Wasp (Andrea Arnold, 2003)

Wasp is a social realism short film that presents life of the lower class, and the hardships that they face. It follows a single mother, Zoe, living in a block of flats unable to afford food for her four young daughters. The film was regarded as one of Andrea Arnold's best works, and won an Academy...

Short Film Sequence 2 (31 Jan – 21 Feb)

Today we were given the task of creating another short sequence, lasting no longer than 3 minutes, to follow a chosen narrative. This sequence had to start with an enigma and use a non-linear narrative to explain it. This immediately gave me a few pointers on what I would need to do in order to...

Group Work – 2 minute chase scene

For our first film sequence we worked in groups to produce a chase scene of no more than 2 minutes. We had 2 weeks to plan, film and edit the short sequence to show in class. The main objective of the task was to focus on continuity editing and cinematography. 

Idea for a narrative (10 Jan)

In our lesson today, we worked more on ideas for narratives that could be used in a short film. We worked in groups of 4, each having our own personal idea, then chose to develop one of them. We focused on location, characters, narrative structure and themes. Our chosen narrative structure was 'development of a single...

Short Film Sequence 1

For our first film sequence, we were given the task to produce a short film of less than 2 minutes that would establish a single character using key elements of film form. We were given two weeks to plan, film and edit it to be ready to show in a lesson.

Ideas for a short film (29th Nov)

In our lesson today, we collaborated in small groups to come up with ideas for various short film narratives. We wrote out our ideas on a table and linked them all back to the original narratives. These narratives include: A narrative which has a twist A narrative which begins with an enigma A narrative which...

The Wrong Trousers (Nick Park, 1993)

Nick Park's stop motion animated short film, 'The Wrong Trousers' was the second to follow the inventor Wallace and his silent, but brilliant dog Gromit. 'The Wrong Trousers' refers to the "Techno Trousers" that a new thief (called Feathers Mcgraw, a penguin who dresses like a chicken by the way) uses to manipulate Wallace into...

The Gunfighter (Eric Kissack, 2014)

The Gunfighter is a multi-award winning short film, that builds on the basis of a traditional classic western, having a narrator set the story for a lone gunman in a Wild West saloon. However, the characters within the film can hear the narrator, and it sets up for a comical sequence of events, leading to hilarious climax. The film is a big twist on the typical Western film, bringing a comedic flourish making for an enjoyable watch. 

Pitch Black Heist (John Maclean, 2012)

'Pitch Black Heist', directed by John Maclean, is a typical heist-genre short film, but with an important twist. Professional thieves Liam (Liam Cunningham) and Michael (Michael Fassbender) meet for a routine heist-job, cracking a safe and stealing it's contents. The catch? A light activated alarm system, meaning the men must complete the entire heist in complete darkness. The film has all the makings of an engaging short film; well-timed comedy, compelling editing and cinematography, and an unexpected twist that completed a fantastic film. 

Swimmer (Lynne Ramsay, 2012)

'Swimmer' is a short film directed by Lynne Ramsay. It follows a young man swimming through the numerous canals and rivers of Britain, encountering many different lifestyles and settings. The film aims to portray different walks of life in the UK, ranging from two lovers in the countryside, to the families in the urban fairground. It won the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film, and gave Lynne Ramsay the grounds to find continued success in the film industry.