Editting

Editing
The joining of one shot (strip of film) with another. The shots can picture events and objects in different places at different times. In Europe, editing is called montage.

Continuity
The kind of logic implied agreement between edited shots., their principle of coherence. cutting to continuity emphasizes smooth transitions between shots, in which time and space are unobtrusively condensed.

• more complex classical cutting is the linking of shots according to an event's psychological as well as logical breakdown
• Thematic montage, the continuity is determined by the symbolic association of ideas between shots, rather than any literal connections in time and space.
  

First cut/ rough cut
The initial sequence in a movie, often constructed by the director.

Final cut
The sequence as it will be released to the public.

Types of Shots

Establishing shot
Usually an extreme long or long shot offered at the beginning of a scene, providing the viewer with the context of the subsequent closer shot.

Master shot
An uninterrupted shot, usually taken from a long or full shot range that contain an entire scene. The closer shots are photograph later, and an edited sequence, composed of a variety of shots, is constructed on the editor’s bench.

Sequence shot
A single lengthy shot, usually involving complex staging and camera movements.

Reaction shot
A cut to a shot of a character’s reaction to the contents of the preceding shot.

Cover shot, coverage, covering shots
Extra shots of a scene that can be used to bridge transitions in case the planned footage fails to edit as planned. Usually long shots that preserve the overall continuity of a scene.

Reestablishing shot
A return to an initial establishing shots within a scene, acting as a reminder of the physical contacts of the closer shots.


Typical arrangement of shots to build a simple conversational scene:

1. Establishing Shots
2. master shots
3. reaction shots (while characters are talking to each other)
4. inserts of Cover shots or sequence shots when it's necessary.
   
5. Reestablishing shot

Types of cuts

Cutting to continuity
A type of editing in which the shots are arrange to preserve the fluidity of an action without showing all of it. An unobtrusive condensation of a continuous action.

Jump cut
An editing transition that is confusing in terms of space and time.

Parallel editing
The alternation of shots of one scene with another at a different location

Flash-forward
An editing technique that suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing future.

Flashback
An editing technique that suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing the past.

Cross cutting: The alternating of shot from 2 or more sequences, often in different locales, suggesting that they are taking place at the same time.


Speed
Speed is the motion of a sequence: fast motion, slow motion, standard motion

Freeze frame, freeze shot
A shot compose of a single frame that is reprint a number of times on the filmstrip; when projected, it gives the illusion of still photograph.

Fast motion
Shots of a subject photograph at a rate slower than 24 fps, which, when projected at the standard rate, convey motion that is jerky and slightly comical, seemingly out of control.

Slow motion
Shots of a subject photograph at a rate slower than 24 fps, which, when projected at the standard rate produce a dreamy, dancelike slowness of action.

Reverse motion
A series of images are photograph with film reserved. When projected normally, the effect is to suggest backward movement-an egg “returning” to its shell, for example.

***The speed can be adjusted in the editing software whether or not it is filmed in faster or slower rate.

Pace
rhythm and the tempo of a sequence or a movie. Faster the tempo, the more excitement it creates; slow tempo, less exiting it is.

Tips/basic concept
**Slow motion with fast tempo can be lyrical and romantic, and it won bore the audience. On contrary, Slow motion with slow tempo, it can be draggy and boring.

**Fast motion with fast tempo can create excitement, but the audience may not have enough time to grasp all the necessary information in the scene, unless is is the editor or the director's intension.

Cinematography: Camera composition, Movement, and Lighting

Camera Movements
When ever the subject moves from left to right, or the camera view pans/moves from left to right, or both (subject and camera view) move from left to right, it implies positive message for the following sequences in film-making. However, for the opposing direction, it implies negative message for the following sequences. This method is based on the research on how human (westerners) reads, which is normally, left to right. Thus, when ever the audience perceive anything moving from left to right, it seems natural to them. On the other hand, perceiving anything moving from right to left, unconsciously, it's uneasy to the audience, which is like having a person reading a book in reverse.


