Zoë's Film Coursework

There are three main details to include in a screenplay to develop a character: 1. The impression they create- their appearance; costume, makeup, actor, age 2. Their attitude- their personality and temperament 3. The world they inhabit- where and how they live; setting, props The most important element of a character is their personality, which is what you should develop first. To do this you could place them in scenarios and imagine their reaction. These may be unrelated to your narrative but might help you come up with ideas, or you could place them a scenario you already want to include in your screenplay, helping you to build a scene as well as a character. Some scenarios might be: - What would the character do if they were cheated on? - What would the character do if they were mugged? - Would your character accept a bribe and why? Other questions you could ask about your character to develop personality are: - Why are they interesting? - How does their personality...

I began mind-mapping ideas for my screenplay by listing the objectives I wanted to cover with the final script: Featuring one on-screen character- This is because I have to make a story-board featuring photographs, and using one actor is the most practical way to create a simple short film. Character preferably a teenage girl-  This is because I am writing a screenplay and as I am a teenage girl myself, it will be easier to capture the personality (and language-use, reactions to events etc.) of my character if we are similar. Set in one to two simple settings- Again, this is due to the need to keep my narrative simple as it has to also be represented with a story-board, ideally the screenplay would be set in a house as this is the most accessible location to film in. Tackle a social issue such as mental illness- This is because I believe that film is a powerful media that can be used to deliver a message to society and potentially effect ideology. I would like my fil...

For my coursework project, I have decided to write a screenplay instead of creating a short film, and this is for several reasons: The first reason I want to write a screenplay, is because this is something I have tried and enjoyed before, and I would like to explore it further. I have always enjoyed creative writing and this is a great opportunity to pursue this passion once again.  Choosing this option means that I can be more ambitious with my narrative, as firstly the screenplay will be longer, so I can explore character personalities and dynamics in more detail, and I can also interpret more of a traditional narrative into my script. Also, with this coursework choice I also have to create a story-board to represent the different shot types I would use if I was filming the screenplay. In my opinion, as this is almost like actually filming, by writing the screenplay, I get to experience both sides of creating a film.

In this blog post, I will be discussing research I have carried out surrounding narrative structures in film, specific theorists relating to this, and structures within short films specifically. Three-Act Structure The Three-Act Structure is an old principal used in all types of story telling. Essentially it means the story has a beginning, middle and end, though these are usually called: Setup Confrontation Resolution Theorist #1- Todorov Todorov identified traditional narrative theory by studying classic fairy tales and stories; he discovered that narratives move forward in chronological order with a clear beginning, middle and end, and suggested that characters are changed in someway at the end of the narrative. He called this a linear narrative . Linear Narrative Steps: The narrative begins with an equilibrium An action or character disrupts this equilibrium A quest to restore the equilibrium begins The narrative continues to a climax A resolution occurs an...

In 2015, Jörn Threlfall directed a crime/mystery short film called 'Over'. It ultimately tells the true and tragic story of a man from Angola who fell to his death from a British Airways flight as it arrived in London. The man had been hiding in the plane's 'wheel-well' and fell out when the landing gear was lowered, by which point his body was almost frozen. Threlfall uses an unconventional narrative to tell this story; as the events, labelled with various times, unfold backwards, allowing the viewer upon their first viewing, to play detective and work out the mystery themselves. When I began to watch this film, I thought the use of very long takes of minimal action were boring, but upon reflection, I realise that once you understand the storyline, the fact that not much is happening is the point; this is the aftermath of the man's death, yet there seems to barely be any effect on the community. I think this narrative is very effective, and a new and intere...

