Vlog Update

Crossing The Line Synopsis

My short film named 'Crossing The Line' is about an average working man. The character has been influenced by the media his whole life which has forced societies norms and values onto him. Throughout the short film we see quick shots of different forms of media which are repressing the main character.

This man represents the 'Nameless' public who spend their lives working.

In the short film we see the characters struggle to break free from the social norms and values. He achieves this by entering his own mind and crossing a symbolic line which represents a barrier top freedom. After crossing the line the main character realizes what has happened and the world becomes more clear to him.

The end of the film may come as a shock to the audience when the characters new found freedom leads to him falling down a set of stairs. A small twist is the fact that a close up of the man smiling at the start is also at the end after he falls down the stairs. The man is happy even though he is seriously hurt.

My short film is very simple but has a deep meaning behind it which may not be obvious to the audience on first viewing.

Location Details

Locations

Forrest Environment

The scene in the main characters head will be filmed in a forest type environment. The forest i have chosen for this is one that is fairly close to me and the actor and therefore is easy to access and also is not too busy which means the film will be easier to shoot on the day without having to worry about members of the public being in the background of shots.

After going to look at the location i picked up a clearing surrounding the trees which was a lot like what i imagined when coming up with the original idea.

• 

The meeting room

To make my short film visually effecitve and realistic i needed to find a location which could really resemble a company meeting room. I would also need to have access to this meeting room for a couple of hours aswell and having to be able to rearange the room to create the perfect mise-en-scene.

The ideal location i could think of was a room used for meetings in school as can be seen in the image below.

Character Profiles

John :

John is the main protagonist in crossing the line. He has a full time job working for a large organisation. He hates his job and has always wanted to leave but has never had the courage to do so as it would leave him with no income.

We follow John's day at work and we see into his mind where he crosses a subconscious line representing the the barrier between staying and leaving his job.

Four Businessmen:

Four actors will play businessmen who are in the meeting as well as being seen having a business related convocation they voices are also used as diegetic sound.

Man in the office:

The main in the office is seen twice in the film. The first time he is seen is as John is entering his workplace, the man in the office says 'good morning!" to John. The second time he is seen the man in the office asks John for a favour but John rejects this offer in a rude manner.

Short Film Plot Overview

Plot Overview/Synopsis

• We see a close up of the main male characters face. He is smiling.
• The same character is suddenly walking up a set of stairs. He seems to be in a hurry and looks unhappy.
• He walks into a ‘Meeting Room’ and sits down at a table with several other people. All people are wearing suits including our character.
• A discussion takes place between the people in suits but as the discussion goes on the sound of the convocation starts to become blurred.
• The man sees flashes of images of different forms of media as well as other symbolic images.
• His vision goes and all we can see is darkness.
• Suddenly, the main male character wakes up in the middle of a clearing in a Forrest. He is laying flat on his back and looking up at the sky.
• The man gets to his feet surveying his surroundings but has no idea where he is.
• He notices a line made out of sticks in the middle of the clearing.
• He slowly approaches it but as he gets closer seems hesitant.
• He stands at the edge of the line considering whether or not to cross it when he wakes up and is back in the meeting. The rest of the people in the meeting are staring in silence at our main character.
• He says sorry and the meeting continues.
• The meeting continues and images again start to appear in the characters head. Before he knows it he is back in the Forrest.
• He approaches the line again this time crossing it.
• As he crosses the weather turns from an overcast/cloudy atmosphere to a sunny day.
• As the sun beats down on him the man stands in shock on the other side of the line.
• He shouts out, throws his arms in the air and looks up at the sky.
• Suddenly, he is back on the meeting room.
• The main male character knocks over a chair to the shock of his co-workers who ,again, are staring at him.
• The man exits the meeting room. He runs down a corridor.
• The man trips of the stairs and falls down.
• He hits his head on the floor and slowly rolls over onto his back. As a puddle of blood forms around his head he smiles and a zoom is used to focus on his smiling face.
• Credits.

