Short Film Task - Closed Doors Analyse.

Closed Doors - written and directed by James Button, 2011.


Synopsise of this short film:

Closed Doors is about a young man (early twenties) who over hears banging sounds from his neighbours flats, and fears it might be domestic violence, having dealt with it between his own parents he goes to investigate. As he knocks on the door a woman answers and tells him nothing is wrong though he doesn't believe her, she closes the door and the main character begins to walk back to his flat when she spots a drop on blood from his shoe. He knocks back on the door again and the same woman answers only this time with a nose bleed, which leads him to believe she is being beaten up by her partner. he questions her again and she still insists nothing is wrong and closes the door again. the main Character steps back from the door and beings to dial "999" on his phone when the woman's partner opens the door and questions him. Still believe some abuse is going on he invites the woman to come with him to which her partner pushes him and tells his to leave them alone and begins to close the door.

The main character begins to get angry and begins to have flash backs of his abusive father. The main character kicks the door open and begins a fight with the woman's partner until repeatedly hitting him with a bottle, the same as a flashback of his father doing the same. As the woman's partner lies on the floor the main character begins to calm down he looks at his shoe and there is not stain from the drop of blood nor is the woman's nose bleeding, as he continues to look around the room he sees candles and roses meaning possibly meaning no violences was taking place and he imagined the blood. He quickly leaves and returns to his flat shaken up by the events and sits back down at his desk were he began and the beginning of the film, and takes a creased picture of himself and his mother out of a frame and straighten its out revealing his father, to which he stares at and folds back over.

As this piece contains flashbacks that have happened in the past the structure of this piece is non linear as the time line continuously chances from what has happened in the past and what is in the present.

How are the characters represented?



Use Of Camera?

Use of Editing?

This Editing in 'Closed Doors' helps to create a suspenseful feel to the short film. This is done through the fast cutting rate between the shots as it shows that a lot is going on during the scene. Another kind of editing technique used in this short film is shot- reverse- shot. This is used during scenes of conversation to make it clear to the audience who the character is talking to as well as capturing their emotions and reactions to what is being said during this conversation.

Mise-en-scene: Location, Lighting, Costume, Props and Make Up:

• Location: the location of this piece takes place within a block of flats and however directing in the two flats and the hall way between the too.

• Lightning: The lighting in this short film plays are large part in creating a suspenseful tone as well as giving out a certain vibe that would be in a horror film. The lighting throughout is low however this could be used as a metaphor to represent the dark undertones in this short film such as domestic violence.

• Costumes: The costumes within this piece are not very significant. As the characters are all dressed in causal clothing, though it could be argued that the colour choices convey the emotions for example Red equalling anger. 

• Props: There are a few props within this piece that play some importance to the storyline for example the cup at the beginning which the main character uses to try to listen to what is being said through the walls. The second important prop is the bottle which the main character used to beat the other male character with, as well as appearing in the flashbacks of his father. And the final prop is the picture in the frame on his desk of himself and his mother and father though his father has been folded over so his does not appear through the frame metaphorically saying that the main character wants to cut him out of his life.

• Make up: only a small amount of make up is used in this short film (that can be seen) which is the blood dripping from the female characters nose at the door or her flat and throughout the fight scene.

Sound

The sound used in this short film is extremely importance as it creates the feel of the short film and relates to films of a horror and thriller nature. A number of sound effects are used throughout and each contribute to the suspense of the short film. These include Echoes, which make the scene feel big and empty, Bass notes and flat line noises that create tension, a heartbeat effect which shows the fear of the characters and silence which creates suspense as it makes the audience think that something is about to arise.


Target Audience?

The target audience of this film would be those aged between 18- 30 years old as it contains strong language and violence. This short film will also be for those who are fans of horror or thriller films as this piece touches on these genres.

What ideas could you use in your own short film?

I could use a number of things from this short film as i hope to create one of a similar genre, though i would not take any ideas from the story but the way this short film managed to create suspense by looking at the editing and sound effects in detail and look at the why the short film is shot such as by using low lighting.

Dexter Opening Sequence - Analysis.

(Dexter - Tv Show 2006 - Present)

Back Story:
 Dexter works as a blood spatter pattern expert for the Miami Metro police department. But by night - he takes on an entirely different persona one of a serial killer. however he only kills people who fit a very prolific and precise "moral code" (those who have been wrongly set free) taught to him by his late father Harry.

