The Crusader (short film)

The scene is set in your generic council estate as the first shot reveals. The next few sequence of shots signify a far less 'super' lifestyle than you might expect from the true Crusader, as images of kebab leaflets, council tax notices, picture of him and his wife on their wedding day reveal. He mentions the loss of his wife, which sparks up thoughts of your generic superhero story e.g. losing a loved one, and either responding with vengeance or striving to spread truth and justice. Instead, we see images of fast food remains and a playstation controller. Is this what fuels the ''Tower of strength'' ?

we next see him out on his patrol as he cruises his 'batmobile' down local roads as he is questioned on his superhero roles and experiences e.g. "have you ever been injured?" (he nods)...."been stabbed eight times".  Shortly after, an egg is chucked at his car. Lee reacts as though a bomb has gone off. Again, more bark than bite!

Once you realise- through the egg 'confrontation'- that he's not so super, your speculation draws to a conclusion that he is indeed more of a fraud than a hero (hence the cut back to the concil estate). "you said before, you were on state benefits. How do you intend to pay your legal fees?"......"phone up the advert ain't I. Y'know, 'no win, no fee'...".  A conditional fee is any fee for services provided where the fee is only payable if there is a favourable result (suing Warner Bros.). The prolonged silence instigates the stupidity in what he just said.

The sequence cuts to a close up, profile shot of him on the top of a building. "Do you ever dream of having a normal life?"..."to me, this is normal. I've never known any different".  This section of the short film actually allows me to perceive some genuineness e.g. he takes a drag from his cigarette (a normal activity), the spacing of shot attributes (how far away civilisation seems to be). I begin to see a figure who possesses the generic superhero/vigilante downfall (outcast), with no super strengths to compensate.

stop motion

Stop motion (also known as stop action) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. Clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of repositioning. Motion animation using clay is called clay animation or clay-mation.

I've known of this technique for some time, but up until recently i haven't appreciated it in its entirety. I have come to realise the undeniable hardship that goes into creating a piece of stop-motion. It seems to take eons to produce a quality product, by i am reluctant in thinking that the results aren't worth it!

This is a great example of the kind of stop motion that i believe can be achieved at this level (with great patience and determination!). Produced by GinoEast

I find the use of a wooden model very interesting also, as i feel it wood set mine and Paddy's piece apart from others. I've seen A-level stop motion pieces in the past using toys, clay mache etc. But not a wooden model. The simplicity of its design (no face, basic natural colour) would also benefit the symbolism we will try to convey, as we want to represent real life happenings through a docile, easily manipulated object.

telling a whole story in a few minutes

The time boundaries for our short story pieces are limited between 4 minutes, 30 seconds and 5 minutes, 30 seconds. Now this may seem like a very simple task when compared to some 40 minute long films, but the burden of compacting your entire narrative into such a short space of time can present a rather large task. Essentially, more planning is required in sculpting your story's arc in such a way that your character's journey becomes defined and progressive.

It is entirely possible that my partner (Paddy) and I end up with far too much footage and will be pressured more on which shots will deliver the greatest effect, rather than just shoving in whatever we can salvage.

what is a short film?

A shortfilm is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits".

The North American definition tends to focus much more on character whereas the European and Australasian forms tend to depend much more on visual drama and plot twists. In this way, the North American form can be understood to be a derivation of the feature film form, usually acting as a platform for aspirant Hollywood directors. Elsewhere, short films tend to work as showcases for cinematographers and commercial directors.

Short films are by no means considered mainstream, due to the opportunity which is provided to explore unusual plots, characters etc. They're contemporary non-commercial motion pictures that are substantially shorter than the average commercial feature film. This fact gives you far more freedom on how to structure a short film. You have no restrictions, and so the possibilitiies are endless!

'Cloverfield' poster

initially this poster seems quite dull with a lack in captivation e.g. the dark, bland colour scheme and the fact that certain aspects aren't aimed at you (statue of liberty facing away, dark underwater path headed towards the city). As far as your general feature film poster is concerned, it is out of the ordinary, and the same could be said for the film itself.

a great deal of symbolism is present within this image, for example, the destroyed statue of liberty may signify the dismemberment of freedom. The increased level of contrast around the edge of the poster can be interpreted as the constriction of light (humans). Also, the phrase "some thing has found us" blends in quite effectively with the background colour arrangement- even this could signify the aliens covertness. After all, the monstrous alien's initial line of action was awfully like a surprise attack. I say 'monstrous' due to the fact that a few skyscrapers appear to have been severely decimated. Even if you haven't seen this film, i'm sure you'll expect something big to land on your screen! Taking all of this into account, you'll notice how the poster actually quite effectively draws you in. Alike the statue, you're looking towards the city. 'Some thing has found us'.....''What 'thing' has caused all this carnage? might have to find out! ($$$)''.