Theories

Representation

Louis Althusser (1971) says that individuals in capitalist societies 'internalise' ruling capitalist ideologies, unaware that their lives are being repressed.

I will take this theory and incorporate its idea into my short film. This theory will be presented by the main character in my short film who is in a job that he doesn't enjoy but can't leave as he is being repressed by society's rules which he is subliminally exposed to everyday.

Traditional Marxist theories suggest that owners of the media manipulate the media for their own benefit. Neo Marxist theories suggest that the media is influenced by the people working in the media but this is done subconsciously and not deliberately. Both these idea's are related to the themes behind my short film as it is the media which over time convinces the main character to stay in his job instead of doing something he really enjoys.

Both these theories have helped me to develop the idea of showing quick shots of different types of media convincing the man to stay working for this big corporation.

Narrative

I am going to heavily use Levi Strauss's theory on binary opposites in my short film as I want to emphasize the difference between the real world and the dream world that the main male character experiences. I believe that using the binary opposite theory to contrast both worlds will be very effective and convey the message to the audience that the two worlds are very different.

I am also going to dip into Christopher Volger's idea on creating a character who at the start of the story lives a stable but slightly problematic life. The character in my short film will have a stable life but he is not doing what he really enjoys and therefore his life is problematic. I hope by using these theory the audience will be able to relate to the main character and will be able to understand how he is feeling which will make the experience more intense for the viewer.

Instead of using a linear structure which is seen in most big budget Hollywood films, I am going to use a non-linear structure where the end of the narrative will be shown at the start of the film before returning to the start of the narrative and working to the end again. I believe that this method of structuring narrative will go against the traditional Hollywood linear structure as well as giving me an opportunity to put a small twist into the plot which will involve the ending shown at the start of the film.

Audience

The film I am producing is a short film and therefore I will not be using conventional methods to promote my short film. This is because I do not have the budget to spend on marketing and also because my audience will be a niche audience who are interested in artistic films instead of a typical Hollywood audience.

When delivering my short film to the required audience I will make use of web. 2.0 which involves uploading self made content to the Internet. This will include using social networking sites such as Youtube, Facebook and Twitter to promote my film.

George Gerbner(1986) says that TV and other media 'Cultivate the minds of consumers over a long period of time'. This theory is linked to one of the main themes of my short film where the media has influenced the behavior of the main character.

Genre
For my short film i have decided to use a drama genre as the story is very character driven rather than action driven. Throughout the whole film we focus on 'John' the main character, we go into his head and find out how the influence of the media has affected him.

Drama is also very obvious at the end of Crossing the line where John falls down the stairs and is seriously hurt. The tragedy of this scene fits well into the Drama genre.

Spider Diagram

<<<< Spider Diagram is here.

The spider diagram I have created is above, click on the small icon to enlarge the spider diagram.

I have used my spider diagram to dip into idea's from many different sources which i plan to combine and use in my film for the most creative output. The main sections are:

• Representation


• Genre


• Narrative


• Audience


• Influences and Research


• Media Techniques

From these main sections i have gone into more detail about theories and ideas related to each section.

Research into Drama Genre

Research into Drama Genre

The drama genre focuses on characters, their relationships and their lives

Drama Films are serious presentations or stories with settings or life situations that portray realistic characters in conflict with either themselves, others, or forces of nature. – Film site.org

I am going to research several short films and feature films in the drama genre.

Short Film - Meeting Life (2006 - Ansom Wong)

Part 1:

Part 2:

Meeting life is a very low budget short film directed by Anson Wong. The main plot is about a boy’s life and how he is trying to search for meaning in his life with the help of his friend.

This theme is similar to the theme that I had planned for my short film. The ending reveals that the main character and his friend are the same person. His friend represents his process of trying to work out the meaning of his life.

