4. ANALYSING ART HOUSE
CONVENTIONS
In order to gain a larger
understanding of art house
conventions I analysed a
selection of art house films that
I felt would be of a similar
nature to my own film.
Through analysing these films I
discovered that almost all ideas I
had for my film were possible as
all art house films I analysed used
conventions in order to break or
subvert them to show the message
they wish to portray.
For example the use of screen
effects in Fear and Loathing in Las
5. I realised that I was able
to experiment with various
camera angles, lighting,
sounds and effects in
order to express what I
wished to express in my
film as breaking the
conventions of typical
film was acceptable to do.
When creating my story
board I was unaware of
how creative I could be
with my ideas, therefore
6. Through my primary research I
was able to gain a larger
understanding of the genre
specific conventions when
creating an Art House film.
In order to create my film and
make it successfully it was
necessary that I conducted
research in to conventions of
film as my own personal
knowledge was not enough.
Gaining an understanding of
conventions and how they can
be followed or broken
allowed me to express my
creativity through my story
board and shot list as my
idea’s were able to develop
through my new understanding.
Gaining knowledge of camera
7. Due to my larger
understanding of genre
specific conventions it
meant I was able to
either follow or
subvert these
conventions in my own
film. The use of
subverting typical
conventions of film
allowed me to do
more than entertain
my audience as I felt I
had a message I wanted
9. When looking at the
conventions of art house
cinema I learnt that when
portraying a message to the
audience there are very few
conventions to follow as it is
a very creative process
where anything is possible.
Throughout my film I
explored the use of colour
effects to portray emotion
in my characters. I used the
tint effect on top of the
black and white effect as it
made the picture slightly
darker, reflecting the
tension and uncertainty of
the scene.
I felt as though the use of a black
and white effect expressed the
uncomfortable feeling that the
character has at this current
moment. The use of effects on
screen was something that I
noticed very much when analysing
current films as a way of
expressing a characters emotion
or mental state.
These effects were also used to show the
deterioration of the characters mental state
due to the choices she has made. This is
something I felt would be expressed best
through effects rather than speech or actions.
10. When creating my
film I knew I
wanted the
important
moments of the
film to be in
reverse at the
end as a visual
way of reversing
time, however
before analysing
Art House I was
unaware of
whether this
could fit
After understanding that it was the idea of playing parts
of my film in reverse that allowed it to become Art
House by breaking conventions, I began playing around
with time and speed.
I discovered that I was able to speed up or slow down
clips in my film, this fitted very well with sections of
my film as it was used to show the effects of the drugs
11. Through the use of effects I was able to
follow Art House conventions of allowing
the viewer to understand the characters
emotion/state of mind by what is shown
on screen. This effect used on a long shot
of a door allows the viewer to see
The effect
chosen gives a
very blurred
image to
reflect the
distorted mind
set that the
13. lm PosterBefore creating my own film
poster I conducted research in to
other art house film posters.
This allowed me to get a greater
understanding of how the film
has been portrayed in to a poster
in order to allow the viewer to
understand the genre of the film
by looking at the poster.
I gained a larger
understanding on the camera
angle of the picture as it is
important that the image
reflects the genre of the
film. Through this I was able
to plan the costumes of the
characters and the pose I
would use to reflect my film.
When analysing this
poster I made close
attention to the
simplicity of the
picture and the use of
colour covering the
majority of the
image. This reflects
the art house genre
by breaking
conventions,
14. The film poster for 'I can do
bad all by myself' very much
stood out to me as although I
have not seen the film, I feel as
though this poster says a lot
about the film. The use of the
glasses being broken over her
face gives us a negative
perception of events in the
film, or possibly suggesting a
broken person. This is
therefore something I possibly
wish to use in my own poster in
order to show a change in
person from the girl before
she meets the boy in
comparison to after.
The extreme close up causes the
character to appear
vulnerable, which is what the
girl in my film will
be, therefore the use of the
extreme close up and broken
15. When creating my own
poster I conducted many
drafts in the process,
including sketches and
Photoshop edits.
This gave me an insight in to
what I was able to do when
creating my real poster,
understanding the
conventions of an art house
film poster allowed me to
become very flexible when
creating my own.
Focusing largely on the
position of the camera and
the characters was
important for me as it was
crucial that the poster had
16. Creating many drafts meant I was
able to experiment with different
film titles and fonts. In this
process I had the idea of calling
my film ‘Mind Rewind’ and
discovered a font that I felt fit my
poster well.
I practiced with different camera
angles including one or two
characters in the picture, in these
drafts I have included two
characters, whereas in my final
poster I chose to include one as I
felt it indicated the importance of
her role in the film, making the
17. My final
posterMy final poster includes idea’s that I
have gained through my poster
analysis and drafts.
When creating my final poster I
focused particularly on the feature
article photo as I felt that is what is
the main selling point for the poster
to sell the film. It was important it
reflected the genre of my film and
gave some sense of what the film is
about.
I included the same text font as my
double page spread and film titles
to give a clear link between all
three.
When choosing the pose I would like
the character in my poster to do I
tried many different types as I felt
it was important I had the right
18. Film Double
Page SpreadWhen creating my double
page spread review on my
film it was crucial that I
analysed others as I was
very aware that this
double page spread would
be very different from a
music magazine double
page spread.
