About a Girl

About a Girl is a British short film directed by Geoff Boyle and written by Julie Rutterford.

First of the name "About a Girl" is a play on the title "About a Boy" and stresses the oppostition to the mainstream cinema.

The film follows the path of an innocent young girl that has had to grow up too quickly. The text message style opening sequence lets the audience know straight away the target audience and the themes that might be present in the film. The young girl is pictured dancing which shows her age and then juxtaposed with images of her swearing and such. The camera pans out to reveal her true age to be about 12-13 and the audience feels a sense of hurt that is portrayed through the walls and trapped feel of the film.

The girls father seems not to care about her and isn't providing for her, financially and otherwise. The audience feels a resentment of the father.

During all of the outdoor scenes, prothetic falasy is used to highlight the themes in the film as the weather is dark and dingy. This also compliments the surrounding areas.

At the end of the film, the girl is pictured throwing her dead baby into the river, the baby reaches gating in the river and this is suggesting the entrapment of her own life. The girl is stuck in a council estate when she longs to be in the comforts of a large home with a loving family and have a popstar career.

Bibliography:
1. Julie Rutterford. (2010). About a Girl. Available: http://www.gboyle.co.uk/aag%20qt.HTM. Last accessed 5th February 2010.

The BBC Film Network

The BBC Film Network has become a central point for British Short Films. They showcase over 300 British short films and are constantly looking for new talent. Just from one glance at the website you can tell that the audience they are trying to attract is young filmmakers and young people in general. The accessibility of all of the information in the website is key to this, young people want things very quickly nowadays, the BBC have catered to this by creating a highly efficient website.

The website accepts submissions so anyone can attempt to get their films shown in the massive site. However to maintain a certain level of quality within the site they must undergo some quite strict procedures to choose which films make the cut. A full list of what one must do to prep their film for the site can be found at http://www.live.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/submit/

Filmmaking guides are incorporated into the site which come as a massive help and also might hint at the quality that the network expect for the site. If a film is rejected from the site then maybe here would be a good place to go in terms of re-cutting etc.. The pages can be found at http://www.live.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/

BBC have on offer a brilliant selection of links and info on film festivals and pretty much anything related to the short film industry. They offer a whole section dedicated to the members of the site where you can browse profiles and films, this could come in handy when looking for cast or crew members for help with your own short films. You can find the network portal at http://www.live.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/

Finally the BBC have well networked the site with managed accounts on Facebook and other social networking websites, this enables the younger generation to access the site through the sites they already use and is a very professional move from the BBC.

Bibliography:
1. BBC. (2010). Film Network. Available: http://www.live.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/. Last accessed 5th February 2010.

Video Activism

Typically political, video activism is when a group of people get together with the same views on a subject and use video to expose the bad points about these issues. Famous examples are animal testing and war. Since a boom in technology happened, video activism has become much more popular. With the cheap price tags on tiny cameras people can film things they shouldn't with relative ease and can expose this footage on sites like YouTube and Metacafe. Video activism is an extreme way to expose the truth about hidden or little known topics and shed the truth on many governmental failures and operations.

From the Video Activist Network
"The VAN is an informal association of activists and politically conscious artists using video to support social, economic and environmental justice campaigns."

The VAN website features many manuals and data that can be obtained to help with the production of activist videos and how to go about making them.
http://www.videoactivism.org/resource.html

Video Activism came about in the 60's with the introduction of the portapak (the first small video recorder), finally people had a way to sneak video cameras into places that they shouldn't be in and expose the facts about certain things.

With the online video community ever growing, video activist films have become ever more popular, it is so easy to find videos that shock and appall yet also change someone's view. Many people are against the idea of video activism and call on rights for privacy, but the activists will do whatever they can to prove to the world that they are right and if a shocking video is what it takes, then so be it.

Bibliography:
1. Video Activist Network. (2010). Resources. Available: http://www.videoactivism.org/resource.html. Last accessed 5th February 2010.

Coffee Shorts

Coffee Shorts is an independent film company that specialise in all aspects of short film production, distribution and exhibition. They search the web for the best quality short films to display on their website. They list narrative, music, documentary, animation, experimental, comedy and trailers as the categories that they show.

