Short Film Pitch

Rebecca is a woman looking for love, being an attractive young female, at a bar one night she immediately catches the attention of two males, without even trying she has the option of who she chooses, will it be Chris, the tall dark haired rough looking man, or the smaller sweet and innocent looking Jack. She chooses Chris at first, as much to her regret later on in the film.

As the film skips forward years down the line, she is married and has set up a family with Chris, who becomes an abusive husband. She gets beaten for not having a meal ready for him when he arrives home from work, she is trapped and can’t escape, or can she? After receiving a beating one night she locks herself in the bathroom, closes her eyes and wishes herself out of her hell. Granted with her wish she returns to that day at the bar, and although confused, she doesn’t hesitate and ignores the advances of Chris, and turns her attention to Jack. Again it skips years down the line, to a very similar situation, she has set up a family with Jack and is married, but this time, she is happy, but darkness is once again round the corner. After an unsuspected accident; her beloved husband is killed, as she learns of the news, she locks herself in the bathroom, closes her eyes and wishes to go back to the bar once more. Again she gets her wish, realising that with these two men only lies unhappiness, she leaves the bar, and as she leaves she bumps into a male outside of the pub, whom there is clearly chemistry with, will this man be the happiness she is looking for?

Short Film Research

I created a questionnaire about short films and cinema habits in people I am at college with:

Film Research

What is your preferred film genre?

How many short films have you watched in the past year?

What is your favourite short film?

What would you say makes a good short film?

Where do you mostly watch short films?

How many times a month do you go to the cinema?

What is your favourite feature length film?

I created an Xtranormal video of the results:

Social Network Reviewing Task

The Social Network

Storyline
On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history... but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications.

IMDB Reviews-
Author: Trevor Todd from United States
"The Social Network" was an incredibly engaging film that, while mainly revolving around the invention of Facebook (and all the problems that the creators encountered both before and after all was said and done), really focused in on ideas and feelings that can be (and are) universally felt through all people, the primary example being trying to fit in. Everyone wants to be accepted (I for one have never met a single human being that has wanted to be a loner), and some will do whatever it takes to get that sort of attention (which tends to lead into bad consequences). In a year where movies have received some of the lowest critical ratings (as well as box office earnings) in recent memory, "The Social Network" was, while haunting, truly refreshing and ultimately a triumph in all aspects, whether it be considering the acting, script, or directing. It was a fantastic movie that shouldn't just be among the best of the year; it's so much more important than that. It defines the entire social networking generation, and that is one hell of an accomplishment. Everyone can relate to it one way or another, and that makes it one of the must-see pictures of the year.

Fincher's best since Fight Club, 20 September 2010
Author: Stevendcravens from United States
I have been a fan of David Fincher ever since I saw Se7en when I was 13. I saw all of his films the following week and not one of them disappointed me. That was back in 2003. I loved Zodiac and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as well, but he really knocked it out of the park with this one. I was fortunate enough to see The Social Network at a screening on 9/16/10 for my college. Eisenberg, Hammer and Sorkin were there and did a Q and A after the film. It was a GREAT experience. All of them seemed excited about the film and rightfully so. The film brilliantly tells the story of college students who go through hell with each other over the credit for Facebook and the damage that comes to all of them because of it. The acting and dialogue were flawless. Eisenberg, Garfield and even Timberlake churn out performances that should get them serious attention come award time. Fincher's direction is also perfect. you can always tell a Fincher film when you see it because his visual style is so striking and The Social Network is no exception. When this is released, please go see it and watch a film that defines a generation and what the world has become.

