MY THESIS FILM

How do I start?

Sarmed Cheema
Why is your thesis film important?

■ Your first showcase – Make something you feel proud about.

■ It stays with you for your whole life – you want no regrets.
Screening

■ Too Actors – Trailer

Film is a visual medium

■ You can have great scenes with little dialogues or none at all. Less dialogue means
more room for visual story-telling.
What do we get out of the frame?
■ It is information.

■ Clearly some parts of the information are more important than others, and we want
this information to be perceived by the viewer in a certain order — we want the
information organized in a particular way.
How is this accomplished?
■ Through composition.

■ We are telling the audience where to look, what to look at and in what order to look
at it.
LEARN TO THINK IN TERMS OF FRAMES
Filmmaker’s Superpower

■ Cutting through Space and Time

■ Moving the field of Vision

■ VFX
 IDEA

■ Before there is a movie, before there is a screenplay, before there is anything, there
must be an idea.

■ Finding the initial idea can be the most daunting part of the process but, fortunately,
there is no shortage of places to search.
First get the idea, then worry about how
to tell it.

Don’t wait for experience to come to you; go out

after experience. Experience is your material.
- W. Somerset Maugham
Ideas are everything!

■ As a filmmaker we are nothing without an idea.

■ We don’t know what to do without an idea.
■ There are millions and millions ideas out there. We don’t know them until they enter
our conscious mind.
■ Super important to write down your ideas so that you don’t forget them.
Fishing

■ You have to be patient.

■ Desire for an idea is like a bait on the hook.
■ Lowering in the water.
■ And then you don’t know weather the fish will come or what will trigger them.
■ But lo and behold and on a lucky day. Bingo! You will catch a fish.
■ You don’t see the fish yet but once you take it out, the idea comes to the conscious
mind.
Follow your intuition

■ It’s the number one tool.

■ Chef doesn’t make the fish, he just cooks the fish
Where do IDEAS come from?

■ Your Own Life

■ Something you have seen or heard about
■ History or the news
■ Adapt something
■ Imagination
Story and Character – Two ways to proceed

■ One is to get an idea, then create your characters to fit that idea.
■ Another way to approach is by creating a character, then letting a need, an action,
and, ultimately, a story emerge out of that character.
Major Dramatic Question

■ Protagonist
■ Goal
■ Conflict
The starting point

■ Someone wants something but is having trouble getting it.

Understand the Struggle

■ Achieving any goal is not easy.

■ There are may obstacles.
■ There is suffering.
■ There is uncertainty.
Research
“Who cares, make it up, it’s fiction!”

■ You need a reason for everything.

■ This matters because it has to do with keeping faith with your viewer.
■ If you get something verifiable wrong, why should they believe you when you really
are making things up?
■ Title and Background to the topic
■ What is your target audience?
■ Style – Do you have any kind of visual treatment in mind
■ Why this film must get made and why you are the right person for it?
Universe

■ Universe is where and when the story takes place. It includes the following:
■ The “where” can be very general—a small farming community, for example—or very
specific— Cheema Farm in Narowal.
■ The time of day such as morning, afternoon, or night.
■ The weather such as cloudy, sunny, windy, snow, or rain, etc.
■ The time of year, particularly the seasons: fall, winter, summer, spring.
■ The historical period such as what century or decade the story takes place.
■ The geographical location including the city, state, country, and possibly even the
universe, if the writer is writing science fiction.
■ Writers write about places they are familiar with. If they aren’t familiar with the place,
then they need to research it in order to be accurate about the place.
Protagonist

■ Physical traits (how a character looks),

■ Personality
■ Religion
■ Backstory
■ Dark side
■ Complexity
■ Private thoughts, and actions etc.
Other Characters

■ Static means the character stays the same throughout the story. They do not
change.
■ Developing, also called dynamic, means the character changes. The change may
impact the character’s beliefs, attitudes, or actions. The change may be small or
large. This change occurs because the character experiences an epiphany, an
insight about life.
Conflict

Conflict is the struggle between two entities. In story writing the main character, also
known as the protagonist, encounters a conflict with the antagonist, which is an
adversary. The conflict may be one of six kinds:
■ Character vs. character
■ Character vs. nature or natural forces
■ Character vs. society or culture
■ Character vs. machine or technology
■ Character vs. God
■ Character vs himself or herself
Two types of conflict

■ External conflict could be man against nature (people in a small lifeboat on a rough
ocean) or man against man.
■ While internal conflict might not seem as exciting as external, remember that real
life has far more internal than external conflict.
Theme

■ A theme is not the plot of the story.

