Connor's Film Blog

What surprised me the most from the pre-production presentation is the amount of detail and planning that goes into the pre production.  Two questions I have is how do I write a script? And how many people generally work on each part of the pre-production process? I learned how to write a log line in this unit. Pre-production is very important because it makes the production process a lot smoother and faster, and you won't forget anything when you're making the film, because you have it all written down.

A shot list is a list of all the shots in the film you are creating. It is very important because it sets a basis for all of the shots needed in the movie being made. With this basis, you won't forget to shoot some shots, or do the wrong type of shots. The shot list should be a must for anyone creating a movie because it saves time and time is money.

Storyboards are so important for planning your film because it is putting a visual aspect to the script, and will better describe a shot, without writing it all out. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, well if that's true then drawing a scene in a storyboard will save you a thousand words on your script. A simple drawing makes it a lot easier to show exactly what you want in a shot, making it easier for you when you are on set and explaining to people how you want the shot to look.

In the first act, all the basics are introduced; setting, conflict, characters, etc. This is what sets up for what is going to happen later on in the story. The second act is based on the characters realizing what they must to in order to solve the conflict. Sometimes a subplot, or a minor story under the main one is introduced. This can give the viewers more understanding of what exactly is going on. The third act has the final confrontation and resolution of the conflict. After the conflict is solved, the loose ends are tied up and the story starts to decline, then finishing.

An outline is the basic notes for a film that the writer makes and will have bullet points, which he would elaborate on a little sometimes. A synopsis is a short, one paragraph/page summary of the film/concept. A treatment is an in depth story telling of the film you are making, it can be like the script and has the full story told.

Be concise with your pitch. Be very clear on what the plot and tone are. Also discuss how character is. Connect with your audience, for example, you should be smiling when you talk so you can communicate to your audience that they should be smiling also. Pitching is basically speed painting, where you have to paint an image inside the listener's head so they can understand your vision.

To make a great pitch, you need to leave the listener in suspense and not knowing what the result of the outcome is, to keep the pitch short so you don't run out of time but you have all the essential details, and make sure you are ready to answer any question that comes at you with a concise response.

Pre-production is everything done in a film before it was actually shot. It includes script writing, storyboarding, finding actors and locations and staff and anything else that needs to be done before the film is shot. The steps needed are to have a script and storyboard figured out, then find out who you want working on your film, then talk to them and finalize all your plans, then you can start shooting.

I learned about all the different shots and framing, such as long shots, medium shots, and close ups. I also learned how to frame subjects in a two shot, and the Hitchcock Rule. I have questions about the golden mean, and where to put the horizon lines when. I would like to learn more about screen direction.

When watching films recently, I have been able to notice different composition and framing within the film. I now can see the differences between an alright and a good movie when it comes to composition and framing.When I was watching Fight Club recently, I was able to notice the great dynamic and framing throughout the movie and I was able to appreciate it more.

The Hitchcock rule is to use a closeup shot when you are trying to show details that are important and add on to the story. It applies to filmmaking because when shooting a film, you need to know what is important to the story, and what won't add much to the story, so you don't overuse the closeup.

The narrator discusses how the characters when entering and exiting a frame should seem to be moving in a continuous line, if they exit screen left then they must enter screen right, or vice versa. The audience will be very confused if these rules are not followed. The diagonal movement still applies to this rule even tho the field of view is less 2D and greater. The characters still need to exit from one side and come out the other.

A high angle shot is shot high looking down, and a low angle shot is a shot that is low looking up. A high angle shot makes someone look powerless and a low angle shot makes someone look powerful and dominant. Eye level is the most neutral angle and has no dramatic effect.

The key difference of the full, medium, and closeup shots is the amount of the subject's body within the frame. The Full shot has an image of the subject's whole body, the medium shot has about half of the subject's body, and the close up has only the subject's face. These apply to over the shoulder shots because they express how close the subject's are to each other when interacting. It is the same with a two shot, a full shot can show the distance between two characters, but a close up with a two shot can show the intimacy between the subjects. Lenses affect the shot because they compress the background in different ways. With a longer lens, the background will be more compressed and blurred out, but with a similar framing with a shorter lens, the audience will be able to see more of the background, not only because its wider, but also because it wont be as out of focus. Also, with a closeup shot with a short lens, the subject's face will appear more distorte...

Filmmakers frame their shots differently because different shots give a unique perspective, bring out a different emotion, and they give the filmmakers  a unique style. The unique perspective makes the audience more engaged, and shows them a point of view that they generally would not see in ordinary life. Emotions in the film are produced by the types of shots they used. Shots that are taken down under a subject can make the audience view them as more powerful and grand. Some shots are very unique and specific to a filmmaker, which adds to their style, and is unmistakably their work.

I noticed the mention of using dolly movement, tripod panning, and handheld. They are used to convey different emotions, like zooming in on two people talking can show a secret discussion or someone watching them, and handheld can show uneasiness in a character. I can go home and study films like pulp fiction and fight club. I am interested in camera movement on still objects, because it makes a nice effect when someone or thing is standing still and the camera is moving around them, adding some type of motion to a shot.

The difference between zooming and dolly shots is that zoom shots lets the camera operator stand still to get a closer view of the subject and makes the background more compressed. The dolly shot forces the camera operator to actually move their body and keeps the focal length the same, making the background less compressed than if you were to zoom into the subject. Dollying and Trucking make the shot seems more three dimensional and it engages the viewer, making them feel like they are a part of the shot.

The objective camera view makes the audience feel invisible and within the scene they are observing what is happening but not from any specific point of view of a character. The subjective shot is the first person viewing angle from one of the characters in the scene. The POV shot shows what the character is seeing but is also seeing a part of the character, such as an over the shoulder shot. The key difference is that the objective shot is completely third person shot, the subjective is completely first person, and the POV shot is often as if the viewer is standing right next to a character and looking in the same direction as them.

Headroom is the amount of space that is left above the subject's head. Look room is the amount of space you leave in front of a subject's face, and lead room is essentially the same thing, but for moving objects, as they should have space in front of the direction they're moving to. These are important for one's composition because it makes the shot look a lot better and natural.

Rule of Thirds is when you place you divide your frame three times horizontally and vertically, and place your subject at the point of intersection of the vertical and horizontal lines. It is used in video production to make a more interesting shot and keeps the viewer engaged. You should compose your subjects using the Rule of Thirds to make the shot more intriguing and keep the viewer interested in what you are showing.

Zooming closes the field of view that is seen using the camera, and it compresses the background, making the viewer see less of what is behind the subject. Zooming can be overused, if there are many shots zooming in and out, then the viewer will get nauseous. Only zoom in with a shot if you need to.

Focus and exposure make sure that your shot looks exactly how you want it to be. When focusing, you can zoom in as tight as possible and then focus to make sure you have the focus exactly where you want it, or you can use focus peaking, which highlights whatever is in focus, so it makes it easier to get the focus. With exposure, you can use zebras to see if there is anything that is being blown out, or lost in the highlights. You can also use histograms to read the information coming in and seeing what the levels of exposure are for the shadows, mid-tones, and highlights. Setting the aperture and iso manually is the best way to ensure that the image is properly exposed.

Color temperature is the tint of color within the light. The two main types of light are daylight and tungsten. White balance is the balancing of the tints in the light to make sure the image produced looks natural and isn't to blue or orange. Outside lighting has more of a blue tint, while inside lighting has an orange tint. White balance is important because it makes sure the image isn't overtaken by one type of light and makes it look natural.