"You won't find funny cat videos or fat kids dancing here, but you will find film festival quality, award winning independet short filmmaking. We invite the best short filmmakers to screen with us and help them gain audiences for their work. You can watch every film free of charge and without membership either by browsing the thumbnails or sitting back and letting the various web channel playlists run. Please feel free to post any of our short films or music videos onto your friends, Myspaces, Facebooks and blogs; share a little art with the world, and tell it Coffee Shorts sent you."

"Coffee Shorts is an independent short film channel showing off exceptional work from some of our friends and discovered from surfing around the web.
We spread the films around a bunch of online channels for people to come across and hopefully spend a little time with, experiencing a world where the guy doesn't always get the girl, evil sometimes overcomes good and things generally don't follow the same weary scripts."

These two quotes show off Coffee Shorts message to the public. They also show the type of film they search for, often things that one wouldn't find in a mainstream cinema or website. This shows that Coffee Shorts look to find new up and coming directors rather than ones that have a name for themselves already.

The company is professional and modern, utilising other websites such as Bebo and Blinkx to advertise their service and effectively creating online portals in many parts of the web. This shows an understanding of the web and one would assume they know what they are talking about when it comes to film too. If they had a shoddy website then maybe the audience would be less interested in the films they were offering.

Bibliography:
1. Coffee Shorts. (2010). About. Available: http://www.coffeeshorts.co.uk/about.html. Last accessed 5th February 2010.

Film Festivals

Film festivals are the perfect way to get noticed as a film director, actor or screenplay writer. The exhibition of short films at film festivals is a known route for scouts looking for new talent for Hollywood. As it is rare to see short film exhibited to the public anywhere else apart from online, film festivals are a great opportunity and one that is needed within the film industry.

The process of getting a film shown at a film festival is one that differs from festival to festival. There are however many things that don't differ. Things such as the entry requirements are usually similar and the legal conditions are almost always the same. One example is that to enter your film, you absolutely must have "artistic property". This is documentation that everyone and everything in the film has been accounted for and the people involved allow for the film to be copyright to you. This is why you often see labels covering brand names etc.. Multinationals are generally against small time film makers from using their products in films because if they are shown in a bad light it could have a negative effect on the company.

	Encounters	LFFS	RSS
When Did They Start?	1995 – Brief Encounters	2003 – The Halloween Short Film Festival – 2008 LFFS.	1998-Rushes Soho Shorts
When DO They Take Place?	Bristol – November	11 Venues all over London. 8-17 Jan 2010	10 day festival 21st-31st July
What Awards & Catergories Are there?	International Jury Award South West Jury Award DepicT! Awards Film Club Teenage Jury Award Best British Award UK Film Council Award Cartoon d’Or Nominations Online Audience Award 4mations International Newcomer in Animation Award South West Screen Audience Award Film Club Child Jury Award Animation/Action Nahemi/Kodak prize for Creative Film making Cinematography	UK FILM COUNCIL AWARD for best Film of the Festival Shooting People Comedy Award Current TV Documentary Award East End Film Festival Award Time Out Award for Best London Film Sci-Fi London Award for Best Horror Film Wallflower Press Award for Best Experimental Film	The international category The long form category The documentary category The animation category The best new-comer category Music video category The broadcast design category
How To Enter?	Can be sent via DVD or www.yousendit.com	Unavailable information as festival has just finished	15 pound per film. Submit via uploads or DVD Post
What Kind Of Film Do You Need To Apply	Wide range of genres because the wide range of awards.	Wide range of genres because the wide range of awards.	Wide range of genres because the wide range of awards.
How Big Is The Festival? Sponsorship? Event?	Huge amount of sponsors including big companies etc. that suggests it is big scale.	Over 200 screenings. 6000 tickets sold.	1200 professional & amateur filmmakers 140 films in final selections.

The table above shows the differences between three different short film festivals and some data about them.

"Bouncer"

The short film bouncer concentrates on the story of a British bouncer. As the story unfolds the audience is introduced to a number of emotions that are all due to carefully planned production techniques.

Lighting is used to highlight the bouncer's image and hide the punters in the queue. This suggests that the bouncers are a target for the punters as is later revealed in the film.

