Planning Guide. So you want to know how to successfully execute a Froshlife: The imovie Festival entry?

Transcription

1 Froshlife Planning Guide So you want to know how to successfully execute a Froshlife: The imovie Festival entry? Want to bring home the glory for you, your team and your residence hall? We re going to let you in on a secret

2 The secret of a successful Froshlife imovie This document provides some suggestions for the planning of a Froshlife: The imovie Festival effort and is designed to help you through the main planning stages: organizing your dorm s team, assigning roles, concept development, creating a treatment and developing your storyboard and script. (A second guide will help you use imovie to edit your masterpiece.) You don t have to follow all of these suggestions, but it won t hurt and can only help you if you take them to heart. Whatever you decide to do, we wish you good luck, and hope this material will help you and your team get started on your path to victory. Read on! STEPS Organizing Your Froshlife Team Deciding on Team Roles Concept Development Creating a Treatment Developing a Storyboard and Script

3 ... is in the planning. Step One: Organizing Your Froshlife Team Start thinking ahead as soon as you ve decided to participate in your dorm s Froshlife imovie effort. January 17 th, day of the Froshlife Kickoff, is the official signup day for you to be part of your dorm s official team. Be certain that you sign up. Expressing an interest during the study breaks last term does not sign you up. You have to do it the evening of the 17 th. Your expressing an interest last term simply means that you are included on the list reminding you to signup and come the 17 th. Given the official start date, it is never too early to start thinking of what your dorm s movie will be about and what role you would like to play in the effort. Folks with an interest in Froshlife in your dorm will eventually come together and make group decisions about the final concept and roles each will play. A successful movie, a masterful music video, a great play: each depends on the originating concept, how that concept is developed and then how it is realized in your efforts. Either before the official team ever gets together or the first or second day of the production period, individuals or small teams of two or three (or however many) might wish to come up with different ideas or concepts for what your dorm will want to make a movie about (related, of course, to the theme of Froshlife: the first year experience at Duke). Don t invest too much pride into your individual concept to begin with; rather, plan to bring a good idea to the team knowing that it will take a good bit of process for your team to finalize which concept to produce, and then to develop it. Perhaps two different concepts will be combined, or two ideas or more are similar where you take parts of each. It can be very helpful to think of some ideas in advance of getting together for your first team meeting. What follows are some suggestions on how your team might proceed with the organization effort and role decisions, and then some suggestion on developing your team s concept, storyboarding and script writing. Do what you wish and know that the most important thing is to respect one another s input as you move forward together. The way a team works together is a good indication of the success of the final product. And it s a lot of fun, to boot. 3

4 The secret of a successful Froshlife imovie Organizing for Creativity and Production Successful efforts are usually inspired efforts. Inspiration can come from folks working in tandem on an idea, or in one person s mind. There s no limit to what your group might choose to do, how you might organize yourselves, etc., but here are a few ideas. Think in advance about what you might enjoy doing in the effort and what role you might have in the project, using the role definitions listed below or ones of your own. Think about any ideas you might have for your dorm s Froshlife concept to bring to the group once the team has self-selected come January 17 th. If you re reading this before the 17 th, look at the discussion of concept and roles, thinking of what you will bring to your group s first gathering. Once your team has self-selected on January 17 th, it will be time to have a team meeting for your dorm s whole Froshlife team. At this first meeting, you will want to choose your team coordinator(s), if you desire (see the Coordinator role below), and time to begin to consider what your Froshlife imovie will be about. At this meeting, we suggest that you listen to or read the different ideas folks have come up with. If no one comes with concept ideas they ve thought about in advance, then talk about what it is you and your dorm team might imagine doing. Begin to explore your possible concepts the first time you get together. And, hey somebody might want to take notes! The concept of your dorm s effort and the roles individuals will play is up to the whole team. Some groups might try and work by consensus. Some might choose to make decisions democratically. Some might find themselves under the spell of a charismatic leader, or whatever. It is likely that the most cohesive concerted effort with the most buy-in by the whole team, will be your best effort, and be the most fun for the dorm s team to enjoy doing together. Every team member has different skills and imagination to bring to the task of your Froshlife effort. When you have your first team meeting, you may want to talk about the roles different folks want to take in the effort and why, or you may want to work up a concept first and develop it before deciding on roles.

