I think film (especially low budget film) is only as good as the script. however this gets over looked a lot. Young, head strong film makers that for all their talents rush the scripting part inorder to get to the shooting and editing because they want to see the finished film.
The tragedy of this is that their finished product doesn't reach its full potential. 2D characters, baddly written diologue, pointless set pieces and poor naratives plague the internet and though the films look good and are shot well most of the time, these underlying problems stop the films from really being great.
I used to be like that until I began meeting people in the industry who were giving me great advice which after removing the stuff that I didn't like and mixing the stuff I did like and adding them to my own personal views and feelings towards writing I began to develop my method of writing that has served me well for a long time and I would like to share it with you.
Every script despite the genre have to begin with just 2 things. Strong characters and a strong story. To often film makers begin with an idea of a shot or a set piece and try and mold the characters and story around it. This means that everything ends up looking superficial and the potential brilliance of the film and set piece that started it off is lost.
For example some one may go onto www.videocopilot.net and see a tutorial and think wow, i have to make a film that has to have that sequence in it. Guys and girls please realise that this is not film making. There is often no story other then, Lets think of a reason the earth explodes or wouldn't it be cool if someones head came off. You need to create conpelling characters and stories even if the film is intended as just popcorn cinema.
So how do you get this level of depth needed to fully engage an audience. Heres a break down.
Characters
When i write a character there is one thing i have in mind to begin with. I want the character to be so real that if an audience member was to meet them in the street they would feel like they really knew them. Because they had been through this journey with the character they feel like they share something special. A sort of bond.
"Oh do you remember that time you defeated the dark lord? I seriously knew you'd do it, your just not the kind of person to give up, i found that inspirational."
"Why thank you, its having the support of people like you watching that really gave me the strength."
It sounds wierd I know but the audience needs to relate in some way with the characters and believe the person could exist outside of the screen no matter how outragous the events in the film are.
Not just name, age, etc that doesnt make a character. Instead look at your rough plot and decide on what your character is at the beginning, what they become by the end and how that evolves through the film. What do they like, dislike, how do they react to difficult situations, where does their comfort zone end, what do they believe about them selves, what do others believe about them. Really flesh them out, and don't worry if you get so far and then can't think of anything else because as the story unfolds you'll learn more about them and the evolution will feel natural.
I start with the name, because when we as people are named we are also a blank canvas and as we grow our character develops , we don't get to age 18 and get given a name that suits us so why would we do it to a character in a film?
From there you really get to know them as a writer as though you are seeing their journey as it unfolds. The characters, their motives and traits then begin to dictate the shape of the story.
Story
Write a rough plot or synopsis as to what your film is not only about, but the feel, tone and emotional content of the film too. How do you want the audience to feel at each important beat of the film. What will the characters (and so the audience) learn as they move through the story.
Heres the thing. You may get to a point where you realise that the story can't unfold in the way you originally planned because the characters just wouldn't go down that route. When this happens don't be afraid to change the story to suit the character or vice versa, just make sure you look over the whole story to make sure it still feels natural. Dont start down one route and then all of a sudden chage everything, you'll confuse the audience and they will hate the film. Be sure to make sure everything flows and feels in place.
Its so rare that your finished film will be anything like the first concept, because it will evolve for the better, growing in emotion and creative credability as you write.
So your initial plot is written and you write a first draft. You're characters begin to grow and your story is shaped, each set piece compliments to the story and helps drive it forward both emotionally and physically. Feel that flow.
Your dialogue needs to be realistic and sparse. If your character has nothing to say that adds to characterisation, story or emotion then they should just shut up. Think about the kind of language your character uses, because we need to see and understand their perspective of things as we go.
Your second and third drafts are used to flesh everything out even more (dont skip this part, second drafts are always so much better).
So thats a short intro to the art of script writing. be creative, understand your characters and story and love them. Have a go at making the best film possible and make it as compelling as you can. any questions feel free to leave a comment and I'll try and get back to you by replying or emailing you.
