In class this week we looked at short films that eventually evolved into feature length films - short stories that have a special concept or stylistic execution that results in them later being adapted into longer productions, usually funded by a larger studio.
Making a short film is one way to get attention from potential investors and to break into the feature length film industry, which is what my personal ambition is: to someday make feature length fictional narrative films.
One of the first we looked at was Vincent (1982) by Tim Burton.
This short is about a boy with odd hobbies, it's a very normal story but told through this queer young man's perspective, resulting in an overly stylized aesthetic.
I really enjoyed it, its weird that Burton says so often he never took inspiration from German Expressionism when this so clearly feels like the films of that movement.
It wasn't directly interpreted to a feature film but gave Burton the exposure he needed, he went on to make other big original features after some adaptations, things like Edward Scissorhands.
Scissorhands is very much a Burton original, as Vincent before it. Showcasing how original short films can give you the needed exposure to get your foot in the door and to start making feature length adaptations of other peoples' work. Eventually you can gain the necessary amount of clout to get a budget big enough to make your own original feature films.
He also made a live-action short, with a Frankenstein's dog as the subject, this film being in Live-Action. This probably showed he can work well in Live-Action as well.
He made these shorts during his time working at Disney as a concept artist. Disney didn't vibe with Burton's darker style and fired him for wasting their resources. He left and became a director on features like Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Batman, movies that were adaptations of other people's work, with Burton's unique trademark style applied to it.
Eventually Disney came around and hired Burton to make Alice in Wonderland, the Dumbo remake and a feature-length adaptation of the Frankenweenie short he made for them:
Burton has one of the most unique visual styles of any director, but watching Vincent I realised that one of his more underrated elements is how he can make normal life and suburban locations feel so unique and quirky.
You see this is Scissorhands as well.
It's not a bad idea to make one of the short films we make be in black and white, with some strong shadows and angles. This looks amazing on a showreel and gives a cheaper production, like a student film, a more elegant and pristine demeanor. Burton uses it to great affect to kick of his career, I think it would be good if the first couple of short films we make each has a different visual style that is bold and quickly identifiable. I think a big part of why Burton got so far is his eye for style.
This sequence at the beginning of Frankenweenie is so visually interesting that it instantly gives the film legitimacy and I think helps the audience disregard any preconceptions they might have had about short films or student films, and allow themselves to get immersed in the story.
_____________________________________
We also watched a short film that inspired a feature produced by Burton:
9 (2005)
The movie took four and a half years to make for a small team of animators, led by Shane Acker - who was writer and director on the project.
I had seen the feature before when I was young and remember not really liking it that much, the puppets and their numbers didn't seem as interesting to me as it should have been and the film was ugly for the time it released.
However, now seeing the short version I completely understand the appeal.
The 2005 short film is amazing and one of the absolute best short films I've ever seen. It does an incredible job building atmosphere and mystery, whilst also creating a clear goal and character arc. The movie feels complete as it is, like it doesn't need more.
I would love to be able to tell such a complete and coherent narrative in this time limit, I feel that many of the ideas I have are for movies around this timestamp, but unfortunately, I don't usually know how to keep the audience immersed for such a short time.
This movie does that, it keeps you immersed and engaged in the story. It's a very simple story with a lot of texture, as a viewer you wonder about all the little details and imagine a larger world beyond the scope of the story being told.
I understand why a studio would want to make this into a longer product, and for that reason, definitely see why Acker and his team got the funding they did, but I think they should have developed a new story and not have tried to expand this one.
9 was made for a short and works perfectly in that format, I can only hope that someday I might make a short film to the standard of this little masterpiece.
Things to take away from 9:
- Create mystery with the characters' environment, suggest that there is more outisde of what the audience is shown, that there is some kind of lore or pre-existing universe, only a small part of which we are privileged to see (I think this is especially effective when making an animated short, I think its a major factor in why this got funding to become a feature - spark the audience's imagination).
- Take your time with the unfolding of the story, let natural mystery build. For most of the film, we don't know what exactly our little protagonist is planning with his make-shift friend, when we do find out and am all caught up with the backstory there is a click in our minds, we put together two parts ourselves and that's immensely satisfying for a viewer.
