Director's Commentary

For my short film 'The Desolate', there are a number of areas which I was extremely happy with, however there were a few moments whereby I would have put more emphasis, or changed small aspects if I had the chance again. The benefit of hindsight is that you are able to improve upon past mistakes. From both of my films last year, I witnessed several repeated flaws. This flaw was the gradual loss of continuity in shots. With this in mind, I filmed my Short Film, covering every angle and every moment on the girls journey. This paid off in the appearance of the film, as it appeared much more professional, and made the characters seem more like people, rather than actors. Another feature that I was extremely happy with in the production of my film was the convergence of different camera technologies. For the majority of the filming, I used the Nikon V1 HD slow motion camera, however for the underwater clip, whereby it shows the blood falling from the girls arm into the water, I used a Canon Powershot D20-3. By using the two forms of technology, I was able to capture a range of different shots, and made the piece appear more interesting. The film revolves around two actors, and their struggles. By using just two characters, I was able to delve into their lives, and further emphasise the emotions that these characters were feeling. I was able to understand the need for a limited number of characters in a dark narrative, as a vast character base takes away from focus and emotion. I was extremely happy with the narrative of the film. I felt that films with the biggest impact and influence are often of an emotional narrative. As a result, I wrote a narrative based on the sensitive issue of suicide. Within this, I blended another issue that people face which is being cheated on. By doing this, I was able to emphasise and magnify the emotions within the film. I was learnt a lot from last years narrative when making this years short film. This learning was through the narrowing down of the flamboyant ideas of drama in the piece. In last years film, I felt there was far too much going on, which was distracting from the film and the narrative was confusing at times. Thus, I managed to create the narrative of this years film to follow a series of events that were realistic, with a twist of the dramatic side to the cinematography.

Facebook page

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'The Desolate' Facebook Page

I decided to create a Facebook page for my short film. Given the huge shift of media content towards the internet, this was a clear transition for my film to take. Moreover, given the global usage of Facebook, it was an obvious platform to put this media on as would gain great exposure.

Character List

The film uses only two characters throughout its entirety. These characters hold huge importance to the narrative of the film, as their actions are in the focus of the audience for the whole piece.

The main character in the piece is Maisie Loggie. She plays the role of the girl who is committing suicide in the piece. Due to the piece not containing any dialogue, her facial expressions must speak to the audience, and help communicate a meaning across to them. She shows an array of different emotions throughout the piece, from angered, to sad, to suicidal, to death and then shock as she has been revived.

The supporting actor in the piece is Sam Eccles. Sam's role in the film is to play the cheating boyfriend, who shows a great deal of emotion and guilt when he finds his girlfriend committing suicide. His reactions have to be genuinely sad, and one of helplessness.

Short Film on Twitter

I posted my short film on Twitter. The reason I chose Twitter was the way in which posts can be retweeted and shared. The process of doing so can make the film go viral, and can be viewed all around the world based upon specific key words searched for etc. For These reasons, Twitter was an obvious choice of platform.

Updated Film on YouTube

I uploaded my short film 'The Desolate' on to You Tube to gain as much exposure as possible. YouTube is one of the most visited websites in the world, and enables people of all abilities to upload their media content. In the words of David Gauntlett, the consumer can become the 'Prosumer'. Moreover, You Tube has been the source of fame for many others aspiring to progress in cinematography. Thus, You Tube was an obvious platform upon which I would try and let people view my film

Film Title Font Analysis

For my short film, I had a struggle to decide upon a final font which I would use. At first, I simply used I-Movie fonts, which were amateur in appearance. These titles can be seen in the post below.
The first draft of my short film using titling used futura medium. This was the worst font to use as it took no ability to implement and made the piece look positively average. The next font I used was Impact. This font similarly was ineffective and the tweet from Jeremie Crystal stating that the font in the film looked to I-Movie clarified that I would have to change. As a result, I changed the system on which I was operating and uploaded the film on to Final-cut pro. I was able to upload fonts from Dafont on to Final cut pro that would use this titling.

Below is the first font I experimented with on Final Cut pro. The Annabelle Script was a good font, however still looked somewhat amateurish and did not reflect the nature of my short film. It almost seemed to light hearted and dreamy, which was the opposite effect I wanted to portray. As a result, I quickly discredited this font as an option for my short film.

