WEEKLY JOURNALS

This is where you think about your FMP learning journey and development.
Don’t simply describe what you did - consider what you have learnt and how this has benefitted
your project. What do you need to improve?

THIS IS JUST GUIDANCE THAT YOU NEED TO ADAPT TO YOUR OWN PROJECT. YOU HAVE CREATED YOUR
OWN PRODUCTION SCHEDULES AND YOUR WEEKLY BLOGS SHOULD REFELCT THAT.

THESE QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IN THE WEEKS YOU COMPLETED THEM. DO NOT JUST SUBMIT THIS
FORM FILLED IN FOR YOUR WEEKLY BLOGS. THERE SHOULD BE 11 WEEKLY BLOG ENTRIES (INCLUDING
EASTER).

Week Two - Research

RESEARCH

What did you learn from your This week I conducted three elements of my research, medium
research? research, genre research, and content research. All of these
have aided me in developing my idea further so that my idea will
be detailed and to a high standard when I reach my pre-
production stages.

The first thing I researched was my medium, which is short film. I

took this chance to reflect on the history of short films and learn
more about how they have developed over the years. While
looking into the history I learned that until 1915 most films where
between a few minutes and 20 minutes long, so theoretically all
films where short films at the time. This changed with the release
of ‘The Birth of a Nation’, which was over three hours long.
Despite its modern day controversy, this film changed the
production of films forever and influenced what we now call
feature length films. I found it interesting that short films came
back into fashion with the ride of MTV, with big stars hiring
directors to help them produce their own short films. I had
assumed shorts were always a popular medium, however the
only constant in short films was Disney’s production of cartoons.

I also researched the purpose of short films, so that I could

understand completely why someone would produce one. From
this research I learned that there are multiple reasons, including a
small budget and lack of actors, to promote a filmmaker, or to
experiment with plot and themes. I noticed it was common for
people to use shorts for experimentation, as there is a lot more
freedom in the process due to the lack of deadlines and pressure
from funding. To solidify my knowledge I sent out a survey to my
audience, asking what they felt the purpose of a short film was
and many of them responded saying it was to educate.

How has the research for your
medium helped you improve your
ideas?
After this I moved on to research my genre. When doing this I
began to analyse short films by other filmmakers. This allowed me
to develop my understanding of the conventions used in short
films, as well as what was important to include. When watching
the shorts I payed attention to how the camera work, lighting
and mise-en-scene was used, as well as the films narrative. I
made a note of how this impacted the film overall, and how it
helped communicate the filmmaker’s message to the audience.
One film I analysed was called ‘The Neighbors’ Window’ and told
the story of a middle aged woman and her reaction when a
younger couple move into the apartment opposite her own. The
story was very simple, with only two main locations. By keeping it
simple the filmmakers were able to communicate their message
without any unnecessary confusion. Every element used had a
purpose and overall worked very effectively. One thing I noticed
while watching the two short films, was that both of them had
one prominent location that the majority of the film took place in.
For example, most of ‘The Neighbors’ Window’ took place within
the older woman’s flat.
The final element of research I conducted this week was my
content research. This research was crucial to the development
of my idea as it provided to context for my narrative. The first
thing I researched was different types of obsessive personalities
and disorders as this is the main topic of my film. From this
research I was able to learn that there are multiple disorders that
come under the obsessive category, and therefore when
producing my own short I will need to choose which specific
ones I will focus on so that my work is as accurate as possible.
One disorder that I was particularly interested in was ‘Obsessive
Love Disorder’ (OLD). This disorder is where someone becomes
obsessed with a person to the point they believe they are in love.
In some cases this can lead to delusional jealousy, where the
sufferer insist that something is true, despite it being proven false.
For example, they may believe that their ‘loved one’
reciprocates their feelings, even if they have made it very clear
they don’t. Symptoms of OLD include the overwhelming need to
protect the person, low self-esteem, and possessive thoughts and
actions. These are all characteristics that I feel would be
appropriate for my main character and would accurately depict
their obsession over their classmate.
Researching my medium has helped me to improve my ideas as
it has provided me with a better understanding of short films. By
furthering my knowledge of the mediums history and its purpose I
was able to understand how the concept of shorts developed
and why they were unpopular for a period of times. With a better
understanding of a short films purpose I have been able to
develop my idea around this. For example, some of the
responses to my survey stated they felt a short film should be
educational, and this was confirmed within my secondary
research. I already knew I wanted to do a short film with the
topic of obsessive personalities, so after my research I decided
that I should choose a specific disorder to base my short on. This
will require more research, particularly within my contents but it
has given me a goal to work towards within my narrative.

