Monday 13 April 2015
Technical skills
There is a lot of equipment and roles that are required to make a film and there is a level of competence and skill that is needed to carry out the jobs. Scripts need to be written and re-written until they are deemed ready, then actors need to be cast for roles, locations need to be found, equipment needs to be sourced including lighting, sound and cameras. Then it all has to be moved to where the shoot is and set up correctly, with a crew behind the scenes who all know what their job is and where they should be. My roles included production, set design and also a part in writing. In the production role, it was my job to ready the camera and sound for a shot and keep track of the continuity. In my role in set design it was my job to move everything out of the shot that was out of place as well as rearrange furniture to make room for equipment and add/position props (e.g. beer cans) Also in the time when the script was being written and re-written, I wrote a script as a general idea and looked at the final script that Matt wrote and made some suggestions. Whilst in my role in set design, I found a small bird ornament which whistled every so often. I made sure to inform others as I felt the noise might affect the filming. Also I was told that my idea, though not pursued in the end, was good, and the suggestions I put forth where taken into account when finalising a script.
Reviews
Short film: Driven (2013/14)
Produced by signal films for the BFI course last year, driven follows the story of a lost man who's sat nav appears to be running him in circles. At first, the viewer may be expected to find this situation almost comedic. However, as the film progresses and the sun goes down, its revealed that there is a far darker reason behind the mans unfortunate situation. Plot wise I feel like the film achieved the twist it was looking to achieve. The point at which the twist is revealed and the tone changes is so fast that it hits hard. the cinematography is also very well done. the use of over the shoulder shots to shoot the interior of the car whilst driving and stationary was well executed and the wider shots established both the feeling of isolation and being lost that the main character was feeling.
Foreign film: He loves me, He loves me not (2002 "À la folie... pas du tout" (original title))
This is a film of French origin, which focused on telling the same story from multiple perspectives. each time revealing that told us more about motives and plot, while at the same time changing the tone of the film dramatically. Colour is used a great deal in the film. There are moments when the film is very vibrant and other scenes where there is little colour. This follows the shift in mood throughout. the sound and music in the film play another key factor as the same song is repeated, again like the colour, played differently to mimic the tone. The plot is clever, at first making the viewer believe they are watching a romantic film and then slowly dismantling that façade to reveal a darker story, almost turning the film into a thriller, focused on a girl with a severe mental illness.
British film: 24 hour party people (2002)
Directed by Michael Winterbottom and written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, 24 hour party people is a biographical comedy set in the 1970's, and follows the establishment of Factory records by Tony Wilson (played by Steve Coogan) The style of the writing seems very fast. The film seems to skim through numerous real life events. However, the viewer is never really lost and wondering what is happening as the main character is constantly breaking the forth wall and telling you exactly who people are and what's happening. At the very start of the film we are even told how the plot of the film with go, telling us it parallels the story of Icarus. The cinematography is also very interesting. the film is filter to look as if the entire thing was filmed in the 1970's and there are parts where the film is spliced together with real life footage of the bands that are supposed to be playing. I feel this sets the tone of the film well and helps us understand who the main character is talking about or interacting with.
Produced by signal films for the BFI course last year, driven follows the story of a lost man who's sat nav appears to be running him in circles. At first, the viewer may be expected to find this situation almost comedic. However, as the film progresses and the sun goes down, its revealed that there is a far darker reason behind the mans unfortunate situation. Plot wise I feel like the film achieved the twist it was looking to achieve. The point at which the twist is revealed and the tone changes is so fast that it hits hard. the cinematography is also very well done. the use of over the shoulder shots to shoot the interior of the car whilst driving and stationary was well executed and the wider shots established both the feeling of isolation and being lost that the main character was feeling.
