The Big Shave - Location Research

For our recreation of 'The Big Shave' we need a suitable location. I had the job to look for a place to film.

The short is set completely in a bath room. In order to recreate The Big Shave accordingly we'd need to find something like this:

Preferably we will be looking for a white bathroom with a mirror above the sink.

Although this bathroom is white/cream it is still not suitable for our recreation as there is so mirror above the sink. This means that the character having a shave won't be able to see their reflection.

 



Cubicles are also unsuitable for the recreation due to practicality. It's very rare to see somebody having a shave in a public toilet.

 

A bathroom like the one above would be most suitable for our recreation as its small, white and has a mirror above the sink.

Although it's unlikely to find a bathroom the same as above, we're going to look for something similar to it.

Short Film Recreation - 'The Big Shave'

As part of our A2 media studies blog myself and three other students (Joseph Nowell, Jonny Briggs and Courtney Radley) will recreate the Michael Scoursese short film 'The Big Shave' - as seen below.

The next few blog posts will consist of a character profile, story board, prop list and a location setting for the recreation.

Plot Synopsis

This short film is a metaphor for the Vietnam War. A man walks into a meticulously clean and sterile bathroom, concentrating on the polished porcelain and shiny metal motif. He then proceeds to shave. When his face is clean, however, he only continues to shave until he pierces through his skin. Blood covers him and falls around him, the red contrasting the perfect spotlessness of the bathroom.

Taking out the Trash - one minute short film

 

As part of our A2 coursework myself, Rebecca Turner, Courtney Radley and Henry Wright created a very short film. We had to base our idea around a given opening scene 'someone puts takeaway packaging in a bin'.

 

With the use of Ryan Martin and Charlie Sear we produced 'Taking Out The Trash'.

Camera Angles - Movement in the Shot

I will now mention different types of camera movement.

• Panning - scans a scene horizontally through the use of a tripod to keep it stable.
• Tilting - scans a scene vertically throught the use of a tripod.
• Dolly Shots - when the camera moves alongside the action usually by following an object or character. These shots are often taken in whilt the camera is on a moving vehicle.
• Hand-held - used to make the audience feel like a part of the scene. Hand-held shots give a ragged effecty which is often used in horror films whilst someone is being chased.
• Crane Shots - these are essentially dolly shots from above.
• Zoom Lenses - used to change the magnification of a shot or image. For example, these can be used to capture a close up shot from a distance.
• Ariel Shot - usually taken from a helicopter to establish the scene.

Camera Angles - Angle of a Shot

The angle of a camera shot helps the audience to make their judgements about the person or object in shot.

Different angles:

• The Birds Eye View shot is take from high up and looks down on what is normally the next scene. From such a high angle objects from below seem unrecognisable and insignificant.
• A High Angle is taken when a camera is elevated above the scene and action. There is a lot of background detail as well as making the scene less intimidating.
• Eye Level shots are the most common type of shot used in film (depending on the genre). This shot is fairly natural compared to the others as we see the scene as if a human is observing it.
• Low Angle shots are used to increase the size of both objects and characters.These shots create a sense of confusion for the audience. The background of this shot is likely to be the ceiling or sky.
• Canted Angle shot (otherwise known as oblique) is created when the camera is tilted. This is done to show an imbalance as well as being used to show a characters point of view.

Camera Angles - Framing or length of a Shot

1) Framing or length of a shot involves different camera shots.

