Earlier in the week I went along on the first of our location scouts. Other than that I've had a slightly quieter week on the Group project this week, but that is all going to change really soon.
Since we have a few people away on internships I'm going to be helping to cover the 2IC role, which means more production work for me. This also means I've taken over minutes again, the job which I was so happy to say goodbye to this year.
This week I'm also going to be getting stuck into learning Scenechronize, as I'll be needing to start of script breakdowns soon in preparation for filming.
I've been continuing to work on ideas for our PledgeMe and also our Production Pamphlet, which both need to be completed this coming week.
Sunday, 29 March 2015
An Engaging Character - an Engaging Film?
This week we talked in class about what we thought made an engaging film. We came up with the following:
We decided that engaging characters were the most important element. This means that the character should have wants and needs, as well as relationships with others.
- Characters that we care for
- A Plot which is:
- Logical and true to the established rules of the world that the story is set in.
- Avoids Deux Machina
- Surprising and avoids predictability, troupes and cliches
- Universal Themes & issues that resonate with the audience
We decided that engaging characters were the most important element. This means that the character should have wants and needs, as well as relationships with others.
Introduction to Unity
This week I spent around an hour completing Module 1 of my online course in Game Design.
Module one takes you through the following videos:
Introduction to the course 1:49 min
Intro to Unity: 5:12min video
Revert Settings 2:39 min
Launching your first project 4:52 min
Switching between projects 6:52 min
Customizing the UI (user interface) 4:34 min
Navigation 6:02 min
Manipulating Objects 11:04 min
= 43:06 minutes of video tutorials.
I spent a bit of time between each tutorial practicing navigating Unity and going back over any points that I missed. So far this is just really basic stuff, and is just about getting used to the interface.
Module one takes you through the following videos:
Introduction to the course 1:49 min
Intro to Unity: 5:12min video
Revert Settings 2:39 min
Launching your first project 4:52 min
Switching between projects 6:52 min
Customizing the UI (user interface) 4:34 min
Navigation 6:02 min
Manipulating Objects 11:04 min
= 43:06 minutes of video tutorials.
I spent a bit of time between each tutorial practicing navigating Unity and going back over any points that I missed. So far this is just really basic stuff, and is just about getting used to the interface.
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| The Unity Interface |
Cinematography Lighting Exercise
Different Lights:
Low Key/ Three-point Lighting Exercise:
1. Fren-L only, no diffusion in near frontal position
2. Fren-L only, with diffusion, in near frontal position
3. Fren-L only, with diffusion, in cross-light/ Rembrandt position, angled directly at subject
4. Fren-L only, with diffusion, in cross-light/ Rembrandt position, angled perpendicular to the camera
5. Fren-L in previous position. Add a reflector in fill light position
6. Fren-L only, with diffusion, in interview position
7. Fren-L in previous position. Add Prolight, without diffusion, in a back/rim-light position. Do not change F-Stop from previous.
Adjust F-Stop for correct exposure.
8. Fren-L and Prolight as previous. Add Rifa, without diffusion, in fill-light position.
9. Keep Fren-L and Prolight the same. Add a diffusion to the Rifa and change position of light if needed
1) 3 point lighting set up, using Fren-L, Pro and Rifa with no diffusion. We realized that we had left the Polarization filter on the camera after this.
2) The same lighting set up, without the polarizer.
In the Lowell Kits there are three different lights: Fren-L, Rifa and Pro. For this exercise we filmed a shot lit with each light in turn to compare the look and intensity of each light. We filmed the Fren-L lighting first and set the Aperture to correctly expose the footage. Once the aperture was set we didn't change it for any of the other lights. You can see clearly from these screenshots the differences in each lights intensity.
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| Fren-L |
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| Pro |
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| Rifa |
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| Rifa + Dif |
Rembrandt Lighting:
Rembrandt Lighting is a flattering lighting named after Rembrandt Van Rijin. It is often used in studio portrait photography. A key aspect of Rembrandt lighting is the triangle of light that is created under the subjects eye
Three-Point Lighting:
Three-Point lighting uses
1) Key Light => Primary Light Source
2) Back Light (Rim) => Provides Separation from background
3) Fill Light => Fills in shadows on face, preventing harsh shadows
Sometimes additional lights called 'Kickers' are used to provide definition to background elements. but they aren't part of the Three-Point Lighting plan.
Low Key/ Three-point Lighting Exercise:
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| Lighting exercise |
1. Fren-L only, no diffusion in near frontal position
2. Fren-L only, with diffusion, in near frontal position
3. Fren-L only, with diffusion, in cross-light/ Rembrandt position, angled directly at subject
4. Fren-L only, with diffusion, in cross-light/ Rembrandt position, angled perpendicular to the camera
5. Fren-L in previous position. Add a reflector in fill light position
6. Fren-L only, with diffusion, in interview position
7. Fren-L in previous position. Add Prolight, without diffusion, in a back/rim-light position. Do not change F-Stop from previous.
Adjust F-Stop for correct exposure.
8. Fren-L and Prolight as previous. Add Rifa, without diffusion, in fill-light position.
9. Keep Fren-L and Prolight the same. Add a diffusion to the Rifa and change position of light if needed
Interview lighting exercise:
For this exercise we were asked to film a nice-looking interview.
- MCU
- Longish Lens (not at widest)
- Good Lighting - three-point diffused. Wide Light Source
- Flags and C-Stands- to cut out any unnecessary spill.\
- Focus, WB, Aperture, Gain, Exposure, Tripod
- Background
- Depth (Bokeh)
- Perspective
- Composition
- Framing
- F-Stop- Widest. (ND Filter, Shutter Speed)
1) 3 point lighting set up, using Fren-L, Pro and Rifa with no diffusion. We realized that we had left the Polarization filter on the camera after this.
