Short film package

Short Film Package 

Perception the Short Film 

Link to film: https://youtu.be/foJOfSvOAX0

Link to website: https://perceptiontheshort.wixsite.com/mysite

Critical Reflection

How do your products represent social groups or issues?

This short film is about three young teenagers who deal with major hardships in their at-home lives. It represents the teenager aspect of life and how they interact both socially and when they are alone. Our film brings a major emphasis on the fact that people and especially young adults feel the need to make their lives seem perfect. Everyone wants to be the person people look at and think “they’ve really got it together,” when in reality nobody is perfect. This is a universal feeling of being insecure and wanting to come off as the best you possible, which most often means hiding the not so good things everyone deals with. 

This ties into the touchy issues the character's in the film deal with. The three main characters are best friends who are always upbeat and happy around each other. When they come home, their true hardships are revealed. One of the three main issues touched on is eating disorders. Many teenagers have an unhealthy relationship with food due to society's beauty standards. Another character is dealing with teen pregnancy, which is another major situation happening with teens all over the world today. The last character deals with fighting parents who get abusive with each other. All of these issues touch on the fact that you never know what someone is going through behind closed doors and that your perception of someone isn’t always the reality. This is also why we chose to name the film “perception.”

How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?

Branding includes advertising through social media, promotional interactive services, and using different resources to get your product known. All of the different elements being used in this production definitely incorporate a sense of branding. This is done through things like the website. Websites are a great way for people to learn more about your film and what it is truly about. The theme of Perception’s website is very simple and uses contrasting colors to create an atmosphere. This is done through colors like white and pastel pink being used at the top of the page, versus the dark metal type colors the further down the website you scroll. This will help the audience get a feel for the movie and learn more about it before they have even watched it.

Social media is another factor that has gone into the branding of this film. Social media apps like instagram, twitter, youtube, and facebook are used by people of all ages from all around the world. This is a great platform to promote films because it is so easy to get the audience engaged and interested in the film. It is also a great way to bring more attention to the characters of the film. If people get a look into the personal lives of the actors and become interested in their characters, they will be more likely to watch the film or tell someone about it. The postcard is another example of easy marketing and branding. The postcard has the same theme, simple but intriguing and includes details about the film and where you can watch it.  

How do your products engage with the audience?

My short film engages with the audience in many ways. The thing that stands out most would be the social media platforms. Our film utilizes the platforms instagram, twitter, youtube, and facebook. These apps are used to get people interested in the characters and get a jist of what the movie is about. By using these social media accounts, the audience is able to interact with actors or other people who are interested directly. Actors or directors can like comments, reply to comments, go live, or give daily updates to keep the audience excited. Another thing made available by these platforms is the ability to post behind the scenes and bloopers. This is a fun and simple way to get the audience more interested. Another great thing about all of the social media platforms we are using is that people from all of the world use them. This is extremely beneficial and allows for our audience to expand because it has the potential to reach people everywhere. 

Our website is another example of this film interacting with the audience. The website allows for people to click on different things on our homepage to find out specific things about the film. Things like contact info also give another way for the audience to connect directly. Posting things like the postcard or having printouts of it is also an easy way to interact with people and get them informed on the film. 

How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

This production follows many of the usual conventions used in drama films. For example, intense music is used throughout the film to create an amplifying and tense atmosphere. Drama films often include a lot of emotion. Since our film is more action and story driven than dialogue driven, our messages are conveyed through elements like emotions. The camera movements, angles, and lighting also follow the usual conventions of a drama film. For example, in the scene where one of the characters is taking a pregnancy test, a low angle of the light seeping through the bathroom door is shown. The small amount of light shown in a dark hallway creates an atmosphere that is dramatic and intense. In that same sequence of scenes, that same character rushes out the door. The camera keeps rolling as she walks out of frame and the camera zooms in on the pregnancy test. This keeps with the suspenseful and dramatic mood of the film. 

Perception the short film also challenges some of these conventions. For example, the short film starts off very light hearted in an open, bright setting. This challenges the common conventions of a drama because most drama films focus mostly on dark colors and shades. This film is also not as heavily focused on dialogue as most other dramas are. Although there are some ways this short film follows and challenges the conventions of a drama film, I think the message and storyline was conveyed in a way that included some major twists and kept the atmosphere intense yet dramatic.

