Friday, 27 November 2015

What I've Learnt About Screenwriting

Over a series of lectures with Simon and Steve I learnt about the Art of Screenwriting. Below I have summarise what I learnt: Every script begins with an idea. This process is all about brainstorming. Every story has a beginning, middle and end. The key ingredients are: Character- All stories are about people. They give it meaning. A goal (we need a good reason for the ending)- They need something...

Story-Telling: Project Evaluation

Pre-Production and The Writing Process I began this project with a small idea of what kind of story I wanted to make. I knew I wanted to set my film inside a hospital and so I need to come up with and idea to fit this location. After some lectures about story-telling I began writing down a few ideas (Ideas Blog) and eventually the idea I came up with was about a young man who has done something...

Story-Telling: Pre-Production- Shot Lists

As part of my pre-production process I created a set of shot lists for my camera operator to help him understand how I wanted the film to be composed. These detailed the scene, shot number, description, framing specs, takes, and additional notes. Here are some pages from my shot lists: ...

Thursday, 26 November 2015

Fine Cut Feedback

After completing my fine cut, I received some feedback: All the changes I have made since the rough cut have improved the film. I still need to work on bridging the gap between scenes 3 and 4. The use of a title to show the passing of time is confusing. The title should be removed and then this will work fine. The TV screens still need to be replaced. The van could be an ambulance instead but this...

Story-Telling: Rough Cut Feedback & Fine Cut Edit

After reviewing my rough cut this was the feedback I received: The timing of the music used during the opening sequence needed to be adjusted. It came in too early. The van accident was executed well. The opening titles needed to be changed. They were distracting. The title of the film didn't stand out against the other titles. It needed to be a different font or colour or side. The television in...

Story-Telling: Editing Rough Cut

My shoot is over, now I need to edit together a rough cut in Premiere Pro. Step 1: Radio Edit Some of the bins I used Before doing anything, I moved my footage onto my hard drive and then imported it into Premiere Pro. I then sorted through the footage and separated it using bins. For example,...

Sunday, 22 November 2015

Story-Telling: Filming Day 2

Day one of filming is complete. Now it's time to shoot my big opening sequence. Filming Day 2: On this day I had to film a big scene involving my main character. In the scene he is hit my a van that is trying to find a space in the busy hospital car park. The scene had to be shot in a specific way...

Story-Telling: Filming Day 1

My script is complete, my pre-production is done and now I can start filming.  Day 1: The Waiting Room I had arranged for my crew to meet me at The Maidstone Studios at 10:30am so we could begin filming at 11:00am. Of course I turned up late and my crew were waiting for me. Before doing...

Story-Telling: Real Gone (Short Film by Seth Worley)

Real Gone is a short film by Seth Worley. It's about a man named Elwood Holler who, no matter how hard he tries, just can't end his own life. Who is Seth Worley? Seth Worley is an American film director and writer. He is known by most for his short films Plot Device (2011), Spy Vs Guy (2013) and...

Story-Telling: Tell (short film)

Tell is a short film by Ryan Connolly. The film centres around a man named Taylor who, during an argument, murders his girlfriend Jenny. It's loosely based on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe called "The Tell-Tale Heart". Who is Ryan Connolly? Ryan Connolly is an American writer, director, producer...

Story-Telling: Vince Gilligan

Creator of Breaking Bad. Enough said. And that's why I want to look at Vince Gilligan. Who is Vince Gilligan? Vince Gilligan is an American writer, director and producer. He is know by most as the creator and head writer of the hit US television series Breaking Bad. He is also the executive producer...

Story-Telling: Quentin Tarantino

Nobody writes a script like Quentin Tarantino, and that's a fact. So when it came to researching a screenwriter I knew I had to look at him. Every word he writes has meaning. Who is Quentin Tarantino? (as if you don't know) Quentin Tarantino Quentin Tarantino is an American screenwriter, director,...

Thursday, 19 November 2015

Story-Telling: Pre-Production- Crash Test

As part of my pre-production work for my story-telling unit I wanted to test out an effect I had would have to pull off for an essential part of my script to work. I needed to see whether I had the ability to fake a car accident. I went out a shot the footage in the same way I was planning to for the final shoot. I then imported the footage into After Effects. Next I used Photoshop to create a van...

Wednesday, 18 November 2015

Story-Telling: Script Feedback with Steve Combs & Draft 5

Recently I was able to sit down with Steve Combs, a professional script writer, and receive some feedback on my script. Steven and I went through the script together and picked it apart, deciding what worked well and what could be changed. We started with the opening scene. Steve made some suggestions....

Editing Workshop: Final Workshop

For our final editing workshop we put all the skills we had learnt to the test and began editing together some of the footage we had shot during the camera workshops. I decided to edit together the footage I shot during my final camera workshop called "Crossing The Line". I wrote about the process I used to edit this footage together in this post: http://joshuajonesucatv.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/camera-workshop-4-crossing-line.html Overall...

Story-Telling: Pre-production- Call Sheets & Schedules

Before I could begin filming my project I had to produce a call sheet and schedule for my cast and crew. These two documents will make production a lot easier by ensuring everyone knows important information and knows where to be and when to be there. Before I could complete either of the two documents...

Story-Telling: Pre-production- Risk Assessments

As part of my pre-production I had to fill out risk assessments for all the locations I wanted to film at. These assessments had to look at all the hazards a cast and crew could face, all the way from minor ones to major ones. I had to visit each location I was planning to shoot at and write about all...

Story-Telling: Thrid & Fourth Draft

After reviewing my second draft I have decided to make some more edits and move onto my third and fourth drafts. For these drafts I have made a few minor changes. I have rewritten my opening scene and changed some of my characters dialogue. Finally I re-wrote my final sequence. Overall most of the changes...

Work Experience- Runner on CBBC'S "Ultimate Brain"

Recently I was lucky enough to get the chance to spend two days working as a runner on the set of CBBC'S "Ultimate Brain". Ultimate Brain Logo During my time in the studio: I helped the crew bring things on and off set. I kept food and water stocked up. I helped the chaperones look after the contestants. Provided...