Inspiration Week

Lesson one
There are many things to describe just what a story is. For instance a story may consist or be associated with the following:

• Narrative/ Plot- This usually consists of a beginning middle and end. When relating this to fairy tales the story usually starts with "Once upon a time" and usually ends with "Happily ever after". These story's have themes and twists some what making them magical.
  

• Equilibrium/ disequilibrium= structure. This explains how one shot follows from one to another.
  

• Characters- There is usually one main character that the story focuses on and the reader usually follows them through out the story seeing them being put into tricky situations which they then try and get out of.

• Story's are usually related to fairy tales, folk tales, legends and Egyptians. These story's are usually within a book and have many illustrations to visualise whats going on. Sometimes these story's end up being turned into to plays and the big budget ones will be displayed in theatres.

• Storytellers- These are people that tell the story and try to build up an image of whats taking place.

• Myths- Story's are often passed down from generation to generation and different cultures will have different ones to tell. Many like to think they are real however most of them are likely to be fictional. These stories will tell us and explain more about ourselves and culturally specific give us comfort.
  

• Biblical stories/ books can be seen as stories and depending on a persons religion will either see the story as fictional or factual.
  
• A story can also relate to film, entertainment-popular culture- series of events, poetry, art, cartoons and fashion.

We played the game where you write something then fold it over and another person writes on it then so on so fourth. My story was about a guy called James who was an assistant whilst Jackie was a bus driver. One day James was on his way to the shop and feel over. This unexpected trip lead him to find Jackie the future love of his life. "Do I know you from some where?" she said but little did she know this was a fairytale waiting to happen. Then one day Jackie's world turned upside down when James chucks his bin bag into a cyclist, who he then shares a passionate kiss with but who will he choose to spend the rest of his life with?

Todorov and narrative theory

A state of equilibrium at the outset
The two characters meet when James falls over and madly falls in love with Jackie.

A disruption of the equilibrium by some action
James chucks a bin bag at a cyclist who he begins to share some interest in.

A recognition that there has been a disruption
He passionately kisses the cyclist.

A re-instatement of the initial equilibrium but with some change
Jizzed in his pants which puts the cyclist right of and patches up his relationship with Jackie.


Application Levi- Strauss

Film title... The cyclist

Concept Working class Opposition Middle Class
Concept Hurt Opposition Healed
Concept Disloyel Opposition Faithful

Initial Ideas

I found a poem website which has a section within it based on fashion as me and Charlotte's initial idea is to base it on or some how relate it to fashion. Below is a poem I found which I felt could be made in to a short film.

Beautiful Like Me
She woke up and walked in this morning.
Beauty is as beauty does.
Unless someone else was doing the beautifying.
She stood and felt,Brush, Brush.
She felt the wet,Paint, Paint.
She watched the mirror.
She watched herself.
She watched them make her prettyful.
Then she put on the dress.
Then they put it on again.
She doesn't know, they whisper.Snap, Snap.Flash, Flash.
Then the computer does its work.
More light,Less freckles,Longer neck,Higher cheekbones,Fix that ruffle in the dress,Fix that wrinkle near the eyes.
Print, print.
When she saw the shoot,She said out loud.
"I wish I looked like her."

The idea I came up with which is inspired by this piece is the idea of a young girl who's a model shes a stereotypical one at that shes slim, tall and looks good in practically anything she puts on. We see a typical day in the life of her and see her go to a fashion shoot. The impression the audience get is that this model is perfect, she's natural we as an audience believe shes got a few great shots. She looks beautiful but just not enough for what the company want. She sees the finishing piece and it looks nothing like her and idealises to be like that image.

Barbie Jail
Stifled inside the lace of her push-up bra,
her heart beats of unheard imprisonment
The cream-caked face, the red collagen pout
betray the self-esteem of ugliness behind

She entered this cage,
in search of a cure from the terrible illness
of ordinary looks
Finding fake comfort inside
the plastic jail of the female sex

Her prison guards, Vogue and Fashion,
confine her to a cell
of precise dimensions;
6 for stiletto, 25 for waist, 0 for chocolate.
The conditions are stifling, but what can she do?
Better in this beautiful hell inside,
than the ugly paradise outside.

