Research Into Our Chosen Genre

Drama

Dramas are one of the most realistic genres and are usually rather serious films which have a strong emphasis on emotion. They are pulled together with strong characters, dramatic and/or intense situations which draw in the viewer or audience. 

- Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction. Usually, they are not focused on special-effects, comedy, or action, Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre, with many subsets.

http://www.filmsite.org/genres.html

- Emphasis on Emotion and Character
Characters have moral ambiguities and complexities
More developed than stereotypes, these characters have ability to fail or make mistakes
Drama raises more questions than it answers
“How life really is.”

http://www.psu.edu/dept/inart10_110/inart10/narr.html 

Narrative Structure

Calm setting

Conflict or discourse where mistakes are made and consequences are realised

A struggle - Emotional between two people/someone vs themselves

Freytag's Theory - Freytag's Pyramid
Gustav Freytag was a 19th century novelist.

Freytag believed that every drama can be divided into five major acts or parts. These were known to be: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and finally Dénouement. They are also known as a Dramatic Arc.

Exposition: At the beginning of a film the exposition provides the background information needed to understand the story. Following the exposition is the focal conflict or problem which the story is based around; although this may not be clear until further into the film.
Rising Action: The initial conflict becomes more complex as other smaller conflicts become noticeable. These conflicts make the road of the protagonist more difficult and deters them away form reaching their goal.
Climax: The key turning point within the film where something could progress the story further or go terribly wrong. 
Falling Action: The point in which the climax is reversed and the conflict starts to diminish slowly.
Denouement: Also known as the resolution of the film where the conflict is finally resolved. The word denouement was derived from the French word 'denoer' which meant "to untie". More often than not this is the ending where the protagonist is better off than they were when the story was first introduced.

Our short film will be using Freytag's Theory and it will be based around a young girl who is in despair.

 Please! - Paul Black - An Example of a Drama Short Film

"Why won't you just speak to me!?"A short film telling the story of a novelist named Peter Dunn who is struggling with his work and his relationship with his wife and daughter. The short film begins with the main character talking to himself which straight away tells us he is in a distraught state.The lighting is very low key with the only source of light being a lamp on the right-hand side of the room. The house/flat is an unhappy setting and so we are told from the exposition that the film may not end well. We know that he is a troubled man particularly when he looks at a photograph of who we believe to be his wife and daughter while holding a gun to his head. He is then seen on the phone in little clothing and drinking alcohol as he is shouting down the phone for someone to talk to him. These first couple of minutes could be used as the entire short film and it would not feel like anything would be missing.This short film works wells as a drama due to it's dramatic structure. There is a conflict between Peter Dunn and himself as well as his wife. The other conflict is when he is sitting in his car waiting for another driver when someone behind him is constantly beeping. This causes the car in front to knock on Peter's car aggressively and heightens his stress until he brings out the gun and points it at the driver and then to himself in a threatening way.Peter overcomes the conflict with himself and all seems well until his young daughter Lucy starts playing with the gun which he left in the car while he was on the phone. These final moments catch the audience and keeps them waiting for something bad to happen; which it inevitably does when Lucy shoots her father accidentally. This turn in the narrative makes the audience feel the emotion and sincerity of the daughter.The short film is pulled together using fluid pans and cuts which connect each setting and scene together continuously. Non-diegetic music constantly creates a mood in each sequence. During the last scene Peter's words from earlier in the film are ushered along with the daughter screaming "Dad!" This technique is used to tie the film up and loop it back around to the beginning.
When Five Fell by Wongfu Productions

This short drama was our initial inspiration for our own short drama which will be based upon a young girl who is in despair from the loss of her best friend. Wongfu Productions have used a collection of objects and a voice over to tell the story of the young girl we may do something similar.