Composition in Cinematography (similar to photocomposition)

The rule of thirds
• where a picture is divided into three sections vertically and horizontally and lines and points of intersection represent places to position visual elements.


Bull’s eye composition
“No, No” in good composition. When you place the main subject right “smack” in the center of the picture area it is called bull’s eye. This should be avoided at all times, unless you have definite reason for doing it, for example:

1. When you have fast cut, you need to make sure the audience can notice the subject in a very short time. Thus, putting subject in the center is easy for the viewer to notice, during fast cut, bull's eye shot is effective so that the viewer can capture the subject in a glance.
2. To create an impact to the audience, or to give an uneasy feeling to the audience.

• With main subject at the center of the frame the eye will go into the picture and stay in the center, eyes will not move around to enjoy the rest of the picture or the set. Eyes can get tired very fast and lose interest.
  

• Even the subject is a little off center, it can still improve the picture’s composition.

Natural Light
Light used in photography from natural sources, for example, sunlight.

Sunlight
This is an example of natural light. This light comes from no other than our own sun. While the sun gives surely enough light for film to be exposed at, you must still do some serious thinking before taking the picture. For one thing, the time of day will affect the quality of your photo, as you will learn.

Overcast skylight
Though related to sunlight, this type of light is different in many ways. For one thing, you will not get the harsh shadows that appear in direct sun. Because clouds are blocking the sun, light is diffused, or scattered, thus softening shadows. Also, clouds can give a dramatic touch to your photos.

Artificial light
Light used in photography other than that from natural sources. Generally it refers to light specially set up by photographer such as flash or floodlight.

Diffused light
Light rays scattered, usually because of something such as fog or clouds in the way of the rays' paths

Bounce light
Light that is redirected or reflected from the light source.
If the reflecting surface is colored, the it will affect the color of the light, thus, white surfaces should be used for bounced light unless special color effects are desired.

Light settings
key light

• main source light.
• stronger the light darker the shadow
  

fill light

• it's used to fill in the shadows created by the key light

Back light

• It creates a rim of light surrounding the model/subject that separates him/her/it from the background.
  
• It adds three dimensionality to the picture.
  
• it's set above or behind the model.
• It can be in high or low intensity, if it's in low intensity, we usually refer it as hair or head light.
  

Head light/hair light

• to give some highlight on the model's hair, to give his/her hair some details.

*let's clear up some confusion here. yes, back light, head light and hair light may be very similar, the differences are the intentions. Back light is to separate the model from the background by creating a rim of light around him/her. However, head light and hair light are usually in low intensity, and the intention is to have a nice shine on the hair. got it?

Acting

Like photography and production design, acting can be a medium for communicating ideas and emotions.

Many stars fall somewhere between the two extremes, veering toward personality in some films, toward impersonation in others.

Theories in Acting

1. Realistic or formalistic
2. Truth in acting can only be achieved by exploring a good character’s inner spirit, which must be fused with the actor’s own emotions.
3. Emotional recall - an actor delves into his or her past to discover feelings that analogous to those of the character.
4. Ensemble playing, with genre interactions among the actor/character, players were encouraged to analyze all the specific of scene: What does the character really want? What is his or her history or “backstory”? What has happened prior to the immediate moment? What time of day is it?
5. Improvisation while the players are on camera.

Styles of acting

It depends on period, genre, tone, national origins, and directorial emphasis


Casting

“Casting is characterization,” once a role has been cast, especially with personality star, the essence of the fictional character is already established.

Cast director and Film director could have two ways to pick their ideal cast.

1. Pick a star who is not only has the “look”, he or she can act so well to cope the character according to the film or the director’s vision.
2. Pick someone, may or may not be professional, who has the “look” and personality that is extremely close, 90%, to the character according to the film or the director’s vision. Therefore, these players usually are trying to be themselves while filming.

Types of casts

Extras

These actors are used primarily to provide a sense of crowd – as in “a cast of thousands”

Nonprofessional performers

These are amateur players who are chosen not because of their acting ability, which can be negligible, but because of their authentic appearance – they look right for a given part.

