Camera Shots Within The Forest Notes

Conventions Of Short Films That I Have Watched

The Squirrel

The Squirrel

Initial Idea

The idea of having the protagonist hunting killing eating an animal whilst in the forest has been an idea that I wanted to develop into the plot from the beginning due to believing that there would be a sense of ‘dark’ humour about it which is the tone I wanted to set for the entire short film. The idea came from the fact that the woods where it will be filmed is known to have squirrels living there. I found some inspiration from the novel ‘Lord Of The Flies’ by William Golding. This was taken from the idea behind having a pigs head stuck on a pole as a sacrifice for what the boys on the island believe to be a ‘beast.’ Of course instead of having a pigs head it would simply be a small paper mache’ squirrels skull acting as an homage to Golding’s book. This would come into play once the protagonist (Jack) started to go insane and start ‘killing’ squirrels for fun. However this idea was changed due to time limitations.

Second Idea

The second idea involved not calling attention to the squirrel at all and just having a more subtle homage to ‘Lord Of The Flies’ with the squirrels paper mache’ skull placed on a twig in the background which was suggested to me could be coupled with the use of having Jack take a ‘conch shell’ with him or  perhaps he should trip over one and have it flash up on the camera if even for a moment. (The conch shell also featuring as a powerful symbol in Lord Of The Flies.)

However this idea was discontinued as I wanted the protagonist to focus more on the aspect of having to fend for himself and actually catch a squirrel and demonstrate how incapable he is at finding anything worth eating.

Final Idea

As now I had a clear indication of what I wanted to achieve with the squirrel all that was left was finding out how to make it. Fortunately I had access to clay at the time and so decided to fashion a squirrel prop out of clay. this resulted in a full size squirrel moulded onto a stick so that the protagonist could slowly and ineffectively turn the squirrel over a fire. The fur is made out of a fake material from a nearby scrap store that looks a lot like real animal fur. I was able to glue the fake animal fur onto the clay squirrel to make it look more realistic. I also decided to singe the fur beforehand so that it appears that the protagonist has been attempting to cook the squirrel for a while.

I think that the audience will find some form of humour through the concept of this prop and the way in which the protagonist ineffectively attempting to cook and eat it.

Why Do We Like Short Films?

After reviewing several different websites as to the reason why and what type of people will watch short films I found that there were several points that seemed to appear as more prominent than others. These included:

 Ø Social Media

 Ø Actors

 Ø Budget

Social Media

Many sources collaborated on the effect of social media on short films. They stated how before social media short films could only really be seen at festivals or in a select few cinemas. This changed however when it became accessible for people of all ages to browse the web on social networking sites or ‘YouTube’ and quickly and freely watch nearly whatever short they want to. In relation to my short film I was hoping to have it published on some social networking site should my actors be in agreement. This also informs me that probably the biggest audience for short films will be those between the ages of 15-19 years of age. Therefore any references that I might include within my short film to anything 2000 or before will have to be made obvious so that the younger generation will understand it. For example I was considering putting in a reference to William Golding’s ‘The Lord Of The Flies.’ I have only heard of this novel through school whereas others may have not heard of it at all. Therefore if I were to pay homage to the novel I would have to make sure that it stands out instead of being hidden away to those who might misinterpret it as something else. Social Media is said to have been the biggest change to short films as it allowed actors to demonstrate their skill in a quick, cheap and effective way.

Actors

Another reason for why short films are worthwhile was considered to be due to the cheap and effective way in which actors can publish their work on screen for people to see while also stay in work. As well as this it also demonstrates to any employer that they have actively searched for a role to play and have built up a portfolio of the short films that they have been in. likewise short films could also be used for people who want to get into the acting business but however cannot start out in any major role. For my production the leading role is going to be played by a drama student whom I know would want to start building a portfolio of the various drama work he has done.

Budget

One more common agreement on the effect of short films was the idea that the budget to make such a short film was relatively small compared to that of a feature length Hollywood film. This being the case short films can be created in a month, week or even an afternoon compared to the months or even years it might take a film with a large budget and cast to do. Because of this many small time directors and actors can produce short films of their own ideas that they would not have been able to produce on the big screen. As well as this big Hollywood directors and actors might also create short films as a way of staying in the business between bigger budgeted movies. 