Just as Fincher gave us the definitive Generation X film with "Fight Club", he and Aaron Sorkin give us a definitive Generation Y film..., 11 October 2010
Author: Tyler_Kovacs from United States
...and that's "The Social Network".
It joins the ranks of his best, and just like many of his his previous works, has been reviled before it was properly understood.
For months before it came out, it was the laughing stock of people who were off-put by the idea of a "movie about Facebook" (even though it's easy to look and see that it's about the founding of Facebook and the people behind it), just like "Fight Club" is dismissed as a violent film about people fighting, or that "Se7en" is just a serial killer movie.
"The Social Network" is filmmaking and storytelling of a high order, that shows the grand irony of a socially inept Harvard student named Mark Zuckerberg who ended up creating one of the largest social phenomena of the twenty-first century (and love Facebook or hate it, it most certainly is that). The story works as an engaging, fascinating character study; at the beginning of the story, Mark is a socially maladjusted reject, and even after several million 'friends' and a few billion dollars later, he remains pretty much the same.
The outstanding acting, style and direction, as well as the great script armed to the teeth with sharp dialogue is what people are likely to miss by dismissing it as a mere 'Facebook movie'.
Even if it were just a "movie about Facebook", why is such subject matter off-limits? Things that have become a large part of our culture shouldn't be reflected in our art? Or, is it because of that? That technology is such a scary thing and needs to be dismissed? The indisputable fact is that everything that's going on with social networking and the world of the Internet is incorporated into the ideas of a certain corner of history, this one, which will be remembered as such, and "The Social Network" may very well be remembered as a film to define that era.

So please, this is one of the films to see this year. Don't get hung up on the idea that it's just a silly "Facebook movie", or else you'll be missing out on an excellent picture.
17 October 2010
Author: Naomh from Ireland
Felling nothing to me is the sign of a bad film - personally I think that's why I go to the movies; to feel excitement, sadness, joy, horror, humor - whatever. The Social Networks showed rich aholes being aholes to each other. I found not a single character to root for and it felt that nothing was at stake, not really. Even their friendship wasn't made out to be any great thing in the beginning before it all went upside down.
Sure it was interesting in a news article kind of way, but it was souless. Was that the point? I doubt it, and if so - so what? Add to that the worst CGI 'cold breath' and falling snow that wouldn't look out of place in a cartoon and you have a film that seems to be over hyped because it involves 'recent events'. My prediction? It will not be remembered so fondly in cinema history. Fincher hasn't made a truly great film in over 10 years. Maybe The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will find him back on form. We can hope.

Rotten Tomatoes-
• Fincher has delivered his best work since Se7en. An even better period drama than Zodiac and even more relevant to our generation today than Fight Club.
• In a superlative example of art-imitating-life, there was definite alchemy at work on the set of The Social Network...nothing short of a masterpiece.

There is a clear difference between the reviews on IMDB and on Rotten Tomatoes due to the age difference and class difference in the reviewers. Rotten Tomatoes is seen more as a blog site for younger people who are mainly interested in mainstream films. Compared to IMDB, which has more functions as a site and is well rounded; it incorporates all types of films from mainstream to short films. More mature generations tend to review films on IMDB who have a knowledge of the film industry and are more aware of the current film trends.
Facebook was recently valued at $33 billion. The movie about its founding should do about .09 percent of that total during its opening weekend at the box office, and Sony will be damn happy about it.
The studio is currently low-balling box-office estimates — all the better to manage expectations and post-opening buzz for a flick getting near-universal rave reviews — but experts suggest "The Social Network" could potentially flirt with the $30 million mark. David Fincher's film is currently standing at 98 percent approval on the Rotten Tomatoes review aggregator, making it one of the year's critical darlings, just a notch below "Toy Story 3." Will positive word-of-mouth carry the movie past the mid-$20 million range and into the glorious $30 million realm?

The Final Word
" 'The Social Network' is a great film not because of its dazzling style or visual cleverness, but because it is splendidly well-made. Despite the baffling complications of computer programming, Web strategy and big finance, Aaron Sorkin's screenplay makes it all clear, and we don't follow the story so much as get dragged along behind it. I saw it with an audience that seemed wrapped up in an unusual way: It was very, very interested." — Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times


My Review-
It is ironic that whilst researching ‘The Social Network’ I had my facebook page open in a separate internet tab. This highlights how much the generation of today think of facebook and other social networks (myspace, bebo, twitter etc) as being a recreational activity and how much time we spend on these sites throughout the day.

