however there is always a sense of sadness whenever the boys mother is around.

Research Task: "Converstion piece" Stewart 2009 - Priya Ahluwalia

Q1. Identify the genre/s or Style used:
The genre used in this piece of short film is comdey drama as well as music.
The ways in which the mise en scene is used creates the right mood for the piece. the setting of the film is a house, that looks very confortable and a homely place.she is seen making potatoes in the kitchen whilst her husband is in the living roomlisterning to jazz.

Q2. How does the film use Genre/style uniquley?
The uniqe aspect if this film is that the musical-of-sorts matches every single syllable of dialogue to every single note from jazz music. This is a very unique technique of using music as the dialogue instead of actually having them speak.

Q3. How does the film use the short film format?
It uses the format by the way that they start the piece; the husband playing his music and the wife in the kitchen, they also end the piece in the same way. the advantages if this is that the film is unique to any other film and have the advatage to have played around with it, however i dont feel taht it could be an idea that we could use in our piece

Q4. What do you find intersting in the use of sound?
In this piece of film the only use of music is the jazz that is being played whilst the hisand and wife are having a roaw over the chip in the vase.
this really made me intrested in the film as all the beats of music match both the characters dialogue.

Q5. Themes and Issues and representation:
The film seems to be mainly about both couples fighting about the chiped vase. However because we are unable to hear what both are arguing about it and it could have drifted off of that topic.
I dont feel that it makes the auince take a particular view on the subject matter as it has used the music to depard us from the actual situation.
i feel if these would have been stereotype sit would have been couples taht are always fighting.

Research Task: "Wasp" Andrea Arnold 2003 - Priya Ahluwalia

Q1. Identify the Genre/s or style/s used:
The genre that was used in this piece was realism as the situation that the main character Zoe is going through tough time that people go through to a day to day life.
The loctaion and setting of the film is shown to be based around an esate where there are no jobs and people are low on money. You can also tell that these people are from a lower Background by the way that they have been dresses

Q2.how does this film use genre/ style conventions uniquely?
The film has used the genre uniquley as most of the scenes that they have taken have been with a hand held camera, making the audince feel like they are in the piece itself. As well as that the camera fame sizes also brigns the voewr closer to the chacter. Most of the shots that we see are of close up, this allows the facial expressions to be reveled.
The scene i feel that really drags the audince into the actual piece is when a wasp goes into the babies mouth. It keeps the audience intrested in the piece as they want to find out what happens next.

Q3. how does the film use the short film format?
The film has used the short film format very effectively as they told the audience the entire story through 10 mins of watching the film. As well as that they show the life style of the charcters and what life is like.
I feel that because this is a social issue, it could be used in our piece as we have decided it that it should be a realism piece

Q4. what do you find intresting about the use of sound?
The film does not use mich sounds however some sounds that they use can be effectively used. An example of this is when the smallest child is singing they have used this as sound. As well as that when Zoe is in the pub they have used music that is recogised by everyone.
My best music part would be at the end when the children and Zoe are in the Daves car and are driving off whilst the girls are singing "would you be my girl".

Q5. Themes and Issues and representation:
The themes and issue that is represented here class and status. In this film we see people that live on an esate and that they dont have enogh money to sport themseleves and feed their kids.
We see in the film when Zoe is on the phone to someone that she is trying to find some food around the kitchen but is unable to; she comes across some wrooten bread, showing that they are in need of some food. Another point that we understand that they are poor and in need of money is when Zoe is going through her purse and only has a few bits of change that will last her and her children for a small amoubt of time.
I feel that it does position that audience to take particular view on the subject matter as there are many people who dont have the advantages that we do.

Research Task: "Eight" Stephan Daldey 1998 - Priya Ahluwalia

Q1. Identify the genre/s or style/s used:
The genre of this short film is mainly based on a true story, the Hillsbrough where hundreds of football fans died. Making sure that the boys mum does not find out that he tries to play foot where ever he can.
in the beginning we see a boy shouting out his name and age. He states this a number of times before he begins to talk.
The setting of the film is mainly based near a beach as the young boy is mainly seen on the sandy beach and playing football.

Q2.How does the film use Genre/style Conventions Uniquely?
It uses the conventions uniquely as it shows the small boy trying to complete his dreams of becoming a football player, however his mother does not like that he plays football as she has lost her husband to the tragedy that took place.
in one of the scene in the film we see the boy and his friend carrying a net with bit of random things on it. The audience is confused with why he is carrying the net, at the end we find that he created a football pitch with all the bits and bobs.

Q3. How does the film use the short film format?
The film starts with the boy telling his story and taking the audience through his life .
It uses the short film format by attracting the audiences attention through the boys life and how he wants his dad. It creates the audience to wanting to give the boy a hug as he misses his dad.

Q4.What do you find interesting about the use of sound?
The film uses diegetic and non diegetic sound to create the right effect for the film.It enables the film to be realistic through the different uses of the sound.
One of the use of sound that I found very interesting was when the boy and his friend go to the seaside and they both make a football pitch, they then have a radio or piece of device were it plays sound of people cheering. This was unique as it showed that the boys ambition is to be a football player and he will achieve that one day.


Q5.Themes and Issue representation:
The film deals with the true story of the Hillsbourgh tragedy that took place in 1989. I feel that it shows how hard family members are finding it to come to terms with the tragedy, as the boy tries to imagine what his father might of been before he died and is also a fan of football but his mother does not like it.

