Crib Notes

Having crib notes detailing the beats and story points of each scene is a good way for the director to keep focused in the chaos of a film set.

Axis of tension

It is worth considering whose point of view should be given preference in a scene.



 Notice how the 'coverage' needed can be indicated by where the lines of tension in the relationships are.

A Guide to On Set Etiquette

A Guide to On-Set Etiquette


Below is an industry standard guide of what to expect, and how to behave on a film
set. Whilst some points may seem obvious, it is easy to be caught out by others.
Call Times
Your Call Time is the time by which you must be on-set and ready for filming. The Production Company will either tell you your Call Time when they first contact you about the job, or they may ask you to ring them back later to find it out once the
filming schedule is finalised.
Punctuality
 When you are given your call time write it down and make sure you turn up on set on time. Production companies have complex schedules to film specific scenes at specific times and they will not wait around for you. If you are late the production crew will not be happy and your job will likely be given to someone else and you will not get credited. In film, time is definitely money.
Make sure you have enough time to get to the film set and don’t rely on internet route finders for accuracy. If using public transport, check the timetables and catch the earlier bus or train. Also don’t assume that public transport will be regular for very early starts or late finishes.
Clothing
Make sure you take something warm to wear during the long breaks between filming
because you might not have somewhere warm to wait.
On Arrival
On arrival sign in with a member of the production staff to let them know you've
arrived. Make sure you know in advance who this person is. If you don't sign
in, the production company has no way of knowing you have arrived and your job
may be given to someone else.
Waiting Around
If filming is not ready to begin, find out if there is somewhere for the Background
Artistes to wait. You may have somewhere warm and comfortable to wait for filming
to start but, if you are on location, you could only basic cover form the elements.
There may also be long waiting periods between filming but please be patient.
Chain of command
> the Director is in charge but will only be occupied with the Actors and the DP. Please make sure that any questions or comments are directed up the chain of command and then through the DP to get to the Director if neccesary.

Etiquette on set (camera)

A good film set is like a well-oiled machine. All of the parts must work together for everything to go properly. Set procedure and etiquette are very important components in keeping the train moving. Here are a few tips that I have picked up along the way. These are primarily geared towards the camera department; however, they should work well for other departments as well.

• Ask before touching any other department’s stuff. This includes apple boxes or any other piece of equipment that does not fall under your department’s guise. How would you feel if the grips started grabbing cameras and lenses?
• Never, ever run on set. Unless you are the actor or operator in the scene, then there is absolutely no reason to run on a film set. It’s just plain dangerous. Recently on a commercial shoot, a PA was running back and forth to get stuff. After the third time I had to take him aside and explain that there is no running on set. It’ s a recipe for disaster. Walk with a purpose. Don’t run.
• Everything goes up the food chain, not down. If you have a concern, voice it to the next person above you in the pecking order. On the Sopranos my camera loader exclaimed in front of David Chase, “We were out of film!” This was simply not the case; we had thousands of feet of short ends and I had to explain to Mr. Chase that we were just fine.
• Conversations should be taken off set. If there is something wrong with the gear or anything else, then it should be discussed away from the rest of the crew until a solution can be found.
• Do not move equipment while the camera is rolling. Actors are a strange breed and it may only take one instance for them to literally freak out. No names mentioned here.
• Stay out of the actors’ eye line at all costs. It only takes one blown take to get you fired. If the actor looks over to you and you make eye contact, it can easily distract them out of their scene. Who do you think will get fired for being unprofessional?
• Know where the camera is pointed at all times. You never, ever want to make it in the film, or worse, blow a take.
• Count to ten as soon as you get on set. Everything changes in an instant. Take a moment to assess the situation before you open your mouth. It may no longer apply to the shot.
• Communication on set is very important. The last voice should be the Director’s; everything else leads up to the words “and action.” Roll sound, roll camera, speed then action. This is a no-fail system and works on most film sets throughout the world.
• Leave your baggage at home. Try to keep a positive attitude. There is nothing worse than having to prop up another person all day long. Everyone has something else going on, keep it off the set. Distractions are a danger to you and the rest of the crew.
• Use “copy that” and other set vernacular. This is an easy and quick way to communicate. I use it all the time in real life. It is in fact a military term. Try to also use “Yes, Sir” and “No, Ma’am”. Unless noted, this is a respectful way to address both the Client and Talent. While on a still photography tour with Sandy Puc’ they all thought I was joking until they heard the TSA using it. Now, they use it all the time.
• Safety first. In most cases all of the established set procedure is about being safe while being efficient. If you feel that something is not safe, then bring it up to the Grip department, not the producer. Be respectful and play well with others. This respect will gain you the trust of the crew and all of the people involved in the shoot.