In 2015, Nick Rowland directed a coming of age/social realist short film called 'Slap', telling the story of a teenage boy in a working-class neighbourhood, who is experimenting with wearing makeup. The film opens with the protagonist, applying make-up, and the story progresses to him struggling to and eventually telling people in his life about this. However, this doesn't work out as well as he'd hoped, and the film ends on a negative note as the protagonist beats up his boxing opponent.    .    Firstly, I thought that, because this short film was longer than most (25 mins), the character development and dynamics were excellent, and meant that Rowland didn't have to rely on stereotypes to convey personalities quickly- something that's very important particularly in this film. It is also an interesting exploration of gender roles and masculinity within life in general, and sport, as the protagonist is a boxer- perhaps inspired by or an allusion to Stephen ...

In 2016, Daniel Montanarini directed a short film called 'Arrival' which follows a pregnant woman's inner monologue as she waits in a cafe to tell the man this news. She debates in her head whether or not to keep it, eventually coming to a decision at the end of the film, just before the man arrives. This film is, overall, theatrical. It consists entirely of the expressions of the woman (Anna) and her inner monologue conveyed with a voice-over. It is like the cafe is her stage, as everything from the spotlight on the lead actress to the over-the-top expressions to the well blocked extras in the background exudes drama. Montanarini's camerawork is effective. He uses a simple zoom-in as the scene progresses, building to the climax of the film which is a train going past the window as Anna reaches her decision (whether this is literal or metaphorical or both  seems ambiguous). I think all of these features achieve what Montanarini was trying to which, as he said in an...

In 2015, Caroline Bartleet directed a short film, 'Operator', starring Kate Dickie and Vicky McClure, which ended up winning a BAFTA Award for 'Best Short Film'. The suspenseful short follows a phone operator at a fire department as she tries to guide a woman on the line to safety, focusing not on the woman in danger but on the operator and how relentless and emotionally draining her job is. I enjoyed the way this film started; successfully introducing the scene with a montage of phone operators, whilst also drawing attention to the variety of calls they have to deal with, with one employee explaining that the caller 'needs a locksmith'. This immediately represents the issues with the emergency services system and how much people waste the operators' time. Then, when the camera settles on the main character, we are drawn into her conversation, based on a real 999 call, which is captured with only two camera angles, and one long take, forcing the film to...

In 2008, Destiny Ekaragha directed a short comedy film, 'Tight Jeans', following a conversation had between three teenage boys who are sitting on a wall waiting for another friend, sparked by a man walking past who is wearing tight jeans. In terms of narrative structure, this film is very simplistic; based in one setting, with only a few camera shots and with no action, other than the conversation had between the friends, which takes up the entire nine minutes. Compared to the other short films I have watched so far, this film seems much less complex, and, having been released ten years ago, perhaps slightly dated. Despite this, I enjoyed Ekaragha's use of colour; the three main characters are wearing red, orange and blue hoodies respectively, and these bright colours against a saturated background setting of a working-class London neighbourhood, symbolises the characters' bright personalities and the way this can help life in a potentially difficult location. Als...

In 2011, Lewis Arnold directed a short film called 'Echo'. It follows Caroline, a 17 year old girl, who gets a phone call informing her that her dad has been in an accident. However, as the film continues we learn that, though this event did happen, Caroline was pretending to get the call again to con people in the street into giving her money. The film is an interesting exploration of grief and the ways people deal with it, but the most interesting element, I feel, is the narrative structure. In an interview I watched, Arnold explains that the film was written in three parts; three phone calls, the first using long takes to be the most objective, and allows the audience to take the place of pedestrians on the street so that the scene remains ambiguous, to leave the viewer wondering what exactly is happening. Then, when the second phone call takes place, the audience enters the scene from the point of view of Caroline's younger brother. This makes it clear that no...

Below is a storyboard I created, illustrating an idea for the introductory scene in a potential short film to write for my coursework, and the feedback I got after it had been marked.  My Storyboard  Feedback In response to the feedback regarding shot duration, I think that at the beginning of the sequence, the shots would be longer, around 5 seconds each, to help establish Maddy's character, and in the case of the second shot, to allow the viewer to read the text on Maddy's phone. Then, as the montage begins, the shots would become significantly shorter, to provide a fast pace, similar to Edgar Wright's editing style, to keep the viewer interested and add comic effect.

