Textual Analysis: Film Poster 1

Within the 'Total Recall' film poster, the question 'WHAT IS REAL?' is situated within the centre of the frame; this implies that the audiences perception of reality is to be challenged within the film as well as having a sense of hyper-reality being a key concept within the plot.

This is reinforced through the man (also positioned in the centre of the frame) who appears to be disintergrating- the extreme pixelation of his silhouette allows the audience to infer a relationship between humans and technology.

The male is pressumably the main character in the film due to his size and positioning, however, through the colour of his clothing and his body language there is still a sense of mystery in which the character is unidentified.

The slight tilt of his head takes his facial features and expression away from the focus of the camera therefore alluding to something being concealed or hidden as his appearance/identity is not exposed.

The mise-en-scene adds to such mystery as the grey tones suggest some sort of destruction or decay. As well as this, the clothing/attire appears insignificant due to both colour and style, connoting an inconspicuous and somewhat concealed character.

The typography is sharp and bold, therefore alluding to the genre of an action film.

Film: First Draft

Looking at the progress I have made within my project so far allows me to identify many errors or things that need to be improved upon. This is my first (unfinished) draft of my short film; I am unsure of the sequencing of the clip and am yet to add audio/a backing track (of a royalty-free selection). Many of the clips need to be fit to the scale of the screen as they appear smaller than desired. As well as this, some colour correction is needed in one of my clips as there is a small blurry discolouration at the bottom of the screen that diverts attention and may be distracting if left there. I also need to add in layers of text including the facts and statistics I have discovered within my planning and research section of the coursework. The small amount of audio that I do have varies in volume which I need to fix, as well as trying to remove the extraneous sounds of the wind. So far my clips total up to roughly 3 minutes (out of the desired 5); however, I now have more clips to upload and add in to the sequence. Some of my clips were filmed horizontally and some vertically, resulting in the need to arrange a time to go out and reshoot them. I'm also looking into how to do create a 'rewind' effect; I have watched some tutorials but none that coincide with my own software or desired effect.

Survey Results

When looking into my target audience and the social groups most likely to view my product, I found it essential to question their gender. My results showed that the majority of those who responded were females; this influenced some of my decisions as I feel that I must now aim to appeal to a more masculine audience (having already gained the attention of female speculation). I will do so by including a male character/interviewee in which will hopefully feel more relatable to a male audience. I will also try to remain on track with the portrayal of homeless hardships rather than focusing on a 'sob story' that typically appeals to more female emotions.

By asking the target audience their age, this gave me an understanding of what content to include within my short film, e.g. due to the majority of respondents being within the age range of 15-20 and below, I know that I must not classify my film with anything above a 15 rating as this would result in the loss of half of my audience. I have chosen to rate my film as a PG as I want to enable as many different age categories as possible to watch my product; I am refraining from categorising it as a 'U' due to the fact that some of the plot may appear distressing or upsetting for younger and more vulnerable viewers, however none of the content will be explicit.

I found it to be quite interesting to find out whether my target audience preferred feature films or short films; the results showed that the majority of those who took part in the survey preferred feature films. I was not shocked by this outcome as I, myself, also prefer them in comparison to shorts. This is most likely due to the awareness surrounding feature films due to more prominent advertising and accessibility.

After finding out that feature films were more popular, I wanted to further understand why the survey participants selected this answer and whether or not I could apply these preferences within my own work. Unfortunately, due to my low budget and student status I am unable to glamorise my casting through the use of celebrity features; I am also unable to distribute my film through a cinematic industry, however plan to make it equally as accessible by sharing the link to my product via social networking and making sure the settings are set to 'public'. 

Having had very little experience with the consumption of short films myself, I decided to question whether my audience had watched any short films previously; it came to my attention that majority had, therefore informing me that they may be familiar with the typical codes and conventions. Just over 20% had never seen a short film before, which has inspired me to follow many of the traditional expectations of this form of media.

When ask what genre of short films they had previously watched, I found that documentary/educational style films were quite common; this means that I can continue with my chosen genre with confidence and feel more assured that it will appeal to my audience. 

I was also interested in seeing what technical aspects of short films appeared most appealing; I felt that I could build upon and therefore develop these areas in order to suit the interests of my audience. I found that the use of hidden meanings and inspirational/motivational messages were most dominant, therefore influencing my choice of narrative as I do not wish to introduce the main theme until the second half of the sequence. 

Due to wanting to make a documentary style film focusing on the topic of homeless, I decided that it would be beneficial to look into whether or not this topic would appeal to my audience. The results showed that both social media and homelessness were very popular topics of interest, therefore suggesting that my storyline (as shown via my storyboard) will engage the attention of the viewers.