The film plays on time in that when the bouncer is training in the gym he is telling a story that happened. We later find out that the gym is a prison gym and realise why he is in prison.

The voiceover in the piece is in a way the main asset. It is the gruff London accent that helps to stress the nature of the story. Ray Winstone voices the part perfectly and engages the audience with the story. The script tells the story in a way that relates to the working class and suggests a target audience.

The location of the club suggests a nasty run down area where one might expect trouble. This is shown with the bad street lighting, shouting and arguing and the positioning of the club. When the bouncer runs after the killers the audience is shown a wider view of the surroundings and so more assumptions can be made about the area. Another factor that might make the audience feel uneasy or expectant of trouble is the speech. The bouncer is constantly talking about being vunerable and about the likeliness of someone "coming back for you" when you are on your way home. Things like this keep the audience involved in the film and provide a personal feeling that the audience might have experienced, feeling unsafe when you are alone.



Bibliography:
1. Michael Baig Clifford . (2002). Bouncer. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-6s_iD1r9c. Last accessed 5th February 2010.

Shane Meadows

Shane is an English director that started film making after dropping out of secondary school before reaching his GCSE's. Meadows began to create films with the help of his friends as he had access to cameras and film equipment in return for working unpaid at a local media centre. After realising that he had no way of publicly displaying his work, he and his friends approached a local cinema in hope to set up a film festival in which locals could display their productions. This became popular in his town and eventually he was picked up by a scout who took him on as an amateur film director.

Shane has since then made 8 feature length films including "This is England", a blockbuster at the box offices. Meadows has become renowned for his kitchen sink realism which he was influenced by film makers such as Ken Loach and Mike Leigh.

Shanes short film "The Stairwell", made on his mobile phone shows the way that he likes to work. Through the use of experimentation he achieves his style and tone in his films. By use of his mobile phone he could get a look and feel across in the film without having to worry about all of the problems that using professional equipment might have.

In this film shane shows two characters violently bumping into eachother halfway down a staircase. Though in essence a very dull idea for a film, Shane has used interesting, voyueristic camera angles along with low key lighting to make the scene feel much more dramatic than it actually is.

At the point of impact, exaggerated expressions are shown which really accentuate the nature of the location and sterotypes of these locations. It looks to be a council estate, where it is rare to see people expressing happy emotions and so one can assume the feelings before the point of impact.

The thing I find most interesting about the piece is that although it is a 39 second film, it still has a narrative structure. There is an obvious beginning middle and end. Marked by the intro and outro titles.



Bibliography:
1. Shane Meadows. (2005). The Stairwell. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCvixoWmviU. Last accessed 5th February 2010.

Avant-Garde

Short Film got to a point where it just could not compete with Hollywood anymore. Film auteurs started to make weird and wonderful short films that grew into the avant-garde theatre movement. Short film found a new home in the form of art. A lot of avant-garde films are shorts. Avant-garde comes from the French language and it means "ahead of the crowd", it could be described as cutting edge and experimental.

Avant-garde director Maya Deren produced short films in the 1940's and 50's, her films had a distinct style and were highly individualistic. Deren holds a very anti-mainstream stance within her films and promotes the idea of artistic license and creative freedom. Deren is described as the mother of American avant-garde cinema and her film "Meshes of the Afternoon" is considered a great in short film history. Deren's anti Hollywood stance is backed up by some of her quotes. She stated, “I make my pictures for what Hollywood spends on lipstick,” and commented that Hollywood “has been a major obstacle to the definition and development of motion pictures as a creative fine-art form.”

Her film "Meshes in the Afternoon" has a circular narrative, the film focuses on a few different subjects but always goes back to the one woman. The film starts off with a flower being put on the floor and then picked up again. The audience isn't shown whether or not the same person picks up the flower or not. The shadows of the person suggests so but they also give an eery and creepy feel to the film. The first few shots also don't show the woman's face and this adds to the eery feel.

When she drops her key the audience feels some sort of suspense which is highlighted by the sound effects added in. The sound then continues to beat, suggesting another presence in the house. When the shot of the unmade bed is shown with the window open, the suggestion of another presence is enforced.

