For my media coursework I chose to create a short film in the fantasy genre. Having studied many of the conventions of the fantasy genre I came to the conclusion that my film would be based around the notion of a magical race of creatures (a key element to the fantasy genre) and the idea of a hero on a journey of self-discovery against a dark lord or villain. My short film follows the story of a woodland nymph named Melodie as she breaks away from what she knows in order to defeat the evil in form of the Woodland Queen.
I used a range of short film conventions in my short film. When I first started researching short film conventions I decided to search for short films from the fantasy short films on websites such as YouTube and shortoftheweek.com. In doing this I found two films that really inspired me called ‘Honorbound’ and ‘Ranger’ which were both set in a medieval fantasy filmic world. After watching a selection of short films I discovered that short films normally focus on one or two main characters and have a short running time that can range from around three minutes up to forty minutes. I found that short films such as ‘Ranger’ and a similar film called ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ - that were both over half an hour long - were exceptionally well made but the costumes and weapons looked authentic enough to be intimidating for me as a student filmmaker with a very limited budget. Upon looking at costumes such as those worn in the two films I discovered that just parts of some of the costumes cost over £100! I also realised that short films have a reasonably simplistic storyline that is normally followed by a plot twist, as can be seen in ‘Ranger’ when Ranger leaves on his journey only to be attacked. Short films also seem to have an abstract or creative element, a low budget and a niche audience. As well as this, I realised that short films are expected to have a very niche audience, especially when it comes to short films as fantasy films which are normally stretched out over hours of battles and trekking over mystical lands with complex plots.
When studying the conventions of a fantasy film I learnt that films that classify as part of the genre tend to include fantastical themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds - linking closely to the science-fiction genre which I studied last year in form of the dystopian category. The fantasy genre is normally separated into three categories: Speculative Fiction, High Fantasy and Sword and Sorcery. Both categories typically use medieval settings, wizards, magical creatures and other elements commonly associated with fantasy stories such as elements of wonder, escapism and the extraordinary. It typically strays from reality, featuring fictional beings like mythical creatures and supernatural entities. All of this is also part the speculative fiction genre, including elements, settings and characters created out of imagination and speculation rather than based on reality and everyday life. This meant that I had a lot to work with and that I could be as imaginative as I wanted with my storyline as well as drawing on aspects of mythology, folklore and legends that I might find inspiring. High Fantasy films tend to feature a more richly developed fantasy world, and may also be more character-oriented or thematically complex. Often, they feature a hero of humble origins and a clear distinction between good and evil battling. This can be seen in the film adaptation of J.R.R.Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ as it follows the journey of Frodo Baggins who has must destroy the One Ring (due to his clear distinction between good and evil) as he makes his way through Middle Earth, a highly developed fantasy world full of hobbits, men, elves, dwarves and all matter of strange creatures. In comparison, Sword and Sorcery tends to be more plot-driven than High Fantasy and focus heavily on action sequences, often putting a physically powerful via the use of the unsophisticated warrior against a supernaturally endowed enemy. This can be seen in the film adaptation of Christopher Paolini’s epic ‘Eragon’ when farm boy Eragon must train to defeat the evil King Galbatorix. Although Sword and Sorcery films sometimes describe an epic battle between good and evil - similar to those found in many High Fantasy movies - they may alternately present the hero as having more immediate motivations, such as the need to protect a vulnerable girl or village, or even being driven by the desire for vengeance. In regards to my own short film, ‘Halfbreed’ can be seen as as combination of both the Speculative Fiction category due to the imaginative creation of the nymphs, however this also merges with the ideas from the ‘High Fantasy’ and the ‘Sword and Sorcery’ categories due to the nymph being regarded as magical creatures as well as the the desire for vengeance.
Fantasy film conventions also tend to include a dark lord, a battle between good vs evil, a hero, medievalism, a quest and magical races. My film subverts the notion of a dark ‘lord’ and instead presents the antagonist of the film as a ‘dark lady’ in form of the Woodland Queen. A stereotypical dark lord is presented as the leader of the forces of the evil, possessing dark qualities, evil magical abilities, such as necromancy, and are normally portrayed as outcast and as a lone figure.. Examples of dark lords and ladies can be seen in fantasy works such as ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ with the character of Jadis/The White Witch or Melkor in ‘The Silmarillion’. The character of the Woodland Queen in my film does follow these conventions as she is a lone figure and is traditionally dressed in dark clothes. As well as this, my film also subverts the notion of a film having a hero as the protagonist. In my film the protagonist, Melodie, can be described as an anti-hero (a character divided between both light and dark) as she works for the Woodland Queen yet she is also the one to defeat the Woodland Queen, still possessing hero qualities. Anti-heroes are becoming a more common element in modern day films as the protagonists in films and television such as ‘Deadpool’ and ‘Vikings’. A stereotypical hero in the fantasy genre normally has a normal background or are a maltreated person who grow throughout the film to become the hero of the story via the fulfilment of a dream. They occasionally also turn out to be unknown royalty which could arguably be symbolic of the recognition of inner worth amongst the characters and perhaps the audience. In this way, the character of Melodie does fit into this character as she has a disturbing background and is in fact royalty, being the Woodland Queen’s niece. My film also follows the conventions of medievalism as seen by the costume design and plot. The word ‘medievalism’ means to be drawn from myth, legend and folklore; the medievalism genre fits nicely with the idea of magical races with many races of intelligent creatures such as elves and dwarves often being drawn from medieval or pre-Christian roots of origin. Therefore my film fits nicely into this convention with all of the characters being part of the race of nymphs instead of humans.
I also use narrative conventions in my film. Todorov suggests that a film starts happy or calm until a problem disrupts this equilibrium. The problem is next recognised and the characters attempt to return to the equilibrium before the problem is resolved and normality returns. In regards to Todorov’s theory my film subverts some of the stages of the disruption of equilibrium before the equilibrium has been established. This is shown when Sienna runs through the forest with Melodie tracking her. In this way it presents Sienna already in a case of disruption as she attempts to loose Melodie in the forest and therefore fails to present an equilibrium at the start. The film later returns to Todorov’s theory as Melodie identifies the problem and the film ends with the death of the Woodland Queen.
In conclusion I have learnt a great deal about short films and fantasy conventions. Through creating my short film ‘Halfbreed’ I realised that to create not only a short film but also the foundations of any storyline in my chosen genre is by following a set of conventions unique to the genre and the film. This helped me analyse a range of films in my chosen genre including a selection of short films as well as hour-long epics such as ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Eragon’.
