Short Film Budgets

When determining the overall budget of a short film, there are various routes which can be taken to minimalise film cost.The budget of film making can vary enormously, stemming from as much or as little as you’re willing to work with. Although, the budget of a short film will relatively be much more considerable than that of a feature film.

Duncan Wellaway – Letters Of Service

Seemingly the film gauge plays a crucial role in determining the total cost of film productions. For instance, Duncan Wellaway’s ‘Letters of Service’ filmed with the format Super 16,cost £13,000; whereas ‘Henry Cowell’ shot on a 35 millimetre format totaled £11,000. The apparent difference in cost of £2,000, is indicative that the bigger the film size, the more it will cost (to buy and process) as well as adding size and weight to the cameras you need to use.Since Super 16 takes up the space originally reserved for the soundtrack, films shot in this format can be enlarged by optical printing to 35 mm for projection. However, with the recent development of digital intermediate workflows, it is now possible to digitally enlarge to 35 mm with virtually no quality loss (given a high quality digital scan), or alternatively to use high-quality video equipment for the original image capture.

Multiple ‘big budget’ Hollywood directors are switching towards digital technology, opposed to sticking with the more traditional stock cameras. This is due to the fact that they are more cost effective, there are no requirements to pay out for stock. However, directors such as Michael Bay, along with Christopher Nolan make most of their films using IMAX cameras, which require film stock.Nolan believes it “still represents the gold standard” for filmmaking. Others like Steven Spielberg along with Martin Scorsese, have become representatives of a movement in Hollywood for film preservation and restoration.

“The danger comes from filmmakers not asserting their right to choose that format. If they stop exercising that choice, it will go away. I tell people, ‘Look, digital isn’t going away’”.- Christopher Nolan

Independent filmmakers can make films much more cost effectively than majors. As the budgets are relatively modest, independent filmmakers can afford to make a movie that fails (unlike major filmmakers), without too much implication. Also, short film makers are more inclined to use digital film: digital revolution has caught up to film in many regards, killing many of the arguments for film being better than its technological counterpart.The most notable reason for short film makers to shoot digital may be down to practicality,  cost and convenience.

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Low Budget:

Working on a low budget for a short film can be a great thing as it can open many doors.  A low budget evokes creativity and prompts you to be more creative with what you have/ are working with.  It is also a benefit for the audience as they have a simple yet inventive story that they can build on themselves. Additionally, low budget film allows the audience to feel like a reader as they are left to imagine some aspects of the film themselves , being the story before or after the film.  Imagination is always a selling point as everyone creates the ideal scenarios and characters in their heads, leaving no one disappointed.

Key areas of a low budget film that always remain consistent, in relation to cost, are:

• Location Hire
• Film Stock
• Lab Processing
• Camera Hire
• Lighting Hire
• Catering Hire

All other areas are negotiable. Amongst those listed above the location of the film is the one which is affected most.  A low budget short film usually only has about one location, which enables the production and technical to be more deviceful with the location to make the story more appealing. It also means the audience are challenged slightly: as they are pushed to imagine where the story could lead from outside that specific location?

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Our Film:

Our budget is very minimal as all of our equipment is already accessible to use freely. We have been provided with cameras by our media teacher and concerning lighting we have opted for both natural lighting and motivated light sources (featured in our evening scenes). Our group have decided to steer clear of artificial lighting as it is impractical for travelling between locations. Regarding our use of actors, I have undertaken the role of playing our only protagonist, which means casting lies within our group on a voluntary basis. The two locations we aim to use are also free of charge. The only slight cost is for the props needed to produce our film. This includes the scrubbing brush and wine glasses we need to bring the film together. This is a small charge and can be covered easily.

Rehearsal

Below, I have inserted a short extract which showcases our group’s rehearsal video for our supermarket scene. As you can see this is only a test shot and so the quality and overall execution of the piece is not as immaculate as we hope for our final piece.

Ultimately, the creation of this rehearsal scene was to give my group and I a clear indication of the practicality of things when shooting in real-life locations. We opted to attempt the supermarket scene first as we felt it was the most complex scene to shoot in terms of convenience.

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Facing inconveniences whilst filming in real- life settings:

During the course of filming the selected supermarket scene, we decided initially to film in Tesco situated in Rainham as the exterior of the store had an aesthetic which was quite pleasing unlike all the other supermarkets we had considered; especially because the store has a ‘village’ type feel to it.

Upon our arrival at the store we immediately started filming the exterior shot, where the protagonist walks towards the entrance of the supermarket. Once that was finished we attempted to begin the interior shots, where we were confronted by security and asked to cease filming as we did not have permission.