Trained professionals

These stage and screen performers are capable of playing a variety of roles in variety of styles.

Stars

These are famous performers who are widely recognized by the public. Their drawing power is one of the main attractions of a film.

The distinction between a professional actor and a star is not based on skill, but on mass popularity.



Creating a Character

When developing a character, different types of energy can have a great deal of affection.

• Different energy = different emotion, or different attitude.

Sometimes director needs to unify the actor’s performance through out the whole movie because a film is usually shot without according to its actual sequence.

However, if the actor is good enough, and understands the director well, one should be able to develop the character independently and professionally without the director’s order. Thus, some directors usually work with their favorite actors like Tim Burton and Johnny Depp because they understand each other: what they want, and their capabilities.

Speech

Different ways of speech or tone of voices can be applied to different characteristic, or emotions of a character in a film.

Body language

It is a term for communication using body movements or gestures instead of, or in addition to, sounds, verbal language or other communication. This includes the subtlest of movements that many people are not aware of, including winking and slight movement of the eyebrows. In addition body language can also incorporate the use of facial expressions

Production Design / Art department

Production Design
Production designer is a term used in the movie and television industries to refer to the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production Designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the director and producer, they must select the settings and style to visually tell the story.

The term was created in 1939 in respect for the amount and level of design work single-handedly accomplished by William Cameron Menzies on the film Gone with the Wind. Previously, and often subsequently, the person(s) with the same responsibility had been called "art directors."

the crew who work in the art department under the production designer include:

1. art director
2. assistant art director
3. set designer
4. set decorator
5. costume designer
6. property master
7. concept illustrator
8. graphic designer
9. model maker

Production illustration

• Each member of the art department contributes illustrations that fall into three basic categories.

1. Concept and final design illustration: these are used to describe individual elements for a production, including sets, props, costumes, makeup and special effects. These are individual illustrations intended to establish a style a visual direction and do necessarily depict a shot or sequence in the film.
2. Plans, elevations and projections: These are the highly technical descriptions that give that exact specifications needed to manufacture whatever is depicted more evocatively in the design illustrations.
3. Continuity sketches and storyboards: these are the sequential panels that describe the individual compositions of each shot and their order in each scene of a film.

week 5: Production Management for film & Mise en scene

Production

“Production” is generally not considered a department as such, but rather as a series of functional groups. These include the "front office" staff such as the Production Manager, the Production Coordinator, and their assistants; the accounting staff; the various Assistant Directors; and sometimes the Locations Manager and his or her assistants. The Director is considered to be a separate entity, not within the departmental structure.

 

Executive Producer

usually an investor in the project or just a credit that the filmmaker gave to someone who paid for the credit. You can have as many executive producers as you want but generally keep it to a minimum.

 

Producer

A film producer creates the conditions for making movies. The producer initiates, coordinates, supervises and controls matters such as raising funding, hiring key personnel, and arranging for distributors. The producer is involved throughout all phases of the filmmaking process from development to completion of a project.

 

Production Manager

The production manager supervises the physical aspects of the production (not the creative aspects) including personnel, technology, budget, and scheduling. It is the production manager's responsibility to make sure the filming stays on schedule and within its budget. The PM also helps manage the day-to-day budget by managing operating costs such as salaries, production costs, and everyday equipment rental costs. The PM often works under the supervision of a line producer and directly supervises the Production Coordinator.

 

Unit Manager

The unit manager fulfills the same role as the production manager but for secondary "unit" shooting. In some functional structures, the unit manager subsumes the role of the Transport Coordinator.

 

Production Coordinator

The Production Coordinator is the information nexus of the production, responsible for organizing all the logistics from hiring crew, renting equipment, and booking talent. The PC is an integral part of film production.

 

Director

The director is responsible for overseeing the creative aspects of a film, including controlling the content and flow of the film's plot, directing the performances of actors, organizing and selecting the locations in which the film will be shot, and managing technical details such as the positioning of cameras, the use of lighting, and the timing and content of the film's soundtrack. Though the director wields a great deal of power, he or she is ultimately subordinate to the film's producer or producers. Some directors, especially more established ones, take on many of the roles of a producer, and the distinction between the two roles is sometimes blurred.

