New Montage Idea

In todays lesson, we came across this love montage of a couple from the Disney movie 'Up'.
This relates to our short film idea as the characters consist of a geeky male and a fiesty female.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmZp_v7WN3o

We will use similar shots for our short film such as:
- a high angle shot of the two characters laying on the grass
- the female character helping to dress the geeky male

Updated ideas

We have come up with the songs we will like to use in our short film:

Spin Doctors - Two Princes:
This song will be played in the opening scene where it shows the geeky boy doing his daily routine.

Accidentally in love - Counting Crows:
This will be played throughout the montage to show them falling in love.

Eric Carmen - All by myself:
This will be played in the closing scene when the boy is crying.

Audience Feedback - Focus Group

Audience feedback (Focus Group)

“That’s something I’d watch”

“I really like the montage idea”

Actor shouldn’t be a stereotypical nerd

 

 

 

 

 

 

It should be a modern geek (bag hanging off shoulders, cuffed track suit bottoms, football trainers)

Treatment

Treatment

Genre:

Romantic comedy

Short summary:

This short film shows the journey of an unpopular boy who likes a popular girl. It shows them separately in their everyday lives to show the contrast between the two characters. One day she drops a comic book (which he is majorly into), he picks it up and gives it to her and this is when their love story begins. He offers to take her to get a new comic coming out. They meet up and the montage starts, showing them getting along and slowly starting to fall for each other. He finally pulls up enough courage to invite her to his house, she sees her scarf in his room and gets freaked out and leaves. He runs out in tears trying to find her when he sees a geeky girl in the distance.

Which professional film inspired you and how:

I think the main professional film that has inspired our idea is the Shrek film, particularly the Shrek and Fiona montage of them slowly but surely falling in love. The use of camera angles and how they were used were very effective. For example, the use of the long shot shows both Shrek and Fiona in their individual environments to show the difference in their lifestyles. Also, the use of the shot reverse shot shows them having a conversation for the first time and the use of the extreme close up shows their emotions and facial expressions. The romantic music that plays during the montage implies they are falling in love as the title suggests ‘Accidentally falling in love’ by Counting Crows.

What makes your idea different?

Our film idea is different as it is very unlikely that you see an unpopular boy with a popular girl so to show them getting along is unusual. Secondly, this gives hope to other geeky boys out there who like a girl who is out of their league, this may give them the confidence to talk to someone they wouldn’t normally speak to. Another thing that makes our idea different is that we normally see a happy ending and after the montage of them getting along, the audience start to believe that the unpopular boy will get with the popular girl. The audience get emotionally involved and just want him to be happy, so almost urge him on. However, this does not happen. Unfortunately the unpopular boy does not get with the popular girl, which is what will probably happen in real life, so our story line is both realistic and believable.

Audience:

Our short film is primarily targeted at individuals who enjoy rom coms, but also at young individuals at college/school who have teenage crushes.

Length:

The length of our short film will be no longer than 5 minutes.

Logistics and feasibility:

Our short film will include three characters, an unpopular boy, a popular girl and a geeky girl. We will hold auditions and ask around for people interested to play these roles. We will be using two props, a comic book and a scarf. The scarf will be provided by one of our group members and the comic book will need to be brought either online or from a comic book store.

Any ethical issues:

The only ethical issue that may arise is if our actors are under the age of 18, in that case we will need to ask for parental permission to film the child. The locations we are going to use are a library, train station (Stratford) and a retail store changing room (Westfield Top Man). We may need to ask for permission to film in these locations but this can easily be done with a letter from college and a phone call.

Where your film would be screened/distributed:

YouTube

Case Study 3

Case study 3: Shrek and Fiona

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF7usQXbbJo

My third case study is Shrek a 2001 American animated comedy directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson. In this film, Shrek is sent to rescue Princess Fiona, who is waiting for her one true love. The film is shot in animation which is appropriate as the target audience is young children and families. The narrative structure is linear which makes it easy for young watchers to comprehend what is being said. The clip focuses on two main characters, Shrek and Fiona, and they are both represented in different ways. It begins with a long shot showing both Shrek and Fiona in their own environments. Shrek has dull furniture and is dressed in what seems like rags which suggests he lives a simplistic ogre lifestyle. In contrast, Fiona has grand furniture filled with colour and life. This is ironic as she is eating alone. She is also dressed in a white gown. The colour white connotes innocence and purity as she is waiting to be rescued from a tower. The theme of loneliness is explored in this film as Shrek and Fiona are very lonely characters.

The clip I have chosen is almost like a montage of their rocky relationship. The shallow depth of field is used to blur out Fiona in the background and focus the camera on Shrek. The close up of Shrek shows he is hurt and upset by his facial expressions, when Fiona leaves with another prince. However, when she returns she wants to be woken by a fairytale kiss but instead he shakes her. This connotes they both have very different viewpoints about love and romance. The long shot shows the empty surrounding area implying that Shrek has left; Fiona comes out and looks disappointed as she looks around in hope to find him. We then see a montage of clips of Fiona and Shrek slowly but surely falling in love with each other. This includes them play fighting and giggling together. They then argue. Their relationship is like a roller coaster, they go through their ups and downs. In my short film I will use a similar idea of a montage of a nerdy boy and popular girl falling in love. I will also use long shots to show them in their everyday lives to show the big contrast. 

Case Study 2

Case study 2: 10 things I hate about you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWmjzCZr0Jw

My second case study is 10 Things I Hate About You, directed by Gil Junger, a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film. In this clip we see new student Cameron being shown around the school by Michael who will soon become his best friend. During his tour Cameron sees Bianca, a beautiful popular girl who isn’t allowed to date. She is way out of his league but he embarks on a journey to get closer to her. The target audience is teenagers as the film is shot in a high school which consists of live action throughout. A Linear narrative structure is used and each character has a different dialect which helps portray the type of person they are. For example, Kat would talk a lot about women’s rights and frowns upon many boys which suggest she is a feminist. In contrast, Joey would constantly talk about how good looking he is and his modelling career which implies he is self-centred and arrogant.

The main theme explored in this film is love and the different types of love. For example, Cameron and Bianca share that stereotypical puppy love where Cameron is head over heels in love with Bianca. This is shown through the medium long shot as Bianca walks past with her friend and Cameron is in the background staring at her in amazement. Another type of love shown in this film is the type that Kat and Patrick share, this love hate relationship. The use of shot reverse shot shows them having a conversation but Kat’s facial expressions make it clear that she is not interested.

Characters in the film are represented in a true light as their image matches up to their personalities. Bianca is a popular girl who is always on trend wearing bright clothing to show her bubbly persona. She is different to most popular girls as she is friendly and not afraid to make friends with ‘unpopular’ people. This is shown through a long shot when she is walking through the corridor and smiles and Cameron, suggesting she is friendly.  Kat on the other hand often dresses in dark full grunge like clothing; and is rebellious as she gets sent out of class. Kat’s character challenges the stereotypes of girls in high school and this is shown through a long shot of a car filled with girls giggling listening to pop music, when Kat’s car pulls up, loud indie music blasts as she stares with a moody face. Many girls in high school look forward to social events such as prom whereas Kat is seen as anti social when she rips down the poster for prom. When talking about romance in class, Kat interrupts and gives her opinion on men and romance. It is made clear from the beginning that she is a feminist and has very strong opinions. Cameron is a shy new student who is well mannered and casually dressed like a stereotypical teenager in jeans and a shirt. The eye match shot shows contrast between Patrick and Cameron as it shows one character with confidence and one without. Michael is Cameron’s nerdy friend who is wearing a buttoned up shirt and laughs at his own jokes which suggest he is not funny at all and is actually quite lame.  

The teachers in the school are represented in an unethical way as they use lexis such as “shit”, “bitch” and “pissing me off”. The use of informal language suggests teachers in this high school do not take their jobs very seriously. The head teacher is smartly dressed in a suit and pearls, however her unprofessional behaviour and informal language does not match her appearance as she does not act like a stereotypical teacher. This connotes the school is dysfunctional. As Michael is giving Cameron the tour he spots Bianca. The background noise of students talking amongst themselves stops and non diegetic sound which is relevant to the audience begins to play. Slow soothing music starts as Cameron says “oh my god” and begins to follow Bianca. He stutters when he talks about her beauty, almost like love at first sight. The use of the medium long shot shows two cool boys (Joey and his friend) in contrast to two nerdy boys (Michael and Cameron) and the popular girls are in the middle. This implies they are in a love triangle. The idea I can take from this film and use in my own is the ending where the quiet boy finally gets to be with the popular girl. I could also use the camera angles where by the nerdy boy is gazing at the popular girl from a distance. 

Case Study 1

Case study 1: Ben and Jackie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BK4itJCfX8

I have chosen three case studies that related to my film idea in terms of genre and style.  My first case study is Ben and Jackie, directed by Jason Wingard, a romantic comedy about a taxi driver in love with a passenger that he takes shopping every Monday. This short film was made for the reed film competition in 2011. The short film is in live action and follows a very simple storyline which makes it easy for the audience to comprehend what is going on.  This is primarily targeted at middle aged men who have been rejected by someone they like. However, it could be targeted at a variety of individuals who just generally hate Mondays, such as teenagers.

The themes of this short film are love and loneliness. These themes are easy to relate to and many individuals can re-count similar memories to this situation.  The theme of love is explored through the slow cutting rate when Ben and Jackie are waving at each other and the use of non-diegetic sound creates a romantic mood and loving atmosphere. Non-diegetic sound is a sound track or beat that is relevant to the audience. In this case the romantic music sets a calm soothing mood. In contrast, the theme of loneliness is portrayed through the long shot at the end of the clip which shows the surrounding area. There is a clear road with the cab driving away. The car driving away is symbolic as it suggests Jackie is driving out of his life as she has a boyfriend.

The characters used in this short film are very stereotypical and live up to their label. For example, the young Muslim is an archetype boy who is angry with the world, as he thinks the cab driver is racist. We can tell he is from Manchester by his accent and he is a young Muslim by his clothing, such as his Taliban scarf and Islamic hat.  The main character, Ben, is represented as a typical cab driver. A middle aged man who doesn’t take too much pride in his appearance and just wants to fall in love. The long shot at the beginning of the film shows Ben standing next to his car; this also connotes loneliness, as it is just him and his car in the shot. He is dressed in dull coloured clothing and seems to look the same in every shot. The use of the medium long shot when the camera is looking through the windscreen makes the audience feel as though they are in the car with Ben.  We sense that he does not have very much confidence as conversation is limited and boring when he is around Jackie. The close up of the flowers and the price connotes he is cheap and not very popular with the ladies. He buys her budget flowers and says, “I might get a shag out of it” which makes us question whether he is making an effort because he really likes her or is he just looking for a bit of fun. This could also suggest he is acting like an archetypal slobbish male who just sees women as a sex object and does not really care about finding love.

The shot where the close up of Jackie’s face is frozen for a few seconds helps to emphasize her beauty and how much Ben admires her. She is smiling which shows the contrast of how happy she is and how unhappy and miserable Ben’s life is. The shallow depth of field is used when Jackie is going to ASDA as it is blurred and Ben’s face is in focus which draws the audience’s attention to him watching her and hoping he could spend more time with her. The use of the voice over (diegetic sound) helps create a narrative structure. It creates a stream of consciousness and the audience can see what he really feels. From this short film I could take the idea of a boy who doesn’t have very much self-confidence wanting to be with a beautiful popular girl. I would incorporate some of the camera angles and editing techniques to help emphasize the boy’s depressing life in contrast to the girl’s outgoing life. I could use the shallow depth of field technique when showing my character to make the audience focus on him and his lifestyle. I am also going to use a similar narrative, a voice over. 

Updated Film Ideas

In today's lesson, we made some changes to our film idea.
We came up with a clear structure to show the beginning, middle and end of our film.