Research Task: "Lou - Lou Lives Here" Hazel Grian 2003 ( Digital Short - British Film Council) - Priya Ahluwalia

Q1. Identify the Genre/s or styles used:
"Lou - Lou lives here" uses mystery as the main genre of the short film. This keeps the audience engaged in the piece as well as the audience thinking what will happen next. The piece is very dark and is shown to be in a dogs point of view, as dogs can only see things in black and white. The girl is seen to have a dark secret and is more than what meets the eye. The short film starts with a small girl in a frock laying on the ground in the country side, she sees a wound in her leg and decides to lick it, this behaviour can be linked to the behaviour of dogs making a link between the two. Sounds that they have used are very naturalist. When the film first starts you hear a plane flying over but the you don't actually see the plane itself, showing the country sides they have used birds flying over and making sounds.

Q2. How does the film use its Genre conventions uniquely?
The unique part of the film is that the representation of the dog is seen though a girl but with the point of view of the dog and with giving her all the personalities that a dog would have make the audience think. Example of this would be in the beginning when the girl sees a wound on her knee and decides to lick it, also in the end sequence you see the dog running home and there is a small dissolve with the girl running and then it goes back to the dog running.

Q3. How does the film use the short film format?
The narrative of the film is normally shown by the way that the film would structure itself. Such as in the beginning if the film would introduce the characters and give a hint of what the story would be, however in this piece it does not state what is going to be happening next as well as the audience still confused and asking questions whether the dog is the human girl or if the girl is the dog?

Q4. What do you find interesting about the use of sound?
The sounds are used to create a naturalistic feel as it makes the piece believable with the of use both diegetic and non diegetic sounds. They have used sound as the hawks flying as the setting is in the country side. Other sounds include the car coming to a stop, the heavy breathing of the girl and the helicopter flying above but it is not seen.

Q5. Themes and issues representation:
The main issue that was used in this short film was that young girls should not walk alone and that everyone has a dark secret that is not reviled unless it is necessary.

Research Task: Identifying ''Joy Ride 1995'' Jim Gillespie - Priya Ahluwalia

Q1. Identify the Genre/s or style/s used:
Joy ride is a short film that was made in 1995 by Gillespie. The film uses genres of thriller as well as using the aspects of action. This was shown by the way the main character is on his way home from work, whilst driving; he spots a person on lying on the floor, at this point the main character is not aware of what is going to happen next or what he is going to do.
The film moves very quickly as well as being very tense keeping the audience on an edge with short cliff hangers.
The mise en scene is used very carefully in order for the film to create its right effect. Using the establish shot shows the audience that he is in a remote area and no one seen. The dark lighting creating the effects of danger and showing the character has been called to inspect a remote electricity pylon. Once he finds the problem is minor he decides to head home. His clothing is formal and appropriate for the job that he does and is seen wearing a luminous yellow coloured jacket. The use of big close ups, enables us to see the facial expressions of the characters face. An example of this shot being used is when the victim is in the boot of the car, he is scared and worried that he may die.
The sounds applied in order for the film to achieve its objectives are diegetic as well as non- diegetic. Diegetic sound that have been used are when the victim is in the boot of the car and trying to escape as we can hear the thugs talking to each other and the victim struggling to escape. The setting of the film is in the UK in a town called Surrey, making it a local place and Making it a British film
The main themes and issues that have been used in the film are of joy riding; as the two thugs violently beat the victim put him in the boot of his own car and drive off.



Q2. How does the film use genre/style conventions uniquely?
I feel that the film has used a very good element of shock as you the audience and the main character himself does not know what is going to happen next as well as not knowing that the injured person on the floor has not actually been hurt. Making sure that they keep to the element of a thriller they have used the setting very carefully as the road that they have used is empty and no one is to be seen.
The scene that I found very inspired was the end scene where the victim ends up being in the same place where he started. The other interesting part of the story was that the victim was meant to die in one way or another. An example of this was when the victim is putted out of the boot and is head but one of the thugs with a knife towards his neck.

Q3. How does the film use the short film formate?
The film has used the short film formate in a unique way as the storyline is not clear as to why he was kidnapped as well as starting the film with the man who is not named in the film; coming to fix the fault in the electricity box and ending the piece where he started in the first place. As the film is fast paced everything happens quickly therefore the audience has no time to plan what will be happening next.

Q4. What do you find interesting about the use of sound?
The sound has been used very effectively as it shows realism within the piece itself. Such an example is when the character is in his car and listening to the radio and then you hear the sound of thunder and the rain falling on the car.
Using the music sound track at the back of the film create the suspense that needs to be created in the film. This mainly shown in the pace of the track itself as it shows how fast or slow the piece is running.

Q5. Themes and Issues Representation:
The main theme seems to be about riding other vulnerable peoples car for their own use of fun.
The social groups that are seen to be represented in the short film are lower class people. this is shown by the way that they are dressed as well as the way that they are speaking to one another.

Lessons Learnt From Foundation Portfolio

Looking back at my Foundation Portfoilo I can see that we did alot of filming in one day, making sure that we had enough time to edit the footage as well as adding sounds to it.
Looking at the peer evaluation I can see that the feedback that we got was positive as well as having a couple of negative bits.
The positive feedback that we got was that the diffrent variety of shots that we had used inorder for it to look like a thriller as well as keeping the audience intrested in the production. Another positive feedback that we got was for the editing that we did and the transitions that were used. such as the opening and closing of the bathroom door.
The main negative feedback that we got was for the shadow of a member of the group showing up in the picture that was placed behind the main character.
if I could go back and change some aspects of the production it would be the shadow in the picture. I feel that I as well as my group did not pay much attention to the background and focused more the main character and what her lines were.
therefore I have learnt that to make a good production you need to look at everything and not just the main character.