Understanding the types of films we’re making (9.1.1)

What is the production mode or genre you are working within?

I will be making a multi camera television production or a drama which usually uses a 3 – 4 camera set up as seen below

This setup is used in many tv shows seen on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and other channels. it’s mainly use don sets where there isnt many different shots to film but more then 1 camera is required and the cameras are set up uniquely to give every possible shot / angle possible.

To begin my research i looked at popular platforms and channels to develop my knowledge of places where my type of film would usually be seen and the types of audiences it reaches.

I started off by looking at Netflix. www.netflix.com where i went onto the films and had a look at the different genres that Netflix have to offer. Although not having a category for short films, there is one for dramas, and this one features many different dramas from all over the world. There is also a ‘sci-fi’ category that helps to also show all the different sci fi films ranging from all different varieties so although there aren’t any short films to help me with my textual analysis or to help me learn more about the types of films i want to make there is definitely the right categories and i am definitely spoiled for choice on the genres of films. If my film was to be a motion picture length this would be the best place to put it but seeing as though it isnt that long, Netflix probably isnt the best, but it would have fitted in very well.

I then looked at YouTube. http://www.youtube.com This is where i had the best luck. A simple search for ‘Short Film’ brought up many many results. Films ranging from 10-45 minutes in length but mainly sitting in the 20-30 minute duration, I discovered there were many many short films on here that had won awards and were very popular. One had 170k views whilst another had an astonishing 6.1 million views! YouTube is easily the best way to get noticed for your short film. YouTube also helps to reach the right target audience as everyone at really any age goes on YouTube, unless your target audience is a really old demographic you perhaps have the best chance at reaching the audience you want to. Something else that appeals to me and i’m sure many other people with how YouTube works in terms of uploading short films or anything really, is the fact you can choose your thumbnail, this really helps because it is the first thing audiences are going to see before clicking on the video. It is the authors first chance of showing off the type of film they have uploaded and their job to entice you into watching it.

The cameras film every angle and is spliced together to show each shot throughout the production.

The range of the budget for a short film like I want to make ranges from £5,000 – around £10,000. Although this sounds like a lot for a short film. It is easily used on things like sets, cameras, actors and everything else like that.

The types of roles that are necessary for a short film that I may need for my short film are…

1.  The Producer

The producer gets most things done.  They can help develop story, find financing, and have the final say on most decisions.  Being a producer is great for someone who is organized and great at budgeting and dealing with people.  Because you have to deal with ALL the people and ALL the money (or lack thereof).  You have to remember all the details and look at the bigger picture.  

2. The Director

The Director is basically the same on all budget sizes.  They are the one whose vision is being created.  Even if they didn’t write the material, its still their interpretation of this vision.  A great director is someone who knows how to clearly communicate and knows how to work with people. As well as keep a team together and under control. From shot lists to scene breakdowns, set decorating to which use of lens, great directors see everything through and through; down to the packaging and rendering of a film, what colors an actor looks great in and how the camera dances within a scene. There’s a lot of leadership, creativity and self-awareness in this role. 

3. The Assistant Director (or AD) 

The AD runs the set; they set up the scene breakdowns, help with budgeting (more on that later), keeping everyone on set where they need to be, making sure safety is ensured and that all documents are signed.  This person is super-organized and detail oriented and has excellent time-management.  

Works with the director to set the visual tone for the movie.  Everything needs to work for the story.  They work with color and texture to set the tone for the movie.  They pay attention to detail and are super creative. On larger sets, production designers are actually the managers of art directors and other art departments. 

4. Script Supervisor

The script supervisor is the quality control of the set.  They document what has been filmed and what was added or cut from the script.  They make sure there is continuity, meaning that each take is set up the same way and that if a character is wearing a particular outfit in a scene, they need to be wearing it in any scene that takes place the same day.  Attention to detail and patience are key for this role. 

5. Grip/Gaffer

These are two roles that are different but are often lumped together.  The grip handles all equipment- the set-up and transport.  The gaffer handles everything electrical.  Attention to detail and safety are big factors.  

6. Production Assistant (or PA) 

The PA handles anything that needs to be do on set.  That could be running errands for the director to helping the set designer to chasing down the actors.  This really gives you a little taste of everything on set, so it’s great for students and people just wanting experience.

7. The Editor

Even though most editing won’t be done until after the filming is complete, having someone to start going through footage and logging the best footage will help the process.  Having someone who understands great storytelling and has an eye for detail can make an okay story great.  

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Textual Analysis 1 – Stranger Things 3: Chapter 8: The Battle of Starcourt

I have decided to watch this particular episode of Stranger Things because a lot of things like the lighting and sound as well as the editing I want to hopefully try and replicate as near as possible on my short film.

