Film

Preproduction-Obtaining Material 3 stages to film: pre-production, production, post production Preproduction-the planning stage Starts with development phase, when person or company buys the rights to literary work, screenplay, or story outline Once the rights are owned, no one else can turn it into a film

Preproduction The owner of the work hires scriptwriters to improve upon it and turn into a piece fit for film After owner reviews script, she/he will either keep it or sell it to another interested movie studio

Rejected Films Sometimes, a potential film can go through this whole preproduction phase and never get turned into a film Actors may not sign on Another studio may be making something similar Doesn’t have potential to make money

Preproduction-Developing the Material Once the owner of a project gives it the OK, things kick into gear Owner hires “key personnel”: director, business manager, key talent and anyone else she/he wants to select personally These people hire the ones THEY want to work closely with: talent agents, lighting designers, sound engineers, special effects coordinators, etc. Preproduction requires months before cameras ever roll

Preproduction-Script Development Once locations are arranged, then can the team arrange for things like transportation, travel budgets, props, food, housing the crew Now think of how many films require multiple locations… Storyboards: helps visualize the film, shot by shot or scene by scene Turns the script into visual images

Storyboard Activity Now watch the following clip Turn this clip into a storyboard

Production Production starts once the crew and talent arrive on set to shoot Actors have studied lines Sound and lighting are all ready to go After a day’s worth of shooting is done, the director assembles her key people to review what has been shot that day, these being called dailies During shooting, other people work away from the set: music composers, special effects designers, press releases

Post Production

Editing When a film wraps, actors and production personnel are done-and the postproduction crew gets started This crew is made up of director, film editor, sound editor, and assistants Most important phase is editing-where miles of film and reels are cut and spliced together

Editing Steps 1-Director selects take she/he wants for every scene shot 2-Now the order of the shots is decided Shots are usually decided after experimenting with their order Sergei Eisenstein, a Russian film pioneer, was the first to argue that the placement of shots (juxtaposition) is what gives films its power to communicate It is up to the audience to provide closure to each shot based on the juxtaposition

Steps Cont. 3-Now the shots are joined with a transition technique The cut is the most common technique. This is where a piece of film is literally cut and spliced to another piece of film The dissolve is another type of technique. This is when the shot on screen gets lighter and fades away as the next shot appears very lightly and takes over the screen A reaction shot is often used to show a person’s reaction to news or an event (EX. Someone on the phone is telling their friend they got a job, and the shot switches to the friend receiving the news).

Adding Sound Though much of the sound in a film is recorded as filmed, as much and sometimes more is added during postproduction Sounds that occur naturally in the course of a scene are referred to as ambient sounds-clinking of silverware, footsteps, a cough. Dialogue that needs to be recorded again is called looping. The actor watches herself/himself on screen in a recording studio and re-speaks their lines

Sound Cont. The music of a film-it’s score-is actually recorded and added to a film at the right spots as well as the right volume. Libraries of sound effects are used for things like alien lasers to birds chirping out side a window Whatever ambient sounds could not be recorded during shooting are performed in a sound studio and added during postproduction This process is the work of a foley artist-this person is responsible for making the sounds like the slurping of soup, papers rustling, even kisses.

Promotion and Distribution This last phase involves the selling of a film. Trailers (previews) are edited and sent to selected theaters. Pre-release (test) screenings are often held for randomly selected audiences. Test audiences are asked for reactions to the film before it is even released. While these test screenings are released, lawyers work behind the scenes to finish negotiations regarding distribution.

Film Project You are to prepare a 5 minute presentation analyzing ANY film of your choice You are to have at least 2 props to be presented to the class as a whole. The analysis of this film must include each area we have studied in class: Shots, frames, lighting, acting, color, sound, setting/costumes, etc. The analysis itself must be at LEAST 3 pages in length, NOT including pictures/stills from the movie. You have a choice: This analysis can either be presented in person OR taped and presented to the class the day it is due. If you decide to tape, you must be wearing professional clothing as if you are on TV reporting your opinion to your viewers.

NO LATE PRESENTATIONS ACCEPTED Requirements: Paper-50 points *Length-minimum of 3 pages *Analysis of different areas covered in class *Cover page *Pictures being used *Sources that are used (and there should be sources) Presentation-50 points *Length- 5 minutes in length *Eye Contact *Body language *Tone *Props