Planning: Animatic

I created an animatic in order to help me envision my finished product. I felt that the audio worked well and helped to create the desired pace and mood of the text, however I will have to insert multiple keyframes within my actual product so that the dialect is understandable. I felt that my 'rewind' sound effect was very effective and plan to use the same effect within my final piece. As well as this, I felt that the order of shots and overall narrative structure of the product flowed well and was easy to follow. I did not insert text stills for my title sequence and my credits however I must add these to my final piece; by watching my animatic, I feel that my title should be featured mid film (in between clips) and should be followed by my credits, e.g. a documentary style film by Lily Sutherland.

Another factor that has been brought to my attention through this process is the lack of duration via time frames. I may choose to look into a variety of different charities and organisations and finish my film through promoting their cause, e.g. go to '________.co.uk to find out more'.

Script

Due to my short film being of a documentary/educational nature, I have chosen to base my script around facts and statistics of homelessness within London. If I had chosen a more narrative style of presentation, I would have looked into preparing a formal script including conversations between actors and their lines; however, I have chosen to look into a voice over (more of a narrator to follow the plot rather than actors that are present within the film). As well as this, I also plan to experiment with the interview technique, allowing me to prepare some questions I would like to ask the homeless.
These are the facts and statistics that I am considering to include within my short film:

• 7,500 people sleep rough in London every year.
• This statistic has gone up by 13% since last year.
• These people come from every walk of life and many of them want to find work.
• On average, homeless people die at just 47 years old, compared to the 81 years expected for the average UK citizen.
• 2/3 of rough sleepers said they have been insulted by members of the public.
• 1/10 said they had been urinated on.
• Homeless people are 13 times more likely to be a victim of violent crime than the general public.
• Homeless people are 47 times more likely to be a victim of theft.
• 86% reported some form of mental health issue, 44% of which are diagnosed in comparison to the 25% within the general public.
• 41% said they take drugs or are recovering from a drug problem.
• 27% said they have or are recovering from an alcohol problem.

I also wish to ask questions such as:

• How long have you been homeless?
• Have you ever been in care/in the social care system?
• Do you find the general public to be sympathetic of your situation?
• On average, how much money do you receive daily from the general public?
• How do you find the police's attitude towards you?
• Do shopkeepers ever refuse to serve you?

I am aware that some homeless individuals may not wish to be filmed, however I may use a voice over to repeat the answers that they gave me off camera. As well as this, I understand that some may not wish to speak/answer questions at all, and I must be respectful of this.

Shot List and Potential Soundtracks

POTENTIAL SOUNDTRACKS:
Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4

1) Push out zoom of Oxford Circus Station- 6 secs

2) Extreme close up of people's feet when rushing (emphasises busy street) - 5 secs

3) Pan shot of shop signs (designer, high street stores, up market etc) - 7 secs

4) Slo-mo of a red bus- iconic - 9 secs

5) Rewind (?) - 6 secs

6) Homeless clip

Planning: Storyboard

I want to begin my sequence by establishing the setting of London and put emphasis on the business of the area. I will go at a time when shoppers and tourists are at a peak (mid-day-5pm) in order to capture the consumerism that will later be contrasted with the poverty of a homeless man. Many documentaries contain an overview of the setting within the first half of the sequence, e.g. 'The Little Things'; this is done so that the audience feels a sense of familiarity throughout the film- I want to create a similar effect within my own product.

I will then insert a low angle clip of the bottom half of the public; this will zoom in on the feet and rapid movement of the shoppers as well as diverting attention to the high label brands seen on the bags of shoppers. 

This will be followed by a pan shot of nearby stores, brands and areas of consumer marketing in order to emphasise the superficiality of modern day society. Relating back to my AS research into iconography, signifiers such as London are often associated with things such as upper-class retail, tourism, buses etc, therefore creating the signified stereotype. I want to embrace such a stereotype in order to later knock it down with the reality of life 'beneath the cracks'.

The continuous tracking shots of London Buses will reinforce this sense of stereotype as they are often deemed to be iconic to the city of London; not only this, but I will attempt to do so in such a way that I can also capture footage of the passengers as the bus passes- this will allude to people watching and make the product appear more relatable. 

The use of the rewind will act as my technical volta throughout the sequence; this means that it will imply a change in tone or narrative. The rewind will be significant of the disequilibrium that is about to be introduced; as well as this, it will also increase the pace of the sequence, therefore building feelings of suspense from the audience.

Finally, my last clips will include footage of the homeless, therefore having a direct impact on the audience as they are emotionally aroused to feel sympathetic towards those less fortunate. I am unsure as to whether or not I am going to use a script or use a more natural interview technique, however I have decided that it is essential to have majority of this screen time focusing on just the one character. Out of all the short-films I looked at not one consisted of more than 3 characters, instead they tried to follow the story of one role central to the narrative (which is what I hope to do also). This may be because having multiple characters is distracting to the story line and would therefore divert the audience's attention away from the meaning behind my product; I do not want my audience to feel disengaged due to having to keep up with multiple personas.