Synopsis for my film

Here is my synopsis for my film, this is an idea created by me and Henry Wright, a fellow student in my media class. 

Set about 50 years in the future, every home will be fitted with an automated response butler. These holograms will be able to complete any house hold task, day or night, to the will of the master of the house.

Its late one night and two men are burglaring an up market home. Upon entering, they are greeted with the homes ARB and are asked if they are the gas man. They respond 'no, we're just here to... Look around'. The ARB allows them access so long as they give their name.

The two burglars then continue to loot the house of all its valuables. They come onto a painting in the dining room. At this point the ARB interrupts them and asks if they have an interest in paintings. They reply yes. The ARB then suggests showing them the gallery upstairs full of far more expensive paintings. The pair are not disappointed and continue to loot that room as well.

The pair then decide to go up to the next level into the bedrooms. Upon opening the door, they discover to rotting corpses on the bed. Horrified, they ask the ARB what happened to them. It replies 'asfixiation, are you the gas men? We have a terrible leak. I myself cannot fix it'. At which point, gas canisters start going off around the house. The men struggling for breath demand what it is. The ARB replies 'Chlorine gas'. The two men rush downstairs for the front door. The ARB informs them 'All exits are currently unavailable. Sorry for the inconvenience'. The two burglars then choke to death and lie dead on the entrance rug. The canisters instantly stop ejecting the gas. The ARB says 'Its nearly dawn, best start preparing for the uncle's arrival today. He can have such a temper with poorly kept rooms'

Short films

What is a short film?

A short film is considered to be 40 minutes and under, including running time of credits and the entire film. If it is over this then it is known as a feature film. The term 'Featurette' used to mean a film longer than a short, but shorter than a feature film, however this term is no longer commonly used. A short film, although short still includes many things which you need to consider when making your own, this includes, An exciting and original idea, a strong script, decent actors and of course, making sure you keep it short. By doing all of these things it should in theory lead to a successful short film, for many to enjoy.

How are short films consumed?


There are many different ways in which short films can be viewed, from the internet on websites such as 'www.Youtube.com' or 'www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/'. On youtube anything and everything can be uploaded, so looking at shorts on there can lead you to some very weird films. However the BBC film network hosts hundreds of short films which are all put in to different categories making it easier to choose what you want to watch. In order to get a film onto the BBC film network you have to submit your film and they will then review this, if they think it is good enough then your film will be placed on their website for thousands of avid film watchers to see. There are also other ways to see shorts than just the internet, every now and then you can see short films on TV, shorts such as 'Where have I been all your life' (http://vimeo.com/6162995) featuring James Corden. This along with many others have been watched by millions on TV and have helped to introduce people to the idea of short films. A third way for short films to be consumed is via film festivals. These are held all over the world and give new and upcoming film makes get recognised and give them a chance to let people see their creations. Some of the biggest film festivals are the London short films festival (http://shortfilms.org.uk/), Futures short festival (http://futureshorts.com/htmlViewer.php?id=1032) and the bang short film festival (http://www.broadway.org.uk/groups/bang_short_film_festival). All of these festivals give awards to the film makes and give them chances to get recognised.

London short film festival

 

 



The London short film festival is now in its 12th year of running and it has been recognised as the premiere for cutting edge UK independent film. So far it has only been open to UK contestants, however for the 2015 festival they are going to let international film makers in the competition. This will mean lots of fresh new film makers will be showing their shorts here making it a festival to watch. Lots of people describe this as the best short film festival in the world and say its too good to miss out on.

Future shorts festival

 



 Future shorts are the largest short film network going, and they are the company which host the future shorts festival. This is the worlds biggest pop up film festival, since November 2011 festival screenings have happened in over 300 cities in 90 different countries all while there are live DJs, music and art going on at the same time, making it a very party like atmosphere.

 

Bang short film festival

 

 



The Bang short film festival ran for 15 years, from 1998-2013, all of their festivals were held in Nottingham. This film festival helped get hundreds of talented film makers to be noticed and gave them a chance to showcase their films to big audiences, which to many people is just a dream.  Unfortunately in 2013 they decided to stop the festivals with a Bang. Happy in the knowledge that the short film scene is thriving.