2) The same lighting set up, without the polarizer.
Taken: Paradigms
I realized that I had this saved as a draft and hadn't actually posted it!
After our look at Blake Snyder and John Truby's Paradigms I attempted to apply them to the film Taken (2008), which I watched over that same weekend. I found that many of the major beats matched up with Blake Snyder's version somewhat but that there were some that didn't. I had a harder time applying the 22 steps, so they either didn't apply as well or I possibly found it harder to reassign the plot points to the different structure after doing Blake Snyder's version first.
After our look at Blake Snyder and John Truby's Paradigms I attempted to apply them to the film Taken (2008), which I watched over that same weekend. I found that many of the major beats matched up with Blake Snyder's version somewhat but that there were some that didn't. I had a harder time applying the 22 steps, so they either didn't apply as well or I possibly found it harder to reassign the plot points to the different structure after doing Blake Snyder's version first.
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| My incomplete attempt to apply Blake Snyder and John Truby's Paradigms to Taken (2008) |
Sunday, 22 March 2015
Syd Field's Screenwriting Workshop
Syd Field uses a paradigm based around the 3 Act structure. In his screenwriting workshop he emphasizes that writing is step by step process, but also that his paradigm is not a formula; if it works in your story, use it. If not, don't.
Syd Field defines a screenplay as:
He also proposes a clear structure:
Beginning : Act 1
=22-30 pages
set up:
establish dramatic premise
characters
situations
relationships between characters
plot point 1 at end
Middle: Act 2
=60 pages
Confrontation
plot point 2 at end
End: Act 3
=20-30 pages
Resolution= solution succeed or fail
Syd Field's Paradigm is much looser then Blake Snyder and John Truby's, as there aren't precise beats to be fulfilled.
Instead, this paradigm focuses more on structure and Dramatic Context. The workshop takes you through a step by step process, broken down into 4 parts.
Part 1: Getting Started.
Part 2:
Part 3:
For example in Act 1 the key points would be the Opening Scene and Plot Point 1. Then, using 14 cards, other key points are mapped out.
The first 10 pages should be used to establish the:
The 2nd 10 pages should follow the focus of your main character.
And the last pages should create 1 or 2 scenes to set up plot point one.
Part 4:
Syd Field's workshop could be quite useful for getting started on a screenplay, especially because it covers a lot of key story points. I feel like this would be useful in more clearly defining your story and giving a nice starting point. I like it a lot more then the more strict beats seen in Blake Snyder and John Truby's paradigms as the focus on structure and character gives a lot more flexibility.
Syd Field defines a screenplay as:
- a story told in pictures
- with dialogue and description
- placed within the context of dramatic
He also proposes a clear structure:
Beginning : Act 1
=22-30 pages
set up:
establish dramatic premise
characters
situations
relationships between characters
plot point 1 at end
Middle: Act 2
=60 pages
Confrontation
plot point 2 at end
End: Act 3
=20-30 pages
Resolution= solution succeed or fail
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| Syd Field's Paradigm |
Syd Field's Paradigm is much looser then Blake Snyder and John Truby's, as there aren't precise beats to be fulfilled.
Instead, this paradigm focuses more on structure and Dramatic Context. The workshop takes you through a step by step process, broken down into 4 parts.
Part 1: Getting Started.
- Idea
- Action and character
- Structure
- Treatment
Part 2:
- create characters
- define dramatic need
Part 3:
- Write screenplay
- Prepare, structure and write each act
For example in Act 1 the key points would be the Opening Scene and Plot Point 1. Then, using 14 cards, other key points are mapped out.
The first 10 pages should be used to establish the:
- main character
- dramatic premise
- dramatic situation
The 2nd 10 pages should follow the focus of your main character.
And the last pages should create 1 or 2 scenes to set up plot point one.
Part 4:
- Rewrite
Syd Field's workshop could be quite useful for getting started on a screenplay, especially because it covers a lot of key story points. I feel like this would be useful in more clearly defining your story and giving a nice starting point. I like it a lot more then the more strict beats seen in Blake Snyder and John Truby's paradigms as the focus on structure and character gives a lot more flexibility.
High and Low Key Lighting
In Cinematography class this week we have been learning about lighting. Lighting can be used to set the tone and enhance the mood of a scene, so is quite an important consideration when thinking about the visual style of your films. Two styles of lighting are High and Low Key Lighting
High Key Lighting:
High Key Lighting was used commercially in early TV as film stock couldn't handle high contrast, and it is now commonly used in Comedy and Musicals. Used in the TV series Friends, high key lighting helps to enhance the lightheartedness of the series, and the lighting is consistent across the different locations and scenes.
The short film Apricot (2010) uses a mix of High and Low Key Lighting across its scenes. During the flashbacks there is a predominant use of High Key Lighting which differentiates the past and present time (also a soft focus and colour grading further enhances this). High Key Lighting gives these scenes a sense of innocence. The difference is subtle as some contrast is maintained so this isn't the most obvious example, but one that I felt used changes in lighting style well.
Low Key Lighting:
High Key Lighting:
- bright
- lack of shadows
- low contrast
- lighting ratios are small, reduced
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| High Key Lighting in Friends |
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| High Key Lighting in Friends |
The short film Apricot (2010) uses a mix of High and Low Key Lighting across its scenes. During the flashbacks there is a predominant use of High Key Lighting which differentiates the past and present time (also a soft focus and colour grading further enhances this). High Key Lighting gives these scenes a sense of innocence. The difference is subtle as some contrast is maintained so this isn't the most obvious example, but one that I felt used changes in lighting style well.
 |
| High Key Lighting. Apricot (2010) |
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| Low Key Lighting. Apricot (2010) |
Low Key Lighting:
- Lots of shadows
- Strong Contrasts
- Dark, often highlights show form
- Lighting Ratio is large (eg 8:1)
- Chiaroscuro - the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrast affecting a whole composition
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| Sebastian's Voodoo. (2009) |
Film Brainstorming with Mayor Tim Shadbolt
For our screenwriting this week we had a visit from Invercargill's Mayor, Time Shadbolt. He had the idea of creating a feature film, initially intended to be the first New Zealand/ China film collaboration. However Mr. Shadbolt has had some new idea's since then, and proposed a film about Le Quesnoy, a small French town with a significant connection to New Zealand.
