DEVELOPING IDEAS/ ART VIDEO/

First watch these short films on

planning and storyboarding

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=0D641F7B35510BD4

Developing good ideas/scripts is one of the most difficult aspects of

filmmaking. Without a strong idea and a clear plan filming can quickly
become an unmanageable mess. Don’t just watch films for inspiration
look at novels, photographs, poems, newspapers even songs. Take
inspiration from what’s going on around you.

 Traditional narrative film, its stories and characters are

motivated by cause and effect. An incident occurs moving the
story on and forcing the characters to do something.

 Make Use of your limitations

 Film what you know

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FIRST IDEA/

 Do not limit yourself to narrative

film. You may find that you enjoy
working in an experimental or
documentary style rather than
narrative.
 Pick a theme/style/story you are
passionate about as this will show
through in the filmmaking
 Keep a notebook handy to jot down
ideas as they come to you
 Don’t be too ambitious. Your film
should be around 5 mins and be
made with limited resources. Think of
what resources you have or can get
before making any detailed plans.

DEVELOPMENT/

 Once you have that first idea. Start collecting things related to
it both to inspire you and for your sketchbook. Postcards,
photographs, objects/props etc.

EFFECTIVE STORYTELLING/

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  Short narrative films have a different more condensed
structure to feature length film
 Make an impact on your audience from the very beginning
 Structure your film. A traditional structure would of course have
a beginning middle and an end.
 Remember you can experiment with the traditions of narrative
structure. (eg,Put the end at the beginning)
 There are no right ways to tell a story. If the story is wrong it
will be obvious as it will be uninteresting to an audience.

CHARACTERS/ ARCHETYPES/

 Most characters within

stories are developed
from elements in the
human psyche and from
mythic stories. This
approach to narrative is
often called the hero’s
journey. See psychiatrist
C.G Jung and the myth
theories of Joseph
Campbell.

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 Hero: The protagonist, the lead character, the one whose story is being
told. Heroes don’t have to be good or brave (antiheroes may be
neither) but they have to go on a journey – physical, emotional or
spiritual, it doesn’t matter, as long as they reach their goal and have
some sort of revelation.

Mentor: A benefactor who guides the hero and imparts knowledge to

them. Traditionally represented as a wise old man

Herald: The person who announces the hero or brings the message
that sets the hero on the quest. Can also be the hero’s lover, who
drives the hero on within the narrative

Threshold Guardian:
A person or an object blocking the hero’s path. It can even be a subtle
force such as self doubt.

Shapeshifter: A person who appears to be one type of personality but

turns out to be another. The femme fatale is a type of shapeshifter.

Trickster: This character provides the comic relief, the one who breaks
the tension in the story by playing the fool or causing chaos.

Shadow: The negative elements within the story that have to be

defeated by the hero. These negative elements can be a part of the
hero himself.

These elements exist within most films to bigger and smaller degrees.
In short narrative films there is often no time to divulge backstories.

IMMEDIACY:

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  Short films need to capture the audiences attention quickly and
tell their stories effectively and succinctly.
 Short films can be snapshots or vignettes of much larger stories

HOLLYWOOD FORMULA/

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A THREE ACT STRUCTURE THAT WORKS AS A GUIDE TO GIVING YOUR FILM
A CLEAR BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END.

Act 1: Introduces the characters, the premise and the setting. (Usually a
quarter of the running time)

Act 2: Most of conflict and action take place. (Half the running time)

Act 3: Story/character resolution (Quarter of the running time)

There are also plot points within the story that keep the narrative flowing
and interesting. These tend to occur at the end of the first act

In the second act there is often a crisis that drives the protagonist on. The
story then reaches a climax just before the end of act three.

FILM CLIP:

Little Terrorist Dir. Ashvin Kumar 2005

Exercise: Whilst watching the film mark down the

points where you think the film is split into acts.

 The opening act (Act 1) in which the hero and the setting
is introduced. What is that setting and how do we know
where we are?
 The Middle act. What crisis happens to Jamal?
 The final act (Act 3) How is the story resolved?

 For initial ideas write the narrative/concept down roughly and then
develop it into a structure.
 What areas do you need to leave in and what can you do without to
make the film more concise.

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 It takes more time and effort to make something short/concise than to
make something long and without structure.

SCRIPTWRITING/

Once you have a story you want to tell, you

need to get it into a unified format that can
be understood and shared by everyone else.