Who is the short film markets audience?

Short films are in a very niche market within the film industry, it is very rare that you will ever see any advertisement about short films, or even any media about the directors or actors involved, this means that very few people ever hear about the short films, and therefore it makes the audience very limited, specifically to the people who are involved in the film industry. One reason as to why short films cater for such a specific audience could be because of the topics they revolve around. Short films tend to be about meaningful, thought provoking subjects, such as love. They are also very intense because they are short there isn't much time for things to happen, so it is very quick, adding to the effect. This may put people off watching as they don't want to spend five minutes making themselves depressed, they'd rather watch a more upbeat full feature movie at the cinema, which will let them come away happy and cheery.

This all leads to the niche market of short films, and I believe that leaves the short film audience to two categories of people, people who seek a future in the film industry, and believe that short films are a way to break through and people who are already successful in the film industry, as they may be looking for some new talent to help them out. Of course more than just these people will watch these films, such as students and others, but these are the main two targets for short film makers.


What are the pros and cons in creating a short film in comparison to a feature film?


The two main film types are full feature films, and short films. Both of these come along with advantages and disadvantages when creating them, but overall in my opinion I would suggest that short films are better for newer, young, up and coming film directors, whereas full feature films are better for more experienced directors.

There are many pros of creating a short film, one of these is the fact that they can be extremely cheap. Creating short films can be a very non-expensive thing to do, and even so, they can still create some great results. This means because they are cheap more money can be spent on other things such as equipment, or editing software. Another pro of creating short films is the length of time in which it takes to create. A short film can take only a few weeks to create from start to scratch, which means many can be made in a short amount of time, and if you're on a tight schedule then something like this could be great. A third pro when creating a short film is the different audience in comparison to that of a feature film. The audience of short films tends to be students aspiring to be in the film industry, and those who are already in the film industry looking for up and coming talent. This means if you are new in the film industry it gives you a chance to get noticed, and if you're already in the film industry then it gives you the chance to find some new talent.

However, there are also cons with making short films. The first being that you are fairly restricted, if you are aiming to make lots of money then a short film is not likely to do this, in fact it is rare that they make much money at all, meaning that when making a short film you have to factor in this cost that it is uncertain how much money you will get back from it. A second con of creating a short film is the lack of an audience. Thousands of people still watch short films, however compared to a feature film the audience is miniscule. Finally a third con when creating a short film is trying to get experienced actors. If you do have a good budget and can afford to pay good actors, it is less likely they will want to act in your film. Actors tend to stick to feature films and they are generally seen as 'better', which can then effect the quality of the film if it means you have to choose actors you did not initially want.

There are also pros and cons when creating a feature film too. The biggest pro in my opinion is the fact that they have the possibility to make hundreds of millions of pounds. Many feature films in the past have made well over a billion pounds, with the 2009 3D film avatar being the biggest box office taker ever, at just under an astonishing 2.8 billion dollars. This just shows the potential earnings which some can make, obviously not all are this lucky, but It can happen. A second advantage of making a full feature film is the chance to show off your skills. A feature films is at least 90 minutes long, meaning you have a chance to show off how good you are at editing, directing and everything else. A third pro when creating a feature film is the audience. The audience of feature films is millions. Hundreds of millions of people go to the cinema every year to watch feature films, and just as many watch them online on websites such as Netflix. This gives you the potential for lots of people to see your work and your potential.

One con when creating a feature film is the budget. Typical feature films cost a lot to make, some costing $300+. Not many people have this sort of money so it makes competing in this market very hard. A second con is the length of time which it takes to create one. It can take possibly a couple of years to finish an entire film to a good standard, meaning you have to wait a long time and put in a lot of effort until you can see the final finished product, and get the rewards from your work.

In conclusion I would say that both short films and feature films can be good, depending on what you are working towards, and who you are. For example, if you're a student, with a low budget and aspire to be in the film industry then short films are definitely for you. However if you are already in the industry and want to show everyone what you can do, and have the chance to make millions of pounds, then feature films are for you.