Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Importance of Editing (Editing Tips)

When we discuss the choice of a particularly shot, filmmakers have several options. We can shoot a scene from an extreme long shot, a long shot, a full shot, a medium shot, a close-up, an extreme close up, using a birds-eye angle, a high or low angle, an eye-level-match angle (the default), or decide to use a truck, track, crane, pan, or trolley device to help frame and move the focus of the camera on the subject of the film. But with all these options, we also need to include the following terms to our vocabulary:

classical cutting: editing for dramatic intensity and emotional emphasis rather than for purely physical reasons.

Shifting from long to close or close to long shots shifts the viewers POV within a scene. This can be done to emphasize, include, exclude, consolidate, connect, contrast, or parallel the action of the plot, to introduce an important motif or detail for story-telling purposes (just like describing an important object in fiction), etc.

Master Shot (also known as a sequence shot): a scene of continuous film, usually at long-range, that is used as the through-line of a film or scene.

Reaction Shot: a cut from dialogue to the reaction of the person listening to the dialogue.

Two-shot: a shot that includes just enough space for two-characters to show that they are in the same space.

Three-shot: as a two-shot, but with enough room for three. How cozy!

First cut: a sequence of shots in editing that represents the director's preference for how the scene should be "shot."

Final cut: a studio or producer's preferred cutting of the film. (As opposed to the directors: first cut)

Cover shot: a shot used to reestablish a sequence, (time or space), or establishing shot used to reorient the viewer.

Eye-line Match: A character looks a certain direction, then we cut to what they are supposed to be looking at.

Matching action: similar to the eye-line match, but this involves any movement that is suggested as being continuous, even though it's not shot that way. Example: a tight shot of a person opening a door, the next shot is of that person arriving in another room. It is assumed that the door leads to the room seen, but this is rarely the case in filming.

Mise en Scene: more on this one later, it is literally "what is included in a shot"

180 degree rule: used to stabalize the space of the playing area so the viewer isn't confused or disoriented. Essentially keeping the camera on the same side of the 180 degree line of a scene.

Reverse angle shot: most commonly used in dialogue scenes, the camera moves between two speakers, first showing one, then the other.

Parallel action: just as in literature, the juxtaposition of shots that show complimentary shots. These shots are often from a different location.

Cross-cutting: moving between two or more locations or scenes in a film (often in rapid succession, but not always) to tell parallel stories.

Thematic montage: stress the association of ideas, rather than the continuity of plot, time, or space.

Motifs: objects, places, people, visual pictures, that are repeated to create significance or meaning.

Some advice:
  • the longer the shot, the slower the film pacing. 
  • the shorter the shot, the faster the film pacing. 
  • Longer shots usually include more visual information.
  • Shorter shots usually include less visual information.
  • Cut your scenes at the "content curve": the moment when the viewer has had just enough time to take in the visual information in a scene.
  • Cutting your scene BEFORE the content curve, creates anxiety, frustration, and/or disorients the viewer.
  • Cutting the scene AFTER the content curve, frustrates and bores an audience.

Psycho; Film Project

After completing the film Psycho (1960), please go to the lab to work on your film project. Film projects are due Friday, June 10. There will be a final assessment for this class Wednesday, June 8.

HOMEWORK: None. Work on your student film.

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Psycho; The American New Wave

Psycho, part 2: As you watch Psycho, pay attention to:
1. The MacGuffin (what is it for which character?)
2. the Set-up
3. the 1st turning point or crisis
4. Development & shifting of POV (and our loyalties/concerns)
5. Other turning points (there can be several of these)


After Martin Balsam's part as Det. Milton Arbogast, we will stop and go next door to do the following:


A. Work on your film projects. NOTE: the shooting of your script should be completed by May 30!
B. Read the article on the American New Wave.
C. Select directors from the list below and watch at least 3 clips of 3 different films from these New Wave directors.
D. Print out something for tomorrow's coffeehouse (if you are attending!)


