This is my third idea and stands out by a long shot in my mind. I think it has the potential to make a really sweet and funny short film.
3. Coffee shop daydream
Genre: Romance - It will have a romantic theme throughout
Comedy - The film will feature a comedic twist at the end
Spoof - I want to produce a parody of situations in and conventions of romantic films.
The idea - A guy will walk into a coffee shop and sit down. Across the room he sees a beautiful girl similar in age. The camera pans upwards into a white transition to the next shot. He daydreams, imagining what it would be like if they were dating. This segment of the film would be a montage of situations featuring the pair, these could include things like:
The couple having dinner - sitting opposite each other, sharing dinner and going for the same thing.
A walk in the park - feeding ducks and such things. I want to do a piece here where they are spinning round and use point of view shots to show their faces.
Watching a film cuddled up on the sofa - The man hiding behind a cushion at a scary instance of the film.
On swings - Children waiting in a line beside the swing for a go whilst the couple oblivious to the children are smiling and laughing on the swing.
He returns from his imagination and musters up the courage to go over and talk to her. As he approaches her realises whilst he was deliberating whether to go over and doubting himself another man has already got there first. The main character swiftly changes direction and leaves the cafe.
Character representation
The man - He will be a typical teenage/young adult. He may come across as a kind of hopeless romantic but predominately he will be a nervous, self doubting character. For example he will be unsure about going over to the girl and hesitant to act, hence at first he just imagines what could happen. This could be presented with an inner monologue communicating his thoughts to the audience.
The girl - A beautiful intelligent woman, quite reserved just sitting out of the way in the corner of the cafe and could go unnoticed. She will be reading a book, minding her own business only becoming aware that the man is looking at her when they momentarily exchange a glance. Her character needs to have an air of mystery about her, to intrigue both the male character and the audience. The male character could communicate his opinions of her building a a picture of what she is like by what she is doing, wearing, drinking etc.
The other man - He will not be a dislikeable character despite him disrupting the main characters actions, instead he will just heighten the commiseration felt for the main character.
Possible Problems
Regarding locations I presume I will need to get permission form the owner of the coffee shop to film there. I haven't had to do this before and I'm not sure how easy to find an establishment that will let me film will be.
I now have several ideas for my short film but I'm not sure any of them are developed enough to span 5 minutes and still be interesting. Here is another one of my ideas (and note these titles are for reference, the finished product would be called something completely different).
The inspiration for this idea came from... Brian Griffin and Peep Show.
2. The inner mind of my dog (Dog/Peep Show/Family Guy)
Genre: Comedy
Basically, the idea is a day in the life of a dog. However, the video becomes more interesting and unique is how I plan to present this. My idea is telling the story of a dogs daily routine but in a way similar to the techniques of Peep show - this involves lots of point of view shots and using inner monologues.
Character representation
The Dog -
The dog will have a similar demeanour to the character of Brian in Family Guy. For example Brian holds extremely complex views regarding subjects such as politics and yet when he sees his reflection in the mirror he believes it's another dog. So he will be really intelligent but still hold the personality and interests of a dog, this will be expressed through the dogs inner monologue, actions and attitudes.
The owner/s - The dog would live with its owners. These characters will be totally oblivious to the dogs intelligence and treat him like a typical pet, for example talking to him in a simplified fashion and in a playful tone.
Possible problems:
The saying "never work with children or animals" exists for a reason. Getting the dog to do what I want to do could be challenging.
I might be way off the mark and what I think comes across as funny might not to other people.
This was one of my earlier ideas and I have gone through phases of liking and not liking it. I'm still not sure about it at the minute. I don't think I will use this idea for my final film.
I've spent a lot of time analysing these short films and I've purposely tried to use five films with very different features, genres and themes in order to form more of an idea about what type of film I would like to make. For my final analysis I am looking at a film that is based on a viral video called Leeroy Jenkins. But before I talk about the sort film it may help to explain the origins of the story.