The font below was the next font I attempted to use for my short film. The font is called Russian. Similarly to Annabelle Script, I did not use this as it was confusing and aspects of it would take away from the cinematography in my film.

Euro Metro was the next font I used as another potential font for my short film. This unlike the previous two was a strong potential font that I would use. It did not take away from the cinematography and was serious, similar to the film. However, it seemed too much like the font that would be used in an action film. For this reason, I could not use it as it did not represent my film effectively.

Below is the final font that I used for my short film. The Helvetica font was simple, yet effective. The reason for this was that it was simplistic and did not detract from the cinematography. Moreover, the font moulded well into the framing of the shot and gave it a professional appearance.









Below is the grid of Helvetica letters, just to show the basic outline of all the available letters in the fot that I used.

Final Film On Vimeo

I decided to upload my film to Vimeo as I wanted to share my media on as many platforms as possible. Vimeo is a growing database to upload content to in order to gain exposure. Although it has  not yet scaled to the heights of YouTube yet, it is on its way to becoming a competitive website for quick access videos. Furthermore, what I liked about Vimeo was its open policy that anyone can make and upload content to it, and not just sharing professional content.


The Desolate from Dorian Masters on Vimeo.

Short Film Audience Feedback From YouTube

Here is some critique that I got back for my film on You Tube.

I took into account the second comment in particular, as my film did not have titles in the beginning.

As a result of this comment from the viewer, I was able to improve upon my piece by adding titles towards it. Although the changes made to the movie may have been subtle, and the comments I received were only on minor issues within the piece, the critique makes a big difference to the overall success and appeal of a film, as it is the consumer who will view the media product, and for whom it is designed, so if you are unwilling to accept their opinions, then you will never be able to construct a successful piece of media.

This comment from Harry Hough although not offering critique of my piece with regards to what I could improve, was helpful for me to ascertain whether or not the soundtrack I used was the correct one, or suitable for the style of piece I was creating. The answer by this comment amongst others was that this was a suitable song.

I also showed the short film to people who did not have access to a YouTube account. These people included Jennifer Davies, Diane Jolly, Thomas Meddings amongst others. I chose these three specific comments as I felt they were the most helpful in improving my film.

Diane Jolly stated 'I was uncertain at first what the film was about but I got the just of it once she was sitting sadly in the park. You should look at putting titles down because all films have them and I didn't see any at the start. Its just an idea but otherwise loved it'. This comment similarly to Samuel Cullis' highlighted the need for me to introduce titles to my film. Given that this had been highlighted twice, I immediately set about introducing titles to the start of the film. The effect was a much improved product.

Thomas Meddings stated 'It was positively depressing to watch. If making the viewer sad is what you were intending to do then you have succeeded. The part where she slits her wrist is really realistic. One thing you should make clearer is that she is his girlfriend and not her brother as wasn't clear'.

With this comment in mind, I showed clearly in the letter writing scene that she was of a romantic connection to the character by writing down 'My dearest Sam'. This comment was valid and extremely helpful to me when trying to improve upon my film.

Jennifer Davies stated 'I love the alternative storyline that you used. You were even able to keep the viewer intrigued throughout the journey where the events were not so exciting as the anxiety of finding out what would happen next kept me on my toes. The one thing that I would change is to make the soundtrack quieter when the main character is waking because I couldn't hear her gasp well'. This comment was interesting as was the first time I had actually picked up on the fact that the girls gasp was very difficult to hear. The comment was valid upon inspection and so I changed the end of the clip so the gasp could be heard more clearly. Although this alteration was subtle, the culmination of the many subtle changes as a result of audience feedback will help to make an altogether improved product.

Theorists Linking With My Short Film

A genre theorist who links strongly to my short film is Barry Keith Grant. He stated 'all genres have sub-genres that have familiar and recognisable characteristics'. The link to my piece is that although my film does fit within one conventional genre which is catastrophe, there are small features that merge with other genres. This in a sense is a form of convergence.



With regards to narrative, a theorist who epitomises my film is Tzvetan Todorov. Todorov states that 'every narrative has an equilibrium, a disruption and a new equilibrium'. My film follows a similar narrative, with the equilibrium being the girl walking around following her finding out her boyfriend has cheated on her, the disruption being her killing herself and the new equilibrium being her waking up at the end of the film. The major feature where my film differs from conventionality on this quote is the fact that the equilibrium of the piece could be considered a disequilibrium in many other pieces.



