Filmmaking Basics Read online

  Filmmaking Basics:

  Finding Your Creative Voice

  Bob Gillen and Lynn Gillen

  Published by Gillen Entertainment Content

  http://www.gillenentertainmentcontent.com

  © 2011 Robert Gillen and Helen Gillen

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.

  Special thanks to:

  Christopher J. Bowen

  Michael Ferris

  Brianne Gillen

  Ashley Gudenzi

  Mark Haapala

  Randy Hillman

  Christopher Keane

  James Sicignano

  Jessica Sitomer

  David Sonnenschein

  Ellin Stein

  Bill Taub

  and Professor Garland Kirkpatrick

  Book cover design:

  Ashley Gudenzi

  The Authors:

  Bob Gillen and Lynn Gillen taught media production for 11 years before creating their own website for emerging and established filmmakers at www.thefilmmakerlifestyle.com. They have also published Understanding Digital Storytelling: A Guide for Media Teachers and Beginning Filmmakers, available on Amazon Kindle. Their experience includes writing articles for music trade publications, as well as developing and writing online teacher resource guides.

  INTRODUCTION

  You’re a Filmmaker!

  This introduction will be short. You want to make a film. We’re here to help you with that. The information and advice in this book are solid. It’s meaningless, however, without your passion, your work, your tenacity.

  Your First Real Film

  Now you’re ready to make your first film. No, not the latest YouTube sensation. A real film. There’s a story running in your imagination. You are a filmmaker/storyteller working in a digital world. You want your film to be great. And you want your film to stand out from the mass of online videos.

  Your age is irrelevant. Young or older, you have all it takes to produce your film. You may be a high school student wanting to create a portfolio to apply for film school or for a summer film program. You could be a newly retired person eager to pull together the family history, or to tell a story you’ve carried in your mind for years. Perhaps you simply want to make an attention-grabbing movie. This book offers you a creative edge.

  Story

  No matter what your level of experience, you can develop and produce a visual story, a story that will make a difference in the lives of your viewers, and in the lives of your crew.

  We spend a lot of time on story. It’s key to your film. Without a strong story, you have nothing to tell your viewers. Whether you write your own script, or film someone else’s, or even collaborate on a script, you’ve got to grab and hold your viewers.

  Production Process

  Throughout the book, most of our suggestions and tips will assume that you are the director of your film project. You may also be the writer and producer. Whatever your title, you’re the leader for the filmmaking production process.

  You can’t do it alone. Actually, it would be almost impossible to do that. Filmmaking is a collaborative effort, no matter how small your project. We offer you practical advice on managing the entire process, leading staff and crew, and keeping it all organized.

  The Creative Edge

  Here you’ll find notes on filmmaking basics, as well as advanced information that will take your film beyond the basics. This isn’t a textbook. You can, and should, consult the many excellent reference works out there. What we’ve done is pull together some basic principles for filmmaking, based on our 11 years experience teaching media production, and based on our own research and our connections in the industry.

  You’ll also get guidance from industry experts in our ProFiles feature. Plus we’ve included notes on Making the Difference, ideas to position your project out ahead of the pack.

  The Process Outline

  Your first step is to find the right story (storytelling).

  You’ll focus on putting that story into words (writing).

  Then you’ll tell your story in moving images (pre-production and production).

  You’ll enhance those images with editing, sound and music (post production).

  Finally, you’ll market your film (marketing and distribution).

  How You’ll Develop the Outline

  The first step is finding the right story (storytelling):

  We’ll discuss generating great story ideas, facing the blank page, finding your story, and reworking existing public domain stories.

  ProFile - Bill Taub on story execution.

  ProFile - Jessica Sitomer on finding your muse.

  Then we focus on putting that story into words (writing):

  We’ll talk about developing your story, story pacing, authentic dialogue.

  ProFile - Michael Ferris on dialogue.

  More discussion: creating tension, edge habitats, creating emotion, generating character names, brainstorming for ideas, asking for script submissions, and script format.

  ProFile - Ellin Stein on what not to put in your script.

  ProFile - Christopher Keane on the expanded scene breakdown.

  Once you have your story, you’ll need storyboarding, a storyboard key, and shotlists.

  Next, you’ll tell your story in moving images (pre-production and production):

  We explain the production process, the filmmaker and technology, budgets and financing, teamwork, managing and supporting your crew, and safety.

  ProFile - Mark Haapala on working with actors.

  More aspects of production: film project roles, continuity, a production book, troubleshooting tips, learning filmmaking through observation, DVD and online resources, applications for prospective team, releases, external drives and media databases, and college and film program applications.