Background information
The original video has amassed over thirty one thousand views on Youtube since being uploaded in 2006. The three minute long video is footage of game play from the online multiplayer game World of Warcraft. In the video a group of players are concocting a very detailed battle plan whilst one of the group (Leeroy) is away from their computer. Leeroy returns and oblivious to the proposed strategy he storms into the battle roaring his own name. In doing so he jeopardises the attack causing the whole team to die in battle much to the annoyance of the other players.
This short film takes that situation and characters and applies it to a real world situation.
Title: Leeroy Jenkins: Reimagined as a short film Diraector: Finn O'Hara Narrative
In this short film four characters are undercover outside a bank planning a heist. Leeroy, disguised as a hot dog vendor is asked by a member of the public for a hot dog, not wanting to break cover revealing he isn't actually who he is posing to be Leeroy serves her. As he does this he drops his walkie talkie (his only means of communication with the other three) into some water, causing it to malfunction. Jamaal, Ritter and Abdhul are discussing the plan whilst Leeroy serves this woman and is attempting to fish out his walkie talkie from the water. When he finally retrieves it it's not working properly and only emits some of what his accomplices are saying. Leeroy hears the word "Go" thinking it was a signal to move when in reality it was part of Jamaal saying that he would go in first. Leeroy pulls a balaclava over his face and as he runs past the two security guards and lets out an almighty battle cry, screaming his name he enters the bank and alarms go off. The other three guys can't quite believe what he has done and leave the scene.
Characters
I'm going to split the numerous characters up into three groups to analyse: the gang, the others and then there's also Leeroy, he is a group of his own.
The gang
This group consists of three characters: Jamaal, Abduhl and Ritter. These are the men who along with Leeroy are planning to rob the bank.
Jamaal - Jamaal is the ring leader organising the heist, he is instructing the others through his walkie talkie making sure they have everything and know everything they need to for the plan to work. This character is out of sight on a rooftop all dressed in black - a typical representation of what you would expect a bank robber to look like.
Ritter - Dressed as a street sweeper he is undercover on the street. Not only is he in place ready for action he responds to Jamaal and is attentive to the job in hand.
Abduhl - Dressed as an electrician working outside the bank he also is the one in the group who works out a success rate, showing he is a useful member of the team.
Leeroy
From the start the audience can tell even without any prior knowledge that this character may be the downfall of the team. He is presented as unprofessional though his costume, from the first shot if him panning upwards we see his shirt is too small exposing his stomach. Unlike the others he has to reach for his walkie talkie rather than having it as part of his outfit and within hearing distance. He also has an overly excitable expression on his face as he responds to Jamaal.
Leeroy could be identified as the antagonist in the film as he is the character who disrupts the plan, albeit in an unconventional way is at was not his intention to do so.
Other characters
The guards are the authority figures in the film which the robbers need to overcome to ensure the robbery is successful. They represent law and order and also power in the film as they are what will ultimately ruin the plan if it were to go wrong.
The over the shoulder/two shot shows one of the security guards facial expressions and feelings towards Leeroy running into the bank, he is less thank impressed. The guards don't even bother chasing after him because they can tell how unplanned and laughable his attempt at robbery is.
Finally there is the woman who orders a hot dog from Leeroy, believing he is a real vendor. She is a very minor character only featuring in one shot but her involvement results in the failure of the plan: because she talks to Leeroy he accidentally knocks his walkie talkie into the water causing it to malfunction. There is nothing particularly eye-catching about her, she is a passer-by dressed in everyday clothes.
Locations
The film take place in a typical city street, with the characters stationed at different points. Jamaal is on a rooftop overlooking the street whilst the other members of the gang are at their designated undercover spots at ground level. The location as a whole looks very grey, the lighting is quite low-key. This reflects similar films particularly of the action and thriller genres.
Having one location but making it an intricate one with multiple levels reflects the amount of planning the characters have undergone within the narrative, it shows how well thought out the plan was.
Cinematography
Lots of camera movement - Not many of the shots are completely steady, this give the impression that the filming was done under over. Of course, it wasn't as this is a planned film with actors, but it reflects the undercover nature of the characters within the story.