The idea I came up with around the poem was about a girl just like the one described. We would re write the poem to make it our own. There would be no dialogue in this short film and we would have the poem be the only sound heard. We could show her doing the things mentioned in the poem and see her never leave the house. We see flashbacks of how show looked before but the audience will be left to question what made her feel this way.

Referencing

http://allpoetry.com/tag/show/fashion+

Short Analysis of BFI Southbank Films

Cubs (2006)
Director Tom Harper
Cast Harry Eden, Ashley Walters, Tara Hodge, Jared Garfield
Duration 10 minutes

Cubs has a very cunning twist on a very British sport. When watching this short film for the first time my first impressions were that the narrative was going to be gang related then later I was to realise it was about a British sport that I wouldn't have associated with a younger urban generation with. I also though this because the actor Ashley Walters has been in films such as Bullet Boy and Life and lyrics both of which involve gun crime so I associated his usual roles with this short film however I was to be mistaken.

Wasp (2003)
Director Andrea Arnold
Cast Nathalie Press, Danny Dyar
Duration 24 minutes

Wasp is shot in Darford and is an Oscar winning short film. It shows a day in the life of a single working class mum trying to provide for her children. Her immediate concerns are to feed her children and pay the rent. She is to bump into a old flame who she manages to score a date with. His initial opinions of her is that she's pretty carefree and fun person to be around however he is unaware of the extent of how hard life is for her.

The lighting is very grainy and has a yellow tone to it creating a very gritty style to this British film. The working class mum is seen wearing her pyjamas as she goes out to have a fight with a local mum. The fact she wears this connotes that she doesn't care about the way she looks or how she is represented. Later she goes out wearing a short mini skirt which shows her bum and nickers which isn't stereotypical clothing for a mother of four to be wearing. The kids clothes are dirty and not to mention that they looked like they haven't washed in days. The locations used in this film is a council estate connoting that she hasn't got much money and she is likely to be living off the doll. The location they live in is really dirty and grimy and makes it seem like it's a struggle to even survive. The other location used is the local pub which really creates the image of all the local commoners gathering together and getting drunk. Some of the props include a baby and pram which makes her children look like kids it really shows their innocents. The audience get the impression that this women should not be a mother and these children should no have to live like this. Despite this she is constantly reminded of the kids even when shes on a date with a guy when being approached by him before hand she always looks back to her kids. In a way this connotes although she may not be a perfect mother deep down she still cares for her children. The mother often blames the eldest child for the problems that arise this is because she realises that the eldest is doing a better job then her and this puts her to shame which she doesn't like.

Convergence

Convergence describes technology being merged together. This has effected the way in which we can view media and has opened a new door for short film makers. There are various different products that are doing this such as the eye phone. It allows you to do a range of different things such as access the Internet, listen to music, take pictures, video record etc. Then there is the XBOX PS3, Wii, DS which allow you to go on the Internet, use the sky player, gaming, you can watch films, listen to music and have a virtual life. There is also the portable CD/DVD player which you can play DVD's on, listen to music, go online and play games. All these different products are allowing people to use a range of different media's all in one which is appealing to new audiences.

London Short Film Festival

The London Short Film Festival is London's most expensive and biggest film festivals. It came back for ten days, in ten well known venues in January 2010.It attracted more submissions and people attending then ever before! With over 200 short films it has made it's name for having the most exclusive up and coming film makers showcase their work. This short film festival first began in 2003 when Philip Ilson and Kate Taylor decided that they were going to do a short Halloween festival. Like many other establishers of festivals they decided to create a bigger festival because of the popularity of this one and in 2008 it became The London Short Film Festival and has been expanded ever since. In 2010 London Short Film Festival and Shooting People got together to help UK film makers. This enabled first time film makers and those that had done several short films already to gain experience. Highlights to this transformative training day included BAFTA-winning screenwriter Tony Grisoni, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE editor Chris Dickie and acclaimed cinematographer John de Borman attending and getting actively involved.

Referencing
Carla. (11:07 am on December 9, 2009 ). About The Festival/Transformative Training. Available: http://www.shortfilms.org.uk/. Last accessed 5 February 2010.