Floor plan exercise.

Floor plans are schematic drawings from a bird's eye perspective of the scene.


TASK, Produce a floor plan from the script that you have been given.


1) Bracket the shooting script from this scene to show how you could 'cover' the scene.

2)Bracket each intended shot in the scene drawing a vertical line through all of the dialogue and activity that the particular shot covers.

3)Designate each lined shot with a capital letter. Starting with shot A, shot B etc. Now every shot set up has a unique shot number. Eg, scene 14 can be covered with 6 shots. 14-A, 14-B, 14-C, 14-D, 14-E, 14-F

 4)Give each shot an abbreviated shot description , eg MCU, MLS-2 Shot, etc. So, it becomes 14-A is MCU

5) Once you have a bracketed script anyone can see how you plan to cover the scene.

6) Make a drawing of the floor plan including all walls, windows and furniture and indicating the position and movements of characters.

NB: Wide shots (or establishing shots) are always taken first as they set performance levels, take most lighting resources and set lighting patterns. Closer shots will them appear to match the acting and the lighting logistics of the master shot.

Example of a script marked up for coverage.

Directing: Pre-production continued, Production and Post -Production

In pre- production you need to establish your broad aesthetics.

Once you know which method you will use to make the film, you will be able to produce a shooting script. The shooting script indicates every shot required to cover each scene.

 This will be largely dependent on the overall aesthetic that you have decided is most appropriate. 


Here are some major choices of approach.

Task: Write down and then discuss the pro's and con's of each method.


 MASTER SCENE METHOD

 Master scene shooting technique (part of the continuity system) involves shooting the scene in a
wide shot -master shot, then changing the placement of the camera and shooting again to achieve
closer shots of one character then changing set-ups to shoot the reverse shot. Actors repeat moments
with to create overlapping action where the editor can make edits.





The Lives of Others (F. Von Donnersmark, 2005) Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2005) The Artist ( THE LONG TAKE METHOD This approach allows actions to play out over extended periods, sometimes in only one shot per scene. Generally , this needs a mobile camera and intricate blocking of both camera and actors to avoid a flat, stagey appearance. Nine Lives (Rodrio Garcia, 2005) Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1974) 4 months, 3 Weeks, 2 days (Christian Mungiu, 2007) THE SHORT TAKE METHOD In short -take coverage, shots are edited together to create rhythm, tension and energy. The Bourne Supremacy FIXED VERSUS MOBILE CAMERA You need to discuss the pro's and cons of each method. You should discuss, movement, focus, action, actors, lighting,sound and all other set ups. Cinematographer Maryse Alberti (The Wrestler) is one of the best at hand-held techniques. Robbie Mueller shot Breaking the Waves (Lars Von Trier, 1996) What do you think the handheld camera lends to the telling of this story? SUBJECTIVE or OBJECTIVE CAMERA According to Maichael Rabiger, camera handling alone can alter the voice of a film and make it more personal and vulnerable, or more confidently general in outlook. Maintaining either mode for too long may become dull, whereas shifting justifiably between them can be very potent. THE CAMERA AS REVEALING AND OBSERVING CONSCIOUSNESS POST PRODUCTION EDITING Eisenstein's Dialectical Cutting. Metric montage Rhythmic montage Tonal montage Overtonal Montage (All designed to elicit emotional responses) Ideological Montage (Abstract ideas creating relationships between opposing visual intellectual concepts) HITCHCOCK ON EDITING

Directing and Pre-Production: Preliminary Script Breakdown

A preliminary script breakdown links characters to scenes and can help to plan rehearsals as well as visualise the underlying structures of your film. TASK; prepare a preliminary script breakdown for the film Gasman (Lynne Ramsay, 1997) to try and uncover her pre-production process.