Half in focus shots & Concealed action - Similarly to the unsteady shots these shots also reflect the fact that the characters are undercover. This shot depicts what Jamaal is looking at and in turn showing that he is hidden from the view of the guards.
Similarly as Ritter is making his 'casual' exit half the shot consists of an out of focus wall or drainpipe (I can't quite tell) again obscuring the view of the character keeping with the theme of being undercover.
Close ups - Close up shots are used of the characters face to show their emotions. In this film a side on close up of Jamaals face is the final shot, this amplifies to the audience his disappointment along with his disbelief over what Leeroy has just done.
Editing
Eyeline match - The eyeline match is a continuity technique used to show what characters are looking at. In this sequence Jamaal is shown looking through some binoculars and the following shots shows the audiene just what he sees. This technique along with other continuity techniques helps the narrative flow and the film appear continuous to the audience.
Quick cuts - When Leeroy runs towards the bank letting out his battle cry lots of quick cuts are used and the shots don't last more than a second. This conveys the pace of the action to the audience along with perhaps the confusion of the other characters.
Slow cuts - Slow cuts and shots that last longer are also used in the film, again they show the pace of the action but instead it being fast (like when Leeroy is running) it conveys a much slower pace. The leisurely speed of the shots reflects the time taken to plan the heist and the amount of thought and planning required to pull it off.
Sound
Subtle non-diegetic backing music is present throughout the film. Its very similar to the type of music featured in spy films: it's not melodic and features mainly percussion instruments. The music starts out barely audible and quite slow but gains speed as the film goes and the plan is constructed before becoming silent as Leeroy enters the bank. At that point the alarm sounds. As the other characters leave the scene similar but differing music starts up again accompanied by diegetic police siren sound effects.
Titles
The only titles in the film appear at the start and do not include anyone other than the director Finn O'Hara. This is followed by information on the video: "(Finn O'Hara) Took a viral video and turned it into a short film" and then the title. These minimal titles do not detract focus from the film but at the same time failing to follow such conventions seems a bit unprofessional to me. Not only that is seems a bit self indulgent, creating the impression that only the director created the film when it took a whole team of people to make.
My thoughts
This short film primarily appealed to me because it was based on the viral video but it turns out it was a good short film by itself. It was well made and appears to be well thought out.. I'm not sure the genre really appeals to me as something I would like to make, although it was successfully done here I think making a spy/thriller type film would prove difficult for me. This comes down to one main reason: it would be really hard to make it look genuine. Failing to make it realistic would result in it being unintentionally laughable, which quite frankly would be a disaster.
It's a dogs life is a short film telling the story of the breakdown of a relationship through the eyes of a dog.
The film starts with the male character bringing his girlfriend into their flat where their new puppy is waiting for her, she's really happy and they are both excited about this new member of their family. From the following shots it is clear to see the characters have busy lives, they pass each other in the morning without exchanging more than two words to each other. The woman says goodbye to the dog and hurries off.
Later the man returns but gives the dog a treat but has no time to play with him or care for him properly. This cycle repeats: the people come in, have no time for the puppy and leave. The dog becomes distressed and starts misbehaving, this adds to the strain on the couples relationship which is worsening. The relationship deteriorates to the point that the woman moves out and the dog is given up and placed into kennels.
Enigma codes
The film poses questions that aren't answered in the sequence, they leave the audience questioning and thinking about the film after its finished.
What else is going on in their lives to cause strain on their relationship?
What happens to the dog after he is given up?
Why did they get the dog in the first place?
Locations
The film takes place in only two locations: the flat and kennels.
The majority of the film is set in the couples flat with the finale scene taking place in the kennels/rescue centre. Having one main location highlights (in this case) the lack of time and understanding the couple have for the dog. You never see him anywhere else, out for a walk or on a trip to the vets. They seem to have no idea of how to care for this dog leading the audience to believe that he could be a cause for their relationship deteriorating. The dog is always in the same part of the flat re-enforcing the feel of reppetitiveness in his life.
