Film Research

My biggest influence and inspiration for my short film will be Charlie Chaplin and the comedy black and white silent films he starred in. Charlie Chaplin is one of the most well know actors with regards to black and white silent films. Some references to his character and films he has starred in are still made reference to in modern films today. Some specific films I will study whilst creating my script are: The Kid (directed by Charlie Chaplin, released in 1921) and Mabel's Strange Predicament (directed by Henry Lehrman, released in 1914). The reason I have chosen these two specific films is because they were two of the first films that Charlie Chaplin starred in as 'The Tramp' a costume and character he devised himself and became globally famous for.

A popular feature of Charlie Chaplin's silent films as well as other silent films in the early 1900's, is the text included in the film to give the sense of speech. In many silent films, a character would speak and be shown on screen with his/her mouth moving, however it cannot be heard by the audience. Instead, a piece of text comes up full screen to tell the audience what has just been said by the character, just like the picture below.

Almost every silent film included live music being played as the film was being played in the cinema. The soundtrack included was essential to the film experience, as the sound track added to the suspense/comedy/romance/fear of the film. My film is set in the 1920's - during this time period in the majority of cinemas, a pianist/band were in the cinema showing rooms and played along side to the film. I have decided to include an originally made continuous soundtrack throughout my film due to the fact that I cannot get a pianist/band to play next to the screen which my film is being shown for obvious reasons.

This is a clip from House Bunny directed by Fred Wolf and released in 2008. 9:05 - At this point in this clip, I have taken inspiration for my clumsy waiting scene. In my waiting scene I plan however, on the waiter being the clumsy ones (Mario) as opposed to the woman having a meal (Rosa). Additionally, the actual physical comedy will be over exaggerated because there obviously being no sound included in my film.

This is a clip from Eat Pray Love directed by Ryan Murphy and released in 2010. I have specifically looked at the mise-en-scene in this scene. This part of the film is set in Italy and although it is a recent film and therefore, does not fit in with the time period the film is set in, it does give me an idea of what things I need to include in my mise-en-scene like: things included on the table in the restaurant, things included in the background.

Research on Audience

I have decided to create a questionnaire to help me define my target audience both demographically and psychographically. The reason I have decided to do a printed out questionnaire is because:

• I have found that polls on blogger do not work from inside college and some computers outside of college, therefore due to technical reasons I feel that a paper questionnaire will be a lot easier
• I can get a specific range of answers from a range of audiences instead of asking my friends to fill out questionnaires/polls

 I have decided to give these questionnaires both: film & media students, students of other subjects (English, Politics, etc) and a range of teachers of different departments.

Below each question, I have written a reason for why each question has been asked.

Film Questionnaire

Are you male or female?
Male
Female

This question is a frequently asked in questionnaires for the basic reason of defining the target audience in the most basic way that is possible-through gender.

How old are you?
16-18
19-21
22-25
26+

This question is a frequently asked in questionnaires for the basic reason of defining the target audience in the most basic way that is possible-through age.

Have you ever watched a silent black and white film?
Yes
No

The reason I have asked this question is because I wanted to know if my target audience has any previous knowledge of silent black and white films.

How much do you spend on DVDs/cinema a month?
£0-£10
£11-£20
£21-£30
£30+

The reason I have asked this question is because it will help me find what age/gender range spend on films in a month and therefore, help me define my target audience.

How do you watch films? (Please circle more than one if needed)

DVD

DVD legal downloads (e.g. iTunes)

DVD illegal downloads (e.g. Limewire)

TV (Sky Movies, Channel 4, etc.)

Internet Streaming

The reason I have asked this question is because it will give me an insight into how a different range of age audience watches films – this aiding me in defining my target audience with regards to advertisements.

The Structure/Narrative

What and who your story is about:

Mario is a fun loving kind hearty Italian who works at a Pizzeria in the heart Italy, but he has one problem. He is the clumsiest person who ever lived! His boss, Luigi is a grumpy old man who wants everything done his way, or no way at all. Luigi gives Mario one last chance to prove himself worthy of keeping his job after giving him a number of chances, the same night the woman of his dreams comes into the restaurant, with her Dad, one of the most wealthiest and well known businessmen in Europe. Her name is Rosa and she is the most beautiful woman in the whole of Italy. Mario has a hectic night in front of him, he must: impress the girl of his wildest dream,  impress Rosa’s father, keep his job and impress Luigi and the most important thing, not look like a fool while he does it!

