Props

Props

The props we are using our film ranges from a fishing rod, to a car. We are using a diverse range of props because of the range of scenes we are going to be filming in. These props will hopefully make the scenes more realistic to the audience.




This is the model of the car we will be using in our car scene. It is a prop we already own and Liam is happy for us to use it for filming in.









Another prop we will be using is a Computer and a desk. Jack has this in his house so we can use his computer for this scene. We have chosen props to use that are cheap or props that we already own in order to keep the cost of the film down. For the fishing rod we know someone who fishes regulary and wouldn't mind us using it for a day.

Props research

Our film will feature different scenes of a boy completing a bucket list. We will need many props to make this as realistic as possible. We will most likely have to spend money on these props as we might not have the majority of props we need such as a fishing pole for the fishing scene.

A lot of the props we will already have or are easy to obtain as our film starts off with an ordinary teenage boy in his room, so as teenage boys we will have most of the stuff we need for the opening of the film. It is only towards the middle/end of the film that we will have trouble getting props for our film.

Props are crucial to our film because they help make the scenes more realistic and with this bucket list idea which is a everyday activity of millions of people around the world, we need it to be as realistic as possible. The props will also give the audience some kind of idea of who the character is.

We are using our own everyday props for the opening scene as it is about a boy waking up for school and if we use props that are used for everyday use it will add more realism to our film, for example if we use our own school bags then we could also save money instead of buying new props. We will be using our own clothes so no money will be spent on costumes either.

Props research

We will be using simple everyday props that are easy to obtain in our film. This is mainly because we don't exactly have a large budget so we can not really spend any money on props. So we will be using our own, such as a group members car for the driving scene. This also makes it a lot easier as we won't be relying on deliveries or whether or not its the actual product that we ordered, in this way its a lot more reliable to  just use props that we already have. Other short films from people of similar ages to our group seem to have the same problem as they don't have the budget to spend on excessive props and places to hire.

9 Shot analysis

1). The opening scene is a medium shot of a well dressed man, clearly showing he is just an average office worker. This shot also follows the rules of thirds, this means the shot is more pleasing to the viewers eyes, it also makes a scene with not much in it more interesting.

2). The second scene is after a call from his, what seems to be girlfriend or wife, who says that "everyone is dying,please come home". The extreme close up of his face shows his worry.

3).  The third scene is him waking up showing it was all a dream and the close up allows us to see his expression.

4) This scene is shown after the person has woken up and then has his morning routine. Which includes having a shower and brushing his teeth. He then goes into the kitchen and opens a tin of soup which you see him eating in this image. This medium shot allows you to see the person eating his soup with his wet hair and unbuttoned shirt portraying that the protagonist is yet to bother about getting properly ready for his day.

5) This image shows the loneliness of the protagonist. As you can see from the long shot in this image, the person is walking on essentially a main road however it has become all over grown and he is the only person walking down this road.

6) This long shot shows a dilapidated house which has become all over grown. This once again proves the loneliness of the main character and how long he's been alone for as the whole house has been consumed by the plants.

7) The gun is the main target in this shot. The focus is on set on the gun so that the  background it blurred out. Guns are typically used for defence in extreme conditions. So this clip shows the audience that he is prepared to kill in order to survive.

8) This is a shot of some food. The food is displayed on a wooden shelf in glass bottles. In modern society this would be typically for people who are impoverished. The dark lighting in the shot further extends this because usually rooms would be lit. By the use of lighting and props the shot shows the bad state the survivor is in.

9) This medium shot of the character shows off his: face, clothes and some of his surroundings. From his face the audience can tell that he is sweaty and unclean. His clothes are rather clean and neatly presented which is odd to the scene. The bag he is wearing shows that he is on the move and probably looking to find things in the garage. These factors further exacerbate the survivors battle to survive yet try and remain normal.

Laura Mulvey

Conventions of short films

 A short film is classified as any film that is not long enough to be considered a feature length film. Short films usually have a maximum length of 40 minutes however they are typically only 10 to 15 minutes long. We intend to follow this convention for our film.

Short films usually contain a limited amount of main characters this is because they don't have time to feature a wider range of characters who they would have to introduce and develop into the film. Short films try and make the audience relate to the characters in a small amount of time.

Short films usually contain a twist to surprise the audience. The reason why there is usually a twist in short films is because a twist can make the short film a lot more interesting to what could be a boring storyline as the film may simply be too short to include anything more interesting in it.

They also usually have a low budget as most short film producers and directors are independent so they don't have sufficient backing in terms of funding meaning they are on a tight budget. This is another reason to why short films only have one to three main characters and also normally keep to about two locations as this helps keep the budget down. Due to this low budget or in some cases no budget most short films are made for non profit meaning most directors make these films in the hope for recognition rather than money.

The general theme of short films is based on everyday situations that most people will be able to relate to but then flips it with a twist. This allows the audience to relate to the film at first but then keeps them more intrigued with a twist or some other change in the storyline.

An academic theorist by the name of Todorov created a theory that can be related to short films called "Todorovs theory of equilibrium"
- Begins with equilibrium which is when everything is normal
- Then disequilibrium which means when a problem occurs
- Then there is a new equilibrium when the problem is solved and everything goes back to normal.