Short Film – Fence (Mathew Murdoch)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p004tzrd

Fence is about a boy starting at a new school, he decides whether or not he should dig a hole under a fence at his school and leave.

This film first stood out to me because the theme sounded similar to the initial idea of my short film. After watching I realized that it is a very similar concept but in a different setting.

One technique that I am going to make use of in my short film is the contrast between being bound by society's rules and breaking out. This takes place in ‘The Fence’ as before he breaks out of the school all the other children were ignoring him while after he had broken out of the school every child was staring at him. Another contrast is the change from loud noise to silence after the boy had crawled under the fence. This use of contrast can be seen in Levi St narrative theory on binary opposites where he states ‘Narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict.’

Post Modern Research

Post-Modernism – Research

A post-modern film is one which challenges current views on life and society and may suggest a new way of doing things.

‘Postmodernist film upsets the mainstream conventions of narrative structure and characterization’. – Wikipedia Postmodernist film

A post-modern film can often go against popular elements from existing films, making the film original. Themes that are often associated with postmodern films include:

· Self-referential and reference to similar films e.g. ‘Scream’ which makes several references to other horror films and the conventions of horror films within the films itself.

· The increase in technology

Drug Usage

· The media

· Violence

· Time travel

· Reality

what is it to be human

I have reviewed several post-modern films, as can be seen below, to increase my knowledge of this genre

DARK CITY (1998 - Alex Proyas)

Dark City is originally a Swedish film directed byAlex Proyas.

Dark city is a post-modern, Sci-fi film. The plot revolves around a man who wakes up with no memory of who he is.

The movie is filmed at night and has a very dark tone to it. To enhance this effect the director has used low key lighting. Shadows are also used very well in this film to create effective visual imagery.

DONNIE DARKO (2002 - Richard Kelly)

Donnie Darko is an independent film directed by Richard Kelly. When released the film didn’t have a high marketing budget and therefore was forced to use word of mouth advertising and other forms of cheap advertising.

Donnie Darko is famous for its soundtrack including the song ‘Mad World’ which illustrates the characters mental state throughout the film. It is also famous for its original post-modern content about the workings of the mind and parallel time lines.

Many techniques in the film are original and could be viewed as post-modern including ‘The Bathroom Scene’ where the main male character touches a invisible wall creating a ripple effect. The film also brings up various post-modern attitudes. This can be seen where Donnie Darko questions the authority of a lifestyle preacher

More influences

About a girl

About a girl is a short film directed by Brian Percival in 2001. I believe that several techniques used in About a girl would make an interesting contribution to my own film.
2 minute 10 into the film the main female character sitting on a bench outside a pub waiting for her dad. In this scene, there is a medium shot to start with which then slowly zooms out further and further away from the girl. This shot emphasises the loneliness of the character and makes the audience feel as though the characters life is poor. This technique is backed up the use of dark cloudy weather, rundown location and the way there is silence as the camera zooms out.
I would use this technique in the Forrest scene to emphasise the characters loneliness before he crosses the line.

Another technique I picked up on when watching ‘About a girl’ was the use of a handful of fast edits, a very long edit and then back to fast edits. This technique was used regally throughout about a girl separating current scenes with flashback scenes. I could also use this technique to separate the characters conscious mind with his unconscious mind.

Le Cheval 2.1

www.decipt.org/2003/le-cheval-2-1/?categoryrequest=picks

This film was a great source of inspiration for my own short film as it has a similar theme to the short film I would like to create. Le Cheval 2.1 is about a man running through a field; a voice over reveals that this man has always wanted to be a horse. For the majority of the film we think the man is a horse until the end where see the same man standing in a field full of other cows and it is revealed through voice over that the man is a cow.

The message that I interpreted from the film is that everyone wants to be free like a ‘Horse’ but as we are raised in society we are moulded into cows who just follow the rest of the herd. The character in this film is desperate to be a house but can’t because of society’s restraints. This is a very similar message to the one I would like to base my film on and therefore I would like to use it.