 

Assistant Director

The first assistant director (1st AD) assists the production manager and director. The ultimate aim of any 1st AD is to ensure the film comes in on schedule while maintaining a working environment in which the director, principal artists (actors) and crew can be focussed on their work. He or she is in charge of overseeing the day-to-day management of the cast and crew scheduling, equipment, script, and set. A 1st AD may also be responsible for directing background action for major shots or the entirety of relatively minor shots, at the director's discretion.

2^nd Assistant Director

The second assistant director (2nd AD) is the chief assistant of the 1st AD and helps carry out those tasks delegated to the 1st AD. The 2nd AD may also direct background action and extras in addition to helping the 1st AD with scheduling, booking, etc. The 2nd AD is responsible for creating Call Sheets that let the crew know the schedule and important details about the shooting day. In Canadian and British functional structures there are 3rd ADs and even Trainee ADs; in the American system there are 2nd 2nd ADs.

 

Production Assistant

A production assistant assists the first assistant director with set operations. Production assistants, almost always referred to as PAs, also assist in the production office with general tasks.

 

Script Supervisor

Also known as the "continuity person", the script supervisor keeps track of what parts of the script have been filmed and makes notes of any deviations between what was actually filmed and what appeared in the script. He or she makes notes on every shot, also keeping track of props, blocking, and other details to ensure that continuity is maintained from shot to shot, and from scene to scene. The Script Supervisor's notes are given to the Editor to expedite the editing process. The script supervisor works very closely with the director on set.

 

Production Accountant

The production accountant assists the production manager and line producer in keeping track of the film's budget. The production accountant, together with his or her various assistants, is often considered to be a separate department.

 

Location Manager

The location manager researches, locates, secures and coordinates the filming locations. He/she creates a location breakdown, identifying the precise locations needed and works hand-in-hand with the director and the production designer. For smaller budget productions the Location Manager may also serve as the Unit Manager.

**remarks

In many cases, for low budget film production either shorts or features, often the crew is not completed. Thus, most likely the producer is multi tasked, he or her can be a production manager or an assistant director.

as for your short film, thus, the producer is someone who is in charged of everything about management and organization. Nevertheless, it is a very important role as well as the manager for your short film production.

Mise en scène

Mise en scène is everything that appears before the camera, namely:

• the setting
• the costume and make-up
• the use of figure, expression and movement by actors
• the lighting

The style scale

Formalism, expressionism		Realism
Form over content - how things are shown is most important, and beyond a usual representation of reality. Expressionist films are highly stylised, and are characterised by oblique camera angles, distorted shapes, bizarre settings, high contrast lighting and the surreal and subjective.		Content over form - looks like real life - the intent is to make us forget it is a representation. This is the dominant style of most films, and is sometimes referred to as "the style of no style."

Setting

Setting gives a sense of place and time. Whatever the film is, you should always analyze the set because it provides important clues about the nature of the film, such as:

• where the action takes place
• when the action takes place
• the mood
• the characters
• the genre of the film.

Costume and make-up

Costume and make-up can be considered as part of the set, because they indicate:

• the period
• the state of society
• social class
• cultural backgrounds
• character traits.

Changes in costume indicate changes in character, e.g.:

• rich to poor
• taking off clothes as lowering defenses.

Clothing might also be a trademark.

Figure, expression and movement

• Body language
• appearance
• facial expressions (very significant in close-ups)
• sound elements.

The way a character stand and move is important.

• If they are the foreground they might be considered more important.
• If they move against a stationary background attention is drawn to them.
• Even distribution of characters makes for a balanced shot, whereas uneven distribution is unsettling to the eye.
• Positioning of characters within the frame may even indicate emotional distance.