Rain Dance

Rain Dance is a worldwide western film festival which accepts work from Canada, New York and Europe and is the Uk's largest film festival. Rain Dance started in 1992 and then rain dance festival began in 1993.This festival runs from the 6th to the 7th of February. Guests have included Shane Medeows who I have previously blogged about, Christopher Nolan, Ken Loach, Marky Ramone, Iggy Pop, Anton Corbijn, Mick Jones, Andrea Arnold, Adam Yauch, Quentin Tarantino, Faye Dunaway and Lou Reed. People that attend this festival are journalists, fans, actors, producers and many other people as they know that the work that will be showcased there will be of a high quality. When submitting work you have to do it through Withoutbox.xom which is a website that specialises in festival submissions. You enter all of your films information online then upload your videos. If film makers wish to learn more about film making there is a training programme located in London writers producers and directors can also attend.

DEADLINES
- 7 May 2010 - Early Deadline
- 4 June 2010 - Late Deadline
- 18 June 2010 - Final, Withoutabox-only deadline

Referencing
Rain Dance . (). Rain Dance Film Festival. Available: http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/independent-film-festival-2009. Last accessed 5 February 2010.

Sun Dance

Sun dance is a film festival that helps aspiring filmmakers to showcase their films. It allows major studios to view peoples work that they wouldn't usually looked twice at. The result of this usually means major studios will spend millions on these films through word of mouth from Sun Dance. When talking about this festival its like talking about x factor but the difference is it's a festival for people trying to produce good film. Many major studios will send scouts to look for the next big thing there, so it's worth submitting your work. If there work isn't brought by these being company's or producers the festival will then help these film makers by allowing them to use their sources which will help develop their work and make it better. Sun Dance festival takes place in Utah, in the United States the next festival will take place in January between the 20-30, 2011. This film festival is one of program of the not-for-profit Sun dance institute. During the 90's independent film enjoyed a comeback in popularity. As a result huge figured deals were made after viewings at The Sun Dance Festival.

Referencing
Garry Crystal. (copyright © 2003 - 2010). What is the Sundance Film Festival?. Available: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-sundance-film-festival.htm. Last accessed 5 February 2010.

Brief Encounters

Encounters consists of two major film festivals and are at venues around the Harbourside area of Bristol, UK. The longest running festival in partnership began life in 1995 as Brief Encounters was originally meant to be a one of event and because of it being so popular it expanded year on year and acknowledged internationally as one of the worlds most respected celebrations of short film. In 2001, the short film festival was joined by Animated Encounters which showcased a range of things such as productions, talent, creativity, technology and skills that make animation the success that it is. The two events combined the Encounters Short film banner for the first time in 2006. There was an increase in people trying to get their work viewn with them and there were now more film submissions, film screenings and delegates. In 2007 Animation Talent Symposium day produced by the head of international Outreach at DreamWorks. This event was so successful that it was sold out. This day was organised as a way of sharing views and experiences. special guests that appeared were Mark Kermode, Richard Eyre, Henry LaBounta, Peter Lord, Phill Jupitus and Frank Cottrell Boyce. Principle Sponsors include UK Film council Lottery funded, HP Invent, films @ 59, Watershed.

Link to supporters page http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/our-sponsors.html

“The UK's most important short film festival” The Guardian
ENCOUNTERS recognises that sponsorship is a way to maintain and develop the flair, know-how and glitz for which the festival is known worldwide. That's why we pay very close attention to making sponsorship good value for all of our supporters. The idea behind this is that it allows the sponsors to be associated with an international, well established and well respected festival.

If you would like to submitt your work, you will need to do so by April 1: Submissions open - Send them your films. June 30: Submissions deadline August 30: Festival film selections announced online September: London Launch, film programme announced and accreditation early bird offer November: Accreditation deadline

Referencing
Brief Encounters . (2009). About Us. Available: http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/. Last accessed 5 February 2010.

Jonathan Hodgson

Jonathan Hodgens is an award winning international renowned animation director. When he first left college his first commission was to make an animated short with co director Susan Young and was to be about nuclear disarmament for The United States. He was a founder member of Jonathan Bairstow Shorts in 1996 and in 1997 The man with the most beautiful eyes was funded by channel 4. His work began to be featured in various different festivals such as Hull short Film Festival and can be found on a range of DVD complications also. In 2000 he was Commissioned to make 8 minute film ‘Camouflage’ by Arts Council of England animate! Scheme and in 2005 he received funding from Film London LAFVA scheme to make short film “Forest Murmurs”. Not only does he make short films but also documentaries, commercials one of which is for Percil and does graphics and animation.