In 2012, Dan Sully directed a social realist short film; 'The Ellington Kid'. The film is set in a kebab shop in London, where a teenage boy is telling his friend the story of 'the Ellington kid', a boy who was stabbed by a gang and took cover by hiding in the very kebab shop they are sitting in. Then the film takes an interesting twist, ending on an ambiguous note which keeps the viewer thinking after the credits have rolled. The film's tone is overall comedic, using snappy editing to keep the pace fast, and a single narrator on top of the action. This is not what you'd expect from a social realist film, as it does not focus on one particular character and doesn't portray it's social issue in a realistic and often upsetting way; Sully instead opts to use comedy to deal with the relevant issue of knife crime in London. I think, to an extent this is effective, as it does not shy away from the reality and impact of this issue on people's lives. How...

In 2014, Olly Williams released ‘The Fly’, a short film following a getaway driver waiting outside a bank robbery for his accomplices. We watch for six minutes as the protagonist becomes progressively more stressed as he sits in the getaway car, with his actions eventually resulting in the police arriving at the scene as his accomplices leave the bank. The tone of this piece is dark comedy, which paired with a gritty and realistic setting acting, and excellent comedic timing makes for a hilarious if slightly uncomfortable viewing experience. The creative use of camera angles, including an extreme close-up of the protagonist's eyes, and a bird's eye view shot of the car, keeps the viewer interested in the action and and sticks to the typical snappy editing of a comedy, potentially inspired by directors such as Edgar Wright (Baby Driver, Shaun of the Dead). Williams also uses purely diegetic sound, adding to the realistic tone of this short and therefore drawing the v...

In 2003, Edgar Wright directed a music video for the band Minte Royale featuring several comedians including Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh), Nick Frost (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead) and Michael Smiley (Spaced). The video accompanies Minte Royale's 'Blue Song', for three and a half minutes, following a getaway driver (Fielding) as he entertains himself by listening to the song whilst waiting for his accomplices to come back. I think Wright does an excellent job of combining comedy with a typically serious and dark situation, making the music video interesting to watch as it contains a plot that could easily be part of a longer story-line, even feature length, but is interesting enough as a self-contained narrative, as Wright uses the short time he has to effectively establish the main protagonist's personality through small tropes, for example, Fielding's character's use of the wind-screen wipers of his getaway car to acco...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as 'an original motion picture that has a running time of forty minutes or less, including all credits', but this definition is flexible, as it has never been agreed exactly where the boundary lies. Most short films will use a narrative structure, but this will often be more basic than one in a feature film. For film-makers attempting to get into the highly competitive film industry, short films are highly beneficial, as they provide a cheap and easy way to expose their work to the world, and this is even easier in the modern day due to video-sharing sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. They also take up less time to make, allowing amateur film-makers to work part-time on another job. Finally, they provide a good learning-ground for film-makers to make mistakes and attempt new techniques.

I first watched 'Home' two years ago when it was released, during the midst of the UK refugee crisis, now unfortunately this film is once again shockingly prevalent. By following a British couple (Jack O'Connell, Holliday Grainger) and their two young children, Mulloy portrays the journey that refugees have had to take to reach safety. The twist is, the story is told backwards; the characters begin their day by, what looks like, preparing for a holiday, and end up on the front line of a war zone. Within twenty minutes, the tone of this film changes dramatically, as the second half of this family's journey becomes increasingly disturbing, especially as the audience understands that everything Mulloy has featured is the reality for millions of families. Here is the trailer for Home (the full film is available on Amazon Prime, I highly recommend watching it):

Welcome to my blog! Over the next seven months I will writing about each stage of my A-Level film coursework, eventually leading to the creation of either a screenplay or a short film, which will include posts reviewing several short films, research of narrative structures and details about my own screenplay/film.