Preparations - a short film

Preparations - a short film

Preparations - Magazine Review

Preparations - Magazine Review

Transcript:

 

Short films – like them or not – are a powerful form of media.

Whether they be ten, twenty or thirty minutes long, they can have a long lasting, impactful effect on the way you look at a certain topic or viewpoint. In ways a feature film struggles to do this whilst battling narrative structures and many complex and deep characters. However, a good short film can involve one or two characters, a simple yet effective plot and still manage to persuade the audience to consider the meaning behind the subject matter effectively.

Now, onto Preparations. Second time directors Matt Hawes provides an interesting look at what motivates a man to do the most evil of acts, murder. The film manages to also explore what motivated the victim to be in the situation he finds himself in. What lengths will the victim go to release himself from the claws of the man who wishes him dead?

Well, whilst the plot and characters are interesting enough, the climax felt slightly rushed, as if it has something to make up for. However, during an interview with the director, he commented on how he “wanted the climax to end as quickly as it started to emphasise the speed of the doctor.”

*INSERT* Cat & Mouse. Paul M & Daniel Hayes in Preparations.

The unnamed private detective provides a brilliant insight in to what drives a man to his limit. Whilst James, the doctor, intrigues you and forces you to question his every word. Also, observant viewers will notice a subtle plot twist, which could easily go unnoticed.

At times Hayes performance is exceptional. His menacing eyes and twitchy facial expressions truly portray an actor in his element.

Similarly, Paul M provides us with a character who is hard to ignore. His quirky delivery, followed by his often scary grimacing faces, allows you to wholly enjoy his character and everything he brings to the table.

Verdict: Hawes’ interesting take on human motivations, and the superb acting by both leading men round off an excellent film during an excellent year. Perhaps the year’s best, even despite the pacing issues.

Preparations - Poster

Preparations - Poster

Task I Part 1 - Costume Shots

Costume Ideas:

Hitman

Grey Jacket

For the character of my unnamed hitman I have decided I would like to portray him in a smart, yet casual manner. Therefore, I thought a smart, grey suit jacket with a casual grey jumper would be best suited for my idea of the hitman.

Grey Jumper

Dr. James

For the character of Dr. James I wanted to dress him in similar attire to the hitman, however I wanted to contrast the colours of their clothing yet make them similar by choosing grey for the hitman and black for the Doctor. This way it subtly hints to the viewer that they are similar characters with similar motives.

Black Suit Jacket

Black Jumper

 Overall I believe the costumes I chose worked well to represent the characters, their motivations and background.

Audience Feedback for Preparations

This audience feedback allowed me to understand the good aspects of my film, whilst also highlighting areas for improvement. It was also useful gathering feedback from people within my target demographic.

Task 12 - MORE Target Audience Research - Secondary

This research has furthered my knowledge of the genre which will in turn help me create a short film with clear genre boundaries.

Task G - Storyboard

I decided to print off a template to use as my storyboard,(http://alessandrougodotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/storyboard-template-1-85.jpg.)
This process helped me immensley to visual my film and allowed me to further my ideas without the worry of losing ideas.

Task 10 - MORE Short Film Industry Research

For some reason there is no definitive register of short film produced in the UK and the UK Film Council do not track such productions. Also, the UK Film Council do not track feature length films with a budget of less than £500,000.

The British Film Institution (BFI) will sometimes fund up-and-coming directors for their latest short film. The government also issue grants.
List of funding sources and the bodies which help production and distribution:
- National and regional screen agencies
- Local councils - if the subject matter is to their benfit
- Charities - if the subject matter is appropriate
 Production schemes and competitors
- Aid from festivals.

Short films also have 'Golden Rules' which should be adhered to:
- An original and exciting idea
- Good acting
- High production skills and values
- Traditional timing for shorts (5-20 minutes)
- Have a strong, captivating opening
- Avoid repitition
- Include new and interesting techniques
- Other resources which are not commonly used

Short films can be distributed in numerous ways:
- Online/YouTube/Vimeo
- DVD's at festivals etc
- Distributors may use your film in their catalogue of films at festivals like Cannes, Rotterdam and SunDance, which would boost sales and audience potential.

http://www.slideshare.net/saimaaauddin/short-film-research-26553517

Task I Part 2 - Costume selection and reasoning

I dressed the hitman character in a casual suit jacket with a t-shirt beneath to represent his seriousness of the situation yet I wanted to present him as the conventional 'cool guy' hitman.
I decided to dress the character Dr James in dark, smart clothing. I thought the colour black would foreshadow his evil side and also sway the audience into believing his is a guilty man. However, by the end the audience cannot decide whether he lied to get himself out of the situation or told the truth to escape also. I believe this addition of ambiguity to the plot creates a more interesting and arresting narrative.

