Initial Ideas and Research

The brief I have decided to select for my A2 project is the 5 minute film.

Initial Ideas

- Hybrid of the genres film noir and horror.
- Movie filmed in black and white.
- Silent movie with only music for effect.

5 Minute Film.

Conventions of a 5 minute film:

Whilst searching for a 5 minute film to view I came across a 4 minute film noir which I viewed and noted conventions that I observed. This film took place in an office and was a conversation between two men. One man was standing a scruffily dressed whilst the other, a detective, was sitting and well dressed. The detective was telling a story to the other about a femme fatal character, the type of ten shown within a film noir. Three shot types were used through out: over the shoulder; shot reverse shot and mid shots. There was not much mise en scene within this film; smoke was used in the background with low key lighting. A non-diegetic tune was continuously playing through the clip not changing pace or tone.
( http://blip.tv/file/2019824/ )

This 5 minute film was a British gangster film. It consisted of 6 characters in total with 3 main characters. The main characters were always dressed smartly in suits. The film used a variety of angles. It often had the camera behind the actors as they would walk away. Over the shoulder shots were often used as the characters were talking. There was steady camera work used until the fight scenes in which a handheld style was used. Long shots were used often to set scenes and established the characters within the area. In editing straight cuts were used. The mise en scene used blood to accentuate the violence displayed in the scenes. As the film ended the shot froze and the light intensified signifying the end of the film.
(http://blip.tv/file/1952045/ )

From watching these 5 minute films I did not see an established structure that is used. I did however notice that neither film used an excess amount of characters which is probably due to the time available to give them a defined character within the plot. Also some shot types for instance the long shot and over the shoulder shot are used frequently within both. A variety of zooms and angles are also conventions used within the 5 minute films.

Silent Film.

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made possible in the late 1920s with the introduction of the vitaphone system.
Because silent films had no synchronized sound for dialogue, onscreen inter-titles were used to narrate story points, present key dialogue and sometimes even comment on the action for the cinema audience. The title writer became a key professional in silent film and was often separate from the scenario writer who created the story. Inter-titles (or titles as they were generally called at the time) often became graphic elements themselves, featuring illustrations or abstract decoration that commented on the action.
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_film )