A voyeuristic shot of a grim reaper like figure is shown walking off with the flower, rather than a big action scene, the woman runs after the figure but ends up at the same house. This is when the circular narrative comes into play. Questions are raised whether the character has gone into a dream world or not. Who is this man she is chasing? At one point she seems to be watching herself come into the house.

The camera movements couple the movement in the piece, and show off Deren's skills as a choreographer. The flowing nature of the whole piece is followed by the camera movements but then disturbed with the abrupt movements of the key jumping and morphing into a knife. The imagery suggests a sort of paranoia as when she wakes up she is not about to be stabbed but is instead woken by a man.

The same eery music is played when she is awoken and the protagonist is obviously shaken from her dream. Strangely the events to come are somewhat similar to the events that happened in her sleep. It is when she lies down and the knife appears that the audience is questioned again to whether she is actually awake.



Bibliography:
1.N/A. (2010). Maya Deren. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Deren. Last accessed 5th February 2010.
2. Gloria L. Foren. (2001). Film: Avant-Garde. Available: http://www.miracosta.cc.ca.us/home/gfloren/f-avant.htm. Last accessed 5th February 2010.
3. N/A. (2010). Meshes of the Afternoon. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meshes_of_the_Afternoon. Last accessed 5th February 2010.
4. Maya Deren. (2008). Meshes of the Afternoon. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPi9i3gfSAM. Last accessed 5th February 2010.

"Rosebud"

This short film uses a play on time to keep the audience interested and active. The audience is thrown strong emotions of fear and worry throughout the film because of the play on time. A girl is split up from her mother at a tube station and in her imagination meets up with her fairy godmother. During the time that the girl is split from her mother the audience is taken on a trip through her imagination.

A shot of a clock moving backwards is shown but for the average viewer this is overlooked and you don't really notice its significance until the second watch.

In the scenes where the mother and daughter are split, the audience is thrashed with opposing emotions. Thanks to the effective mise-en-scene of the shots the viewers emotions are changed every few seconds. In the shots with the mother one might feel fear, hurt and surprised, whereas in the shots of the child you feel less worried due to her blasé attitude.

Feelings of desperation and fear are shown with the use of a busy platform full of people that don't really care about anyone else but themselves. In this shot the camera is looking slightly down at the mother showing a lack of power. Mixed in with scenes showing the child's vivid imagination, the audience is left slightly confused and also worried for both protagonists.

The child's innocence is a massive part of this short, the ignorance to what could happen to her by playing in a tube station is definitely shown. For example, she is seen playing with "Mr. H" her hula hoop on the platforms, if the hoop were to fall into the tracks would she follow? This is just one example, but the dangers of a tube station are completely overlooked by the young child and this puts the audience in a slightly uncomfortable position.

When the mother is pictured running onto the platform and finding her daughter a sense of relief is felt. The woman who has been pictured helping the young child is shown to be another figment of the child's imagination. The child is pictured at the end alone however. This is to exaggerate the child's use of her imagination. It shows that she is used to keeping herself amused and is possibly an only child.



Bibliography:
1. Gaby Dellal. (2008). Rosebud. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYfPGo9X3Ek. Last accessed 5th February 2010.

"My Father, The Liar"

Directed by Bob Hoskins, written by Paul Fraser

This short film portrays many emotions and themes including loneliness, mental illness and childhood. A father and his child are pictured in the first few scenes chatting and walking through an empty estate. This is a representation of the emptiness in each of their lives. They talk about petty things such as tea which shows the innocence of the child.

The camera angles portray the son as being equal to the father in that because the child is standing on a wall, he appears slightly taller than the father, this subconsciously gives the two equal status.

Sound is minimal throughout the piece which again highlights a theme of loneliness. There is no non-diegetic sound whatsoever in the whole of the piece and this makes the film seem more raw and voyeuristic. As if you were watching a snippet of someones life. Throughout the piece the father seems to keep bringing up questions relating to the child's mother. This is suggesting that he may miss her or want her back, which again stresses a feeling of loneliness.