5 ... is in the planning. Remember, there are no rules about how your team works together -do it however it seems right to your team. Step Two: Deciding on Team Roles Productions require a number of different people with unique skills and abilities to fill specific roles. The size of your production team will often make it necessary for people to take on more than one role. The different role responsibilities mentioned below are simply suggestions. Your group may want to take on different roles, define them in your own way, or combine some in new ways. In any case, it is far better to lay out roles early, knowing that fleshing these out down the line will require some give and take. Coordinator (a group of three coordinators who exhibit a get-along attitude often will work better than one coordinator). These are like the movie s producers. Working with the group, the coordinator(s) calls meetings, lists and assigns tasks and deadlines, contacts team players and schedules shoots and editing. They can also have other roles as well. Some experience in video production can be most helpful for this role but not necessary. Good organization skills are. Additionally, the coordinator(s) will be responsible for signing out the laptop and camera at the Froshlife Kickoff event. Director This could be one of the Coordinators. The Director will understand well and buy into the concept, help with developing the script, will assist with the storyboard, and will take the lead in making certain the team s overall vision is put on video. The Director directs the actors and production crew in capturing the material on video required to complete the production, and then works closely with the editor(s) to complete the effort. The Director should visit the imovie and Camera Techniques stations at the Froshlife Kickoff event. Writer(s) - Working with the group s eventual concept, the writer develops the video s purpose and objectives with the team, creates 5

6 The secret of a successful Froshlife imovie a treatment (a narrative of what the viewer will see happen in your movie), writes the script and draws up the storyboard (no artistic talent required) so folks know what to do when filming. The writer is responsible for ensuring that the wording of the dialogue, narration and titles are finalized before shooting or editing is performed. Writer(s) should stop by the Story Development station at the Froshlife Kickoff event. Production Crew Camera and Sound - Working with the script and storyboard and under the direction of the Director, the crew records the material needed. Always practice before shooting your material so you know what to do with the gear when you begin filming your movie (you can begin at the production booth January 17 th ). The crew scouts the location ahead of time, and arrives early the day of the shoot with the camera, microphones and necessary cables or batteries. Allow time for setup and testing before the shoot begins. The crew s efforts are heaviest in the recording phase. However, they must participate in planning the video in order to understand what is expected of them. The Camera and Sound crew should visit the Camera Techniques station at the Froshlife Kickoff event. Editor(s) - The editor learns in advance how to use the provided editing software imovie (don t worry; it s a piece of cake). He or she logs the footage (some scenes might be shot four times, the log tells you which is the best, or to use the first part of the first take, and the last part of the third take, etc.). The editor may wish to create a paper edit based on the planned script or storyboard. The editor performs the actual edit, and adds other elements such as narration, music, titles and effects. The editor s job is to take all the separate parts of the footage and glue it together in a cohesive final product. The Editor(s) should visit the imovie station at the Froshlife Kickoff event.

7 ... is in the planning. Actors and other Creatives Actor(s) The stars of your imovie! Get the outgoing, gregarious and fun to watch people on your team in front of the camera. No need to have prior experience; just a willingness to do what it takes to show (and not tell) your story. Have as many of these involved as you need. Set, Costume or Lighting Designer(s) No one says you need any of these in order to have a successful imovie, but it sure can help! If you have people on your team with a special talent in art, fashion or just have an interest, set them to work designing scenes, picking locations or providing outfits to your actors. Past entries have included zombies, fairies, football players and Crouching Tiger-esque sword fighters. Let your imagination loose. Step Three: Concept Development Effective communication is achieved with a specific target audience in mind. Your target audience in this case is likely other frosh, students and the wider Duke Community, yet it could also be the world at large. Keep your audience in mind as you define the purpose of your imovie. Obviously, in keeping with the theme of Froshlife: The imovie Festival, your video will have to be something about what your firstyear experience Duke University has meant to you. Yet the targeting of your audience will provide some direction as to how you will want to treat your subject. Given who your audience is, do you want to make them laugh? Do you want them to see a different side of things? Do you want to challenge your audience to think more clearly about life and relationships, to be touched deeply in some way? As a team, you should think out your project as much as possible. Brainstorm as a group after settling on a concept and allow ideas from everyone to surface before clarifying them and paring them down. After paring down, coming up with a clear purpose statement for your imovie is a good idea. A strong, clear purpose is important to the production of a strong, clear video. Try finding a statement of the purpose of your effort in a single, short sentence, e.g. The video will show how we ve become a community in our dorm. Or, This video will take the viewer on a magical mystery tour, or, like some of one year s entries, Getting anywhere on campus is a real trip and is enough to drive a student batty. Once you have stated the purpose, you can add some objectives if they seem to fit. Objectives in the Froshlife 7

