Film magazine review

I like many things about the layout of this article. To start with, I like how there is only one image that is central to attention - this focuses audience attention on the text as well as the image without causing any confusion. Basic font has been used to keep the article plain and follow the concept of 'less is more' and the colour contrast helps both the image and text to compliment each other.The text has been separated into four columns following the typical magazine style conventions which is another positive aspect. The image that has been used is a close up of the couple Edward and Bella, portraying them as deeply in love, not even looking at the camera. I like the image used because its subtle and the camera acts as an observer, drawing the audience in, making us feel inclusive. A double page spread has been used here allowing enough room for the text. Finally, I am also pleased with the fact that all of the text has been placed neatly on one page, rather than scattered over the two pages. This allows the text and the image to be clear.
                                                                                                               

Here is another film magazine article. This article is different because of the layout. Although the text has been placed into columns, they have been put around the sides and underneath the key image in the centre of the article. This gives the impression that the image is central to audience attention and the information around the image is less important. Again, I like how the text contrasts with the plain background that has been used. However I think that a different image could have been used. I say this because the image has deliberately been placed in the centre of the page, but I fear that audiecnces may not be engaged and sustained with the article entirely due to the lack of emotional connection to the article. The fact that the little boy is not looking at the camera creates a sense of exclusiveness, because he is alone. I think that this image does not have the same positive impact on an audience as the article above. This may also be partially to do with the camera angle used. As an audience we seem to be gazing up at the child, perhaps placing us on a lower level on the hierarchy to the person being represented 

When I make my poster I will take camera angle and eye contact into consideration to ensure that I do not make my audience feel excluded in any way.

Other Cultural Short Films

As I was browsing around looking at other short films to do with culture, I found this..
This is a short film that was uploaded to YouTube by 'TFOEM' (The Freedom of Expression Movement), Its called Culture Aangan - Eco cultural tourism India -The freedom of expression movement. I found this interesting because of the positive associations it makes with India and the calming holiday experience that an individual would have, visiting this peaceful destination and helping others. It is described as 'a responsible holiday, a sustainable holiday'.
I found this relevant to my short film, because similarly to this, I will be exploring the Indian culture in a new way, different to the arguably negative ways that this diverse society is usually represented by the media...

http://youtu.be/rzEsOkFw_HY

Editing Schedule

Here is an Editing Schedule that I have created. Schedules are important for many reasons, especially in the making of films. Not only do they help with planning and organisation, but most importantly they make it much easier to meet deadlines. As my deadline is fast approaching, I thought it would be a good idea to create an editing schedule so that I meet my deadline and get my editing done to the best that it can possibly be... I have simply included what I want to achieve in relation to editing and the date that I want to have in finished by:

Editing schedule from Avigill123

Further Ideas

For my short film I was originally planning to do a cultural video giving an insight into lives of some Asians today. However, as I started planning and constructing I felt as though the film that I had planned to do was not exactly what I wanted. I want my short film to be light hearted and I want the stereotypes of Indians to be clear. However, with the idea that I had in mind, the key themes and topics that I wanted to highlight were not obvious and this became increasingly clear during my filming process. So, I decided to alter my idea for a short film slightly and do a comparison of two cultures instead. This way, I can approach stereotypes of Asian people in a light hearted way as I originally intended.
Doing a comparison of westernised culture and Asians allows the key differences to be clear to the audience and is much more effective to construct. I feel that my slightly new idea will be better for audiences as it will now be easier to relate to, regardless of what culture or ethic background an individual may be from.

Organising my actors

After taking a look at other short films in relation to culture, I decided that I would conform to the typical conventions of a short film in relation to the number of characters. Many short films such as the previously observed 'SLINKY' I found that due to the short duration of time available, the characters are kept to a minimum so that they can be established quickly, and to avoid making the plot of the film itself too complex.

 My characters: (talent)
- Georgia Dempster (18) as Georgia
- Raveena Kaur (17) as Raveena

Both characters will be established quickly in my short film, they are the only characters that will take part - the film will focus solely on these two individuals 

Choosing a name

Film titles are significant because they often represent what the film is going to be about. I think that choosing an appropriate name for my short film is vital as this will immediately indicate the message of the film as well as act as a form of recollection for any potential viewers. As my short film is going to be highly cultural, I wanted to chose a title for the film that will make this clear to an audience.

