2. Research

STAGE 2
RESEARCH +
EXPERIMENTS
Mel Nuttall

With the eleven responses, the majority said that
the storyline was most likely to draw them to the
film. But there was also mention that the director
or actors/actresses in the film could play a part;
although this wouldn’t be relevant much to my
short film except making good choices for those.
Out of all of the responses,
the survey seemed to show
that Sci-Fi was the most
popular genre for our age
range.

The last question on my survey was asking for feedback on a very simple
summary for the plot for my 60 second short film. Most thought it was an
interesting concept, but were unsure if it was simple enough for 60 seconds.
Perhaps if I had of been more specific about how the paranormal elements
such as time travel was going to be used it might be more clear. Although I
didn’t want to be too specific as the plot for my film may still change.

A table here shows
the popularity of
different film genres
in 2013.
It’s unlikely that the
comedy or a lot of
action would do well
as well as the Sci-Fi
as there just isn’t
time in sixty
seconds.

 Research viewing figures, sales
figures, demographic and
psychographic info. Look up article,
features or stories related to your
potential audience
In 2016, the most popular film genres were
action, animation and comedy – followed
by Sci-Fi. So for my short film might do
well to have some of those elements in.
Compared to the results in 2013, action is
still the most popular genre of film, but Sci-
Fi is still in the top five most popular. It’s a
consistent genre in the UK, gaining
popularity alongside other genres.

 For this you should summarise your primary and secondary research, through this
you should then be able to produce an audience outline that you intend to target.
For this you could also produce an audience profile.
A graph found on the internet showcasing the most popular film genres in 2016
showed that action was most popular. The primary research done for my
survey said that out of the responses, Sci-Fi was most popular. That was the
fourth most popular in 2016 for Box Office millions GBP. This suggests that a
large majority of my target audience of sixteen to twenty four year olds.

U
Stands for Universal,
meaning that the film is
deemed suitable for all
audiences aged four
and over. There is very
little chance of
discriminatory
language or behaviour.
Any use of violence is
usually portrayed in a
comical manner.
PG
Stands for Parental
Guidance, as some
scenes may be
unsuitable for younger
viewers. It is generally
aimed at ages eight
and over and while
younger children are
free to watch, there is
the chance it may
upset them. Mild or
moderate violence is
used and isn’t on for
prolonged periods.
12/12A
Aimed for audiences
aged twelve and over.
Children under twelve
can go see a film in the
cinema if accompanied
by an adult. Moderate
and strong language
might be used, violence
may have very
occasional gory moments
but aren’t very
emphasised.

15
Aimed at audiences
aged fifteen or over.
Anyone under the age
of fifteen cannot see a
fifteen in the cinema or
buy fifteen rated video.
Mature themes (
usually related to death
e.g suicide) may be
used but does not go
into detail. Strong
language is much more
likely though it just
depends on the
context.
18
Aimed for audiences
who are over the age of
eighteen. Those under
the age of eighteen are
not allowed to buy
products or see it in a
cinema. They are more
free in what they can
show, as audiences are
less likely to be
sensitive to what is
shown and know that it
is for entertainment.
My short film
Given how short my
film is going to be and
that there isn’t any
talking, it will be
difficult for it to need a
high rating. There
may be a small
amount of blood but
not for excessive
amounts of time so I
think the best
certificate would be a
12A.

 Research potential production techniques you might want to use
or feel would be most appropriate – these can be related to
camera, editing, story, sound, etc.
 You should look at a minimum of 3 related products in your
research.
 You should collect clips/still images/how to guides/etc that might
help you. When watching scenes from films, etc you could also
ask potential target audience what they think.
 You will need to add extra slides!
 With each technique you should assess whether you can use it or
how you might employ or why you may want to disregard it
completely

The short film “Survive” is a short film set in a post apocalyptic scenario.
While the film is organised differently to how mine will be, for example
the length of the film, what drew me to it was the opening. The first thirty
seconds of this short film is dedicated to showing a shot of where each
scene would take place throughout. Of course my short film won’t spend
half of the running time on the scenery, but it helped with how I could
shoe the audience the short of world the character lives in that easily
fades onto that character’s introduction.
My short film will open with an extreme long shot of my location, then
cutting to a closer shot as my character is introduced.