8 The secret of a successful Froshlife imovie imovie experience might describe, in the simplest of terms, what the audience is expected to do: laugh like crazy, identify strongly with the experiences shown (i.e. seeing themselves as having the same problems as those shown)... or if you want to have a lofty objective, the objective might be to push the audience to search for meaning in their own relationships based on the relationships your movie portrays. Because there s so little time, you will need to take this first step pretty quickly. But remember, if your team doesn t reach consensus or agreement on the concept and ideas, or the concept and ideas are lame from the get-go, then production could turn unpleasant, a bummer, or fall onto just a couple of folks and be the opposite of fun. The idea of this whole Froshlife effort (besides what is printed in the publicity, etc.) is to, at the very least, have a good time working on a project together that could have a lasting impact on friendships, bragging rights, and the way you remember your freshman year. Concept, Concept, It's All About Concept Having defined your purpose and your objectives, it is time to fully challenge your group s imagination. You are trying to finalize a single, unifying concept, an idea that will have an interesting angle to capture and maintain the attention of your audience. The concept should be a sound vehicle that will be fun for all and still be doable. There s nothing to say what your concept might be. It could be meeting an archetypical Mr. Duke, only to have a funny or poignant twist (break stereotypes about Duke students); it could be about tent life; it could be about dorm conflict or dorm love; it could be about cultural or political conflicts that get resolved in the dorms; or it could be about nothing at all (a la Jerry Seinfeld), but in the Duke context. As long as you follow the guidelines on the website, the concept is totally up to you. When you finally get together to discuss concepts, your group might think two of the ideas are excellent and want to combine them. You might decide all the ideas stink and come up with something new then and there. However, by doing it in a way that invites everyone s participation and seeks consensus, your group may just find the best idea came from the quietest person in the crowd who has a very fertile imagination indeed. At least, everyone s imagination gets challenged or

9 ... is in the planning. has an opportunity to be challenged, and everyone gets a chance to offer input. Some examples of developing your chosen concept might include: 1. Decide to structure your story in straight chronological/linear order, or instead to use flashbacks or dream sequences. 2. Tell the story through different people s eyes or with music in nonlinear order. 3. Use a narrator or music (or both) to guide the viewer through the story in a logical (or illogical) sequence. 4. Have one person act as a human thread. This person is then present throughout the movie, someone you keep going back to, to move the story along. 5. Create your own high concept. A high concept can be any concept that does not fall into any traditional definition. For example, you may want to tell your story by spoofing a well-known tale like the Wizard of Oz. You can go for traditional ideas of protagonist and antagonist, conflict and the resolution of the conflict, or you could do a cliff-hanger, or throw all that out and experiment with new forms. Here s one example of a concept far enough along to give the writer(s) something to work with: Tent Love Marcus and Niles with their friends have a tent going. Mary and Robin are their friends. The concept is to show some of the silly and goofball things that happen in tent life, including Robin and Niles falling for each other. They had been uncomfortable with each other (some example of this is shown) until the night it was soooo cold, they huddled in the down comforter Robin brings, to make tent life a little warmer. Because there can t be anything inappropriate in the film, some of the funniest scenes will be just the two of them in the tent, but you see only the tent from the outside, and hearing their voices, as they discover one another s peculiarities (what they re interests are, personal sharing, nothing explicit between them. Perhaps a touch of tenderness in the dialog around their first kiss). The end is some intense or passionate (yet non explicit) music, where you see the tent start teetering about and then collapse. The End. 9

