Storyboard and Short Film

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Stu Year 2

This storyboard was originally drawn for a male being the main focus, however my actor dropped out last minute and i had to improvise.

The film follows a woman around her daily routine of getting out of bed, freshening up in the bathroom, going to check the mail to finally having some breakfast, however by the end it is revealed she in fact not an ordinary woman, having another young woman tied to her chair terrified, ending the movie on us given a hint of something about to happen to the victim.

There was a couple of drawn shots i didn’t use, ‘M‘ in particular, instead i changed it completely to the ‘Added shot‘. I felt having the victim out of focus in the background gave the audience the idea it was a normal person sitting at a table, then when we see the close up shot later we realize she is tie to the chair, giving the film more of a twist.

The second to last shot in the film ‘T‘ is a ‘Spielberg Zoom‘. It was my first time attempting the famous zoom. I felt it could have came out better if  i had a slider or a smoother zoom on the lens. I also had to do it handheld as my location didn’t allow me have much equipment around me. I felt this particular zoom gives the story not only a more dramatic ending with the music increasing rapidly in volume but also a cliffhanger, only giving a hint of what’s going to happen next.

The red arrows leading from one box to another (B, E, F & L) represent the same shot but  making it a tracking shot (following the subject). For these shots i used a Gorilla Lens, this being my first time with piece of equipment i found it easy to use and steady when moving with the camera. I also used it as a standing tripod in shots ‘A, D, N, O, P, R & Added shot‘

Throughout filming i used two lenses, the ‘18-55mm‘ & ‘55-150mm‘. I used the 18-55mm for every shot except D & S, this being because i had to be far back enough from the object/building so that i could have another object/person in front to be either in or out of focus. D being my actress walk in front of the camera with the clock still being in focus and in a close up shot, and S having cars in front of the house to make the focal change more dramatic.

The lighting for the outdoor shots (I, J & K) was very had to get under control because of the weather (the sun was actually out and bright) and the reflection off the background (white door). I had rapidly change the ISO, brightness and mess around with the contrast settings, however one in post production i felt i could have taken more time to perfect the settings.

The music, ‘Crazy‘ by Patsy Cline was chosen to give the film more of a melancholy feel and the lyrics to reflect of the main character we are following. In editing, after adding the song i felt it also gives the audience a different view on the character, maybe even feeling sorry for her and the loneliness she has, however when we see her victim tied to a chair we get a different opinion altogether.

Evaluation

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Andy Yr2

The question we were asked most throughout this project was, ‘What are you about?‘. I found this question hard to answer. I joined this course to learn more about the Film and Television industry and to progress my skills further to help me break into the industry, however i didn’t quite know what part i wanted to go into. So i took this opportunity to use this question to help me get a better idea of what i was about. I decided to center my project on something i already had skills on but included all aspects of the jobs needing to be worked on to complete the final outcome making me the leader of my own project, start to finish.

My project was to use a short novel i had written not too long ago which consisted of around 55 thousand words and to turn it into a trailer for the story if it is ever turned into a visual. This consisted of script writing, story boarding, directing and editing, giving me varied experiences of a range of roles.

I looked at shows and films that inspired me directing and cinematography wise like Hannibal and BBC Sherlock, looking at how the selected scenes were shot to get the dramatic touches it possesses, complementing the script.

I also researched into screenplay writer Jim Uhls, especially being a fan of Fight Club it was interesting to see the visual transformation he went through to take the novel and re-invent it for the screen.

Another interesting read is Cinematography Storytelling, which helped me understand how to tell my story to my highest effort, giving plenty of run-through’s of many famous films, especially with the visuals it used as examples throughout the book.

When it came to filming my examples i only had a set time, mostly because of the weather when it came to my outdoor shots and my subject (my sister) was only available to me for a short while.

I feel the filming went well, experimenting with the lighting and shadows to give a dramatic and mysterious element the story and characters possess. Most of the shots are accurate to my drawn storyboard, except for the cigarette shot (K) which was originally going to be a close up of the object only, however getting the focus perfect was very difficult, but i think the end result with Carmen’s  lips, exhaling smoke and unfocused backdrop of the city compliments the character.

For my presentation i went through my blog and explained what my project was about, ending it with showing my short film of test shots. I had some good feedback giving me ideas to improve  my video, one being doing a voice over of what was going to be said over each shot, however due to time i couldn’t do this but i certainly took it under consideration.

The film i showed was a rough copy which i didn’t think was high enough quality making it hard to see the storyboard and some of the footage.

First Attempt:

I feel compared to my final version, the quality isn’t as good especially the storyboard being so hard to see. I also think the set up to my second one is better, taking the viewer through the storyboard and stopping to show the clip, even if sometimes it is a bit fast, however while using After Effects it would not let me slow down the pace so i had to make do.