Uses And Gratification Within My Project

Uses and gratification within my project

The uses and gratification theory focuses more to do with what the audience does with media rather than what media does to the audience (Katz 1959.) It assumes that the audience is not passive and instead attempts to take in what media is given to them and actively integrate it into their own lives to gratify a certain need. In this sense my short film must have a pull factor that makes the audience want to watch it. It is theorized that there are five different reasons why an audience uses media texts to gratify their needs:

  1.    Escapism-

This is where the audience chooses to use media texts to distract them from everyday life usually through enjoyment.

  2.    Information-

The audience actively looks at media texts as to ascertain new information.

  3.    Identify-

The audience recognises similarities between the media text and their own lives, or perhaps notices the role model of which they aspire to be like.

  4.    Sexual stimulation-

Where the audience finds sexual arousal through the chosen media text.

  5.    Social interaction-

The ability for the media text to spark debates and to produce a topic of conversation.

I believe that within my short film the main influence that will hopefully cause people to watch it is that the audience will identify with the text. This is mainly due to the text being focused towards the younger generation (ages 13-18) which is coupled with the fact that the protagonist himself is currently in a secondary school which will also apply to the younger generation as it may mimic their experiences with everyday life.

Due of the only recent development of social media the younger generation will have grown up in a atmosphere where using social media would be the 'norm.' Therefore most of the younger generation will use social media to view media texts much like my short film. This also means that ‘uses and gratification’ of media texts is changing due to the release of new social media based software such as ‘YouTube’, ‘Twitter’ and ‘Facebook.’ Through these social networking sites it is now possible to ‘share’ a picture, video, news article etc. with friends and family at a moment’s notice. This has dramatically changed the way in which short films are viewed as before the only people who would really watch them were those who actively went to short film festivals or specific movie screenings.

As well as this I believe that my audience will find some form of escapism through the use of my short film. This will mainly be due to the comedic nature of the short film as well as the, hopefully, interesting plot line. However it is also possible that my short film will also invoke 'social interaction' through the medium of the character of Jack. The topics that arise concerning the character of Jack may be how he is treated, how parenting has changed or even how the media today is influencing this generation (for example Jack wants to be just like Bear Grylls and attempts to mimic these actions from watching his shows.) However in reference to the 'reception theory of media texts it can be argued that my short film can be interpreted in many different ways depending on how the text is received by the viewer.

However I would also like to portray a message to the audience  through the medium of 'Jack' the protagonist. I will hopefully accomplish this by giving a sense of inspiration through the determination of Jacks character and the way in which, although not knowing anything about it, he still attempts what he loves doing.

Short Film Questionnaire

This is the questionnaire that I will be sending out to family and friends as to get an assumption of who my target audience will be while also ascertaining how often said target audience watches short films.

Props That Are Needed

Scene Ideas

Scene ideas

Definite:

·      Showing a gradual decline in mental state and appearance

·      hunting

·      attempting to make a shelter

·      he goes missing

·      His only knowledge of survival is from watching T.V

·      He tries to make a fire

·      There is an interview with family and ‘friends.’

·      Doing it all for attention

Possibly:

·      Fishing rod- (when there is no water.)

·      Finding a cave- (could be linked to building a shelter.)

·      Burger wrapper on his shoe

·      Interview with him about his ‘inventions.’

Ending:

·      He attacks the camera man (goes feral.)

Forest Video Scenes

•          Proud explorer pose, Head & Shoulders shot from tilted angle
•          Walking through forest, long shot as he comes along path and past camera
•          Sitting talking to camera whilst eating - medium-shot sat on log

Indoor Scenes

•             Mum and dad interviewed, medium-shot sat on sofa
•      Protagonist leading the cameraman through the equipment he will be taking with him

School scenes

•   School friends talking about him, medium-shot / close-up
•    Teacher interview

Costume Prices

Location Ideas

Film Titles