The Social Network is directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en, Zodiac and Panic Room) who has a distinctive styling throughout the majority of his films. His artistic and creative ability is visible throughout the greater part of the Social Network and his directorial capability shines through.

Short Film Ideas

Rebecca is a woman looking for love, being an attractive young female, at a bar one night she immediately catches the attention of two males, without even trying she has the option of who she chooses, will it be Chris, the tall dark haired rough looking man, or the smaller sweet and innocent looking Jack. She chooses Chris at first, as much to her regret later on in the film.

As the film skips forward years down the line, she is married and has set up a family with Chris, who becomes an abusive husband. She gets beaten for not having a meal ready for him when he arrives home from work, she is trapped and can’t escape, or can she? After receiving a beating one night she locks herself in the bathroom, closes her eyes and wishes herself out of her hell. Granted with her wish she returns to that day at the bar, and although confused, she doesn’t hesitate and ignores the advances of Chris, and turns her attention to Jack. Again it skips years down the line, to a very similar situation, she has set up a family with Jack and is married, but this time, she is happy, but darkness is once again round the corner. After an unsuspected accident; her beloved husband is killed, as she learns of the news, she locks herself in the bathroom, closes her eyes and wishes to go back to the bar once more. Again she gets her wish, realising that with these two men only lies un-happiness, she leaves the bar, and as she leaves she bumps into a male outside of the pub, whom there is clearly chemistry with, will this man be the happiness she is looking for?

Lighting

The first photo have been taken using a green filter held over the light. The lighting is high key which helps to create the shadow effect behind the subject and give it the horror feel whilst giving a stong,bold image.
High key lighting is achieved from fully lighting the subject from all directions. It gives the effect of a bright, clear, well lit subject.













The next two photos have been taken using low key lighting. The first photo was taken from a low angle and the final image was taken at eye-level. The low key lighting gives the photos a sinister/horror genre.
Low key lighting would most likely be used for scary scenes in horror films or for use in film noir as it creates strong shadows. Less area in the frame is lit up when low key lighting is used.

Ambient lighting is achieved using lights that are part of the set or naturally in the scene, for example a lamp in a room, light through a window from the sun or a street light. It creates a calm, warm and unobtusive gently lit subject or room.

• Back lighting is simply caused by the light source being behind the subject. The effect is a sihouette or aura around the subject. This is often used in sci-fi and horror films
• Hard lighting is caused by the light source being directly on the subject. This lighting gives strong, bold images and also shadows. Hard lighting is often used in films for lighting villains or on one specific element that we are directed to focus on
• Filters are fitted to the lens in pre-production or they can be added in the the editing process. Filters alter the colour of the overall shot which can change the mood of the scene or add dramatic effect. For example, a red filter can give the connotations of danger or romance, green can be used for giving a mysterious feel and to indicate something abnormal and yellow can often be used to connote happiness and a sense of well-being.

Film Trailers

Edge of Dreaming-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Uu9bsNphKc
This is the story of a rational, skeptical woman, a mother and wife, who does not remember her dreams. Except once, when she dreamt her horse was dying. She woke so scared she went outside in the night. She found him dead. The next dream told her she would die herself, when she was 48.
The Edge of Dreaming charts every step of that year. The film explores life and death in the context of a warm and loving family, whose happiness is increasingly threatened as the dream seems to be proving true. From the kids reaction to their horses' death (they taught the dog a new trick - called 'dead dog'), the film mixes humour, science and married life as Amy attempts to understand what is happening to her.
Everyone wrestles with the concept of their own mortality, but few so directly explore and confront the subject. When Amy fell seriously ill, as her dream predicted, she went on a search to change that dream, leading her to eminent neuroscientist Mark Solms, and to new understanding of the complexity of our brains. The final confrontation takes us back into her dream with the help of a shaman, revealing a surprising twist to the tale.

