Telling a Story through Film

1
Telling a Story through Film
2
The Five Basic Steps of Film Production

• Script development
• Preproduction
• Production
• Postproduction
• Distribution

3
What is a script?

• Your script must be well crafted before
  production can begin. Think of it as a blueprint
  for the final film the instructions for making
  your film.

4
Where do scripts come from?

• Ideas
• Concepts
• Images
• Characters
• Dreams
• Real events
• Fantasies
• Memories

• Historical events
• Places
• Social issues
• Real-life experiences
• News stories
• Magazine articles
• Adaptations of
• short stories

5
What does a script look like?

• See handout example

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What is the story about?

• What do you feel after you read the story? Why
  does the story move you?
• Whose story is it? Do you identify with the main
  character?
• What actually happens? Do you identify with the
  plot?
• Is there a relationship between the main
  character and the plot?
• Does the plot tell us something about the main
  character?
• What does it say about the human condition? Do
  you identify with its theme?
• How much of the story is developed through
  internal thoughts and feelings?
• Are you able to tell what happens in the story in
  one sentence?

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Find your plot and characters

• To find the plot (what actually happens), strip
  the story of its dialogue and internal monologues
  (what the characters are thinking and feeling).
  This will reveal the dramatic through line of
  your story. Once youve eliminated what you cant
  see and hear, what do you have? Do you have a
  plot? Does the action reveal something about the
  main character? Is there a beginning, middle, and
  end?

8
General story guidelines

• Do not cut and paste
• Be willing to reinvent
• If adapting, make the story yours, not the
  authors
• Be true to the essence and spirit of the story
• Keep it simple
• Be aware of economy of time, place, and action

9
Basic guidelines for the short form

• Length Is there an ideal length for a short?
• The best length is the one that allows you to
  adequately, and concisely, tell your story. The
  length may be predetermined due to the submission
  guidelines of the intended market though.

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Important

• We are often very anxious about wanting to
  impress people with our talent and skill, and can
  tend to try to say or do too much with our short
  films. When in doubt, if the scene is not
  essential in revealing the message of your film,
  cut it. Dont just keep stuff because it looks
  cool, etc. You dont want to distract the viewer
  with too much. Keep it simple.

11
The Central Theme

• The central theme is what the story is all
  about. It represents why you wanted to make the
  film in the first place what you wanted to say.
  All scenes in your film should contribute to the
  main theme. As a good rule of thumb, if someone
  should ask you, what is your film about, you
  should be able to answer in one or two sentences.

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Conflict

• A basic element common to all visual drama is
  the need for a specific and identifiable
  conflict. Conflict creates tension. Tension
  engages the viewers emotions until the conflict
  is resolved and the tension relieved at the end
  of the piece.

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What is conflict, and how is it created?

• Conflict is realized through the characters.
  Most narrative stories begin by establishing a
  problem, dilemma, or goal. Someone wants
  something or is unhappy or unfulfilled in some
  way. The process of working out this issue
  defines the drama.
• See example Time enough at last

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The Basic Conflicts

• Individual vs. Self (internal)
• Individual vs. Individual (personal)
• Individual vs. Society (social environment)
• Individual vs. Nature (physical environment)
• - Each one of these conflicts, alone or in
  combination, draws our attention to the plight of
  the main character (or protagonist).

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The Dramatic Arc

• Every story should have a beginning, a middle,
  and an end. Most stories can be reduced to the
  basic formula of goal/obstacle/resolution,
  creating this progression
• Beginning (setup)
• Middle (development)
• End (resolution)

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Dramatic Arc (cont.)

• This formula creates the natural arc of all
  narrative and non-narrative drama. All stories
  follow this progression. The problem is
  introduced, developed (dealt with), and then
  resolved. When the resolution has been reached,
  the story is over.

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Other examples

• The Lottery via www.youtube.com search for
  The Lottery Shirley Jackson, or use
  http//www.youtube.com/watch?vtN5V8cQ2DAkfeature
  related
• George Lucas in Love via www.youtube.com
  search for George Lucas in love, or use
  http//www.youtube.com/watch?vSfthCXJnTyE