For groups tackling the Short Film Package
2018 A2 blogs HERE
Start your research into short films by working systematically though each element below. You will present each step of research in a separate post. Consider how to make each post a creative use of technology.
Pick two other of the BFI short film makers that are competing for the award, such as Sandhya Suri and follow the same trail: how is her work publicised? You will be coming to the conclusion that distribution of shorts is a step-by-step process. In each case, screenshot and hyperlink your evidence.
Next post: RESEARCH: INTRODUCING SHORT FILMS
Using the same BFI festival website, continue investigating shorts, this time, in more depth. What did you like about the style of one of Sofia Bohdanowicz's films (sound, editing, framing, subject matter, how it hooked you, why it was an achievable topic for a short), from what you could see from the trailer?
1. You will be making a short film (of up to five minutes) as well as an individual film website (in WIX) and individual film festival postcard (front and back). We start with the film. As usual, the work flow is: research, planning, construction and evaluation in that order. Separate marks are awarded for each stage as well as for each element of the production. The whole makes up 50% of this year's work and thus 25% of the whole AL. It is harder than the Foundation Production as you have more to create in order to achieve the same marks, which is why we start as soon as your Foundation Production is completed and this is why it is vital to complete your first year production work promptly. If you have anything to do on your first year's work, you should be doing this in your holidays now.
Start your research into short films by working systematically though each element below. You will present each step of research in a separate post. Consider how to make each post a creative use of technology.
2. First post: RESEARCH: WHAT IS A SHORT FILM? The National Television and Film School (NTFS) defines a short film is "any film not long enough to be considered a feature". Suggestion: presentation on a platform such as a collage, infographic.
According to The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a short film eligible for nomination for the Oscars is “an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits”. However, it is possible to have shorts that are significantly shorter, with some festival categories even allowing for films as brief as 90 seconds long. A short requires a real economy of action, dialogue, plot and locations to be effective. Give a brief account of where you searched to start your research into shorts.
Useful links: http://a2mediaclaremont.blogspot.com/search?q=short+film
Useful links: http://a2mediaclaremont.blogspot.com/search?q=short+film
3. It is not always easy to view shorts. Therefore, your second post is an account of where to find short films. Film festivals, obviously. The title of your second post is RESEARCH: SHORT FILM AT FESTIVALS
Distributors need to meet producers and agents in order to obtain the rights to films, and one key place where this happens is at trade events – international film markets and film festivals.
There are dozens of busy film festivals in towns and cities worldwide, but the main annual events attended by thousands of international film buyers and sellers, and almost as many journalists, are at Sundance (January), Berlin (February), Cannes (May), Venice (August) and Toronto (September). The annual American Film Market is another large gathering that takes place in November.
These events, each with their own personality, serve various functions:
- a market, where distributors seeking to acquire product may meet with sellers (agents, producers, studios);
- a competition, where new titles may be screened to juries of filmmakers and awarded prizes. Such accolades flashed on a film’s poster can add prestige but may also be perceived by a more mainstream audience as not being for them ie. an ‘art house’ film;
- a high-profile platform where films can be showcased to influential media prior to release.
Distributors sometimes choose to launch films at a suitable international festival, where critics and insiders may discover them and go on to champion them in early reviews and columns. The eyes of the film world and the mass media are focused on the leading festivals, such as Cannes on the French Riviera, which accommodates many premieres and junkets.
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| Source: the FDA website https://www.launchingfilms.com/assets/FDA_Guide_to_UK_Film_DistributionMain.pdf |
Find out what film festivals screen shorts and make screenshots to illustrate your findings. Conclude with an investigation of what the BFI London Film Festival offers in terms of shorts and write about your plans to attend (you put the dates into your diary last term).
This post would look good in an infographic.
Screenshot the programme relating to short films (as below) and find a suitable way of presenting your findings about the subject matter, genre, length and any other notable feature of each film, as far as you can tell from the programme notes.
Next post RESEARCH: EXPLORING SHORT FILM MAKERS
Now explain that you followed a line of research to discover how a short film maker's work was represented online.
Now explain that you followed a line of research to discover how a short film maker's work was represented online.
Google each film title to see if each film has anything else online, such as a postcard or website. If so, present it.
For example, the director of Veslemoy's Song is the Canadian film maker Sofia Bohdanowicz and her work is listed on her website with a trailer. Watch the trailer and make a comment about the film. Note that it has been screened at Toronto, Locarno, NY and Vancouver before coming to BFI London. This is a typical scenario for a short.
Pick two other of the BFI short film makers that are competing for the award, such as Sandhya Suri and follow the same trail: how is her work publicised? You will be coming to the conclusion that distribution of shorts is a step-by-step process. In each case, screenshot and hyperlink your evidence.
RESEARCH: SUNDANCE SHORT FILM 2019
Write about the qualities of one of Sundance's award-winning shorts:
RESEARCH: BAFTA SHORT FILM 2019
You may pick any short film that is suitable to analyse.
Here, write about the qualities of one of BAFTA's award-winning shorts:
An example might be Paul Taylor's The Blue Door https://watchalter.com/video/the-blue-door/
Next post: RESEARCH: INTRODUCING SHORT FILMS
Using the same BFI festival website, continue investigating shorts, this time, in more depth. What did you like about the style of one of Sofia Bohdanowicz's films (sound, editing, framing, subject matter, how it hooked you, why it was an achievable topic for a short), from what you could see from the trailer?
Now go on to another of Sofia Bohdanowicz's shorts, such as MS Slavic 7, Maison du Bonheur and Never Eat Alone. Comment on what you found attracted you in these. The aim here is to show a personal engagement / response that clearly demonstrates your understanding of how a short might work, such as through voiceover and visuals, and thus how you might be inspired to make your own short.
By this time, you will already have a feel for how shorts are different. You will realise that they are not just short versions of action films. They have a presence and poetry all of their own. You can take liberties in a short. They can be a slice of life: you just have to pick an interesting perspective.
NEXT POSTS
You will now present 6 posts analysing of different shorts, after which you are in a position to draw conclusions about short film codes and conventions.
I warmly recommend the first suggestion, but the others on the list are older picks and you may prefer to select from fresh shorts that you have enjoyed and that inspire you with ideas for your own work,
RESEARCH: SHORT FILM ANALYSIS 1: THE MASS OF MEN (for instance) See post below about The Mass of Men
RESEARCH: SHORT FILM ANALYSIS 2: HIGH MAINTENANCE (for instance) dir. Phillip Van 2006, Winner of Berlin Talent Campus, Berlin International Film Festival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vGtTnYVtyE
RESEARCH: SHORT FILM ANALYSIS 3:
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