Foreign film: He loves me, He loves me not (2002 "À la folie... pas du tout" (original title))
This is a film of French origin, which focused on telling the same story from multiple perspectives. each time revealing that told us more about motives and plot, while at the same time changing the tone of the film dramatically. Colour is used a great deal in the film. There are moments when the film is very vibrant and other scenes where there is little colour. This follows the shift in mood throughout. the sound and music in the film play another key factor as the same song is repeated, again like the colour, played differently to mimic the tone. The plot is clever, at first making the viewer believe they are watching a romantic film and then slowly dismantling that façade to reveal a darker story, almost turning the film into a thriller, focused on a girl with a severe mental illness.
British film: 24 hour party people (2002)
Directed by Michael Winterbottom and written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, 24 hour party people is a biographical comedy set in the 1970's, and follows the establishment of Factory records by Tony Wilson (played by Steve Coogan) The style of the writing seems very fast. The film seems to skim through numerous real life events. However, the viewer is never really lost and wondering what is happening as the main character is constantly breaking the forth wall and telling you exactly who people are and what's happening. At the very start of the film we are even told how the plot of the film with go, telling us it parallels the story of Icarus. The cinematography is also very interesting. the film is filter to look as if the entire thing was filmed in the 1970's and there are parts where the film is spliced together with real life footage of the bands that are supposed to be playing. I feel this sets the tone of the film well and helps us understand who the main character is talking about or interacting with.
Behaviour and working practices in the film industry
Behaviour in the film industry is similar to behaviour in most places of work. Its important to keep a positive and healthy working relationship with your co workers. This means being polite to one another and treating everyone as equals and with respect. It is also important to act professionally. In a career that is focused on recording over a progressive long period of time, its important to know what your job is and to not do anything to jeopardise a shoot (e.g. talking when you shouldn't be).
This link shows further detail about working relationships:
http://testsite.cmcnet.co.uk/awctraining/sites/default/files/Effective%20Working%20Relationships.pdf
Health and safety is also a factor, as it is in many other professions. it is the job of the producer to make sure basic health and safety checks are done for every area of the production and that appropriate risk assessments are carried out.
Further information:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/production/health-and-safety
Finally, the film industry works to a very tight schedule and contains a lot of deadlines that need to be met. This makes time keeping extremely important in this career, arguably more than many others as one job being slow can effect every other afterwards. Its also important to expect to be working late and for large periods. Breaks should be provided and planned however.
This link shows further detail about working relationships:
http://testsite.cmcnet.co.uk/awctraining/sites/default/files/Effective%20Working%20Relationships.pdf
Health and safety is also a factor, as it is in many other professions. it is the job of the producer to make sure basic health and safety checks are done for every area of the production and that appropriate risk assessments are carried out.
Further information:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/production/health-and-safety
Finally, the film industry works to a very tight schedule and contains a lot of deadlines that need to be met. This makes time keeping extremely important in this career, arguably more than many others as one job being slow can effect every other afterwards. Its also important to expect to be working late and for large periods. Breaks should be provided and planned however.
Careers in film
In a session with Christine Pyke, we were informed of the many different careers in film and television, and where we should begin if we wished to pursue them. We were told about how the different types of funding affect what sort of content is published by the different television companies. We were told about the importance of focusing on a genre and researching that area if we wished to go in that direction, for example, having a knowledge of an area of history if you wished to pursue a carrier in documentary. There seemed to be a over arching message that it wouldn't be an immediate path to your desired career. Many would start doing running jobs but being placed on the sort of program you wished to work on and working your way up the ladder.
We have also learned about how the relationship between film and other wider media has changed in recent years. Online media has made films easier to access as well as television programs. there are also other media films have effected, such as music (and artists making music specifically for soundtracks) and clothing inspired by certain films.
We have also learned about how the relationship between film and other wider media has changed in recent years. Online media has made films easier to access as well as television programs. there are also other media films have effected, such as music (and artists making music specifically for soundtracks) and clothing inspired by certain films.
Wednesday 11 March 2015
Film roles
Each role in the film industry has a place and certain people won't be expected to ever talk. For example, the Marketing director will never need to talk to the sound technicians. Though jobs may be done completely separately from others, each must be done to complete a film. In this flow chart, the lines show who may need to communicate in that area.
The three main roles out of all these are the writer, director and producer.