One technique that I liked in this film was that the whole film is in black and white to represent the dull society which has been built up around us. I would defiantly like to use this technique for the reality part of my short film for the same reasons that have used it in Le Cheval 2.1.

Another technique I would like to use in my own short film is to put my main male character in a suit to represent the average working man who feels as though he needs to wear a suit to fit in with the rest of society.

Two Cars, One Night

This was an interesting short film as it had a very simple story but the effects used and underlying messages made it enjoyable.

A great visual technique used in ‘Two Cars, One Night’ was the effect of time moving very fast around a still object. This technique can be created by filming one object which is still while other things moving around it and then speeding the footage up afterwards. I would like to use this technique in my short film, either to show time moving fast in the real world or in the characters unconscious mind world.

Having a simple plot but an underlying message behind it can sometimes make a film more interesting than just having a complicated storyline. I think that ‘Two Cars, One Night’ proves this fact and would look to do the same in my short film as well.

Evolution of my idea

A few posts back i wrote about the original idea i had for the short film i am going to produce. Since then my ideas have evolved.

Several ideas and techniques used in other short and feature length films have inspired me to use similar techniques in my own short film, this can be seen on other blog posts. I have started thinking more about locations for filming and sticking to my original idea i will need two main locations:

• A Forrest environment
  
• An office environment

A Forrest environment will be easy to find but an office environment will be harder. One idea i came up with was to use camera shots in a certain way to focus mainly on the main character in the short film and not on his surroundings. Another possibility i thought of was using a school classroom to film but i am worried that a school environment will take away from the meaning of the film.

I have also considered how i am going to use Weather to the greatest possible effect when creating my short film. The idea i have come up with is use a contrast of weather in the Forrest scene. What i mean by this, is start the Forrest scene with bright sunny weather and then when main character crosses the line the weather should change to heavy rain. I am also considering that the main male character should look up into the sky and shout out in happiness after he has crossed the line (Similar to the freedom shot in The Shawshank Redemption). I have decided to use rain to represent happiness and freedom while Sun to represent the opposite as i believe this goes against the norms of certain films in which the sun represents happiness.

Similar to the contrast between rain and sun i am also going to use black and white with color. I will use black and white in the office scenes representing Collectivism and then change the black and white to color after the main male character has 'Crossed the line' representing individualism.

After studying more on narrative i have come to the conclusion that my short film will have open structure. I believe that an open ended structure will defiantly suit my film as it leaves the audience thinking about the character and what the future may hold for him. The open ended structure also represents life how it is open for many possibilities.

I have changed my mind of using the ' Older man' character in my short film. I have decided not to use this character as i do not belive i will be able to find an actor of his age to be on my short film.

Research - Schindler's List

I watched through the film Schindler's List (1993). Before I saw this film I already had an idea about the theme and basic layout of my film but watching Schindler's List has given me ideas for techniques I can use in my short film to create a greater effect.

The fist technique I was interested in at the start of Schindler's List was the use of an graphic match. About a minute into the film a close up shot of a candle going out and smoke rising from the top dissolves into a shot of Steam rising from a train. This technique is very effective as it links one scene with the next. I am going to use this technique in my film to link the Protagonists conscious state of mind with his unconscious one.

Another technique that stood out was the slow development of a character using shots of different parts of the characters body without revealing the characters face. The main Protagonist in Schindler's List (Mr. Schindler) is slowly built up with shots of him doing tasks but only revealing parts of his body and not his face. An example of this is the character collecting money from a draw but only focusing on his hands. This technique builds up suspense for the audience as the identity of this character is not revealed and therefore the audience can't fully connect with the character until their identity has been revealed. I hope to use this technique in my short film when the elderly man is first revealed. I wish to use this technique because the unknown will create suspense for the audience and add to the overall suspenseful effect that the Forrest scenes will have.