• Extreme Long Shot (ELS) - otherwise known as an establishing shot. An example of this can be seen in 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' (below). This shot is often used to set the scene of the next shots. In a war film the ELS may show some action and some thrilling scenes but it will lack certain details due to the length of the shot.
• In the Long Shot we see the whole of the human body (this is called a full shot). This shot mainly shows the characters but due to the length of it we also see more detail in the background. The long shot also makes the characters and objects seem life-sized if the film is being watched in cinema.
• The Medium Shot shows a figure from the waist up. This shot is often used in dialogue scenes, this may include two characters being seen from the waist upwards (two shot) or three (three shot). If more than three characters are in the shot it tends to become a long shot rather than a medium. Over the shoulder shots are also medium shots, these are taken from behind one character whilst focusing on the one opposite.
• A Close-Up shot shows little background detail, it primarily focuses on a specific detail of mise en scene (most often a face). This magnifies the image within the shot and gives the audience an intimate feel.
• An Extreme Close-Up shows no background detail at all. It focuses on a particular thing. For example, and extreme close-up on a face would usually focus on either the mouth or eyes (as can be seen in the image below). This shot is artificial and is primarily used to create a tension. When filming a shot like this extra care needs to be taken, this is because even the slightest movement can ruin the dramatic effect.

Establishing Shot

Long Shot

Medium Shot

Close-up

Extreme Close-Up

Camera Angles

There are three important factors to think about when considering camera angles. These are; framing or length of a shot, the angle of the shot and whether there will be any movement within the shot. I will now explain all of these individually within the next three posts.

Pros and Cons of creating a short film

Pros

• Cheaper - short films need a much smaller budget than feature length films. This means that you will save more money than you think.
• Online Marketing - short films can easily be marketed online. The can easily be uploaded onto YouTube or Facebook, this means that it's not very time consuming.
• Quick - making a short film is quicker than producing a feature length film. If the short film is discovered and nominated for an award, it can be a quick way to get into the film industry.

Cons

• It's very difficult and unlikely that short films will make any profit, so therefore it's risky to spend more money than needed.
• It can also be quite difficult to fit a whole storyline into less than 40 minutes.

Comparison with full length

- One of the advantages of short films is that they are often low-budget. Feature length productions can be either high or low budget, depending on the amount of money available. However, the films which are of a higher cost are usually more successful.

- Full Length films can also be marketed through online streaming sites. It's not as easy to show the full film on websites such as Youtube, but trailers can be uploaded.

- The production of a full length film takes a lot longer than that of a short. This is because more footage needs to be recorded and therefore it will need more planning and editing.

How has the short film market benefitted from digital technologies?

The growth in digital technologies has supported the short film industry in many ways.

One of these ways is through the development of the internet. The internet is constantly growing with more and more opportunities rising for short films.
The growth of the internet means that there are more websites specifically for short films. This allows the industry to have a wider market audience.
The websites also make it easier for the consumer to discover the products.

Another way that technologies have developed is through the use of Apps. Consumers are now able to download apps from Google's 'Play Store' and Apple's 'iTunes Store'. Certain apps may be made for the use of short films alone, allowing a wider market for the industry.

We also now have more ways of streaming short films. Many people these days own a vast number of gadgets which can be used to link with the internet. These include; tablets, iPods, Computers/Laptops and phones.

How are Short Films consumed?

The majority of short films are consumed by those who are planning to create one. This involves students as well as professional directors and producers. A lot of people who watch short films use them as inspiration.

There are also many festivals which award trophies and prizes for short films. These are small-scale as the market is a lot smaller for shorts than it is for feature-length films.

Who is the Market Audience for Short Films?

The industry for short films is much smaller than full length feature films.

There are two different types of audiences which may watch short films.

Demographics -
These are people who are employed in the film industry . These people may be looking at short films in order to find a potential director, producer or writer. They also may be viewing the short films in order to inspire a future creation.

Psychographics -
The audience for short films can be categorised into three sub-categories.

• Succeeders - (these are people who think they're powerful, successful and ambitious). This group of people are mainly driven by their income and ambition to climb the industry.
• Aspirers - (these are the people who strive for a better lifestyle). These are likely to be former students who have recently finished a degree.
• Individualists - (people who are alone in the industry, independent thinkers, and those who want to be separate from the crowd). This group of people who like to express their opinions and views through film.

What is a Short Film?

A short film is a film which is less than 40 minutes in length.

A short film is too short to be considered as a feature film which has no consensus or boundaries.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less".

Short films are usually documentaries on controversial subjects.