Storytelling for the screen
Part 7
Three Act Story:
Pre-Production
Share Your Three Act Stories
Today, we'll share our three act stories so that we can get feedback and make sure the stories are as strong and compelling as they can be.
Here's a reminder about our feedback rules:
Feedback rules
1. The filmmaker sets up their goals for the project.
It's important for the audience to know what the filmmaker is trying to achieve so that they can give good feedback that will help the filmmaker in that goal. Sometimes, audiences project their own goals and then the feedback process can go wrong.
2. Start with the positive.
You need to help encourage the filmmaker. You want to see the good in their work. It could be the potential for good or a good idea. It’s always about supporting the filmmaking.
3. Be specific.
Try to not just say, that’s good. But what about it is good. They need to know if they are going to replicate that.
4. Limit the improvements to the most important elements.
What step or steps can they take to make their work better? It’s not as helpful to give then a long list of areas they can improve, but try to cut to the most important area they can grow in.
5. Filmmakers choose the feedback that helps them.
It's up to you what you want to go with. It's your film!
Pre-Production and Video/Photo Storyboards
In preparing to make your story into a film, I want to talk about storyboards again and some new techniques that will help you.
Before we get into the new techniques, I want to show you a brief video about a famous and professional director who uses video storyboards to help him make his films. I think the video is helpful to you because it shows you how a video (or photo) storyboard is a great way to easily pre-visualize your film. In the industry, they call this previz.
Robert Rodriguez is the director and he is famous for breaking into the industry by making a film for a few thousand dollars that he raised in part by selling his blood. He shot the film on his own with hardly any budget but then it got seen by Hollywood and he was catapulted into one of the top filmmakers today. He also is a big believer in making films that are independent of Hollywood so he doesn't have to rely on them for resources.
Storyboards and 180 Rule
Last week, we talked about how important it is for the audience to understand what is going on physically in a scene.
This is a challenge for many new filmmakers because when you are shooting action in different shots, it can easily get an audience lost because they are confused where everyone is in the scene and what their relationship is to each other.
So the 180 rule help filmmakers make sure that the audience isn't confused to what is happening in a scene and what people's relationships are to each other.
Here's a video to demonstrate the 180 rule and also a simple image to show the 180 rule:
When you are shooting two people or more in a scene, the 180 rule says that your cameras should stay on side of the line of action, the invisible line that cuts across two people facing each other in the scene.
Usually, when you're shooting a scene like this, where there are two people facing each other, you would shoot it in at least three ways.
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One camera is shooting a medium wide shot of the two characters. Often called a two shot.
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One camera is shooting an Over the Shoulder shot from one character's perspective. Over the Shoulder is often called a OTS.
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One camera is shooting an Over the Shoulder shot from the other character's perspective.
If you look at the fourth camera, it has crossed the line of action. This is NOT A GOOD IDEA. The reason is that when you look at the fourth camera's picture, the character is looking in the same direction as the other character in the third shot. This will be very confusing to the audience.
Let's take a look at this short film, Erin Gould's "Will You?" It perfectly illustrates the 180 rule.
See if you can see how he uses the 180 rule, two shots and OTS.
Another example:
Here's another example of how you can use the two shot and the OTS (Over the Shoulder shots) to create a clear understanding of relationships and actions in the film. This film was done by our Athenian alum, Jackson Yeomans. It's called Smile and it was his portfolio film that he made for NYU Tisch which is a major film school. It definitely helped him get into this program and he's going to school there now!
Activity: 180 Rule, Two Shots and OTS
Now I want you to take three pictures of two people (or two objects if you don't have two people) by using the 180 rule, two shot and two OTS. Email me the pictures so I know you got it.
Here is an example:
Storyboard, POV, and Extreme Close-Up
So in addition to the 180 rule, two shot, and OTS, there are a few more tools I would like you to know how to use to make your film more compelling. I'm going to show you a film called "Light It Up" by my student CJ Mancini. I think CJ uses POV and extreme close-up well to really build tension and sell his story.
POV stands for Point of View. It's used to show the character's POV. It can be any kind of shot: wide, medium, close-up, or others but the key thing is that you start with a close-up or medium close-up of the character looking at something and then you cut to the POV. It's important to do these two shots back to back so that it tells the audience this is what the character is looking at.
Here's an example from "Will You?"
In the first image, we see the boy looking to the left of the screen. Notice how the director frames his shot so that there's space in front of the main character's eyes. This helps us understand that he's looking forward.
In the second image, we have who the main character is looking at. We know this because the first image sets it up.
Another visual tool you can use is the extreme close-up. This is used when you really want to get intense and make the audience really feel like we're heading into extreme emotions like extreme sadness or extreme anger or whatever makes sense for that film. Here's an example:
Let's check out how CJ uses POV shots and Extreme Close ups to build tension in his story, Light It Up.
Here's another example of using POV shots and reaction shots very effectively. This is called Closet Space by David Sandberg. He actually used his short films to become a Hollywood film director who has directed horror films like one of the Annabelle films and Shazam!
Activity: POV and Extreme Close-up
Now it's your turn. I want you to take three images and email them to me:
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A Medium or wide shot of someone looking at something
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A medium shot of the object that she's looking at
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An extreme close-up shot
Here are some examples:
Homework
Your homework is to come up with a storyboard for your film. Please take photos of each major shot in your story and it'll help you figure out how to tell your story visually. Please try to use as many visual techniques as you can that are appropriate. Please share it with me by 1:30 pm tomorrow so I can set it up for class.
Bonus content!
Here are two videos about David Sandberg. The first one is about how he made Closet Space. So awesome because it shows you how he achieved some cool effects with little money and no crew except for him.
The second one is an interview with him about how he got his career started. It's great inspiration for those folks who want to be a Hollywood Director but have no connections.