Lighting – The lighting in this episode has very strong pink/red/blue hue’s that are very strong throughout the episode, this adds so much atmosphere and tension during the shots because at times you may not know what is seen on screen but the colour lighting help keep not only the viewer interested but makes the shots stand out as something different. This is the type of lighting that I want to replicate for my film, as this is quite popular lighting for the 80’s where part of my film may be set.

Shots – There are a lot of long / establishing shots to help break up the pace and give a nice variety of shots in the episode. These help to set the environment the characters are in because its important to show where they are and if needed to, adds atmosphere to the shot.

Narrative tropes – There are a lot of narrative tropes in Stranger Things. Like creepy crawlies, a slight horror element, a broken-down car, supernatural and sci-fi. These elements are present throughout the show one or off. There are very similar narrative tropes to what you may see in a horror movie, especially when it comes to the characters as the characters’ narrative tropes are very similar to what you may see in a horror. There’s a jock, or in this case (ex jock) kids, action dad, the couple, and an unlikely hero

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Textual Analysis 2 – Bye Bye Benji (2019)

Bye Bye Benji – Short film from 2019

I have decided to watch Bye Bye Benji because it is a good representation of the type of film I want to make, it also features two teenage characters as the main protagonists which is what I want to do with my film. By covering Bye Bye Benji in my textual analysis, I have now covered the 80’s aspects and the short film / 2 teenage character aspects I want to incorporate into my film.

The thumbnail / poster for Bye Bye Benji

The characters – features two main characters, the sceptic, who in this films case is Ozzy, he’s very smart and tries not to let the death of Benji get to him. There is also Benji who is slightly obnoxious, always cracking jokes, but always has a heart of gold who only cares about Ozzy and puts others before himself.

The shots are mainly handheld but there are some beautiful long shots like this one below. The use of all these shots helps us to get a feel for how Ozzy is feeling, the long shots show us that he’s feeling distant from everyone where the close up ones may show us that he feels claustrophobic by what is happening.

Long shot from the film that may show Ozzy feels distant from everyone

The editing has harsh cuts which show the difference between Ozzy’s visions and real life. It helps stand out and show the harsh reality Ozzy has to go through.

The sound features a lot of foley sound effects. For example, there is a lot of pen on paper and quite a few breathing sounds. There is also a lot of music towards the end. It drowns out the dialogue a bit but seeing as I know what the music is based upon, it works quite well in the films favour. Clearly a lot of care was taken when doing the sound effects for Bye Bye Benji.

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Torchwood S01E10: Out of Time

Torchwood features a lot of narrative tropes, being a sci-fi. For example, time travel, psychics, cryosleep, killer aliens, wormholes, clones, robots, the apocalypse and many many others. Coincidentally like horror films where there is a common trope to have ‘death by sex’ in it, Torchwood features that.

The types of characters are very stereotypical. There’s the handsome action hero in the long coat, the unlikely hero, the tech nerd, the butler and finally the tech one. These are the main characters in the show, and they all have very stereotypical roles and jobs which help make identifying their character tropes very easy.

Torchwood features quite a lot of establishing shots that look very epic and give a huge scale to the shots. These appear quite often throughout the show and become a staple of it. That’s not to mean that there isn’t a range of other shots though, there are the common mid shot ones, and a few long shot ones when the show needs to establish a character or something significant to them, for example what they might be wearing.

A common trope of Torchwood is to have a character stood on the edge of a building during an establishing shot.

The show is usually quite dark, it’s shot at night most of the time to add a sense of fear and scariness and tries to make the audience scared of the dark. This works well in its favour as it easily achieves the goal it sets out to achieves.

The reason I have chosen to look at this specific episode as the textual analysis is because it relates a lot to how I want my film to be plot wise. The plot features soldiers from World War 2 that find themselves in 2006 meeting team torchwood. This helps a lot because my short film is about a boy from 1980 who finds himself in 2020 meeting a boy the same age as him so I will be taking a lot of inspiration when I eventually come to writing my script and developing my story much more because of how similar the two are.

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Similarities and Differences.

There are a couple similarities and differences throughout the films/tv shows. For example a difference in Stranger Things compared to the others is the lighting. The lighting has very solid colours and gels over the lights to cast pink / red / blue lights and shadows over the characters faces as seen in the images above. The tones, while being slightly similar, are quite different as well.

A similarity between the Stranger Things one and the Bye Bye Benji one is the use of child actors in the film, and i payed close attention to how they act and are presented in the films seeing as mine will have child actors in them. All of the films have very similar shots used throughout the films. They all have establishing, long, mid and medium close up shots.

The only thing is Bye Bye Benji also uses handheld to give a sense of tension and claustrophobia when needed and this helps a lot and it really sticks out in my mind so i am going to make sure that if i need to do a shot like that i will look at Bye Bye Benji for inspiration