The next location for the interior of the supermarket (the 9th scene) was at another Tesco store in Gallows Corner. We found filming to be slightly more complex in the store as they granted us permission to film as long as we abided by their own rules and regulations. Such restrictions included:

• Ensuring Customers [both adults and children] were not featured in our footage.
• No promotional offers nor standard prices could be shown in our film.
• All filming must be completed within a 30 minute time frame.

The store has two aisles for cleaning products which were located besides one another. This meant that we could switch between both aisles easily. However, during filming we would get the occasional customer who browsed the shelf in search for a particular item and so our filming was drawn to a halt. Also,we were not granted as must leverage as we had hoped for,as there were prices and offers across all shelves beneath all products,which meant that we had to overcome this issue by positioning the camera at various angles.

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In what ways was the creation of this extract beneficial in aiding our understanding  of short films?

Though this is a rehearsal it has acted as a ‘learning curve’ for myself and my group-mates , as upon review from peers and our media teacher there are obvious areas that were well executed and other areas we need to take into consideration for further improvements to be made.

 The 4 key areas that we aimed to address during the filming of our rehearsal were:

1. Camera
2. Editing
3. Sound
4. Mise En Scene

CAMERA:

In relation to the Camera techniques that we believe were strengths of this test shot, one of them included Framing and Composition. This is evident in the shot where I walk away from the camera towards the entrance of the supermarket.

A second form of Camera technique that we used was an  Over the Shoulder shot. This is seen where I reach forth to select various cleaning products from the shelf.

A third Camera technique we incorporated in our extract was High Angled shots. This technique was utilized at the point where our protagonist drops her items into the trolley.

EDITING:

Overall the use of editing in our rehearsal scene was adequately executed. Being that this is one of the key areas we aim to improve, I have pin-pointed things that did and did not go well with editing. For example, in regards to the basic transitioning of shots,we successfully manged to use Dissolves and Cuts appropriately.

Above you will see a screenshot of one of our shots transitioning to the following shot. Here we included a dissolve in order to reiterate the passing of time, in respect to cleaning being our protagonist’s sole priority and so she invests quite a lot of time selecting products in the supermarket.

However, concerning our execution of continuity editing I believe there were small errors made which disrupted the whole fluidity of the scene. For example, at the very beginning of the extract you will notice that our actress walks away from the camera; but in proceeding shot we have our actress walking towards the camera and so the principle of continuity editing is distorted.

In order to address this issue we will ensure we bear in mind the direction in which our actress walks in. So we will have her walking away from the camera positioning.

SOUND:

During the course of filming our rehearsal scene, we utilized every given sound in the real-life setting.As opposed to filming in a studio we were in a busy supermarket and so Diegetic sounds such as customers chatting, the beeping of the scanner at the till and the wheels of the trolley are all audible in the video. To an extent such natural sounds make it seem more realistic and not ‘staged’.

Positioning/ layout of the Camera and Tripod

Currently my teammate and I have done some filming for scenes 4 & 6. During the filming process, I decided to  take a few images (inserted below) which showcase sample camera placements for the living room scene. All are indicative of the positioning of camera, concerning individual camera shots and the red arrows illustrate what will be displayed on camera/screen.

1. This shot will present the protagonist taking a break from her continuous cleaning, in order to watch TV and relax for a while. In doing so we aim to pan around the living room with the tripod to reveal the home of the protagonist.
2. In this scene the character will accidentally spill red wine on the floor and at this very point  the side-angled camera shot will show her spraying stain remover over the spillage on the carpet.
3. This camera shot (POV) is going to portray what the protagonist watches, which will be ‘How to Get Away with Murder’.
4. Some of her belongings in the living room, such as pictures, certificates will be shown to indicate the type of person, the protagonist is.

Profile Of a Successful British Director

Guy Ritchie is a successful British Director who started off his film making career with a short film.Below you will see an inserted video of Ritchie’s first short film entitled ‘The Hard Case’, which guided Ritchie’s film making career [propelling him into the industry] and has led to further successful productions.

Shooting Schedule

What Lies Within- Shooting Schedule

Our group organised a shooting schedule based on the days that we were all available to shoot. Before shooting we had to take into account each of our own daily commitments (i.e. Work). As we agreed not to cast  anyone else outside of our group besides my younger sister, it has made our selection process easier when it came to picking shooting days; as well as meaning everyone was reliable. Also, we decided to utilize our given  October half term for filming as we were all available and wanted to capture the beautiful scenery of the autumn sky in our film.