This feature film is by no means star studded (lack of actors names). In fact, when i first watched it myself, i couldn't recognise one actor throughout the entire duration of the film. Due to this, i actually found it far more believable, and hence more enjoyable. The whole film is shot using your average camcorder, much alike 'The Blair Witch Project' and 'Paranormal Activity'.  This technique, being fused with a widely unrecognisable cast, simply adds to the realism of it all (despite a monstrous alien laying a path of destruction in its wake)! It lays more focus on the storyline itself and allows you to indulge in the characters state more thoroughly; i believe that the less you know the actor, the more believable the character will be.

common conventions of the film poster

key features of your generic film poster will include:

• Being eye catching and captivating
• a large title that is easily read
• a tagline, which is usually evident
• age certification
• release date
• use of famous actors to effectively promote
• suggestion of film genre
• directors and production company displayed

short film-rough plot

Begins in character 1's dimly lit room (plastered with superhero posters, ornaments, newspapers annd action figures). After logging off his computer, he leaves, shutting the door. Three shot sequence of a poter, ornament then an action figure.The shot focuses on this specific action figure which is prolonged for a few seconds (short example of stop motion-twitch). Cuts to character 1 entering the cafe (door rings). Another 3 shot sequence (random customers, staff serving coffee, shot of main group of friends + him sitting down). conversation commenses. Character 1 remains fairly reserved as character 2,3 and 4 talk away. Conversation involves a mixture of storytelling, arguing and general chat. Cross cuts arise regularly to the bedroom as the action figure mathches the audio narration (conversation). By the end, each character peels away for various reasons (work, appointements etc.) character 1 and 2 are left. Character 2 looks at character 1 in wonder. Character 1 leaves in embarassment. Character 2 looks at the camera and winks

Character work

Today our lessons were entirely structured around developing characters, and gaining practice on how to brainstorm character ideas. Our teacher knew that our creation of short film would give us the opportunity to delve deeper into the thoughts, actions and reactions of characters (in comparison to our As level opening sequences). And so it almost seemed like a necessity to keep character progression at the forefront of our development.

Our first task involved receiving a picture of a random individual and molding a character profile to fit with the image. You could make this person anyone you want him to be! Mine was an image of a young male of African ethnicity. This is my character profile:

• born in Sudan
•  name is Ugumbe
• single eligable bachelor
• works as a love doctor when he's not working amateur gigs at the local comedy club.
• owns a shelby mustang
• has a secret hatred for murrang
• aims to visit his family again within the next month, and his experiences back there will be life changing

task 2 - to create a possession that means a great deal to the character:

• A carved wooden horse

task 3- to narrate your character in a situation whereby he temporarily loses this possession:

'Ugumbe has just gotten back home from the comedy club. He briskly shakes off his coat and scarve as it's warm inside. He looks over over to a chest of draws in his bedroom and cracks a slight grin. He approaches the chest and opens it. His eyes widen. Frantically he sweeps the entire content of the draw out onto the floor , soon before yanking all the draws from the chest. Both hands clasp his head as he's in shock. seconds later, he hears a pathetic whine from behind him. He turns around to see a small carved, wooden horse jammed between the slobbery jaws of his dog, Boris.'

Task 4- to create a situation whereby your character has a secret he wants to share, but there's something stopping him:

 'Ugumbe meets with his brother at the local park. As they sit on a rusty bench Ugumbe begins to talk softly as he says to his brother that he needs to tell him something. His brother begins to break down. Ugumbe asks what's wrong. His brother seems nostalgic and begins to reminise over the time they had as kids before the civil war. How they would play with their carved wooden toys in the grassland. They both fall silent for several seconds. Ugumbe goes to open his mouth, but no words follow. His brother begins to talk of their parents death in the house fire and curses, for his hatred towards the rebels who supposedly set the house alight. Ugumbe's heart sits in his throat. He just can't find the words to explain that it was in fact him who caused the fire.'

mindmap of initial ideas

total film

This is a double page spread of the highly anticipated feature film, 'The Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes'. As you can see from a general glance, it contains similar attributes to the Empire spread- The fusion of interesting, widely spread pictures and relevant prose. But the general set out is not very comparable- the pictures are all of different size (some cutting into each other), the prose is placed on different levels etc.

