Why Edgar Wrights films are the best films for young filmmakers to study and why the trio of films have become iconic In pop culture?: And is this true?
Introduction: 09/01/25
For my FMP I'm wanting to do a analysation and breakdown of Edgar wrights three flavour Cornetto trilogy where I will explain and research the significance of each of the three films and I will breakdown the editing and directing techniques as well as delve into how each film was made and why they are great films to look at when studying and understanding filmmaking and the process of creating original films whilst referencing cinema and blockbusters that inspires people to create films out of the love for specific genres. Im thinking of making a short film that takes influence from the editing style of each of these films and im wanting to create an action fight sequence that takes heavy influence from the action sequences in these three films.
for research I'm going to look at the popularity of each film, the stereotypes within each genre and I will also showcase the trailers of each film to those who haven't seen any of these films whilst asking what they thought about each and what they would think I should try to do with my short film that is going to have a similar feel to each of these films.
Why Edgar wrights editing and directing style is so unique?
The brilliance of Edgar Wrights unique style is how he edits his films. he uses quick cuts, fast paced action montages, creative transitions and zooms that all are used to incite humour and communicate themes through less dialogue. the most common theme through every film of his is the editing and how transitions are tackled as match cuts are brilliantly used to keep the audiences attention in each frame. this style works so well because of the style and how it evokes comedy. there is a subtle parody and ironic feel to the stylised sequences of his films and this is intentional since wright Is known for poking fun at certain genres and their serious tropes and cliches.
here is video from focus features which details the quick cut editing and style that Edgar wright uses in shaun of the dead, hot fuzz and the worlds end.
this type of editing is something I want to implement into my FMP short film as I want to showcase my love for these films by making my own short film that takes inspiration from the action from these films and uses similar editing and transitions.
How each of the films showcases great uses of exposition and camera techniques?
all three films perfectly display great uses of editing and camera techniques along with an amazing use of foreshadowing and exposition. every rewatch of theses films gives the audience something new to spot and when rewatching their are hints towards events that will happen in each of the films. this happens through either visual indication in certain frames or through dialogue from and between characters. a good example of this comes from the opening scene of the Worlds end where the whole films events are foreshadowed through the opening montage narrated by Simon Pegg's character to the audience.
this video comes from the channel called pitching room on YouTube in which the opening of the film is put side by side with the events of the rest of the film detailing Edgar wrights perfect way of showcasing foreshadowing to the audience and how watching his films a second or third time over can allow the audience to notice subtle hints as to what may happen to certain characters in each film and what may happen throughout the films story.
Why subverting Genres and tropes can make amazing cinematography through Edgar wrights Films
Each of the three films in the all take on a different genre and with each films genre many stereotypes and cliches are subverted as Edgar wright is able to subvert expectations and blends genre in all his films with the Cornetto Trilogy being no exception. Edgar wright has a unique ability to create alterations of amazing and overused tropes of classic genres such as zombies, action and buddy cops and make memorable and cinematic movies that aren't generic and at times poke fun at those genres that are overused. wrights films often blend genres and he explores themes of maturity throughout each film in the Cornetto Trilogy as each protagonist must confront their comfortable status quo.
How have these films become iconic:
All three films stand on their own as genre defying classics but together they all work as a perfect showcase of friendship, reoccurring themes and a good use of comedy throughout all three films. each film isn't connected through story but they work together as three separate films that all share similar themes the ideas for each film was built up over the years that Edgar wright was creating his own projects. for shaun of the dead the idea to make a zombie based romcom came from an episode of the show spaced which starred nick frost and Simon Pegg and was made by Edgar wright in which one of the characters hallucinates that there are zombies around and that scene is what founded shaun of the dead. during the making of shaun of the dead the next film was conceived which was to be a take on the action genre except very satirised whilst respecting the cliches and tropes of the genre. this was what eventually became the movie hot fuzz. by the early 2010s Edgar wright made the final Cornetto film with the worlds end which originated as an screenplay wright had made in 1995 called crawl when he was 21. The main idea was to have a group of friends return to the hometown after attempting a pub crawl in their youth yet their hometown is not the same as before since the films genre was inspired by 1950s alien b movies like invasion of the body snatchers. The reason as to how these films have become so iconic is because of the Cornetto iconography since each film consists of a joke about acquiring a Cornetto and the reason this iconography is so iconic is because it ties back to the three colours trilogy from the 1990s in which each film was connected in some way but all had different genres and stories going on in each. To explain what each film is about you have to look through the iconography of the Cornetto and the colour of what each one represents as shaun of the dead is red to symbolise the bloody and violent elements of the film as its a zombie film, hot fuzz is blue to represent the police and also to signify its action genre and the worlds end is green to symbolise the stereotypical little green men as the genre for that film is aliens and sci fi. Many People say that hot fuzz is the best out of the three but everyone has there own favourite and none of them are anywhere near bad since each one has great quality and they all stand as perfect films for the genres they are apart of.