Script list:
 The setting of the scene
 The equipment used
 Filming and acting Directions
 Dialogue

Scripts have to be created in a unified industry standard way

Look at Example Taxi Driver Martin Scorsese 1976

TAXI DRIVER

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 Screenplay by
Paul Schrader

Produced by
Michael Phillips
Julia Phillips

Directed by
Martin Scorsese

Cast:
Actor Character
_______________ _________
Robert De Niro Travis Bickle
Cybill Shepherd Betsy
Jodie Foster Iris Steensman
Peter Boyle Wizard
Harvey Keitel Sport
Albert Brooks Tom
Leonard Harris Charles Palantine
Martin Scorsese Passenger
Diahnne Harris Concession Girl
Frank Adu Angry Black Man

"The whole conviction of my life now

rests upon the belief that loneliness,
far from being a rare and curious
phenomenon, is the central and inevitable
fact of human existence."

Thomas Wolfe, "God's Lonely Man"

TRAVIS BICKLE

Age 26, lean, hard, the consummate loner. On the surface he

appears good-looking, even handsome; he has a quiet steady look
and a disarming smile which flashes from nowhere, lighting up his
whole face. But behind that smile, around his dark eyes, in his
gaunt cheeks, one can see the ominous stains caused by a life of
private fear, emptiness and loneliness. He seems to have wandered
in from a land where it is always cold, a country where the
inhabitants seldom speak. The head moves, the expression changes,
but the eyes remain ever-fixed, unblinking, piercing empty space.

Travis is now drifting in and out of the New York City night
life, a dark shadow among darker shadows. Not noticed , no reason
to be noticed, Travis is one with his surroundings. He wears

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rider jeans, cowboy boots, a plaid western shirt and a worn beige
Army jacket with a patch reading, "King Kong Company 1968-70".

He has the smell of sex about him: Sick sex, repressed sex,
lonely sex, but sex nonetheless. He is a raw male force, driving
forward; toward what, one cannot tell. Then one looks closer and
sees the evitable. The clock sprig cannot be wound continually
tighter. As the earth moves toward the sun, Travis Bickle moves
toward violence.

TRAVIS GETS A JOB

Film opens on...

EXT. MANHATTAN CAB GARAGE

Weather-beaten sign above driveway reads, "Taxi Enter Here".

Yellow cabs scuttle in and out. It is WINTER, snow is piled on
the curbs, the wind is howling.

INSIDE GARAGE

Are parked row upon row of multi-colored taxis. Echoing SOUNDS of

cabs idling, cabbies talking. Steamy breath and exhaust fill the
air.

INT. CORRIDOR

Of cab company offices. Lettering on ajar door reads:

PERSONAL OFFICE

Marvis Cab Company

Blue and White Cab Co.

Acme Taxi

Dependable Taxi Services

JRB Cab Company

Speedo Taxi Service

SOUND of office busywork: Shuffling, typing, arguing.

PERSONAL OFFICE is cluttered disarray. Sheets with heading

"Marvis, B&W, Acme" and so forth are tacked to crumbling plaster
wall: It is March. Desk is cluttered with forms, reports and an
old upright Royal typewriter.

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Dishelved middle-aged New Yorker looks up from the desk. We CUT
IN to ongoing conversation between the middle-aged PERSONNEL
OFFICER and a YOUNG MAN standing in front on his desk.

The young man is TRAVIS BICKLE. He wears his jeans, boots and
Army jacket. He takes a drag off his unfiltered cigarette.

The Personnel Officer is beat and exhausted: He arrives at work

exhausted. Travis is something else again. His intense steely
gaze is enough to jar even the Personnel Officer out of his
workaday boredom.

PERSONNEL OFFICER (O.S.)

No trouble with the Hack Bureau?

TRAVIS (O.S.)
No Sir.

PERSONNEL OFFICER (O.S.)

Got your license?

TRAVIS (O.S.)
Yes.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
So why do you want to be a taxi driver?

TRAVIS
I can't sleep nights.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
There's porno theatres for that.

TRAVIS
I know. I tried that.

The Personnel Officer, though officious, is mildly probing and

curious. Travis is a cipher, cold and distant. He speaks as if
his mind doesn't know what his mouth is saying.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
So whatja do now?

TRAVIS
I ride around nights mostly. Subways, buses. See things. Figur'd
I
might as well get paid for it.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
We don't need any misfits around here, son.

A thin smile cracks almost indiscernibly across Travis' lips.

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 TRAVIS
You kiddin? Who else would hack through South Bronx or Harlem at
night?

PERSONNEL OFFICER
You want to work uptown nights?

TRAVIS
I'll work anywhere, anytime. I know I can't be choosy.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
(thinks a moment)How's your driving record?

TRAVIS
Clean. Real clean.(pause, thin smile)As clean as my conscience.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
Listen, son, you gonna get smart, you can leave right now.

TRAVIS
(apologetic)Sorry, sir. I didn't mean that.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
Physical? Criminal?

TRAVIS
Also clean.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
Age?

PERSONNEL OFFICER
Twenty-six.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
Education?

TRAVIS
Some. Here and there.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
Military record?

