Monday, 21 July 2014

Comparing Short films and Feature Length films

Both short films and feature length films are aspiring to achieve a result of an engaged and sustained audience, however they key difference between the two types of film is the duration. This key variation means that the feature length films produced tend to attract a wider range, and larger audience.

Short films need to get to the climax of the story or plot rapidly as well as establish characters quickly as they have only a limited period of time to fit everything in. However having said this, the storyline or plot will be less than that of a longer film, therefore you could argue that it would be easier to produce a short film because less characters will be required for the film itself. 
The budget for a short film is often low as there is not usually a saved amount of money or funding. This will have a dramatic impact on the quality of the short film as this could result in lack of editing tools and special effects as well as the fact that the film itself could not be produced in a large filming studio as they are highly expensive. Furthermore, short films typically have a niche  targeted audience as short films on the whole are not very popular or mainstream. 
In terms of advertising short films are not in the public eye as much as feature length films as the directors of the short films are less often famous or well known, unfortunately this means that the short films are not in the newspapers and magazines and are not what the majority of people are talking about.

Feature Length films have a much larger budget than the short films. This is highly beneficial for these films as this means that they can afford to have the greatest editing tools and famous actors and directors as well as having the ability to produce the films in the best studios. This larger sum of money also means that the film will be distributed massively allowing heavy publicity, increasing the chances of success by far. A feature length film usually lasts about 120 minutes and are often distributed globally.



Monday, 14 July 2014

Understanding Film Genre

Different style or subject matter in terms of movies is often referred to 'Film Genre'. While a movie my have various elements of more than one genre, it is often classified under a single genre of reference purposes.

Different film genres include:

- Rom/Com (Romantic Comedy)  
- Thriller
- Fantasy
- Horror
- Historical
- Sci-fi
- Book adaption
- Musical
- Western
-Documentary
- Crime
- Bollywood
- Comedy
- Tragedy

A key establishment between movies are the to do with the length of films. These two types are referred to as Short Films and Feature Length films

Short Film stereotypes/assumptions

- Less characters
- Less money
- Less special effects
- More direct
- Shorter duration
- Characters established more quickly
- More appropriate for film festivals
- Usually a 'one off' as opposed to a series/collection
- Less popular
- Less successful/interesting/high quality/good
- Niche audience

Feature Length films stereotypes/assumptions
- More characters
- More money
- Less direct
- Longer duration
- More time to establish characters
- Long/feature length films tend to have more sequels e.g. HP
- More popular
- More successful/interesting/high quality/good
- More mainstream audience

Studying Short films

SLINKY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT9B3MMiMo0&noredirect=1


- Established characters via visual representation quickly, which is positive because its a short film with limited duration
- Use of diegetic sound
- Basic use of effects and camera angles, simple credits and title pages used. No overcrowding or busyness, allows audience to understand everything clearly.

UMBILICAL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ2zh0kewQc

Interesting animated short film. Consisting of a baby and its mother, conveying the damage that television and other types of technology cause to the younger generation.
- use of enhanced non-diegetic sound
- wide range of effects, highly edited which fits with the overall message about technology.

Friday, 11 July 2014

Introduction to A2 Media

This is my A2 Media Studies Blog.

On here I will be posting all of my coursework, planning and research for my class project. I will be creating a short film, and everything I do in the process will be on display, including the final result.

Hope you enjoy!