Yours sincerely
James Twyman
P.S. if you found this useful please click on a couple of ads to help me keep this going. Cheers
Friday, 7 November 2008
Monday, 3 November 2008
The secret behind HD
So I just went HD. and it feels great. Its crisp detailed visuals fill the screen with wonderful images that add more impact to a sequence then i could have ever imagined. I was once told "no-one has ever regretted working in HD" and i can see why. There are however somethings that most people miss when shooting HD that i feel is important to mention.
First is the fact that to edit in HD requires a massive computer. Its huge detail level comes at a constant cost in digital resources. Whilst this isn't something a few Ram upgrades, an external hard drive and a new graphics card can't cure. Its definatly something worth thinking about before buying. I had a client that needed working with immediatly I made the transition and had i not invested in my machine before buying the new camera I would have come very much unstuck.
For those needing to know here's the spec I have and I tell you it works like a dream.
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor
(2.40GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 8MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista (R) Home Premium
4GB Memory
750GB Hard Drive
And it cost a moderate £500. Yes I know Macs are all the rage, they are built for media, no viruses, fast and efficient yada yada. But come on, for those of us just starting out it's not viable yet. See it as a goal and see this investment as a temporary means to a more professional end. But thats not what I'm here to discuss. Its just a little something for you to think about.
Here I'm discussing the secret of HD. How to get the most from it. So here follows the way that i have gotten alot from HD. No i wont discuss cameras, I found all the fun was trying and researching and made the whole process so much more enjoyable and I dont want to take that away from you.
So here we go.
Shoot HD for SD output.
This might seem strange but its not a good idea to shoot HD for delivery in HD for the same reason its not good to film SD for the delivery of SD. There are many reasons for this.
The film industry shoots on 35 mm film even though the final output will be DVD. Why? some may argue that its because they get shown cinematically but the thing is Hollywood only makes 15% of its profits in cinemas and makes the rest on DVD. So why not shoot in SD? well because if you shoot SD you are limiting your resolution, if for example you played that DVD on a HD ready TV you would instantly see its flaws and to be honest even if you play it on an SD output it still has a low resolution.
However if you shoot in HD or even film and compress it down properly (I use after effects) you retain a massive amount of that extra detail and so you SD footage looks amazing.
So why not HD for HD. Well for the same reason, if you shoot HD you are more likely to see its flaws then if you compress it down. Plus, and here's the biggie, at the moment very few channels and media delivery companies offer broadcasting in HD. There sky HD, BBC HD and that's about it in main stream. The primary delivery format is still SD.
I mean yeah soon it'll be HD as standard but then your going to want to be shooting at least 16mm and down converting to HD to get the most out of it and squeeze it for every bit of detail and texture you can.
The rule i think is simple. What ever your delivery format aim to shoot in the next format up, down convert and I guarantee better results then shooting in the delivery format. Your just making sure you make the most out of the format and trying to make everything sharper and look better.
Color correction
Every piece of footage should be color corrected. Whether this means full on color grading like in 300 or just getting the most out of your clor palette by adjusting curves and levels to add depth to a shot this will dramatically improve your footage. If the blacks are black enough and the whites are white enough every thing in between looks great. I use Magic bullet Looks but there are many great software packages including the one that i started with which is Andrew Kramers Film Magic Pro at http://www.videocopliot.net/ . I also tend to use a High pass filter i found online to sharpen the already very sharp images because i have a love affair with texture. I know you can reach out and feel the textures on screen but i want it so that if the audience could they would know exactly what it would feel like. And finally
Become one with your camera
There is a world of defference between a HD and a DV camera and if you buy the HD camera and continue to shoot as you always did your missing the point. Learn what this camera can do, think about how this higher res can be used to tell you story more effectively. Those close ups you always wanted to get can be done more effectively, those subtle texture and colour changes can be made richer and the camera can really become a character thats used to get the most from the film. Heres some shots from my new camera. please note these images have been highly compressed for the web but yet maintain more detail then straight SD. Also I've diffused the whites to add a stylistic blur, however the HD quality allows me to do this whilst maintaining a strong level of professional detail where as DV would have just over blurred. I've also included some SD images from my old DV camera for your comparison.
First is the fact that to edit in HD requires a massive computer. Its huge detail level comes at a constant cost in digital resources. Whilst this isn't something a few Ram upgrades, an external hard drive and a new graphics card can't cure. Its definatly something worth thinking about before buying. I had a client that needed working with immediatly I made the transition and had i not invested in my machine before buying the new camera I would have come very much unstuck.
