The Short Film Context Part V: Exhibition: Festivals

Bibliography:

World's Top Short Film Festivals (February 2016) [ONLINE] Available at:  http://www.raindance.org/worlds-top-short-film-festivals/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

Working with the Industry (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.thefilmnetwork.co.uk/partnerships

http://raindancefestival.org/submissions-2016/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

Submissions for the 14th London Short Film Festival (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at:  http://shortfilms.org.uk/lsff14/submissions (accessed 30th June 2016)

LSFF Awards 2016 (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://shortfilms.org.uk/lsff13/awards (accessed 30th June 2016)

The Story so Far (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://shortfilms.org.uk/about/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

EIFF 2016 (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/2016 (accessed 30th June 2016)

About (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/about-the-festival (accessed 30th June 2016)

Submit Now (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.maniff.com/submit/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

Encounters (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://encounters-festival.org.uk/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

Submit a Film (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://encounters-festival.org.uk/submit-a-film/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

About us (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://encounters-festival.org.uk/about-us/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

Supporters (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://encounters-festival.org.uk/our-community-2/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

Leeds International Film Festival (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.leedsfilm.com/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

LIFF30 Submissions (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.leedsfilm.com/enteryourfilm/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

Leeds Young Film Festival (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://leedsyoungfilm.com/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

LIFF29 Partners (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.leedsfilm.com/partners/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

Submit (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.asff.co.uk/submit/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

Awards at ASFF (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.asff.co.uk/awards/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

BFI London Film Festival (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff (accessed 30th June 2016)

Film Programme (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

BFI London Film Festival Announces 2016 Dates (27th June 2016) [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/bfi-london-film-festival-announces-2016-dates-major-new (accessed 30th June 2016)

Soho Shorts (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: https://sohoshorts.me/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

About (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: https://sohoshorts.me/about/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

Future Shorts (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.futureshorts.com  (accessed 30th June 2016)

About  (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.futureshorts.com/about.html (accessed 30th June 2016)

Manhattan Short  (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.manhattanshort.com/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

Information  (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.manhattanshort.com/information.html (accessed 30th June 2016)

Sponsor/Advertise  (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.manhattanshort.com/sponsor-advertise-at-festival.html (accessed 30th June 2016)

The Short List Film Festival  (n.d) [ONLINE] Available at: http://shortlistfilmfestival.com/ (accessed 30th June 2016)

The Script: Marilyn Milgrom

The following Prezi includes information summarised from The Script, an article written by Marilyn Milgrom, who has many years experience in script consultancy.

Notes: Antonio's Breakfast

Antonio’s Breakfast

Director: Daniel Mulloy

Issues: Great responsibility, Disability (representation), Illness, Lack of childhood, Low economic status (representation) , Neglect, mental health, isolations, care

Themes: Maturity, Responsibility, Freedom/Incarceration

Textual analysis: Camera, Sound, Editing, Mise-en-scene

Sound of machine mimicking breathing already suggests health implications

Uncomfortable beeping sound allows audience to empathise with the person, especially along with extreme close up seeing the eyes and how they portray his feeling.

Might link to issue of responsibility and care as he is not able to look after himself. 

Close ups also, might suggest it’s a huge part of life, unavoidable – also suggests how close the relationship is between the two

Close ups also emphasise the attention paid to details

Mise en scene, a little random and fairly basic- also brown/dirty in colour so can suggest low economic status from the start

The noise from the machine contrasts to the sound in the other room, where there is a fish tank, and the boy is eating breakfast on the couch.

Colour scheme/lighting changes from darker monochromatic colours to warmer tones when they are together

The fish connotes life. As it is in a tanks it is incarcerated. The boy is a carer and this might be how he feels.

Emphasised diegetic sounds that suggests closeness.

Long takes mixed with quick cuts shows the long process.

Shot of three male characters standing in silence, one is watching as one is being dragged/moving away.

Parallel editing or cross cutting

Parallel- creates tension

Crosscutting- creates abstract connection between two or more different scenes

Low key lighting with dark colours along with dark clothing- a bit funeral like?

Danger implied through graffiti’d wall and trees that resemble barbed wire

Both the woman and the group of males are seen through the glass

She is an older woman and so this might reflect upon her views and experiences of segregation

Alpha male status is confirmed when they let him through the door

Notes: Stripes

Stripes (2003)

Producer: Doug Holloway

Writer/Director: Sean Spencer

Red writing connotes blood and danger

Lettering is spaced out – already themes of isolation

Sound- loud and uncomfortable, deep, gritty and hollow

Storyline revolves around bullying, people want to know because they can relate to school bullying

It is interesting because it makes the audience see both sides and raises awareness of issue

The tension is playing out in a narrative sense- the two characters are involved in violent behaviour

Want to know why the behaviour is justified

Notes: Who Killed Brown Owl

Who Killed Brown Owl

Director(s)/Writer(s): Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy

Dreamlike- some events didn’t make sense at all

Began with a cheerful mood, lighting and location suggested summer

A bit nostalgic at the start

Became more strange as the film continued

Tone Poem-  a composition intended to portray a particular story, scene, mood, etc.

Notes: Introduction to Short Film

A short film is similar to a feature film in that it aims to send a message, although it explores issues and themes using a shorter narrative, which usually has less characters with personal disequilibrium to explore in order to remain a short film.