TRAVIS
Honorable discharge. May 1971.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
You moonlightin?

TRAVIS
No, I want long shifts.

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 PERSONNEL OFFICER
(casually, almost to himself)We hire a lot of moonlighters here.

TRAVIS
So I hear.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
(looks up at Travis)Hell, we ain't that much fussy anyway.
There's
always opening on one fleet or another.(rummages through his
drawer,
collecting various pink, yellow and white forms)Fill out these
forms
and give them to the girl at the desk, and leave your phone
number. You
gotta phone?

TRAVIS
No.

PERSONNEL OFFICER
Well then check back tomorrow.

TRAVIS
Yes, Sir.

CUT TO:

CREDITS

CREDITS appear over scenes from MANHATTAN NIGHTLIFE. The snow has
melted, it is spring.

A rainy, slick, wet miserable night in Manhattan's theatre

district. Cabs and umbrellas are congested everywhere; well-
dressed pedestrians are pushing, running, waving down taxis. The
high-class theatre patrons crowding out of the midtown shows are
shocked to find that the same rain that falls on the poor and
common is also falling on them.

The unremitting SOUNDS of HONKING and SHOUTING play against the

dull pitter-patter of rain. The glare of yellow, red and green
lights reflects off the pavements and autos.

When it rains, the boss of the city is the taxi driver - so goes
the cabbie's maxim, proven true by this particular night's
activity. Only the taxis seem to rise above the situation: They

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glide effortlessly through the rain and traffic, picking up whom
they choose, going where they please.

Further uptown, the crowds are neither so frantic nor so

glittering. The rain also falls on the street bums and aged poor.
Junkies still stand around on rainy street corners, hookers still
prowl rainy sidewalks. And the taxis service them too.

All through the CREDITS the exterior sounds are muted, as if

coming from a distant room or storefront around the corner. The
listener is at a safe but privileged distance.

After examining various strata of Manhattan nightlife, CAMERA

begins to CLOSE IN on one particular taxi, and it is assumed that
this taxi is being driven by Travis Bickle.

END CREDITS

Resources/

 You can find script style sheets on the internet.

 There are also various computer programs that can arrange the
layout for you. (Final Draft http://www.finaldraft.com/ or Movie
Magic Screenwriter)
 You can format your scripts simply for your own films, but if you
are serious about filmmaking you may as well format them the
standard way from the beginning

Form and Style/

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  Convey a sense of mood and place succinctly. A script is not a
novel, but there needs to be some idea of place.
e.g INT. HOSPITAL – NIGHT or EXT. CITY STREET – MORNING
Use more detail if there are more specific things to be considered.
e.g EXT. BUSY CITY STREET IN CAMBRIDGE –5.30PM ITS RAINING AND
PEOPLE ARE LEAVING WORK TO GO HOME.

 Put in directions.
e.g. OVER THE SHOULDER CLOSE-UP OF MAN’S FACE.

 Use the present tense when using screen directions

 One page of properly formatted screenplay equals one minute of
screen time depending on whether the story is dialogue driven or
action driven.
 Get as many people as possible to read your script and keep
revising it.

STORYBOARDS

 Scripts are the written blueprint and the storyboard is the visual
guide
 Good way of describing to others involved in the film of your
story idea
 You do not need to storyboard every shot
 You can create an animatic from a storyboard to check pacing.
Video the frames for the required set of time and add text,
dialogue, music to create a moving storyboard.
 There are digital versions of storyboards
Power productions’ storyboard programs and Frameforge 3D
 An interesting development from this is the idea of machinima.
Creating films from computer game imagery. A local company
called Moviestorm have created free software that you can
storyboard a whole film through.
www.moviestorm.co.uk

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Exercise/

 Advertisers and marketers are able to tell stories and

sell products in as little as 15 secs.

WATCH EXAMPLES FROM NOKIA SHORTS:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/filmnetwork/C55219

Each person Select a film from the nokia shorts and then write
out a script/storyboard for it. Please look at example of Have I
Passed?

Have I Passed?
Jason Fairley 2004

“HAVE I PASSED” in large black font on white screen.

INT.CAR – DAY
C.U. A nervous learner driver sits beside a weary Examiner
out of shot.

Examiner (Consulting clipboard)

Reversing, roundabouts, parking

MID: Learner and examiner in frame.

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 Learner:
So I passed right?

CU of Examiner
No

MID: Learner and Examiner

LOW: Looking up at Learner with clipboard in view. He looks

down at clipboard and clipboard flies up to roof.

EXT.CAR – CONTINUOUS
The examiner clambers out of the upside down car and walks
away.

CREDITS black on a white background.

TASK TWO:

In two groups write a 15 sec story/concept and then try and

script and storyboard it using what you have learnt.

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