A third technique used in Schindler's list which I may use for my own short film is the use of a prop placed between two characters to create a visible barrier between them. In Schindler's List Mr. Schindler and other businessman meet with each other, a clever still camera shot places Mr. Schindler on one side of a desk and the businessman on the other side. This technique not only physically separates these two characters but also suggests an emotional distance between them. I would like to use this technique in my own short film to separate the protagonist character from the rest of society in his conscious state.

Initial Idea

The initial idea for the short film i am creating is a adverage man sitting in an office meeting, he is wearing a suit. He starts slipping in out out of conciseness, when unconscious he sees an old man(Who is about 80) sitting on a bench in a forest area. As he slips into unconsciousness for longer he find himself in the forrest with the old guy. In the centre of the clearing in the forrest is a line made out of sticks and stones. He finds it hard to step over the line but eventually the old man helps him over. The Guy wakes up from his unconscious state and suddenly tears of his suit and leaves the meeting.

Many ideological messages can be interpreted from this short film. The message i intended to portray to the audience is the idea of 'Society' and how the Norms of society affect the way people generally live there lives due to the media's influence. The first thought of a film title is 'Crossing the Line', i have chosen this title as the character literally crosses a line and also metaphorically crosses one in his real life by walking out of his meeting and therefore breaking free from the norms of society.

What is a Short Film?

From my research i believe that a short film has various characteristics that make it different from a feature length Hollywood film. Firstly, the most common way to identify a short film is normally around 10 minutes in length whereas a feature film is about 100 minutes. Short films tend to be experimental and could be described as artistic while the Feature length films often have a formulaic structure.

Lots of short films are not only created for entertainment purposes but are normally real to life and sometimes have an ideological message behind the film. An example of this is the film 'About a Girl' which focuses on the issue of teenage pregnancy. On the other hand the majority of feature films are made solely for profit and therefore are designed to entertain the audience to produce as much money as possible.

Of course, not all short films contain all of the elements i have talked about above but the majority of them do contain these identifiable themes.

The making of poster 1

We started by taking two original images that can be seen below.

IMAGE 1

When taking the photos we concentrated on 3 main aspects. The ISO, aperture and Shutter Speed.

The aperture is the hole in the camera which light travels through. The size of the aperture opening will effect the depth of field of a photograph. A large aperture will produce a short depth of field, while a small apperture will produce a long depth of field.

IMAGE 2

The most of IMAGE1 (the wall) was kept in the final poster but i used the crop tool to cut out the whole in the wall. I then used the crop tool again to crop the eye out of IMAGE2 and place it in a second layer behind the image of the wall. Once i had the eye in a suitable place behind the wall i started to focus adding a film title and slogan which i decided should be placed directly next to the eye in the centre of the poster to create the most impact and draw the spectators attention to the title and slogan. To create the dark gothic effect on the title to reflect the theme of the movie i used a shadow effect. Afterwards, credits where added at the bottom of the page which gives details of the distributor, producer and other crew involved. The poster so far can be seen below:

After viewing this version we believed that the blank space at the top of the poster made the poster loo

k empty and therefore needed something to fill it and therefore decided to put the names of 3 actors. I put the name of the 3

actors in a red font because it contrasted with the background and made them stand out so the viewer could be drawn to the actors and therefore be drawn towards watching the film. I also decided to add the website address of sony pictures and created an 18+ age rating symbol using a red a white circle as well as text. The poster so far can be seen below:

After viewing this version of the poster i had a few problems with the layout of the poster. An example of this were the names of the actors being different distances away from the side of the poster which made it look unprofessional, this was changed so that the names were equal distances apart from each other.

The last thing that was added was a background effect which gave the wall a purple a green slime type look. Overall this effect gave the poster an investigation mystery feel. The green 'smile' on the wall represents blood being looked in a special investigation light.

The final version of the poster is below: