What are the conventions of magazine page layout?

Whilst flipping through a magazine such as Empire, Total Film, and Sight and Sound one can’t help but notice an eye-catching film review. These magazine’ purpose is to attract various audiences, with its glossy pages packed with colorful images which allow the reader; be it a young adolescent or an adult to have a much more visual experience. The written codes in a magazine article are communicated through the language used. The key area one must think about is the publication’s mode of address: the way it ‘speaks’ to its audience. It its most simple form, this could be very formal or very casual. It may be humorous or serious, chatty or professional. The types of words selected and style and complexity of sentences used are how the mode of address is identified. The review keeps a balance between informing the audience of the films, keep a positive outlook on it (no matter how rubbish they think the film is) and focus on not giving too much of the film away.










Different types of fonts and typography are also incorporated in the review. A font is the style of character selected to create the words. The selection of fonts can give a magazine its character and identity. Fonts can also suggest if a publication is serious or fun. Typography refers to the way text is laid out on the page: size (pt. 14, upper/lower case), spacing, line length etc. an article in a publication will normally use more than one font and typography, but these will follow a formula set out by the ‘house style’, e.g. all the headlines will be in the same font and size in articles. The headline style is technically part of typography. However, choices made about headlines can affect the way an article is read. Headlines in block capitals add urgency. One is not advised to use block capitals all throughout the text; it ends up making the text more difficult to read than if it were written in standard title case. However, this urgency can be reduced by writing in lower case, with only the first letter of each word capitalized. Some publications use ‘strap lines’ either above or below the main headline. This is a smaller headline that adds more detail.
A subheading is a means of visually breaking up a longer article to make it more digestible. They can also be used to pick out a particular feature of the story in the main body of the article – i.e. ‘breakout paragraphs’. This is done to draw the audience’s attention to whatever they are interested and its purpose also is for esthetic reasons; to fill up space on the page.
In most of the magazines the pages are spilt into columns. The number of columns on a page will vary according to magazine. The main text will be contained within single columns, where as introduction sentences or ‘extra’ information (often contained in ‘breakout boxes’) may spread across two or more columns. This varies according to whom it is written for, i.e. Sight and Sound has smaller text and more columns, as it focuses more on the written context, rather than to entertain, whereas the ‘Sound’ magazine layout usually only consists of two columns, which makes it easier to read; making it more manageable. The difference in the amount of writing will also affect the type of audience who read the review.
The magazine review should also consist of a photo. It is usually a screenshot of the film or the promotional image. The amount, type and layout of photographs have a significant effect on the way an article is read. In the west, our normal visual reading pattern is to scan the page from top left to bottom right. However, when flicking through a magazine our eye is more readily drawn to the right-hand page – this is why adverts set on the right hand cost more than those set on the left. Therefore an eye catching image placed on the right hand page can catch our initial attention, and start us scanning the text from the left hand page down.

Audiences of magazine film reviews

The audience of a magazine film review can be different to the audience of the film it is reviewing. This is because the review is serving the target audience of the magazine, and not the film. For instance, a review for The Princess and the Frog (2008), a Disney animation would appear in Empire magazine however the review is for readers of Empire magazine and obviously not the target audience of the film as it is highly unlikely the young, child audience of the film would not read a review of the film.

Magazine film review audiences also vary due to the different interests in audiences. The magazine Sight & Sound is produced by the British Film Institute and can be seen as The Times of film magazines. The mode of address of the magazine is targeted at those with real knowledge and academic interest in film not only as a pass-time, but a key cultural tool and art form. The audience of Sight & Sound are much more informed and expect a higher standard of sophisticated English. The writing is also very serious and formal with most humour being very dry. Sight & Sound provides a full synopsis of the film with discussion of the narrative structure and style, balanced opinion and contextual information to feed its middle-class, well educated audience. The use of a full synopsis gives the interested, academic audience an in-depth overview of the film as well as discussion and view points of the themes and events.



Whereas a magazine such as Total Film provides a less extensive synopsis of the film to target an audience that are obviously interested in films as they buy the magazine, but use film for more entertainment than cultural research like the readers of Sight & Sound. The reviews in the magazine use a lower standard of English compared to Sight & Sound and also uses more and larger pictures, as well as break out paragraphs and break out boxes such as graphs. A Total Film review also uses word play and more obvious wit than Sight & Sound such as "No Country for a middle-aged man (and his boy)...". The magazine uses wider columns which gives the appearance of a shorter and easier read, this appeals to the target audience of the magazine.

These magazines although having the same subject matter, their mode of addresses are vastly different as they have alternating target audiences. Sight & Sound uses a sophisticated level of English and expects its audience to know what the words mean, in contrast, Total Film uses a lower quality of language as it is not targeted at a sophisticated, highly educated audience that is reading the magazine for a detailed, high quality review. Sight & Sound uses more, slimmer columns with more focus on text than on pictures and other break-out boxes, whereas Total Film is very much focused on images, e.g. The Road in the example.



There are also magazines such as Prevue which is an in-house magazine published by Vue cinemas. Magazines like these are useful for simple synopses of films, but do not give clear positive or negative reviews as they goal is ultimately to get the reader to see any film in the cinema. These types of magazines give very simple outlines of the film without further depth or analysis, the articles are surrounded by breakout boxes which give information of the actor's other work and facts.

The Purpose of a Magazine Film Review

Magazine film reviews are to provide opinions about films and offer guidance to audiences about what films to see. They include objective opinions and third party recommendations. Magazine film reviews provide more information to audeinces than can be obtained via a poster therefore, producers aim to have their film reviewed in magazines in a positive manner in order to help gain viewers and therefore boost sales. For example, 'The Kings Speech' (2010), starring Colin Firth became a huge success due to reviews. In the UK and Ireland, the film became box office number one, and took in £3,510,000 in its opening weekend from 395 cinemas.In the United States 'The King's Speech' opened with $355,450 in four theatres, averaging $88,863 per theatre. It holds the record for the highest per theatre gross of 2010. On the other hand, 'Catwomen' (2004) world wide box office reached $82,102,379.

This is the film trailer for 'Catwomen' (2004)



This is the film trailer for 'The King's Speech' (2010)

'Fim Review' is an example of a film review magazine. 'Film Review' magazine first appeared in 1950, initially for a 3-issue trial run. At the time it had the title "ABC Film Review" due to it working with ABC cinemas. At the time it was just 20 pages ans it was published in association with Pathé and produced by Axtell Publications Ltd. of London. After the trial's success it became a full monthly magazine from January 1951. In 1972, its name changed to just 'Film Review' and the ABC was dropped from then on. It continued to appear as a monthly magazine until 2008. The last edition, a double-issue, number 699/700, for August/ September 2008, edited by Nikki Baughan, had 220 pages and was priced at £4.99.

Having started out as a promotional magazine for the ABC circuit, 'Film Review' became a very good popular film monthly, packed with news and information, literate reviews and an emphasis on the pictures as well as the written text. For nearly sixty years it never lost its initial and essential aim of appealing to film fanatics. Sadly, its position was taken over by other more successful film publications which forced it off the shelves.

Famous Film Magazines.

There are three main film magazines in the country at this moment in time. The most read is Total Film followed by Empire and then by Sight and Sound a specialist film review magazine for the more sophisticated and cultured reader and a cinema fanatic. They also have to compete with newspapers who do regular film reviews in a special section of their newspaper.
The layout of the film review pages all differ from one magazine article to another. There are only three columns in “Total Film” whereas in “Empire” they have three columns and in “Sight and Sound” they have 6 columns. This has different connotations, for instance someone who is just looking for a short article to read and on a film that he wants to see will read something light hearted and less challenging such as a “Total Film” film reviews. This is also shown in the typography: it has big type and the word spacing is long aswell as the line spacing that is quite large. The third column is finished with page filler. A device used by magazines in order to make the reader comfortable with the article and read it. This is different in “empire” that has three columns with small word spacing and small line spacing. They get even smaller in Sight and Sound due to the seriousness of the magazine. The font is all the same for every single one however they are different for the headline than the article itself. They just differ in size with the more serious film reviews becoming smaller in order to attract a more cultured clientele. The Headlines differ from some magazines Total Film and Empire are similar in the way that the title of the film is the headline whereas in Sight and Sound it goes along the lines of a serious newspaper with a pun for the headline. The strap lines style is also different In “Total Film” they have their pun there unlike “Empire” who pose a question to the audience or even Sight and Sound who give an overview of the filmThe layout of the film review pages all differ from one magazine article to another. There are only three columns in “Total Film” whereas in “Empire” they have three columns and in “Sight and Sound” they have 6 columns. This has different connotations, for instance someone who is just looking for a short article to read and on a film that he wants to see will read something light hearted and less challenging such as a “Total Film” film reviews. This is also shown in the typography: it has big type and the word spacing is long aswell as the line spacing that is quite large. The third column is finished with page filler. A device used by magazines in order to make the reader comfortable with the article and read it. This is different in “empire” that has three columns with small word spacing and small line spacing. They get even smaller in Sight and Sound due to the seriousness of the magazine. The font is all the same for every single one however they are different for the headline than the article itself. They just differ in size with the more serious film reviews becoming smaller in order to attract a more cultured clientele. The Headlines differ from some magazines Total Film and Empire are similar in the way that the title of the film is the headline whereas in Sight and Sound it goes along the lines of a serious newspaper with a pun for the headline. The strap lines style is also different In “Total Film” they have their pun there unlike “Empire” who pose a question to the audience or even Sight and Sound who give an overview of the film.The layout of the film review pages all differ from one magazine article to another. There are only three columns in “Total Film” whereas in “Empire” they have three columns and in “Sight and Sound” they have 6 columns. This has different connotations, for instance someone who is just looking for a short article to read and on a film that he wants to see will read something light hearted and less challenging such as a “Total Film” film reviews. This is also shown in the typography: it has big type and the word spacing is long aswell as the line spacing that is quite large. The third column is finished with page filler. A device used by magazines in order to make the reader comfortable with the article and read it. This is different in “empire” that has three columns with small word spacing and small line spacing. They get even smaller in Sight and Sound due to the seriousness of the magazine. The font is all the same for every single one however they are different for the headline than the article itself. They just differ in size with the more serious film reviews becoming smaller in order to attract a more cultured clientele. The Headlines differ from some magazines Total Film and Empire are similar in the way that the title of the film is the headline whereas in Sight and Sound it goes along the lines of a serious newspaper with a pun for the headline. The strap lines style is also different In “Total Film” they have their pun there unlike “Empire” who pose a question to the audience or even Sight and Sound who give an overview of the film they are reviewing.


In Total Film (the latest issue, issue 176) there are main news articles about the film industry to begin with unlike Empire who are doing an ultimate guide to Tron Legacy one of the latest movies to come out in cinema’s. In a similar fashion Sight and Sound focused there main article on the Black Swan. Empire and Sight and Sound stick strictly to major film issues and unlike Total Film they have long articles on films or film genres that have raised an eyebrow recently. Total film on the other hand will have the readers views section where the readers letters are posted in the magazine so that they can interact with public opinion making the magazine more appealing. Empire and Sight and Sound will then have all the films being released in the country right now or in the next month. This is reciprocated in some sorts in Total Film especially as they have a section for the more sophisticated and cultured film fan talking about some of the films that wont appear in mainstream cinema company’s.



The mode of address of the film magazine depends on the film magazine at hand. Total Film for instance will have language more accommodated for the younger generation. They are aimed at readers that look at films for a good time with their friends rather than for a cultural or educational experience. On the other hand Empire is written for the more experienced film watcher and is aimed at everyone really considering it also attracts some of the more casual cinema goers as well as the educated cinema fanatics. Its style of writing makes it the film reference magazine in Great Britain. The less well known magazine Sight and Sound is really the specialist magazine and is aimed at connoisseurs of cinema and is written with flamboyant language in order to appeal to its specialist audience. It also writes the synopsis of the film mainly because the film fan will want to read the about the films it wont be able to otherwise watch because they are released in independent cinema’s in other parts of the country. They write about every film with in depth reviews that would bore the ordinary cinema fan.

What are the conventions of film posters? What elements do all film posters contain? What are the different options available?

The purpose of a film poster is used to advertise a film and it is a marketing product of a film. There may be several versions for one film, with variations in regards to size and content, also some posters are designed specifically for particular countries.
A film poster traditionally contains an image with text, however with the development of technology and software many film posters today have much more to them. The text usually contains the film title in large lettering and often the names of the main actors; it may also include a tag line, the name of the director, names of characters, the release date and the credit block.

It is apparent that certain forms and conventions are applied to all film posters. The major forms and conventions of film posters could include: a large title which attracts the eye, bold colours which stand out from the background, intriguing picture which would attract viewers to the film, persuasive language which might persuade the viewers to go and see the film, using the main character's name for promotion, and the certification will either to ensure that the right type of people are watching the film. An example of how different types of film (e.g. comedy, horror) poster use these forms and conventions to attract a certain type of person (e.g. teenagers, horror fans) would be a really scary horror film, which will use eerie images in order to appeal to horror fans. A successful film poster will accomplish attracting the target audience and persuade them to come and watch the film.

analysis of famous film's posters

poster annotations

Goodfellas was a very popular film. The poster helped in that sense the three main characters were very popular because of the power of three. The layout distinctively puts them in the dark forcing an air of mystery on the situation such as who are they and did they kill the person under the bridge. Under the bridge is also code for saying it is underground activities for these gangsters. We also understand that they are underground kingpins because they are above the bridge but still in the dark. They have then a quote that could be acting as a tagline saying that they are in the mafia. The official tagline also demonstrates this. Even though he’s not the main character Robert De Niro is the middle man mainly because he is the most famous actor of the three shown and his character is the boss of the three characters. . None of the characters are smiling there just staring at you suspiciously giving the audience a sense of wonder as to what they might have done not only the characters but also themselves.The old school posters always used to have the directors name underneath because they were attributed there works Martin Scorcese reciprocates this in the modern era of film poster making.

The porky’s poster demonstrates how to effectively get the public to watch a film, it portrays the sort of behaviour usually attributed with teenagers. This film poster also had a line that played on the word came. It literally means that youll be glad to have seen the movie however those with a dirty mind will laugh because it can also mean youll be glad to have ejaculated. This gives sense that it will be the teen comedy subgenre. That is further enhanced with the eye of a teenager peeking at the naked women in the shower. This gives a sense of ridiculousness yet at the same time of humour making the audience want to go and watch the film.



The good the bad and the ugly is one of the most iconic films ever made.The poster shows what it was like when technology wasn’t at its peak. Once again the three characters are on top and you see them in cowboy style outfits with weapons clearly demonstrating that the main plot of this film is the western rivalry between the three characters. They then have the subplot or the background of the film underneath them to show that its significant in the film yet not the most important or the bit to focus on during the film. Sergio Leone is also one the people that demonstrate the old fashioned posters. The drawing of the subplot and the adding of his name in big letters underneath the title infers how old this film really is.


Pulp fiction is another modern great movie such as Goodfellas. It uses seduction rather than plot to get the audience to watch the film this in some way is very Tarantinoesc considering he does not do films in a normal fashion. He also utilises the technique of the name underneath the title in order to advertise that its his film. He does not utilize the main characters and instead of giving just there names he gives a long list of names once again a Tarantino trait. The use of seduction is to get a lot of men to come but just in case they don’t get mislead they included a gun on the set with the girl just to show that this has moments of crime in it.

The Purpose of Film Posters

Originally, film posters were produced for the exclusive use by the theatres showing the film the poster was created for. The purpose of film posters is promotion and advertisement and the idea is to attract a target audience. A single film poster can target a more specific audience to that of the film.

Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. They normally contain an image with text. Today's posters often feature photographs of the main actors or actresses who are normally well known to the audience. Using well known cast members helps create a high profile for the film and helps increase wider distribution therefore helping the film gain more profit. Prior to the 1990s, illustrations instead of photos were far more common. The text on film posters usually contains the film title in large lettering and often the names of the main actors. It may also include a tag line, the name of the director, names of characters, the release date, etc.

The film posters for 'Elizabeth' show two very differnent views of the film. Firstly the US poster, shows the one main character while the UK poster shows a range of main characters. Furthermore, the US poster is mainly coloured in red which implies the film could be about love and passion whereas the UK poster is quite sinister looking which implies it has an element of thriller. Both these posters advertise the same film but have completely different definition of the film.

Film posters are displayed inside and on the outside of movie theaters, and elsewhere on the street or in shops. Nowadays, many posters are displayed throughout the London Transport system. This is due to the fact that many people nowadays commute and so during periods such as rush hour, it gives the advantage of a wider audience as the poster will be viewed by many commuters both young and old. The same images that appear on film posters may also be used on websites, DVD packaging, flyers, advertisements in newspapers and magazines.

Film posters have been used since the earliest public exhibitions of film. They began as outside placards listing the programme of short films to be shown inside the hall or movie theatre. By the early 1900s, they began to feature illustrations of a scene from each individual film or a variety of overlaid images from several scenes. Other movie posters have used artistic interpretations of a scene or even the theme of the film, represented in a wide variety of artistic styles.

An example of this is the film poster for 'Bridget Jones' Diary'. From the poster, we can see that Renee Zellweger, who plays Bridget Jones, is the main character as she appears in the centre of the poster and her two co-stars, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant (who are two well known actors) appear either side of her. Bridget Jones is holding a diary which gives off the impression that the film is about the diary and having the two male co-stars either side of her connotes that it could be a RomCom about the two men fighting for her.

Moreover, its not only Directors and Producers that use film posters. Audiences also use film posters to gain certain information about the film such as:

• Genre - this tells the audience what type of film it is for example, whether its a thriller or a Romantic Comedy. This therefore gives them an indication as to whether its the sort of film that ppeals to them.


• Cast - some people like to watch films that include a certain actor or actress in the cast.


• Possible Narratives - a film poster may also give an idea to the audience of the types of themes in the film


• Release Date and Distribution - if an audience is interested in seeing a film that is yet to be released, then the release date can tell them when the film is available to be viewed and also the places of where it will be screened.

This is a teaser poster for 'Harry Potter 7'. This poster includes the title and release dates. However, as this a teaser poster, the Producer limits the information about the film on the poster to try and get audiences talking about the fil and then it trying to gain audience interest. Also, the title of the film is abbreviated 'HP7'. This is because from previous films in the series, audiences have gained and understanding of the film and so can easily recognise the title and film.

Classic film posters and the development of film posters

It is very important that posters for films are made to be recognisable, and are informative and attractive. They must be able to keep and maintain a persons attention through just an image that may just be seen for a minute. There have been many posters for films in the past that have achieved this and that we can remember today, even posters from before a persons time.
'Casablanca' (1942) and 'Alien' (1979)
'E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial' (1982) (and 'Jaws' (1975)

These are great examples of the aforementioned characteristics and have all become 'classic' film posters. Older film posters such as 'Casablanca' and 'Gone With The Wind' (1939) were hand drawn and then mass produced. This then changed to the use of photo stills from the films being used in the posters and today we see posters using photo-manipulation technology to create vivid images with special effects, such as 'The Matrix' (1999).This also shows how audiences have changed as 'Gone With The Wind' is a classic love film, whereas 'The Matrix' is a true film of the new millenium as, as shown in the poster it is very much so focused on technology with use of special effects including the matrix code shown as a background image of the poster. Another feature is the font changes as the older poster is very standard, block lettering whereas 'The Matrix' is much more complex and contemporary. Another great example showing how film posters have developed over time is 'Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope' (1977) compared to the latest film in the saga, 'Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'.

Here we can also see the differences, as the older film poster uses drawn images whereas the newer uses photographs and more layers aswell as editing with special effects for objects such as the lightsaber.

When film posters were first made as popularity in cinema grew, posters would contain images and only the directors and other development team names. It was later realised that cinema-goers often went for the actors and actresses rather than the creators and so the stars names then took central focus. In the times we live in now, we are bombarded with advertisements everywhere we go. Film posters are on billboards, buses, bus stops, in train stations and many other places. Technology now means that holographic effects can make film posters appear to move and on London buses LED lights are also used to make a film poster more noticeable and vivid. Also, in London Underground stations moving posters and videos are used instead of traditional film posters. Also, the internet has meant that posters are now interactive with flash meaning the posters can move and can require audience interaction on-line.


This poster for 'Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs show how posters have changed as this poster is three dimensional to support the recent rise of 3D cinema

Conventions of Short Films

We have analysed a handful of short films including but not limited to:

• ‘Sold’ by Nadua Attia
• ‘Double Take’ by Toa Stappard
• ‘For The Love Of’ by Chris Sheriff
• ‘Gravity’ by Colin Hutton
• ‘Ataque de Panico’ by Fede Alvarez
• ‘Alive in Jo’burg’ by Neil Blomkaup
• ‘BEFORE AFTER I & II’ by Victor Quinaz

Short films generally have just one or two characters, which we do not learn much about as there simply isn’t the time. Circular narratives are a popular technique use in short films with shots being repeated at the beginning and end or with situations reoccurring. Narratives are also a mixture of linear and non-linear, when linear the use of ellipses is often apparent however they are also often filmed in real-time, with a 10 minute short film depicting 10 minutes of a character’s life. Short films which are non-linear are often experimental works of the director. Another narrative technique often used is twists which change much of what the audience has learnt in the brief duration of the film.

In terms of cinematography, shorts films are often used to depict realism and techniques used are often experimental and unconventional as the director uses the film as an outlet for creativity. Shots such as, extreme tilt shots, birds-eye shots and POV shots are used. High key lighting is used in many to give a realistic look to the film, which is also achieved by filming on DV tape, which many short films do. Generally, the low budget of short films means that they are often filmed on location, and with open sets. In the vast majority of short films, there will be minimal editing involving no special effects. Titles in short films are very different to most TV shows and films as the title of the film will be shown prior to any content and then all credits are at the end.

There are some very key differences between short films and feature films. Firstly and most obviously, short films are shorter in length, short films are generally defined as films up to 40 minutes long whereas feature films usually last around 2 hours. Also feature films are made to be the main attraction of places they are shown, rather than any short films and they receive greater distribution in cinemas and then when released for home distribution via DVD, Blu-ray and download. Feature films such as I,Robot (2004) use and often depend on well known Hollywood actors to star in the films such as Will Smith whereas short films mostly use unknown, sometimes emerging actors due to low budget and profile. Short films are also usually filmed on location, with open sets with a lot less post-production editing used, usually with no special effects, unlike feature films.

‘Sign Language’ (2010) is a short film directed by Oscar Sharp and winner of the Grand Prize at the Virgin Media Shorts as well as other awards and nominations. The film focuses on Ben, who holds an advertising sign for a living in London’s Oxford Street during his last day of work before promotion. The film is on a linear narrative with ellipses of time, showing Ben’s finally shift. It is also a circular narrative as the girl referred to and shown in the film in the end of the film takes Ben’s old job. It is also filmed as a monologue, breaking the fourth wall by interacting with the audience in realistic, documentary style filming. The film is also made realistic by the use of handheld kinetic camera work on DV tape and due to the low budget, is filmed on location in Oxford Street with an open set. The film’s title ‘Sign Language’ is shown at the beginning with the credits at the end.


Opening Title 'Sign Language'Ending Credits'The film is shot as a monologue.

‘Gravity’ (2004), by Colin Hutton is a short film that deals with gun violence. It tells the story of 3 boys who find a gun and end up shooting a young boy. It is a circular narrative as the film opens and ends with a shot of the young boy on a swing, the ending shot being a twist as we are led to believe the shot missed the girl and everything was okay, however it killed her brother. It is this that gives the film its gritty and social realist element; this is also shown by the use of untrained, amateur actors who use semi-improvised performances. The short film uses experimental camera angles and movements such as extreme tilt shots and extreme crane shots. The film also uses the aural motif of the sound of the swing.

Gravity from Colin Hutton on Vimeo.

Opening title 'Gravity'Ending creditsExtreme crane/birds-eye shot is an example of the experimental features of short films.

the themes of British cinema

We have looked at many British films that will influence us in making our decision as to what British genre are most likely to film. Social Realism and Romantic Comedy are our most feasible options and our favourites. We have discarded heritage film for many reasons including the cost and the mise-en-scene. We decided that Dystopian films are not the easiest clips to film for a short film the mise-en-scene will also be difficult to manage. The other genres that we are considering still a possibility are espionage thrillers of the James Bond fashion and multicultural cinema however if we do chose multicultural cinema we will focus more on the negatives of immigration. We will also try and represent British characters and themes, we will explore an array of characters that could possibly fit in our film.

Social Realism is always the best form of cinema to use for a short film. Social Realism is the depiction of society in its deprived areas demonstrating a side of Britain that nobody likes to see. However they have been set for different situations that the film is based around. For instance This is England talks about the harsh realities during Thatchers reign as Prime Minister. It showed the social unrest however in Gravity a short film by Colin Hutton demonstrates the fear of gun crime and youth violence in today's society. These situations for some people in Britain is just ordinary life and depicts a side of Britain that isn’t popular or even well known outside of the country. Social Realism is mainly a low budget type of film. You don’t need to be flash or have fancy action. However the set needs to be live to make it more realistic and it needs to be sombre. This helps us in filming because London during winter time is a very dark place. This will all add to the realism. Now because the film will be set in London, we will have to have cockney sounding characters or as a modern alternative a lot of ethnic sounding characters with a possibility of a mixture of both. Most of the dialogue (very little in the short film) will be improvised. This is a trademark of the social realist genre that makes it very unique it will also use a lot of colloquial language adding further to the realism almost making it a documentary. We will add to that sense that it resembles a documentary by having the main character narrate throughout the film which is a convention amongst certain short films. Social Realism is a very British genre and isnt very popular around the world outside of britain. It is a popular choice to consider due to the britishness of the characters and we can also set it in a very british town or landscape.

The other theme we were most intrigued by was the Romantic Comedy genre which in Britain has somewhat taken off since the 1990’s and the introduction of urban fairytales (Four Weddings and a Funeral, 1994, an instant British classic). Comedy is an integral part of British media. They are very popular as seen with Urban Fairytales when released the USA. This also shows a very strong monocultural society with many posh people the sort that appeal to Americans. They always introduce an american character in order to make sales in the states. The film being an Urban Fairytale is going to have to include some comedy yet with very little dialogue this will have to be introduced through the voice of a narrator (the voice of the protagonist) and the use of some visual comedy of the Laurel and Hardy sort. This genre however is a very big budget due to its American backing on the other hand we don’t have this sort of backing so the film will have to be filmed live. The filming will take place in and around Ealing Broadway shopping center, most Urban Fairytales are always filmed around areas of very little danger and with quite alot of commerce. It is deemed as a very nice part of town and easily accessible for the film crew. However shooting this film live will be very problematic considering the business of the shopping center during the hours in which we plan to film. these films are very rarely iomprovised by the actoirs due to the massive budgets of the backers. We are not going to have a mono cultural society such as in the more famous British Urban Fairytales. As in most Urban Fairytales we will try and show some of the more iconic scenery’s in London however we doubt that Ealing has a red telephone box or the big red bus in the town center, this shows Britishness in the scenery and it is easily identifiable. The monocultural society is also important in depicting britishness.



