Genre

When thinking about the genres we could use for our Media Studies 'short film', we had to take in to consideration what we had to work with- it was unrealistic to expect to produce an elaborate feature film, because we didn't have the necessary tools, for example, CGI effects and professional cameras. Our short film is a hybrid of genres. We intended to create a piece that was unique and we agreed that the best way to do this was to create a film that does not adhere to a specific set of codes and conventions. Therefore, our intention is to create a piece that uses codes and conventions from genres such as crime drama, thriller and dark/black comedy. This is a list of their definitions and micro elements.

Crime Drama

Crime dramas usually include three types of character:

• The crime solver (detectives, police officers, forensic scientists)
• The perpetrator or person who commits the crimes (criminals, murderers, thieves)
• The victim (the person who is murdered, attacked, robbed etc)

The typical plot of a crime drama centres the solving of a crime, and follows those who solve the crime. The crime is not usually solved until near the end of the film. Plots also usually include an enigma at the beginning, suspense throughout, a red herring, and sometimes some personal drama in the crime solver's life.

Thriller

Similar to crime dramas, thrillers tend to have characters, such as victims and perpetrators, and sometimes crime solvers.

They tend to be suspenseful throughout, incorporating a red herring, using a plot that is villain driven, and a scored soundtrack, intended to influence the audience.

The conventions of a crime thriller often focus on the criminals and the events leading to their committing the crime, and then the solving of this crime. The sub-genre uses fast paced editing to build suspense, and emphasise actions over psychological elements. Themes include serial killers, heists, robberies, murders etc.

Black Comedy

Typically, a black comedy is a film that takes controversial subject matters and treats them humorously, such as murder, war, suicide. Dark comedies set out to shock their audiences with their unexpectedly humorous take on such matters.

Normally, dark comedies are set in normal locations where something has gone wrong- for example the film Zombieland is set in a theme park that has a zombie apocalypse, or in Hot Fuzz- a typical village.

The main character can be either; the good guy, the bad guy or the idiot. Generally the subject matter at hand is exaggerated to comic and tragic proportions..

Satire and Black Comedy in Short Films

An example of Satire and Black Comedy in short films is This is It Collective's Don't Hug Me I'm Scared.



This satirical short is presented in a Sesame Street-esque way. There are many different theories about what the film is attempting to convey- perhaps media control and how it corrupts us, or how societal opinions limit our creativity, or maybe it is suggesting that no one really wants to be creative for fear of the outcome.

The short begins in the style of a children's educational puppet show, but progressively becomes more disturbing.
A talking notebook encourages 3 characters to be creative by singing a nursery rhyme. The notebook is presented as the controller of the characters' life- they aren't doing anything until the notebook tells them what to do.
The notebook explains that it uses its hair to express itself. When the red character says "That sounds really boring", the notebook repeats it's chant- "I use my hair to express myself" in an almost sinister, threatening way.

The notebook puppet hints at the gore to come- it lifts back it's face  to reveal an embroidered human brain and sings about how the characters now know how to "Use their minds to have a good time"

The element of satire is shown through the notebook's 'encouragement' to be creative- in reality it teaches them nothing, and actually limits their creativity. It tells the characters to use sticks to make their favourite colour, but when one character spells 'green', the notebook claims that "Green is not a creative colour". 
When a character paints a clown- the notebook sings "Woah there friend, you might need to slow down", and the painting is ruined, as if painting a clown is too creative.

The film then takes dark turn, as the notebook tells the characters to "Listen to the voices in your brain". The short is briefly animated- this is the link between the 'innocent' lesson the notebook is teaching, and the sinister nature that being creative supposedly evokes, showing how the puppets' home is fabricated by creators. Suddenly the characters are grown up- the puppets are seen to be dancing erratically- an ominous image, while floating letters spelling 'GET CREATIVE' float in the background.

The red character pours glitter on a real heart, the clouds turn into thunder storms, a cake made of (supposedly) human organs is cut.

The dark and violent tone is what can be taken from the short- to suggest that if we get too creative, we will end up with these horrible, almost intrusive thoughts and ideas.

There is great irony in the fact that This is It Collective created something as creative as DHMIS to show how television and the media is destroying creativity itself.

This irony is what draws me to satire in short films. I would like to create a short film that breaks these fourth walls in a way- I am drawn to the idea of creating something that has deeper or hidden meanings and messages.

Genre

Satire

Satire refers to the use of humour, irony, ridicule or exaggeration to expose or criticise people's stupidity or vices

An example of satire used in film is in The Truman Show.


The film utilises its satire to criticise the power and influence that media has upon lives. It portrays the carelessness of the media on television in which the victim  (Truman) is controlled only by what the producers or directors desire- they do not act upon their morals.

This film uses many examples of media exaggeration and influencing the product they want to sell (i.e. Truman). It uses extreme sarcasm- they ridicule the media's efforts to control his life. Sarcasm is also used to mock the consumer. There is a sarcastic representation of the real audience and how they view the media used within the film.

The film uses irony throughout- the people within the movie who play other characters are not knowledgable about their roles. Even the people who monitor Truman's whereabouts don't realise when he escapes. This serves to imply that the real media may act smart, but in reality, they are not.

Christof (the creator with a God complex) relies on his audience to continue with Truman's entrapment- he would be powerless without their attention.