“Hopeless Wanderers” is another short film based in a post apocalyptic
setting. Again I was more drawn to the way it was shot since it was a
longer duration than my short film will be. The setting here is relevant to
what I originally had in my head for the setting of my short film but as it is
less likely that I will be on an abandoned site now, I can take inspiration
how the shot was taken. The extreme long shot with a person
walking during the shot.
This could be a good
shot for showing my
character as she travels
throughout the
landscape or as a way
of introducing her in the
first place.

The camera focus
effect here I thought
worked really well.
The fire at first is out
of focus deliberately
but still clear as to
what it is showing. A
shot like this could
work well to show a
character who is
disorientated or
struggling to see. I could use this in my short film for when my character finds
herself in the past and is completely disorientated by an
environment she isn’t used to where the film ends.
A later shows the
fireplace now in
focus as if the
character has now
become more
relaxed and
focused.

The third existing product I’m looking at isn’t actually a short film but a music
video for a cover of “The Last of Us” theme song by Taylor Davis. It was a
main part of the original inspiration for my short film. I really liked the
cinematography and how the environment was portrayed. It’s something I’d
like to take ideas from when filming my own, even if the setting is slightly
different.

I used clips from this video to create my mock trailer for my video mood
board. I got inspiration for how my character could find the watch and
phrase from this part of the clip.
I’ll use this sort of idea for my short film when my character discovers
the items and body, where the character sees it first but the audience
does not, to build tension until everything is shown.

EXPERIMENTS
Camera/Editing/Audio Experiments
Be prepared to add extra slides

For a filming task, we were given a shot list to film a sequence of different
shots to edit together. Our group decided to go for a horror style theme,
since we thought it would work quite well. We were even able to get one
of the group member's friends to play the part of the chaser as it chased
the characters at the end. The filming did take longer than we originally
expected but it was worth it to get a few extra film shots that were used in
the final part of the film.

 What elements of your experiments will you include in your final
product?
When filming my short
film, I’ll make sure to be
open to any suggestions
my friends have and be
prepared to tweak the
shot list slightly for a
better effect.
I’ll also try and get as
much of it done in
chronological order as I
can and tick off each shot
so nothing is missed out.

Once the actual content was filmed and edited, I took the extra long shot
from the beginning to show the credits on. To add the text, I selected the
option to add a title and there I picked a font that went with the theme
but was still easy to read so that each person could be edited.

product?
I’ll try to keep the range and varying types of shots in my short film. I liked
the pan opening shots that might work for my new film and the building of
tension between cuts. I might use a similar ending too, where the screen
goes blank but the sound remains for a dramatic ending.

On Wednesday, in groups we went out with a audio recorder to make
sounds to go with a clip from Shaun of the Dead where all the audio had
been removed.
The sounds had to be layered on to change the changes in volume as the
general atmosphere changed while the scene progressed. For example
the sounds of outside would still be audible inside through the open door
but were put on a separate layer so it could be quieter.

product?
Thanks to doing
the audio edit,
it’s allowed me to
realise that the
atmospheric
sounds are
important in a
short film and if
they can’t be
recorded with the
video, it can be
edited in
separately.

 List all the potential constraints that might affect or limit your production, you
should consider issues from each of these categories:
 Time/Personnel/Cost/Technical/Location/Organisational
The main possible limitations for my short film are going to be timing
and location. If I’m going to be able to fit my idea of a plot into the sixty
seconds time frame, minus the time for the credits too. The setting is
originally thought to be an abandoned street or factory, but if that isn’t
possible a forest would work too. The cast shouldn’t be much of a
problem as a friend has offered to act, a time when both of us are free
to film may be only a small issue that can quickly be resolved.

2. Research

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