The writer, obviously, is the one who has the original idea for the film and develops characters and a script.
The director has creative control over the film from the start of production to the end.
The producer is organiser an handles the crew, money and makes sure everything is ready.
Further information:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/production/cast-and-crew
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/film/job_roles
Film production process
1. The idea is the first ideas of the story and genre of film.
2. Development finance is getting funding to start the project and making sure key roles are filled i.e. writer.
3. Script development is the process of completing the script.
4. Packaging is planning out how the film will be made and who will be in it.
5. Financing is gaining the money required to fund to bulk of the project.
6. Pre-production is the planning of how the shoots for the film will go and what is needed.
7. The shoot is the filming itself.
8. Post production is the process of taking the rough footage and putting it all together.
9. Sales is production of advertising materials and screening of the film.
10. Marketing is the advertisement of the film and finding the target audience
11. Exhibition is the premiere and showing of the film.
12. Other windows is what happens to the film after release
Further information:
http://www.inspiredfilmandvideo.co.uk/content/stages-of-production
Copyright
Copyright effects all types of media including film. There are a list of areas that should be taken into account when making a film, in order to avoid copyright infringement:
Literary
The writing has to be an original concept. Dialogue can't be taken from other pieces and claimed to be the creation of the writer
Musical
Artistic
Sound recording
Film
video footage cannot be taken from another film without permission to use by the original creator
During the production of our film we managed to avoid most problems that may have occurred. Music was composed especially. Sounds where either recorded during the shoot or within the public domain. All film and writing was original. The only real problem we faced was the branding on a prop (a bottle of whiskey). However, the problems were avoided as the scenes were only short, most had the logo obscured and those that didn't were left out.
Further copyright information:
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law
Literary
The writing has to be an original concept. Dialogue can't be taken from other pieces and claimed to be the creation of the writer
Musical
compositions should be in the public domain or independently created
Photos or brands (logos) require permission if you wish to use them
Sound effects should be in the pubic domain or independently created
video footage cannot be taken from another film without permission to use by the original creator
During the production of our film we managed to avoid most problems that may have occurred. Music was composed especially. Sounds where either recorded during the shoot or within the public domain. All film and writing was original. The only real problem we faced was the branding on a prop (a bottle of whiskey). However, the problems were avoided as the scenes were only short, most had the logo obscured and those that didn't were left out.
Further copyright information:
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law
My script idea
The
Contract
Written
by
James
Alexander
CARD:
(Sound of typing. Black screen. Text appears
parallel to sound)
The
Contract
SCENE 1.
INT. CHRIS’ HOUSE, STUDY – DAY
CUT FROM TITLE. Chris Francis is sat at his desk,
typing on his computer rapidly. He is then interrupted by his phone ringing.
Continuing to work with one hand, he PICKS UP the PHONE with his other.
CHRIS
Hello?
Ah sir yes… yes I’m just finishing up now. It’ll take two seconds and I’ll
email it over straight away. Yes, sir I understand…yes.
As Chris continues to speak to his boss, we see the
COMPUTER SCREEN showing his work. Suddenly the screen switches off. Chris
presses buttons frantically but the computer is dead.
CHRIS
(Makes
a noise of panic then composes himself) No sir nothing’s wrong… yes everything
should be on its way. Could I talk to you later sir? I just need to check some
things…yes sir ok thank you.
Chris PUTS DOWN the phone and begins hitting the
computer and the desk repeating the words “come on”, getting more and more
frantic. He finally collapses with his head in his hands and moans with
frustration. He takes a deep breath and sits up. He begins to talk to himself.
CHRIS
Ok.
I can save this. The computer’s dead but there’s got to be a way I can still
send this stuff. There are computers in the library… but it’s closed on a
Sunday. I could buy a new one… but I don’t have the money for a replacement.
Come on think. There’s got to be something, anything!
There is a sudden loud knocking on the door.
Flustered and confused, Chris moves to the door and opens it cautiously.