The Truman Show blurs the lines between reality and fiction- which is why the show is so compelling. However when Truman begins to explore his human instincts and desires, the show must keep up with him. This is why the simulation fails; Truman is 30 years old, no longer an impressionable child.

Applying Narrative Theory to Short Films

Lonely Planet

LONELY PLANET - Award-Winning Short Film from Alex Burunova on Vimeo.



Summary
A nomadic travel writer believes that love always has an expiration date, until a charismatic Spaniard challenges her to live- and love- in the moment.

Aristotle's Unities
Lonely Planet conforms to the theory presented by Aristotle. It takes place primarily in Barcelona, over a period of months (we only see the key points from these months), and moves towards the logical conclusion (Julia does not leave Pau, as originally inferred). In my opinion, I feel as though this theory is open to interpretation, and although I believe that Lonely Planet conforms to these codes, some may suggest that the short film does not end on a 'logical conclusion'.

Freytag's Dramatic Structure

Codes, Conventions and Patterns

Genres

There are many components, codes and conventions of short films which depend on genre.

Sci Fi- Uncanny Valley

Sci-fi short films can have larger budgets than short films would normally have, sometimes using CGI.

This short film takes on the form of a documentary, and follows the conventional pattern regarding characters- there is only three.

This particular short film challenges Todorov's theory of equilibrium- the idea is presented, and an issue follows, however, the issue is not solved. Therefore, the film ends on a cliffhanger.

In Uncanny Valley, there is both dialogue and voiceover.


Romance- Lonely Planet


Lonely Planet is a short film about a nomad writer who doesn't believe in long term relationships. Lasting 22 minutes, it is longer than a conventional short film.

There are only two main characters, however the film does go against conventions, in that there is dialogue throughout.

The film follows the conventional idea-issue-resolution pattern which is common. The story ends with the main character asking her partner to go for coffee, instead of leaving him. This kind of twist is common, and encourages the audience to form their own opinions.


Comedy- Fully Formed Adults

This short lasts about 9 minutes, conforming to the conventional lengths of this type of film.  However, there are plans to make this short into a series of short films. This means that the film challenges the theory of equilibrium as there are more episodes to follow.

There is dialogue throughout the film, and although this is not conventional, it is necessary to portray the comedic nature of the piece. There is one main character with two supporting characters.

Fully Formed Adults uses overdubbing in some cases, both for music, and  in the case of dialogue, to correct dialogue mistakes.


Fantasy- Penelope in the Treehouse

Penelope in the Treehouse is a fantasy short film about a girl whose step father and step siblings move into her hand her mother's house. It deals with the emotions she feels and how she comes to deal with the change. It lasts 14 minutes.

The short is almost exclusively uses voice over to narrate the story, with one or two pieces of dialogue. This is conventional in short films. The short film conforms to Torodov's theory of equilibrium.

The short film uses both stop motion animation and live action to convey the story, and so we assume that it had a higher budget than short films normally do.


Horror- Pig Child

This horror short is about a scientist giving birth to a child which has both human and pig DNA through IVF. It is only 10 minutes long and has two central characters.

There is some dialogue throughout this film, however most of the emotion and mood is conveyed through movement, miss en scene and facial expression.

As this is a horror short, it does not resolve, but ends on an issue. This leaves the audience to form their own opinion after it finishes

Codes, Conventions and Patterns in Short Films

Summary

Generally, short films tend to be no more than 10 minutes in length. They are normally low budget and do not feature very many characters. The most popular types of short films are live action and animation. There is no specific mood that would be conventional to short films, as many different genres of short films are made, although often short films are seen to be appealing, as their audience can relate to them. Usually, short films have a twist mid-way, which is then resolved by the end of the film. They are normally not released in cinemas or on TV, and tend to be independently directed for use in film festivals, or, in some cases (such as pixar) are created to precede a movie.

Length

Short films can last anywhere from 3 to 20 minutes, however commonly only last 10 to 15 minutes. Generally, the purpose of a short film is to present an idea (usually fictional), counterpresent a problem or issue, and then end by resolving the issue (see Todorov's theory of equilibrium). Since this is the case, it is important to keep short films short, so as the audience can follow the storyline.

Storylines

Storylines are kept brief in this type of film. It is common for short films to have little or no dialogue, and perhaps a voiceover or subtitles, as the dialogue tends to be condensed. Image is particularly important in short films, since the dialogue cannot fully present a character. Therefore we rely on the actions, presentations, mise en scene etc to fully get to know the characters.

Characters

Short films usually only present 1-3 main characters, so as not to bombard the audience with information. Furthermore, the more characters introduced, the more time spent on introductions, back stories etc, and so to keep this to a minimum, as well as not confusing the audience, short films tend to only have a few characters. Usually, the audience will only have time to connect to a few characters.

Budget

Since short films are unlikely to make any money upon release, usually they are low budget. Short films are commonly made by amateur film makers for private or festival use, so usually it is expected that they will have a 'home-made' feel- therefore making this a convention within short films.

Mood

Short films are useful in conveying intense, fast paced emotions and moods, and can be more poignant than movies generally. In many cases, short films convey messages with more strength than other media outlets. As short films don't tend to last long, the audience are left to contemplate their opinions and thoughts after the film has finished, rather than during the film itself, meaning that often, short films resonate with their audiences.