Generating Ideas 2

Dreams

Keep a note-book by your bed and immediately on waking or in the night jot down the dream while it is still there. Best tip for storytellers.

Dream example

A man is laying two tons of gravel on a garden patio.  There was a sinkhole and in the corner of the patio a six foot hole appeared. A ball went into the hole and a child went after it.  The gravel was only small stones, the child had jumped in to rerieve the ball and the movement meant the stones started filling up.  The closer the man went the more stones moved and the child got stuck. the more the child moved the more stones smoved, like quicksand...

What does that mean?

Some of the most arresting images are ones that are abstract or have another meaning. Dreams have been used in film for a long time.

Luis Bunuel (Un Chien Andalou, 1929)

David Lynch (Eraserhead)

Define three dreams that you could use as a narrative

Levi-Strauss Binary oppositions


Analyse your narrative in terms of binary oppositions

Aristotle Poetics

Analyse your narrative in terms of Aristotle's ideas about a beginning, a middle and an end and the unity of time, place and action

Barthes Codes

Analyse your narrative in terms of Roland Barthes codes

Todorov's equilibrium

Analyse your narrative in terms of Todorov's  theory of narrative

JVC Camcorder Guide

Ex-student Alex Barton has created the following guide for students using the JVC cameras which allow for more creativity with audio and video 

Preparing the shoot

This should be set for you but you can check

To make sure your videos work best on the Apple iMacs, click on menu > file format > QuickTime file format.

To change the size of the shot: Menu > System Select > Choose which standard you want. The film world films at 24/25 frames per second, so click 1080-50/25.

This camera is excellent to shoot in automatic. Click ‘full auto’ button just to get going.

3CCD means 3 charge coupled device which is just something to with how much light the camera lets in. This camera works best in daylight and thankfully, it works very well in automatic mode as well which is every students dream. Avoid shooting in dark lighting it just looks bad.

Buttons everywhere! But what do they do?

At the front you have the lens which has a little shutter. Flick that shutter to open it. Next to that you have the focus ring, if you turn that the focus will increase/decrease.

Next to that you have a filter switch which you’ll use if you’re outside in daylight. The switch acts as a pair of sunglasses- so you probably wont need it in Tamworth.

The focus ring has two different modes - Focus and Zoom. There is a switch, which allows you to choose which one. Use this for Focus rather than Zoom.

Auto Focus/Manual Focus- Auto focus usually does the job but if you want to change settings click manual focus.

White balance switch- you can choose from Preset, A or B. You can change the white balance and save it the resolution to A or B so you can use the same resolution in the future. I advise to use the pre-set button which is the automatic function.

The A/B button next to the white balance switch is for you to select which slot your SD card is in so the camera knows where to save your work.

If we open up the side screen, there are even more buttons!

Do not worry about the ‘User 3’ button.

The CAM/MEDIA button allows you to choose whether to record or playback your footage. You’ll need this if you’re out on location and you want to check your work as you go.

The quick review button allows you to quickly play back your last shot.

To the side of the microphone you have the audio section.

Input 1 means you’re the microphone you’re using is in Input 1. Input 2 means the microphone you’re using is in input 2.

If you’re using the shotgun microphone, switch the settings to ‘Mic+48 volts’.

Put headphones in the microphone jack at the right side of the camera. You can change the volume of your footage by changing the audio level in CH1.

On the other side of the camera you have the zoom rubber switch which will allow the cameraman to zoom in or out during recording. W is Wide and T is Telephoto.

SDHC cards are compatible and must be series 6 or higher. Don’t use SDXC

Ideally buy your own and you can keep your footage

This guide from a College in Colorado will also help you with the controls.

http://cuvideoedit.com/jvc-camcorder.php

My main advice is to avoid using the zoom and to pay attention to sound by using the headphones to increase awareness.

 

Generating ideas

Mind mapping is an industry with people like Tony Buzan claiming rights over this method of generating ideas.

There are a number of web tools to help you to present your thoughts and this should be a key part of the creative process.

Your thoughts and ideas need exploring and this stage is often missed out in the planning of projects. Many ideas that do not have legs or are impractical can be filtered out and it allows several options to be considered before settling on one which excites you.

We are going to try a number of activities to generate ideas and the mind map is the way to record this thoughts.  Be creative, use colour and images.  It is constructive doodling, arranging ideas into a cohesive narrative.

Short Film

Activity One

The short films we have looked at are about childhood in some way

Try to think of stories from your own childhood. In this clip from 'Ratcatcher' Lynne Ramsay captures some of the magic realism of childhood. One could imagine the idea for this scene coming out of a memory.

Imagine a narrative which has the theme of childhood.

Use your own experiences and those stories that you know from school or growing up.  Think of three and put them on the branches of your mind map.

For example, it could be about another child who you looked up to

A child who you were not allowed to play with

Roll some stories up together...

• Child who had a nose bleed
• had their ears pinned back
• parents stopped you playing with them
• Flooded the local church
• Creosoted a dog
• Had a fight with someone's dad at the kid's disco
• Someone threw a stone that hit them in the head
• Called the fire brigade and tragedy ensued 
• Argument with teacher about making a green salad 

Some we came up with...