How has the research for your genre
helped you improve your ideas?
How has researching the conventions
of your chosen genre helped you
understand what is required from you
in order to meet a distinction grade?
In the final part of my medium research I looked into which shorts
have won awards, and what made them successful. I took my
time watching these shorts and making a note of how they used
different components to communicate their message. Again, in
my survey I asked my audience which short films they had seen
that they would consider important. One person recommended
the film, ‘Smoke’, which was directed by Gabriel Bisset-Smith and
tells the story of a relationship. This short was particularly
interesting because the narrative was shown in reverse, sharing
the message that you can make assumptions before you know
the whole story. To add to this, the visuals showed the couples
last moments together, whereas the audio over the top is from
their first moments together. From this short I was able to
understand how story telling doesn’t always have to be linear
and it was a great example of how short films are used for
experimentation. Overall, this portion of my research has helped
me to understand how I can use my short film to communicate
my message and how to share my narrative in a creative way.
Researching my genre has helped me to highlight which
elements are important to include in my own work. When
analysing the other productions I made a note of how the
narratives progressed and how this impacted the message
shared. I plan to use this research in my own work, particularly
when writing my own script because I feel the narratives
progression is crucial to engaging my audience. It has also
helped me to consider how different conventions will affect my
own production. For example, how I will include camera work to
show various viewpoints within my short, and how mise-en-scene
will be used to communicate my message to the audience.
After researching my genre I have now decided that I want to
produce a drama that has a very simple narrative. I feel that by
removing all smaller details that may be confusing I will be able
to produce a piece of work that is easy to understand and that I
am proud of. However, I feel I would be able to improve my
ideas a great deal more if I could conduct a focus group. I
would use the focus group to learn what my audience think of
the idea and to receive feedback on it. This would give me an
idea of what changes I could make to appeal to the more, as
well as what areas are stronger than others so that I can play on
these strengths to produce the best work possible. However, I
have been unable to hold a focus group as coronavirus has
prevented me from getting a group of people together.
When researching my genre I watched two different short films
and analysed them. While doing this I took note of how the
camera work, lighting, mise-en-scene and narrative affected the
message and film overall. This research has helped me to
develop a better understanding of what I should include in my
own work to produce a high standard piece of work. For
example, I noticed when analysing the short ‘Hello, Again’ that
the camera movement can be used to represent where a
character is on their own journey. This was noticeable in the short
because there was barely any movement and for the majority of

How has including a variety of sources
(primary and secondary) helped with
your understanding of your medium /
genre?
the production the main character, Owen, was struggling to
move on while grieving his mother. Therefore, the lack of camera
movement represented his own lack of movement forward.
I want to consider factors like this when working on the pre-
production of my own work. By identifying it in someone else’s
work I feel it will help me to identify where it could be used
effectively in my own. Another convention I want to pay great
attention to when working on my own production is the mise-en-
scene. This element is crucial to communicating the narrative
and message, and I feel without it my short film wouldn’t be as
effective. All parts of mise-en-scene are important, including
locations, props and costumes. In the short, ‘Hello, Again’ props
are used to share with the audience the progress Owen has
made since the beginning of the film. At the beginning of the
short, he has a small keyring that clearly reminds him of his
mother, so he lays it on her grave as he no longer wants it on his
car’s dashboard. However, at the end of the short he removes it
from her grave and places it back where it was, suggesting that
the item has changed from an upsetting reminder of his mother,
to a happy memory.
Overall, these conventions are all crucial to achieving a high
grade and I feel that by researching them I will find it easier to
include them in my own work, and hopefully produce a
distinction level piece of work.
I conducted both primary and secondary research in order to
help me understand my medium and genre. While researching
my chosen medium I sent out a survey to my audience to learn
what they already knew about short films. I asked them a series
of questions about their expectations of shorts, such as how long
they thought one should be, what its purpose would be and
which platforms they watch them on. The results of these were
very interesting. The ideal choice of length varied with each
person, however most people said between 5-15 minutes, which
helped me conclude that I would produce a short between 6-8
minutes long. I chose this because it was between the most
popular lengths so would please the majority. Every respondent
stated that they watch short films on YouTube, which I found
helpful with the rest of my research, as I went on to analyse shorts
from the platform so that I could understand them best. I also
conducted secondary research for my medium, which allowed
me to learn more about short films in general. By including both
secondary and primary research, I was able to compare my
audience’s views with more factual information. It allowed me to
reflect on the impact short films had on my audience and how
they have developed over the years. I plan to use this research in
my own work so that I can appeal to my audience the best as
possible and use all areas of my medium to its fullest potential.
Secondary research was also a key part of my genre research,
and I took the time to understand the conventions seen within
short films and how they impact the production as a whole.
Unfortunately, due to the lockdown and coronavirus I was
unable to conduct any primary research, such as a focus group,