Here are some of my ideas so far:

- Guide to being Indian
- Things Indians do
- Stereotypes of Asians
- Cultural Differences

When I first started brainstorming ideas for a film title, I really liked the name 'Guide to being Indian'. Its simple, catchy and instantly tells the audience what the film is going to be about. However, I started to change my idea slightly and as I did this my title no longer worked. Originally I was going to film stereotypes of Indian people from an outsider's perspective. On the other hand, as I began planning out the construction for this, I realised that despite loving the film idea, it simply wasn't practical. Although, I have already got some wedding footage that I was going to include in my short film already (as posted on my blog previously) and I decided that I did not want to waste the filming that I had already done, especially with a fast approaching deadline. Therefore, I have come to a conclusion that I am going to do a comparison of the life of a 'typical' Indian and the life of a 'typical' Brit. This way I can film each stereotype//scenario effectively as well as use the filming that I have already got in one of my Asian scenario scenes.

Since my minor idea change, I decided that I would like to call my short film 'Cultural Differences'. This is short, straightforward and easy to remember, as well as effective in relation to explaining the overall brief content of the film without going into too much detail. I wanted to remain with a unrevealing title for my film so that it is intriguing rather than predictable.

Feminist Film Theory

'Feminist film theory is a theoretical film criticism derived from feminist politics and feminist theory. Feminists have many approaches to cinema analysis, regarding the film elements analysed and their theoretical underpinnings' 

• How does gender impact my production?

In my short film I have used to main protagonist characters, both of which are teenage females between the ages of 16-18. Despite the fact that they are different in terms of race, age, ethnicity and religion, they both live in one society and are equal in terms of 'importance' or 'status'. As the main aim of my film is to portray equality amongst all cultures, it was essential that my entirely teenage, female target audience were able to relate and identify with my characters, hence they are both female.
After giving this some deeper thought and consideration, I have come to a conclusion that I would like my short film to be something that will appeal and be relate-able to both genders. although I am fully aware that due to the very fact that my chosen talent is female, this may be an issue as the typical audience reaction is likely to show none to little male concern as boys may not feel that they can relate.
Having said this, the reason that I used girls is because I go to a girls school, which as you can imagine is dominated, by girls. Therefore it is suited that my TA is female and my central focus and attention was to meet the needs of this group of people, without much thought given to any other opinions and audiences that may evolve.
However, in my opinion of course I hope that both girls and boys will be able to enjoy, understand and relate to the short film as culture is such a diverse topic.

Music soundtrack ideas for my 5 minute film

This song is by an Asian music group called 'Punjabi MC' with a remix with rapper Jay-Z. The song is called 'Beware of the boys' and I think it would be appropriate because it incorporates both the Indian music with the American English rap music. This is ideal for my 5 minute documentary as I will be doing a  direct comparison of the stereotypes of Indian culture and what it is actually like from one perspective. Therefore I think that this song will provide the best of both worlds and emphasise the overall division and juxtaposition between expectation and reality.


http://youtu.be/nddBIxPl78Q

Visiting Film Producer - Darren S Cook

Last lesson, we had a film producer called Darren Cook visit our A2 Media class to give us all an indepth insight into the life of the production of film and the media-film industry itself.

 Darren is the founder of Scruffy Bear Pictures and worked his way up to become his own film director. Darren emphasised that a film cannot be made single handedly and it requires a whole team of people to make it happen. The film directors do not do everything on their own, and they usually say what they want the film/setting to look like and it is up to the production crew to make these wants come to reality.

Next Darren showed us some of the short films that he had directed. All of the films that he has produced are on a video website called 'Vimeo', which is a great tool allowing short films to be promoted and shared. Some of the short films that Darren showed us included 'Little Angels', 'Three' and 'Wisdom'.

Darren clearly communicated that films do not need a high budget to be 'good' films. Some of the work that he was showing us was either made on a very low budget or surprisingly no budget at all.
Darren's visiting and informing was a great experience for me and has boosted my own confidence for my 5 minute short film. This is because, Darren showed us that you do not need expensive equipment to create a high quality short film. 'It is all about the lighting, lighting is everything'