I have chosen to film my project in the more populated shopping areas of London. I have chosen to do so because I felt it would be effective in order to present a direct comparison into the lives of the middle class shoppers in contrast to those who don't have a home nor a safe place to sleep. The crowding and the heavily populated streets of London will help me to convey the idea that people are subconsciously consumed by their own lives and often forget to sympathise with those less fortunate.
As well as this, the consumerist atmosphere created by the variety of high street stores will allow me to present the juxtaposing lifestyles. I will go between shots of homelessness on the streets of London to clips of people hurrying past with bags of retail shopping. I am hoping to get shots of people walking past the homeless and refusing to donate spare change towards food/shelter, however, able to buy themselves something that is unnecessary such as the latest fashion/trends.
Through my research and my textual analysis of short films and documentaries, I have learnt many things about the expected codes and conventions present, both through the visual and technical aspects of film.
All of the short films and documentary style films that I looked at consisted of no more than 1-3 characters that were central to the nature of the plot. This may be due to the lack of screen time, as there is not enough time to introduce more than 3 characters who each have relevance to the storyline without it becoming confusing for the audience. The less characters there are, the easier it is for the audience to engage in following their individual story/influence. I plan to follow this convention within my own work, however this may be jeaopordised if I choose to go through with the interview idea; if so, I will develop upon this convention and include the use of a voice over to read facts throughout- this way the audience is following the voice of one person through audio even though they may be following the stories of multiple people visually.
Subtitles appear to be very common within the documentary genre, as seen in 'Right to Education'; many documentaries focus on the stories of real-life people and their experiences, therefore it is essential that this can be followed and understood by the audience. If the audio appears difficult to interpret, this must be clarified via the use of on screen text. As well as assisting the audience's understanding of the narrative, this also causes audience's to engage with the product more actively, as they would be reading the information for themselves rather than being handed the information passively. I am hoping that my own audio will consist of a certain level of clarity to which subtitles are not needed, however I may wish to include them regardless to ensure the active engagement of the audience.
Establishing shots are very common within the short film industry, most likely because there is not enoough time to introduce and develop upon the setting over time. The setting is therefore emphasised near the beginning of the sequence in order to create a sense of familiarity between the audience and their on screen surroundings. Due to my own product being featured around the streets of London, I feel it to be essential that I highlight the importance of my setting through multiple establishing shots.
The documentary style short film 'Right to Education' begins with a countdown to open the sequence; this is featured on a blank screen rather than on top of the action footage. It also features the title, director, D.O.P and stills, and editing and music credits. This is most likely done on a blank screen in order to make sure that the audience is not distracted by ongoing background footage, encouraging them to read the acknowledgements without having their attention diverted. This is also done later on when introducing the title sequence.
The audio is introduced first, with no footage or interlinking action to assist the audience's understanding; this soon becomes diegetic sound as we are introduced to the first few clips, allowing the audience to view the source of the audio.
There is a consistent use of close-ups and extreme close-ups throughout in order to emphasise aspects of the narrative, e.g. zoomed in clips of text books and children learning. Many shots are also filmed using a hand-held device as they appear shakey and unstable; I found this technique to be very effective in creating a sense of realism and plan to do so within my own work.
The use of subtitles is also of great significance within this style of film, as the scripted speech is sometimes hard to hear and/or understand. Due to the deeper meaning behind the documentary, it is essential that the audience can follow the narrative in order to achieve the desired response (in this case, sympathy and enlightenment). It can also be said that due to this issue being of great controversy worldwide, the language barriers must also be excluded in order for various audiences to engage with the text (e.g. different cultures, ethnicities and countries).
The teacher is the first key role that is introduced into the sequence; this can be inferred from the amount of screen time dedicated to her character, as well as the fact that she speaks throughout. As the children walk up to the teachers desk to recieve their test scores, emphasis is put on one child in particular, suggesting that he too, is a key role within the narrative. This is done through the use of a tracking shot which follows his travel from his own desk, to the teachers; as well as this, this boy is the only child in which the teacher speaks to directly and gives a name (Kumar).
There is then a volta mid way through this clip as the film changes tone and introduces the second half of the narrative. It appears that the boy was daydreaming and that the illusion of school was just that- an illusion. This creates a sense of disequilibrium as the happy balance felt throughout has been disturbed. The audio becomes distorted and the visual clarity is disrupted in order to represent his confusion. As the reality is introduced, the editing changes from colour to black and white (greyscale) to present the bleakness.
This is the end of the action footage, however the short film is concluded with multiple facts appearing on a blank screen. There is eventually a voice-over that reads out the text that appears on screen, however this may cause the audience to be more passive in their engagement as the do not have to actively read for themselves.
This is a documentary style short film focusing on the life of an eight year old girl called Ella. The sequence opens with an extreme close-up of the little girl assumed to be Ella herself. The backing audio track is very upbeat music creates an uplifting atmosphere/positive mood. This is then followed by multiple sceneric shots that establish the setting as well as having connotations of happiness also, e.g. the extreme close-ups of flowers are associated with summer and the joy that it brings. As the music is quite fast paced and upbeat, the footage consists of multiple short clips that follow one another to portray the everyday adventures life of Ella. Although the audience is not yet aware of her name, it is evident that she is the main focus of the documentary due to her prolonged screen time and consistent presence throughout.
Much like many other documentaries (and short films of other genres), the use of a hand held device causes the film to appear very realistic and therefore more emotionally arousing; if the audience feels they are a part of the narrative, they are more likely to actively engage themselves within the text.
The backing track comes to a halt at about 1 minute into the sequence, as the narrative changes in tone and becomes more formal and less idealistic. We are then introduced to Ella herself as she speaks directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall and addressing the camera through her speech; another backing track is then added which is much faster in pace and higher in pitch, appearing more fun and somewhat childlike.
Ella then introduces the audience to her siblings and they too are featured on screen through the insertion of photographs and home videos; these are interlinked through a white fade in order to ensure continuity throughout.
At times it is difficult to understand what is being said by the other siblings, however it can be inferred that due to the documentary focus on Ella, this is not of great importance to the plot nor the audience's interpretation.
The credits and the title sequence appear on a black screen, most likely because it would obstruct the image and be hardly legible against the brightness of the footage if placed over action.