 

 

 

Location Scouting

As a group the two main locations which we chose were My House and a Supermarket.We chose to minimize our locations down to two as we did not want the use of unnecessary locations to take away from our narrative and make the film seem unorganized and inconsistent.

The images above are that of few areas in my own house, that we will be using in our film.For instance, the image in the top-left hand corner displays my garden which will be featured in our Establishing shot whilst the image of the dining area will be used in our fourth scene.

As you can see in the video(s) embedded below, our team discussed the various supermarkets available for our film. As our short film will only include two main locations which is My house and a Supermarket, we needed to discuss which store would be most convenient for us to film in. In the video yo will hear us mention a few factors that needed to be taken into consideration. For example the three crucial factors we considered were:

• Convenience– We needed to ensure that the store we chose for filming, would be easily accessible to all of us- as our only mode of transport is by bus.
• Proximity – We considered which major Supermarkets were nearest to all of us.
• Aesthetic of the Supermarket– Most importantly, we wanted to film in a Supermarket which looked aesthetically pleasing on both the exterior as well as the interior.

 

 

In this following video we discussed the setting for our Kitchen scenes, which are vital scenes in our short film. In the video we had to determine which one of us had tiled Kitchen floors, as shots in our film show the protagonist scrubbing the floor. The major issue which we overcame was the sound: part of our use of diegetic sound will come from that of the friction between the scrubbing brush and the flooring.

The Pitch

Our Working Title is: What Lies Within

‘What Lies Within’ follows the sudden aftermath in our protagonist’s meticulously structured world, where she uses her compulsive cleaning rituals to eradicate the slightest trace of  her ‘lover’ from her home-entirely. Forced to face the reality of her rash decision, our protagonist finds herself constantly ‘lost’ in thought and verging on the brink of mental instability; whilst she is plagued by emotional realization.  With use of intense music, levels of anticipation and tension are heightened. Not only will our planned  ambiguous ending evoke/ prompt questions [from a presumably startled audience] but also hint at our protagonist’s flawed lifestyle, as what she believed to have been a job well done will be juxtaposed with the final scene.

Diagrams for Scene Plans

Below I have inserted a sample of my Kitchen layout. As you can see I have pin- pointed the areas  where our camera will be positioned. The red arrows are an indication of the natural light we will be using advantageously when filming, as well as utilizing the kitchen window as a form of transition between the establishing shot and the next scene.

INT- KITCHEN- DAY

INT-SUPERMARKET-DAY/NIGHT

Concerning the layout for our supermarket scenes, my group and I only aim to use the cleaning products aisle. Thus, I have marked the areas where our actress will be positioned during the course of our filming. The camera positioning will follow suit to the framing and composition of the whole scene.

Scene Plan

Below I have inserted an image which shows our group’s scene plan. As you can see we aim to incorporate a variety of scenes which are shot both during the day and at night. The grey block shown in one of the rows was representative of our ‘flash back’ scene, which would have been be shot entirely in black and white alone. However, based on feedback from our Media teacher, we have decided not to give too much away from our narrative. He suggested instead that we insert series of ‘Cut Away’ and Graphic matches to symbolize the protagonist’s psychological state. By doing so, it would be left alone to the audience to try and determine what our backstory is.

Scene Plan: Explanation

Developing Ideas

Before our group settled on our current idea, we had listed several other ideas that we thought could be plots for our potential short film.These included:

The original conception of What lies within came from the recognized medical condition Obsessive Compulsive Disorder applied on a wider scale; the idea that someone can create an entire framework for their life to live it as they please. However this concept can become maimed by past events, especially when tragic moments you have longed so hard to eradicate from your long-term memory are inevitably reinforced in your own marriage.  Thus, in order to create a story from this idea, we decided to explore the thin line between OCD and Narcissistic Personality: how such a rigid way of life- plagued with numerous compulsions- can drive one to commit the unthinkable.Ultimately the question is not how short our protagonist falls from the reasonable middle-classed Lawyer, but to what lengths she will go to to conceal her crime?

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Brainstorming Potential Titles for our Short Film

Extended Title Possibilities:

• Conflict Within
• That Day
• A Hidden Reason
• Scarred
• The Cleaner
• Masked
• Snapped
• Invincible
• Identity
• The Broken One
• Side Effects
• What Lies Within
• Mentality

Short Title Possibilities:

• Conflict Within
• Mentality
• Masked
• Scarred
• What lies Within

Below I have inserted a short video, which shows our groups’ thinking processes before our title was finalized. You will also realize that our agreed title ‘What Lies Within’ was formed after this video was made. This is because we all believed it gave less of our narrative away. It’s left alone for our audience to assume and make inferences when watching the film, to determine what the plot twist truly is.