Planning
The first stage of making
a movie is centred on getting the film developed as
much as possible before you start shooting. Substantial
changes during shooting are expensive and disrupt
continuity, or worse can result in a discordant and
messy film. Good planning means that when you get
to start shooting you go through a smoother process
than without. You will encounter surprises and have
to make changes here and there, but planning means
you encounter more of the right sort of surprises
and know how to solve the less welcome ones. The aim
is to let your ideas grow and develop to a point at
which you know every aspect of the project better
than anyone else. You know the relative significance
of each part of the story, the kinds of motifs and
ideas that are running through it, and the kind of
atmosphere that is to dominate. In a sense, when you
commit your ideas to paper you are taking them out
of the comforting darkness of the imagination, where
you don’t notice the loose ends and rough structure
of a film, and exposing them to light. Some aspects
of your ideas survive, some don’t, but it is
better that the project changes now than later. Work
on paper is cheap; work on film is expensive, what
with crew, food for everyone, lights, power and so
on. An hour of script writing can equal a day of shooting
and a week of editing.
Visual blueprints
In planning your film
you will make detailed written and visual blueprints
of how the film will look and sound from the first
to the last moment. Step 1 involves a written outline
in the form of a short story. Even if you film does
not rely on plot at all you need to basically and
simply write down all the scenes that you envisage
in the order that you think they may occur. Getting
to that stage may involve noting down all the elements
of the film and producing several different versions
of an outline. This rough draft we can call a treatment.
Following that you will produce a range of material
which will trace the steps you take as you develop
and grow the film.
Early visualizations
If you have ever found
yourself doodling with a pen and paper then you will
have some idea of what this stage of work involves.
To some people what you draw when doodling is a true
reflection of the natural inclinations of your mind;
some people draw closed-in little boxes, tightly stuck
together, others draw blossoming spirals or crystal-like
structures. It doesn’t take a certificate in
psychology to work out the meanings of the things
we find ourselves drawing; what you are doing is reflecting
the current inner architecture of your thoughts, not
the thoughts themselves as such but the shape they
take. Whatever your doodles look like – dark
and angular, bold and bright – these can be
viewed as potential design notes for a film. Of course,
this is only relevant if you are determined to find
and display your own personal world view, as opposed
to following the needs of a client or audience focus
group.
In a practical sense,
what you are doing when drawing visualizations is
a long set of small sketches, perhaps each the size
of a cigarette packet. Each one is a quick outline
of a possible scene from the film. These are drawn
in no particular order, but the order you draw them
does say something about the relative importance of
each to you. Each sketch should be quick and uncomplicated,
showing the main elements in the shot and hinting
at the kind of light in the frame. The aim is not
to correct them or judge them in any way until you’ve
gone through the whole exercise, with as many frames
as possible on paper. Following this, you can then
start to group your sketches together and compare
the overall style of each frame.
Storyboard
The storyboard is used
to explain the detail of the visual side of the film
to a crew and allow those people working on a film
to plan props, camera lenses and work schedules effectively.
Working on a low budget with just yourself and a few
friends does not excuse you from this process; it
offers a chance to refine both the look and structure
of your film and pare it down, stripping it of elements
that divert from the idea, making it a project which
fulfils the specific aims you had in mind right at
the start. In preparing a storyboard, you will draw
frames on one vertical column of the paper with corresponding
dialogue, notes or sound written next to it. This
document is the most detailed visual and written description
of the whole film, the single blueprint which you
try to stick to throughout the shooting process. Although
storyboarding was rigidly adhered to by directors
such as Alfred Hitchcock, for the most part it is
simply the most accurate plan you have at this point,
ready to be challenged and altered during filming.
Script
In films where you have a story, a
script is going to be the only way to prepare it and
iron out the inconsistencies. Even in films where
there are no speaking roles you may find it useful
to prepare a script showing only directors notes,
as it gives yet another opportunity to hone your idea,
add to it or subtract.
The importance of each stage of planning is relative
to the sort of film you are making. Abstract, theme-based
movies will demand more consideration of visual aspects
while character studies with intense dialogue will
need more attention paid to the script. All films,
however, need to go through the An overview of filmmaking
5
learning curve of planning and emerge fully formed
before a camera starts showing up the faults. Know
your film.
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