Short Film: Copyright and more

       When I first started researching for music, I made sure everything was non copyright and free to use. I did this by going onto websites, using google, and youtube. While I thought I had found the perfect song, once the movie was edited all the way through, I realized we could do better. I began searching again. I used the same tactics. This time around, it was a little bit more tricky. I had found one that was really great! It said "free to use" so we figured everything was okay. After putting that music into our movie, I thought I should double check before making anything final. When I checked again the creator of the song said "Free to use, but it does have copyright." We all thought this was a little confusing so I reached out and asked if it was ok for me to use it in my short film for school. The person responded and said yes it is fine but it still may come up as a copyright. After thinking over it and discussing the matter with my group mates, we decided on scratching that song. Luckily, we found the perfect song right away! This one is completely copyright free and free to use wherever! After placing this song in our movie we felt it really pulled it all together.

      I used this same method for finding sound affects. I had never actually used sound affects in any of my previous projects. I thought the best way to go about this was to look on youtube. I searched in "non copyright breaking glass sound affect." After looking through only three videos, I found the one. I added it in to make sure it fit the movie, and it did! The other sound affect needed was people arguing in the background. This is for Grace's character who deals with fighting parents who are abusive towards each other. This took looking through several videos. It kept giving me fighting sound affects rather than people arguing. After searching for a bit, I finally found the right one and added it in. 

Short film: Titles and Research

      Titles are a main part of film. We researched the opening title scenes for drama movies. Making sure we knew the way drama films go about this will be beneficial to us. This is very important because the type of font gives off a certain mood to the viewer. We also decided to only use first names for safety purposes. The titles will be “focused” on the screen. The powerpoint also describes the length of time we will be displaying the titles. All titles will be white for a simplistic viewing. The transitions between each title will also be fitting to our story. Within each title, the names will be more prominent than their title/job. This will give the titles a sense of design. This simplistic design will fit the mood of our film and will not take away from what’s actually happening on screen. 

      Researching is very beneficial in many aspects of film. We did research for costumes and lighting and every detail like that. We also researched editing for drama films so our editing would fit that. Titles are just one example of how much thinking goes into making even just a short film. This whole experience has also shown me how collaborating comes into play. My group mates and I have put our brains together throughout the entire making of the film. This made for a really good experience because I had people to work with and bounce ideas off of. This experience has shown how a movie process goes and the things that can affect a film. 

      

Short film: Putting everything together

   

  I am now at the last bit of editing! The only thing to do now is add the music and sounds. The music was chosen during the planning process. I learned a lot when I worked on the opening scene of a movie project last year. One of the things that project taught me was how to search for the best instrumental. I typed in intense instrumental with a crescendo and no copy right. I found several songs that I felt could work! I sent all of my findings to my group so we could decide which one we thought was the right fit. We eventually settled on one. Although finding the perfect song can take a while, we figured it out and are happy with our decision. This intense music will help amplify our scenes.

      After having put the music, I just had to level out the sounds. Leveling out the sounds makes it so both the music and dialogue can be heard clearly. Once that was done, I sent what was done so far to my group mates. We all felt the movie was complete! There are some more marketing things we have to do for this project but as for the filming and editing, everything was complete. This whole process definitely took time. It taught me how many details go into making a movie and what things would be like if this were a major film production. I also had fun during this project because I got to play as if it were a professional movie! My group mates and I worked well together and got everything done smoothly. 

Short Film: Editing day 3

       I started to get a gist of our movie so far through the editing process. Today I started by putting all of the footage into chronological order. When I say footage, I mean the shots that my group and I decided were the best out of all takes. Once the footage has been put in chronological order, it is time to cut each video. The cutting process can take a very long time. For this project, cutting the scenes wasn’t too bad.  However, I did encounter some challenges. One of the challenges I faced was trying to make sure all of the shots that were supposed to happen simultaneously flowed smoothly together. Sometimes getting different shots to align perfectly takes tedious work. Eventually, the shots came together and flowed smoothly. 

      The editing stage is also where you can see which scenes are needed and which scenes aren’t. While editing, I noticed our film was too long. Because it was too long, I had to go back and review every scene to see which ones were absolutely necessary and which ones could be removed. There were a few scenes near the beginning of the film that I had to cut out. Although, originally those scenes seemed like a good idea, they are not necessities. The scenes in the beginning were apart of the montage. I made the montage shorter but still kept it in. This will allow the audience to still see the girls being happy together but also allow more time for the in depth looks into their lives throughout the rest of the film. The one thing about editing is that it takes a very long time. Although it is very time consuming, I still really enjoy the editing process! 