A Representation theorist who's quote links to my short film is Laura Mulvey. Her theory on the male gaze whereby she states 'that women are objectified through the masculine point of view', has some resemblence to aspects of my film. Although I was not attempting to do so, the end of the film when the boyfriend pulls her out of the bath to save her shows the female vulnerability (death in this case) and the reliance on the male individual (saving her from death).



Dennis Mcquail's view on audience was fascinating, and given the long tail theory and the sense of niche audiences changing drastically, this seemed quite fitting. McQuail states that 'An audience is a 'temporary collective'. The temporary nature of them shows that film is created in the moment and catered for specific people who may be interested in a type. Thus films trying to appeal to huge audiences through specific characteristics will not succeed, given these changes in audience.



Media language had the greatest relevance to my short film. Stuart Hall stated that 'Texts can be encoded by producer and meaning is decoded by audiences'. When I was creating my short film, there were small features which I attempted to place within, almost creating a sign orhint as to what may follow in the narrative. The subtelty of these depends largely on the target audience however as if it is for young audiences, then these codes have to be more obvious so that they can digest them. For an older audience however, the more difficult the code to understand, perhaps the more interesting it is for them to try and decrypt it.

Shot Links Between Short Film & Storyboard

Genre of My Short Film

My short film will fall under the bracket of drama. Given the sensitive nature of the narrative that my film will possess, the film fits perfectly within the conventional drama genre.














Daniel Chandler stated that 'Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes or settings) and / or form (including structure and style) which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them'. The setting of my piece is similar to that of many suicide films. The simplistic nature of the marble bathroom made my film merge seamlessly with the work of many other Directors trying to convey a similar message. The style of slow movement and slow transitions is also conventional of this genre, as it helps to further dramatise the film.













Tim O'Sullivan raises a valid point also when he states that 'Texts often exhibit the conventions of more than one genre'. I found this quote very interesting when trying to analyse what genre specifically my film fell into, as there were subtle features throughout the film suggesting that my film would perhaps belong to other sub-genres, particularly of a catastrophe. This view by O'Sullivan makes the concept of genre in film far more interesting as the producer is able to break out of the strict structure of genre, and almost blend in other genres to portray their preferred message.

The Desolate Shot Comparison

My short film 'The Desolate' took huge inspiration from Director Benito Montorio's St John's Ambulance campaign. The campaign is called 'Helpless' and shows the demise of a man from aspyxiation. The campaign creates viewer emotion, as they see his recovery from cancer, and something as preventable as choking on food took his life. I wanted to show the level of inspiration that this film gave me in my filming process, and this can be seen through the similarities in shots I use.

Extreme Close Up of man's face when crying from St John's video.

 Similar Extreme Close Up of girls face when crying. 

Low angle shot of dappled light from St John's video

Similar low angle shot showing dappled light usage.

Close up of man's face with the challenge ahead of fighting cancer in mind.

 Close up of girls face as she contemplates what she is about to do.

Editing Process of Short Film on iMovie

the images above sow the alignment of clips within my short film prior to the soundtrack and other features being added. I decided to edit my film on I-Movie, as it offered me an accessible and simplistic platform, that could create professional looking cinematography and transitions. Furthermore, it enabled me to edit the appearance of the clip from crispness to resolution etc. This meant that I could take clips that had been poorly lit, and emphasise shadowing on figures or objects. 

Above is the point where I added the soundtrack to my short film. I used 'To Build A Home' by the Cinematic Orcheastra. The reason for this was that I felt that the slow and solemn pace of the track further emphasised the themes and sadness of the narrative that I was hoping to convey in the film. 

At this point, I had received audience feedback from You Tube stating the need for titling on the piece to make it more clear what the film was called. Thus, I added two titles to the film, shown above and below, clarifying the nature of the piece.

Below is in the later stages of the editing process of my film. I had merged all of the clips together, however the transition seemed too quick from the girl being dead to alive again. As a result, I added Black fillers, whereby the screen would go black for approximately two seconds. This gave the audience time to digest the fact that the girl was dead. Furthermore, it would lead to them believing this was the end of the film. Thus, when the shots continued

The final stage of the editing process that was subtle, but important to the piece was the sound effect of the girl gasping. Whilst the girl in the film had initially gasped when she awoke from death, background noise was prominent. As a result, I decided to remove the sound from the clip and add a separate sound effect of a girl gasping. This fitted perfectly with the clip, and made it appear to be more professional.