During World War 1, the New Zealand army liberated the town without civilian casualty. In the middle of the night they climbed ladders over the walls of the town with pistols, and shoot the enemy soldiers while they slept.
Currently, Le Quesnoy are trying to sell their mayoral residence and offered it to New Zealand. However the government has turned down the offer to buy it. So Tim Shadbolt wants to buy the residence and convert it into a war memorial and hotel. He thinks if we made some promotional material and a film that these could be used to get the New Zealand Public interested in contributing towards the residences purchase.
For our first step we defined the imperatives for the film:
1) Promote film making in Southland
2) Showcase Southland => Tourism
3) ANZAC heritage (Western Front WWI)
4) Chinese interests (also consider the Chinese allies of New Zealand)
Tim Shadbolt has heaps of ideas so we have a number of possible topics to explore:
From these topics and imperatives we came up with a few potential story lines:
This could be really interesting to develop further, although personally I think Le Quesney could easily be a film in itself, perhaps a drama/ war film which could follow a soldier from his home in Southland to the events of Le Quesnoy. This talk with Tim Shadbolt has also given me a glimpse of what it could be like to work with executive producers in the future. Mr. Shadbolt has so many ideas that I think there are actually multiple separate projects in his proposal. The key thing here will be reining in those ideas while fulfilling all 4 imperatives which have been laid out.
During World War 1, the New Zealand army liberated the town without civilian casualty. In the middle of the night they climbed ladders over the walls of the town with pistols, and shoot the enemy soldiers while they slept.
Currently, Le Quesnoy are trying to sell their mayoral residence and offered it to New Zealand. However the government has turned down the offer to buy it. So Tim Shadbolt wants to buy the residence and convert it into a war memorial and hotel. He thinks if we made some promotional material and a film that these could be used to get the New Zealand Public interested in contributing towards the residences purchase.
For our first step we defined the imperatives for the film:
1) Promote film making in Southland
2) Showcase Southland => Tourism
3) ANZAC heritage (Western Front WWI)
4) Chinese interests (also consider the Chinese allies of New Zealand)
Tim Shadbolt has heaps of ideas so we have a number of possible topics to explore:
- Le Quesnay
- Rewi Alley
- Historical/ Period Drama
- Contempory Drama with flashbacks.
From these topics and imperatives we came up with a few potential story lines:
- Rewi's two children (China?), bookend device => Relatives visit France
=> Flashback to historical drama - SIT Chinese student researching Rewi => Researching around Southland
=> Link to flashbacks of Rewi's life - Rewi's grandchildren come to Invercargill to reconnect with his past => Links to French by boy/girl romance
This could be really interesting to develop further, although personally I think Le Quesney could easily be a film in itself, perhaps a drama/ war film which could follow a soldier from his home in Southland to the events of Le Quesnoy. This talk with Tim Shadbolt has also given me a glimpse of what it could be like to work with executive producers in the future. Mr. Shadbolt has so many ideas that I think there are actually multiple separate projects in his proposal. The key thing here will be reining in those ideas while fulfilling all 4 imperatives which have been laid out.
Scripts, Greenscreens and PledgeMes!
We've had a pretty good week for decision making. At the end of last week we brought two script ideas to the table for a vote on which we wanted to create. This was the script that Kim had written from our group scriptwriting session and the script that Callum had developed.
We were really lucky to have two good ideas with heaps of potential to choose from, so we decided to sleep on it and reconvene later. We held our vote on Tuesday and went with the majority who voted for Kim's Script. For this past week the script has been reworked and further developed so with a few more minor tweaks to solve a couple of problems we will very soon have our final script.
In the meantime the storyboard artists are getting stuck into thumbnails and discussions are beginning to happen between the Director, Art and VFX to work out the breakdowns of real vs CG which will help us out moving forward.
My role as 1st AD will soon be underway once our shots have been decided. In the meantime I've just been helping out wherever needed and have been asked to help out the Production Team.
This mornings task was the cleaning of the Greenscreen. The Greenscreen had unfortunately been left in a bit of a state after its use on a few projects last year, and had been packed away dirty. The production team (+ me XD ) spent an hour and a half spot cleaning the greenscreen with just rags and water, and thankfully it cleaned up pretty easily.
I've also been working on a few odd jobs for Production, such as making templates and sending out emails.
I'm also starting to do some research for our PledgeMe campaign. Iris has set the ball rolling by finding this awesome reference:
Emily Best of Seed&Spark has heaps of really good advice about crowdfunding in this interview.
In the above clip she talks about how we should SHOW our audience what we want to do, rather than just talking at them. She also suggests showing what your cinematographer or actors can do by included a few shots of their other work if you don't have anything directly connected to the project.
Another suggestion was that people are more likely to contribute if they know exactly how their contribution will be used and what that means for the film. She talks about this as a wishlist model, which has been incorporated as a tool unique to Seed&Spark's crowdfunding platform.
She also talks about the need to build a crowd before crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is not where you create your audience, you will succeed by building these connections outside of your funding. If you want to bring strangers into your project and create a bigger audience it's really important to find your target audience and cater to them.
We were really lucky to have two good ideas with heaps of potential to choose from, so we decided to sleep on it and reconvene later. We held our vote on Tuesday and went with the majority who voted for Kim's Script. For this past week the script has been reworked and further developed so with a few more minor tweaks to solve a couple of problems we will very soon have our final script.