10 The secret of a successful Froshlife imovie Here s another concept: Discovering Durham Sam and Susie (in the middle of becoming the best of friends) hope to participate in having an impact on the community around them. Sam is helping with a homeless shelter through a church and Susie is tutoring a middle schooler, a boy, Mark. The short opens with them sharing stories about their service experiences over dinner in the Great Hall. Its almost break time for Christmas. Susie is called late in the evening, the night before her last exam, with Mark crying, hysterical. You never see him, you just hear his voice. He is in crisis (it could be anything) and wants Susie to come right then and there, to his home. He is alone. Susie won t go by herself, so she enlists Sam to go with her. Sam doesn t want or think she should go, but won t let her go by herself. The movie ends with them walking to the door of Mark s home. The cinematic tension is the conflict over the wisdom of going to Mark s, shown in the conversation leaving the safety of campus and going in to the community at night. It s also shown in part by the fast paced music video style imagery of Durham with intense music, and their angst wondering if they re doing the right thing by going there. Remember, these are just examples. The idea is to see how the writers have taken a concept and developed it sufficiently to hold the interest of the team and audience. If it s not compelling or sufficiently developed enough for you, how will the judges react to your work when it s up against the other teams? Step Four: Creating a Treatment Once the team has developed the concept, the team s writers can begin to try and see what your movie will look like. They can begin to imagine through previsualization the feel of your film, how it tastes visually. This can take some time, involve all the members of the team if you like and is the underpinning of what will become your treatment. The treatment is the basis for your script and storyboard. Some folks think a treatment is absolutely necessary to be successful in an effort such as this. For instance, no respectable record company would produce a music video with out a solid treatment. It is often only one page. A treatment is a narrative description of what you imagine

11 ... is in the planning. your audience will see happen in your movie. It should be simple and clear, and describe what the viewer will see and hear. In your treatment it is good to have the essence of the ideas of your concept as you ve developed it. The treatment is not intended to be a detailed plan or script. It explains the way in which your story or concept is going to be presented, describing the look, style, and mood of the overall effort. Even an abbreviated treatment will clarify your team s ideas and improve the prospects of even the simplest video. This is especially helpful to clarify for your whole team what you hope to have happen. To read some examples of treatments for music videos, go to: Movie treatments include: TV treatments include: theshow/episodeguide/episodes/s4_saved/saved.story.pdf Step Five: Developing a Storyboard and Script Using the elements of your treatment as guideposts, you can begin developing either a storyboard, a script, or both. The script and storyboard serve as the blueprints for your production. There is no hard and fast rule as to which is developed first, the script or storyboard. Often they are developed in tandem. Doing both will provide the necessary planning elements to keep all of your Froshlife effort on track. The storyboard is used to plan the visual images in your video program, the angle of the camera, etc., while the script is used to tell the story and lay out all necessary production details. Storyboards provide a series of key visuals, accompanied by the appropriate audio notations while scripts provide all visual, audio and graphic information in writing. 11

12 The secret of a successful Froshlife imovie Storyboarding A storyboard is probably the most useful planning document for both inexperienced and professional video makers. An effective storyboard will suggest location, camera angle, and the framing of the subject. It consists of frame-by-frame sketches that indicate the content of each major scene and the way in which it will be shot that is, shot type, angles, and so on. Accompanying notes can be used to describe what you are trying to achieve in each shot as well as audio notes. You do not have to be a great artist to produce a useful storyboard since it is generally only for your own reference; i.e. stick figures will do. The advantage of this kind of document is that it helps you to visualize not only individual scenes but also the overall pace of the action and atmosphere of your planned imovie. The storyboard is simply a visual representation of the sequencing of shots within a program, containing sketches and text. It will help you and others visualize your final movie. There are several reasons to create storyboards. Storyboards: Provide a means for brainstorming ideas. Help you visualize what your finished movie will look like. Help you use your time and resources to the best advantage. Help to avoid missed opportunities for camera shots that should have been taken. Make it easier to plan how and what to edit for the final project. [Always remember, it is easier to change the storyboard than to shoot a new scene after editing has begun.] Cut down on the amount of time needed to shoot and then edit your movie. Keep everyone on the same page during the production process. Always remember that the storyboard is not the end product itself. Don t waste time making the storyboard perfect. Stick figures, circles, boxes, and other substitutes for figures or objects are fine for storyboards. It is important to note also that storyboards done in pencil make it easy to edit your storyboard.

13 ... is in the planning. Every scene contained in the storyboard should somehow contribute to the developed concept of the imovie. If the scene doesn t contribute anything, omit it. Storyboards depict major scenes. They are not a frame-by-frame recreation of what will be in the final video program. Using the suggested formats for storyboard or online templates will help you to effectively create your production. The format for storyboards can be left up to each team s writer(s). In the beginning you might do well to first jot ideas on index cards because the cards can be moved around easily if the sequence of scenes changes. Once the final sequence is selected, the information can be transferred to other storyboard formats if you prefer. Some storyboard format options are: Index cards o Advantage: one scene per card and can be rearranged easily to change the sequence of scenes o Disadvantage: would be difficult to provide pre-printed headings o Disadvantage: could be more easily misplaced. Blank PowerPoint slide printed as a notes page with blank lines in the notes section o Advantage: one scene per page would allow for easy rearrangement if sequence of scenes changed o Advantage: ample room for notes at the bottom regarding each scene o Disadvantage: box for drawing scene would be larger than necessary Blank PowerPoint slides (3) printed as handouts, 3 per page o Advantage: provides small box for sketch and lines for comments o Disadvantage: slides could not be rearranged easily 13

