Progress Video 4

Final Idea

Pitch: Following my pitch, see previous post, I have made the final changes to my idea, and now know what all elements are. Below I have a separate video where I talk about the idea:

Location Research Video: Below is the video where I explain the locations of my short film, they are:

• UK - Airport (Norwich) and Home & Extras (School, Library, Shopping).
• New York- Times Square etc.

This is the video showing and explaining these locations:

CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK TO MY LOCATION RESEARCH POST!

Audience Research Video: This is my audience research video where I ask about their knowledge of short film and their opinion of my final idea:

 

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE MY AUDIENCE FEEDBACK POST! 

Character Biographies: These character profiles are below:

Main Character- Boyfriend- Played by Ryan Andrews:
Age: 18
Bio: This character is very normal and spends most of his time working towards his education and a part time job. For the short film we do not see much of his background story as its not required. We see a typical routine of checking his emails and realising his lucky win. We do not need to learn much more.

Girlfriend- Played by Gemma Drake:
Age: 18
Bio: This character seems to be more timid who worries but does nothing about it. We never get to meet her until the end where she is waiting nervously to see her boyfriend. She has not heard from him and clearly worried but as mentioned she's too scared to do anything and question his silence. She forgives easily and doesn't want to cause trouble.

Other Couple:

Girlfriend- Demi Morrison:
Age: 18
Bio: Demi is a troublemaking and powerful character. She takes control of the main characters mistake and plays with it for her own entertainment and feeling of controlling others. She begs for attention and always makes fun of others. She enjoys the attention of everyone and being able to drop them quickly.

Boyfriend- Harry Bond-Preston:
Age: 19
Bio: This character is not very powerful and not seen as an important character. We only see that he is clearly in a relationship with Demi as they are very close and share in intimacy. We think that he is less powerful as Demi controls him and does what she wants. Harry just goes along with Demi to not counter her views.

Permision to use Norwich International Airport

Please click on the image to view it full-size.

Now that I have started to plan the last scene of my short film, I have approached the owner of the location to ask their permission before filming. This was sent via email. The communication is on the left.







I believe it is important to ask the permission to film first because it will avoid an argument or disappointment if I just turned up at the location with no pre-warning. This is exactly the same process that professional film makers have to take to avoid not being allowed to film although professional filmmakers have more power and sometimes more likely to be allowed to film as it can be free advertisement for the location. Although, sometimes it can be the opposite.

Below is the thread off all other emails including permission and arrangements to film:

Practice Ancillary Task- The Muppets Poster

In practice for our real ancillary task to create a poster for our short film we have tried practicing our ancillary task. For this we were split into groups then given a poster to re-create. In my pair we were give The Muppets poster. For this we went out and took pictures of people and asked them to stand like the actors in the original poster (shown below). We then used Fireworks to remove the background and place them onto the original.

Original Poster ^

Firstly, I removed the actors from the original poster to leave the space for our new images.
Then I cut the people we took out of the background and placed them onto the image. This, however, did not work as they weren't in the exact same space as the original actors, so gaps were seen.
Too alter this, the only choice I had was to cut apart their body parts and add them separately. Then to make them fit I had to stretch them using the scale, skew and distort tools. This then helped to fit the body parts in the correct place although does alter the way the new people look. This process has worked because they actually fit in place of the actors although do not look real. The version is below:

Edited Poster ^

Improvements:
If I was to do this task again instead of starting from scratch, I would ensure the people we are taking photos of are standing correctly, and ensure I don't have to alter their bodies to make them look un-natural.

Progress Video 3

Location Research

New York:

This maps show the locations of shooting in New York. Luckily at every location I took photos at the same time as videos meaning my phone could track the locations and create these handy maps detailing were filming took place. As you can see the locations in Manhattan include The Empire State Building, the filming of Mama Mia on Broadway, views from the hotel room and more in Times Square.

This map shows filming locations in Central Park including on The Lake which included starting in a boat from the Central Boathouse, general clips around The Lake and some footage at the café at the Central Boathouse. I also took footage in the main pathway of Central Park.























This map shows locations in the Garment District of New York, these include the Rockefeller Centre, where I filed the flags, outside of NBC and other shots that were not used.

Norwich:

One of my filler location where Demi receives text messages is Norwich Chapelfield Shopping Centre. This involves a scene of her walking inside and then receiving and replying to one of the messages.