Daniel Hayes as The Hitman

 I believe I achieved the desired effect, he appears very casual and laid back but ominous and evil when he needs to be. Also, I believe this 'look' allows his deception to become more understandable.

Paul M as Dr. James

Dr James appears to be a wealthy doctor. However, his face, dark clothing and lighting present his character as ominous and untrustworthy.

Actors - Who and how I found them?

The two actors I chose for the role of the Hitman and Dr. James were Daniel Hayes and Paul M, respectively.

I believe I chose the right actors for the role, especially Daniel Hayes who completely loved the role and enjoyed every moment he was on screen
Paul M also very surprised me, his professionalism on set allowed me to wrap up filming with two hours. This process could have lasted a lot longer without both of their concentration and focus.

I found these two actors by posting an advert on StarNow (www.starnow.co.uk/). I advertised the type of character which they would be playing, along with a short summary of the plot and other miscellaneous details such as payment and location. Then the actors chose which of the characters they would like to audition for and apply. I received around 9 applications all together, of these 9 I narrowed the selection down to 4 and eventually chose Paul M and Daniel Hayes. 
Overall, I could not have found the actors which I did without StarNow, the website is simple and easy to use and can help transform your amateur film into a professional-looking, well-acted piece of work.

My Target Audience

My chosen target audience for my thriller short film is males and females, aged 15-30 (100% of people I surveyed fall within this demographic).
However, with sub-genres within thrillers my film could appear to fit with a certain sub-genre without me purposefully striving for that effect, which could attract a different audience who I would not have known would enjoy my film.

Task 12 - Target Audience Research - Primary

Audio from Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1qfAw6SaMjMNHE5eXRXSktWVW8/view?usp=sharing

Questionnaire:

Results:

 Q1.)

This shows me that out of the people that I asked, the majority of people enjoy a comedy over the other choices. However, I am set on making a thriller because I enjoy the genre and I believe I can produce a quality film.

Q2.)
 
This data proved to me the importance of a good plot, according to my target audience. This allows me to focus on that aspect of the genre, whilst also showing me what aspects to leave out. Q2 has significantly aided me in my progress.

Q3.)

The results for this particular question has made me doubt my plot decisions. However, I believe the possibility of my target audience enjoying such a plot is strong enough to warrant my decision of going through with my idea.

Q4.)

This question has made it clear to me the type of resolution I should chose in order to please the majority of my target audience. Therefore, I will add an aspect of ambiguity in order to make the audience contemplate the ending after it has finished. I am hoping this will add to the overall emjoyment felt after viewing my film.

Q5.)

The clarity of the results for this question allow me to choose freely. I believe that a good narrative needs two strong characters to forward the plot with momentum. Therefore, I am opting for a two character-driven narrative.

Q6.)

With the feedback from this question I am beginning to sway towards the implementation of death within my narrative. The results show me that my target audience expect death but also alot of people believe it should be used only sometimes. I have alot to think about plot wise after recording this data.

Q7.)

I have learnt from this data that my plot should involve a gun, however only if it is necessary to forward the plot. I wanted to include a gun in the first place and this data has further powered that idea.

Q8.)

These results for this question has further solidified my original intentions. I have tried to create a complex plot, that makes sense but leaves a sense of ambiguity at the end, and now I believe I made the right decision and nothing needs changing.

Q9.)

I am still unsure whether to make my thriller violent or not. Although the majority of people who completed my question would say that it should, I believe a powerful thriller can rely solely on tension and intersting camera angles. Therefore, I am still unsure on whether to make Preparations violent or not.

Overall thoughts:

I have many things to think about now, whether I should include blood and violence, whether I should include one or two strong characters. I believe this target audience research has significantly helped me mould the creation of my short film.