What sources of information did you
look at that were different from your
proposed project?
How will this be useful to your
planning?
for my genre. This would have been a very useful element of my
research as I would have been able to get more input from my
audience about my idea. I would have taken it as an
opportunity to understand if my work appeals to them, and what
I could change to improve this if needed. I would also have been
able to compare my secondary research with this input to see
which elements would be more important than others. I hope in
the future I can conduct a focus group digitally.
When researching my content I did a lot of research on the
website Healthline. I chose to use this website because all of their
articles are medically reviewed by someone who is qualified in
that specific area. So for example, the articles I read on OCPD
and OLD were reviewed by Timothy J. Legg who is a licensed
psychologist. This was different to my proposed project because
it was a written article, with all of the information laid out in an
informative and simple way. The purpose of this article was to
educate, which is similar to my plans for my short, but education
is the sole purpose for the article.
I also looked at different short films throughout my research
stages. Some of these were different genres to my proposed
project, which allowed me to understand how conventions
changed with different genres. It also showed me which
conventions remained constant throughout shorts, and I was
able to identify why these were important to the medium.
Unfortunately due to the Coronavirus I have had a limited
number of sources. One source of research I was eager to use
was books from my local library, however due to lockdown the
library is no longer open, and I cannot get these books. I plan to
continue using the internet to make up for this, and as I continue
with my research I want to watch some documentaries on my
topic.
Using a range of sources for my research will ensure I know as
much as possible about my topic. By changing up where my
research comes from it provides different viewpoints and allows
me to understand everything in as much detail as possible. I
found using different sources helped the most when I was unsure
about something because I could use other sites to confirm my
confusion or to fill in any gaps that the other sites created.
All of this will impact my planning stages in a positive way
because it will ensure I am confident on my topic. This research
will be included in every area of my production. For example, the
conventions will help me when I am planning my story boards
because I will be aware of how I use the different shots to
communicate my message. I plan to use elements of the films I
analysed within my own work to help me produce the best work
possible. These will be considered when I am planning my mise-
en-scene, so which locations will be used, and how I will use
costume and props to show meaning. My content research will
be the most important when I am developing my characters and
writing my script. This is because the disorders I researched will be
included to ensure my work is as accurate as possible. I will use
 the research to figure out my characters will react to certain
situations. This research will also help me to complete my
narrative completely as I will use it to consider which parts of the
disorder I will showcase, such as the symptoms and development
of the disorder.

How has the research for your
content/topic helped you improve
your ideas?
The research I conducted for my content has been extremely
helpful when developing my ideas. The research has furthered
my understanding of my topic of ‘obsession’ and allowed me to
figure out which obsessive disorders would be most effective
within my narrative. The information I gathered while researching
my topic will help me to fill in the finer details, particularly when
developing my characters and writing my script. I want to
produce a short film that is both informative and engaging for
the audience so by researching my topic to the best of my ability
I feel I will be able to meet my goal. When researching my topic I
learned the causes of obsessive disorders as well and how they
may present themselves through symptoms. This will help me to
lay out the events within my narrative, so for example, I may now
decide to include the development of the disorder. I will also
ensure my character reacts accordingly to their situation and will
include some of the symptoms I have researched, such as low-
self esteem and possessive thoughts. This will help me to share
their situation with the audience and give them an insight as to
what is happening.

Overall, my content research was the most important part of my

research process as it has definitely helped the most when
developing my ideas. The research has helped me to decide
what I will include in my script, characters and even the mise-en-
scene and I now have a better understanding of my main topic
and the message I wish to communicate. I feel with this research
my ideas have developed in a very positive way and I now feel a
lot more confident with my topic. However, I do plan to
complete some more research on my topic so that I can have
the best understanding possible.

How has the research into I plan to conduct this research next week.
artists/producers helped you improve
your ideas?

What work do you need to complete None I am on track.

outside of lessons to stay on track?

High Grade Tips

Research
● ‘Thorough research’ - include plenty of sources and detailed analysis of this information
● ‘relevant & coherent’ – make sure your research sources are not just the same as the Media
product you hope to make - and talk about how they inform your planning
● ‘sustained’ – continue your research throughout the eleven-week project and don’t just limit it to
the first two weeks
● ‘accomplished & considered’ – all of the above referred to in your daily/weekly reflections