 It`s the Christmas season. With her mom`s help, Lynne, a girl of perhaps eight, dresses up; her younger brother Steven plays with a toy car. The children leave with their dad, who`s affectionate with them. They walk down a railroad track where an unkempt woman waits with two children, about the same age as Lynne and Steven. The children go with them. They`re all headed to a holiday party at a pub. Lynne notices that the girl acts all too familiar with her dad. What`s going on?

Definitions: Scenes, Sequences and Shots.

Below is a great overview of the terms and is borrowed from: http://screenwritingscience.com/sequence-scene-definitions/Defining the terms: ‘Scene’ and ‘Sequence’ Introduction


 The following is a detailed annotated explanation of the definitions of 'Sequence', 'Scene' and 'Shot', derived from the paper published in the Journal of Screenwriting, Volume 3, Issue 2, Pages 217-238, (2012): 'Development of a Fundamental 19-Sequence Model of Screenplay and Film Narrative Structure'.

 The most frequent search terms that bring visitors to ScreenWriting Science are:
‘Sequence’
 ‘Scene’
 ‘Definition’
 ‘Screenplay'
 ‘Structure’
 ‘Analysis’
 ‘Plot'
 'Template’
The purpose of this page is to use the Set-up of Act I of On the Waterfront to provide an in-depth empirical definition of ‘Sequence’ and ‘Scene’.

You will see that the most crucial factor that defines a ‘Sequence’ is its functional role in telling plot milestones and generating the structure of the story.
 An Excel spreadsheet will soon be available for download that analyses the Sequence-Scene composition of over 132 final shooting scripts and movies.
This analysis has been used to generate a ‘Template’ structure of Sequences and Scenes that are utilised in the Screenplay Sequence-Scene Analyses.

These 7-19 page downloadable PDF documents capture the structural organisation and plot milestones of each individual screenplay.

 On the Waterfront To define 'Sequence',

I will use the Set-Up of Act I of On the Waterfront to characterize the two fundamental construction blocks of sequences, namely ‘Shot’ and ‘Scene’. Please watch the first 0:37 min of this 1:34 min clip of On the Waterfront, then hit the ‘Pause’ button and read on.








On the Waterfront was written by Bud Schulberg, and the film made by: Director Elia Kazan, Editor Gene Milford, cinematographer Boris Kaufman and Art Director-Set Decorator Richard Day, along with the memorable performances of Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, John Hamilton, Pat Henning and James Westerfield.

On the Waterfront won a remarkable eight Academy Awards and four additional nominations.

 1. Definition of ‘Shot’ On the Waterfront opens with a daytime waterfront view of a wooden shack (the Longshoremen’s Union cabin) perched on a wooden wharf with a huge ocean-going liner docked behind. Five unidentified men emerge from the cabin (Terry Malloy, his older brother Charlie, Johnny Friendly - the corrupt Longshoremen’s Union boss, and two thugs). The four men walk up a wooden gangplank towards the shore. All of these images and events are filmed in a continuous single ‘take’ by the camera. This constitutes 'Shot 1'.

 SHOT: ‘An uninterrupted take by the camera’.


 The camera perspective cuts to a closer view of the men arriving at the top of the wooden ramp next to a car. Friendly pushes Terry, who then walks off in another direction with an expression of resigned reluctance on his face. Clearly, Terry is being sent to do something. This is 'Shot 2'.


Finally, the camera cuts to a night time view (beginning of 'Shot 3'). At that point (0:37 min) you will have stopped the movie.
This difference between day and night shows us that a significant amount of time has passed since Terry left Friendly at the wharf. Terry’s location has changed too.