How it ends:

The ending is a happy one, Mario although had difficulties getting there, impresses Rosa’s Dad and therefore, wins the girl of his dreams heart and wins over Luigi and keeps his job.

Synopsis

Mario is a fun loving kind hearty Italian who works at a Pizzeria in the heart Italy, but he has one problem. He is the clumsiest person who ever lived! His boss, Luigi is a grumpy old man who wants everything done his way, or no way at all. Luigi gives Mario one last chance to prove himself worthy of keeping his job after giving him a number of chances, the same night the woman of his dreams comes into the restaurant, with her Dad, one of the most wealthiest and well known businessmen in Europe. Her name is Rosa and she is the most beautiful woman in the whole of Italy. Mario has a hectic night in front of him, he must: impress the girl of his wildest dream,  impress Rosa’s father, keep his job and impress Luigi and the most important thing, not look like a fool while he does it!

The character who can't be put down is the best story type to describe my short film as the title of this story type describes perfectly the main character in my short film.

Genre Conventions

The comedy genre is a style of film that's main aim is to make an audience laugh. In a comedy film, the average everyday situation is over exaggerated to make it a comical happening. A comedy film is a film in which the audience can escape the routine of the everyday life and laugh at someone else’s misfortune instead of thinking of their own and use it as a form of escape from their own lives.

Arguably, the comedy stylistic element is never the main focus of a film unlike genres like horror and thrillers which are usually the main dominant focus genre of the film itself and do not require sub-genres to be included to add to the film. This is because comedy being a stylistic element, have to include sub-genre(s) within the narrative structure of the film as a film cannot be based around just comedy as this will create no real story line or narrative structure. Usually, the same sub-genres included in comedy stylistic films which are romance, drama and horror or a combination. These genres being included in more or less every comedy film and therefore, could be argued as being included in the codes and conventions of the ‘comedy genre’.

According to the main codes and conventions of the comedy stylistic, a comedy film usually includes a happy ending as the comedy styling is based around light hearted drama and romance. Examples of these styles of comedy are; ‘Bruce Almighty’ directed by Tom Shadyca, released in 2003 and ‘Forrest Gump’ directed by Robert Zemeckis, released in 1994. Both films are based around a main character's problems with themselves and their lives and how in a comical way, they solve their problems. However, sometimes the comedy used in a film can create a serious consequence and therefore, subverts the comical expectations and turn into another genre, an example of this type of film is ‘Gremlins’ directed by Joe Dante, released in 1984.

My individually created comedy will take a sub-genre form of the comedy stylistic. Slapstick style comedy was very popularly seen in silent films since they didn’t need sound for the comedy to be effective. Additionally, it was very common for foreign actors to be in the films who didn’t speak English. Over exaggerated visual images were very important in this sub-genre due to sound not being an option. Due to this, it was very common for these films to include: aggressive and physical contact, this including painless violence and cruelty to the character (e.g. poking fun of things such as a character falling over and hurting themselves, water soakings and practical jokes.) In the times in which silent films were watched, some of these actions were seen as vulgar (someone’s trousers being pulled down or skirt being blown up, car crashes, etc.) due to them not being socially acceptable in some classes like people from a higher class.

In a lot of comedy films, subverted comedy expectations are used to create surprise within the comedy genre to create a more comical feel. A perfect example of this is ‘The Lady Killers’ directed by Alexander Mackendrick, released in 1955. The film subverts the traditional audience’s expectation due to the fact that a group of male criminals cannot together get away with a crime from an old woman and together, cannot out smart her and eventually, end up killing each other off. The fact that this comedy subverts the audience’s expectations creates additional humour due to everything that happens in the film, being a comical surprise. This is very hard to do in a comedy film due to the traditional codes and conventions being used throughout the years in comedy films and therefore, the audience being able to predict a lot of the comedy which would be in a film. However when used correctly, it creates a more natural kind of comedy in which an audience can genuinely laugh and be humoured by a comedy they have never seen before.

The Brief:

The brief I have been set is to create a short film or a sequence from a film that must last at least 3-5 minutes. Whichever brief I choose must be completely my own original idea.
As well as creating a short film or short sequence from a film I have to:

·        - Research: genre, genre conventions, films that are in the same style as my own initial idea, the audience my short film/film sequence is intended/aimed at

·        - Write a script as well as create story boards and mock ups of my film plot/narrative as well as my progress throughout the creation of my short film/film sequence

·        - Write the cause and effect on how each scene develops the storyline