In the meantime the storyboard artists are getting stuck into thumbnails and discussions are beginning to happen between the Director, Art and VFX to work out the breakdowns of real vs CG which will help us out moving forward.
My role as 1st AD will soon be underway once our shots have been decided. In the meantime I've just been helping out wherever needed and have been asked to help out the Production Team.
This mornings task was the cleaning of the Greenscreen. The Greenscreen had unfortunately been left in a bit of a state after its use on a few projects last year, and had been packed away dirty. The production team (+ me XD ) spent an hour and a half spot cleaning the greenscreen with just rags and water, and thankfully it cleaned up pretty easily.
 |
| Cleaning the greenscreen |
I've also been working on a few odd jobs for Production, such as making templates and sending out emails.
 |
| Availability Template |
I'm also starting to do some research for our PledgeMe campaign. Iris has set the ball rolling by finding this awesome reference:
Emily Best of Seed&Spark has heaps of really good advice about crowdfunding in this interview.
In the above clip she talks about how we should SHOW our audience what we want to do, rather than just talking at them. She also suggests showing what your cinematographer or actors can do by included a few shots of their other work if you don't have anything directly connected to the project.
Another suggestion was that people are more likely to contribute if they know exactly how their contribution will be used and what that means for the film. She talks about this as a wishlist model, which has been incorporated as a tool unique to Seed&Spark's crowdfunding platform.
She also talks about the need to build a crowd before crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is not where you create your audience, you will succeed by building these connections outside of your funding. If you want to bring strangers into your project and create a bigger audience it's really important to find your target audience and cater to them.
Friday, 13 March 2015
2015 Casting Call
It's that time of year again, so time for another casting call! This year I haven't had a huge involvement, and I was more than happy to hand over the data management role over to someone else since it got dropped on me last minute in the previous casting call.
We've been distributing the poster for casting call for the last week or so and I did some letter box drops with some of the small pamphlets on Thursday last week.
We had the first day of casting call today, and I was in one of the audition rooms to help out with script reading. It's good to see so much talent, though I predict some casting difficulty of certain age groups. There's one day left of the casting call (which I'm unavailable for) so hopefully we get a good number of auditions.
Digital Film Project: Building a Story
Last week the script team was sent off to work on a concept that we had spoken about in class. During the last week it was suggested that we form a feasibility committee to read over the scripts as they were ready and consider any potential difficulties so that we could make some informed decisions. I was asked to be part of this group because of my experience from last years project and because of my VFX knowledge as Michael couldn't be there. We were a bit surprised by the scripts that were presented as the script team had decided to work individually, but we went ahead and identified some considerations- specifically potential VFX and Art department issues.
In class we meet up with the group to look at the scripts that the script team had come up with. The script team had had problems coming to a consensus about where to take the previous concept so each member of the group had written a different version. This sounds like a good idea in theory but we ended up with many scripts that used the same genre and could have been further developed but contained none of the themes or character dilemmas which were appealing in the initial concept.
We took a step back to the original idea and worked on developing the concept again. To mix things up a bit, Michael and I were added to the script team to hopefully bring in some more ideas. We ended up with a few variations of the concept then pulled the elements we liked together and fleshed things out some more, using thumbnails as a visual aid.
We made a beat sheet of sorts, which Kim has taken to write up into script format.
I think we have come a fair way with the concept and trying to find a compromise between visuals and story. I think as long as we can keep the character focused on his original goal, even while he is caught up in other events, and manage to show this successfully then we can keep that human element intact.
Over the past week I've also been involved with the rough scheduling, which we got stuck into over Skype calls! I think my role in the production schedule is over for now- but I'll be back into planning mode when it comes to getting filming schedules sorted.
In class we meet up with the group to look at the scripts that the script team had come up with. The script team had had problems coming to a consensus about where to take the previous concept so each member of the group had written a different version. This sounds like a good idea in theory but we ended up with many scripts that used the same genre and could have been further developed but contained none of the themes or character dilemmas which were appealing in the initial concept.
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| Retrieved from http://contentrix.com/blessings/7823 |
We took a step back to the original idea and worked on developing the concept again. To mix things up a bit, Michael and I were added to the script team to hopefully bring in some more ideas. We ended up with a few variations of the concept then pulled the elements we liked together and fleshed things out some more, using thumbnails as a visual aid.
 |
| Thumbnails by Michael and Vincent |
We made a beat sheet of sorts, which Kim has taken to write up into script format.
I think we have come a fair way with the concept and trying to find a compromise between visuals and story. I think as long as we can keep the character focused on his original goal, even while he is caught up in other events, and manage to show this successfully then we can keep that human element intact.
Over the past week I've also been involved with the rough scheduling, which we got stuck into over Skype calls! I think my role in the production schedule is over for now- but I'll be back into planning mode when it comes to getting filming schedules sorted.
Screenwriting: Story Structure Paradigms and Beat Sheets
In class this week we examined a beat sheet, treatment and a draft script and talked about the differences between them. This also meant we could clearly see the development of the story and how plot points were carried across and developed further.
Beat Sheet:
Scripts are usually developed in a logic process; from Beat Sheet, Step Outline, Treatment, Synopsis, Draft Screenplays -until they are finalized. As an exercise we attempted a basic Beat Sheet and Step Outline using our original character and basic story.
While we defined the beat sheet as a rough, bullet pointed summary of key ideas and plot points some screenwriters have different ideas about this and use a different approach to script development.
Two examples are Blake Synder's 'Save the Cat' and John Truby's '22 Building Blocks', which can be simplified to 7 Steps.
John Truby:
John Truby draws from Joesph Campbell (the Hero's Journey) to create the 22 Building Blocks, which loosely follows the 3-Act Script.