■ It is the underlying truth that is being conveyed in the story. Themes can be
universal, meaning they are understood by readers no matter what culture or
country the readers are in. Common themes include coming of age, circle of life,
prejudice, greed, good vs. evil, beating the odds, etc.
Got the narrative, now worry about the
narration
■ The concept of narrative refers to what happens or what is depicted in films (as well
as novels) and narration refers to how that narrative is presented to the film
spectator (or reader of a novel).
■ So narrative refers to actions, events and characters whereas narration describes
the mechanism that controls how the spectator gains information about those
actions, events and characters.
Restricted and Omniscient Narration

■ There are two dominate modes of filmic narration.

■ Restricted Narration conveys the narrative to the spectator via one particular
character (thus aligning the spectator to that character), leading to a sense of
mystery.
■ Omniscient narration shifts from one character to another, conveying narrative
information to the spectator from many sources. This creates a discrepancy in
knowledge between spectator and characters, for the spectator knows more
narrative information than any one character, creating scenes of dramatic suspense.
Two ways to pick up a pen

■ I just to vent out and I will look into it later.

■ No I don’t take risks.
Screening

■ Mithay Chowl
What is three act structure?

■ All stories are told in three acts, whether it’s a joke, a campfire tale, a novel or
Shakespeare.

■ In simple words it is a narrative model that divides a plot up into three sections.

1- Set up

2- Confrontation

3- Resolution
ACT 1
HOOK
NORMAL WORLD
INCITING INCIDENT
PLOT POINT 1
Normal World

■ Universe
■ Protagonist
■ Other Characters
■ Backstory
■ Problem
■ Information
■ Preparation Stage
■ The baggage you need to carry
Example of a house

■ It is your comfort zone

Inciting Incident

■ The inciting incident is the original spark that lights his fire!
■ Push the protagonist
■ Leaving the comfort zone
 Plot point 1

■ There is no going back to the previous normal world.

■ The goal becomes clear
ACT 2

MIDPOINT
PLOT POINT 2
The Midpoint

■ The Midpoint is the lengthy section

■ The actual journey begins here
■ New world, unknown and out of ordinary
■ Waking up in a strange room
■ Exploring
■ Things become harder and harder for the protagonist
■ First half of midpoint is ACTING
■ Second half of midpoint is REACTING
Plot point 2

■ This is where destiny begins to fall apart.

■ Low point
■ Mentor, Final information or Realization
ACT 3

CLIMAX
RESOLUTION
Climax

■ The climax becomes the most exciting part of the show—emotional and dramatic in
every way possible—and becomes the final, greatest challenge for the hero to
overcome
■ Hero's journey is about to end
■ Last important sequence in the story
Resolution

■ The goal achieved or not?

■ Happy ending
■ Open ending
■ New Normal
■ What the protagonist has learned?
■ Is he/she a change person?
15th April 2018, Wembley, London
MAKING A BEAT SHEET

■ A beat sheet is simply a list of all the events (beats) in a story, placed in the order in
which they will appear.
■ Events may unfold in a single scene or sequence.
■ Many writers create a beat sheet before writing a first draft to give them a specific
sense of what goes where.
ACT 1 – Thelma and Louise

■ T and L talk on the phone about trip.