Standing outside are two figures; a man and woman. Both are dressed formally
and quite pale in complexion. The man is smirking while the woman stares
expressionless at Chris.
JEREMY
Good
morning sir. How are you today? My name is Jeremy Cranston and this is my
sister Martha. Say hello Martha.
Jeremy and Chris look at Martha. She stays silent
and still. Jeremy begins to giggle.
CHRIS
Err…hello?
Jeremy
I’m
playing with you sir. She won’t respond, she’s mute.
CHRIS
Oh
I’m sorry
JEREMY
Don’t
be sir. She deserved it. Now! We’ve been told, by our employer, that you are
currently in a spot of bother. Some sort of computer issue? Can we come in?
CHRIS
Wait.
Hold on. I’m not just letting you in my house. How do you know about the
computer?
JEREMY
We
know a lot of things sir, and I can assure you we are only here to help. We’ve
brought exactly what you need.
CHRIS
Unless
you’ve got a new computer behind your back, you’ve got nothing I need. Good
bye.
As Chris CLOSES THE DOOR, Jeremy stops the door with
his foot.
JEREMY
Sir,
please. I don’t think you have many options at the moment do you? We’ve got
what you need.
Jeremy grins and Chris opens the door again.
CHRIS
Go
on then. What are you selling?
JEREMY
We’re
selling absolutely nothing sir. Our employer has no need for money. No, we have
nothing for you to buy BUT we do have a present for you. Martha, the gift.
Jeremy turns to his sister as she reveals a laptop
from behind her back. The laptop has a piece of tape across the top, on which
is written “CRANSTON 666”
Jeremy
This
is the Cranston triple six. Designed by Martha and marketed by myself, the
triple six is a devilishly fast and reliable machine. And we’ll give it to you
for free. Here you go. Take it.
CHRIS
I
don’t understand. You just go around giving people free computers? You get paid
for this?
JEREMY
We
don’t get paid sir. We’ve a debt to pay off. And we don’t give computers to everyone.
We provide those in need with what they need when they really need it.
Martha passes the laptop to Chris, who examines it
cautiously.
CHRIS
Well…thank
you. Much appreciated. Bye then.
JEREMY
I’m
afraid that there is something sir. Martha! The contract please.
Martha pulls from behind her back a large amount of
paper. On the cover is the word contract in large fancy font. All other words
are incredibly small.
JEREMY
Now
it’s very long and very boring and we really don’t want to waste your time
talking you through every single page, line and word.
Jeremy
pulls a fountain pen from his jacket as Martha presents the final page of the
contract to Chris.
JEREMY
But
I feel like you’re a very busy man who needs to be doing busy man things so if
you just sign here we can all be on our way.
Chris
takes the pen and looks quite worried.
CHRIS
I
think I should probably read over the thing. Just in case.
JEREMY
Sir.
Please trust me. All it contains is an agreement to provide feedback if we ask
you about how the product has functioned for you, and a waver stating that the
product was free and you can’t try and scam us for money.
Chris
thinks for a moment and says “ok” before signing the contract. The moment he
finishes, the contract is pulled away, and the pen snatched from his hand.
Jeremy returns the pen to his pocket and grins once more.
JEREMY
Excellent.
Thank you so very much sir for all you’ve sacrificed for us. Martha. Please
show Mr Francis page two five one of the contract.
Chris
looks confused as Martha pushes the contract page under his nose.
JEREMY
Line
three, paragraph two. “I hereby trade over my life and soul to the siblings
Cranston, as payment for their provision of one desire of desperation.” Legally
binding and signed by yourself. Effective immediately.
CHRIS
What
do you mean? You said it was free?
Jeremy
takes the contract from Martha. She then pulls out a hammer and the Cranston’s
enter the house.
JEREMY
Words
are smoke sir. Contracts are fire.
Martha
enters the house and Jeremy closes the door behind them.
JEREMY
And
we burn.
Scene ends with the door closing
SCENE 2.