  You’ll find information on cinematography and camera composition/orientation.

  ProFile - James Sicignano on film gear.

  Camera stability, rule of thirds, framing your shots, camera movement, depth of field, the 180 degree rule, B-roll, edit room in your footage, and stock footage.

  ProFile - various cinematographers on art as inspiration.

  More info on:

  Lighting, reflectors, scrims, gels, avoiding backlight, dimmers, LED lights, lighting your actors, lighting an interview, and inspiration for lighting.

  Production design, sets and location, a look book, set construction, clearances and permissions.

  ProFile - Randy Hillman on production design.

  Discussion of costume:

  ProFile - Brianne Gillen on costume design.

  Info on hair and makeup.

  Post production is the next discussion:

  You’ll enhance your captured images with editing, sound and music.

  Editing, the grammar of editing.

  ProFile - Christopher J. Bowen on editing.

  Edit pacing - the art of the edit, titles and credits, and advice from expert editor Walter Murch.

  Sound, external microphones, sound levels, ADR, room sound, Foley, sound effects, creating your own music, unsigned bands, copyrights, and sound edit software.

  ProFile - David Sonnenschein on strategies for sound design.

  Finally, you’ll market and distribute your film:

  Logline, advertising posters, target media, audience, and sound systems.

  More information on equipment, and a short list of resources.

  FINDING THE RIGHT STORY

  Generating Great Story Ideas

  Let’s kickstart your imagi
nation. Spend a few minutes viewing scenes from your favorite movie. Or watch the opening segment from director Baz Luhrmann’s Set to Screen series, available on iTunes, on making the movie Australia. Enjoy the visual experience. Don’t analyze or even think. Just immerse yourself in the images and the story. This is what drives you.

  Your Story

  You need a story to start your production. (Throughout the book, we’ll refer to your filmmaking as a production, or a production process. Even if your film is a :30 (thirty second) commercial, it’s still a production. Don’t be overwhelmed by the word.)

  You’ve got a story. Or you’re looking for a good story. Initially, don’t worry about script formatting. Write your story as a narrative first. Fill it with drama, conflict, tension. Add dialogue as you go. When you’ve created a tight, strong story, you can then put it in script format easily.

  Either way, step one is a story. Since you’re new to this, you’ll probably want to start with a short story. One page of script translates to one minute of screen time. Your film project can be anywhere from a :30 commercial to a 15-minute film. That’s a half-page up to a 15-page script.

  If you don’t have a story yet, you’ll need to find one. It might be a script someone else has written. Or it may be one you will have to develop with the help of a few other people. We’ll look at both approaches.

  Story is the most critical part of any project, whether creative or documentary. What’s happening? Who are the characters? Why do we care about them?

  The Blank Page

  Staring at a blank page can be daunting, so much so that the writer will do anything rather than sit still and put words on the page. Gabriele Rico, author of Writing the Natural Way, offers an effective way to free your creative mind (right brain) and prevent your logical mind (left brain) from editing before you even start.

  Rico’s method involves unleashing creativity through what she terms “clustering” and “trial-web shifting.” You start with clustering. Select a word, a phrase, an idea – something you’re interested in developing. Let’s say it’s the word fear. Write fear in the middle of a blank page and circle it. Now give yourself about ten minutes to write whatever words and thoughts come to mind. No editing. Just write. Circle each word as you go, and connect the words with arrows.

  After doing this for about ten minutes, you should feel a transition occurring. Something you want to write about will become apparent. This is the trail-web shift Rico talks about. Stop the clustering process and write about what has emerged in your mind. Spend another ten minutes on this. Then stop.

  Read what you’ve just written. The chances are good you’ll be impressed by what you’ve put on paper. Edit the piece a bit if you wish.

  You’ve now allowed your creative mind to free you.

  “Fear” is a universal feeling. But each person perceives it differently. Using the clustering process will help you find your own unique experience of it, and write something that no one has written before.

  You can use the clustering process repeatedly as you write. Once for each scene. Once for each sequence. Whatever it takes to free your creative mind.

  Reworking Stories

  Writers have suggested reworking myths and fairy tales. Take a minor character, for example, and develop a story around her. Or try using stories from public domain (non-copyrighted) materials (Shakespeare, for example).

  Look to the news for story ideas. But don’t go for the obvious. For example, there are, sadly, so many stories of someone gone missing. Try developing a story around someone’s reaction to the disappearance.