Norwich Airport:

This is one of my key locations as its used when I arrive back from New York, for this location it was filmed a few weeks after New York and was not the real airport a flew from. Norwich is just a local airport and was a great location to have to make the film overall more believable. Inside the airport we were allowed to film outside arrivals where you see Gemma waiting for the main character to arrive back. Anxious she stands before he arrives. We then see the characters walk out forming a short conversation and leaving the door. This then closes to show the ironic, "We hope you enjoyed your holiday" advertisement. Once again emphasising the believability but also adding a comical element.

Home Environment:

This, again is one of the filler scenes but is more important that the others. We see Demi and Harry for the first time in a typical home environment where they are sitting tougher, either relaxed or in conversation before receiving the first text which start the problems. The location was very handy and nearby to my home location. It is the actual home of one of my actors meaning its more natural for them but also more convenient. This location shows the difference between the location of New York and complete opposite of a rural home.

School/Work Environment:

This location is used twice for fillers when Demi receives more text messages. The locations within the school are different to not become repetitive and boring but also split up the characters normal routine. We see her first reading in a library and receiving a text. We then see her working or socialising with friends before laughing about the text and showing it to a extra actor playing the part of a friend (Played by Robert Thomas). These environments are typical of where and what a late teenager would do during the day to not stand out as unusual and keep the storyline believable.


Location Planning Video:

CHANGE OF ACTOR

Recently I have contacted Norwich Airport regarding filming my last scene.
For this scene I require the female actor who was planned to be played by Kerry Hardesty. Although due to circumstances Kerry will not be able to act this role. To overcome this I have found another actor. This role will now be played by Gemma Drake, who is slightly camera shy although she has been talked through the role, story board and script. She has agreed to attempt the role with my reassurance that its not that challenging as limited speech is involved.

Hopefully my new actor will be as successful in the role and not be too camera shy!

My Idea Pitch For "Wrong Number"

This week we will be pitching our final idea for our short films.
My Idea is "Wrong Number".

PRESENTATION:
The Prezi For my Pitch is below:

TRAILER:
For my pitch I made a provisional trailer to give a glimpse of what to expect of the film including exclusive filming from my trip to America, this filming will feature in the film.
This trailer is clearly not finished as it has no other footage like characters as this will be completed soon. The trailer is simply to 'wet the appetite' of the people I'm pitching to.
The trailer is below:


THE PITCH:
Below is the video of my pitch:

THE IMPROVEMENTS:
After my pitch, the judges gave their comments including relevant improvements.
The improvements are:

• Remove the social network aspect- I was thinking of involving social networks as part of the on screen effects. I was thinking of showing on screen the updates the main character makes to his social networking sites. The judges said this would slightly affect the whole plot because texting the girlfriend can have a mistake easily but social networks will be very public meaning the 'real' girlfriend will definitely see the updates meaning it will affect this.
• Slightly alter the ending/last scene- In the last scene, the initial idea was to have the main character coming home and then the girlfriend saying she didn't receive any texts. The judges then said they could improve this by changing the last scene so the main character just arrives through the airport and we seen the girlfriend waiting nervously (because she hasn't heard anything from him), he sees her, hugs her, they walk out, credits roll etc. then right at the end he gets another message as he's leaving which he reads, thinks it odd as its from the other couple, then he realises he's got the wrong number, he ignores it and forgets it ever happened (well, that's what we see). End.

Audience Research

As part of my research and planning I need to do audience research to ensure there is a potential audience for my final film. For this I firstly thought about the age range for my audience. I asked a questionnaire using an online website to ask different people for answers relating to whether they would be interested in the film and its storyline. I sent this to several different age groups and genders to receive a nonbiased and fair result.

This is the link to the questionnaire:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R623QMC

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

These are the results:
I sent the survey to a mixture of age groups and genders to receive a mixed response and fair results. This means they are not biased to a particular group of people. I asked 20 people.

PAGE 1: About You 

Q1 

What is your age?

• Answered: 20 
• Skipped: 0

10 to 1213 to 1718 to 2425 to 3435 to 4445 to 5455 to 6465 to 7475 or older

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Answer Choices–	Responses–
– 10 to 12	5.00% 1
– 13 to 17	25.00% 5
– 18 to 24	15.00% 3
– 25 to 34	10.00% 2
– 35 to 44	10.00% 2
– 45 to 54	10.00% 2
– 55 to 64	5.00% 1
– 65 to 74	10.00% 2
– 75 or older	10.00% 2
Total	20

Q2 

What is your gender?

