Short Film Theory

VHS Codes and Conventions

The codes and conventions for VHS are taken from one particular section of the film, I was unable to find a suitable YouTube video showing this section of the film. The section is towards the end of the film and follows the men at the begging of the film who break into a house looking for a video tape, the house is dark and a majority of the men have vanished by this part of the film and it focus' on a few of the men as they watch one of the video tapes and walk around the previously mentioned house. The reason we have chosen to look at VHS in detail is due to the fact that it uses handheld camera footage for the majority of the film, this is something that we ourselves would like to implement into our own film with the use of the killer using a handheld camera to see his perspective of the events that unfold. It was imperative to look a a film such as VHS to see how handheld cameras are implemented in feature horror films, and to see how we could emulate these conventions.

Narrative Theory

Here is a Prezi that summaries the ideas of Narrative theory, it also discusses narrative theorists and their ideas on narrative and how we would be able to apply these ideas to our own narrative in the form of our film.

Blackbox TV Shortfilm - INSIDE

Whilst this isnt a short horror film, I felt this would be a good film to mention within our research into short horror films. INSIDE does not follow all of the general codes and conventions of short films, for a start, there is a lot of dialogue used which helps to create an intense atmosphere as we here many voices trying to talk over one another, this almost creates a bond between the main character and the audience as we experience what he is experiencing.

Short Horror Films Codes and Conventions

Here is a Prezi which sums up all of our codes and conventions for short films from Blackboxtv each section in the Prezi has an example of how it can be used in an existing short film and how we could potentially learn from this and use it in our production.

Audience and Representation Theory

Short Film Research - Virus

 

Whilst watching 'Virus' the expanse of space surrounding the protagonist made his vulnerability and isolation apparent. It seems that this is a common convention of short horror films, using a big expanse of space to dwarf a victim not only makes an eerie tension in the film but also creates an atomosphere with the viewer. I also noticed a lack of dialogue throughout the film which helped with building a tension, this is because the audience cannot make a connection with the protagonist due to there being no speach or call for help. However, as the audience we know that something will happen due to the focus being directly on one person and the knowledge that we're watching a horror film. The concept of lonliness and silence is further emphasized by the phone line being disconnected which completely isolates him from the outside world or any means of help. This is a common code of short films which increases the tension and atmosphere throughout the clip.

Blackbox TV shortfilm - Not Tonight!

The opening shot of the film 'Not Tonight' is an exterior shot with distorted imagery due to the lack of clear focus. The image is also an unusually low angle shot making our focus lay even more on the house. This is an establishing shot as we are able to associate that the storyline of the short film will take place here. This shot also evokes the feeling that we are not alone in watching the house, that we are seeing through someone else’s eyes, these shot ideas could link to our production.

With the found footage aspect to the film we could use these types of shots, our killer will be watching his old house and therefore we need to portray this idea in our film. Distorted imagery will help our audience to grasp the idea that the house being watched is where the action will take place as well as making our audience feel uncomfortable due to the strange nature of the shot.

The next shots reveal the unknown person who was watching the house, the woman in shot is walking towards the house from the woods. This shot would be effective in our production due to the idea of the woods being shelter for our killer; the idea that the house is being watched from an eerie place such as the woods makes the scene more uncomfortable. The trees from the woods flashing through random shots also evoke the idea of an unclear image, which is what we want to create for our killer. The idea that no one really knows him.

When we see the interior shots of the house we see that the room is lit in a dark red colour, this effect sets the idea that the house is dangerous. In our production there is a 'Shrine' like room which is lit in a deep red colour to set this feeling also, the idea of the intricate shots of the different elements of the room from 'Not Tonight' could be worked into our film also, adding a unusual sense of interest into menial unimportant things. The impression of handheld camera shots is also given by the distorted imagery which is not in focus, the shot of the girl also turning on her phone light shows that we may be seeing the house through her phones camera. This could be an important element in our film as a way of establishing our killer is infact recording his every move.

Blackbox TV shortfilm - Final Exit

Final Exit is a short film by blackboxtv it features a lone protagonist attempting to flee from a group of aggressors. The film uses a lack of dialogue in order to establish a sinister tone as well as create tension; this tension that is created is further enhanced with the use of the music that sounds rather unsettling to the viewer’s ears. The music is effective in its use as it creates an atmosphere about the film as well as establishes’ the fact that the film is a horror film, for our film we should use music in order to establish the tone of the film and keep dialogue to a minimum to create tension and convey the theme of horror throughout our film.

Throughout the film there is a few useful and effective camera shots in regards to the chase scenes for instance at around 0:20 the tracking shot behind the protagonist creates the idea of a chase and fear in the characters face. The swaying from side to side of the camera creates the illusion that we are witnessing the chase from the point of view of an aggressor to the protagonist, this instantly establishes’ the fact that the protagonist is being chased and the fear on the face of the protagonist suggests by some kind of antagonist. This similar chase format is used constantly throughout the films entirety.

The film is predominantly dark throughout as, this low key lighting represents the theme of the film and also shows the mystery and danger surrounding the protagonist, the darkness represents the unknown in the eyes of the viewer and we are instantly met with a fear of the unknown. This darkness could be used in our film to represent the unknown and to re-establish our tones and create a sense of tension throughout.