EXT. BEACH – DAY
CLOSE UP OF CHRIS’ FACE. He is unconscious, with
some blood running from his head. As he wakes up, it is revealed that Chris is
buried up to his neck in sand. Jeremy is sat to his right and Martha to his
left (as they were arranged on the doorstep). The two are now wearing
sunglasses.
CHRIS
Hello?
What happened? Where am I? W-why am I buried on a beach? What did you do?
MARTHA
You’ve
a lot of questions haven’t you? Shame we aren’t to answer any.
JEREMY
Don’t
tease the man Martha
Chris remains puzzled and begins to struggle and
panic.
CHRIS
I
thought she was mute?
JEREMY
And
I thought you would have learnt that I’m a liar. Now please. We do wish to
enjoy watching the tide as it creeps in.
Chris looks forward and realises what’s going to
happen.
CHRIS
You…
you can’t be serious? This is murder! You need to get me out now. I don’t
deserve this.
Jeremy and Martha both scoff.
MARTHA
It
doesn’t matter who deserves it. We’ve got to pay our debt. We try and pick the
bad ones but sometimes it’s easier to trick the dumb ones.
JEREMY
What
did I say about teasing the poor man sister? Let the dying man have some peace.
CHRIS
Please.
There’s got to be something I can do for you. Anything. I’ll do anything you
want just please don’t kill me…please.
Both Cranston’s lean in to listen.
MARTHA
Go
on
JEREMY
We’re
listening
CHRIS
Well.
I’ve got money. I’ll give you everything I have.
JEREMY
We’ve
no need for the material or monetary thank you.
MARTHA
Besides,
you already signed that over. Page eighty six line…
CHRIS
Ok!
Fine. Well I could kill people for you. Do what you do. Work for your boss and
trick people into death. I can do all that stuff.
MARTHA
That
just makes you sound like a psychopath sir.
JEREMY
Can’t
let murderers go.
CHRIS
Oh
come on! What if…I took your debt?
JEREMY
What?
CHRIS
I
take on what you owe and pay off your debt. You two get to live without that
burden and I… get to live.
MARTHA
We
could be free?
CHRIS
Totally
The
brother and sister both look at each other and gesture towards Chris with there
eyes.
JEREMY
We’ve
decided to dig you up
They begin digging, but as they do, the music of an
ice cream van plays. Martha stops digging and looks away.
MARTHA
Brother.
Ice cream.
Jeremy
stops digging too.
JEREMY
Good
idea Martha. We’ll have some ice cream then dig Mr Francis up.
They both stand and walk off. Chris panics and
shouts at them but all he gets in response is a cry from Jeremy.
CHRIS
No!
Wait please! Where are you going? Don’t leave me! Help me!
JEREMY
Don
t worry. We’ll get you one too.
There is a cut to a shot of the two walking back
with their ice-creams. Jeremy has an extra for Chris. They are shocked when
they see that the tide has risen.
JEREMY
Oh…forgot
about the tide. Poor Mr Francis. Oh well, you get another ice cream sister.
They walk off shot and the scene ends.
Friday 30 January 2015
Session 9: Rushes
In this session, after a long break, we finally got to see the footage we'd come out with after shooting. Of course, these are just rough rushes and the sound hasn't been fully worked on yet so all we had was the audio from the cameras and mics to play with, but It was interesting to see the sheer quantity we had produced. The audio was synced to the video so we were tasked with trying to cut it down and try and decide the order of shots. We did find some hurdles. We had a lot of shots but sometimes we couldn't find a way to switch between them cleanly. We also struggled with switching between different audio and syncing it up with the actors. However, This may be combated in the next session. All in all though, when we cut down all the footage, we had a nice short run time that seemed to get our story across.