Secondary Research: What others have said about Edgar Wrights Work in Filmmaking
Survey Research: 16/01/25
I've made a survey on google forms with a few questions relating to the topic of my FMP and im going to get responses from people in my course and from others outside of media to try and get a fresh perspective on the questions im asking along with seeing what would be good for me to do with my short film.
Ive made two surveys with one focusing on film questions and the other with trailers and asking what people think of the the three films just on their first impressions. im doing to get fresh answers from the questions im asking and to get an idea of what ideas I should try and implement into my FMP short film production.
Film Questions Survey https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdjnrDGSqw_iuW5F9Y0M_riYg9C9nNLvYkqnDw68cuJGvwBJw/viewform?usp=dialog
Feedback: so far ive gotten a lot of responses as i sensed out my survey to some of the other courses with the help of my teacher and ive gotten a good number of responses on the first one.
here are some of the repsonses from the questions
these questions are related to the three films im looking at and im surprised that a small majority of people have heard about these films and that hot fuzz seemed to be the most popular with its poster and description. most of the answers are from a fresh perspective and im happy that I was able to get answers from people who aren't from my course.
these questions are to do with what makes a film rewatchable and nice to look at through its visuals and im happy with the answers as they are all genuine and many of them are about how good the film is and how good their visuals are.
here are the first two questions and some of the answers in which I asked what peoples favourite type of movie is and what entices people to continue watching no matter what genre or film it is. im going to try this feedback and implement some of the answers people gave on my survey into how I make my short film as I want it to be interesting and enticing.
Trailer survey https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScMDBe3P51wVjiMfSqo6B4f6F5lzP86lIFc1-2FDEKDxq2Wbw/viewform?usp=dialog
here are the results from my second survey that I made for research on my FMP in which I provided the trailers from each of the films im looking at for my primary research and asked questions based on what people thought of each one and what they could notice when watching all three and how they would describe it.
I also asked questions that where relevant to what im going to make for my Final major project as I asked if a short film was made in a similar style to each of the films would it be interesting and the responses ive received have been positive and im happy with all the responses ive gotten from both surveys as im wanting to use this research to give me ideas on how to make my short film and also to get an idea of how relevant the films im looking at are to people my age even though they are genre defying blockbusters.
Extended Writing: 23/01/25
Here is my 1500 word essay to do with what im going to do for my FMP detailing what im hoping to achieve with it and what ive done so far and also what my short film will ultimately be about and how I want to film it.
FMP Essay 1500 words:
Introduction: For my FMP I am wanting to take a look at three films directed by Edgar wright and I’m going to analyse them and explain and decipher the way they’ve been edited and shot along with reoccurring themes and exposition along with making a short film inspired by the way those films have been edited and I’m also going to test the relevance of each film by creating surveys as secondary research to see if other people my age know about these films and also to find out what techniques I should use when creating my short film along with how popular the films I am looking at are.
The films I’m analysing are Shaun of the dead, hot fuzz and the worlds end which are all directed by Edgar wright and stars both Simon pegg and nick frost in all three. Each one of the films are both parodies and love letters to the genres that they take inspiration from as they all include references to blockbusters that made the genre they are based on so popular and are their own original stories told through a Lense of care and with an editing style that is so phenomenal.
For my FMP I’m going to create a short film around 20 minutes or longer and I’m wanting it to be an action based short film with some comedy and some story so that I can have fun while making it and have something original which also will be taking inspiration from the films I’m analysing. I am going to try and replicate transitions and edits similar to how Edgar wright would in his films and the story is going to be an action style shootout over one person trying to acquire a book that he holds so dearly and to make my short film stand out everyone involved in the action sequences are going to mimic and pretend using guns to make it more funny.
