Why are storyboards so important for planning your film? How does the script relate to the storyboards?
Its important to storyboard so that you have a vision of what you want your scenes to look like. You can also add captions to your storyboards to make everything more clear. You can also use arrows to convey movement of characters in the shot. The script relates to the storyboards in which you just draw out what happens in each shot you'll need.
In your own words, summarize each act of the three-act structure and explain what its role in the story is.
Act one sets up the film. It gives you a feeling of what the story's about, and who the characters are. It shows some minor challenges and problems, as well as the location. In the second act, the character is about to reach the big goal, but everything falls apart. They're surrounded by obstacle after obstacle. The final act is the resolution. The character gets what they want (or not).
What is a treatment? What are three key points of advice this article gives on how to create an effective one?
A film treatment is a multi page document that tells the story like it appears on the screen. It's a good idea to have one so that those writing the script can stay on track, and just fill in the gaps. Some advice I read is that if you get your treatment done, the pitch will be a lot easier. They can vary in length, but you should try to keep yours around 10-12 for a feature length film. Another tip, is that you don't want to go crazy with the dialogue. Save the dialogue for the script.
In your own words, explain the differences between an outline, synopsis and a treatment.
An outline is meant to keep you on track. You write down the major evens of each scene, and write to fill in the gaps, so that you stay on track when writing. A synopsis can be anywhere from one paragraph to one page of a description of your film. It's basically an extended logline. Finally, a treatment is like a "short story' version of your film. This can be 1-30 pages, and it's like an extended outline. While an outline could consist of bullet point, a treatment could be like a shorter script, written in present tense and extended.
How does Raising Arizona mix comedy with deeper themes like love and family, and how can you use this in your own films?
The film Raising Arizona is about the central deep theme about family, and what it means to be family. But, comedy is used throughout the entire film to give it a more lighthearted feel. This is done by having a deep theme, but adding in comedic elements such as intense chase sequences with comedic ideas, (like H.I chasing the babies). I can use these ideas in my own films to add more depth and make my film more entertaining.
What are three major tips from this article that you took away on how to create a great pitch?
The first major tip I learned is to not say everything. Don't spoil everything, and don't tell the entire story in extreme detail. Next, is to leave some suspense. Going along with the first tip, don't spoil everything. Leave some suspense. Lastly, give quick and simple answers to the questions people ask. Don't ramble, but leave some suspense and don't spoil major details. You shouldn't spend no longer than 10 seconds on answering these questions. If you haven't told them everything they need to know, they'll just ask another question to confirm what they need to know.
Remember not to get discouraged!
What is pre-production? What are the steps that a filmmaker must take to transfer an idea in their head into a form that is ready to be filmed on camera?
Pro-production is all the steps and processes you must go through before filming your actual film. Before transferring their ideas onto the screen, they mist finalize the script, hire actors and crew, find locations, determine what equipment they'll use, and figuring out the budget. Preproduction is the planning, where you solidify all the details of your project before shooting.
Review your camera unit goals blog entry at the beginning of the unit. What did you do to achieve those goals? What did you learn in the Intro to Camera unit? What are more questions you have about using a camcorder?
My goals were:
1) Learn how to set up a camera's settings and tripod for any scene. To do this, I want to learn exactly what every setting does, and fully understand all the concepts.
Yes, I think I met this goal. I know what the buttons on the camera are, and I can name what they do.
2) Understand how to fix up camera settings for different lighting. Take effective notes in class.
Yes, I took effective notes and I know how to white balance in different lighting situations.
3) Not forget any simple steps. Understand why everything has to happen in the specific order.
I don't think I forget steps. I remember to check the shutter speed and the gain, and I know to turn ND off before putting the camera back. Zeroing out the tripod as well.
I don't think I have any more questions about the camcorder.
What are the tips that John gives to give steady shots in this video? How can you use this in your next video?
A simple tip he gave, was that if you have a small handheld camera, you can pit the strap around your neck, and that'll give you 3 points of contact on the camera, resulting in a steadier shot. Walk heel to toe, with your toes facing as high up as possible. Make sure you lower your center of gravity. The faster you go, the lower your center of gravity. This'll make sure your upper body is as stationary as possible. Some other simple tips to make your videos less shaky is to shoot as wide as possible, keep your shutter speed at double your frame rate, and enable image stabilization.