HOMEWORK: Read the articles on the American New Wave Directors: Please watch at least 3 clips from any films by at least one of these directors (search on youtube.com for example or IMDB.com, etc.). Titles of some appropriate films are listed in your article and from your reading.
  • Woody Allen
  • Robert Altman
  • Hal Ashby
  • Peter Bogdanovich
  • John Cassavetes
  • Francis Ford Coppola
  • Brian De Palma
  • William Friedkin
  • Dennis Hopper
  • George Lucas
  • Mike Nichols
  • Bob Rafelson
  • Martin Scorsese
  • Steven Spielberg

Monday, May 23, 2016

Film Project; 1960's Film Trends; Psycho (part 1)

This morning, during period 1, please continue working on your film projects OR, if there's not much to do in your group without filming, spend the time working on your homework (reading the article/handout and taking notes on the 1960's film trends!) See below for details.

1960's Film Trends:
With the change in restrictions based on the rating system from the MPAA, content in films gets grittier, more violent, more sexual, and more...well...Hollywood. View a few clips of famous films and film categories developed in the 1960's. Take notes on your graphic organizer. This material is fair game for the upcoming exam. Note years, genres, actors, directors, and films.

1960's Epic/Costume Drama Films:
Spartacus (1960) Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Charleton Heston, Peter Ustinov
El Cid (1961) Charleton Heston
Cleopatra (1963) Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton
Becket (1964) Richard Burton & Peter O'Toole
The Sound of Music (1965) Julie Andrews & Christopher Plumber
Doctor Zhivago (1965) Julie Christie, Omar Sharif
The Lion in Winter (1968) Peter O'Toole & Katherine Hepburn

Angry Young Man Films:
Look Back in Anger (1959) Richard Burton
The Loneliness of the Longdistance Runner (1962)
The Caretaker (1963)
The Leather Boys (1963)
If (1968) Malcolm McDowell
Easy Rider (1969) Dennis Hopper

Beatles' Films
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Help! (1965)
The Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
Yellow Submarine (1968)

Famous/Influential Directors:

Stanley Kubrick: Lolita (1962), Dr. Strangelove (1964)
John Ford: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
George Pal: The Time Machine (1960), Jason & the Argonauts (1963), One Million Years BC (1966)
John Frankenheimer: The Young Savages (1961), The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Arthur Penn: The Miracle Worker (1962), Bonny & Clyde (1967), Alice's Restaurant (1969)
Robert Aldrich: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) with Bette Davis & Joan Crawford; The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Blake Edwards: Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961); The Pink Panther (1963)
Alfred Hitchcock: Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963), Marnie (1964), Torn Curtain (1966)
James Bond Films: Dr. No (1962), Goldfinger (1964)

African American Films:
Sidney Poitier: A Raisin in the Sun (1961), Lilies of the Field (1963), To Sir With Love (1967), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

Psycho: 1960 Alfred Hitchcock
One way to appreciate film is by examining its narrative structure. As young writers, this is a great exercise. You can learn a lot about writing by paying attention to narrative.

Narrative can be:
• Omniscient
• Limited (over the shoulder)/Restricted
• Multiple Perspective

Narrative largely depends on how time (or chronology) works in the story.

Chronology: (how time works in a story)
• Chronological/linear time
• Non-chronological/non-linear
• Flashback
• Frame

When we examine time and narrative in film, we should ask:
  • Who does the camera favor?
This is your clue as to who you need to be concerned with/about. Try to use this technique in your film projects.

Hitchcock applies several effective narrative techniques to keep his audience on its toes. The most famous of these is:

The MacGuffin: an object of importance to the characters but of little interest to the director (and consequently to the viewer).

