Introduction
In this lesson, we were introduced to production formats. A production format is any form of media such as film, tv shows, games, books & music.
For my culture brief, the following production formats are suggested for me to research:
- short film
- documentary
- music video
- animation
- zine
- stop motion
- VFX sequence
In this blog post, I will be researching some of the above formats.
Music Videos
To research music videos, I had to find a music video that reflected my chosen culture, which is Gundam model kits. Since my culture is quite niche, and doesn’t really fit with the format of a music video, finding one was quite difficult. Upon searching ‘Gundam music video’ into YouTube, every result is AMVs (anime music videos) that use clips from the Gundam tv show to pre-existing songs.
To find an original music video that fitted with my culture, I decided to just search for music videos that included robots – as that is the general theme of mobile suit Gundam.
I found this music video from the singer Bjork where she is being assembled as a robot:
This music video is conventional of music videos, as it is around the length of the artist’s song, and portrays a character that is singing the song’s lyrics. It is also more subtly conventional of music videos, as many of them portray love, as well as sci-fi themes like AI and robots.
I would say that the ‘culture’ represented in this music video is the idea of artificial intelligence and what computers will be like in the future, as well as just science fiction in general.
The link between this and Gundam model kits is very tenuous – other cultures are more suited to being represented in music video form. I think that hobbies as a culture in general are not suited to being in a music video – no one makes music videos about sewing or gardening or drawing, for example.
Short film
To research short films, I found a short film about Gundam called ‘Verum’ by Dennys Herman. It is computer generated, and animated in 3D, and depicts a fight between two Gundam suits.
The name ‘short film’ is given to any film that is under the length of a feature film, which is around 60 minutes or longer. A short film can be anywhere from 1 minute to 40 minutes long, and typically includes features of a feature length film that are less in depth, as short films are short.
These features and conventions include:
- A plot which is simple and easy to follow, whereas a full length movie could have a very complex and twisting plot.
- Around 1 – 3 main characters, compared to a feature film that might have many (i.e. the avengers)
- A compelling storyline, as short films are typically made with a message or story that is supposed to impact the viewer in a very short amount of time.
- They are usually low budget. This is because they are made independently by one person or a small group of people, and are intended to be put onto a portfolio for the creator’s future employment. For this same reason, they are also used for actors and production team members to gain experience.
I could make a short film for my project. The nature of short films is that they can be about any topic at all, and do not have to be expensive to produce. If I were to make a short film however, it would be animated. This is because it is the media I am most interested in, and look to gain any practise at all.
Zine
Zine is short for Magazine. Zines are usually self-published, made on paper and printed with a photocopier, and put together into a booklet format. Zines are typically printed with information about a niche culture, art form, skill or organisation such as a political movement, religious group or something similar.
Features of a zine:
- A zine is usually small in size, printed in A5.
- The paper used for a zine is commonly a bright colour like red, yellow or pink.
- They are mostly printed in black and white ink only.
- A zine usually has 1000 copies or less.
My chosen production format
The production format I will be using for my final project will be an animation. I thought about making a zine, poster or something similar, but then decided that an animation would be the best use of my skills. I aim to make my animation no longer than around 30 seconds, with one main focus – the Gundam mobile suit. I wanted to combine my case study, the Gundam anime, with my actual chosen culture which is the hobby of assembling the plastic model kits based off the Gundam anime. I will animate pieces of a Gundam coming together to make the full mobile suit. This idea for my final project can be read about in further detail in the ‘Generating Ideas’ blog post.
I think that the key line of VICE’s business that my animation would fit into would be VICE Media, as it is in video format, and could be posted onto Vice’s YouTube, or on their website in a media gallery.
Conclusion
Researching production formats helped me to decide on a production format of my own to be used in my final project for the A2 Culture Brief.