Our next films are interesting yet not all very plausible. Spy/ espionage is important in society, the James Bond franchise is very important in order to establish that the British empire is great. The audience find this genre very popular because of there depiction of a truly Great Britain. This is done through representation of present fears in society, everybody is scared of Islamic extremists going on the underground and blowing up a train with many people on it causing death, casualties and severe delays. However the first James Bond films were about the Russians and the Cold War. The spy is from the old Etonians society however we would need him to be bland in terms of accent so as to show that he is classless and represents the country as a whole with the authority of the upper class, the intelligence of the middle class and the strength of the working class. This however is unlikely to be filmed due to the fact that it would need to be longer than a short film would have it. It is also a rather difficult film to attempt showing brutishness in one character and evil in another character.
The other genre we are considering without really being enthusiastic for it is the multicultural cinema. there are two types of multicultural cinema the first is the happy family/ romantic comedy where everybody is happy to be in britain with there families and the total lack of racism in the society. The other is the dangers and the segragation of society in britain due to the lack of love towards immigtrants. Films such as Brick Lane and Dirty Pretty Things demonstrate the dangers of immigration. In Brick Lane the film shows the racism and race/religious divisions within the country. In Dirty Pretty Things they demonstrate the problem that illegal immigrants have to face with lack of good jobs and lack of proper medical health. They also have no policing help because they are illegal.These are the depressing facts of immigration and are influential for short films.

The film genres we are not going to use are the obvious ones. The heritage film is too expensive and too long to film to be classified as a short film. We do not have the resources or the time in order to film a historical moment accurately or inaccurately. The length of the film with all the details is going to be much longer than five minutes we will also need many characters in order to make it more historically accurate. We are not ready to film a short film like that. We also need to have the costumes ready and they cost a lot of money to buy and possibly more money to make from scratch.
Dystopian films will also cost a lot of money and we will need some Computer-Generated Imagery which is very difficult to include especially for a short film. Once again because it’s a short film we cannot spend too long and we can’t have the full story because in dystopian films we need to have a long beginning, a horrific middle and a happy ending and at most our film will last 45 minutes. We will also need to create a very quiet London and the only place I can think of is Boston Manor Park. The dystopian film that marked us most was 28 days later (set in a deserted London) I doubt we could create such a deserted place without disturbing the locals or for that we don’t have any costumes for zombies or dilapidated people. Thus we are not going nowhere near these genres for our short film.

What is the purpose of a short film? How do short films differ from mainstream, full length films?

The main purpose of a short film is to promote, to communicate a message and to experiment. A ‘short film’ was coined in the North American film industry in the early days of the cinema. Whilst it originally referred to films that were approximately 20 to 40 minutes in length, these days, it is more likely to be referring to a film that lasts anything between 2 to 15 minutes. The term is also used interchangeably with the phrase ‘short subject’. Some say European short films tend to depend more on visual art and plot twists. Modern short films often focus on difficult topics which longer, more commercial films usually avoid. Filmmakers benefit from larger freedoms and can take higher risks, but they must rely on festival and art house exhibition to achieve public display. Short filmmaking is also growing in popularity among amateurs and enthusiasts, who are taking advantage of affordable equipment.


Key Progressions in short film as mentioned earlier, due to video cameras and other filmmaking equipment becoming more affordable, the amount of short films made by amateur film makers is increasing. As well as this, video sharing websites such as YouTube are providing easy and above all, free ways for people to showcase their films and reach an audience. This has resulted in short films becoming more popular in recent years and there are many film festivals that are dedicated to showcasing them. An example of how the YouTube has helped an aspiring director is Fede Alvarez and his short film ‘Ataque de Pánico’. He created this film using basic computer software to create C.G.I figure and spent $300. The film was watched by Sam Raimi director of Spiderman, who offered Fede a $30 Million budget to direct a film.




http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8417789.stm This is a good example of how short films posed on social networking sites can help aspiring director break into the industry.
There is even now a digital channel called ShortsTV which broadcasts only short films.
The purpose of promoting a short film is to be able to promote film makers, for example students - or to become ‘up and coming’ (promising continued or future success). Usually, there are awards for best documentary, best animation and the best narrative short. Potential film makers can enter competitions in which they can show off their talents (such as The National Film Challenge or the British Short Screenplay Competition) or they can attend short film festivals, such as The Encounters Short Film Festival to broaden their prospects.