As you watch Psycho, pay attention to:
1. The MacGuffin (what is it for which character?)
2. the Set-up
3. the 1st turning point or crisis
4. Development & shifting of POV (and our loyalties/concerns)
5. Other turning points (there can be several of these)
6. the Climax
7. the Resolution: how the film ends (and what that suggests)

HOMEWORK: Please complete the graphic organizer on 1960's film trends and read and annotate the article on the MPAA. Continue to work on filming your film project.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Alfred Hitchcock's Rope

Rope (1948) 

Cast List

James Stewart  ...      Rupert Cadell, Publisher 
John Dall  ...             Brandon Shaw, Murderer 
Farley Granger  ...     Phillip Morgan, Murderer 
Cedric Hardwicke  ... Mr. Kentley 
Constance Collier  ... Mrs. Atwater, Kentley's Sister-In-Law 
Douglas Dick  ...       Kenneth Lawrence 
Edith Evanson  ...      Mrs. Wilson, the Housekeeper  
Dick Hogan  ...          David Kentley, Murder Victim 
Joan Chandler  ...      Janet Walker, David's Fiancee 

Things to notice:

Rope is Hitchcock’s first film in America where he acted as producer and director. Before this, he worked for producer David O. Selznik. See previous post for details about Selznik. Being his own producer, Hitchcock was able to cast who he wanted, film what he wanted and basically, call all the shots himself. He was in complete control of the film. So many of the following choices came from Hitchcock's own artistic vision:

Rope is Hitchcock’s first color film.

Rope was originally a play by Patrick Hamilton. The movie has only one set. The camera was moved from room to room. Walls were whisked up into the studio “flies”.  Grips (technicians who move or work with set pieces) stood off-camera removing and replacing furniture when the camera moves forward and backward. 
Most shots in movies last only five to fifteen seconds - the shots in Rope last on average 10 minutes (the length of time a “magazine” of film can be exposed in a camera.)

These 10 minute takes each end as the camera is moved closely to an object or a character’s jacket.  The next reel is then filmed focusing on this object and pulling back. As you watch the film, try to notice each “take”. 

If any mistakes occurred during the ten-minute take, the complete shot had to be done again.

The music Hitchcock selected is Poulenc’s “Mouvement Perpetuel” (perpetual movement).  In the film the camera is constantly moving (moving perpetually, for instance). 

The film is an exercise in suspense. The murder happens within a few seconds of the opening shot.  The tense situation or suspense occurs as the murderers place the body in a chest, invite his parents and fiance over for dinner and serve the meal on the chest itself.

Themes found in the movie include: cannibalism, ritual, sexuality, and the difference between theory and practice (book learning versus real experience).

The rope used to kill Dick Hogan is used to tie up his books, presented to his father like a gift.

The play is based on the Leopold and Loeb case. You can learn more about the Leopold and Loeb case here.

As you watch, list the moments in the movie when the shot changes:

1.  Example:  The camera moves from an exterior shot of the street and window to an interior shot of the apartment as Dick Hogan is shown being strangled by Brandon and Phillip.

2. ? Try to locate the various shots. You should find about 7 of these. 

HOMEWORK: Please work on shooting your film script projects.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

1950's: Ed Wood, Roger Corman, Samuel Z. Arkoff, William Castle, Alfred Hitchcock

Today, please take notes on the key filmmakers and producers of the 1950's. 1st period we will work together. During period 2, please go to the lab to complete your viewing/notes for this topic and work on your film projects.

Science Fiction (or sci-fi), the Cold War, and its result:

The Cold War and the fear of nuclear annihilation by the communists is reflected in the many b-films made in the 1950's. Here's a sampling. Enjoy!


Ed Wood (Jr.) (10 October 1924 – 10 December 1978) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, actor, author, and editor, who often performed many of these functions simultaneously. In the 1950s, Wood made a run of cheap and poorly produced genre films, now humorously celebrated for their technical errors, unsophisticated special effects, large amounts of ill-fitting stock footage, idiosyncratic dialogue, eccentric casts and outlandish plot elements, although his flair for showmanship gave his projects at least a modicum of critical success.