Short Film: Day 2 of editing

       The next step of editing was to start going through the clips. When filming, we took three separate shots of the same scene. Since we did that my group and I had to go through all of the footage and choose which one of the shots we would use in our film. It’s good to film the same scene a few times just in case something happened in the first recording. While going through the footage, I figured out a method that could help me better put the movie together. I put all of Sophia‘s scenes in one photo album. I did this same thing for me and Lauren’s scenes. Once I did that, it was time to look at the storyboard for reference. Most things stayed according to the storyboard. This helps the editing process because the whole layout of how we want our film to look is already planned out. 

      I started with the very beginning. These were the outside scenes. We decided on doing a mini montage of the girls enjoying their day for the opening scene. This would introduce the characters and the idea that their lives are happy from the outside. Editing the montage was a little bit tricky only because we wanted everything to be perfect and precise. That means that the clips needed to flow end seem almost dreamy. The idea for these scenes was to emphasize on the fact that the girls seem like they have perfect lives. Their struggles are only revealed when they enter their homes. This part needed music to really create the mood of the scene. Adding music will help the audience feel the things we want them to be feeling throughout certain parts of our movie. 

Short Film: Day 1 of editing

  

      Now that the filming process is done, it is time to start editing! Editing is what makes a movie. It presents the tone as well as the mood. It also plays a major factor in things like creating drama. Editing is especially important in our drama film. Since there are three separate storylines going on in our film that will all come together in the end, a lot of editing will be involved. My group and I got on a call to discuss the next step. We all feel that we needed to brighten up some of the clips. Lighting is another factor that plays into editing. By brightening up some of the original clips, we can amplify our movie and make it even better. We also noticed the sound in some of our clips needed to be adjusted. Leveling out sounds like our voices or cancelling out background noise is very beneficial. 

      Covid-19 has once again affected our lives and this project. Normally our teachers would provide an editing software for us to use for this project. However, since my group mates and I are learning from home, these sources are not available to us. This meant we had to do research and come up with some alternatives. Luckily, each one of my group members and I are familiar with the same editing app. We decided on using iMovie to edit our movie. This app has everything we need to make this movie great. Working together, we can bring the vision of our short film to life. 

Short Film: Wrapping up filming

       We had almost all of our footage and were so close to wrapping up on filming! The last few scenes we had to shoot were Sophia’s character’s scenes. We started by first getting to room set up. There wasn’t much to this part, all we had to do was put the pregnancy test a in a drawer. Once she made her bed and everything was cleared for filming, we started to shoot the scenes. Filming in the bedroom was not hard but getting the right lighting was. Lighting a crucial in film because it creates the mood of the scene and also lets the audience see what’s happening. Since the sun was setting, we didn’t want to rely only on sunlight. We set up two light fixtures in the corner of the room. This would show that it was still close to night time but Sophia and the props would still be very visible. 

      The last scenes we had to shoot took place in the bathroom. This room was harder to set up and film in because it was much smaller. There is also a huge mirror displayed over the sink so we had to make sure me and the camera were not getting in the shot. Filming the exterior bathroom scene was pretty cool because it turned out how we all had visioned  it. The light seeping through the crack of the closed door really helped tie those scenes together! Once we had filmed the bathroom scenes we were all done! After a long process, we had everything we needed. We made sure to take multiple takes of each shot just incase something were to happen. Overall, filming went pretty smoothly. We’re very excited to start editing and see how our film turns out. 

Short Film: Filming and Props

     The beginning outside scenes were done along with all of mine and Lauren's scenes. Before we could start filming Sophia's scenes, we needed to get a pregnancy test. The pregnancy test plays a major part in Salem's (Sophia's character) story because it is her main focus and the main struggle she is dealing with. We decided that since we were going to have to take a trip to the store anyway, we could film our ending scene while we were out of the house. The ending scene takes place outside the next day. We couldn't film the last scene when we filmed the opening of our movie because it was supposed to be an entire different day and we would have been wearing the same outfits, which would be unrealistic and slightly confusing. Before we left for the store, Sophia and I changed our cloths. We followed the same conventions when it came to our outfits to keep in touch with who our characters are. Only Sophia and I changed because Lauren's character is not in the closing outside scenes. Although Lauren wasn't going to be on camera, she was there to record and make sure we got all of the footage we need. 