What are three key tips that you found valuable from this video?
From the video, I learned that a wheelchair dolly is really helpful. It's more portable and it's cheaper than an actual dolly/slider, and it's easy to set up. You'd get an in-between from a handheld shot and a dolly on the terms of stabilization. I also found out that if you ask around, you get get into some great locations for free. I found out that asking big corporations isn't a great idea though, as it makes longer to find out if you're allowed in or not, and the answer is usually a no.
What is the difference between zooming and dollying? What do dollying and trucking add to the shot?
Zooming in doesn't change the spatial relationship of the objects in the frame. When you zoom in, you're just using your camera lens (or editing) a zoom into your subject. This is used in movies such as horror movies and action movies, and you can use it to make the subject feel closed in on, and trapped. This is used to focus on one particular subject in the frame, and draws all the energy towards it. When watching a zoomed in scene, you aren't exactly experiencing the emotions of the character. You're on the outside, observing what's happening. When you dolly in, you're physically moving your camera towards the subject. This can give you shot more depth and add more detail to your scene. When you dolly in, you can be forcing your audience towards danger or having them leave a situation. This connects us with the characters more than a zoom. It feels more personal.
Movement in film can be used in a variety of ways. What are some that you noticed are mentioned in this film? In what ways are they used? What are some films that you like that you could go home this weekend and study for their movement? What aspects of their camera movement interest you? Please explain.
Something I noticed was the effects of a dolly shot, versus a zoomed in follow-along shot. While they're not vastly different, they do offer a different feel to the shot. The dolly feeling more personal, and the zoomed in shot feeling more secretive. I also learned that one specific camera movement won't always feel the same. It's all about the context in which the movements are used. Camera movement and composition is the thing I'm the most interested in. I think I'm so interested in this because it seems the most difficult to remember everything, master everything, and know when to effectively use it. I'm interested in improving how I compose my shots and learning how different angles convey different meanings. While I'm very interested in film techniques, I find that I haven't watched too many movies. I'll set aside some time this weekend to watch 1-2 movies and note the movement and composition used, and take some notes.
What does the video narrator have to say about how characters should enter and exit the frame? What happens if these rules are not followed? How does this apply to diagonal movement in the frame?
If a character enters from the left and exits a shot from the right, the next shot must have them entering from the left again, and exiting from the right. This helps the audience understand that the person's moving towards the same direction, and is moving towards where they want to go. If you break this rule, then it'll look like the character is walking the other way. This rule still applies to diagonal movement in the frame. If they enter from the right, make sure they enter from the right in the second shot as well, no matter if it's diagonal or not.
1. What are three things that you've learned in this video essay? How do these relate to what you've learned so far until this point in this class?
I knew that cinema is all about visual story telling; the way you compose a shot conveys different meanings. From the video, I learned that the position of subjects isn't technical, nut an expressive decision. I also learned that the way you frame things helps with the way you tell your story. It won't completely tell your story for you, but it's meant to help. In class we learned that if you use the wrong shots and angles, it can take away from your story. You have to be specific with what you want. I also learned, that it's okay to take certain things out of your composition. You need to take some things out so the screen isn't flooded with information that isn't necessary.
2. What does the narrator have to say about the frame? What is it used for?
Human being are made to find order, where there usually isn't any. Frames in cinema work to help the elements pair in a more uniformed matter. Take out all of the mess, and make the shot look simple. This draws the viewers eyes to what they need to see, and makes everything look in order.
What are three key things that this video teaches you about composition? Why is each of them important to the images that you shoot?
Composition is the artful arrangement of objects and people in the frame. Depending on where your character is placed, your audience will interpret different things. Camera position is one of the aspects of this. If your camera is placed above the subject, the subject will look smaller and weaker, and if it's placed below your subject, they'll look larger and more powerful. The rule of thirds is important because if you line your subject up at the intersections of the lines in the grid, the image will be more visually pleasing. It's also important to keep the subjects eye line in the same area of the screen. If you're taking different shots of the same person, you'd want their eye line to be in the same position relative to the rest of the screen. The result will be smoother for your audience.