This embedded quote has not only being fonted in large capitals, but is coloured in red (a very powerful colour). It places quite a hype around this 'Andy Serkis' guy who, for those who don't know, played Gollum in 'The Lord Of the Rings' series aswell as Kong in 'King Kong'. If you've seen these films, you're likely to respect the level of performance on Andy's part and how captivating the two plots are. A very nice tool in achieving more interest!

This 'timeline' section of the spread really delivers some variety. Again, the colour red catches attention. The phrase, 'The Apes Story So Far...' is actually quite an effective play on words as, similarly to the Star Wars series, 'T.R.O.T.P.O.T.A' was created as a prequel to 'The Apes' series which began over 40 years ago.

This double page spread of 'The Tree Of Life' was taken from the ever popular 'Empire' movie magazine (issue 266). As usual for this particular magazine company- the more popular the film is, the bigger the spread will be. But you can't forget that this idea is hugely influenced by the particular target audience e.g. 'The Inbetweeners movie' has a five page spread (despite being less globally renowned as T.T.O.L) . 'Empire' is a british founded magazine, and so the british public is at its heart.



The colour blue, as is seen here for the title, is used across both pages to attract attention. It is also used to create contrast, which makes the read that little bit more interesting. The pun 'It's a kind of Malick...' is used, not only to create humour, but as a hint to what the following content will reveal. Terrence Malick is an american film director, who's films are often considered masterpieces, hence the pun. These short, witty phrases have become prevalent among the pages of Empire and are used to great effect!

general information such as Director, Cast, plot etc. are shown beneath, which can be useful to a range of audience, from your main-streamers, to your TV Buffs. The star power of a cast be all it takes to woo your average mainstream viewer, but certain viewers (TV Buffs) require a more specialized plot, and a specific sort of Director to capture their attention. This feature film is advertised to attract a wide range of audience with it's fusion of well renowned stars and artistic storyline.

Again, the use of flamboyant colour has been used to direct your attention. This 'Look Closer' sub-column contains information, which diverts your eyes from the very wordy, artistic chunks of information and provides a fresh angle with interesting facts on the film, emphasising the magazines range of target audience. Little details such as this allow audience members who, perhaps don't feel like digesting the entire prose, to still get a feel of the film. 










This use of a quote is very captivating as, in addition to the previously highlighted colour scheme, the choice of wording is powerful, passionate and downright punchy! Words such as 'brute, attack and awestruck' are used to leave a big, fat scar in your memory. Alliteration well used!

It sums up the general gist of the prose also, which in itself is 'heaven-sent' for the viewer who doesn't wish to scour over the mass of text.

The use of star rating is very beneficial and influencing for any movie fanatic. It gives a general scale on the quality of a given film and can ultimately affect your decision on whether to spend that hard earned cash to sit in for a viewing.
Obviously not all magazines with this neat little feature will rate the same film similarly, and so the rating system can occasionally be bias. But you should know that Empire magazine don't often give 5* ratings away!

first poster analysis (The Dark Knight)

This particular poster advertises 'The Dark Knight' feature film particularly well, taking into account the blindingly obvious and subtle details.

 

To start, the eye-catching red smile signifies the significant involvement of the infamous 'Joker' character. The colour of red can be interpreted in select ways: pain, passion, sin, blood, anger and guilt; which, if you've seen the film, are all prevalent. Even if this advertisement alone is all you know of the film, this powerful colour will certainly arouse interest. A good tool to hook the bloodthirsty teenagers of today!

The use of the Joker's quotes are seen as they stamp across the black layer of the image, that is The Batman. Quotes such as "It's all part of the plan" pose an enigma and urge on reasonable questions- what plan? already, we are put in the same mind set as The Batman, as the Joker sows riddles for us to unravel. Even The Batman symbol is made up of a quote- "hahaha..." which, although creates an opposition in colour to the red smile, still signifies the Joker's presence. Perhaps this foretells how this evil individual's endeavors will get under Batman's skin. The writing style even contributes to the general creepiness of this image as, it appears to be scratched in. Much alike what could be seen on the inside of an asylum. Perhaps this signifies how dysfunctional the Joker's mind set is.

The layout of the image implies what is seen as a thriller genre. The composition of layers e.g Joker cards, as well as colour e.g.blood red, really jump out at you- just as a thriller would.

The mass of cards surrounding The Dark Knight instigates a sense of constriction, as they take up a large proportion of the image. It may be that The Batman is way in over his head which, again, can be an appealing factor for the target audience (teenagers). After all, the only thing that can emulate seeing a hero rise, is seeing one fall. The scalpel adds to the Joker's edge as, for me, it spurs on an image of a cardboard cutout. Maybe it's a symbol of the Joker's strength in manipulation.