Link to awards page http://www.hodgsonfilms.com/cv.php
Link to view video page http://www.hodgsonfilms.com/shortFilms.php

Referencing

Jonathan Hodgson. Biography/ CV. Available: http://www.hodgsonfilms.com/. Last accessed 4 February 2010

Video Activism

Video activism is classified as a type of short film and can be viewn on websites such as YouTube. Video activism has become more popular as result of cameras becoming more cheaper to buy and are allot smaller making it much easier to catch people doing things that they shouldn't be doing . Often these videos involve either protest groups going under cover and recording things which the workers should not be doing or the video will be of protests group standing up for what they believe in and trying to prevent animal cruelty for example. The reason why people find these videos so interesting is because they cannot be altered and only represent the truth.

This video below shows how video activism can change peoples lives and that is there for social change. It allows filmmakers to deliver a message quickly due to the birth of the Internet. They explain that cheap equipment allows them to gather information more easily and share with others their discoveries.

Short Film on TV

In the 1960's and 70's TV provided some minority viewing. This meant that short film could be scheduled into filler and late night slots if schuduled film's length could not fit in. This meant that short film would replace them in order fill in the remaing time slot. In the 1990's BBC2 series 10x10 in association with BFI showcased short film and in 1993 the BBC launched video nation populist mass observation on the cu straight to camera. The video diary was to influence the generation of reality TV online in 2001. There were now changes of how short film could be viewn for example Channel 4 had the"shooting gallery", BBC created "The Film Network" and there were now online/ portable cinemas and the first film channel was produced.

Referencing

Wikipedia. (28 January 2010 at 08:16). Short Film. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_film. Last accessed 4 February 2010.

Shane Meadows

'Shane Meadows is a self-taught, British Film-maker who hails from the Midlands in the UK. He was born in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, UK ON 26TH December 1972.' He started one of the first film festivals called flip side which allows anyone to view others work as well as their own . Before this film festival came about he decided that he was tiered of there being no where to showcase work. So him and a group of his Friends set up an event called 'six of the Best' and as a result of this event growing this lead to the creation of an international video festival. His short films are based and inspired by true life events and issues that him and others can relate to. In his interview he speaks about his passion and beliefs and states that short film allows him to experiment. Despite him making well established films such as 'This is England' he will never stop creating short film as this is what inspires him and feeds him ideas and allows him to experiment with them. As a result of his success he has now released some of his own work on DVD which means alot of his work is restricted and you will not find much of it on websites such as YouTube.

'The Stairwell' is one of his short films and is based on a narrative that everyone can relate to however makes it seem much more dramatic. In a way hes experimenting with the ordinary but in a different way. He draws the audience in by the use of the different camera angles and builds up an anti climax. He experiments with different sound however the use of non digetic sound has a strong impact. The messages we get from this short film is never knowing whats round the corner and not loosing site of people around you. The constant flickering of the light relates to the thriller genre and the use of the fast pace shots, dividing line relates to collision and division.

Free Cinema & Protest

In 1950's a protest to the dominance of mainstream is The British Free cinema movement of the 50's. Free cinema was black and white, documentary and had a fly on the wall type of style. Most films in free cinema were short, had unpaid crew, shoe string budgets and were usually filmed on a 16mm Bolex camera. The difference between the cameras is that a 35mm one is the industry standard, 16mm & 18mm are for home movies and 52mm is IMAX. So from this information in order to achieve a film in the style of a documentary, they would make it look like a home movie which in turn would make it look more realistic however meant that it was no where near to the industry's standard. These films had an experimental approach to sound and had a clear style and attitude and were funded by the BFI . BFI featured w/c people at work in society. Saturday Night was British New Wave along with We are The Lambeth Boys which was inspired by angry young men. Michael More would follow peoples lives and was interested in the way in which the working class lived. He wanted people to send videos in to him based on what people hated about society as he felt it had great appeal.

