Prelim Short Film

History of Film

The IMR
Institutional Mode of Representation

• This is the style of films that developed during the Classic era of Hollywood Cinema and continues to this day.
• It is representative of the international language of film.

The 'Primitive style'

• the 'primitive style' of movie-making predated classical Hollywood's continuity system/the IMR.
• techniques of this style: frontal staging or a tableau style, exaggerated gestures, hardly any camera movement, and no point of view shots - early cinema was silent and unsophisticated - melodramatic mime. 

The Lumiere Brothers films - 1895

The Lumiere Brothers were among the first film makers in history; their most renowned film was 'A Trip to the Moon' in 1902. 

A Trip to the Moon 1902 short film 

Also known as 'Le Voyage dans la Lune' - directed by George Melies - 1902

• very little editing 
• same shot throughout 
• genres develop
• special effects 
• clear story-line 
• no dialogue/silent film

The Birth of a Nation - D. W. Griffith - 1915

This film is known as being one of the most racist films made.

• shots develop 
• 2 hours long
• story-line/content (although politically incorrect in the modern day)
• no dialogue/sound still

Some of the innovations developed from this film:

• the length of each shot - designed to influence emotional response - dramatic scenes cut faster
• edited to create a dramatic narrative
• subtitles
• filmed at night
• tinting was used extensively 
• panning was used
• close-ups to show emotion 
• cross-cutting
• various camera-angles - high angle shots, panoramic long shots
• he did this all using one camera and two lenses 
• done in 9 weeks 

The Jazz Singer - 1927

This specific film is also another one like 'The Birth of a Nation' that is not politically correct; although it does show the development in film since D. W. Griffith's film. 

• introduces sound to the world of film 
• the film not only introduced sound but the innovation of editing and camerawork

Practice Shots for Preliminary Task

These six images are general practice shots for when me and my group make our prelim short film; we took these to give ourselves a sense of what we were trying to create, as well as to remind us in the production of the minute clip of our idealistic shots.
We took pictures outside of the lift shaft at different angles, showing the door of the lift and the key used to call the lift. As well as a picture of the low angled shot of the characters feet.
Pictures were also taken inside the lift and of the floor which we intended to have the ghostly figure walk down and where the elevator would stop and the girl would leave.

Short film brainstorm

The task for the preliminary task was to make a short film around 1 minute; I will be working in a group with Chloe http://chloeessama2.blogspot.co.uk/

Our ideas were inspired by our location of the lift; our short film fits into the genre of supernatural horror as we incorporated the element of a ghostly figure. The outline idea of our short film was that a girl, alone in a school setting, takes the elevator down from the top floor; during the way down in the lift the girl is shown to see a figure through a small window. From this we then show this ghostly figure to be on the floor of which the girl goes down to; the girl then retreats back into the lift but is followed in and the ending has no clear conclusion as to the outcome of the girl in the lift. This is not an eccentric plot that follows a lot of the conventions of horror or fits into a specific genre of horror.

Shots & development of the short film:

• tracking shot - shows the girl characters feet
• the camera tilting up and down - shot through the little window in the lift/ POV shot - to see the ghostly figure 
• close up of girl's eyes
• CCTV - high rise shot inside the lift 
• shots of doorways - low angle - lights flickering 
• POV shots - the girl seeing the ghost - running into the lift - handheld 
• close up of hand of ghost grabbing the girl's shoulder - then cuts to black