The child is shown to idolise the father in everything he does, from throwing away his crusts to saying "I'm tracing your footsteps". The child's dialect is obviously heavily influenced by his fathers and this gives the film an almost comical edge to it, enough to make it less heavy but not ruin the main ideas behind the film. An example is when he calls his dad "mate".

When the mentally ill man is introduced the child's innocence is truly shown, whilst the father is not at all phased by him. The child is intrigued and shocked by the man's behaviour. He stops with a look of fear in his eyes and when he is noticed by the mentally ill man he runs away. This makes the audience feel a kind of worry for the child and attaches them to the film.

Another example of the child taking a great influence from his father is when they sit down on the bench, they both open up their reading material in the same way and you feel as though you are watching the same man only in different times.

The lighting in all of the shots seems to be quite dull giving the viewer no bright or vivid colours, this helps to concentrate on the action in the film. When the man jumps off of the platform this is especially useful. The child runs off and when his father catches up with him the way he shouts "come here" is really integral to the character. The tough love sort of shout really shows how while keeping his "alpha male" status, he shows a true love for his son.

Bibliography:
1. Bob Hoskins. (2008). My Father, The Liar. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVSt1JA9g90&feature=related. Last accessed 5th February 2010.

"Horny"

In the short film "Horny", Hopkins captures the audience straight away with the opening scene. The use of "The Sun" newspaper with the headline "HORNY" is the first thing the audience is shown. This flashes on the screen very quickly in a sort of voyeuristic shot, setting the feel for the film within the first few seconds.

Sound is used as a pace setter in the short and the theme kicks in as the protagonist is introduced. The first piece of speech is "Is it just me or do tube journeys make you horny?", this adds to the shock value of the title of the piece and intrigues the audience to find out more about the character. She displays a very honest and blunt view of her thoughts and a high level of confidence in herself. This again interests the audience greatly as it makes you feel as though you are hearing things you shouldn't.

The lighting setup is done in a way that maximises the highlights whilst keeping the darker shades dark. This emphasises the idea of being trapped that is mentioned in the beginning.

When the man starts to get desperate and starts trying to avoid the situation the music slows and fades to a choral sound. This splits up the piece and relaxes the viewer in a way, as the images before whilst quite amusing also had an unnerving feel to them and put the viewer on edge.

As the man goes to finally sit down the viewer is in a way brought back to reality when a young girl asks her mother about the mans situation. A sense of relief is felt when the woman cracks a joke about the man having "broken his willy".

Overall the film brings the audience on an emotional roller coaster. The shots showing the protagonist make the viewer feel uneasy but also quite amused whilst the shots showing the man make the audience feel sorry for him.

The use of a POV shot when the protagonist is seducing the man is very effective. Although it makes the protagonist look less powerful, she is in total control of the man's emotions. Even though it would appear that she is less powerful because she is smaller, she almost asserts her power by sitting down.

Bibliography:

1. Stephen Hopkins. (2008). Horny. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKmVU9U0_Og. Last accessed 5th February 2010.

Atom.com (Formerly Atom Films)

Atom.com is a short film website focusing mainly on comedy. Atom used to focus only on indie films but since being taken over by MTV in 2006 and re-launched in 2008, the Atom.com website mostly focuses on comedy. The online network has won awards and is considered a convergent entertainment network. That is that the videos can play on TV's, computers, iPods, Xboxs etc. During the re-launch, the site was established as a sister site to Comedy Central, this raised the revenue of both Comedy Central and Atom.com and is a perfect example of synergy, the company Viacom owns both Comedy Central (along with Paramount Pictures) and Atom.com (Along with MTV).

Atom.com offer a fantastic opportunity for young talented film makers through their synergy with the Comedy Central TV Channel. A Show that is broadcast on Monday nights broadcast the best of user uploaded videos to the Atom.com website.

A statement on Atom.com really represents what the company stands for;

"We've spent the past 10 years (formerly as AtomFilms) discovering hilarious, talented filmmakers and unleashing them on an unsuspecting internet. Our formula is simple: Find talented people, make them famous across the Web and beyond, and pay them well. In return we've found that they bring us more funny content, the cycle continues, and everyone lives happily ever after."