Despite it taking me a while to fully get into this project i feel accomplished with the outcome. I have explored many of the roles necessary for production including script writing, story boarding, directing, camera operating and editing giving me a project i can call mine. I hope to carry on this project and film the full trailer or even a short film based on my story ‘Carmen‘.

What am i about? My portfolio was mostly about script writing and story boarding putting me into that specific group. Even though i enjoy writing and found it a challenge recreating my writing for the screen and learning from other famous script writers from my research, i still find myself questioning if that is what i want to make my profession, being such a big fan of directing and being in charge of the production.

Trailer for ‘Carmen’

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Andy Yr2

Story Summary:

Annie is a young girl suffering from depression, living in a world where she isn’t treated fairly to everyone around her. She’s shy, smart and feels as though there’s more to life than work, nights in alone with an alcoholic mother and the only communication she has is with her psychiatrist. Her life soon changes when she meets Carmen, a girl the exact opposite to Annie. Soon after she befriends her, Carmen shows Annie what she’s been missing, taking her downtown, introducing her to men and alcohol and what it’s like to have people wanting to know you.

However this new experience turns sour. Carmen soon shows her other side when Annie opens up about her past and the people in it that made her youth a living hell. Wanting to take revenge is soon the thing to look forward too on a Friday night.

*Spoiler* After many dramatic incidents and a death that Annie was responsible for, we soon find out that Carmen is only seen by Annie – Due to her depression, Annie had created this character in her head to give her an excuse to live a different life, resulting in pushing herself into things she can’t undo.

Trailer Script:

Script    <—– Downloadable Word Document

Storyboard:

I’m hoping this short trailer will show the outlined plot of the story without giving too much away, especially the ending. I found it hard to only show the main characters and as much plot as i could without giving away the major plot twist as most of the build up gives hints.

Throughout the trailer, the shots shown that include Carmen only show part of her or show her out of focus, you never see her face. This gives her an already mysterious form and a hint that she is only seen by Annie.

The first shot we see of Annie is her in the chair opposite her psychiatrist. It is a low angle show, slowly panning forward, giving the audience the feeling of her being above them, at this point in the story Annie has transformed into a more confident and powerful character.

Trailer Test Shots from Storyboard (Final):

*For the test shots i completed in this video, i have labelled them to the drawn shots in my storyboard*

For filming these test shots i used a 600D camera and a fig rig for most of the shots to give me a more steady frame. Setting the lighting was a little difficult as i had to make do with the lighting around my house and street. However i found moving certain light sources and blocking out others gave me better lit surroundings.

I also experimented with many different camera angles to try and get the best out of the shot, this also including changing the ISO settings and dimming lights  to set the mood for the correct locations the real shots will be filmed in.

The end shots i experimented with i felt could have been a little better, especially in editing i noticed the camera slightly nudging not giving me a fully smooth pan. However due to the weather i had to work fast to get the shot and with the help from my sister, she had the role of the camera operator and followed my instructions for that particular shot (Z6)

When writing/story boarding my trailer i looked at such trailers for movies similar to my story such as Fight Club. Personally i thought they could have done a lot more wit hit seeing as it doesn’t do the fa-nominal story justice, however trying to introduce the characters and and plot outline without giving too much away i find is very difficult to do.

Jim Uhls

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Andy Yr2

Jim Uhls is an America Producer and Screenwriter, famously known for his script adaptation of the novel Fight Club, written by American novelist Chuck Palahniuk.

Jim Uhls’ advice for beginning screenwriters is to “Read as many screenplays as possible”. Surprisingly, he doesn’t outline, in fact “despises them,” an interesting departure from most conventional wisdom on screenwriting, which holds that The Outline is the thing. Uhls thinks it leads to “slavish devotion” which prevents creativity from sprouting.

In his interviews he explains his process, he has ‘a stream of consciousness notes’, sometimes “interviewing” the characters on the page, even antagonizing them until they start talking to him.

On writing different characters in different voices: ”If there’s two leads — I bled over some syntax and I can catch that early and start developing a different one — ” This proved especially useful in Fight Club, with the two characters of Norton and Pitt so related and yet different.

Fight Club Script:

http://ubuntuone.com/6FDBWVw6MhezbAoxtxCNsJ

Reading through the script i found that Uhls’ unique way of writing has paid off when watching the film. The in depth and very descriptive writing, including the characters, has helped me with my own writing, using his structure and writing examples in my own work. After reading the script i felt i had to go back to my own script and change/add to certain parts, learning from Uhls.

Seeing as the story i have written for this project is similar to Fight Club when it comes to plot twists and internal monologues of the main character, i have found that this script has helped me understand more about how to adapt a story onto the screen.

In Depth Article on making the film:

Click to access Fight-Club-Making-Of-Nev-Pierce.pdf

Useful Youtube channel full of videos of interviews with scriptwriters:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheDialogue?feature=watch