Second question

For my short film, I believe I have focused more on individuals than groups of people, that is due to their only being one character in my film. After watching my short film I believe my character resembles someone who has unfinished business and fights his own personal battle in his head. His attitude seems very uneasy and it is clear he is obsessed about revenge. I took a lot inspiration from Richard from Dead mans shoes, he is a working class man who served in the army and came home to find his brother had committed suicide. My character can relate to middle class society as he has a respectable home and lives in a suburban area with lots of other houses, I have made a small reference to him having a family in the voice over, so this shows he was a family man a lot like most working class people of todays society. Whilst planning out my main character I always wanted the audience to be able to relate to him in a number of different ways, either through his feeling of Loneliness after losing someone or something dear, his regret for something which he cant ever change, or his attitude towards healthy living. I believe these emotions run through everybody at some point in their life and can be a life changing experience. I like to think my character portrays a large part of middle class society in the way he dresses, for example the shot which shows him putting on his gold rings and watch, suggest he has had money in the past and can afford such items, this is where I took influence from American Psycho and Patrick Bateman, materialism is a key part of Batemans lifestyle in the film. I also think the jewellery has significance because it holds sentimental value to the character something again many people can relate to, if they have lost a loved one.

Overall I believe my character mainly fits into the middle class social group. I believe the mise en scene in the short film more notably his clothes suggest he has money and the voice over explains he likes to look smart and clean, despite his loneliness and depression he hasn’t lost his Morales or self confidence, he still takes pride in his appearance. His jewellery and house also continue to suggest he has been a working man in the past and has been able to afford luxury items, the rings also suggest he has been married and has been a father. I believe my character doesn’t portray any social group in a negative light, although there is a large depressive feel about the film which he brings in, I haven't identified or picked out any groups to critizse. 

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products.

Overall I think my short explores alot of different themes, after I researched and watched  a collection of short films I realized it is common that these films explore and engage alot of issues in such a short film. After I knew what my idea for my short film was, I immediatley thought of a location to shoot, most short films due to a low budget are shot entierly on location, I also had to do this, however in the long run I beleive shooting on location was the right idea for my short film. During my research I noticed alot of short films where shot in suburban areas, places like housing estates, local parks and city centres. These are locations my target audience can relate to.


In terms of the  narrative of my short film, I think it is conventional of other short films amongst the media today, also alot of blockbusters and films distributed by company's such as Warner Brothers use similar narrative techniques as the theme of revenge and regret is something most audiences can relate to in some way, shape or form. I feel my short film has a narrative that can be watched by a universal narrative, and this is alot like most short films, as they explore issues and themes amongst society. The title of my short film again i beleive is conventional, after I did my research I noticed alot of these films use titles that sum up and give an idea of the plot or character, I think this is done because since the films are so short, the title entices and informs the audience straight away what the film is going to be about. However my tile "The Gentlemen" connotes alot of ideas, for example usually a stereotypically Gentleman would be well dressed, well groomed, confident, polite, kind and maybe a bit of a charmer. Sean possess a number of those qualities in the film, however his desire for revenge is something far from a gentleman. This suggests that my title is misleading something unconventional to short films, however the image I have used for my film poster shows Sean as looking lonely and concerned, his body language suggests he isnt happy and doesn't portray the stereotypically Gentleman. 


Most of my film has been shot hand held, when i researched some short films on youtube, I realised alot of amateur work was also shot this way, since most students don't have access to a professional camera. I think when you watch my short film you can see the use of the handheld shots and I belive this is conventional to other short films shot by students. My film is also only about one character, the narrative focuses on him and his problems and the voiceover helps to outline his personality. From my research and general viewing of short films alot of these films seem to focus on either one person, or a small group of people, the voice over also seems to be conventional as I noticed a number of the films use a voice over with their footage. The messages and themes addressed in other films across the media continue to relate to the ones I have tried to engage, so I think this helps to make my short film conventional.


I would like to think my short film engages most of the conventions used in a short film we see in the media today, I don't think I have challenged any conventions in my project. Hopefully I have made an enjoyable, interesting and entertaining short film which my target audience can relate to. 

Evaluation of my creative project.

Originally I wanted to create a trailer for a film. I looked at certain characters such as Tony Soprano and Patrick Bateman for influence and wanted to create a similar character for my film trailer. I paid attention to the Mise en scene and wanted Sean the actor in my film to portray a business man who keeps himself in shape and takes pride in his personal appearance, alot like Patrick Batemen in American Psycho. At first i hoped to create a trailer for a Thriller/Gangster film which focused on mainly one character, i hoped to be able to portray a day in the life of him and give the audience a good taste of his characteristics so they could relate to him.
After a long period of technical difficulties, i had to change my creative project, I still used the footage I had orginialy and decided to create a short film. I kept the same narrative and idea I had but instead i decided to add a voice over and make my footage into a short British crime film.

I paid alot of attention to detail and the Mise en Scene on my creative project, i wanted the location and scenery to help create meaning in my short film. As i have mentioned i took alot of inspiration from Sean Meadows, Dead Mans Shoes, alot of the shots in the film are very wide and vast and the audience see alot of landscape that engulfs Richard and Anthony. Using the right location I knew I could capture these types of shots, which would help to drive the narrative of my film forward. I decided that Barnes park would be a great place to shoot after careful thinking. Hopefully in the film the audience can see how I have tried to capture the scenery and the sense of Loneliness by taking wide shots where only Sean can be seen in the shot. Some of my favourite shots in the short film have to be when Sean is sat at the Park bench, and there are a few quick cuts to his face. I feel these shots highlight his emotions and that he is all alone, I think the voice over works together with these shots to create that depressive and mournful atmosphere. However the the short film has a  bright tinge, for example there arn't really any dark shots at all, especially at the park where the sun shines brightly on all of the shots. I think this contrast between the depressing narrative, but the bright location blends well to help make the film more enjoyable to watch. It also continues to suggest that Sean is all alone with his problems and that the world and society don't take any notice of him and life goes on.

After putting my short film together, i have decided to add a voice over to the film, so the narrative is made clear and the audience can follow the short film easier. I hope the voice over will continue  to characterzie my main character and give him more of a personality.