"A key concept of Truby’s technique is that plot is what the Character does while the Character is defined by his actions. Essentially, the plotline is the result of the Hero’s (Protagonist’s) actions movtivated by his internal need and an external desire or goal. It’s the classic story structure and in his works, Truby applies his structure to a number of successful classic films "
The Twenty-Two Building Blocks:
Act1
Act 2
Act 3
Truby claims that all stories have these seven characteristics:
Blake Snyder:
In Blake Snyder's book 'Save the Cat', he broke the 3 act script into a 'beat sheet' with 15 key story 'beats' (pivotal events that had to happen) and labelled these with a page number- specifying when in the film each should take place.
My Thoughts:
When comparing the two paradigms there are quite a few differences between each approach. John Truby's 'Twenty-Two Building Blocks' are centered more around the character and the inner motivations and changes that character experiences. This paradigm builds from the characters need, desire or realization, and build from here through the actions and conflicts they encounter. This is made more obvious by the '7 Steps'- which all focus on character. The approach is less formulaic, while things are still arranged in terms of Act structures they are looser than the page by page breakdown that Blake Snyder suggests.
Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet seems more focused on a theme or lesson to be learnt (or forced upon) by the character than the character's own journey, and the story is moved along purely by this need, and the specific events that 'must' happen.
I probably don't respond so well to this format because is seems more like the structure is in place simply to push an agenda or moralistic lesson. It is a very formulaic approach, which can make things even more predictable. Putting my own response aside this is probably a useful tool but I think that it can easily be abused if people just try to shoehorn story ideas into this formula.
References:
"John Truby's 22 plot building blocks" (2011). http://iconoclasticwriter.com/john-trubys-22-plot-building-blocks/
"The seven key steps of story structure". (2010). https://markmcbride.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/the-seven-key-steps-of-story-structure/
P, Sunderman. (2013). "Save the movie". http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/07/hollywood_and_blake_snyder_s_screenwriting_book_save_the_cat.html
"3 acts or what?". (n.d.). http://www.trilane.com/texts/paradigms/paradigms.html
Beat Sheet:
- Plotting out significant narrative plot points
- Only really seen by writers- working document for personal use
- Generally is the first step in the script development process
- Rough, incoherent- not intended as a work of art
- Repository for your creative ideas
Step Outline:
- Ideally still a working document for personal use
- Fleshed out plot ideas into coherent prose
- Each paragraph is its own scene
Treatment:
- Formatted- generally 12pt Courier/ Arial/ Times New Roman
- Coherent prose. Descriptive
- Consider to be the 'sales' document. Will be shown to stakeholders.
Synopsis
- Sometimes called an 'Outline'
- A summary/ overview of the story
- Basic, bare-bones, story coverage
Two examples are Blake Synder's 'Save the Cat' and John Truby's '22 Building Blocks', which can be simplified to 7 Steps.
John Truby:
John Truby draws from Joesph Campbell (the Hero's Journey) to create the 22 Building Blocks, which loosely follows the 3-Act Script.
"A key concept of Truby’s technique is that plot is what the Character does while the Character is defined by his actions. Essentially, the plotline is the result of the Hero’s (Protagonist’s) actions movtivated by his internal need and an external desire or goal. It’s the classic story structure and in his works, Truby applies his structure to a number of successful classic films "
The Twenty-Two Building Blocks:
Act1
- Self-Realization, Need, Desire
- Ghost & Context
- Problem/Need
- Inciting Incident
- Overall Desire (start low)
- Ally/Allies
- Opponent/Mystery
- Opponent/Ally
- 1st Reversal & Decision: changed desire & motive
Act 2
- Plan
- Opponent’s Plan & 1st Counter Attack
- Drive
- Attack by Ally
- Apparent Defeat
- 2nd Reversal & Decision: obsessive drive, changed desire & motive
- Audience revelation about opponent-ally
- 3rd Reversal & Decision
Act 3
- Gate, Gauntlet, Visit to Death
- Battle
- Self-Revelation/Thematic Revelation
- Moral Decision
- New Equilibrium
7 Steps:
While the Twenty-Two building blocks can be seen as the overall structure and format of the film, the seven steps can be seen as the characteristics within that story.Truby claims that all stories have these seven characteristics:
- Weakness and need: a hero with a weakness and a need
- Desire: the backbone of the story that drives the hero …notice that the desire, the want, isn't the same as the “need”
- Opponent: this character, often the antagonist, must go against the protagonist by wanting the same thing
- Plan: heroes who want something need a plan of action
- Battle: when the story boils to a crisis
- Self-revelation: here the hero realizes what he wanted wasn't what he needed…..I want to say this again, The hero wants something but he realizes that what he wanted wasn't what he needs
- New equilibrium: with the new knowledge the world changes for the character
Blake Snyder:
In Blake Snyder's book 'Save the Cat', he broke the 3 act script into a 'beat sheet' with 15 key story 'beats' (pivotal events that had to happen) and labelled these with a page number- specifying when in the film each should take place.
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My Thoughts:
When comparing the two paradigms there are quite a few differences between each approach. John Truby's 'Twenty-Two Building Blocks' are centered more around the character and the inner motivations and changes that character experiences. This paradigm builds from the characters need, desire or realization, and build from here through the actions and conflicts they encounter. This is made more obvious by the '7 Steps'- which all focus on character. The approach is less formulaic, while things are still arranged in terms of Act structures they are looser than the page by page breakdown that Blake Snyder suggests.
Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet seems more focused on a theme or lesson to be learnt (or forced upon) by the character than the character's own journey, and the story is moved along purely by this need, and the specific events that 'must' happen.