Out of the Ashes- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHiEfG2Ir74&feature=related
The film highlights the rise of the underdogs, with this sporting story containing many elements of realism.
Here is an amiable, good-natured heartwarmer of a documentary, accessible to cricket fans and non-fans alike. Last year, Afghanistan's national cricket team made its plucky if somewhat chaotic attempt to compete in the 2011 World Cup. The movie shows the players travelling to Jersey for the first qualifier – a landscape as remote as the moon – and things get tense when the team suffers a batting collapse on the first day. This movie is a valuable way of deparochialising Afghanistan, showing that it can be understood in ways that have nothing to do with TV news cliches.

Africa United- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89HhvMJY7XM
The extraordinary true story of three Rwandan kids who walk 3000 miles to the Soccer World Cup in South Africa. Using a sack load of ingenuity and sass (and a World Cup wall chart for a map), our pint-sized protagonists set off through the endless horizons of Africa in pursuit of an unlikely dream. And as they walk they gather a tribe - a ragamuffin team - of broken and brilliant characters who help them negotiate a way through a series of glorious, dangerous, hilarious and often bizarre situations. Through these kids, we will encounter an Africa few people ever get to see; experience the hard reality of an epic walk through seven countries; as well as the joy, laughter and hope - 'the ubuntu' - that comes from making an incredible journey together.

The Social Network- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4
On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history... but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications.

The Kids Are All Right-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdDSqgZ87fM
Nic and Jules are in a long term, committed, loving but by no means perfect relationship. Nic, a physician, needs to wield what she believes is control, whereas Jules, under that control, is less self-assured. During their relationship, Jules has floundered in her "nine to five" life, sometimes trying to start a business - always unsuccessfully - or being the stay at home mom. She is currently trying to start a landscape design business. They have two teen-aged children, Joni and Laser, Nic who is Joni's biological mother, and Jules who is Laser's biological mother. Although not exact replicas, each offspring does more closely resemble his/her biological mother in temperament. Joni and Laser are also half-siblings, having the same unknown sperm donor father. Joni and Laser go in search of their biological father and bring him into their family life.

Across The Hall (Short Film)-http://vimeo.com/4557849
The trailer for the short film is simple and easy to understand, yet it is still effective. The film hasn't got the 'Hollywood gloss' but more an 'independent film feel'.
A quiet night takes a dangerous turn when Julian (Adrian Grenier) receives a frantic phone call from his best friend, Terry (James Oliver). Terry claims to have followed his unfaithful fiancée, June (Natalie Smyka), to a seedy hotel on the other side of town. To make matters worse, he’s staked out the room across the hall from her, a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a revolver in the other. Julian pleads with his friend to stay put while he rushes to avert disaster. But is Terry truly as desperate as he sounds, or has Julian been playing into his hands all along? A full length feature remake was released in 2009.

Across The Hall (Feature Length Film)-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRdqs-LFmOs
I felt when watching the trailer for the feature length film (different trailer from the short film) that there was too much happening in the trailer and the clips shown were too short. Text plates were needed to make the narrative of the trailer easier to understand.
Julian (Mike Vogel) gets a call from his friend Terry (Danny Pino) who explains to him that he had earlier that day received a call that his fiancée, June (Brittany Murphy), has cancelled her flight. Terry had followed her and discovered that she had checked out a room in a local hotel, after which Terry rents out the room across the hall from June believing she is cheating on him. Terry explains to Julian that, earlier that evening, he had gone to Julian's house, and finding him not home, broke in and stole Julian's gun, and that he is now "about to fuck up." Worried that Terry is about to kill someone, Julian tries to reason with Terry on the phone not to do anything, but after having no success, he tells Terry to stay where he is and wait until he meets him at the hotel in about 20 minutes. During the film, it is revealed that June had canceled her flight because of the more handsome Julian and that they were cheating behind Terry's back. Terry finds this out when he kills June and tries to call Julian, whose cell phone was still in the hotel room that June and Julian cheated in. Terry tricks Julian into helping move June, framing him for killing her while the police storm the hotel.

