New! Short films to study and be influenced by :)

I am aware that The Swimmer and The Grandmother might not have been choices of films that you may have made. Therefore, I am encouraging you to watch your own selection from the list below. Please ensure that you have 80mins+ of running time under your belt.

I would imagine that most of you will leave in:

• About a Girl (Percival, UK, 2001) 09'
• The Gunfighter (Kissack, US, 2014) 09'.
• Curfew (Christensen, US, 2012) 19'

=37 mins. 43 remainig!

Choosing the shorts 
It is important to select films that may have an impact or influence over the choices in the production options.  It may be sensible to group selections of films from the menu of short films, perhaps categorising them by style, or theme, or structure. It may be worth looking at these groups to research based on the genre you wish to work in. 

Here is one such set of groupings based on genre. (Note, you may need to study two groups in order to meet the 80 mins requirement)

Surreal or alternative in structure
Meshes in the Afternoon (Deren, US, 1946) 14’
La Jetée (Marker, France, 1962) 28’
La Ricotta (Pasolini, Italy, 1963) 34’

Stylised or documentary style
A Girl’s Own Story (Campion, Australia, 1987) 26’
Elephant (Clarke, UK, 1989) 39’
About a Girl (Percival, UK, 2001) 09'

Animation
The Grandmother (Lynch, US, 1970) 34’
The Wrong Trousers (Park, UK, 1993) 30'
When the Day Breaks (Forbis/Tilby, Canada, 1999) 09'

Social realist (ish)
Wasp (Arnold, UK, 2003) 24'
Connect (Abrahams, UK, 2010) 05'

Films with a ‘twist’
High Maintenance (Van, Germany, 2006) 09'
Pitch Black Heist (Maclean, UK, 2012) 13’
Curfew (Christensen, US, 2012) 19'
The Gunfighter (Kissack, US, 2014) 09'.

Interesting/experimental narrative structure
Night Fishing (Park, South Korea, 2011) 33’
Swimmer (Ramsay, UK, 2012) 18’
Stutterer (Cleary, UK, 2015) 12'.

It should be noted that there is no ‘correct’ way of grouping the films, but rather it is about finding a method that could inform the production and be easy to reference in the Evaluative Analysis.  It may be useful to group them around the four concept briefs from the Specification. 

Next become familiar with the films.  Look at them for the way their narrative structure works.  Look at them for particular stylistic features.  Look at them for particular instances of use of micro features.  Most importantly look at them for elements that can inform and influence a production.  Note these down for use in the film or screenplay production and for later use in the Evaluative Analysis.

You are encouraged to use this research to create a film or screenplay where the identified elements are to the fore (remember the purpose of creating this is to meet the assessment criteria).  They can be referenced directly (an ‘homage’, use of similar narrative structure, similar use of micro features, etc.), or more obliquely – they will be identified and unpicked in the Evaluative Analysis.