Tim Burton director of films such as, Sweeney Todd (2007) Alice in Wonderland (2010) was a film director who was noticed through his Short films. Today he is an awarding winning director recognised worldwide.

Secondly, it is about communicating a message to the audience. Traditionally, short films try to make a point in a short space of time. However, one cannot expand their understanding of elements of a full Feature film, such as story, character, theme myth and metaphor – this is impossible to expand on in such a short space of time.Short films are sometimes made for educational contexts so that they can be used in schools. Issues which are raised are current affairs and what most affects youth of today’s time; this can range from crime, drug abuse to teenage pregnancy.

Thirdly, short films are used for the purpose of experimenting; an artistic expression, a sort of learning experience without the overhead. Film makers use short films to try new techniques and approaches. Short film aims to serve as a demonstration of the filmmaker’s abilities. It has the express purpose of convincing financiers and funding bodies of the filmmaker’s worthiness of trust to make a longer project. A good short film should wave a red flag in the air saying “this is what I can do in 10 minutes of screen time and no money, just imagine what I could do with 100 minutes and a ton of cash!”. James Cameron created a short film of his hit film ‘The Avatar’ before making it into a feature film. Furthermore, already established film directors also make short films. Many use them as a starting ground to test out ideas and see how a story might look on screen in the future. An example would be Neil Blomkamp’s ‘Alive in Joburg’. This film was the precurser for the film length film ‘Distract 9’. It is available on YouTube and one can read about its background on Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alive_in_Joburg





In addition this film mixes the purposes of promotion and experimentation.

Audience

From viewing a range of short films such as 'Sign Language' by Oscar Sharp and 'Double Take' by Toa Stappard, it is clearly recognisable that short films are low budget. Therefore, due to lack of funding, short films have a different distribution to feature length films and a main feature of this is that they will not appear in cinemas unless part of a film festival.


However, along with film festivals, short films are also distributed through competitions and the internet. 'Sign Language' by Oscar Sharp was the winner of the Virgin shorts competition and so got its recognition through the competition which also helped promote the director. Most directors start of as working on short films to become recognised and then go on to work on feature length films.

Due to the internet, distribution and accessability of short films has become easier. This is due to the fact that the internet is now used by many people to communicate across the world and viral distribution has had a major part in ditributing short films. The growth of the internet distribution issues means that short films are something which need to be 'sought out' by audiences and its normally people with a real interest in film and film makers that watch short films and are interested in them. These people are a lot more aware and accepting of the 'nuances' of short film that make them stand out from feature length film.

Moreover, for many of the short films that I have analysed, the intended audiences have mainly been teenagers. Many of the short films contain a message which analyse contempory issues in society which involve teenagers such as 'Double Take' by Toa Stappard which communicates a message of crime and justice and also 'Sold' by Nadia Attia which is about a teenager who is sitting at home doing nothing and literally wasting his life. This film shows the consequences to teenagers of what could happen if you sit at home wasting your life and not getting a job or a good education and so encourages teenagers to work hard in order to become a successful person in the future. The synopsis is Jon Smith has all but given up on his dreams and aspirations. It's only through a strange shopping channel experience that he finally buys into the notion of happiness. The idea for 'Sold' ( which was Nadia Attia's first narrative film) was born on a lazy afternoon in front of Sky Tv at a friends' house, and was partly inspired by the film 'Napoleon Dynamite' and the director Michel Gondry. It was shot on HDV, and Nadia hired a crew & cast (including Trevor from 'Trev & Simon' fame!) and it was partly shot at Ealing Studios on a set they built from salvaged materials.

What is more, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) certificates would affect the potential audiences beacuse certain certificates contain certain features and characteristics. For example, an 18 rated film can only be viewed by adults. Nobody younger than 18 can rent or buy an 18-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category do not have limitation on the bad language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and strong violence/sex references along with non-detailed sex activity is also allowed. Therefore for our short film, a certficate of 18 would not be approppriate. Whereas, a film with a certificate of 12 can be viewed by nobody younger than 12. Films in this category may include infrequent drugs, infrequent use of strong language, brief nudity, discreet sexual activity, and moderate violence. So a 12 certificate could be appropriate for our short film as we can target teenagers which is generally the main audience for short films as they contain comtempory issues and will allow us to focus on all teenagers in the modern day society. Furthermore, a 15 can be viewed by nobody younger than 15. Films under this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, strong words, moderate-strong violence/sex references, and mild non-detailed sex activity. Therefore a 15 may also be appropriate for our short film however, a 15 certificate will not allow the younger teenagers to view the film and will only allow us to focus on the older teenagers.