Special remarks:

Everything appears from left to right or located at left, it usually implies pleasantness to the viewer. Which means, when the scene is about something positive or the following scene is a happy scene, the subject usually moves from left to right. However, anything from right to left could suggest unpleasantness, uneasiness, danger, and anything negative. Therefore, at many times, the protagonist is usually at the left and the villain is usually at the right side of the frame.

moreover, colors can play an important role for showing good and bad. For example, good guy usually have vibrant colors like superman, spiderman, iron man, and hulk. However, bad guys usually have duller colors, distorted outfit, or scary costume. Batman is different, because the art concept for batman is, he's a threat to the bad guys, thus he should look more solid and darker to his opponent, but don forget, he looks cool and good looking, so... you get the idea.

next, anything is placed on the top part of the frame or at the higher ground, it suggests power, strength, or authority, that against anything lower than the subject or below it.

in addition, anything is positioned closer the center of the frame, it makes the subject seems more important. Vice versa, anything placed further from the center, it gets less important.

the distance between the casts can suggest closeness or intimacy. The closer they are together, the more intimate they are.

when you have the casts facing at one direction, parallel, it shows that they are in the same team, facing same challenges. However, if you have them facing each other or agaisnt each other, it suggests opposition. Means they are opponent or different, except when you have a romantic scene such as the moment when they are kissing.

lastly, when the talent is facing the camera, it makes the character interacts with the audience, or to create intimacy between the viewers and the character. however, lesser the talent facing the camera, greater distance you are creating between the audience and the character. Say, if you are trying to create mysteriousness for your character, you would rather not to reveal his entire face or you can have him or her back facing the camera. It triggers audience's imagination.

nevertheless, in order to achieve good mise en scene in your short film, the basic idea is to put in thoughts before you start shooting. Be aware of how your camera and casts move, positioned, and the way your casts look like. Think about what perspective best suits your scene or convey whatever you want to express to the audience. It's usually about common sense. thus, all you need to do is, put in thoughts in every single shots, sets, and movements. And don't forget, have a nice setting or background and play around with lighting can make your movie lots more fun and interesting. in fact, i'll be judging your mise en scene for your final project, it's part of the marking scheme too. So, if you should have any question, you can ask me anytime, i'll be more than happy to help.

Story, Screenplay, & Storyboards

Story Development

Plot
Plot or storyline is all the events in a story, particularly towards the achievement of some particular artistic or emotional effect. In other words it's what mostly happened in the story. Such as the mood, characters, setting, and conflicts occurring in a story.

Story arc

• Plot is often schematically represented as an arc reflecting the rising action described in the following phases:

1. Initial situation – the beginning. It is the first incident that makes the story start.
2. Conflict or Problem – goal which the main character, or other characters, of the story has to achieve.
3. Complication or Rising action – obstacles which the main character has to cope.
4. Climax – highest point of interest of the story.
5. Resolution – what happens to the character after overcoming all obstacles and reaching his goal, or failing to achieve the desired result and not reaching his goal.
6. Conclusion – the end result of the plot.

Short Story (for short film)

• Short stories tend to be less complex than novels. Usually, a short story will focus on only one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a limited number of characters, and covers a short period of time.

• In longer forms of fiction, stories tend to contain certain core elements of dramatic structure: exposition (the introduction of setting, situation and main characters); complication (the event of the story that introduces the conflict); rising action, crisis (the decisive moment for the protagonist and their commitment to a course of action); climax (the point of highest interest in terms of the conflict and the point of the story with the most action); resolution (the point of the story when the conflict is resolved); and moral.

• Because of their short length, short stories may or may not follow this pattern. Some do not follow patterns at all. For example, modern short stories only occasionally have an exposition. More typical, though, is an abrupt beginning, with the story starting in the middle of the action. As with longer stories, plots of short stories also have a climax, crisis, or turning-point. However, the endings of many short stories are abrupt and open and may or may not have a moral or practical lesson.

• Of course, as with any art form, the exact characteristics of a short story will vary by author.