The Desolate First Shoot

My first shoot for 'The Desolate' took place on the 5th October 2013. Below are images that have been taken from archived files from the first shoot.

                                               Medium Shot of girl, utilising dappled light

                                              Underwater shot with lowered shutter speed

                                                  Extreme Close Up of Girl as she dies

The timing and environment of the shoot was essential to the filming process and in capturing the correct shots. I had waited for a day where it was sunny outside. Finding sunlight in London in October is a major challenge, but fortunately it fell on this day. With the afternoon sun, I set about shooting my film. The sunlight was essential to the filming, as I wanted to lull the audience into a false sense of security before the depth of the plot begins to unravel. Although I was able to capture some great shots on this day, I was aware that the early setting sun would be an issue. As a result, I designated two full days on which I could film. This first shoot however was perhaps the most crucial to the film as the core of the movies shots would originate from this day.

Location Pictures

When trying to find a location of my film, a large amount of emotion would revolve around the girls entry into the house following her finding out about her boy friends unfaithful acts. I felt the bleak nature of the corridor with largely black and white colours inside, and the bright stain-glass window showing the brightness outside helps to encompass these emotions.

Similarly to the first shot, the room in which the girl would be writing her suicide note and contemplating the task of suicide ahead possesses neutral colours inside, however outside shows vibrant colours such as the greenery.

The stairs as a part of the location are somewhat metaphoric. The reason for this is that it could be considered as the stairway to heaven, however, the action is frowned upon by those of religious backgrounds. The oxymoronic nature of the event with the location will add further interest to the overall appearance of the film. 

Although the bathtub has limited metaphoric nature, it is the common place whereby people commit suicide. The reason for this is that the warm water thins the blood of the wound, preventing the wound sealing. Moreover, the pristine whiteness of the bathtub will contrast well from the blood of the girl.

Linking with the statement above, the mirrors in the bathroom are a useful part of the set. The reason for this is that they offer a disorientating viewing experience for the viewer, to make what they are about to watch seem more surreal.

The location here is bishops park. This will be the place whereby the girl dwells upon the decision of what she will do, having just found out her boyfriend is cheating on her. The contrast is interesting, as a park is filled with various different forms of life, however the girl is going to this place to decide to kill herself.

Above is the street which we see the girl making her final journey on. It is designed to bear similarities to the green mile, whereby the prisoner who is about to be killed for a crime he didn't do is forced to walk. This essentially is the girls 'green mile'.

Construction Of Radio Advert

Radio Advert script:

Ever felt like your invisible to the people around you?

Like you your trapped in a body that isn’t yours?

I have. My name is Jonathan and I’m one of thousands just like you.

I knew Maisie once, poor girl was the worst I’ve ever seen.

Her boyfriend cheated on her and her rapid deterioration was all but discrete.

If you were depressed and felt like the only way of escaping the pain was to escape the world which you are trapped in, what would you do?

Would you seek help, in the ones you love and hope to improve, or would you give in to that internal urge to just give up. The itch from within that you can never quite reach.

Maisie took the latter, and now her wrists are the constant reminder of the mistake.

Winner of three HSF film awards and two ISLF awards, The Desolate is this years film to see. A story of life and death proportions based on a true story.

Rated 15, in cinemas March 31^st.

Small print.

Directed by Dorian Masters, starring Maisie Loggie, Sam Eccles

The Desolate

Ppi relative to annual price changes, subject to offers, showing at cinemas all over the country, terms and conditions apply.

 When making the radio advertisement form my short film, I had to come up with a script that would not only engage the listener, but also possess common themes within that were present in my theme. Thus, the script above in my opinion possessed all of these. The image above shows the first stages of the assembling of my radio advert where I recorded on a recording device and uploaded the file to garageband where I could further edit it.



The next challenge I faced was the sound of breathing in-between the speaking parts of the file. Through using a clipping tool in garageband, I was able to cut out small sections of the audio, to make it sound more smooth and professional.

The final change I had to make to the radio advertisement was the background music. I felt that the advertisement was lacking in excitement or interesting features. As a result, I added an instrumental track, to accompany the sound of the voice in the advertisement. By doing this, the piece sounded far more professional, and was much more engaging.