Blackbox TV shortfilm - This Is For You Baby!

In the short film ‘This Is For You Baby’ Music has been used throughout the film such as at the very beginning at 0:19, this use of music helps to establish both the tone of the film as well as creating a tense and suspense filled atmosphere. The music fits in with the attempted message and theme that the film is attempting to convey throughout the film. Another use of music in the piece is in the constant flashbacks throughout the film such as 1:59 that use music in order to establish a different camera change, this is something that would be effective in our own film in the sense that we are having two different cameras and we should show this through non visual cues such as the music changing. The effect that the music gives to the entire film is adding atmosphere and the particular music adds an air of tension and suspense from the unknown.

The amount of dialogue in this short film goes against the normal codes and conventions in the sense that the film has a vast amount of dialogue; this is not very effective in the sense that this breaks codes and conventions but the budget of the film means that the effect of dialogue is gone. The reason that the dialogue doesn’t seem to work is mainly down to the films budget; short films are often very low budget and the acting can leave a lot to the imagination of the viewer. The fact that the dialogue comes across as tension and tone shattering means that for our film we should perhaps consider considerably limiting dialogue in order to keep the tension and atmosphere of our film.

Blackbox TV shortfilm - Leave Me Alone!

Starting from around the 1.50 mark of the film some of the camera shots show the woman as alone and almost as though she is being watching by something or someone this is the tone that we will be attempting to convey with our film and also attempting to bring unease and tension to our audience. One specific midshot at 1.55 captures this tension and feeling about the film perfectly as the foreground to the shot is obscured and it gives off the impression that the girl is being watched and is not actually alone.

From 0:40 in this short film the camera is positioned in front of a computer screen that has an instant messenger conversation happening, the original idea for our film is that our protagonist has a phone conversation which will get across the idea that she has recently moved into a new house and has brought it for a little amount of money under semi suspicious circumstances. Using a computer as the main form of conversation in our film will help make the film seem more professional as the acting level of our actors may not be completely up to scratch in order to have a convincing dialogue on a phone. It will also take less time to have messages pop up for the audience to read than it will in dialogue. Using computer‘slang’ or abbreviations in this conversation may help our target audience to be more engaged with the character and may find the character more relatable, this will help to meet our requirements that our focus group have suggested for us.

Short Films Codes and Conventions

Here is a summary of codes and conventions of short films that the group has found from their research into BlackBoxtv and other independent short horror films. The prezi discusses how we would be able to use some of the techniques that are discussed within it from the lack of dialogue to create suspense to general rules that most of the short films seem to follow. The Prezi uses examples of how the points are used, some of which are done effectively while others can be somewhat lacking in execution; it is important to look at both bad and good pieces in order to get an overall idea of what to do and how to do it. all of the points are extended versions of the short film research on our individual blogs.

The Strangers Codes and Conventions

 

The codes and conventions analysis are taken from this scene in The Strangers

This particular scene follows a similar theme and tone that we are attempting to incorporate within our film such as horror and tension, as well as this this particular scene is somewhat similar to what we would like our film to be like in the sense that there is a lone female alone and her house is being 'invaded' by some form of antagonist. Another part that we would be able to take away from this scene is the use of music and sounds to create tension and to set a tone of overwhelming confusion and horror.

Short Horror Films and Our Production Ideas

Here is a short Prezi on some of the ideas portrayed in short horror films on YouTube and how we can incorporate them into our production.

Blackbox TV Shortfilm - THE GIRL IN THE BASEMENT

At 0:23 the handheld camera shot through the woods is a good establishing shot that makes it clear to the audience that someone is filming a house secretly, the fast paced movement suggests that the person filming is on edge as they are ensuring they are hidden by hiding behind leaves and trees. This shot could be used within our shortfilm to establish that someone is also recording the house secretly.

At 1:30 the medium longshot shows the audience that the man is walking into a new room, when this cuts to the mid shot at 1:35, the way the man is acting makes it clear that he has heard something and is cautious, this technique could be something we use when the protagonist hears the antagonist from outside to show to the audience that the protagonist is on edge.

At 1:48 when the man is knocked out, the quick cut between the victim and the antagonist creates suspense quickly, I like how it cuts then to a black screen to show that the man is knocked out, this is something we would like to test with our own film as we feel it creates a dramatic effect.

Scream - Intro Research

The Introduction to scream follows a similiar plot to what we intend our film to be about. I have looked into different camera shots, sound, and editing used within the introduction to see how we could use this to help us create our own film.

Blackbox TV shortfilm - ZOMBIE

 

At 3:18 the camera cuts rapidly between around 4 or 5 different shots, once the boy is hit it cuts to a black screen, this builds up a huge amount of tension for the audience and also leaves them wondering what has happened to the victim

At 4:20 I liked the use of the quick cuts between the camera shots as it helped build suspense, this use of parallel editing will be ideal within our film to help quickly create tension for the audience in a short space of time.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Documentary Scenes Research

Here I have done some research into the documentary scenes of the film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, our original idea was to create a horror film that incorporated scenes that would appear to be from a real documentary but we decided to change this upon further thought into what we wanted our film to be about, in case we decide to change our minds we decided it would be a good idea to research into a film that has used this style in order for us to gain a basic understanding of how it could be done if we changed our idea.