Choosing a title

The title of a short film is important because it should give an audience the incentive to watch the film despite not knowing everything about the plot. If the title does not catch the eye of the audience then they will not be interested in watching the film and therefore it will be unsuccessful. It can be used to neatly encapsulate the underlying idea or moral of the film. To ensure I had the correct title I decided I would have to think of a few potential options first and make my decision based on what is most fitting with the plot and the moral of the short film.

Here are my ideas:

Blackout
The reason behind this name is because at the end of the short film I intend there to be a blackout in the action at the end of the short film and by having this title the audience will be waiting for it to happen within the action. Having this effect at the end of the short film will ensure that the audience are engaged throughout the duration of the screen time. Another reason that I like this title is because some teenagers refer to getting really drunk as "blackout drunk" because that is what the human body does if too much alcohol is consumed, linking to the action in my short film.

Best Behaviour
I like this title because it is ironic and in the short film the actors are not on their "best behaviour". It is intriguing because it makes the audience wonder what sort of events will be taking place within the short film. Another reason it is effective is because there is a song by current artist, Louisa Johnson, called "Best Behaviour". This gives a different vibe to the title because it makes is more modern and relatable for teenagers, especially those that listen to this type of music. It would typically be associated with party songs and this links to the atmosphere in the short film.

17
This title is effective because it is short, ambiguous and doesn't reveal anything about the plot of the film. It is a plain title but engaging because of the lack of clues given about the events in the short film. I chose 17 because of the age of the characters in the short film and the fact that 17 is just below the legal drinking age of 18. This links it to the events of the plot but subtly so it does not reveal any obvious information.

Intoxicated
The phrase itself is obvious as to what it means and for this reason it is an option for the title of my short film. It is straight forward and has a self-explanatory meaning yet it leaves an air of mystery when it comes to what the short film would be about and it does not typically link to a crime thriller which I think would be more engaging for my target audience.

What happened last night?

I intend to use this phrase in the short film itself and therefore when the target audience watch it they will hear the title of the film being paraphrased which I think is extremely effective. This is a common phrase among people who have been under the influence of alcohol and are unable to remember the events of the night before. It is also a theme in my short film as the actors are incapable of recalling what they did by the time they wake up in the morning.

Chosen title- Blackout
After coming up with these five film title ideas I couldn't decide which would be most engaging so thought it was best that I asked people what was most intriguing for them. I went and asked 15 people who fitted into my target audience criteria and this provided me with the final name of my short film. The feedback I received was that this directly linked to the plot of my short film but also left it unclear as to what it was going to be about. I wanted my target audience to decide on the title of my short film because I want them to be engaged in every aspect of my short film to ensure I am producing what they are interested in. Overall this makes sure I am concise with my research and work towards each stage of the filming.