    Both Sophia and Lauren can drive so we just rode in Sophia's car. We made sure to bring facial masks so we would be following Covid-19 guidelines and keep everyone safe. We walked into the store and the place was packed! After getting the prop and waiting in line for ten minutes we contemplated going to a different store. We still had to film our closing outside scene before dark. Since we wanted to stay on schedule, we chose to leave and head to a different store. It had been about 20 minutes since we had originally left the house before we got to the other store. Luckily, it was pretty empty and they still had exactly what we needed. Before going back to the house, we went to a resting outside area that seemed just right for the ending scenes. Lauren filmed Sophia and I and we got the scenes done fairly quick. We finished those scenes and started heading back to the house to film Sophia's scenes.

Short Film: Filming (Chloe and Grace)

     After all of the outside scenes were filmed, it was time to move on. Rather than each one of my group mates and I filming ourselves individually in our own homes, we decided to film at one person's house. Since Sophia had the biggest house with the most rooms, we decided to film there. Although we filmed at one house, our movie states our characters all live separate from each other. This meant we had to make each section of Sophia's house and each separate room feel like its own location. Conveniently, her home has three separate doors to enter her house. This meant that each character could enter from a different way and truly make it seem as though these were filmed at different houses. We used the kitchen and Sophia's moms bedroom to film all of Lauren's scenes. The guest bedroom and TV room were used for my character's scenes. Sophia used her bedroom and the main bathroom to film her scenes. 

    Once we had figured out the designated spaces for each of our characters, we could began filming. We started by filming each of us enter the house through the different entryways. Grace, my character, entered through the side door, while Lauren entered through the garage door. Sophia entered through the main entry way. We decided the best way to go about filming our scenes would be to choose one of the characters and film all of their scenes first, and then move on to the next character and do all of their scenes. This felt like the best method because of how frequently our movie jumps from one character to another. We chose to film Lauren's scenes first because her character, Chloe, has the most scenes to film. We started with filming the kitchen scenes and then the bedroom scenes. Those were the easiest to film so we filmed those first. The most intricate scenes to film were going to be the bathroom scenes so we filmed those last. 

Short Film: Filming Outside

     This past Sunday, my group and I put our movie into action. Although we filmed on a different day than we had originally planned, we still followed the timing schedule. We met up at around 12 and then went to the park. We started with the outside scenes first because that is where the film begins. It also the location where we spend the least time filming. All of the other scenes take place indoors so we wanted to get the outside scenes done first. We made sure to bring all of our props with us. Sophia and I were in charge of brining picnic blankets. Lauren had to make sure she brought a towel to lay on as well. Luckily we all came prepared and were set to start filming.

    We set up for our scene by laying our blankets and towels down to make it look like we were hanging out and having a picnic. Any time we were walking out of our filming location, we made sure to keep our masks on. We also made sure to set everything up in an area that was not close to anyone and definitely followed the guidelines for social distancing. The footage was filmed on my iPhone 11. Due to Covid, cameras were not distributed. However, this was no big deal for my group and I because luckily we are all familiar with filming and editing on our phones. An obstacle we encountered while filming our outside scenes was a baseball game happening at the park. Because we only had a few scenes to shoot there, all we had to do was wait for the teams to go on time out. We got the outside scenes done and made sure to have multiple takes of each scene just incase something comes up when we watch the clips later. When we finished filming the park scenes, we cleaned up and cleared out our set and went to our next location to film the indoor scenes. 

Short Film: Delayed filming

     Last week was Thanksgiving break so we had the entire school week off. My group mates and I originally wanted to film during that time. However, Covid-19 changed up our plans once again. One of the people I was working with ended up visiting family. She went out of state and was gone for half of the break. This meant she was in an airport and around a lot of people at times. Although she followed the safety procedures, we as a group decided it would be safer to wait until she had quarantined for two weeks. Taking an unneeded risk like this could hinder the filming process for the rest of our movie which is the last thing we want. We decided we would film next weekend instead because that will be when it is most safe for everyone! We will also continue to follow Covid-19 safety guidelines during the times we are filming.

    This gave us more time to plan and prepare as much as we can. I went through the storyboard again and wrote down different ideas we might have for a shot. My group mates and I have each spent time reading over our script as well. After reading over everything and looking at the storyboard we communicate any side notes or ideas we have. This process is also how we came up the name for our short film. We decided on the name "Perception" for our movie. We felt that this name fit since people often perceive someone as one way before knowing any details about their lives. Our film is also dramatic so we thought the name should have that same weight. We make sure we are communicating frequently throughout this process to ensure our film comes out as we envision it! When we film, we will be very prepared and everything should go smoothly. 