Film Virals

Cloverfield- The trailer for Cloverfield uses these elements:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufYF0f-zMgY

• Quick paced camera shots
• Hand held camera (more realistic, helps to put us in the character's shoes)
• Real life elements with the party scene being videoed with shots of all the guests
• Many different shots and scenes were used in the trailer to help to emphasize the element of confusion
• Throughout the trailer there is constant suspence and enigmas
• There is no voice over or music within the trailer, the only sounds in the trailer are digetic to the scenes

Paranormal Activity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSSqxrh5kp8

• In the trailer, we see an audiences reaction to the film, this draws us into the 'world' of the film and gets us intrigued as to why they were reacting in the way that they did
• Throughout the trailer we are continously expecting something to happen but not knowing when it will, this is a typical genre feautre of a thriller
• During the film and the trailer, we have a constant uncertainty of what is going to happen next
• The hand held camera effect makes the film more realistic and puts us in the character's shoes, making it feel like we are part of the scene
• The film has three alternative endings with only one being used in the cinematic release

Quarantine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoBh5S_aWwk

• The hand held camera effect was used in Quarantine, an American remake of the Spanish film 'Rec'. This makes us feel like we are part of the scene and creates the element of realism for the viewers

Super 8:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpzUCA5i6zY

• The marketing for the film began in May 2010, however the film's release date isn't until Summer 2011
• Super 8 has been described as 'Cloverfield without the people'
• The trailer and virals for the film has created an enigma surrounding it

The Dark Knight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jqq4j52Fb4

• The viral campaign for the film included a fake election poster, 'I Beleive in Harvey Dent' that was put up in the 'real world'. It was part of creating the world of Gotham City within real society

District 9:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyLUwOcR5pk

• Posters from the world of D9 were created as a campaign and a series of virals followed in support of the film

District 9 along with The Dark Knight, Cloverfield and even Super 8 all use the element of hyper realism, whereby consumption, the actual watching of the film, is no longer the end of the product. Virals are created before and after the film is realised and the 'world of the film' comes to life

Consumption is no longer the end of a product

Short Film Directors/Producers

What have the directors/producers of 'George Lucas in Love', 'Im Here' and 'Across the Hall' gone on to do in Hollywood?

Joe Nussbaum
"George Lucas in Love"
Nussbaum has gone on to direct-"American Pie Presents the Naked Mile"
"Sydney White" and "Sleepover".
The poster for 'George Lucas in Love' is in a cartoon style which enhances the comedy elements of the film's narrative. All of the subjects in the poster are characters within the film, who all relate to characters in the film 'Star Wars'. Fans of the film 'Star Wars' would be able to relate the subjects in this poster and in 'George Lucas in Love' to characters in the 'Star Wars'.

Spike Jonze
"I'm Here"
Jonze has previously directed-"Where the Wild Things Are"
"Jackass"
"Weezer: Video Capture Device - Treasures from the Vault 1991-2002"
and "Tenacious D: The Complete Masterworks" as well as a number of other mockumentaries surrounding bands and singers.
The poster for I'm Here is quite simplistic but understanable and straight to the point. The tag line of "Ordinary is No Place to Be" is direct to the narrative.

As part of the planning for the ancillary task we created a radio trailer for "I'm Here".
We created this using 'Garage Band' on the apple macs at college using sounds from the music library and having the added narration recorded by myself and the other two members of my group.

Alex Merkin
"Across The Hall"

Alex Merkin is a new director who created the short film "Across The Hall' in 2005 and then went onto make the feature length film based on the short film in 2009.
The poster to the left, for the short film, emphasizes the simplicity of the film's narrative and it's independent look and feel of the film. Contrasted to the feature length film poster (below) which has clearly been air-brushed and has the 'Hollywood gloss'. Both posters highlight the genre of both films whilst not giving the narrative away.

