◦In what context did you encounter it? (web, film, TV etc)
I experienced the genre of short films through programmes on the television such as ‘3 Minute Wonder’ on channel 4, I have also encountered short films on ‘The Virgin Media Shorts Awards’ which was on channel Virgin1. I have also used the internet to watch short films on websites such as youtube.
◦What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?
Quite a lot of the short films broadcast in channel 4’s 3 Minute Wonder have a meaningful message to put across to the audience, which influenced the plot of our short film. On the website for the Virgin Media Shorts Awards you are able to search any genre of short film, so I was able to look at drama’s which I found really inspiring.
◦To what genre did you initially assign the text?
We always knew that we wanted our short film to have some sort of message, so we didn’t assign any particular genre to it, we have stuck with the genre of short films, however the text does have a sort of documentary feel.
◦What is your experience of this genre?
I have experienced short films through the media of television, watching channel 4’s 3 Minute Wonder, a lot of these films have the same sort of documentary feel that ours does, however they are more than likely real, and we have used actors.
◦What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?
The text is concerned with the issue of homelessness, we wanted to make our audience think about their own behaviour, by questioning it with our short film.
◦How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?
The text is 5 minutes long, which is typical of the genre, we also decided to include no dialogue from the characters, this was because we wanted the audience’s full attention to be focussed on the behaviour of the characters, this is something I have noticed in a lot of short films I have watched, I think that this is because we don’t have a lot of time to work with and using dialogue may make the plot too complicated. It also didn’t really fit with the idea we had come up with.
◦What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?
I had an expectation that texts in the short film genre would be meaningful, and carry some sort of message, this was something I noticed in my research and wanted to put across in my own project. I also knew that my short film would have to be short in length. I expected that short films did not usually use well known actors, and it was more up and coming actors.
◦Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)?
◦What generic labels have others given the same text?
◦Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?
The text is 5 minutes long, which follows the generic conventions of the short film genre. The film also has a meaningful message, and aims to make the audience reflect their own lifestyle, which is something I have noticed in existing short films I have looked at in my research. My short film also uses unrecognised actors, which is another trait of the short film genre.
◦To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?
◦Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?
◦Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?
There are some elements of drama in the text, the shots of the business man getting ready and leaving his house for work for example, however because of the lack of dialogue it cant really be classed as a drama. The parts of the homeless man going about his daily routine look a lot like a documentary about homelessness as there is no dialogue, so when the two are blended together it makes the genre a docu-drama.
◦What familiar motifs or images are used?
We see the business man drive away in his Mercedes, which is a familiar car and highlights his wealth to the audience.
◦Which of the formal/stylistic techniques employed are typical/untypical of the genre?
We have not used any extra lighting when filming, which is typical of the short film genre as we wanted the film to appear almost low budget, certainly not flashy or unrealistic in any way. Obviously because of the technology at school we have used a handheld video camera to film our short film, however this is not necessarily untypical of the genre, as short films are usually low budget and therefore would not have impressive technology to work with.
◦What institutional constraints are reflected in the form of the text?
◦What relationship to 'reality' does the text lay claim to?
The text is very realistic, we have used a real business man to play our business man character, however we were unable to use a real homeless man, so we used a member of our group and dressed him in old clothing – making him look more realistic. We have used a location that is realistic to our storyboard, and the business man drives an expensive car, which is realistic to his character.
◦Whose realities does it reflect?
It reflects the issue of homelessness, the realness of the general publics attitudes towards homeless people, the ignorance of the business man is something that I think many people in our audience will be able to relate to, therefore it is reflective of a lot of peoples realities.
◦What purposes does the genre serve?
The genre serves to give the audience an insight into an issue they might not know or care much about, it is designed to make people stop and give a few minutes of their time to watch something which will make them think and maybe reflect on their own way of life.
◦In what ways are these purposes embodied in the text?
From my research, I noticed that the end of the film is quite often left open, without a definite ending, so at the end of the film the audience is left wanting to know what happens next.
◦To what extent did your purposes match these when you engaged with the text?
The choppy editing showing the routines of the two opposing characters is designed to highlight the difference in their lifestyles, showing the audience what is probably a scene that relates to their own life, and then something that is very far from that. When the business man walks past the homeless person and completely ignores him, this is designed to make the audience think about how they react to homeless people when they see them.
◦What ideological assumptions and values seem to be embedded in the text?
◦What pleasures does this genre offer to you personally?
However with the genre of short films in general, I think that it is possible to get pleasure from them. I like how at the end of the film I am often left feeling reflective of my own life, and I also like how we are quite often left on a cliff hanger, not knowing what will happen after the few minutes are up.
◦What pleasures does the text appeal to (and how typical of the genre is this)?
I don’t think that much pleasure can be given from our particular short film, as it is dealing with a very sensitive issue, which isn’t usually something that is used for the entertainment of others. Maybe if the person watching was a charity worker, they may feel happy with themselves at the end of the film, because they are doing something to help real homeless people.
◦Did you feel 'critical or accepting, resisting or validating, casual or concentrated, apathetic or motivated' (and why)?
I felt apathetic towards homeless people when constructing this text, especially as it is winter and was very cold when filming, i could help thinking how awful it would be to actually be homeless. I also felt concentrated and motivated when making my short film, I think that it helped working in a group, as we could all help to motivate each other if anyone was lacking concentration, we didn’t want to let the rest of our group down.
◦Which elements of the text seemed salient because of your knowledge of the genre?
◦What predictions about events did your generic identification of the text lead to (and to what extent did these prove accurate)?
I predicted that it would take a lot of filming to come up with enough film to create a 5 minute short film, which came true and resulted in us having to refilm a lot.
◦What inferences about people and their motivations did your genre identification give rise to (and how far were these confirmed)?
◦How and why did your interpretation of the text differ from the interpretation of the same text by other people?
I think that a lot of people when first watching the text may not understand the ‘point’ of it, however these were usually people who were not well informed in the genre of short films, and did not understand the concept.