■ Darryl acts like jerk to T and T decides not to tell him about the trip.
■ L packs carefully, T packs recklessly.
■ L picks up T. T gives L a gun (brought in case they encounter psycho killers) They speed off.
■ They are having a good time on the road.
■ T gets L to stop at a bar. Harlan flirts with them. L does not like it but T craves attention. They drink
too much.
■ In the parking lot Harlan tries to rape T. L comes to her rescue with the gun. In the moment of fury
she shoots and kill him and they run away.
■ T wants to call the cops. L does not, fearing no one will believe them.
■ They stop at a diner. T is a wreck, L is trying to keep it together. They blame each other.
Yah! Now I can start writing my screenplay
but what is that one thing which my
screenplay should do?
■ It should suck you inside the movie, making it seem as real as a dream in the
deepest part of the night.

■ You should be spellbound, riveted every minute, totally inside the movie, even
though you hadn't yet seen it on the screen.
Screenplay is a plan

■ It is a blueprint for a movie, something that is chiefly read by the people in the business
or those who aspire to be in the business.

■ The best screenplay writer makes sure that you see the movie on the page.

■ When you read a beautifully written screenplay, you fly through it, flipping pages,
experiencing a story.

■ They are not just the bunch of words lying there on the white paper. Those words move.
A software is a must

■ Final Draft
■ Celtx
Titles

■ Your title set up an expectation on the cover page, before we even open the script.
■ A great title will whet your reader’s appetite.
■ Imagine yourself calling a friend on a Friday night: “Hey, you want to go see _____?
(How does your title sound when it fills that blank)
■ There is no rule about titles, except they should feel right for the movie.
■ Seek out title that is catchy and easy to remember.
Only sight and sound

■ Show, don’t tell. That’s the byword for movies. And screenplays. When we
experience a movie, the only kind of information we absorb is what we see and what
we hear. That’s it. Everything springs from those two sensations – sight and sound.
Since your screenplay is supposed to replicate the experience of a movie, it follows
that your script should convey only what is seen and heard.
Look at this scene description from THE
SHAESHANK REDEMPTION
■ The buzzer sounds, the cells slams open. Cons step from their cells. Andy catches
Red’s eye, nods his thanks. As the men shuffle down to breakfast, red glances into
Andy’s cell – and sees Rita in her new place of honor on Andy’s wall. Sunlight casts
a harsh barred shadow across her lovely face.
■ Don’t use the words we see or we hear to indicate what is being seen or heard,
unless it is unavoidable. For example its better to write darkness than we see
darkness. Its more direct.
Effective Description

■ Dialogue and description. That’s pretty much what a screenplay is.

■ The first goal with your description is to be clear. You don’t want your reader needing
to read a line twice to get the gist of it.
■ Once that happens, you have pulled the reader out of cinematic dream state you are
trying to create.
■ Polish your description until they are clear as crystal. Leave no chance for confusion
or ambiguity.
Dialogues

■ Dialogue writing is an art of making more of less.

■ Every line should contain layers of INFORMATION, EMOTION, CHARACTERIZATION,

MEANING, so much so that the audience can’t even get a piece of popcorn to their
mouth without freezing in mid-nibble to concentrate on what the character are
saying.
Dialogue a crucial element

■ When actors on the screen speak, audience pay close attention to what they say.
■ Dialogue is one of the most crucial elements of any screenplay.
■ Great dialogue can help your screenplay and your entire story.
The illusion of reality

■ First off, you want your characters to sound like real people.
■ Good dialogue has a natural feel and flow.
■ Don’t worry about perfect grammar. People don’t always speak grammatically.
■ You should not go more than three or four lines each time a character speaks unless
there is very good reason.
■ A good way to ensure that your dialogue is natural is to read it aloud.
■ Dialogue is not real-life speech, but it should give the illusion of being so.
Subtext

■ It’s a little peculiarity of human nature that we very rarely say exactly what we mean.
We avoid saying exactly what we mean because we are too polite or too afraid or
perhaps we don’t even know the truth themselves.
■ Text is what a character says
■ Subtext is what is truly meant
Subtext achieve three crucial things

■ It makes the dialogue more realistic

■ It adds a layer of dramatic tension between the spoken and unspoken
■ And it makes the audience an active part of the drama – they have to really listen
and piece things to gather for themselves, as you would do if you were
eavesdropping from nearby.
Voice-over

■ Lastly, we come to voice-over, known in the trade as V.O.