• Answered: 20 
• Skipped: 0

FemaleMale

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Answer Choices–	Responses–
– Female	50.00% 10
– Male	50.00% 10
Total	20

PAGE 2: About The Film 

Q3 

What’s your first reaction to this new short film idea?

• Answered: 19 
• Skipped: 1

Very positive

Somewhat

positive

Neutral

Somewhat

negative

Very negative

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

Answer Choices–	Responses–
– Very positive	10.53% 2
– Somewhat positive	63.16% 12
– Neutral	10.53% 2
– Somewhat negative	15.79% 3
– Very negative	0.00% 0
Total	19

Q4 

How often, if ever, do you currently watch short films?

• Answered: 19 
• Skipped: 1

Extremely oftenVery often

Moderately

often

Slightly often

Not at all

often

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

Answer Choices–	Responses–
– Extremely often	0.00% 0
– Very often	5.26% 1
– Moderately often	15.79% 3
– Slightly often	26.32% 5
– Not at all often	52.63% 10
Total	19

Q5 

If this film was viewable in the cinema/online, how likely would you be to watch it?

• Answered: 19 
• Skipped: 1

Extremely

likely

Very likely

Moderately

likely

Slightly likely

Not at all

likely

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

Answer Choices–	Responses–
– Extremely likely	5.26% 1
– Very likely	31.58% 6
– Moderately likely	31.58% 6
– Slightly likely	21.05% 4
– Not at all likely	10.53% 2
Total	19

Q6 

How likely is it that you would recommend the film idea to a friend or colleague?

• Answered: 19 
• Skipped: 1

(no label)

-50-40-30-20-1001020304050

–	Not at all likely - 0–	1–	2–	3–	4–	5–	6–	7–	8–	9–	Extremely likely - 10–	Total–	Average Rating–
– (no label)	0.00% 0	0.00% 0	5.26% 1	0.00% 0	5.26% 1	10.53% 2	26.32% 5	15.79% 3	10.53% 2	26.32% 5	0.00% 0	19	-21.05

Q7 

When you’re considering to watch a short film, what are the top two things you generally consider? (Check two boxes.)

• Answered: 19 
• Skipped: 1

GenreStoryline

Availability

Of The Film...

Length (time)QuirkinessOther (specify)

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Answer Choices–	Responses–
– Genre	42.11% 8
– Storyline	36.84% 7
– Availability Of The Film (online or screening)	36.84% 7
– Length (time)	52.63% 10
– Quirkiness	26.32% 5
– Responses Other (specify)	5.26% 1
Total Respondents: 19

PAGE 3: About Your Experiences 

Q8 

Have You ever texted or called someone by mistake?

• Answered: 19 
• Skipped: 1

YesNo

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Answer Choices–	Responses–
– Yes	84.21% 16
– No	15.79% 3
Total	19

Q9 

Have you been on holiday leaving your relationship behind?

• Answered: 19 
• Skipped: 1

YesNo

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Answer Choices–	Responses–
– Yes	78.95% 15
– No	21.05% 4
Total	19

Following this survey I can see that younger generations who are female are more likely to watch the short film and would enjoy it the most, this is because I have also examined the individual responses of the audience which shows a trend that young females would more likely watch and enjoy the film and also recommend it to their friends. This means for my video below I have targeted teenagers to answer more in depth answers relating to their views of short films, genre and my idea in particular.

Potential Audiences:

• Teenagers & Young Adults (Aged 12-21)
• Females

The video for my in depth audience research is below targets just the potential audiences I have uncovered from my survey. I asked them the following questions to get a more in-depth opinion of my genre and the idea:

1. Do you like short films?
2. Do you know of any short films?
3. What do you expect to see in a short film?
4. Would you like a romance/drama short film?
5. What do you think of my idea?

Video:

Video Analysis:
The trend is still shows that more females will enjoy my short film idea, but I am still receiving a positive response from most males who like the idea of technology being shown and the amazing views of New York. Overall I feel that both audiences will enjoy the short film, and because of its short length of time its more likely they would watch it as its less time they have to spend watching it and it will be more commercially and easily available.