I probably don't respond so well to this format because is seems more like the structure is in place simply to push an agenda or moralistic lesson. It is a very formulaic approach, which can make things even more predictable. Putting my own response aside this is probably a useful tool but I think that it can easily be abused if people just try to shoehorn story ideas into this formula.
References:
"John Truby's 22 plot building blocks" (2011). http://iconoclasticwriter.com/john-trubys-22-plot-building-blocks/
"The seven key steps of story structure". (2010). https://markmcbride.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/the-seven-key-steps-of-story-structure/
P, Sunderman. (2013). "Save the movie". http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/07/hollywood_and_blake_snyder_s_screenwriting_book_save_the_cat.html
"3 acts or what?". (n.d.). http://www.trilane.com/texts/paradigms/paradigms.html
Depth Of Field Exercise
In this exercise we explored the effect of different focal lengths, shutter angles, and ND filters on Depth of Field. It was intended that we would alter the aperture to correctly expose the footage (also altering the DOF), however the area my group chose to film in wasn't ideal and we had insufficient lighting to really show this. Due to this I had to bump up the gain a lot, causing heaps of grain. The lack of light means that my footage is a really bad example and doesn't show that well what was intended in this lesson.
These are the screen shots from my footage. The last few screen shots show a shallower depth of field.
These are the screen shots from my footage. The last few screen shots show a shallower depth of field.
Sunday, 8 March 2015
Cinematography: Depth of Field
We joined the photography students again to learn about Depth of Field (DOF). Essentially, Depth of Field is a visual phenomena which occurs in film or photographs.
In photography the depth of field is mostly affected by aperture. This is demonstrated in the exercise below. Each of these photos were shot with a different aperture, which was balanced to the correct exposure by adjusting the shutter speed. The change in aperture causes different areas of the scene to sharp, or in focus. A low aperture causes a shallow depth of field, while a high aperture causes a long depth of field.
This can be seen most clearly when comparing particular photos in the sequence.
The other change that can be seen in these photos is how movement is recorded. This is due to the changes in shutter speed, as movement will appear to blur more the longer the shutter is open for.
Applying this to film:
Shutter Speed is less of a variable in film because usually film will be shot at 1/50 shutter speed or 180 degree shutter angle. Referring back to the exposure triangle we can see that the main variables must then be aperture and ISO. When manipulating DOF in film the ISO and the sensor size of the lens become more important (the smaller the sensor, the greater the DOF).
The other key variable in causing changes in the depth of field is the use of Neutral Density Filters. ND filters reduce the amount of light entering the lens, but do not affect the colour temperature. This allows for the lowest aperture to be used while maintaining correct exposure.
Depth of Field is usually used in film for stylistic or narrative purposes. It can make something look visually appealing but can also be used to manipulate the audiences gaze to where the director wishes them to look, or even to conceal important hints.
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| Retrieved from http://howtophotographyourlife.com/tag/depth-of-field/ |
In photography the depth of field is mostly affected by aperture. This is demonstrated in the exercise below. Each of these photos were shot with a different aperture, which was balanced to the correct exposure by adjusting the shutter speed. The change in aperture causes different areas of the scene to sharp, or in focus. A low aperture causes a shallow depth of field, while a high aperture causes a long depth of field.
This can be seen most clearly when comparing particular photos in the sequence.
The other change that can be seen in these photos is how movement is recorded. This is due to the changes in shutter speed, as movement will appear to blur more the longer the shutter is open for.
Applying this to film:
Shutter Speed is less of a variable in film because usually film will be shot at 1/50 shutter speed or 180 degree shutter angle. Referring back to the exposure triangle we can see that the main variables must then be aperture and ISO. When manipulating DOF in film the ISO and the sensor size of the lens become more important (the smaller the sensor, the greater the DOF).
The other key variable in causing changes in the depth of field is the use of Neutral Density Filters. ND filters reduce the amount of light entering the lens, but do not affect the colour temperature. This allows for the lowest aperture to be used while maintaining correct exposure.
Depth of Field is usually used in film for stylistic or narrative purposes. It can make something look visually appealing but can also be used to manipulate the audiences gaze to where the director wishes them to look, or even to conceal important hints.
Small Colossus Media is Born!
As part of my Graduate Diploma I will be taking part in this years collaborate project, but this time as a film student rather than an animator.
There have been a few other changes from last year too, with more flexibility in terms of what we will actually be creating. It has been put to the group to decide whether we want to make a game cinematic, film teaser or trailer, or web series concept. In the last couple of weeks the majority of of group were leaning towards the film teaser, but personally I felt that it was almost irrelevant without a concept to work from. In fact the strictest guideline is the one I feel is most important- a 2minute restriction on the length of whatever we make. This is definitely going us out and hopefully keep us from biting off more than we can chew.
Well, a couple of weeks in and we have a clear direction in which our story is going and a good base concept. While there is definitely some tweaks needed in terms of character and story I think we are off to a really good start, and it's awesome how engaged everyone is with the project. I think there is a nice dynamic going so far within the group.
The other main decision that has been made is the assignment of roles. This year I will be the 1st AD (Assistant Director). This is a pretty important role, both on and off set in terms of keeping everything running on track, so is pretty exciting as it will push me outside my comfort zone while also feeling do-able to me. There is going to be a bit of a learning curve for me, as I'm going to need to learn to use some new software.
While I know a fair bit from being on set and observing what went on last year I decided it would pay to do a bit of research into this role and the responsibilities I will have.
Key points include:
http://howtofilmschool.com/working-as-a-1st-assistant-director/
There have been a few other changes from last year too, with more flexibility in terms of what we will actually be creating. It has been put to the group to decide whether we want to make a game cinematic, film teaser or trailer, or web series concept. In the last couple of weeks the majority of of group were leaning towards the film teaser, but personally I felt that it was almost irrelevant without a concept to work from. In fact the strictest guideline is the one I feel is most important- a 2minute restriction on the length of whatever we make. This is definitely going us out and hopefully keep us from biting off more than we can chew.