Short Film

Short Film Festivals are to get producers of short films to be noticed and to allow their work to be viewed and experienced by larger audiences.
Here is a list of short film festivals:

http://www.shortfilms.org.uk/ The London Short Film Festival, the city’s most expansive and radically explosive film festival, returned to the city for its 7th edition over ten days and ten major London venues in January 2010.

http://www.bangshortfilmfestival.com/ Bang! is a non-competitive festival of short films hosted and supported by the Broadway Cinema, Nottingham, UK, and mixes local, national and international films to create an original and exciting programme. Without filmmakers or an audience we would not exist, so we do it for them. Bang! looks at all short films, and has no genre restrictions whatsoever.

http://www.hullfilm.co.uk/ Hull Film is dedicated to the exhibition and creation of short film as a crucial art form in its own right. Since 2001, Hull Film has been responsible for the Hull International Short Film Festival, which acts as a showcase of short film with Hull Screen being the main venue. As well as the annual festival, Hull Film has been active in programming a multitude of screenings, lectures, master classes and educational events in the city. Hull Film is also committed to promoting new work, and developing critical discussion as well as developing the Hull Film Study Collection.

http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/ Encounters International Film Festival is the umbrella title for two of the UK's leading film festivals Brief Encounters and Animated Encounters, with a host of cross-over attractions, at venues in and around the Harbourside area of Bristol, UK.
In 2001, the short film festival was joined by Animated Encounters - celebrating and showcasing the productions, talent, creativity, technology and skills that make animation such a popular and successful film form worldwide. It too, has enjoyed a rapid rise to global prominence, as is demonstrated by its status as the UK's representative for the prestigious European Cartoon D'Or.

Audiences for short films-
Creators of short films (40 minutes or less) have found an audience through such online sites as iTunes, Revver.com and San Francisco's Frameline Films and Caachi.com, which specializes in distributing independent films. The audience for short films tends to be a niche audience who generally watch specialist films in 'art house' cinemas or people who are interested in the film industry and who are trying to start out in the industry themselves.

Producers make short films as a starting point to get into the industry and to have their filmmaking skills noticed.

Short Films

Day and Night


This is one of my favourite short films at the moment. I discovered it at the beginning of 'Toy Story 3' in July and loved it's creativity and hidden messages. Everyone is different and after immeditate jealousy they find they are pround to share the best of themselves as they discover they are more alike than they realise. Suspicions turn to curiosity and they are delighted to find that their budding friendship can offer a new perspective on the world. "The most beautiful things in all the Universe are the most mysterious"(Dr Wayne Dyer)




The Black Hole

I like this short film because of it's imaginitve narrative, simple yet effective visual effects and the twist in the end with the connatation of-with actions comes consequences.

Genre and Narrative Theory/Concepts

What is meant by the term 'genre'?
The term genre is used for the classification of media texts into groups with similar characteristics. Genre is the term for any category of literature, as well as various other forms of art or culture e.g. films, based on a set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time as new genres are invented and the use of old ones are discontinued. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions.

Narrative
Narrative is defined as 'a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship occuring in time'. A narrative is a made up story that is created in a constructive format that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events.

Why is Genre an Important Factor in Filmmaking?

Genre is an important factor of filmmaking because it helps to determine an identifiable type or classification of films that are recurring and have similar or instantly recognisable film conventions. These film genre groups include one or more of the following: settings, props, content and subject matter, themes, plot that are all similar, central narrative events, stock characters and recurring icons.

Genre is an important factor for audiences as it helps them to make comparisons to other films within the same genre that they have seen by using the film narratives and plots to compare and contrast. The viewers have expectations of certain genres and if they come true and are what they believe then they feel rewarded in the end.

Filmmakers are able to take influence and ideas from their other successes whilst acknowledging which genre suits their creative style the most and to work on the genre that they are more successful in. They are able to take ideas and themes from similar films within the same genre that they are working on to improve their current films and also to appeal to a niche audience with the narrative and conventions that the audience is looking for.