14 The secret of a successful Froshlife imovie Blank PowerPoint slides (6 or 9) printed as handouts, 6 or 9 per page o Advantage: small boxes so sketch does not become overriding concern o Disadvantage: no lines are printed on which to make notes o Disadvantage: slides could not be rearranged easily Templates available online: Storyboard examples may be found at: example.html Development of the Script The organization and writing of a script is a key step of pre-production. The script tells the story, and from whose point of view it is being told. You may use a narrator, tell your story in first person, or from an omniscient point-of-view and have your scenes carried by sound effects and music. The script also includes the following: Any and all dialogue and narration The action The talent The scene and setting The sound effects and music The graphics and credits Any special props From the script, your Froshlife team should be able to coordinate location shots and plan sets; choose the actors and actresses, decide what props, graphics, sound effects and music will be needed; and assign production crew tasks. Each page of the script should be numbered and the project name should appear on each page, usually in the upper right-hand comer. Basic camera directions should be listed in all capital letters within the script. Camera Shots Your script and even your storyboard should call for certain camera shots. Your video camera is equipped with a zoom lens which can

15 ... is in the planning. provide creative ways to zoom in and zoom out to the desired closeness and framing of the subject. For recording steady images, you should rest the camera on something solid (e.g. tripod; shelf; books, etc.) to take the weight of the camera off the operator. Standard camera movements include: Dolly The camera operator moves himself/herself and the entire camera in (dolly in) or out (dolly out) by walking toward or away from the subject. Truck The camera operator moves himself/herself and the camera to the left (truck left) or right (truck right). Tilt The camera operator moves the camera up (tilt up) or down (tilt down). Pan The camera operator pivots the camera to the left (pan left) or right (pan right). The subject can be portrayed in a number of ways by varying the distance from the subject. Shots include: Long shot (LS) This establishing shot encompasses a large area of the scene and establishes where the action is taking place. Its often good to establish for the viewer where it is they are with a long shot. Medium shot (MS) This camera shot usually focuses on one or two persons, showing just their heads, shoulders and upper torsos. The background becomes secondary. Close-up shot (MU) This is a shot that zeros in on one person or subject and shows facial expressions or a certain detail in a demonstration or on an object. Extreme or tight close-up (ECU) This angle is used for dramatic effect or to show very tiny detail -for example, eyes filled with tears or the street number on a house. Point-of-view (POV) The camera defines the characters perspective to the audience. 15

16 The secret of a successful Froshlife imovie Camera position can add psychological effects to a scene. Basic camera positions include: Eye Level The talent s eyes should be located one-third from the top of the screen. High Angle The camera should be located looking down on the subject. The high-angle shot can make a person appear smaller and weaker. Low Angle The camera should be low to the ground or the talent on a raised platform. A low-angle shot looks up at the subject, making a person appear larger than life and domineering. Extreme Overhead The camera is directly above the talent shooting downward. There are a lot of examples of scripts online. Here are a few: Shooting Schedule Team Coordinators or the Director(s) should develop a written shooting schedule for organizing your shooting activity. Use your storyboard as a guide. Cluster the shots to be taken in order to minimize set-up time. Sometimes it makes sense to shoot scenes out of order and rearrange them in the edit; consider the possibility. By developing a timetable you can make appointments for the crew at certain shooting locations. This will allow everyone an opportunity to plan their own schedules. Do not underestimate the assistance you will need. Involve as much of your team as possible in the writing and production processes. Develop checklists for equipment, props and other materials you will need to complete the program.

17 ... is in the planning. Final Thoughts We hope you have found the material in this guide to be helpful to you as you embark on your Froshlife adventure. The two week production period is going to go by quickly, so get organized, get creative and get shooting. We hope you enjoy your experience in this project and wish you luck for the premiere night. Please stay in touch and feel free to direct your questions to the Forums section of the Froshlife website ( Good luck! the Froshlife Team Credits The content for this publication was gleaned from the Internet and repurposed for Froshlife. Images are all licensed from istockphoto.com. 17

18