Little Film studies work has been done on the role of short film as an agent of social change.
-Video activism has symbolic relationship with short film.Meaning the relationship between the two is like the one between a mother and child.
-"Witness video" is a common strategy used by protest groups i.e hunting.

Experimental on art house & Avant-Garde

Short Film relaised they couldn't compete with Hollywood/ mainstream so it found it's own home as art. Avant-Garde films is a french term and means "ahead of the crowd" and is used to describe "cutting edge" films. These films experiment with a wide range of things such as ideas, forms, techniques, and expressions. They are very artistic and are almost like a trend setter as it's a head of it's time. "Avant-Garde films are characterized by a high degree of experimentation--whether it be in manipulation in narrative materials, in highly stylized visual representation, or in radical departures from the norms or conventions current at the time, Avant-Garde film is always a vehicle for the filmmaker’s expression." They tend to focus on the beauty of the film rather then having a clear narrative. Their random and often nothing seems to make sense going from one extreme to another. The propose of them is often to shock audiences, it wants you to fear the unexpected. Maya Deron's experimental films in the 1940's- 1961 displayed a highly individualistic sensibility towards short film. " Meshes of the afternoon" set the tone for USA Avant Garde film making. She takes an anti- mainstream stance in her "artistic license and creative freedom."

Meshes of The Afternoon was made in 1943 by Maya Derenda and Alexander Hammid. The duration of this Avant- Garde film is seventeen minutes. In the 1940's-50's she was the first major American experimental filmmaker. Meshes of The Afternoon is a feminist film about a women trying to find her role in a male dominated society. It really makes the audience feel engaged through it's dream like sequences and effects the way in which the audience think, through film art. Maya Derenda own personal experiences and feelings inspired her and is who the film is actually about. She wanted to bring out the multiple layers of meaning of everything that went into her films. This was shown through her dream sequences and being experimental with time and space. As an audience you begin to understand and can relate to the dreams because often in dreams everything seems much slower and you can never catch up to anything. When she is dreaming its connoting that perhaps subconsciously she wants to be at the same level as her husband or boyfriend but can never reach it. Dreams often are about the way in which we feel and what we fear which this film explores.


Referencing

Gloria L. Floren. (25 April 1998). Avant-Garde (Experimental) Films . Available: http://www.miracosta.cc.ca.us/home/gfloren/f-avant.htm. Last accessed 2nd February 2010.

The Big Shave

The big shave was made in 1967 and was directed and written by Martin Scorsese and is a six minute short film. It shows a man shaving away hair which looks all so normal until he begins to shave away his skin. The message behind this short film is almost like a metaphor, as it's based around the concept of the United States in the Vietnam War. The unites States destroyed another country for no reason and caused harm. This idea is shown through the bloody bathroom and the man repeatedly shaving despite him knowing he is causing harm. This reflects what America done, suggesting they don't have to do get involved but they chose to do so needlessly.

Referencing
Wikapedia. (7 January 2010 at 11:20.). The Big Shave. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Shave. Last accessed 1st February 2010 .

History of Short Film and Hollywood

In 1895 some of the first short films were made such as Sortie a 'l'usine also known as workers leaving the factory which was made by the lumier brothers. In those days short films were the only films that could be viewn in the local cinema and despite thinking now why would people go to watch a film for a couple of seconds/ minutes. The answer to that would be because it was all new then. It was the first of it's kind and many found it interesting and was a form of entertainment for them. These short films were so short because of technical restrictions which is why short film can now be longer because technology has enabled us to do so.

Short film in Hollywood eclipsed by the dominant mode of film production and "classical narrative". Hollywood created genres which meant all types of different people with different interests could go and watch what ever it is they wanted which made going to the cinema more appealing. Cinema experts required films to be longer then 90 minutes so that this would allow two hour blocks for food, advertising and trailers which are all ways for them to make more money and make the cinema experience more pleasurable. All these different things eventually made short film come out of the limelight as there was now more to offer to it's once target audience. As now the target audience were more interested and fascinated by mainstream films.