Summary:
The opening sequence to the TV show, shows the morning routine of  the main character Dexter. We see him complete a number of tasks that include waking up, shaving, eating and getting dressed before leaving for work all of which happen in a linear sequence. However the way these task are pictured in the opening sequence suggests his serial killer persona. Making the audience afraid of what is going on, on screen to be relived when the bigger picture is that of something innocent.

How are the themes, groups and characters represented?

• Themes - The Themes used within this opening sequence all correlate to sinister behaviour, as the shots used suggest cutting, slicing, strangling and smothering all of which are considered sinister.
• Characters- Throughout we only see one individual character and his perspective of the morning. The character of Dexter is portrayed in a combination of ways as to the audience as what he is doing looks much worst until it is made clear. Therefore his representation changes throughout from innocent to guilty of something to innocent again.

Camera Techniques:

• Micro Shots - Throughout this opening sequence micro shots are dominantly used This is to convey a small piece and or an important detail of the story in this case. A number of micro shots are used as there help translate the story of something dark happening fooling the audience as not much is being shown letting them jump to conclusions before the whole picture has been revealed.
• Close ups- not many close ups are used in this piece as most of the story telling is done but the micro shots. A close up is used to get the (facial) reactions of a character. In this case the close up is used near to the end as Dexter is getting dressed, as he pulls the shirt over himself an imprint of his face can be seen, suggesting that someone is being smothered. Once his pulls his shirt down, the close up allows us to see he is lost for breathe as smothering stops the ability to breath adding a nod to that.
• Mid shot- A mid shot is used in the final scene to show Dexter leaving his house to leave for work symbolising his morning routine is over. As well as the facial expression on his face, a kind of evil smirk showing the audience he is aware of their suspicions.

Editing:

• The editing in this opening sequence is in time with the pace of the soundtrack that accompanies this piece. Throughout there is a normal cutting rate between shots however the overall speed of the shots are slow to allow the minor details to be seen as they add to the effect of the shot for example the juice of the orange squirting out, during the scene in which is it being cut with a large knife.

Mise-En-Scene: Location, lighting, Costume, Props and Make up.

• Location: Throughout there are a number of locations used all of which are rooms within the house such as bedroom, bathroom and kitchen.
• Lighting: The lighting used throughout continuously changes depending on the shot. At times the lighting is low, this is used to help contribute to the fact that the view is unsure as to what they are seeing raising their suspicions of what is happening. And at other times the shots are filmed with bright lighting to again contribute to unsure of what is happening in the scene as the over use of brightness helps the audience focus on one particular detail with effectively makes them jump to conclusions. 
• Costume: Through this piece there is hardly any costumed used in shot. Only the clothing used at the end as Dexter leaves his house. He is dressed in a causal way suggesting that he is an average man therefore giving others around no reason to suspect him for any of the murders he has committed.
• Props: This opening sequence relies heavily on the props used within to convey the questionable sinister tone. The props used in this piece are fake blood, which can been seen during the shaving scene as drops fall on the bowl of the sink. The food used in the cooking sequence, Floss which is used to make it looks like a strangling is going to be take place And T-shirt which looks as if somebody is being smothered.
• Make Up: In this Opening sequence their is not a lot of make up used if any is, it is most likely used on Dexter to help his features show up more on camera. as well as possibly the blood used in the bathroom scene while shaving in mirror.

Sound - dialogue, ambient sound track, or music other:

• Soundtrack: Throughout there is no dialogue used, only the same consistence soundtrack piece throughout. This piece of soundtrack acts as a contrast to the suggested sinister imaged used on screen as the soundtrack is upbeat and positive.
• Other: while the soundtrack is playing, particularly in the kitchen scene the use of diegetic sound. The diegetic sound used during the kitchen scene takes place during the cooking of breakfast. Here we can hear the sizzling of the meat, cracking of eggs, cutting of food and finally eating the food, all of which can be heard under neither the consistent soundtrack piece.

Who are the target audience?

Dexter is a television series that is designed to appeal to a target audience of 18 and over because of its chilling, innovative and stimulating as well as containing graphic scenes of violence. Its dominant target audience would be adult males who are fans of film and TV shows that are in the genre of Thrillers, Horrors, as the themes of this program are though not commonly associated with females therefore the majority of male viewers would be larger than the majority of female viewers.

What ideas can you take to help you in your own short film?

By looking at this piece as I case study I have been inspired but a few elements used within this piece. The first includes the suggested sinister theme. I have been inspired by this as it is an intelligence way to suggest something bad is happening without haven't to visually carry out the issue, meaning this would make our short film story easier to tell as having to carry out the 'problem' maybe difficult or not possible to carry out due to budget or the way it looks on screen.

