Month: March 2020

The Story of Film Episode 1-Birth of the Cinema

Introduction

1895-1918: The World Discovers a New Art Form or Birth of the Cinema

 

  • 1903-1918: The Thrill Becomes Story or The Hollywood Dream

Session 6 Production Project

Summary

SMART Goal

My goal is to write with a flow of, something happens, but then this happens, therefore this happens, but then this happens. To create a cinematic flow to the story.

Specific- The skills that I would learn are cinematic writing and cinematic dialogue.

Measurable- The only way to keep progress of this goal is wait and see the first scene. Then I would be able to evaluate the flow.

Achievable- I may not have the writing skills to do achieve my goal but I do have writing resources and online templates.

Relevant- I am setting this goal now because we are about to make a film and before you can record at least half of the film, there needs to be a script (at least a draft).

Time-Bound- The deadline for the script would be March 18th which is 1 week from writing this so It’s pretty reasonable.

Pre-Production

Leaders in the Field

They focused a lot on defense mechanisms that the character has to keep him more closed in the box so that they would be more of a burst opening at the end. They used the different side characters to weaken these defense mechanisms to slowly open him up to his true emotions. One of the defense mechanisms is pushing away the people that are trying to help but our side characters don’t want to leave and keep pushing him to the point of breaking down. This is one of the most amazing scripts ever and a great example of releasing and rising tension.

Training Sources

  • You have to find the truth within a story
  • A story always has something underlined in there that shows us a hidden message
  • If the director and the writer are the same person that’s how you know what the screenplay was intended to look like
  • The movie doesn’t always have to be faithful to the screenplay
  • Sometimes the writer wants the director to follow the script even though that’s not how it is all the time
  • Don’t put a lot of shot details and specifications because the director won’t listen and do it just as good

Project Timeline

  • Write post production bog post
  • Brainstorm ideas for the story
  • Start thinking about some scenes would fit within that story
  • Write the beginning of the story and the middle
  • Write the end of the story and have someone help you make final touches and edit it
  • Help director with story flow during filming
  • Help editor put the right clips in the right order to follow the story

Text Analysis: Up in the Air

Here is the IMDB page for the movie Up in the Air

Cast and Crew

Notes

  • Starting the movie they made the camera movements very subtle
  • They interviewed people who actually lost their jobs to get a feel for what they need to tell the actors and how they want int to look to make it very real.
  • He based a few of the elements in the movie on his real life even though his movie was based on a book.
  • He put things in the background to determine the place they are at
  • Had a curved hallway to signify how the flying life has no end because you can’t see the end
  • Had to dial back lighting because it’s not sexy
  • stole a shot from a movie (die hard) because he loved it and why not?
  • moving cameras for moving people (the smaller the space the less movement) exception:big dynamic movements
  • Makes the camera be the dancing partner of the actor (use the eye-line)
  • subtle music is great for dramedys
  • have your receptors open