Shoot day 1 & 2
On the first shoot day I was doing production. The day was split in to two for everyone. One half would do a job for the first half of the shoot, then the other person who had that job would take over. For the first half of the shoot I was doing production backstage. This pretty much consisted of doing odd jobs like making tea for the crew, as well as helping take pictures of the shoot. After tea, I got to take over the role of producer. This consisted of watching out for continuity errors as well as readying the sound and camera crew for the directors command. I felt Like I learnt more about what production was and I decided after the first shoot day that it wasn't really for me. I understand its a very important role but I didn't really feel like I would want it as a carrier. The reason I think I didn't enjoy this job was mostly because it felt like there was a lot of pressure on what I was doing and where I had to be. The first shoot day went very well and we managed to fit in all the shots we had scheduled for the first day. However, towards the end of the shoot, as it was getting late, the elder actor did seem to get progressively more tired.
On the second day my role shifted to my second choice, set design. my role took place in the afternoon segment of the shoot which was quite important as I was a part of the movement from our first, main location, to the second location. This meant moving the equipment required as well as all the props we needed. Me and Holly were set with the task of turning the front room of the house we were shooting at, into that of a drunken fathers. we also had to move around some of the furniture in order to make space and set up the shot we would need. a way of making sure everything was right was to have one of us sat in the corner where the camera would face and check what would and wouldn't be in view. When our job was done we helped return things to the main sight. I preferred the set design job as I enjoyed the process of placing the props and checking they were in just the right place.
Day 1:
Me reading the shoot schedule on the first day:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/signalfilmandmedia/15824526748/in/set-72157649732721051
Pictures being taken behind the scenes:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/signalfilmandmedia/15389671504/in/set-72157649732721051
Day 2:
Moving the equipment into the house:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/signalfilmandmedia/15899384328/in/set-72157649886201882
The table we covered in empty cans:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/signalfilmandmedia/15826412207/in/set-72157649886201882
On the second day my role shifted to my second choice, set design. my role took place in the afternoon segment of the shoot which was quite important as I was a part of the movement from our first, main location, to the second location. This meant moving the equipment required as well as all the props we needed. Me and Holly were set with the task of turning the front room of the house we were shooting at, into that of a drunken fathers. we also had to move around some of the furniture in order to make space and set up the shot we would need. a way of making sure everything was right was to have one of us sat in the corner where the camera would face and check what would and wouldn't be in view. When our job was done we helped return things to the main sight. I preferred the set design job as I enjoyed the process of placing the props and checking they were in just the right place.
Day 1:
Me reading the shoot schedule on the first day:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/signalfilmandmedia/15824526748/in/set-72157649732721051
Pictures being taken behind the scenes:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/signalfilmandmedia/15389671504/in/set-72157649732721051
Day 2:
Moving the equipment into the house:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/signalfilmandmedia/15899384328/in/set-72157649886201882
The table we covered in empty cans:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/signalfilmandmedia/15826412207/in/set-72157649886201882
Session 7 & 8: Pre production
In these sessions we chose our roles for the film and were told what each of those roles did during production. We watched some shorts with May, who took us through the different types of camera shots that were used and that we may use, as well as differing types of recording devices and the importance of lighting and set design. My chosen departments were production and set design. My role in pre production was to help write up the call sheets and risk assessments, as well as find travel routes to the set for transport. The process of the film starts in the preproduction. all the planning an setting up needs to be done if the shoot is going to go according to plan. the day needs to be timetabled so that there are adequate breaks for everyone. So that everyone knows where they need to be at what time, what their job is. Meals need to be booked or sourced. Set up time and makeup needed to be taken into account. Even the time the sun goes down had to be checked for our film so we knew how much of the day we'd have to shoot the day scenes. The set designers job is to make sure that a set is ready for shooting. Everything that is required to give a room atmosphere is positioned correctly and anything that can break that atmosphere must be removed. We also looked over the script and made some final alterations until we were happy with everything.