Wood's popularity waned soon after his biggest 'name' star, Béla Lugosi, died. He was able to salvage a saleable feature from Lugosi's last moments on film, but his career declined thereafter. Toward the end of his life, Wood made pornographic movies and wrote pulp crime, horror, and sex novels. His posthumous fame began two years after his death, when he was awarded a Golden Turkey Award as Worst Director of All Time. The lack of conventional film making ability in his work has earned Wood and his films a considerable cult following.
Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926), sometimes nicknamed "King of the Bs" for his output of B-movies, is a prolific American producer and director of low-budget movies, some of which have an established critical reputation: many of his films derived from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.

Corman has apprenticed many now-famous directors, stressing the importance of budgeting and resourcefulness; Corman once joked he could make a film about the fall of the Roman Empire with two extras and a sagebush.

Samuel Z. Arkoff and American International Pictures. The material below will help you understand this period of history as we move into the strange 1950's. Please take notes of key ideas and information.

From IMDB.com:

"By the early 1950's, Samuel Z. Arkoff was a brash lawyer scratching out a living by representing his in-laws and the Hollywood fringe, which included many of now-infamous director/angora-clad transvestite Edward D. Wood Jr.'s social circle. Arkoff was physically imposing and capable of scaring anyone who opposed him. One of his clients was Alex Gordon, a screenwriter who had submitted an unsolicited script to Realart Pictures, an outfit that was profitably re-releasing 20-year old movies, often under new titles conjured up by it's owner, Jack Broder.

One such film, Man Made Monster (1941), had just been re-issued as The Atomic Monster, coincidentally the same title of Gordon's screenplay. Zarkoff paid Mr. Broder a $500 settlement. Broder's sales manager, James H. Nicholson was dumbfounded by Zarkoff's ability to extract a dime out of his tightfisted boss and proposed a partnership. American Releasing Corporation was founded in 1954 and their first release was a low-budget feature by 29-year old producer Roger Corman (see previous post). Made for less than $50,000, it netted $850,000 and Corman was brought into the fold as a silent partner.

By 1955 the company was renamed American International Pictures, or simply AIP within the industry. Initially focusing on westerns on the premise that locations came cheap, and although profitable, Arkoff was unhappy with the returns and solicited theater owners for advice on what types of films filled seats. By the mid-1950's, thanks to television, the audience numbers had dwindled considerably with the key demographic now teenagers and young adults, who craved horror movies and drive-ins. AIP jumped into the horror genre with both feet and made a fortune. Under Nicholson and Arkoff, the company survived in a constricting industry by catering to the whims of the teenage trade and adapting to trends.

AIP's long (350-plus) roster of kitsch classics, running the gamut from horror to rock'n'roll, from juvenile delinquency to Italian musclemen, and from Edgar Allan Poe to Annette Funicello, have formed their own unique niche in film history. His company became infamous for clever advertising schemes that were often more entertaining than AIP's movies.  Arkoff never tolerated egos and his films were more often than not, profitable, thanks to tight budgets and a sharp understanding of the target market. After Nicholson's 1972 resignation, Arkoff assumed full control of the company and remained in charge until the 1979 merger with Filmways prompted his own departure. He then became the head of Arkoff International Pictures."
William CastleThe Wonderful World of William Castle

Competing with a growing television audience, filmmakers in the 1950's had to entice viewers into seeing their films. Trailers were the ticket! The worse the film, the greater need for an effective trailer. Of the best promoters of his directing and producing work, William Castle looms over all others.

"William Schloss was born in New York City. Schloss means "castle" in German, and William Castle probably chose to translate his surname into English to avoid the discrimination often encountered by Jewish entertainers of his time. He spent most of his teenage years working on Broadway in a number of jobs. He left for Hollywood at the age of 23, going on to direct his first film when he was 29. He also worked an as assistant to Orson Welles, doing much of the location work for Welles' noir film, The Lady from Shanghai."

Castle was famous for directing low budget B-films with many overly promoted gimmicks. Five of these were scripted by adventure novelist Robb White.