Currently Hollywood no longer follows the studio system and in 1930's short film production was a marginal activity and meant that Hollywood could take over and began to steal ideas from the short film. They saw short film as a cut price and as an laboratory experimental innovation. They would steal the ideas and add more to them eventually creating a feature length film out of them. They new they could get away with it as these were huge company's with loads of money where as allot these short filmmakers didn't have the power to fight for their rights.

Distribution

A majority of short films do not receive distribution deals however there are many online ways of showing your work such as YouTube and Vimeo. Despite all of this there has been an increase in DVD compilation market which usually contains 10 films however this is only for a small amount of short films that achieve this success such as Rubber Johny and Scummy man.

Rubber Johny is a six minute short film as well as a music video and was directed back in 2005 by Chris Cunningham and the music was composed by Aphex Twin . It has a definite shock factor and is very much trippy. The music used is usually associated with drugs as it has a very fast beat. The whole concept around this short film is about a deformed man living in a basement with his dog. Johny feels isolated and imagines himself doing things that he can only imagine doing despite not being able to do so. It's almost like hes hallucinating he does it as a way of entertaining himself . The music is cut to the beat which is a convention for music videos. This was done as originally this short film was intended to be a thirty second advert for Aphex Twin album drukqs, using the track "afx237 v7" but due to the director liking the concept so much he decided to extend this idea. This was a positive thing as it meant synergy could be used to promote the bands single through this short film.

Referencing
vortex3d. (2007). Rubber Johnny. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9TbdheS3Sg. Last accessed 1st February 2010.


Scummy Man is a short film which has a gritty and realist style and was written and directed by Paul Fraser and produced by Mark Herbert and Diarmid Scrimshaw, based on the song "When the Sun Goes Down" by the Arctic Monkeys, and released on DVD on 10 April 2006 by Domino Records. It is based on prostitution in Sheffield and uses the same actors and actress as the ones seen in the music video. This short film also uses synergy like Rubber Johnny as it's a way of promoting the bands single and also allows the audience to find out how it is for the fictional character Nina as we experience what night life is like for.In order to achieve this documentary style it was filmed on a 16mm film which is like being filmed with a home movie camera.

This short film captures the audience in the first six minutes and wants you to have emotion towards the character Nina. It uses well known actor Stephen Graham who has done similar roles in other films and may have been casted as a away of attracting it's target audience as they are familiar with him. We are then introduced to the cab driver who we very much feel sorry for as he's made to listen to other peoples problems when he has enough of his own. It's almost as though he knows something bad is going to happen but cant do anything about it as he has no control. He doesn't sleep with his wife and just watches life pass him by. On the DVD release it also features another short film "Just Another Day" which allows the audience to see Scummy man from the cab drivers perspective and later find out that Nina reminds him of his daughter who died young and would have been the same age as her.The film won an award for "Best Music DVD" at the 2007 NME Awards on 1 March 2007.

Referencing
Wikipedia. (13 November 2009 at 07:04). Scummy Man. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scummy_Man. Last accessed 4 February 2010.

BBC Film Network

The BBC Film Network is a film network showcasing new British film making and allows you to watch over 300 short films. Sixty two of these are animation, twenty eight are artist's moving image, thirty two are music, hundred and three are drama, sixty six are comedy and forty are documentary. It targets newer and younger audiences by allowing them to access information and video fast. The website is engaging and allows you to do many things such as watching film that has recently been added. As well as allowing audiences to see how many views the different films have had which will enable the target audience to see the most popular ones. Tells you the titles from A-Z which makes it easier when looking for specific films and the date the film was made along with the region and duration of the film. It also has links to other websites and allows you to create your own profile where you can add your own videos however there is a submission process.

Not only does it offer all of the above it also has a film making guide which is useful if you want to make it in the industry or need some guidance getting your work noticed. On this there is an introduction, before you start which allows you you to find out about training rights and clearances, writing, funding and competitions. Then there is moving into production and exibiton and distribution and further readings. As well as all these other things you can see how film makers have made it in the industry which are in the form of case studies.

There is a Network page which offers information on different festivals such as Birds eye view festival 2010 and Glasgow film festival 2010. It then goes on to tell you about the industry panel and the people directory where you can find other like minded people that share the same talent as you.

Referencing
BBC. Film Network. Available: http://www.live.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/. Last accessed 1st February 2010.