Well, a couple of weeks in and we have a clear direction in which our story is going and a good base concept. While there is definitely some tweaks needed in terms of character and story I think we are off to a really good start, and it's awesome how engaged everyone is with the project. I think there is a nice dynamic going so far within the group.
The other main decision that has been made is the assignment of roles. This year I will be the 1st AD (Assistant Director). This is a pretty important role, both on and off set in terms of keeping everything running on track, so is pretty exciting as it will push me outside my comfort zone while also feeling do-able to me. There is going to be a bit of a learning curve for me, as I'm going to need to learn to use some new software.
While I know a fair bit from being on set and observing what went on last year I decided it would pay to do a bit of research into this role and the responsibilities I will have.
Key points include:
- Creating filming schedules
- Script Breakdowns
- Daily Call sheets
- Co-coordinating production activities (keeping everything on schedule)
- Health and Safety
- Hazard Management
http://howtofilmschool.com/working-as-a-1st-assistant-director/
Thursday, 5 March 2015
Writing the Non-Dialogue Film: In Class Exercise
The number one rule of writing a short film: K.I.S.S - Keep It Simple, Stupid!
In our class exercise we have been focusing on three points so far: Character, Objective and Obstacle. One of the clear points I've noticed is that we have a tendency to be a bit too abstract with our ideas, and our characters often have far to lofty goals.
We have learnt that our characters' objectives should be short term, tangible and well defined. They can have larger, long term goals as part of their character but these aren't what we would be dealing with in a short film.
The Obstacle can be quite broad and a character might have more than one obstacle to face. It could be an antagonist, a physical obstacle, time etc. The point here though is that the obstacle shouldn't be too abstract.
Another point we touched upon in class is plausibility. This is where a lot of concepts needed reworking, as ultimately whatever problems and solutions occur in a film they should be logical as per the rules of setting. In a short film there isn't a lot of time to establish rules that are very different from the expectations that an audience would already have. If something looks to be set in our world, but has a different set of rules that haven't been communicated to the audience, chances are that they will question the logic of the film.
While I've watched heaps of non-dialogue short films I was struggling to think of any that weren't either animated or mixed media. In fact all I could think of was the Mr Bean TV series!
Ok, so technically there is usually some dialogue in Mr Bean skits but I would argue that it really isn't necessary. This particular skit is a pretty good example of some of the concepts we have been going over in class.
Mr Bean has a really clear objective: To shorten the time he spends in the waiting room of the hospital by stealing other patients' spots in the queue.
Initially his obstacle is quite abstract, all the patients in the line before him are obstacles to his initial goal of not having to wait. But Mr Bean finds a more clearly defined obstacle in a particular patient who is seated next to him in a wheelchair and the two of them fall into an antagonist/protagonist relationship.
Something else we spoke about in class that also ties in well to many Mr Bean skits is the idea of 'just desserts'. In this skit Mr Bean behaves horribly but doesn't normally get the last laugh.
Anyway because I've been drawing blank on any non-dialogue films I figure I have a fair bit of research to do. So I'm going to be spending some time hunting down some better examples! Watch this space.
In our class exercise we have been focusing on three points so far: Character, Objective and Obstacle. One of the clear points I've noticed is that we have a tendency to be a bit too abstract with our ideas, and our characters often have far to lofty goals.
We have learnt that our characters' objectives should be short term, tangible and well defined. They can have larger, long term goals as part of their character but these aren't what we would be dealing with in a short film.
The Obstacle can be quite broad and a character might have more than one obstacle to face. It could be an antagonist, a physical obstacle, time etc. The point here though is that the obstacle shouldn't be too abstract.
 |
| Figure 1: Obstacles. Retrieved from http://www.brittanytrubridge.com |
Another point we touched upon in class is plausibility. This is where a lot of concepts needed reworking, as ultimately whatever problems and solutions occur in a film they should be logical as per the rules of setting. In a short film there isn't a lot of time to establish rules that are very different from the expectations that an audience would already have. If something looks to be set in our world, but has a different set of rules that haven't been communicated to the audience, chances are that they will question the logic of the film.
While I've watched heaps of non-dialogue short films I was struggling to think of any that weren't either animated or mixed media. In fact all I could think of was the Mr Bean TV series!
Ok, so technically there is usually some dialogue in Mr Bean skits but I would argue that it really isn't necessary. This particular skit is a pretty good example of some of the concepts we have been going over in class.
Mr Bean has a really clear objective: To shorten the time he spends in the waiting room of the hospital by stealing other patients' spots in the queue.
Initially his obstacle is quite abstract, all the patients in the line before him are obstacles to his initial goal of not having to wait. But Mr Bean finds a more clearly defined obstacle in a particular patient who is seated next to him in a wheelchair and the two of them fall into an antagonist/protagonist relationship.
Something else we spoke about in class that also ties in well to many Mr Bean skits is the idea of 'just desserts'. In this skit Mr Bean behaves horribly but doesn't normally get the last laugh.
Anyway because I've been drawing blank on any non-dialogue films I figure I have a fair bit of research to do. So I'm going to be spending some time hunting down some better examples! Watch this space.
Sunday, 1 March 2015
Film Review: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
Over the weekend I went to the cinema and saw Kingsman: The Secret Service, directed by Matthew Vaughn.
After Eggsy gets into trouble with the law after stealing a car from the neighborhood thugs he calls in a favour to Harry Hart, who works for a spy agency and feels responsible for the death of Eggsy's father many years before. Having been offered the chance to escape his current life and join the agency Eggsy begins training with the other candidates. Meanwhile an elaborate plot is being set in motion.