After a long career, William Castle died of a heart attack in Los Angeles in 1977.

His films include:

Macabre (1958): A certificate for a $1,000 life insurance policy from Lloyd's of London was given to each customer in case he/she should die of fright during the film. Showings also had fake nurses stationed in the lobbies and hearses parked outside the theater.

Utube clip: Macabre:

House on Haunted Hill (1959): Filmed in "Emergo". An inflatable glow in the dark skeleton attached to a wire floated over the audience during the final moments of some showings of the film to parallel the action on the screen when a skeleton arose from a vat of acid and pursued the villainous wife of Vincent Price. The gimmick did not always instill fright; sometimes the skeleton became a target for some audience members who hurled candy boxes, soda cups or any other objects at hand at the skeleton.

The Tingler (1959): Filmed in "Percepto". Some seats in theatres showing the Tingler were equipped with larger versions of the hand-held joy buzzers attached to the underside of the seats. When the Tingler in the film attacked the audience the buzzers were activated as a voice encouraged the real audience to "Scream - scream for your lives."

13 Ghosts (1960): Filmed in "Illusion-O". A hand held ghost viewer/remover with strips of red and blue cellophane was given out to use during certain segments of the film. By looking through either the red or blue cellophane the audience was able to either see or remove the ghosts if they were too frightening. 13 Ghosts.

Homicidal (1961): This film contained a "Fright break" with a 45 second timer overlaid over the film's climax as the heroine approached a house harboring a sadistic killer. A voiceover advised the audience of the time remaining in which they could leave the theatre and receive a full refund if they were too frightened to see the remainder of the film. About 1% demanded refunds, but were subjected to demasculation and called "cowards". Homicidal clip.

Mr. Sardonicus (1961): The audiences were allowed to vote in a "punishment poll" during the climax of the film - Castle appears on screen to explain to the audience their options. Each member of the audience was given a card with a glow in the dark thumb they could hold either up or down to decide if Mr. Sardonicus would be cured or die during the end of the film. Supposedly, no audience ever offered mercy so the alternate ending was never screened.

Zotz!
 (1962): Each patron was given a "Magic" (gold colored plastic) coin which looked nice, but did absolutely nothing.

Strait-Jacket (1964): Castle had cardboard axes made and handed out to patrons. This film, by the way, starred Oscar winner (not for this film) Joan Crawford - Mommy Dearest herself.

I Saw What You Did (1965): Seat belts were installed to keep patrons from being jolted from their chairs in fright.

Other film trailers from William Castle:


William Castle acted as producer to Roman Polanski's direction of: Rosemary's Baby The film remains one of the most artistic Castle productions ever made.

Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock is considered the "master of suspense" and his career in film was a long and influential one:

His first full length film was The Lodger and appeared in 1926. This was followed by Downhill (1927), The Ring (1927), Champagne (1928), The Farmer's Wife (1928), and Easy Virtue (1928), The Manxman (1929), and Blackmail (1929). These were British silent films (Blackmail was not, as you can hear). You are free to watch any of these films as extra credit.

In the1930's, Hitchcock made even more films, mostly suspense films for which he became famous. These included: Rich and Strange (1931), The Skin Game (1931), Number 17 (1932), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) with Peter Lorre, The 39 Steps (1935), Sabotage (1936), Secret Agent (1936), Young and Innocent (1937), The Lady Vanishes (1938), Jamaica Inn (1939), then Foreign Correspondent (1940).

At this point in his career, Alfred Hitchcock moves to Hollywood to work with producer David O. Selznick. He makes a variety of films for Selznick, although the two approached film from a very different perspective. Hitchcock often felt trapped or restricted by Selznick's contract. The films include: Rebecca (1940) Laurence Olivier (here's the full film), Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Joseph Cotten, Life Boat (1944) Talula Bankhead, Spellbound (1945) with Gregory Peck, Notorious Cary Grant & Ingrid Bergman (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), Rope (1948) with Farley Granger & Jimmy Stewart, and Under Capricorn (1949) Ingrid Bergman.

