Planning- Pitch ideas

Planning- Reflection vlog on pitch feedback

Planning- Mood board

The use of close up shots will clearly present the characters feelings and emotions. It will also show the closeness between the couple. The lighting is key, we have to create the right mood and atmosphere through the lighting. The non-diegetic will too create the atmosphere and make the audience feel the emotion the character is feeling. The use of point f view shots will make the audience feel as thought they are apart of it, allowing them to relate to the situation. By filming in a less urban area, it will suggest how natural the love is but also perhaps represent how things happen without intention.

Planning initial ideas

Idea one- A short film begins with a couple on their first date, a montage shows how time has past. Their anniversary is coming up and he is planning a surprise, however, he is seen with another woman, a party planner, she assumes he is cheating and leaves him. She goes to her favourite place and he goes after her. The issue is resolved (romantic ending).

Idea two- A short film, where two walkers go on walks with their dogs on the same route everyday. They meet and begin to get close and eventually get feelings. One day he is not there (plot twist). They meet again in the future. 

Idea three- A music video to James Bay's song, Let it go. It shows a day in the life of two people using a split screen. The two people come together at the end showing that they're a couple. The couple are seen as doing similar or the same actions. 

Introducing our main task

Brief:
A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options:

• a poster for the film
• a radio trailer for the film
• a film magazine review page featuring the film

This is the brief Sophie and I have chosen to do from the OCR specification. It consists of a short film alongside with these two option below:

Why have we chosen to do a short film?

In year 12 we created a short film and after a long discussion we decided to create another one this year. We would like to explore the chosen media further as along the way we discovered a number of difficulties. We want to create a much higher standard product this year and focus more on mise-en-scene, camerawork and sound. We both have learnt a number of new techniques which we hope to include in this years task. Year 12 taught me a lot, and enabled me to develop my media skills. I had never used Premiere pro before and I could further my skills on Photoshop. This year, i hope to improve my skills even further by creating a magazine review page and a poster. 

What are the two options we have chosen to do?

Sophie and I have decided to make a poster as well as a magazine review page in which our film will feature. I feel as though these two options will help me progress my Photoshopping skills and enable me to show my creativity. Sophie and I previously used Photoshop and both struggled, we feel this year we need to challenge ourselves. 

Chosen genre- Romance

Sophie and I have decided to to do a romantic film trailer.
A romantic film is often aimed towards females as it is stereotyped that females are more emotional when it comes to relationships and do become more attached. Stereotypical in a romance film, the male character is admired and the love interest in which the female character is trying to get close to. The female character will hold more dominance in the film however, the male character will hold some power in which it makes the female character appear vulnerable and weak. 
Most rom-coms follow the same narrative structure, in which a girl meets a boy and the relationship develops. There is a often a disequilibrium suggest the couple may never get back together. This follows Todoorov's theory of a disruption in the equilibrium. The traditionally ending, shows the characters resolving the issue and returning to an equilibrium; 'the happy ever after'. 
The Mise en scene of most romance films include stereotypical props, such as flowers, chocolates, jewellery that is usually exchanged from the male to the female. These objects have connotations of love which is why they are often used as a symbol of affection and love. The lighting is often quite soft and calming creating an intimate atmosphere. Light and bright colours, such as red and white, have connotations of an intense mood/passion and purity which is often associated with the female being innocent, these colours represents the emotions the characters feel. These colours can be shown through the use of costume and makeup, for example, a red lip or red dress. 
The camera angles may vary in a romance, from wide shots to extreme close ups. In our film, we will use extreme close ups often, to sow the characters emotion. They also allow the audience to build a rapport, it establishes a connection. It enables the audience to feel what the character is feeling, keeping them engaged. Establishing shots are too quite common to create an atmosphere, often it is a city setting but we have decided to film in a more rural area to create a more natural environment. 
Sound is key to create the mood, often soft non-diegetic sound is used to represent the sensitivity and tenderness of a relationship. We will use other non-diegetic sounds to build tension when there is a disequilibrium.

Initial ideas

Music video preliminary ideas

When planning our music video, we had to consider the fact that we only had 45 seconds worth of song in order to incorporate our narrative. The story board was basic but we had a list of shots in which we wanted to achieve.