■ Voice over happens when character speaks words of narration that are heard over
the images shown on screen. Usually the character is speaking from another rime
and place than that being shown.
■ VO violates the rule of “show, don’t tell” often turning a film experience into
something more appropriate to the experience of a novel.
Where you can use it?

■ To bridge time
■ To lend a literary or poetic touch
■ To reveal interior thought
■ Some other interesting reason
Done with the first draft, now what?
Process

■ Cut out the extraneous material.

■ Focus on the big picture; and be open to change, no matter how major.
■ When you are certain about the fundamentals of your story, you move into second
draft. Here you improve the execution of that story.
■ Second drafts are also good time to focus on subplots and secondary characters
that may have gotten short shift in earlier stages.
■ Final draft are versions that you go over with the eagle eye of an informed
craftsperson.
Preparing to revise

■ Once you are done with the first draft. Take a break.
■ For short films I recommend 2-3 days
■ When you feel refreshed and ready, sit down with the hard copy of your script. Allow
yourself enough time so that you can read the whole thing from beginning to end
without interruption.
■ Revising can be daunting.
■ Later is now.
Screening

■ Unfolding
How to work with your supervisor

■ Understand your supervisor

■ Give him the sense of ownership
■ Be Regular
■ Be Responsible
■ Communicate Professionally
■ Be honest

■ Before supervisions prepare for the meeting by thinking of:

1- Your progress and achievements since the last meeting
2-Any problems or points you need clarifying
3-An action plan of what to do next
■ During your supervisions:
1-Take notes, especially of any actions or things to follow up.
2-Pay attention to the questions your supervisor asks, as these are often crucial in helping
you think about the direction of your film.
3-Take the opportunity to explain and defend your ideas.
■ After your supervisions:
1-Make sure that you confirm the details from each supervision in writing (via email) to
check there have been no misunderstandings.
2-Reflect on what you have discussed – it is likely to trigger more ideas.
3-Take your supervisor’s advice seriously – they don’t expect you to follow everything they
suggest, but they do expect you to consider it carefully.
There is no formula to a perfect story

■ Interesting characters
■ Intense Conflict
■ Visual opportunity
■ Emotional Power
The problem with BNU students

■ They are dragons

■ No research – Shallow Ideas
■ They don’t watch films
■ They lack narrative clarity
■ There films are not cinematic
How to make film look cinematic

■ Shallow depth of field

■ Movement
■ Frame rate
■ Music and Sound design
■ Aspect ratio
■ Color Grading
■ Fonts
Some Secret Tips

■ Art is imitation. Copy at least 50 frames from films.

■ There should be some sort of symbolism involved.
■ Watch all the related or somewhat related films which has already been made on
the same same subject.
■ Keep it under 15 minutes.
Screening

■ Tarantino steals from every film.

Some final TIPS.

■ Always remember it’s a Visual Language

■ Don’t expect too much from your friends
■ Simpler is better
■ Be flexible
■ Aim Small Miss Small
■ Be culturally fair
■ Don’t act in your film
■ Try to take one popular face
■ Don’t overcook it
■ Good writers are obsessive rewriters
■ Too many cooks spoil the broth
■ No Pressure
■ Be honest to your teachers
■ Always have a reason
■ Never argue and be polite in juries
■ Enjoy the process
■ If you have 100 dollars for a film, spend 90 on the actors
■ Try to make your rough cut yourself
■ There is no harm in taking professional help
■ Always set your budgets
■ Always have a plan B
■ Treat documentaries the same way as you treat other films
 HOW TO CONNECT

To make a great film you need three things – the script, the script and the script.”

Nudge me anytime you like on sarmed.cheema@bnu.edu.pk

CHEERS!