HOMEWORK: Please read and annotate the article on AIP. Make sure you've read the information on Hitchcock before next class. Continue to work on your film project.

Sunday, May 15, 2016

The Emergence of TV; History of TV & Drive In Theaters; Roger Corman & Ed Wood

How much do you really know about that flat screen you have hanging on your wall? Read the article by the end of first period and take a look at this link: VintageTV Commercials. Compare television now with what you see and read about it here!

When called, please go next door to discuss Drive-In movie theaters and some wonderful/terrible B-movie directors/producers from 1950's-1960's.

Drive-In Theatres: A little history.


Richard Hollingshead, a young sales manager at his dad's Whiz Auto Products, invented something that combined his two interests: cars and movies.

Richard Hollingshead's vision was an open-air movie theater where moviegoers could watch from their own cars. He experimented in his own driveway in New Jersey. Hollingshead mounted a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car, projected onto a screen he had nailed to trees in his backyard, and used a radio placed behind the screen for sound. Clever!

The inventor subjected his beta drive-in to vigorous testing: for sound quality, for different weather conditions (Hollingshead used a lawn sprinkler to imitate rain) and for figuring out how to park the patrons' cars. He lined up the cars in his driveway, which created a problem with line of sight. By spacing cars at various distances and placing blocks and ramps under the front wheels of cars, Richard Hollingshead created the perfect parking arrangement for the drive-in movie theater experience.

The first patent for the Drive-In Theater (United States Patent# 1,909,537) was issued on May 16, 1933. With an investment of $30,000, Richard opened the first drive-in on June 6, 1933 at a location in Camden, New Jersey. The price of admission was 25 cents for the car and 25 cents per person.

The design did not include the in-car speaker system we know today. The inventor contacted a company by the name of RCA Victor to provide the sound system, called "Directional Sound." Three main speakers were mounted next to the screen that provided sound. The sound quality was not good for cars in the rear of the theater or for the surrounding neighbors.

The largest drive-in theater in patron capacity was the All-Weather Drive-In of Copiague, New York. All-Weather had parking space for 2,500 cars, an indoor 1,200 seat viewing area, kid's playground, a full service restaurant and a shuttle train that took customers from their cars and around the 28-acre theater lot.

Please take a look at these clips. Drive in down memory lane...

Clip A.
Clip B.

Science Fiction (or sci-fi) and the fear of the "other" (aliens are comin' to take us over...like the communists....)

The Cold War and the fear of nuclear annihilation by the communists is reflected in the many b-films made in the 1950's. Here's a sampling. Enjoy!

Forbidden Planet (1956) (starring Leslie Neilson, this is based on Shakespeare's The Tempest)
The Blob (1958) (starring Steve McQueen)
Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)
Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) Ed Wood’s terrible film masterpiece!
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)
Attack of the Giant Gila Monster (1959)
Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)  


Ed Wood (Jr.) (10 October 1924 – 10 December 1978) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, actor, author, and editor, who often performed many of these functions simultaneously. In the 1950s, Wood made a run of cheap and poorly produced genre films, now humorously celebrated for their technical errors, unsophisticated special effects, large amounts of ill-fitting stock footage, idiosyncratic dialogue, eccentric casts and outlandish plot elements, although his flair for showmanship gave his projects at least a modicum of critical success.

Wood's popularity waned soon after his biggest 'name' star, Béla Lugosi, died. He was able to salvage a saleable feature from Lugosi's last moments on film, but his career declined thereafter. Toward the end of his life, Wood made pornographic movies and wrote pulp crime, horror, and sex novels. His posthumous fame began two years after his death, when he was awarded a Golden Turkey Award as Worst Director of All Time. The lack of conventional film making ability in his work has earned Wood and his films a considerable cult following.

Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926), sometimes nicknamed "King of the Bs" for his output of B-movies, is a prolific American producer and director of low-budget movies, some of which have an established critical reputation: many of his films derived from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.