Bellow is a blank call sheet. In the planning sessions, it was the job of the production team to fill it in. The call sheet shows what scenes are being shot on that day, the times shooting and breaks should be happening and who needs to be where.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95522743@N02/16086662142/lightbox/
This is the call sheet for the first shoot day now filled in.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/signalfilmandmedia/16086661882/in/photostream/lightbox/
Bellow is a blank call sheet. In the planning sessions, it was the job of the production team to fill it in. The call sheet shows what scenes are being shot on that day, the times shooting and breaks should be happening and who needs to be where.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95522743@N02/16086662142/lightbox/
This is the call sheet for the first shoot day now filled in.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/signalfilmandmedia/16086661882/in/photostream/lightbox/
Session 6: Script writing
When we returned to construct the script, I decided not to put forward my idea. Though I was happy with it, I felt like it would be more fitting to begin a fresh with the ideas of the entire group and see what we could come up with. Both Zosia and Matt spearheaded the writing and did a superb job. We decided that the green house was our favourite of the location ideas we had come up with, also night being our favourite time setting. After that we developed both story and characters from the ideas that had come from the activities in the previous sessions. An elderly person and a young person seemed to work quite well in the setting, both were later decided to be male as that sex seemed to fit. It was decided that our conflict in the film would be caused by the father of the boy who then would get angry and destroy a plant in the greenhouse which would later be revealed to be the old mans. after this, the boy would meet the man, feel guilty, but ultimately end up tending to the plants for the old man. Matt wrote up a draft of this after the session which was sent out to us to read for discussion in the next session. However, everyone seemed pleased with the concept.
Session 5: Character and story
In this session we were introduced to writing and the writing process by Zosia Wand. We did a number of activities which helped us to understand the methods of creating believable characters with depth. these activities varied from reading short statements and attempting to relate to how a person would have felt whilst writing them, to sharing a piece of paper and adding a trait each until a full character and back story was created. Story wise we were told to take inspiration from anywhere. Both feelings and places can be expanded upon until an entire story is created. We ended the session discussing our film and we created a list of components we may all wish to see in the script. When I got home, I decided to take these new skills and develop a short script of my own using the list we had created. I really thought that what I had learnt about character development helped me to create something I was quite proud of.
The story of a film is split into 6 stages.
The first stage is the setup. this is around the first 10% of the film and is used to establish a setting and main characters. At the end we should also get a feel for what the main plot of the film will be.
The second stage is the new situation. this is 15% of the film and is the point at which the main character must react to the new situation they have been put in.
The third stage is the progress. for the next 25% the main character is shown working towards their primary goal that has been brought on by the previous stage.
The forth stage is complication. this is also 25% and raises a problem for the character to overcome and/or makes the end goal more important.
The fifth stage is the final push is 15% of the film. It involves the run up and completion of the end goal of the film.
The sixth stage is the aftermath. This is the final 10% of the film and shows what happens after the final push and what has happened to the main characters.
Further information:
http://www.storymastery.com/story/screenplay-structure-five-key-turning-points-successful-scripts/
The story of a film is split into 6 stages.
The first stage is the setup. this is around the first 10% of the film and is used to establish a setting and main characters. At the end we should also get a feel for what the main plot of the film will be.
The second stage is the new situation. this is 15% of the film and is the point at which the main character must react to the new situation they have been put in.
The third stage is the progress. for the next 25% the main character is shown working towards their primary goal that has been brought on by the previous stage.
The forth stage is complication. this is also 25% and raises a problem for the character to overcome and/or makes the end goal more important.
The fifth stage is the final push is 15% of the film. It involves the run up and completion of the end goal of the film.
The sixth stage is the aftermath. This is the final 10% of the film and shows what happens after the final push and what has happened to the main characters.
Further information:
http://www.storymastery.com/story/screenplay-structure-five-key-turning-points-successful-scripts/
Session 4: Documentary
In the forth session (our second with Roy Stafford) we were taught about the history, production and marketing of a documentary. We were shown propaganda used during the second world war and part of a recent documentary about the fast food industry. It was interesting to see the juxtaposition between both the times they were made and the content in terms of how they were shot and the tone they gave to the audience. We were told that documentaries differed from drama. Documentary usually has a narration and footage of non scripted events, whereas drama may take a real life situation or problem to build the story upon. In terms of commercial success, documentaries seem more tailored to television as they can be segmented and easily advertised. they may struggle in cinemas as they lack a story to keep an audiences attention for a long period.
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