Short Film

Poster

Link to: the Poster.

Magazine Review

Link to: the Magazine Review.

Evaluation Question #4

ESSENCE

How did you use media technologies in the construction and

research, planning and evaluation stages?

In the very early stages of planning my short film, I used YouGov profiles to establish my target audiences. I did this by searching for the typical audiences of similar properties: Blade Runner, HBO (home to Westworld), and Nineteen-Eighty-Four. This told me that the primary audience for Essence would be males around the age of twenty-five, and my secondary audience would older males around the age of fifty. Because of these results, throughout pre-productions stages I made sure to keep the tone of my short film consistent; always keeping in mind that I would be targeting an older audience. This meant that when writing the screenplay and organising the storyboards, I could tell a mature story that wasn’t totally censored, as it might be if the demographic was much younger.

        Upon conducting further research into the making of my short film, I used Google to access all the resources I needed; using the ‘drive’ app to store my research notes, including my screenplay and various schedules. Thanks to the online function of Google Drive, this meant I could access any and all of my files in any place where I had access to the internet. I also had access to a surplus of devices including PCs, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones – all of which I could utilise to plan the production of my short film.

        A later aspect of the planning stage of my short film was the inclusion of the intertextuality within my product. I chose make clear allusions to ‘Superman: The Movie’ when nearing the completion of the screenplay. I did this as there are clearly narrative similarities between the story of Superman and my short film; but it also remains consistent with what the target audiences will recognise, as it of a similar time and it shares the same genre.

When it came to finally filming Essence, I made sure as much of the framing, inclusion of props, colour, lighting, etc., all had some kind of purpose for being as it was, and that all of these aspects told their own story: in the pre-title sequence, we begin on an establishing shot of quite an obscure little street. I chose to show this instead of something comparatively larger like a cityscape to immediately introduce the audience to the idea that this is a small-scale, more personal story. Furthermore, the colouring of this landscape initially is very bright, but as the text appears (inspired by Blade Runner), detailing the decline of this world, the colour and lighting changes to something much darker and more ominous. We finish this first segment by hearing the gunshot that kills Cam #42.

Going into the first proper scene, this is where I first chose to set the seed of the Superman comparisons, by showing the footage of Richard Donner film on an iPad. The main character, Ben #38 is watching it, establishing his connection with this particular story. It is also in this scene that I first employ the split screen technology to show the same actor portraying two different characters at once - this was done in post-production, but during the shooting I did it by keeping the camera in a fixed position, and then getting the singular actor to perform both characters in the one single shot. Finally for this scene, I introduce the villain’s motif in my original score.

In the second scene, I chose to make it black and white in post-production to further cement to the audience that this sequence is a flashback. This also come into play later in the final scene - the colouring of this scene becomes an important visual cue for the audience as the film goes on.

Towards the end of the second scene, and then at the beginning of the third scene, I chose to show a lava lamp on the desk. I chose to focus on this prop, as the imagery it creates is something that the protagonist strives for; a lava lamp is very kinetic, free-moving, and random. On a very basic level, Ben #38 wants this, but instead he is stuck in a very uniform, repetitive life. Furthermore, I chose to show some shots in this scene that were quite blurry. This is to portray Ben #38’s internal struggle, as he feels he has no true identity - this is what he strives to find by the end of the short film.

In the following scene, I reintroduce the Superman comparison by playing the Superman theme in my own score. This is what pushes Ben #38 to finally act, finally cementing the intertextuality in my short films.

Finally, in the last scene of the film, I colour the kitchen setting in a very clinical, eerie way (done in post-production) to portray the true nature of the ending of the film. This is a direct contrast to how the kitchen is shown earlier in the short film, when it is coloured in a much warmer way (subtly convincing the audience that the ending might be a happy one). All editing for my short film was completed on Adobe After Effects CS6.

Evaluation Question #3

Link to: the Presentation.

Evaluation Question #2

Link to: the Presentation.

Evaluation Question #1

ESSENCE

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Before beginning the writing process of Essence, I looked into the various inspirations I had and noticed their shared theme of oppression, and what could be equated to the lower classes rising up. This includes the likes of ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Blade Runner 2049’, ‘Nineteen-Eighty-Four’, and HBO’s ‘Westworld’. As a result of these influences, I also incorporated genre elements from them too; like with the slow-burn, and dark noir feeling of the Blade Runner films.

    In terms of genre, Essence is pretty separate from the above media as it is simply a sci-fi drama; it lacks the straight-up film noir feeling of Blade Runner, and doesn’t lean totally into the dystopian aspects of something like ‘1984’ (instead simply implying it). This is the same again with the Westworld influence - there are no western elements, nor is it very action-packed. However I have taken the bare-bones elements of what makes these properties similar and applied it to my own short film, which takes the form of Essence. It’s really in terms of aesthetic that I wear the influences for Essence on my sleeve, with the Blade Runner-esque opening text, the sometimes synth-style score, and the opening shot (and extreme close-up on a character’s face).

    From a story point of view, the inspiration would not be quite as obvious had I not make direct reference to it in my short film. This being the story of Superman. I saw the two characters’ journeys to be very similar, in that they are simply trying to find their place in a world that they don’t truly belong. As a result, I included very clear visual references and sound reference to ‘Superman: The Movie’. However where I wished to differentiate my film from Superman: The Movie was with how the character’s journey actually pans out. Where Superman obviously becomes the hero we all know, Ben #38 (my protagonist) instead is simply killed. I wished to portray a dark world in which if a clone (which is essentially a tool) ceases to function effectively, then are disposed of, as any tool would be. This is where I refer back to my former influences for Essence; the darker, more mature media that inspired me initially.