All aspects- sound, mise en scene, camerawork, editing is made sure to be as meaningful as possible to show representation in a short space of time

The Short Film Context Part IV: Distribution

The Short Film Context Part III: Training & Development

The Short Film Context Part III; Training and Development from aimeelee12

The Short Film Context Part II: Funding & Support

This section of the short film context research required me to look into the different ways that a short film could be funded. I also researched the UK Film Council, as well as support given by the BFI, Vimeo, several different brands, and crowdfunding. I have presented this research in the form of a podcast.

Sources:
UK Film Council. n.d. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Film_Council [Accessed 21 June 2016]
About the BFI. n.d [ONLINE] http://www.bfi.org.uk/about-bfi [Accessed 21 June 2016]
Funding Finder. n.d. [ONLINE] http://network.bfi.org.uk/funding-finder [Accessed 21 June 2016]
BFI Network n.d. [ONLINE] http://network.bfi.org.uk/ [Accessed 21 June 2016]
Short Films: London Calling n.d. [ONLINE] http://filmlondon.org.uk/funding/shorts [Accessed 21 June 2016]
Chris O'Falt, 2016. How Vimeo Staff Picks Filmmakers Got Charles Schwab, Lincoln and Samsung to Pay for Their Short Films. [ONLINE] http://www.indiewire.com/2016/03/how-vimeo-staff-pick-filmmakers-got-charles-schwab-lincoln-and-samsung-to-pay-for-their-short-films-61877/ [Accessed 21 June 2016]

The Short Film Context Part I: Articles

A Response to Previous Student Short Films

Firstly, I watched five short films created in the past by students on the same course, to get a feel for what makes a highly marked piece of work. Whilst these films were being screened, I thought mainly about the form, the narrative and the micro elements.

First Film- Lift, Christian Fenton (2010)

I thought that the cinematography was well varied and very appropriate for the nature of the story. This meant that the narrative flowed easily, despite the contrast between the form displayed in the two locations, and the use of parallel editing. The form changed from when the boy was inside the car, from making the audience closed in like he does, through the use of long takes and close us. It emphasises how he feels a lack of independence, and almost trapped. The form changes once he gets out of the car, as the long takes remain, and the camera shots become wider, to exaggerate his freedom. The form is also different when it is cut to his mother in the shop, as her movements are much more prominent, and the camera movement appears to be handheld, with closer in shots. This might be telling the audience that where she is gives her a similar feeling to the boy, as if she is trapped, and she is only there as she is fulfilling her role as responsible adult. This creates themes or independence/dependence.

Second Film- Rocket, Rebecca Brown (2012)
My first thoughts on this film were also positive based on the camera work. The close ups of the girl's hands emphasise her great responsibility at an early age very soon in the narrative. This allows the audience to connect emotionally with the film, as they can empathise with her. Later on, the close ups return to show her creating something, which contrasts to the start of the film and shows her for the child she truly is. The girl's imagination is emphasised through the creative use of camera movement towards the end, as handheld movement mimics the movement in which the audience can see is the rocket. The takes were slightly shorter at the beginning, and the shots were closer in, which exaggerates the volume of work and responsibility in which she has to endure in order to help out her parents. I also think that the set design was effective, and certainly helped establishing themes of maturity and independence.

Third Film- Repeat, Georgia Matthews (2014)
For this film, I thought that the lighting and colour palette in general worked well for the narrative, and definitely helped in establishing themes and issues of relationships and disability. The contrast between the male in a wheelchair and the female is shown through the different lighting used for each, which could also suggest the mood set for each. Other areas of mise en scene, such as costume, also contribute to the mood, and the confidence found in each of the characters. Both boys wear casual clothes that can be seen worn by the stereotypical young working class adult. On the other hand, the girl is represented in a bright red dress that is quite short. She is clearly dressed up to go somewhere. The colour red connotes danger, but is also an eye catching colour, which implies that the girl is confident, and wants to be seen for once, as opposed to blending into the background, as is suggested by her responsibility to care for the boy in the wheelchair.

Fourth Film- In Your Eyes, Myles Egan (2015)
In this film, I enjoyed the varied camera shots, angles and compositions. Each shot allowed the audience to learn something new, which, along with the long takes, established the pace of the film, and gave a feel for the narrative. The main male character is portrayed as an anti-hero, as he picks up the girl from the side of the road, but in an unusual fashion, as he waits a while before going to help, and instead completes an origami animal in his car. I liked the thought put into the mise-en-scene, specifically in the car, as it tells the audience about the type of character that the protagonist is. It is suggested that he is shy and introverted with an interest in photography and art. His body language and dialogue also implies he does not perform well socially. This narrative establishes issues and themes surrounding trust and stranger danger, especially by the end of the film, after the protagonist has taken a picture of the girl that her has just dropped home.

Fifth Film- Mouse, Candice Russell (2016)
I enjoyed the thought put in to each individual scene and location for this film. The mise-en-scene helped to establish the issues and themes surrounding substance abuse, peer pressure and relationships. The form reflects the nature of the narrative, as the close up, claustrophobic settings and camera shots filmed in interior locations are most common when the female character is experiencing disequilibrium, or a problem. At first, she wants the male to read her song, so when she finally gets what she wants, the form changes through the exterior location, and shots that are further away. When she begins feeling the effect of the drugs she's taken, the form changes once more as she returns to the place in which she began, no better off than when the film started.The sound is also important in the making of this film as the non diegetic band music at the beginning is almost uncomfortably loud, and so the audience are able to sense a problem from the beginning. The diegetic sound towards the end sets a melancholic mood, which matches the mood set by the editorial pace, especially through the use of slow motion.