Short Film: Music

    Music and sound are two very important aspects in film. They can create the feeling an entire scene and add emphasis to certain points in the story. Finding the right music can be difficult since most songs have copy right and we'd need permission to use it. Our solution was to research non copy righted music that we can use in our film. My group mates and I thought a dramatic instrumental would fit best for our short film. The music will be very important in our movie because it will convey the intensity we want the audience to feel. I began my search for the perfect instrumental by looking on google. I had previously learned that some websites include full lists of non copy righted people can use for free. I found a few of those websites and started looking through them. I did find a few potential songs but I thought I should keep looking to make sure I found something that fit our film just right. 

    The next thing I did to find a song was go to youtube. I learned a lot when I worked on the opening scene of a movie project last year. One of the things that project taught me was how to search for the best instrumental. I typed in intense instrumental with a crescendo and no copy right. I found several songs that I felt could work! I sent all of my findings to my group so we could decide which one we thought was the right fit. We eventually settled on one. Although finding the perfect song can take a while, we figured it out and are happy with our decision. This intense music will help amplify our scenes. It will also set the atmosphere for our short film since the characters are not interacting with each other directly in every scene. Our next step in this short film is to began filming. I am very excited to see the story come together in our film!

Short Film: Websites and Socials

       The next step in the creation of our short film was to set up our media. This included making a instagram, twitter, facebook, and youtube. Setting up these socials was either really easy, or rather difficult. Sometimes setting up the same username for each of these things was difficult since there may already be users with that name. However, we ended up figuring it out and getting the proper usernames. Facebook in particular gave us some issues. It would not let us make the main name for the account "Perception Film." This made us have to think of different ways to connect our facebook to the movie. We thought about making the name Salem Grace. Salem and Grace are names of two of the characters in our movie so it would still relate. Eventually we figured it out and were able to get our Facebook to work out!

      The hardest part of setting up our media was creating the website. The website was tricky to navigate at first because I had never made a website before. I spent my first day working on it not making much progress. I could not figure out how to link the social accounts to our website. I also signed up with the incorrect email so my website name was incorrect. Luckily by my second day of working on it, everything started to come together. I created an email for the film which fixed my website name problem. I also learned how to correctly link each individual social app directly to our website! Overall, this was a tricky process but I am very pleased with the end result. 

Short Film: Storyboard

      Storyboarding was the next part in getting our short film planned. Storyboarding is very important because of its visualization. My group mates and I made sure to talk about our vision as a whole for the film before making our storyboard. We split the drawings up for different scenes to make sure each one of us got the chance to be creative. Although drawing is very clearly not our strong suit, we tried our best to share our vision. Storyboarding will save us a lot of time in the long run because it helps plan out our entire film. Although this process can be long, carefully planning out each scene is very necessary. The storyboard is also a good way to see our film fully through before we start filming. The pictures help us see what each scene will hopefully look like. The sentences below each box are also very useful because they tell anyone reading what kind of shot and camera movements each scene will have. 

      This step is also useful because no time will be wasted on the actual day of filming. Storyboarding gives everyone in our group and out of our group a clear idea of what shots we want. An advantage of storyboarding is that we can find out what ideas we may have had that would work and what may not work. For example, we can try out multiple ideas or shots using the story boards and then see what we like best. Another advantage of this is that it can be easily changed depending on any new ideas we may have. Storyboards allow us to work out problems at an early stage before actual production takes place. This storyboard also helped give us an overview of the timing and rhythm of our short film. I think this part of planning is really tedious yet beneficial. Storyboarding has many advantages and will help our film in the long run! We are very excited to continue this project. 

Short Film: Planning

1. Location- We will be filming at four different settings throughout the short film. The first setting is at a park. This is where the opening scene takes place, all the characters are introduced here. The next three settings are at each of the character's homes. There are three characters, Grace, Salem, and Chloe. These locations will be used to get an insight into each of the girls' personal lives. This location is actually huge for the plot of our story since each home is filled with the character's individual issues they face. 

2. Health and Safety- COVID-19 is still a problem so we will need to take extra safety precautions to ensure everyone is safe. We will do this by social distancing when we are at the park and wearing mask anytime we are not filming. As for the scenes that take place in homes, we will all quarantine on our own so there is no risk of us having the virus and transmitting it to each other. A parent will also be around incase of any sort of emergency.

3. Props: We will need a pregnancy test, a plate of food, pills/pill bottle, and headphones for each of the girls.

4. Costumes- When we are filming at the park, we will be dressed casually in jeans/shorts and a t-shirt. These costumes will remain the same for each of the characters throughout the short film.