For those needing to know here's the spec I have and I tell you it works like a dream.
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor
(2.40GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 8MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista (R) Home Premium
4GB Memory
750GB Hard Drive
And it cost a moderate £500. Yes I know Macs are all the rage, they are built for media, no viruses, fast and efficient yada yada. But come on, for those of us just starting out it's not viable yet. See it as a goal and see this investment as a temporary means to a more professional end. But thats not what I'm here to discuss. Its just a little something for you to think about.
Here I'm discussing the secret of HD. How to get the most from it. So here follows the way that i have gotten alot from HD. No i wont discuss cameras, I found all the fun was trying and researching and made the whole process so much more enjoyable and I dont want to take that away from you.
So here we go.
Shoot HD for SD output.
This might seem strange but its not a good idea to shoot HD for delivery in HD for the same reason its not good to film SD for the delivery of SD. There are many reasons for this.
The film industry shoots on 35 mm film even though the final output will be DVD. Why? some may argue that its because they get shown cinematically but the thing is Hollywood only makes 15% of its profits in cinemas and makes the rest on DVD. So why not shoot in SD? well because if you shoot SD you are limiting your resolution, if for example you played that DVD on a HD ready TV you would instantly see its flaws and to be honest even if you play it on an SD output it still has a low resolution.
However if you shoot in HD or even film and compress it down properly (I use after effects) you retain a massive amount of that extra detail and so you SD footage looks amazing.
So why not HD for HD. Well for the same reason, if you shoot HD you are more likely to see its flaws then if you compress it down. Plus, and here's the biggie, at the moment very few channels and media delivery companies offer broadcasting in HD. There sky HD, BBC HD and that's about it in main stream. The primary delivery format is still SD.
I mean yeah soon it'll be HD as standard but then your going to want to be shooting at least 16mm and down converting to HD to get the most out of it and squeeze it for every bit of detail and texture you can.
The rule i think is simple. What ever your delivery format aim to shoot in the next format up, down convert and I guarantee better results then shooting in the delivery format. Your just making sure you make the most out of the format and trying to make everything sharper and look better.
Color correction
Every piece of footage should be color corrected. Whether this means full on color grading like in 300 or just getting the most out of your clor palette by adjusting curves and levels to add depth to a shot this will dramatically improve your footage. If the blacks are black enough and the whites are white enough every thing in between looks great. I use Magic bullet Looks but there are many great software packages including the one that i started with which is Andrew Kramers Film Magic Pro at http://www.videocopliot.net/ . I also tend to use a High pass filter i found online to sharpen the already very sharp images because i have a love affair with texture. I know you can reach out and feel the textures on screen but i want it so that if the audience could they would know exactly what it would feel like. And finally
Become one with your camera
There is a world of defference between a HD and a DV camera and if you buy the HD camera and continue to shoot as you always did your missing the point. Learn what this camera can do, think about how this higher res can be used to tell you story more effectively. Those close ups you always wanted to get can be done more effectively, those subtle texture and colour changes can be made richer and the camera can really become a character thats used to get the most from the film. Heres some shots from my new camera. please note these images have been highly compressed for the web but yet maintain more detail then straight SD. Also I've diffused the whites to add a stylistic blur, however the HD quality allows me to do this whilst maintaining a strong level of professional detail where as DV would have just over blurred. I've also included some SD images from my old DV camera for your comparison.
DV lacks the image depth needed to gain that cinematic look
HD beautifully captures the relation ship between light and shadow in this shot
The gravestones have wonderful reflections and textures giving a real feel for the graveyard
This close up pops out of the screen in a way the about DV close up can't, its high resolution means i can capture the wonderful texture of the lips as she sings whilst having a wonderful super model look to the rest.
Finally my favourite shot from this piece. the high detail adds real contrast between the blurred foreground and the background.
So make of it what you will and if you found it useful please help me out by clicking on an advert or two to help me keep this thing going. (its better donating cos then you dont have to spend your own hard earned money).
Until next time, TTYL.
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