Figure 1: The ‘Sequence-Scene-Shot’ Composition of the Set-Up of Act I of On the Waterfront. 2. Definition of ‘Scene’ At the end of Shot 2, we are left with the questions: Where is Terry going and what is he doing?

Hit the ‘Start’ button of the clip above and watch until the end of the clip at 1:34 min. Shot 3 is a night time view of Terry from above as he walks down a dark alley. The camera cuts to a closer view of Terry as he stops walking, looks upwards and calls, “Joey,” (Shot 4). From Terry’s perspective, we look upwards to an tenement building to a dimly-lit window (Shot 5). In close-up, Terry calls Joey’s name again (Shot 6). The camera looks upwards to the same window as the silhouette of Joey appears behind the curtain (Shot 7). Joey opens the window asks Terry what he wants (still Shot 7). In close-up, Terry says he has found one of Joey’s pigeons and holds out the bird (Shot 8). Back at the window, Joey says that he had lost one of his pigeons in the last race (Shot 9). Terry listens as Joey says he wants the bird back and that he has, “To be careful these days” (Shot 10). Terry responds that he will meet Joey at his pigeon loft on the roof (still Shot 10). After Joey agrees to meet Terry on the roof, Joey closes his window (Shot 11). The camera pans upwards from Joey’s window to reveal two men standing on the roof (still Shot 11). Terry continues to look upwards for a moment, then releases the pigeon (Shot 12). The bird flies upwards as Terry walks away (Shot 13). The beginning of the next shot occurs later at a different geographical location, and shows Terry arriving outside of Johnny Friendly’s bar (Shot 14).

Shots 1-2 and Shots 3-13 are two groups of distinct groups of shots that each represents an essential component of a film’s structure, namely the SCENE.

Scene 1 represents Friendly forcing Terry to leave and go do something. Scene 2 focuses on Terry’s interaction with Joey.


 SCENE: ‘Single or multiple shots edited to present a block of the story’s narrative, plot and/or character development’


Generally, Scenes occur within a specific time frame, and focus on a cohesive theme, event or character experience.

 Scene 3. If you have the DVD of On the Waterfront, continue watching as described below. After Terry arrives outside of Johnny Friendly’s bar, he announces to his brother Charlie and the two thugs that Joey is on the roof (Shot 14). Next, Joey cries as he falls (after being pushed) from the roof (Shot 15) and through a washing line of clothes (Shot 16). One thug says that someone fell from the roof (Shot 17). The camera cuts to lights being turned on in the tenement building with people appearing at their windows (Shot 18). One thug says that Joey, “Thought he was gonna sing for the Crime Commission,” (Shot 19). Terry expresses shock that Joey was killed and not simply told to, “Dummy up”, and declines an invitation to join Charlie in Johnny Friendly’s Bar (still Shot 19). Next, is an image of Joey’s body lying on the ground surrounded by different people (beginning of Shot 20). Shot 19 is the end of Scene 3.

 We learn a great deal in Scene 3. There is not a second wasted. This is writing at its best. Joey plans to testify to the ‘Crime Commission’. Joey causes problems for Johnny Friendly. Joey had not responded to intimidation by Friendly’s men. Friendly deals with problems ruthlessly. Friendly’s thugs and Charlie show callous indifference. Terry is surprised, confused and shocked that Joey had been murdered.

Scene 4. This next Scene is filmed in the alley below Joey’s apartment and appears to be out of sight from Terry who is standing outside of Johnny Friendly’s Bar, alone. Just as Father Barry arrives to give Joey the last rites, the policeman stands and is told by a woman that her husband had been murdered five years ago (Shot 20). In close-up, the policeman hears Pop Doyle (Pop Doyle) say he doesn’t know whether Joey was pushed or fell, and the woman says that Joey was the only one with the guts to talk to, “Them Crime Investigators,” (Shot 21). Father Barry reads Joey the last rites. Someone in the background says, “Don't say nothin'. Keep quiet. You'll live longer." (Shot 22). Pop Doyle listens as someone says that people who talk end up dead like Joey (Shot 23). As Father Barry lifts Edie up from Joey’s body she asks who’d want to kill Joey (Shot 24). A policeman covers Joey’s body with a newspaper, but Edie runs to Joey’s body and tears the newspaper away. In close-up, Father Barry encourages Edie to have, “Time and Faith,” and that he will be in the church if she needs him (Shot 25). But Edie chastises him by saying: “Did you ever hear of a saint hiding in a church?” (Shot 26). Edie looks away and cries; “I wanna know who killed my brother,” (Shot 27). Finally, we see Big Mac walk past Terry still standing outside of Johnny Friendly’s Bar (Shot 28). Terry pauses, then follows Big Mac into the bar.