Activities they do together:

-          Playing chess

-          Reading a comic

-          Take him shopping (changing rooms, trying on different outfits)

Boy’s everyday life:

-          Wearing the same thing every day (doesn’t take pride in his appearance)

Girl’s everyday life:

-          Getting ready (takes pride in her appearance)

Beginning

-          Shows their everyday lives

-          Boy waking up and doing his morning routine

(Doings weights, practising how to talk to her in the mirror, flicking through her Facebook pictures, look at watch, running late to stalk her)

-          Goes to the station

-          Beautiful Girl walking past every day in a different outfit 

Middle

-          Montage of them getting along

-          Music: Accidentally in love - Counting Crows

End

-         He invites her round to his house; she sees her scarf in his room gets freaked out and leaves. He gets upset, looks up and sees geeky girl

Today's Ideas

Case studies

Case study 1: Ben and Jackie

Case study 2: 10 things I hate about you

Case study 3: Geek charming

Case study 4: I love you Beth Cooper



Film ideas:

Beauty and the Geek

- First person voice over with a stream of consciousness

(Man in busy area, background fast cutting rate, him doing a voice over)

-          Show him in his everyday life

(Doings weights, flicking through her Facebook pictures, look at watch, running late to stalk her)

-          Beautiful Girl walking past every day in a different outfit  

-          Geeky guy watching her at station

-          Rewind to her everyday life

(Getting ready, going shopping)

-          Girl walking to station  

My Production Schedule

Wk. 1	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
10/09/12		Brainstorm ideas for a short film	Complete short film task in groups – experiment with camera and different shots .e.g. shot reverse shot	Hand in production schedule	Start work on case studies
Wk. 2	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
17/09/12				Hand in case studies	Start writing up a treatment – a rough plan
Wk. 3	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
24/09/12	Hand in treatment		Focus group – get audience feedback on treatment and idea
Wk. 4	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
01/10/12	Focus groups/ pitch will take place here	Write up an evaluation of the audience feedback		Hand in evaluation of the audience feedback including any changes if necessary
Wk. 5	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
08/10/12			Create a detailed storyboard – to help visualise the action
Wk. 6	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
15/10/12	Hand in pre production documents				Start planning locations and equipment needed for the first week of shooting
Wk. 7	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
22/10/12	Week 1 of shooting:	Attempt to film main clips on this week
Wk. 8	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
29/10/12	Week 2 of shooting:	Use this week as a back up to re film any clips or create new ones
Wk. 9	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
05/11/12	Week 3 of shooting:	Take some pictures with a still camera to include in the poster and review
Wk. 10	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
12/11/12	Finish filming	Book times with technicians to edit the short film			Create a tape log – list of clips and the order in which they appear
Wk.11	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
19/11/12	Week 1 of editing:	Use this week primarily to edit
Wk. 12	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
26/11/12					Deadline for editing
Wk. 13	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
03/12/12	Week 1 of research and planning the film poster and magazine review page:	Case studies		Produce mock ups of film poster and review
Wk. 14	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
10/12/12		Pitch print ideas to class and teacher	Record and evaluate any feedback and place on blog site	Make any changes if necessary	Hand in research and planning
Wk. 15	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
17/12/12
Wk. 16	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
24/12/12	Produce a photography call sheet
Wk. 17	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
31/12/12		Produce two print artefacts
Wk. 18	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
07/01/13					All photography needs to be complete before this date
Wk. 19	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
14/01/13					Hand in document containing print screens to show my progress
Wk. 20	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
21/01/13	Post production focus groups:	Present short film to target audience, gain feedback, evaluate and place on blog site
Wk. 21	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
28/01/13		Begin to plan and script the directors commentary and extras DVD		Write up a draft copy of the answers to the four questions	Get a teacher to read over and make any changes if necessary
Wk. 22	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
04/02/13	Week 1 of voice recording for evaluation:	Start recording voice over script
Wk. 23	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
11/02/13		Continue to constantly blog my progress on blog site
Wk. 24	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
18/02/13	Edit the directors commentary and extras DVD		Upload these two documents to blog site
Wk. 25	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
25/02/13
Wk. 26	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
04/03/13	Hand in final evaluation