Script writing

• Is a back bone for a whole movie.
• It must be in present tense
• Description for the environment is written for visual aspect, different than a novel.
• It must have: scene title (location and time), action (what is happening, what should be seen in the screen, camera view, and sound effects), dialogs or narration (character's name and expression, and what they talk about)
  

Screenplay format:

• EXT- external, INT-interior, follow by the location name and time, either "DAY" or "NIGHT", all must be in big caps. eg. INT. CLASS 105 - DAY
  

• Short forms: (V.O.) and (OVER) - for voice over of a person or a sound produced by an item that is not present in the scene. POV - point of view of the character.
  

• Words with big caps in "action" is for new character's name. To make notice for the reader when a new character is introduced in the movie, or it can also represent sound effects. For example, Jason realizes a cell phone is RINGING, it is from the girl sitting behind him, SUSAN, dark hair, light make-up, t-shirt and jeans, she picks up the phone from her handbag and answers the phone.
  

• Sometimes, the writer can include brief emotional description for the character before the dialog, in italic form. eg.

Big Daddy
(angry)
I hate you, you ate all my cookies, I hate you for the rest of my life.

• Cinematography description can be included in brief as a suggestion. Nevertheless, it is the director and the cinematographers who are responsible in how they shoot it, not the writer.
• "FADE IN:", "FADE OUT:", "CUT TO:", "CROSSFADE:" are the few editing notes a writer can put in the screenplay.
• using bold and italic in the dialog can show different speaking styles when the character is speaking to different people alternatively in a scene.
  

Sample screenplay from the movie "Da Vinci Code"

SOPHIE
Oui. The numbers are only out of order.

Langdon’s eye narrow; how the hell did he miss that?

LANGDON
Ow. It is the Fibonacci sequence. From
the top of the order, too.

Sophie hands Fache a sheet of paper from the case file.

SOPHIE
Commissarie, I will explain. But I just
Have a message for …
(turning to Langdon)
Professor Langdon, right?
(to Fache)
I get the impression it’s urgent.
( to Langdon)
I am Sophie Neveu, DCPJ Cryptology.
Your embassy called Division.

She hands Langdon a scrap of paper.

EXT.CHURCH OF SAINT-SULPICE-NIGHT
A might Gothic structure. WIND blows. (OVER) A
PHONE.

INT.CHURCH OF SAINT-SULPICE-PARIS-NIGHT
A small room. Stone floors, Bed, Bible, hot plate. Single
Window open to the autumn air. (OVER) The phone
RINGS on.

An elderly WOMAN’S hand reaches out from bed
To answer. She sits up groggily. SISTER SANDRINE
BIEL.

Story board
A film storyboard is essentially a large comic of the film or some section of the film produced beforehand to help film directors, cinematographers and television commercial advertising clients visualize the scenes and find potential problems before they occur. Often storyboards include arrows or instructions that indicate movement.

Some live-action film directors, such as Joel and Ethan Coen, used storyboard extensively before taking the pitch to their funders, stating that it helps them get the figure they are looking for since they can show exactly where the money will be used. Other directors storyboard only certain scenes, or not at all. Animation directors are usually required to storyboard extensively, sometimes in place of doing a script.

Animatics
In animation and special effects work, the storyboarding stage may be followed by simplified mock-ups called "animatics" to give a better idea of how the scene will look and feel with motion and timing. At its simplest, an animatic is a series of still images edited together and displayed in sequence. More commonly, a rough dialogue and/or rough sound track is added to the sequence of still images (usually taken from a storyboard) to test whether the sound and images are working effectively together.

Often storyboards are animated with simple zooms and pans to simulate camera movement (using non-linear editing software). These animations can be combined with available animatics, sound effects and dialog to create a presentation of how a film could be shot and cut together

Guide Line for story development:

1. Character / Initial situation
2. Character's need / Conflicts / problems
3. Goal/achievement
4. statement of conclusion
5. in what kind of Setting /situation / location 
6. events (last event is usually when climax occurs)

Replacement Lecture Class this Wednesday 3rd Sep

Replacement lecture class for Wednesday 3rd September.

First two hours at P1 from 10pm to 12pm

last hour will be at LHH from 12pm to 1pm