PRE PRODUCTION | READINGS

When producing my film, i had to consider readings that my audience might consider. 

- The camera angle/type of shot 

- Mise en scene 

- Editing Techniques and their effects 

- Music and Sound 

In terms of Mise en Scene, I chose to use an everyday location with characters in 'standard' clothing. I did this in order to create an accurate representation of reality to juxtapose with the paranormal plot of the film. Also, by including 'normal' aspects in my film within the characters, it ensures that the audience will be able to find someone they identify with allowing a better reaction to my film. 

When exploring the readings that may occur through my film I have had to consider:

- Preferred Reading

- Oppositional Reading

- Negotiated Reading 

- Aberant Reading. 

Personally, I believe that the majority of people will view my film with the preferred readings. As my film is considered a horror, it often sticks to the same structure and my film does not challenge this.I think my film as a simple, easily understood plot which will eliminate the chance of opposition readings. However, in terms of the characters some people may view them in different ways. Some may want to sympathise with the main character whereas as others may dislike her and see her as the villain. I would not call this oppositional readings as i have not intend the audience to react a certain way to the characters as I want them to make their own decisions about them- this again links to the idea that I want to ensure that my audience can identify with characters in their own way. 

PRE PRODUCTION | SHORT FILM WEBSITE RESEARCH

In order to fully understand the audiences of short films, I looked at four short film websites in order to see what attracts certain audiences to films and what types of films different websites may, or may not, specialise in.

http://www.ukscreen.com/

UK Screen shows a variety of different film genres, from comedy, to drama. This website allows people to put up short films that they have made. For this reason the target market is likely to be young film makers who want to get ideas or are genuinely interested in what amateur film makers produce. This could be people from their early twenties to their mid to late thirties. UK Screen doesn’t separate their films in to different categories for genres, so people using the website are likely to be people who enjoy, or don’t mind, watching a variety of different genre films.

http://www.nzshortfilm.com/

NZ Short Film was set up to allow both New Zealand and international audiences to watch short films produced in the country. It also has a part of the website where members can get in touch with the directors of each film. This website has each genre set out in individual categories to make it easier for the user to watch only the films that they are interested in. It also has a feature on the homepage that lets people see the most popular films which could encourage them to look at films that they may otherwise not watch. This website may be targeting a range of people, not just the people who make short films. This is because the website has a specific section for people who want to submit their films and the layout seems slightly more professional than other websites, such as UK Screen.

www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork

This section on the BBC website allows people to submit their own short films. As the BBC is well known for helping individuals achieve their goals, this website is probably more targeted at people who want to get into the film industry as not only does it show short films, it gives advice and information on making films and getting into film for a profession. It is regularly updated by users when they submit their films. The BBC film network has each genre of film sectioned in to different links do that it easy for the navigator to use the site well.

http://www.youtube.com/

This website only allows people to watch short films if they are specifically searched for. This shows a number of short films that may other wise not be able to be seen if people didn’t know about the directors. The use of this website for watching short films is probably for people just getting into watching short films or people who like watching them, but do not necessarily know of any short film directors or titles. These people would probably be younger people, possibly people in their late teens to late twenties. However, this website doesn’t always give results of what a person searches, therefore the audience may not get to watch what they originally wanted.

PRE PRODUCTION | AUDIENCE RESEARCH

The audiences for short films often varies, depending on what type of film it is. Usually, however, the typical audience for a short film will be someone who is interested in all types of film and is looking for new films that make them question things about society. They are usually people who are in their mid twenties up, as they are slightly more mature and willing to try something different when it comes to films; teenagers are more likely to want to watch generic full lengths, starring a top celebrity.

There are, however, some people who are not especially interested in short films, but watch the ones that have won awards. This may be because they don't think the others are interesting enough, or because that is the only time they hear about short films.

Short films can be watched through a number of different ways. Usually they are submitted onto short film websites where people can go and have a look at them whenever they want, whether it be for entertainment purposes or to get ideas for their own films. They are also sometimes shown in cinemas, before the full-length film, in order to get people as interested as possible, and sometimes art house cinemas. However, due to the change in technology, short films can be download from the Internet and put onto MP4 players so that they can be watched wherever the viewer likes.

PRE PRODUCTION | AUTEUR THEORY

Auteur theory's main assumption is that the director is viewed as the major creative force in a motion picture. Arising in France in the late 1940s, the auteur theory- as it was dubbed by the American film critic Andrew Sarris- was an outgrowth of the cinematic theories of André Bazin and Alexandre Astruc.

-Before the theory was introduced, film was considered a work of art and the actors who made the sheets of scripts come to life like the 'Audrey Hepburn Film' 'Marx Brothers Film' or a Genre Specific flim like Sci-Fi, Thriller, and Horror Films etc.

Current opposition to the theory is within in the changes that have taken place in filmmaking since the early filmmaking years of the 1940s and 1950s. The objection says that filmmaking is such an intense effort in current times with so many gifted and exceptional specialists needed to oversee and perform every individual aspect of a film that it is no longer practicable to identify one single person as someone who imprints an identity upon a film and leaves such a strong mark that it amounts to a recognizable voice, signature, style or presence.

PRE PRODUCTION | IMR

In film theory, the institutional mode of representation (IMR) is the mode of film construction which the majority of films use. It was developed in the years after the turn of the century, becoming the 'norm' by about 1914. Primitive Mode of Representation, was dominant before being replaced by the IMR; certain avant-garde films that constitute a “deconstructionist” challenge to the IMR; and various non-western modes, notably pre-war Japanese film, that were possible before the IMR became the worldwide norm. Classical Hollywood cinema is the dominant style within the IMR, but other styles such as art house, independent, and most (current) foreign styles fall no less under the IMR.

The IMR is characterised by the attempt to create an entirely closed fictional world on screen. The audience is completely imaginatively involved in the film, instead of being distant from it and having the ability to interpret it in their own way. Burch argues that the key to the IMR is "spectatorial identification with a ubiquitous camera." Various techniques (often referred to as the “language of cinema”) were developed in order to make this successful identification:

- Films should be constructed out of a sequence of shots that presents the audience with one clear piece of information.

- Three dimensional space is created. 

- Characters are psychologically individuated.