Making a short film is one way to get attention from potential investors and to break into the feature length film industry, which is what my personal ambition is: to someday make feature length fictional narrative films.
One of the first we looked at was Vincent (1982) by Tim Burton.
This short is about a boy with odd hobbies, it's a very normal story but told through this queer young man's perspective, resulting in an overly stylized aesthetic.
I really enjoyed it, its weird that Burton says so often he never took inspiration from German Expressionism when this so clearly feels like the films of that movement.
It wasn't directly interpreted to a feature film but gave Burton the exposure he needed, he went on to make other big original features after some adaptations, things like Edward Scissorhands.
Scissorhands is very much a Burton original, as Vincent before it. Showcasing how original short films can give you the needed exposure to get your foot in the door and to start making feature length adaptations of other peoples' work. Eventually you can gain the necessary amount of clout to get a budget big enough to make your own original feature films.
He also made a live-action short, with a Frankenstein's dog as the subject, this film being in Live-Action. This probably showed he can work well in Live-Action as well.
He made these shorts during his time working at Disney as a concept artist. Disney didn't vibe with Burton's darker style and fired him for wasting their resources. He left and became a director on features like Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Batman, movies that were adaptations of other people's work, with Burton's unique trademark style applied to it.
Eventually Disney came around and hired Burton to make Alice in Wonderland, the Dumbo remake and a feature-length adaptation of the Frankenweenie short he made for them:
Burton has one of the most unique visual styles of any director, but watching Vincent I realised that one of his more underrated elements is how he can make normal life and suburban locations feel so unique and quirky.
You see this is Scissorhands as well.
It's not a bad idea to make one of the short films we make be in black and white, with some strong shadows and angles. This looks amazing on a showreel and gives a cheaper production, like a student film, a more elegant and pristine demeanor. Burton uses it to great affect to kick of his career, I think it would be good if the first couple of short films we make each has a different visual style that is bold and quickly identifiable. I think a big part of why Burton got so far is his eye for style.
This sequence at the beginning of Frankenweenie is so visually interesting that it instantly gives the film legitimacy and I think helps the audience disregard any preconceptions they might have had about short films or student films, and allow themselves to get immersed in the story.
_____________________________________
We also watched a short film that inspired a feature produced by Burton:
9 (2005)
The movie took four and a half years to make for a small team of animators, led by Shane Acker - who was writer and director on the project.
I had seen the feature before when I was young and remember not really liking it that much, the puppets and their numbers didn't seem as interesting to me as it should have been and the film was ugly for the time it released.
However, now seeing the short version I completely understand the appeal.
The 2005 short film is amazing and one of the absolute best short films I've ever seen. It does an incredible job building atmosphere and mystery, whilst also creating a clear goal and character arc. The movie feels complete as it is, like it doesn't need more.
I would love to be able to tell such a complete and coherent narrative in this time limit, I feel that many of the ideas I have are for movies around this timestamp, but unfortunately, I don't usually know how to keep the audience immersed for such a short time.
This movie does that, it keeps you immersed and engaged in the story. It's a very simple story with a lot of texture, as a viewer you wonder about all the little details and imagine a larger world beyond the scope of the story being told.
I understand why a studio would want to make this into a longer product, and for that reason, definitely see why Acker and his team got the funding they did, but I think they should have developed a new story and not have tried to expand this one.
9 was made for a short and works perfectly in that format, I can only hope that someday I might make a short film to the standard of this little masterpiece.
Things to take away from 9:
- Create mystery with the characters' environment, suggest that there is more outisde of what the audience is shown, that there is some kind of lore or pre-existing universe, only a small part of which we are privileged to see (I think this is especially effective when making an animated short, I think its a major factor in why this got funding to become a feature - spark the audience's imagination).
- Take your time with the unfolding of the story, let natural mystery build. For most of the film, we don't know what exactly our little protagonist is planning with his make-shift friend, when we do find out and am all caught up with the backstory there is a click in our minds, we put together two parts ourselves and that's immensely satisfying for a viewer.
Comments
Post a Comment