• Stealing football stickers
• Drawing with crayons on Aunt's wallpaper
• Camping and putting a frozen doner kebab on the fire
• Rubbing white stretch jeans on a dartboard
• Being sick in a tent
• Getting head flushed down toilet
• Radiator falling on a student
• Pulling achair from under someone
• Hair removal cream

Two examples of visual incidents from a classroom were brought up which may have legs in a short film and we may come back to when scripting

A mannequin of body parts was taken apart and hidden from the teacher. The Skull was found in a hoody and various parts were hidden around the school

An irate teacher stood in a bin to make a point and said, 'Do I look like Rubbish?'


Maybe it is an early memory or a character at school whom you remember

Draw an image that represents each idea.

Activity Two

Now think about mise-en-scene and draw or list ideas on your mind map

Props
It may be something which establishes the time period

Costume - fashion
It may be having to wear something you didn't like, a big jumper or unfashionable shoes.




Activity Three

Develop a narrative

Use Todorov's theory of narrative to establish a plot.

If you are struggling for an idea use these familiar tropes.
--> A trope is a commonly followed formula or plot which is reproduced and becomes familiar to audiences.
Firstly try to identify a film that goes with each...


-->

• Spider and the Fly
• Love triangle
• Romeo and Juliet
• Oedipus – horrified when confronted with truth
• Superhero
• Underdog
• Escape
• Heist
• Sacrifice
• Rivalry
• Temptation
• Judas
• Metamorphosis

-->

Christopher Booker is a theorist whose ideas about narrative you can reserach and explore. He claims to have identified these types of narrative.  Think of a film that goes with each...

• The quest
• Overcoming the Monster
• Rags to Riches
• Voyage and return
• Comedy
• Tragedy
•  Re-birth

Your narrative could be man versus

• nature
• self
• man
• god
• machine

Here is an article about advertising showing how some of these narratives are used in adverts





Activity Four

Think of a character

Hairstyle

Body language

Facial expression

Name

Habits

Role in the narrative

Activity Five

Identify five types of shot that you could use in your narrative.

For example, a point of view shot will allow the audience to empathise with a character such as this one in Wasp which encourages the audience us to empathise with the children who are left vulnerable in a car park late at night with a range of threats. We feel their terror or discomfort as we are literally seeing through their eyes.

Maybe use Prezi software if you want to present your ideas digitally. If not then paper and pens are fine. The key thing is that you show the development of ideas on your web-log.

Student storyboards

The cells above are good as there is a clear attempt to provide the director with a sense of what is to be included in the frame and what type of shot is to be used. There is not much further written direction which would allow more information, particularly about sound, so that links could be made with the script. 

The shots planned in the storyboard can clearly be identified in the film.

This one contains relevant information but there is a sense of rough sketching and initial ideas being mapped out rather than a creative process being studied and aiding the choices made.  Stick characters and things like a sun meaning a garden area are not indicating exactly what needs to be included in the shot. therefore the point of the story-boarding process has not been fully understood.

A digital story-board is a good idea, taking photographs on location recces.  The problem here is that these are screenshots from the film and the storyboard is done retrospectively.  For story-boarding to be effective it needs to be an essential part of the planning stage.

Storyboarding

First Light have provided this guide to story-boarding which shows a range of shots that you could employ.  The only part i would disagree with is the use of stick men if you cannot draw.  Avoid this advice as the point of story-boarding is that you show the director and wider team exactly what is in shot. A stick man cannot do this.

Some students have used online storyboards which have some merit and are quite fun. This one is called 'storyboard that'.  The limitations are that they don't allow the film making crew to alter the plan and storyboard on location or when an idea comes to mind. An ability to sketch or draw effectively is an essential skill. It allows you to visualise a scene and explain it through a drawing which replicates exactly what will be in the frame. An image tells a thousand words and this is the most effective way of sharing filmic ideas.

When assessing coursework this is an essential step that is often missed out and it is clear in the edit that this aspect of planning is not thorough.  The best work has clear continuity with a depth of thought about mise-en-scene, camera angles and types of shot. It shows an awareness of film language and allows teams to work effectively. Sound is an aspect that is under-valued and by stipulating direction on the storyboard this becomes explicit in planning and not an afterthought.

There are a number of sites which will offer templates for storyboards and there is no rule as to which template is the best.  Itis a creative process so choose the style which suits you.

I would favour this one as the frames are in widescreen and are big enough to add detail. Six cells to a page allows continuity and there is room for written direction in the box beneath which is essential for planning and indicating sound and the type of shot envisaged. There is always more detail to be explained and this space allows for revisions and notes during production.

Storyboard artists are increasingly in demand in the creative industries. Design agencies and advertising are two areas that require skilled artists to bring their ideas to life and to prepare pitches to clients clearly showing ideas. These examples are from Storyboard London, a company made up of storyboard artists working in a range of mediums and for a variety of clients.

In this advertising animatic the storyboard explains the narrative.

 Take time over this stage and use your imagination to create a visual representation of your thoughts and ideas.

Use colour and aim to fill the frame with detail so that the director can recognise the type of shot and aspects of mise-en-scene such as facial expression and body language.

Make sure the image clearly reflects the script and direction explaining costume, location and props.  Try to avoid any ambiguity between types of shot so that continuity editing is paramount and laws such as the 180 degree line of axis are not broken.