As I was writing a review
on my own film it meant I
was able to create the
feeling portrayed by the
review. I included a theme
of black and white to link
with my poster and the
19. Writing a review on my own film allowed me to express the
deeper meanings behind my choices when creating the film. I
saw this as a very creative task as I was writing critically and
professionally about my own production, therefore it was
important for me to get other peoples opinions on the film
before I began writing the review.
I felt it was important to get others opinions on the camera
angles, story line and choice of casting as it meant when
writing my review I was not biased to my own opinion.
20. My final double
page spreadI felt the final product of my
double page spread was a very
good reflection of my film.
The use of a black and white
lay out reflected the
simplicity of my film as
although it is slightly
surrealist there is a very
simple message behind it, it
also reflects the art house
genre. I chose to include a
short interview to give a very
direct and intimate feel to the
review, however remaining
professional throughout. I
also personally felt that for
an art house film that is
22. In order to gain a larger
understanding of my demographic and
what they would like to see in an art
house film I began with a survey
including questions on what would be
included in the film.
I felt as though getting answers from
the audience of my film would give me
a better understanding of what is
expected of an art house film. These
answers helped me to structure my
film specifically to my demographic.
It also helped me as I had many idea’s
and was unsure on what would work
best, therefore having my
demographic help me to make these
decisions it meant I was able to be
very specific when filming and editing
my film.
This survey allowed me to
gain quantitative data, this
meant I had a large sample of
specific results that could be
directly applied to my film.
23. My audience survey allowed
me to answer questions that I
was not completely sure on,
for example how surreal I
would make my film. Due to
81% of my demographic saying
they would like it to be
surreal it meant I was able to
express characters emotion
and mental state through
effects, such as this black and
white effect used. Due to the
24. MY Film surveyAfter finishing my film I created
a selection of open questions
that I asked an audience of 10
people who I felt fitted my
demographic. The questions
included:What was good or bad
about my film?
What would you
expect from an art
house film?Do you feel my film
followed the typical
conventions of an art
house film?Do you feel as though the effects used
expressed the characters emotion
further than the use of camera angles
25. These results have allowed me
to get a greater understanding of
what effect my film gives to an
audience. As this is my first film I
have created it was important
for me to get an understanding
of what others thought.
Questions I asked were
specifically about the art house
genre and how I have followed
or broken these conventions, I
felt it was a main topic I wanted
feedback on as I had spent a lot
of time on planning and
researching conventions
therefore I wanted to make sure
my film had the correct effect.
Through these questions I gained
qualitative data which allowed
me to get very detailed results. I
felt this was important to do as I
wanted honest feed back that
My
Film
surve
y
27. Research in to
film
The use of media
technologies allowed me
to not only analyse feature
films, but to research
other short films through
social networking websites
such as youtube and vevo.
With access to these
websites it meant I was
able to analyse other
short films to get a
larger understanding of
the typical conventions
of a short film in
comparison to a feature
length film. This is
something I would only
be able to do through
the use of media
technologies.
When researching other
film posters and double
page spreads I was able to
have access to a variety of
old and new posters,
allowing me to understand
the conventions of a poster
however also understand
the genre specific
The use of
technology meant I
was able to process
my survey results to
give me specific
figures. This helped
me when applying
these results to my
film as I had a clear
28. Planning
When planning
my film I
created a shot
list and story
board. These
gave me a
specific
selection of
things to
follow when
filming and
editing.
When planning what effects I
would use, adobe premier
allowed me to upload clips
and add and take away
different effects, allowing me
to test them out to see what
ones would fit best. The use of
the camera allowed me to
film as many shots as I needed
which could then easily be
uploaded to adobe premiere
where I was able to
experiment.
Planning was also very
important for my poster
and double page spread.
Using photoshop meant I
was able to upload
sketches that I had
scanned and add text to
experiment with what
would look best where.
This was very important
as it allowed me to get a
29. ConstructionAdobe premiere
allowed me to
experiment
widely with my
film as I was
able to add
effects and
adjust clips as
much as I wanted
yet I was also
able to easily
reverse this. This
allowed me to
experiment with
the order of my
film in the
editing stage.
Due to parts of
my film being
played in reverse,
technology
played a very
large part in the
story of my film
as this would not
have been able to
happen if it were
not for adobe
premiere. The
tools that
30. Construction
The use of a light weight
hand held camera allowed
me to be experimental with
my camera angles as
anything was possible.
Being able to film shots
many times meant I could
get the perfect angle each
time, this is something I felt
was very important. Due to
the camera I used having a
lot of memory I was also
able to film slightly
before and after the shot
which allowed me to get
the perfect stop and start
Using photoshop for both my
double page spread and
poster allowed me to use the
same font throughout and the
same layout when necessary.
Photoshop allowed me to
upload and delete as many
pictures as I wanted, meaning I
could chose and place the
picture that I felt suited my
poster and double page
spread best.
31. EvaluationThe use of
technology
meant I was
able to burn
my film to a
disk,
therefore
making it easy
for me to
show my film
to others. Due
to current
modern
technology I
am also able
to upload my
film to social
networking
websites such
as Facebook
Being able to show others my film meant
I was able to conduct my survey on what
my audience thought of my film. Without
the easy accessibility of showing my film
to others this would not have been able
to happen. Getting feedback straight from
my demographic was important for me as
it meant I would find out what worked
well or what I could have done
differently.