The above statement for me is really a testament to the commitment to good quality short comedies that Atom.com provide. The company provide many ways to get noticed on their site, they have funding for up and coming directors and writers to produce/develop comedies. They have scouts that search the internet for new talent that might be on youtube or a similar website, they then look to license this work. Their upload form provides a quick and easy way to showcase your work on their website straight away.

Bibliography

1. N/A. (2009). Atom.com. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom.com. Last accessed 4th Feb 2010.

2. N/A. (N/A). About Us. Available: http://www.atom.com/about/. Last accessed 4th Feb 2010.

Silver Films

Silver Films are a film production company that specialise in automotive films, advertisements and short film. All of their products are quite experimental and have a similar look and feel to them. Their slogan is "Silver can be formed into any shape the mind can conceive". This is a truly inspirational statement and shows the true experimental nature of the company.

They use their web site to promote the films they have created. Their award winning film "About a Girl" can be watched on the site. Although their style and techniques are very similar in most of their films, Silver Films really stick to their slogan and seem to encourage experimentation. This is shown in their about sections above all, they don't really tie themselves down to anything as in they don't say that they are short film producers or advertisers, they simply say who they are, that they work to very high standards and that they are always on the lookout for new creative talent.

This is the kind of reassuring attitudes that a young aspiring film maker might need in order to further their talent. The website is a really friendly one and represents the companies values very well. They make you feel almost obliged to contact them and offer your talents as a film maker.

Bibliography:

1. N/A. (N/A). Silver Films. Available: http://www.silverfilms.co.uk/. Last accessed 4th Feb 2010.

Free Cinema

Above: The front cover for the first Free Cinema programme

Free Cinema was a British Film movement during the 1950's. The term Free cinema is derived from the idea that the films were made free from the pressures of box office sales and the press. Starting off as a screening of 6 films from 1956 and 1959, Free Cinema really took off and 5 other films were shown under the title Free Cinema, gaining publicity quickly.

Free Cinema rejected the rules and regulations of British Cinema and took film making to a level that no one had ever seen before. It was a new take on film making and outputted films of a much different kind to the one most of the British Audience would have expected. The group opposed the fake reality of 1950's British Cinema and particularly resented its representation of the working class. Hence many of the films under the title Free Cinema are about ordinary people at work or play.

All of the Free Cinema films were created totally outside of a studio environment which on its own was enough to make it distinguishable from ordinary British cinema. Two notable technicians worked on the films, cameraman Walter Lassally and sound technician John Fletcher. Usually unpaid, these two contributed directly to the Free Cinema movement and it was with their effort and dedication that the movement became so popular. The films were largely lacking proper funding with 6 of the films funded by the very small BFI Experimental Film Fund and 2 of them sponsored by Ford, notably "We are the Lambeth Boys".

All of the films shared similar techniques and aesthetics. For one the films were all black and white and shot on a Bolex 16mm handheld camera. This is a spring loaded camera and the mechanism it contained meant that it could only shoot 22 second shots at a time. They steered clear of any voice over commentary and they threw the narrative structure out of the window.

There were many obvious technological restrictions at the time including an inability to record sound in sync outside of the studio environment. Though "We are the Lambeth Boys" was one of the first experimental films to test this technology when it emerged in late 1959. Things like the invention of a very light sensitive film stock helped to film without artificial lighting etc.

The Free Cinema 3 programme note that was handed out to the audience at the screening states, "with a 16mm camera, and minimal resources, and no payment for your technicians, you cannot achieve very much - in commercial terms.... But you can use your eyes and your ears. You can give indications. You can make poetry." This is a beautiful quote that sums up how the movement felt about their work and really enforces their beliefs and ideas behind the movement.

The movement grew into a group of auteurs and directors that became known as "The Angry Young Men". Making gritty and realistic films about the lower classes of British society and opposing social order. However in March 1959 the founders of the movement decided to end it, effectively making way for the "British New Wave", though some kept it going for some years it eventually moved on to something new.

Free Cinema is in many ways considered as the first pieces of true social realism and in this respect has become a milestone in British Cinema. It has paved the way for the gritty and blunt British Cinema that is being produced today.

Bibliography:
1. Christophe Dupin. (). Free Cinema. Available: http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/444789/index.html. Last accessed 01 February 2010.