Week Four and Five: Video Production Sessions

For these two weeks we were to get into small groups and produce and edit a 30 second short film

Here is the one me and my group made:



We were instructed to post our video on you tube. If you do not know what you tube is watch this video.


Before we made this video we used a storyboard and scripted our short film.
STORYBOARDING
Storyboards go back to the very beginnings of cinema, with Sergei Eisenstein using the technique. In the world of animation, Walt Disney and his staff developed a storyboard system in 1928. Disney wanted to achieve full animation and for this he needed to produce an enormous number of drawings. Managing the thousands of drawings and the progress of the project was nearly impossible, so Disney had his artists pin up their drawings on the studio walls. This way, progress could be checked, and scenes added and discarded with ease.

For our purposes a storyboard is a series of drawings of the proposed film, as it will appear on screen. These drawings play an important part in the production of any video or film. It is a plan of the end product and is often referred to during production.

Every scene in your film should be planned very carefully. So that when filming begins everybody knows exactly what is to be done and no time is wasted while the director decides what to do (see attached example) and template.
SCRIPTING
The script is the vehicle by which the thoughts and ideas of the author are transmitted to the audience. In a novel these ideas are communicated with words. A film or video that consisted of dialogue only would, however, be very dull entertainment. To reap the full benefit of this audiovisual medium the author should include much more than just dialogue in the script. The script should be the basis for everything that is both heard and seen on the screen. A good script should look to include the following the following points.

• Moods and expressions
• Facial expressions
• Vocal expressions
• Movement
• Interaction with other characters
• Special effects
• Sound track instructions
• Lighting
• Camera Angles and types of shot
• Background sound and setting
• On screen graphics and titles

The more detail the author includes the closer to his her own intention will be the end product; the script should include enough technical information to enable the director to create the visual and audio picture the author wants


When sitting down to write your script you may wish to consider the following points.

1. What is the major aim of your film
2. Is this idea relevant to the audience
3. Develop your lead character/ subject for documentary
4. Come up with a set-up. Some interesting situation or objective. This will help set out the plot.
5. Map out a beginning middle and end for your plot.
6. Include subject movements and major activities
7. Include in the script any special lighting, sound or camera effects.