Kingsman was overall an enjoyable film but I found myself at points indecisive as to whether it was brilliant or ridiculous. The entire film was over the top, from the actors to the fight scenes. At first i found the acting a bit painful in it's exaggeratedness, but it quickly became part of the films humor; especially when moments of ridiculousness contrasted with deadpan acting, or serious moments were overplayed.
This worked well for the style of the film, which drew a good amount of its humor from the use of stereotypes and reference to other films. However with the emphasis on action and comedy I felt that the narrative was somewhat swamped. This really wasn't a film to connect to emotionally. There were a few moments in the film where scenes that seemed to attempt some seriousness were subverted by comedic undertones. It was brilliant in its unexpectedness, but I couldn't help but be pulled out of the film to wonder how I should respond to a moment. This meant that there were very few moments in the film where I actually felt any connection to the characters emotionally, and would instead consider this film to be pure entertainment.
This probably also affected my view of the main character, Eggsy. Eggsy is a spunky and witty character, whose main growth comes from a change in attitude. At the start of the film he seems to feel hard-done-by by the world and pessimistic towards it. He sees his current standing within the world as unfair, but feels unable to change it or even recognize the things he could change.
The character was really likeable, and was shown to be caring towards his mother and sister, encouraging and emotionally supportive towards Roxy (despite that they were in competition for the same position). While I found the character interesting and likeable he sometimes seemed to be overshadowed by the other characters. My favorite character was probably either Eggsy or Harry Hart, but I found emotionally connecting to the characters was something that needed to be tried at; that there was a conscious decision on my part to push through the superficial surface of the film in order to find those connections.
Interestingly, I found that some of the most visually engaging moments were also those that made me switch off a bit during the film. In these cases, while there was no way that I would look away, I definitely found myself thinking about the VFX in each shot (granted a habit I fall into while watching films these days) rather than the film itself.
This becomes both a strength and weakness for the film, and is part of why I would consider the film to be pure, exalted entertainment. Kingsman pushed the boundaries and then pushed a little further and, with a narrative that was so simple it needed to.
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| Kingsman: The Secret Service promotional poster |
After Eggsy gets into trouble with the law after stealing a car from the neighborhood thugs he calls in a favour to Harry Hart, who works for a spy agency and feels responsible for the death of Eggsy's father many years before. Having been offered the chance to escape his current life and join the agency Eggsy begins training with the other candidates. Meanwhile an elaborate plot is being set in motion.
Kingsman was overall an enjoyable film but I found myself at points indecisive as to whether it was brilliant or ridiculous. The entire film was over the top, from the actors to the fight scenes. At first i found the acting a bit painful in it's exaggeratedness, but it quickly became part of the films humor; especially when moments of ridiculousness contrasted with deadpan acting, or serious moments were overplayed.
This worked well for the style of the film, which drew a good amount of its humor from the use of stereotypes and reference to other films. However with the emphasis on action and comedy I felt that the narrative was somewhat swamped. This really wasn't a film to connect to emotionally. There were a few moments in the film where scenes that seemed to attempt some seriousness were subverted by comedic undertones. It was brilliant in its unexpectedness, but I couldn't help but be pulled out of the film to wonder how I should respond to a moment. This meant that there were very few moments in the film where I actually felt any connection to the characters emotionally, and would instead consider this film to be pure entertainment.
This probably also affected my view of the main character, Eggsy. Eggsy is a spunky and witty character, whose main growth comes from a change in attitude. At the start of the film he seems to feel hard-done-by by the world and pessimistic towards it. He sees his current standing within the world as unfair, but feels unable to change it or even recognize the things he could change.
The character was really likeable, and was shown to be caring towards his mother and sister, encouraging and emotionally supportive towards Roxy (despite that they were in competition for the same position). While I found the character interesting and likeable he sometimes seemed to be overshadowed by the other characters. My favorite character was probably either Eggsy or Harry Hart, but I found emotionally connecting to the characters was something that needed to be tried at; that there was a conscious decision on my part to push through the superficial surface of the film in order to find those connections.
Interestingly, I found that some of the most visually engaging moments were also those that made me switch off a bit during the film. In these cases, while there was no way that I would look away, I definitely found myself thinking about the VFX in each shot (granted a habit I fall into while watching films these days) rather than the film itself.
This becomes both a strength and weakness for the film, and is part of why I would consider the film to be pure, exalted entertainment. Kingsman pushed the boundaries and then pushed a little further and, with a narrative that was so simple it needed to.
Shutter Speed Variations in Film
So this research is actually really beneficial to me in developing that. But because of this, I was limited to looking at films that others had already identified as using high shutter speeds, and watching any clips I could find the would let me pick this out. Some examples I found included Saving Private Ryan (1998), Gladiator (2000) and The Descent (2005)
Saving Private Ryan uses an assortment of shutter speeds to create different effects. Many of these can be seen in the clip below.
A high shutter speed was used for many of the explosions, which added extra clarity to dirt and debris. This was intended to add a little more realism to the footage.
"I used a 45-degree shutter on the explosions, and a 90-degree shutter on most of the running shots. But we alternated at times. Sometimes the 45-degree shutter would appear too exaggerated and the 90 turned out to be better. But for extreme explosions like this, where we really wanted to practically count each individual particle flying through the air, the 45-degree shutter worked best" (Spielberg, cited by cinemashock, 2012)
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| Saving Private Ryan. (1998) |
On some forums I found that people often associated a high shutter speed with horror films. This actually makes a lot of sense to me when I think back to our in class exercise, as when the shutter speed increased I noted that the footage seemed to become more unnatural looking as it also increased in clarity. In hindsight this really would lend itself to a horror film by creating that same unsettled feeling with the audience to enhance the narrative.
The Descent (2005) uses the high shutter speed in this way.
The other main purposes I found for using a high shutter speed was to enhance action shots, and reducing motion blur.
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