Shots 1- 2 constitute Scene 1.
Shots 3-13 constitute Scene 2.
Shots 14-19 constitute Scene 3.
Shots 20-27 constitute Scene 4.
Shot 28 takes us into Scene 5.

Now we are ready to define ‘Sequence’.

 3. Definition of ‘Sequence’ If you continue to watch your DVD until the 11:00 min mark, you will see that Shot 28 takes us into Scene 5, which specifically is what happens in Friendly’s Bar and away from the murder. It’s a completely different component of the story. Scenes 1 through 4 focus on Terry’s role in the murder of Joey and the reaction of key witnesses (Edie, Father Barry and Pop Doyle). In contrast, Scene 5 focuses on Johnny Friendly and his world; Joey’s murder is barely acknowledged and certainly doesn’t drive the action. Therefore, Scenes 1 through 4 constitute a major building block of screenplay structure, namely the ‘Sequence’.

Scene 5 is the beginning of the next Sequence.

 SEQUENCE: 'A scene, or a series of connected scenes, that present a succession of related events that constitute and advance a distinct component of the story narrative, plot and/or character development'.

 SEQUENCES BUILD ACTS

Compare  ScreenWriting Science’s Definition of ‘Sequence’ to the classic 8-Sequence Model.

Directing: Overview.

A Director is the leadership figure in a film making collaboration.
Although working with cast and crew, the Director is breathing life into her/his vision.

 The responsibilities of the Director in each stage of the filmmaking process are:

 Pre- Production

Gathering the team

Who would you lie to appoint to Producing, lighting, edit camera, sound?

Work on/with the script – 

Most new directors under-develop the script t find all the potential has gone unrealised/unused when they come to the edit.

Essentially, there are two types of film – 

Dialogue Driven and Visually –Driven. Which is yours?

A good example of a dialogue driven film, Billy Bob Thornton's Sling Blade (1996), tells its story mainly through dialogue exchanges.



Similarly, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Dir, Milos Forman 1975) derives much of its power through the performances of the actors in a dialogue -driven film.






The Visually-Driven film  may still contain much in the way of dialogue and dialogue driven exchanges,  but will rely on visuals to convey more of the story elements than the two examples that we have just seen.

Amelie (Dir, Jeanne Pierre Jeunet 2001), A waitress discovers that by carrying out acts of kindness , she can change peoples lives. It is what she does rather than what people say that really drives the story.





Guy Ritchie uses the visually driven method of directing to great effect in his re-working of Sherlock Holmes (2009). Just because this is a 'character' based story, this does not mean that it should or cannot be visually driven. Can you identify one of his leit-motifs in the extract below?







Image composition
Storyboards
Locations
Casting
Rehearsing Actors
Ethics

Production

Artistic 'Vision'
Sound and Image
Set-Ups
Equipment
Working on Location
Working with Actors
Reviewing Material
Re-Shoots if needed

Post-production

Editing and Grammar of the Edit
Sound and Music
The Finishing Touches
Consent, Clearance and Copyright
Ethics (again)
Distribution
Promotion and Publicity

You need to carefully consider each of these responsibilities before you decide to direct a script at all.
For example, awareness of platform, audience, budget and resources will go a long way in the way that you decide to shape your vision. Working creatively within the limitations that you have is an essential quality that a Director must cultivate.

Directing: Framing, Angles and Lenses

The video below illustrates how your choices in regard to framing , angles and lenses can affect your filmmaking.