We were tasked to write a script two pages long for a short film. I decided to base mine loosely off of a dream that I had. Once I had written the two pages I decided to continue to give everything a fair amount of exposition and ended up writing the full script for an approximately twelve minute long short film. It was only after this point we were told we had to film at least two pages of the script. I had not written it to be filmed with zero budget or in the UK.
Below you will see the original version of the script and the heavily edited production version we actually used to film the first four pages.
Production Photos:
Finished Film:
Evaluation:
Overall the sequence came out well. We used one day to shoot and several sequences had to be shot multiple times due to people not having lines learnt and shooting errors. The selection of shots we used I felt were varied and demonstrated some talent with some tracking, some close-ups and plenty of mid-shots. I tried to keep some of the characters centralised through the 'rule of thirds'. this was to mimic a technique I had seen in the short film 'The Gunfighter' which I thought was particularly effective at keeping the viewers attentions undivided. The only thing I would like to have added would have been some more establishing shots. I used the nice weather to create a strange tone to the film as usually horrors are shot in dark or cloudy places; I wanted to challenge that. Perhaps a shot of the sun and of the dry ground would've added to this effect. Some more establishing shots of the house layout would've made it clearer what was going on as well. Generally the acting quality was satisfactory but due to time limits we had no time to keep going over shots that weren't all completed in one take. Hence there are moments where the shots seem to jump slightly. If I were to do this again I would probably have taken a few more takes when I wasn't completely sure we had got the shot. The narrative explanation came through really clearly which I was pleased about and the editing created smooth transitions and the music matched well to the shots. The makeup looked effective as well on Sarah as the disturbed spirit. The only thing I think would've made the makeup more effective is filming in darker conditions. more low-key lighting in general would've created a creepier tone but I think the sound compensates well. Given more time I would've waited until after sunset to film this last sequence but we didn't have the time.
As for the accuracy to the script there were some glaring compromises that were necessary. The first was the overall location which would've originally been in rural Korea in an old blackened house. The first thing that was dropped was the Korea setting and then the house was changed to and old but recently refurbished one. This was so everyone was actually able to get to the set for filming. I then had to write out two characters who didn't really add to the plot to keep cast to a minimum. I think this worked effectively and doesn't distract from the plot or overall story, however, it would've related more to the lot if the mise-en-scene was more derelict. That being said the covered up living room and paint brushes lying around gave an un-lived in impression. The addition of the crooked home sign, various sheets and the covered mirror I felt gave the general impression of abandonment even if the house itself wasn't as old as we would've liked.
Overall, I feel this was a more accomplished piece than my previous attempts to create short films in terms of narrative and music. I feel more could've been done for the cinematic appeal with some more varied shots throughout, however, I don't think that it is overly simplistic.
GAG REEL
A short video we produced for the joy of the cast and crew involved as a way of saying thank you for your time.
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