  Let’s say an Alzheimer’s patient, or an autistic young person, has gone missing. Look at the story from the point of view (POV) of the primary caregiver. Someone she has been caring for is gone. What are her reactions? Fear and anxiety, of course. But what about a guilty sense of relief? Relief that she may actually get a full night’s sleep for the first time in years? The actual disappearance becomes background to how the caregiver is feeling. How does she act? How does her character change over the course of the disappearance?

  You get the idea.

  Use Photos to Spark Your Imagination

  Canon collaborated with director Ron Howard in creating Project Imagin8tion. Howard selected eight photos from hundreds submitted to Canon, and developed a film project inspired by those eight pictures.

  You can do the same. Collect photos that spark your own imagination. Gather a handful that suggest a story. Then go to work building a story around the photos. Even if you use this for only several scenes in your film, it can help you free up your creative mind.

  ProFile – Bill Taub

  Story Execution

  Writer/producer and UCLA writing instructorBill Taub says, “The best advice anybody ever gave me - and what seems to resonate with others - is: ‘Write what you want to see!’"

  Taub emphasizes story execution:

  In coming up with a story - what is the Big Idea - and most importantly what makes it unique? Once you figure out what makes it unique - hone in on that like a laser.

  Stories are all about execution. You can take the same story and execute it any number of different ways. Try it as a comedy. Try it as a drama. Try it as a graphic novel. Then pick the execution you like best! Pick something you like and execute it differently. Turn Star Trek into a comedy. Or a musical. Transformers into a horror movie or comedy. And so on. This will help you realize an idea or a story is just the tip of the iceberg, the key is how you execute it.

  Bill Taub is a screenwriter, WGA and WGC member who has written produced pilots for Relic Hunter, Friday the 13th: The Series, Mission Genesis, The Odyssey, and Dark Shadows. Mr. Taub recently aired his web series Psycho Babble for Strike TV and is now rewriting the animated feature Jumping Green Things for Assorted Nuts. He has also written pilots for NBC and Paramount.

  ProFile – Jessica Sitomer

  Finding Your Muse

  Industry producer/writer/coach Jessica Sitomer offers suggestions on how to jumpstart your creative side. “A fun and stimulating way to accomplish this is through using any one of your five senses.”

  Sight

  Let’s start with visual. There are many things to look at or watch when you need to find your muse, especially if your craft is a visual one like cinematography, production design, costume, or hair and makeup.

  What are three things you can look at to discover what your muse has to offer? (Examples: watch a movie, go to a museum, or look through a photographic coffee table book.)

  Every time I have a writer’s block, I pop in a romantic comedy DVD and enjoy. While I watch, I trust that my subconscious is working to solve my block. Without fail, before the end of the movie, I’ve solved my problem and I’m back at my computer.

  Hearing

  What you hear can inspire your muse. It could include the sound of the waves at the ocean, songs that tell a story and express an emotion, or the sounds of a country night filled with crickets and frogs.

  When I write, I tell everyone I’m going to the ‘beach house’. I visualize the beach house and the view as I sit with my laptop. Then, I turn on my sound machine to hear the crashing of the ocean waves and let my muse fill my mind with ideas.

  What might you listen to that could harmonize with your muse?

  Touch

  For the sense of touch, I always turn to water for inspiration. I have discovered interesting character quirks under the spray of a hot shower, I’ve had plot breakthroughs in a bath, and many a script idea has presented itself to me in a steaming Jacuzzi.

  What could you touch to make your muse feel like sharing some inspiration? (Examples: textured fabric, your favorite blanket, or cold steel.)

  Taste

  If I really need some inspiration, I take my muse on an outing to my favorite movie theater… My muse is no cheap date, though. In addition to a good visual movie, I must treat my muse’s taste buds to her favorite flavor: root beer. Add to that some hot, buttered popcorn
, and she’s as happy as can be. By the time the movie is over, my muse has stories to tell or characters to invent.

  What foods might the characters in your project eat?

  What might a meatball and spaghetti dinner inspire in an actor playing an Italian mobster or an ice cream cone inspire in a set decorator?

  What three foods or flavors would tempt your muse?

  Smell

  Smell is the most powerful of the senses because it goes straight to your brain. Not only does my muse enjoy the taste of hot, buttered popcorn, but the smell of it can take me back to a Yonkers, New York movie theater. As a young girl, my dad took me to that theater to see Star Wars eleven times.

  Experiment with scents. Maybe your muse would enjoy smoky musk, pine needles, hot pavement after the rain, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon, or cotton candy. What do the different scents remind you of?

  What is a scent that reminds you of your childhood?

  What is a scent that reminds you of a great date?

  What are scents that remind you of the different seasons?