The final two scenes are set in the kennels. The pen the dog is placed in has a bar covered entrance resembling a prison. The pen is also small, dull and bare - not a desirable place to be by any ones standards. It's really very much open to interpenetration why he is there, but the bleak location creates the impression the dog is to blame. However he has ended up there through no real fault of his own but through bad circumstances of his owners.
Characters
The three main characters in this film are divided, each causes conflict with the other. The four characters in the film are:
This is the couple that own the dog. They are a typical representation of a modern couple, average looking, living in a nice home with what at first appears to be an average relationship. Both of them lead busy lives driven by work and naively purchase this puppy without looking ahead or preparing themselves.
Believable and relatable characters makes the whole film more believable and adds weight to the message behind it.
The main character is the dog. The film is shot almost entirely in first person form the dogs point of view. He is the victim in the film, suffering due to the couples attitude towards owning a pet.
The audience feels sympathy towards this character due to the first hand view of the situation. This helps the audience understand and comprehend how the dog is feeling and also shows the audience that the dog has done nothing wrong and nothing to deserve the type of treatment he receives.
The final character is a minor one, in fact she only features in one shot. The woman at the rescue centre shows only limited sympathy towards the dog. Not only has the dog been abandoned by his owners he is somewhat abandoned by this woman as she walks away from the pen. This reflects the nature of the place the dog now lives, people will undoubtedly come and go in and out of the dogs life giving him no real stability.
Overall humans are represented as negative and selfish characters in this film, with the dog falling victim to their attitudes.
Cinematography
Point of view shots - Almost the entire film is short through the eyes of the dog using point of view shots. The shakiness of these shots mimics the movement of the dogs head adding to the realism of the film. Showing the action through the eyes of the dog allows the audience to identify with it and sympathise with him as well.
Low angle shots - The use of low angle shots presents the human characters as more powerful and superior to the canine.
They also connotate how the dog looks up to the humans and how he relys on them to look after him and care for him.
High angle shot - The final shot is a high angle shot depicting the dog in his pen at the rescue centre. The cameras position above the dog creates the impression he is small and also creates/adds to the sense of vulnerability around the character.
All of these techniques influence the audiences opinion of the dog and build up the representation of him as a character.
Editing
Fade transitions - Each shot (apart from the final one) is joined by a fade transition, they are used to how the passing of time within the narrative. They accentuate to the audience the expanse of time that has passed for the characters further conveying the emotions of the characters.
Quick shots - The pace of the shots quickens as the film goes on. This reflects the amount of time the people are spending with the dog, as the narrative goes on they spend less and less time with him. It could also reflect the patience the couple have for both the dog and each other.
Straight cut - The transition between the final two shots is the only one in the film which isn't a fade transition, instead a straight cut is used. This is a lot harsher, reflecting the cruel reality of where the dog now lives. It also signifies a change in the dogs life, the difference in transition connotates the difference in environment the dog is now in and the life he will now lead.
Sound
There is no overlaying music through the film, instead the director relys of the action of the visuals alone to convey the desired tone and tell the story they want the film to tell. Similarly there is no music accompanying the credits allowing the message of the video to simple sink in be reflected upon by the viewer.
Diegeticsound effects for the dog have been added to the film. Barking, panting and whimpering noises tell the audience how the dog is feeling and reacting to current situations. Apart from the camera movement this is the only way the audience knows the dogs mood. This is more of a challenge due to the film being nearly all point of view shots because the audience cant physically see how the dog is reacting to the situation.
Titles
The credits and text within the film are in a simple white font on a black background, this doesn't take away from the action or message of the video. I'm not sure I like the idea of having no opening titles but in this case launching straight into the film is effective. I feel this is due to the serious message of the film but still I can't help but thinking it looks unprofessional for a short film.
My thoughts
I like this short film and I feel it was very useful for me to look at as it holds similar qualities to one of my own ideas. This film is a really good example of the use of point of view shots and how they can be used effectively. I like the underlying message of the video but I think I'd like to make a more light hearted short film given that we will be working on it for months and putting so much time into this project.
