How to make films?

Making a film consists of 6 key factors which are essential for making a successful film:
- Scriptwriting - someone who writes the film, dialogue for the screen play.
- Producing - the process of making and filming.
- Directing - a director is someone who directs the actors and film crew during the film making.
- Cinematography - the creating of motion pictures.
- Sound - recording speech and adding a soundtrack and ambient sounds.
- Editing - the final part of creating the film - adding effects and deleting unwanted scenes.

Studying Short Film - Patience

Patience is about a young man called James, he is addicted to gambling. He comes across a homeless man that gives him the chance to change his ways.

Sound
Sound bridge - footsteps and clock alarm
Blade, futuristic sound when homeless man's face is shown
Little dialogue
Screeching of chalk on chalkboard
Ticking clock
Sound of the clock alarm gets louder as James throws it away
Noise of plane in field - loneliness?

Editing
Fast paced cuts when digging up coins
Fast paced jump cuts on hand with coins going into the slot machine - desperation?
Fade, shows many James's - time passing
Colour change - black and white
Fade on transition from underpass to field
Black screen and clock ticking

Mise en Scene
Adverts for low cost store in the background of underpass - money is always on our mind?
Homeless man has hat over his eyes - mysterious
Shovel in ground - connotations of a grave, ending the gambling

Camera Work
Extreme close up of money going into slot machine
Close up on James's face
Pan up James
Shallow focus on clock in the dirt

Studying Short Film - Umbilical

Sound
Sound of electricity in opening titles
Low key music with piano
Sounds of water, children playing and a cat meowing
Occasional strings in music
Music changes to high key to ball flies through window
Music builds and gets louder (danger) ball goes back out the window TV - mix of children adverts, noisy Electrical noise on end credits

Editing
Animated film
Sans serif font - more childlike
Black and white opening credits
Black screen and end credits - grey flickering font

Mise en Scene
Black and white floor apart from neon drawings
Baby doesn't have much detail on face or facial expression
Crayons - childlike
Colourful ball - childlike
Colours on TV screen become bright and futuristic

Camera Work
Camera follows the cord
Low angle of baby Low angle of window - distant and impossible to reach?
Zoom out and window
High angle of baby
Close up on crayons
High angle of baby when cord unplugs

Studying Short Film - Slinky

Man is confronted in a park by a loonatic that happens to be his best friend from school.

Sound
Sound bridge - chirping birds
Lots of dialogue
Sound brigde of man in suit laughing into end credits

Editing
Sans serif, child like font on opening titles and end credits
Fade into scene
Fast paced cuts
Fade out to credits

Mise en Scene
Newspaper - interlectual Man wearing a suit - importance and authority Jeremy wears scruffy dark coloured clothing
Lightbulb in Jeremy's pocket - sign of intelligence
Space hopper - childlike
Slinky - makes man in suit look immature - characters switch positions of intelligence?

Camera Work
Jeremy looks into camera - close up
Mid shots
Close ups
Over the shoulder shot showing Jeremy - makes audience feel uncomfortable and vulnerable

Studying Short Film - Pudding Bowl

Pudding Bowl is about a little girl called Ivy, set in the 1950's. Filmed in 2007 and directed by Vanessa Caswill.

Sound
Contained Narrative
Little dialogue
Old fashioned music - crackle from record player, fits period of time the film was set in
Sound bridge
Pause on Ivy's reply to brother

Editing
Cuts
Clock Wipe
Fade - indicates a dream like state
Font fits the time period
Dramatic Irony - Glue in Ivy's hair
Time speeds up when hair is being cut
Jump cut
Fade on credits
Mise en Scene
Ivy - average looking, looks young
Quite a large cast of 9 charcters
Older version of Ivy in white and red dress, similar to the yound version
Hair on floor in a circle - creates an unrealistic situation, entertainment?
Lighting - some light and shadow on brother, makes him look dark and mysterious?
Flowers next to the mirror to make it seem more like a real moviestars dressing room

Camera Work
Close ups
Slight low angle shot on brother - makes him look powerful and dominating
High angle shot on Ivy when hair is being cut - makes her look less powerful
Pan
Big close up on Ivy
Over the shoulder shot of Ivy looking in mirror - we all want to be like our idols, relate to the character
Worms eye view when hair falls on camera
Shot through the glasses - high angle, magnafied - makes the boys look in danger?

