Directors and Film-makers

For many Short Films, film-makers are also the director, producer and script-writer for their production, which can be due to the low budget. In Hollywood, most directors in mainly made short films, then moved onto making feature length films, sometimes 'Hollywood'style.Shane Meadows born 26th December 1972 is an up and coming British film-maker. After being caught stealing from places such as Sainsbury's and Boots, Meadows realised it was time to make something of himself, which was to become a film-maker. In 1994, Meadows made a deal with Intermedia Film and Video Ltd in Nottingham, so that he could borrow their equipment, and he would work at the company for free. His friends started to become interested in his work, after viewing the short films he had made by himself.

Shane and his friends decided to create their own low key event which was called 'Six of the Best' after consideration for the fact that there was hardly any festivals showcasing short films. This event allowed people to bring their short video's and pay a small amount to have the film showcased to an audience. 'Six of the Best' eventually turned into 'Flip Side' after popularity with its audience.

Shane Meadows is a perfect example of a film-maker taking on each production role, to make his own piece of work. Meadows has been approached by places like Channel 4 to create a film making workshop, because of his experiences and knowledge on film. One of Meadows' short films is called 'The Stairwell' 2005. This is a 15 second film about two people bumping into eachother on the stairs.



This Short film produces subliminal messages that the audience can take. One of these is that you never know what may happen. This is because both people were walking up the stairs, and were extremly shocked when they bumped into eachother. Another message that Shane could be trying to get the audience to understand is that you must be carfeul and look where your going. Another message that Meadows may be trying to portray is that in Engalnd, people are always in a hurry. Some of his film portray's elements of British lifestyle, in A room for Romeo Brass and This is England. In The Stairwell, Meadows may be trying to show the audience that some elements of British lifestyle is rushed, which may end up with people suffering consequences.

In the titling sequence, the flickering words that appear on the screen, represents the flickering lights on the stairway. Also, at the end of the film, the flickering words are seen again, with sound of a flikering light, enhancing the silence in the film. The jaunty camera angle at the end of the sequence, can represent seeing this short film from a different point of view. Different viewers may take this film in different ways, thinking that there was a message behind it, or that the film was purely based on the fact that the two characters bumped into eachother on the stairs. The below angle also represents superiority. The flickering light, creating a tense atmosphere in the sequence, seems to have great significance to the film. By watching it from underneath, this makes the audience feel quite intimidated and vulnerable, just like a thriller would.

The camera attached to the woman character, makes it look like she's gliding, and away thinking in her own world. This shows that she wasn't paying attention. There are no static shots of her walking up the stairs for more then roughly 3 seconds. But this could also be due to the fact that most shots are cut to the beat of the music. The male character is seen dressed in dark colours, with his hood up, making his character seem quite mysterious. There's a shot focusing on his hand and watch, which could signify that he is in a rush to go somewhere, hence the reason for him running down the stairs at a rapid speed.

The music in this short film, intesifies the fact that we don't know what is going to happen, until the bang, of when both characters smash into eachotheras the music changes. The dark colours on the wall, sets a dull tone to the personalities of each character. There is no expression from the characters until they bump into eachother.

Some Directors like to work on both feature length and short film. Short film ideas, can 'spark' off a feature length film, which is what happened with some Hollywood Cinema. Terry Gilliam, is a film direcrtor, screenwriter and animator, and directs both short and feature length films. He has worked with people like Tony Grisoni, a British screenwriter on the recent Kingsland #1 The Dreamer. Gilliam mainly specialises in feature length films and short animated films. This is The Miracle to Fly, 1974, an animation short film.



DIRECTORS IN HOLLYWOOD

Directors in Hollywood mainly made short films, then moved onto feature length films. Steven Spielberg, born 18th December 1946, is a producer, screenwriter and director. spielberg's first short film was Amblin', which was based on a hippie love story from the 60's. The 26 minute long film was shown to producer Dennis Hoffman and Sid Sheinberg at Universal Studios, and was then signed to a long term contract.