This idea is inspired by a scene from spaced which is a show that was made by Edgar wright in which a standoff happens where a bunch of people have a gunfight except they use fake finger guns and all start shooting each other and pretending to slowly die when they all get shot whilst making the sound effects over the sound effects for what they are trying to imitate when the gunfight occurs.
What I hope to achieve after making my FMP is that I can have a project I can put under my portfolio and also can give me a way into going into filmmaking properly as that is my main passion now as it fascinates me how films are made along with how fun it can be to make an action film or a film with a certain genre connected to action since it looks so fun to just use wacky ideas with serious storytelling which is what Edgar wright does well with his films and Is something I want to replicate in my short film which I would continue to do when pursuing a career in filmmaking. I want to put my best effort into this project and do my best and create something fun and interesting even though it won’t be movie length, and I will be filming it in the college in segments each day.
I’m also thinking of making one more survey for some extra context and research after I make my short film to test how good it is and I also want to create a small video testing out how transitions and editing in the style of Edgar wright would work when making a film or video along with testing the music for the background of my film as I want to music that can fit the tone and also follow the story and change when necessary since im thinking of using some music from some of Edgar wrights most popular films.
I’m trying to discover if Edgar wrights’ films are the right films to try and imitate when wanting to become a filmmaker and how relevant his films are to a demographic like my age group. I want to create a short film that will be around 20 minutes in the same style as the films I am analysing and I want to discover if they are good films to look at when wanting to get into filmmaking as I am very passionate about getting into that industry in the future and I believe creating a fun action oriented short film in the style of Edgar wright films would be a really cool thing to do and also would be a great way for me to test how interesting films and short films can be when they take inspiration from other works of art along with being totally original. I also want to see how interesting my idea for my short film will be and if it’s a good idea to try and use similar techniques that Edgar wright used in his films. I hope that when ive create my short film it will be interesting enough to stand out as a small homage to Edgar wrights’ style of filmmaking whilst being original along with my own personal ideas for an interesting action-oriented story.
I also want to discover if the style of editing that Edgar wright uses will be good for my short film and im hoping that with all my research and planning I can create a good short film that will be long enough to have a small story and contain a big action sequence. What im proposing for my FMP is interesting and im hoping the feedback I get from what I end up finally producing will be positive however im open to any critical notes people may have for me as I hope that me making a short action film around 20 to 24 minutes will be enticing enough for an audience of people my age and also will hopefully be a good stepping on point that will help me in the future when im wanting to pursue filmmaking and also something I can be proud of and look back on and showcase to others who may also want to go into creating films.
From what I’ve conducted my primary research has consisted of the results and feedback from two surveys that I’ve made to get an insight on how relevant the three films I’m looking at are and also general questions about what stands out to people when watching films so I can get some ideas on how to make my short film as well as if making a short film in a similar style to Edgar wrights films is a cool idea. The responses I got have been excellent as they have all been positive and different from one another as I’m glad I chose to branch out and asked my teachers to spread my surveys out to other courses to get more fresh answers and also an insight on what type of films people like watching along with what keeps them engaged when watching and what the visuals in a film means to them.
Conclusion: To conclude with my proposal I want to make sure that my research is all valid and relevant to what I will make i as both my Primary research and secondary research both show different opinions on the films im looking at for inspiration. with my primary research showcasing interest and engagement when looking at Edgar wrights filmography. My secondary research covers looking at Edgar wright through a critical lens and also that whoever engages in watching my finished production of my short film after doing my survey and being interested in what I have in store im hopeful that this project will be fun interesting and that I will both learn and adapt from my previous skills as im wanting to use enigmatic transitions and edits like how Edgar wright has in his films to have my short film stand out.
Overall im looking forward to doing this projects I love the way Edgar wright edits his films and im excited to try and replicate the type of editing and camera techniques that he has used in his films which have become favourites of mine and I hope that I can put the best effort I can into the production and that it can inspire others and be interesting enough to help me get into filmmaking and also can hopefully help me learn some interesting tricks and tips on how to get into the filmmaking industry with what im producing and what im planning to do after I leave college. I will also be glad if in the future my short film will be kept as a great example of how student films can take cues from blockbuster films and stand out just as much with lower budget and time restraints.
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