Corman has apprenticed many now-famous directors, stressing the importance of budgeting and resourcefulness; Corman once joked he could make a film about the fall of the Roman Empire with two extras and a sagebush.


Extra Credit opportunities: Feel free to review and report on any of these silly sci-fi films from the period. Use what you know about the Cold War, atomic energy, television, teenagers, and drive-in movies to help you write your review. All reviews must be turned in by the end of the course for extra credit.
HOMEWORK: Work on filming your film project. See post below!

Film Project

Create a film group. You may use folks outside of this class to assist you with your group and getting your film done. Friends in the acting department are often helpful and knowledgeable concerning acting. Peers in the visual studies program can help you with cinematography or editing. Music majors are good with working with sound. If you would like to work with a group, but do not have a film you want to propose (see below)--or if you want to join a second or third film group, please fill out the index card and hand in so we can find you a group.

Gather with your new group and assign jobs to each member:
  • Producers: get with your director and discuss time and schedule for the film project. The film project is due at the end of the month. Set up a schedule that works within this boundary. Realize that editing takes time. Producers! It is your job to see that the project is completed by the deadline.
  • Directors: work with your actors, editor, technicians, cinematographer, etc. Find out people's schedules. When can you shoot the scenes you need to? Make a schedule and hand this to your crew. You may use class time to plan, shoot, edit, or trouble-shoot with your crew.
  • Actors: get a copy of the script you are working on and read it. Prepare your scenes by reading and reading and reading the script. Memorize, if possible. Work with your director on scheduling scenes you are in, run lines with other actors, ask questions of the director for anything unclear in the script or with your character. Help out the crew or the director where needed.
  • Writers: You are the first step in the process, but you may not need to be completed before you hand your script to your director or producer. If you haven't completed your short script (remember a short script is like a short story--start close to the climax of the "film"!) After writing, be available to the director to change anything needing changing in the script. Yes, you may want your site locations to blow-up at the end of the film, but is this possible? (the answer is no, by the way.) As the writer, help out your editor and director by preparing a cast and crew list. You may also easily double as an actor, cinematographer, producer, director, crew, or editor. Complete jobs where needed.
  • Cinematographer: Your job is to plan HOW the script is shot. Will you use a long shot or close up? Will you use high-key lighting or low-key? Will you shoot a scene with an oblique angle or a high angle or low angle? Go through the script and make some decisions. Create storyboards to help you visualize a scene. Take into account the writer's wishes, but feel free to change anything that will make your film project more visually interesting.
  • Editor: Start working on the credits. You will need both opening and closing credits. You can do this even if you haven't started shooting your film yet. Use iMovie or Moviemaker to create opening and closing credits. You can also help out by finding sound cues or stock footage. Prepare all sound cues as needed. If an actor has a VO (voice over) sequence, use class time to record the voice over (even if you haven't finished shooting the scene it is attached to). Once you have film shot, you may begin editing. I suggest the editor is NOT the director, although this may be unavoidable.
  • Crew: Help out. If something needs to be completed, help your team get the film done on time. Like actors, be available to fill in and help where needed at any time. If the editor needs help, help. If the writer needs help, help. If the director needs help, help. You get the idea.
Complete the credit sheet with names of your group members and their jobs. Hand this in by the end of period one today.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

10-Minute Film Scripts Due!

Today, by the end of class, please complete the 10-Minute Film Script project and turn in for credit.

If you finish early, please complete the homework (see below) & watch some tips about making films:

FILM TIPS (tutorial videos to improve your filmmaking!)
See "writer's tips" in the post below.

HOMEWORK: Please read the article on HUAC & The Emergence of Television. Explain why the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) attacked Hollywood as an American industry & how this attack affected Hollywood and our culture. Then identify reasons why Television threatened the film industry, and explain how the film industry changed to meet this challenge. Your response should be in the form of a paragraph (or two) to be handed in Monday, May 16.