Developing my Knowledge of Film Genres

Film Genres:
Fantasy
SciFi
Crime
Romantic
Comedy - this is more of a STYLE than a GENRE.
Action
Adventure - (Action/Adventure)
Horror
Parade - (Spoof)
Thriller
Cartoon/Amination
War
Historical
Western
Anime
Romcom
Psychological Thriller
Slasher
Documentry
Novel Adaptation
Bollywood
Political
Gangster
Satirical - eg poking fun at something

Whats the difference between a feature length and a short film?
- duration
- a short film usually costs less than a feature length film
- a short film has a less complex narrative
- a short film has a smaller budget
- a short film has no a-list cast
- a short film has a niche audience
- a short film less likely to show in a cinema
- a short film is likely to be made by a less established company
- a short film will not have any franchises, eg: games
- a short film will have a poorer quality image
- a short film is more implicite
- a short film has dialogue

Films Throughout the 20th and 21st Century

Western

1910's - 1920's: Across the Plains, The Battle, The Virginian, Straight Shooting, Out West
1930's - 1940's: The Big Trail, Way Out West, The Drifter, Riders of Destiny, When a Man Sees Red
1950's - 1960's: North to Alaska, The Unforgiven, Seven Ways from Sundown, Lonely are the Brave, Hud
1970's - 1980's: Cry Blood, Apache, Catlow, Four Rode Out, A Gunfight, Chino
1990's - Present: Dust, 800 Bullets, The Missing, Dead Birds, Lone Rider


Horror

1910's - 1920's: Frankenstein, The Golem, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Noseratu, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1930's - 1940's: Dracula, The Mummy, Freaks, White Zombie, The Old Dark House
1950's - 1960's: House of Wax, Godzilla, Them!, The Bad Seed, The Night of  the Hunter
1970's - 1980's: The Exorcist, The Man from Deep River, Sisters, Deathdream, It's Alive
1990's - Present: Ghost, The Sixth Sense, The Eye, The Ring, Halloween


Crime/Thriller

1910's - 1920's: The Penalty, The Street, White Tiger, The Big City, The Pleasure Garden
1930's - 1940's: The Cat Creeps, Night Owls, City Streets, Love is a Racket, Scarface
1950's - 1960's: The Blue Lamp, Gunman in the Streets, The Family Secret, Roadblock, Angel Face
1970's - 1980's: Bloody Mama, The Cop, Dirty Harry, Across 110th Street, The Big Bird Cage
1990's - Present: Oceans Eleven, Swordfish, Dark Blue, Gangs of New York, Out of Time


Action/Adventure

1910's - 1920's: The Big Adventure, Robin Hood, The Navigator, Adventure, The Iron Mask
1930's - 1940's: Morroco, Tarzan Escapes, Lost Horizon, The Adventures of Robin Hood, China Seas
1950's - 1960's: Treasure Island, The African Queen, The 3 Musketeers, Jungle Drums of Africa, Watusi
1970's - 1980's: Robin Hood, Jaws, King Kong, The Deep, Swashbuckler
1990's - Present: The Scorpion King, The Legend of Zorro, City of Ember, Indiana Jones, Rambo


Romance

1910's - 1920's: The Ace of Hearts, Girl Shy, The Third Degree, Why Worry?, The Big Parade
1930's - 1940's: Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, Modern Times, It Happened One Night, It's a Wonderful Life
1950's - 1960's: Imitation of Life, A Taste of Honey, Roman Holiday, An Affair to Remember, Bus Stop
1970's - 1980's: Mama, There's a Man in Your Bed, Dirty Dancing, Summer of '42, Everytime We Say Goodbye, Grease
1990's - Present: Come See Paradise, Pretty Woman, Jungle Fever, Titanic, Save the Last Dance


SciFi

1910's - 1920's: Metropolis, The Lost World, Woman in the Moon, A Trip to Mars, A Message from Mars
1930's - 1940's: Things to Come, The Invisible Man, The Lost City, Flash Gordon, Undersea Kingdom
1950's - 1960's: A Space Odyssey, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Planet of the Apes, Forbidden Planet,
1970's - 1980's: Star Wars, Blade Runner, Alien, The Terminator, E.T, Tron
1990's - Present: The Matrix, Terminater 2: Judgement Day, Wall-E, Minority Report, The Foundation