Today, we made a brainstorm of typicalities of romantic short films and visited YouTube.com so we could find some examples of romantic short films so we could get some ideas for our own short film. The following videos are ones that we researched into and liked:
Film 1
We really liked this short film. We thought that the voiceover was a very good idea as it gives the audience some insight into the character's real thoughts and feelings, however we decided that for our film, it wouldn't be appropriate because we'd prefer to use proper dialogue and we have limited technology. We also thought that the twist in the plot was a very good idea, because the audience won't be expecting it. We plan to use a twist in our plotline to engage and interest the audience.
Film 2
This film uses exterior settings in the happier scenes, making the most of high-key, natural light and good weather. We thought that this was a very good idea because pathetic fallacy is quite important in filming, especially in happier scenes, as it reflects the character's emotions and it affects the overall look of the shot. However, this film doesn't have much dialogue, and relies on a monologue to convey the plot. We don't think that this would be suitable for out film because of technological difficulties and the fact that out film has quite a complex plot; it works for this kind of film, but not really for ours.
Film 3
Even though this film is shorter than what our film will be, but ti is very effective. Again, this film uses no dialogue, but we think that this is because the plot is fairly simple and it doesn't need dialogue. However, our film is more complex, so dialogue is needed. A wide range of shots are used in this film, and the actors have been chosen very carefully in order to create the right look for the sequence. Also, the locations have been picked carefully to create the correct atmosphere and tone to the film. But overall, we think that this is a very effective film and we like the way that it uses diagetic sound to set the tone.
From watching and analysing these films, we have gained an insight into what our chosen genre entails and what the tell-tale signs of a genre are. We have drawn the conclusion that we need to use high-key, natural lighting in the happier scenes, and we need to make sure that the weather is correct to make the tone of the film appropriate. However, this might be difficult because we plan to film in October, and the weather may have an affect on our filming schedule. Also, we have learnt that dialogue - although hard to ensure it is heard with the camera we plan to use - is important for our genre.
Next session: we will make a first draft of a treatment that outlines the plot and the characters we have chosen.