NOTE: If you know you want to make your film, get started filming. Filming takes time (outside of class). Some editing can be done in our lab, but the shooting of your script must be done outside of class. Monday we will discuss film groups and the final film project.

Watch any of the film tip links above to help you (particularly if you want to be the film's director, producer, or cinematographer...!)

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Script Writing

Today, please use the time in the lab to write your short film script. Use the handouts I have provided you to help with formatting. Tips, examples, and advice for writing films can be found below in our last class notes. In addition, take a look at these sources:
Your script is due Thursday at end of class. Use your time well. If you need assistance please call me over.


HOMEWORK: Work on completing your script.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Citizen Kane: Discussion; Film Screenplay Project

After viewing Citizen Kane, we will spend some time working on our screenplay project. With the last 15-20 minutes, we will come back to room 238 to have a Socratic Seminar about the film Citizen Kane.

Screenplay script project:

Choose a genre and premise for a short film that you might be able to film. Here is an example from previous classes/students:

Pirates of Ontario Bay
Czar Wars
I Dream of Zucchini

You have read some scripts, you have seen many films. Now it's your turn to write a very short film script (5-9 pages). Due: Thursday, May 12.

Some advice:

The problem with short films is that they are short. You do not have the luxury for long, character and plot development. The inciting incident should attack the plot just before the climax. This means characters need to be depicted quickly, using visual clues that establish setting, character, mood, conflict and theme.

To help you, follow the steps outlined below with appropriate advice:

1. Decide on the message or theme of the script. What do you want to say to the world about the world?

2. Decide on the best genre to convey your message clearly.
A. Sample genres (how the story is told): realistic drama, comedy, black comedy, farce, romantic comedy, historical drama, sci-fi, fantasy, western, chick flick, urban, musical, action, suspense, horror, mystery, educational, gangster, martial arts, film noir, silent, etc.
B. Sample styles (how the camera is used): film noir, expressionistic, slapstick, screwball comedy, exploitation, naturalistic, formalistic, avant garde, b-movie, surrealism, bollywood, parody, silent, mockumentary, Hitchcockian, gritty, neorealism, etc.

3. All films (and stories) need three basic components:
A. A setting (or world): You need to establish a world (diegesis) quickly in order to move quickly to explore a character’s problem. Setting your film around a familiar event or ritual helps make this happen: a funeral, a birthday party, a graduation, Thanksgiving with odd parents, etc. The more recognizable the setting, the more you can focus on the problem and character. It also helps to give your story a finite time frame. Giving internal deadlines helps pace the film.

B. A character (or protagonist): characters are interesting because of their goals. What does your character want that she cannot do without? The stakes should be high enough for an audience to care. Wanting a sandwich is not good enough, unless the character is literally starving and this is the last sandwich on earth. Drive your character to act by a specific want, need or obligation. Even if the character isn't aware what it is she wants, the audience needs to know this up front and quickly. Otherwise we will lose interest.

C. A problem (or conflict): your problem should reflect your theme. You want to convey your message or world view to the audience. Think how problems facing the character may help do this. Keep notching up the stakes for your character until the concept sounds interesting. Make the character suffer a bit (and act) before rewarding or completing your plot line.

4. POV matters. Snow White from the Witch's POV is a different story than that of Prince Charming. It's all a matter of perspective. Pick an interesting perspective.

5. If you don't know what your theme is, neither will your audience.

6. Successful short short films focus on one moment or event. This moment should be something important or significant not only from the character's perspective, but also important/significant to the general audience member.

7. Limit dialogue. Film is a visual medium. Use its strengths to your advantage. Show don't tell.

Need help? Inspiration? Models? Look here!

The Good, The Fast, The Furious
Fan Friction
Tip Jar

HOMEWORK: Work on your film script.

The Murky Middle (Even More Advice)

Aristotle wrote that stories should have a beginning, middle, and end. Middles can be difficult. You might have a smashing opening to a stor...