5. Schedule:

November 9- November 13, 2020

Planning/Storyboarding

November 23rd, 2020

Filming

11:30 am- All of us will meet up at the park. We will shoot there from 11:30 am to around 12:30 pm.

12:30 pm- We will make our way to Sophia's home to film the scenes taking place in homes.

1:00 pm to 2:00 pm- We will go over all of the scenes for Salem's character and film them.

2:30 pm to 3:30 pm - We will go over all of the scenes for Chloe's character and film them.

3:45 pm to 4:45pm - Film all of Grace's scenes and go over them.

November 27th- December 4th, 2020

Edit short film

December 5th, 2020: Re-film

December 6th, 2020: Re-edit

Short film vs. Feature length film

    Both the short film and full length film have many similarities and differences. While both of the films have similar plots, the full length movie has a much more complex plot. In the full length movie, the evil creatures are still a main antagonist. However, there was an additional conflict of the main characters also trying to decode the reasoning for their existence at the same time. The full length film was able to include more background information on the characters. This helped create more character development for 9 and allows the audience to further connect with the character and understand the motivation behind each of their actions throughout the film. Dialogue was included in the feature film, whereas in the short film there was close to none. Both ways get the story across in a clear, interesting way. I do think that adding dialogue into the film created more of a story that made some scenes more intense because you could hear the emotions rather than just see them. I think the expansion of the plot made the story even more intriguing. 

    While there are some major differences, there are also many similarities! The mis en scene of both the films are almost exactly the same. There were a lot of natural colors used like dark/light green and brown. The lighting was also a huge aspect when it came to creating an atmosphere for the characters. The dark lighting made the scenes feel more intense and eery. The costumes of the character also added to the feel of the movie. 9 and his family are designed very simplistic and made to look more cute and innocent, while the evil creatures have glowing eyes and metal spider-like legs. All of these factors helped create the mood and feeling of each scene.  Overall, I loved both the short film and feature film. My personal favorite is the full length feature film because it was just as intense but there was more character development and a more complex thought.

Research 9, The Feature Film

       After watching the short film of 9, I watched the full length movie! The movie’s plot was definitely more complex. The evil creatures were still a main antagonist throughout the film, but there was an additional conflict this time. Another main conflict in the plot was that the main characters were trying to decode the reasoning for their existence. The mis en scene of this film really helped create the mood and feeling of each scene. There were a lot of natural colors used like dark/light green and brown. The lighting was also a huge aspect when it came to creating an atmosphere for the characters. The dark lighting made the scenes feel more intense and eery. The costumes of the character also added to the feel of the movie. 9 and his family are designed very simplistic and made to look more cute and innocent, while the evil creatures have glowing eyes and metal spider-like legs. 

       The main character, 9, was the same character he was in the short film, but now his past was unveiled. This helped create more character development for the character. This will allow the audience to connect with the character even further and understand the motivation behind each of his actions throughout the film. The movie also included dialogue! Adding dialogue added to the plot greatly. The extended plot, which now contains back story, makes for a more complex and interesting story. One of the main things I noticed was in the characteristics of 9. At the being of the movie, 9 was scared and shy. At the end of the movie, 9 realizes all that can be done to continue fighting and becomes brave and courageous. All of these factors go into what makes the movie to great. I think the expansion of the plot made the story a lot more fun, interesting, and intense.

Research 9, the short

     After watching 9, the short film, I notice quite a few things. The film is about a character, 9, living in a post-apocalyptic world, where there are evil creatures that kill these characters. 9 must kill the creature before it kills him. 9's character development started to unravel when a flashback was shown. In the flashback, 9 is with another character who I assume was like family or was family. A tracker that lights up when one of the evil creatures is near by started to blink. 5 tells 9 to go hide, so that's what he does. 5 ends up getting killed by the creature, leaving 9 all alone. This flashback makes 9 more complex because we know more about their back story and the motivation for killing the creature. It also became clear that 9 was very intelligent and strategic when he was fighting the creature and setting up traps. 

    I liked this short film a lot. There were many small details that brought the story to life even more. For example, the creature was wearing the suits of numbers 1 through 8. This element added fear because it shows the audience the creature already killed all of 9's family and 9 is the last one left to survive. I also liked the way the difference in the make up of both characters. 9 and his family members had big, innocent eyes to show they were the good characters. The creature had several bug-like legs and razor sharp teeth. Making the creature appear more terrifying and having 9 and 5 look more cute will convey to the audience each characters role in the story. Although the film was short, it was executed in a way that told the full story. Overall, this was a very thought out and amazing short film.