In order to make the best documentary possible, I decided to research into examples that were 5 minutes or less, and texts that focused specifically on homophobic bullying.
In Bed with The Kills is a behind the scenes look of The Kills during their photoshoot/interview for Nylon Magazine. I found this video incredibly useful in terms of making our own documentary visually interesting in the short space of time we have. The video is only 3 minutes 25 seconds and uses a lot of close ups, focus pulls amongst other shot types, and successfully manages to use handheld in a sophisticated way without making it disorientating for the audience. With practice, I think our group could also master these techniques and subsequently make our own film visually interesting.
The video above is the shortlisted short films made my young people, in association with Stonewall, on homophobic bullying. They were screened at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in March 2010. These short films are incredibly useful as they shine a light on homophobic bullying in their own unique way. The first film is a talking heads, documentary which is similar to what we're planning for our documentary short - this will be a good resource of inspiration for our film, although it is a little dull in terms of camera work. The second film is a fiction piece highlighting not just the bullying of homosexuals, but of people are thought of as homosexual simply for engaging in activities that don't conform to the "typical" behaviour of their gender stereotypes. Finally, the third film looks at the violent attacks on homosexuals in schools using a CCTV style of filming.
I think we could take inspiration from all these films to tackle the issue of homophobic bullying within schools and how to make it visually interesting for the audience.
Like a short story, the narrative of "Train Now Leaving" is simple; it's simply a woman on a train, talking to her loved one. What makes it work is it's themes of: memory, loss and longing; and how it uses simple dialogue and visuals to get these themes across.
By having no back story into the characters and what has lead to their current situation, it allows the emotions evoked within the audience to be purely based on the young woman's dialogue. The idea of memory and reflecting on pivotal moments in her life with her now absent husband, accompanied with her longing for him to return and informing him on what has happened since he's been gone is heartbreaking, and allows the audience to sympathise with her - thus making it an effecting short film. Furthermore, the background music is romantic with a melancholy twist, complimenting the idea of love and loss.
Wikipedia - Short film is a technical description originally coined in the North American film industry in the early period of cinema. The description is now used almost interchangeably with short subject.
Wordiq.com - A short film (also short or short subject) is a motion picture that is shorter than the average feature film. Definition of maximum length vary from 40 minutes (AMPAS rule) to about 80 minutes. The short-form film is to the full length film what the short story is to a full-fledged novel.
My Definition - A short film is a motion picture that is shorter than the average feature film. It relies on a simple narrative that has multiple subtexts that can be explored and yet still have the ability to evoke specific emotions amongst audiences despite not having the time to create a back story or allowing the audience to get to know the characters they are watching.