The second is the use of Micro shots. The micro shots are used in this piece as an interesting way of suggesting and allowing the audience to raise suspicions as to what is taking place on screen. In my short film, I will include a few micro shots to all the audience to focus on a key point of detail to the story as well as the suggestive element in the way this opening sequence does.

Short Film Task - Analyse of Awake.

Awake - Short Film. Directed by Danny Blackstock, Created by Glen Cheng, Melinda Ng and Stephanie Bourgeois. Starring Cameron James Phillips. 2013.

I have chosen to look at this short film as i hope to produce a short film of a similar theme/ genre that is a Thriller or possibly a combination of it and something else such as Horror or Comedy.

This narrative structure of this piece is linear as there are no flashbacks or scenes that take place in the pass of.
Synopsise of Film.

This Short film captures the life of a young man (in his early twenties) being the only one left on   world though we are not told of this however it is implied. The Film goes through his daily routine as the only one left in the world showing us how he deals with the boredom and what is feelings are on the matter such as missing friends and family members, he particularly mentions not knowing what happened to his grandfather before he got sick while looking into his room and seeing a cane leaning against a night stand. The Character also mentions the strange things that are happening to him mentioning the first day he attempted to drive however his car was filled with water. The film then goes on to show us how he spends his time trying out new hobbies to keep himself occupied, while he narrates his feelings.

Towards the end he begins to notice strange things happening to him more frequently, and how he begins to believe he is no longer alone, questioning his sanity. The final scene of this short film, shows the main character arriving home and noticing a door left open to which he follows. The room reveals a figure however we cannot see their face as the camera angle is an over the shoulder shot of the new character holding a cane, upon sight the main character of the short film calls out 'Grandpa?' showing us his grandfather has returned.

The last shot of the Short Film is a shot of a full page newspaper story to which we can see a photo of our main character and his car being pulled out of a river with the heading "Young man found dead in his car after crashing into the Fraser river" to which we can assume that he is not the only person left on earth but is in an alternate world different to the living one as he is dead along with his grandfather who is presumed dead also.

Use of Camera in Awake.




Mise-En-Scene:

• Location:  There are 3 locations used within this short film, the first begin the house in which the main character lives, and is also the most used location within the short film. Here we see him going through his daily routine such as waking up, eating breakfast, keeping busy and then finally sleeping. The second Location used within this short film is the street in which he lives. on a few times throughout this short film we see the street, whether the main character is looking through his window observing the emptiness or stepping out (particular the scenes with the gnome and car) And the final location is the beach where he is skimming Peebles as part of the hobbies he is talking about in the narration.

• Costume: The items of clothing in this short film are causal clothing for a young adult man, there are not anyone kinds in the short film as it only consists of one character.

• Props: There are a number of props used in this short film, though most importantly are the gnome the main character picks up off of the street and continuos to use the gnome as a sign of friendship throughout as he is alone. The second, is the characters car that at first we see is filled with water which confuses the main character however later on we know that, that is the same car he crashed into the river in. And Finally, the cane that belongs to his Grandfather. We first see this cane in his Grandfathers room leaning against the nightstand however then makes another appearance at the end when the main character finds his Grandfather back in his room.

Sound:

Target Audience:

The target audience of this piece would be those aged 18 - 30 years old, as the age of the actor within the short film is roughly the same or a similar age and those who are fans of either Sci fi, horror or the thriller genre as this short film falls under all of these categories.

What Ideas could you use in your own short film?

For my own short film i could base it on a similar theme as this short film as it is is classed as a thriller genre film and this is the kind i particularly want to do as i am interested in this genre. From this short film i could use the idea of a paradox or big twist to cause confusion and to keep the audience interested.

Short film idea. Refined.

Here, in my group we have looked a few possible opening scenes in some detail (included a possible soundtrack and locations) for our short film with references to films/tv show we have seen similar scenes to or ones that we are inspired by. 

Short film ideas.

In our group we have yet to decided on a solid idea, we have decided on some key elements we want to include in our short film such as possible shots and the overall genre. 

Production Schedule for our Short Film.

This is a production schedule i have created using Time Toast. The aim of this schedule is to allow me to keep ahead of my deadlines have set myself in the process of creating a short film, allowing me to focus of one part of the task as a time rather than attempting more than one so i can keep track of what part of the task has been completed and what needs more work.