90 Second Short Film: Primary and Secondary Research (Directors Statement)

Director's Statement

I have decided to produce a western cowboy film set in Texas 1873 because I want to try and capture the history of the Wild West in just 90 seconds and in one location. Westerns were also one of the biggest genres in the 60s and 70s. Some of biggest genres in today's industry are horror and action films which everyone seems to make, because they do well, and this generation love them. But I want to do something different and unique to everyone else and try and make Western films popular again. Making this film will hopefully make it stand out amongst the repetitive and typical horror and action films you see today. The audience I am aiming for are the older generation who maybe grew up on the original western films in the 60s and 70s.​

Primary Research

We decided to conduct a questionnaire for our primary research. Jes sent out the questionnaire to our class and I collected the data after it was all collected. I made this slide in our pitch presentation.

We asked how people would rate the western genre, most people have rated the western genre as 6-7 stars while other have rated the western as low as a 2. You can also see that the average rating of the western genre between a total of 10 people is a 6.10.​

We also asked what peoples favourite western themed movie is. Some answers included; Rango (2011), Django Unchained (2012), Back to Future 3 (1990) and True Grit (2010). Another response said, "Once Upon a Time in the West because it pioneers lots of film techniques."​

When asked "When watching a Western, what would you expect to see?", 50% of people said guns and 30% said cowboy outfits and hats. We took this into consideration, and featured them in our film. 8/10 people said the colour palette worked very well and is suitable for a western themed film.​

We also added some clips from our inspirations to ask if they would make a good influence on our film. 9/10 people said yes, with one person saying, "it's a very classic style of western film with many aspects that should be expected from this style of film", and another said, "yeah cos it has standoffs with close ups on both the face and the gun to add more tension to the scene to show how important it is."​

Secondary Research

Luke created five slides on secondary research with the topics of genre, audience and context.

Genre

The Wild West was a short period in time but captured the interest of so many filmmakers. The Western genre portrays this period in America as a vast, untamed wilderness where people had to rely on their wits and strength to survive. The genre explores multiple themes such as justice, morality, revenge, and redemption. Westerns are often characterized by their iconic visual and narrative elements, including cowboys, gunslingers, bounty hunters, saloons, horseback riding, stand offs, and the vast, rugged landscapes of the American West. Westerns usually portray interesting and memorable characters, from lawful bounty hunters to evil outlaws. These characters have become crucial to the iconography of westerns. A lot of westerns use sound and cinematography to tell the story, instead of it being heavy on dialogue. They have rich visuals full of dramatic landscapes and distinctive clothing. ​

Western Genre Tropes are plots and certain things that are featured in the Western you're watching. These tropes are often recurring elements or motifs that are commonly associated within the genre. There are 9 main tropes that we have researched. These include...​

Cowboys and Gunslingers- these are often the iconic characters of the Western genre, typically portrayed as rugged, tough, and independent individuals.​​

Frontier Setting- the Western genre is typically set in the American West during the late 19th century, where the landscape is often portrayed as rugged, vast and dull.​

Saloons- a saloon is a key part of the Western genre, often serving as a gathering place for cowboys and gunslingers, where they drink, gamble, and get into fights.​

​Horse Riding- horses were a common mode of transportation in the Wild West, and horseback riding scenes are often used to convey the freedom and independence of the characters.​​

Stand Offs and Showdowns- Gunfights and duels are common in Westerns, often serving as the climax of the story and providing a test of the main character's strength and skill.​​

Outlaws and Lawmen- The conflict between law and order and the evil outlaws is a common theme in Westerns, often featuring sheriffs, marshals, and other lawmen trying to bring justice to the criminals of that time.​​Revenge- another common theme in westerns, with characters seeking vengeance for past wrongs or injustice​.

Honour and Morality- the genre often explores themes of honour and morality, with characters grappling with questions of right and wrong in a lawless and chaotic environment.​

The Lone Hero- a common character type in Westerns, often portrayed as a solitary figure who stands up for justice and fights for what is right, even in the face of great danger.​​

In our film we have tried our best to include most of these tropes. The ones that we have included are Cowboys are Gunslingers, a Frontier Setting, Stand Offs, Outlaws and The Lone Hero. In the film we have made both the characters skilled gunslingers with traditional cowboy outfits and having them on their own instead of in a group of cowboys. We have found a nearby location which fits the trope of Frontier setting, it’s a vast and open plain were some westerns were set. The main trope seen in our film is a standoff, it will serve as the climax of our story and it will provide as a test for both the main character's strength and skill. Another trope that features in our film is an outlaw. The villain in the story, Santiago, is a skilled and experienced outlaw. And the final trope featured in the film is A Lone Hero. Our main character in the film, Lucas, is a lone hero who stands up for justice and fights for what is right, even in the face of great danger, such as the villain Santiago. We have based him of the well known character of The Man with No Name portrayed by Clint Eastwood, who also follows the same trope of A Lone Hero.​

Audience

For a short Western film based around cowboys and outlaws, we believe the target audience would have to be more adult and mature as the western genre is a bit worn and old and more exciting for older audiences due to how popular westerns were in older years in the 70's and 80's.Older audience might also like the gritty tone and suspense that is seen in most typical western films.​

Although the western genre would be suitable for most audience, we decided that the adult audience would be more desirable due to the tone of our film and because younger audiences would prefer more action and fast paced type of content while ours is slow paced allowing to build suspense and tension for the climax of the story. We also believe that adult audiences would accept the build-up of western tension more than other audiences.​

Context

The context of our film is that it is set in 1873 in Texas America on the baron open plains.​

In this time in the early 19th century cowboys existed and were considered outlaws and were typically violent, they were also notorious for being criminals such as Jesse James who was known for leading the James-younger gang (a gang of outlaws) and robbing multiple banks or Billy the Kid who was a gunslinger and murderer. As a result of cowboy outlaws, it triggered the creation of sheriffs. They were paid to protect towns and to keep order if outlaws decided to come by, one of the earliest representations of an officer of the law. Although, the representation of cowboys will be taken a bit out of proportion since outlaws such as Billy the Kid and Jesse James were some of the most notorious and infamous criminals during this time which would not represent the entirety of how cowboys were truly like back then.​

The theme will be about cowboys/outlaws/bounty hunters and how violent they were during the early 19th century in North America. This is to show the brutality of the Wild West and what the people in the early 19th century had to live with.​