Film Making

A Strenuous and Complicated Process

DEVELOPING THE PLOT –STRUCTURING THE

STORY

One must have a story to tell before trying to show it in any other form. The basic

structure used by anyone sane in the Three-Act-Structure. It’s a simple form: Beginning,

middle, end. Once the idea is made, screenwriters usually write out the scenes and plot points

in different forms. The most useful one is the use of notecards and a board. This enables you

to shift order of scenes and have a clear layout of the story in chronological order.

In the Beginning…

SCREENPLAY WRITING

This is possibly one of the most important parts of creating a movie. This process

should only start once the structure of the movie is completely laid out. The screen play

contains everything an audience will see in each scene. The character’s dialogue is incredibly

important, but so are other components. One must write out the place, what will be seen

around the character, as well as concise descriptions of their actions as they speak. This will,

of course, then be rewritten to create the best product possible.

In the Beginning…

FINANCING YOUR MOVIE

This portion of the process is often described as the worst part, and it is one that

requires much patience in order to succeed in the rest of the film making. This may take

years, and movie makers often give into the urge to move it along by dipping into their own

money. If you can afford to do this, great! Good luck with that. One has to show off the

screenplay to possible investors, providing them with the information of how you will be

spending their money. Advertise your idea as much as possible, because funding often comes

from multiple resources. Get your idea out there and be patient.

In the Beginning…

CASTING

Everything done from here on out must be done with the assurance that you have

the money to do it, so don’t proceed without proper funding. You will have to hire a casting

director, an incredibly useful person. You must describe to them what type of actor you desire,

also factoring a little bit on looks. They have thousands of actors that they can call to offer a

role, or to ask to audition, and also have an eye for undiscovered talent. They can narrow

down the possibilities, and you, the director, will have the final decision for who to cast.

In the Beginning…

LOCATIONS

This has many different ways it could turn out, using varying resources to find the

right places for your film. Trying to do it yourself may save money from asking other people,

but could cost you in the fact that the prime location you found is not as cheap as one would

hope. You may ask a film location agent, and if they like you, they may give you a few

recommendations from what they know. If you are not so lucky, but can afford it, I would

suggest hiring a location scout to help you in finding good places with good deals.

In the Beginning…

SHOT LIST-SCRIPT BREAKDOWN

This is the point in time in which you break down the scenes and list the shots,

along with the small details that will be needed for them. These details include things such as

description of the framing, focal length, camera movement, and other things that should be

thought about as you take the shot. For the script breakdown, you will want a movie producer

who knows what they are doing. This is when you identify everything that you will need for

shooting the movie. This includes things like locations, props, special effects etc. that you will

need to create the movie. Don’t take this step for granted.

…towards the peak…

TECH SCOUT

This is a crucial point in the process that allows the director to outline their vision in

detail to the film crew. The director, cinematographer, production designer, line producer, and

the 1st Assistant Director must will meet up and go to each of the locations that will be part of

the movie and lay things out. The director explains to the heads of production how they want

the scene to look; where the camera will be, details of camera movement, what the actors will

be doing, what the look of the scene must be, etc. As you, the director, explains, the 1st AD

should be taking notes on important things involving the shoot that may not have been written

somewhere else. It is also their job to point out possible problems that may arise in the shoot.

…towards the peak…

SCHEDULING (1ST AD)- PRODUCTION DESIGN

This is the point in time in which the other departments start to become more

involved. The 1st Assistant Director creates a schedule for taking the different shots for the

film. You should hire an experienced 1st AD, and trust their judgement. They will likely

schedule it according to the camera and lighting setup in order to save time, so don't argue

with it. The head of production design will then spend time procuring the necessary items for

the shoot, also being in charge of the design and overseeing the production of pieces. The

costume designer does the same within their own department.

…towards the peak…

PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY

This is when we get to the more exciting part of making your film, actually watching

it come to get her through a few more steps. Before the shot is started, the crew must show

up at call time, the camera crew begins to set up at this stage. The 1st AD should be there to

supervise, and though the director isn't always there, it's wise to be present in order to start

thinking about the shot about to take place. Remember that when you actually begin directing

the actors to tell them what is happening in the scene, what it is about, what a character

means or thinks behind the dialogue. This is necessary in order to achieve the right emotional

and power behind the scene.

…towards the peak…

REHEARSAL

You now want to experiment with your shots and actors a little. Most directors like

to use the time the crew is using to set up to run through the scene with the actors. It's best to

run through the movements and actions the characters will go through in order to adjust their

placement regarding the position of the camera as well. You may try different things, because

even though you have it all planned out, there is always room for experimentation and

improvement.

…towards the peak…

SETTING UP AND TAKING SHOTS

And now, you get to see your work come to life, though there is still work to do.

Setting it up included going over and choosing the focal length, camera placement, actors'

marks. Then you must go one to explain to the cinematographer where to place the camera,

which lens they should use, and any other things involving camera movement. This may take

some time, but getting it right is important. As the shot is taken, play close attention to how it's

going. As a director, you may want to focus more on the monitor rather than the real actors, as

this enables you to see it the way an audience would. (Ambient Sound:You will want to take

some sound from the set, meaning the whole crew is silent and you just record the silence of

the surroundings)

…towards the peak…

CHECKING THE TAKE

This should take place after every shoot. It is a surprisingly hard process, as you

have to do it quickly enough to redo the take, as well as any other ones scheduled for that

day. You will want to look over it on the video monitor and look out for multiple things. First

question you'll want to answer is "Is this the way I saw it when I pictured it?" Major things,

such as actors' marks or certain actions. But also look for small mistakes in the take, think of

what can be done better, even if it may have been good enough the first time. Try to make it

perfect, and ask for the opinions of your crew as well in order to get multiple perspectives on

your piece. Repeat the process as many times as is necessary.

…towards the peak…

EDITING

This is a better, calmer environment than during production. You will be able to

calmly look at the takes and see anything you may have missed, though you cannot retake

them now, and you will simply have to work with what you have. You will likely want

professionals to be there with you in order to make sure that you don't end up doing

something wrong. This process involves the obvious part of putting it all together and

smoothing out any rough edges. The visual effects also come in at this point. Good software is

important, but you will want someone there to help you out.

…in the end.

SOUND MIXING AND MUSIC

You will have to be prepared to be a little creative when adding the sound to the

film. You will obviously add any sound effects necessary, as well as choose the level of the

soundtrack. The goal is to make it seamless, having it all sound like one take. The best way

to do this is by staggering the sound tracks, making the empty sound at the beginning and

end on the same track. The best way to cover any sound is with dialogue or other loud noises

to avoid the prominent difference of ambient sound at different times of the day. This is the

point in time you can use the ambient sound taken earlier. Music wise, you will want to talk

with a composer, explaining to them the feel of the scene, as well as starts and stops in order

to create a unique track for your movie.

…in the end.

TEST SCREENINGS

Once you think you are done with the movie, editing and music all set, it would be a good idea

to have a test screening with people you trust. Having them see the movie and give you

feedback is incredibly important, because you get a feel for how the real audience would feel

at certain parts of the movie. This criticism will help you to cut out unnecessary parts of your

movie that you may have originally felt were brilliant. When this is done, you will likely have to

go back to editing.

…in the end.

MOVIE DISTRIBUTION

Though you have now gone through a long and strenuous process, your work is not done yet.

Distributing your film can be just as hard as the other parts. The first person you will want to

approach with this is an experienced and reputable independent film distributor to take care of

it. Ideally, they will give you an advance payment and you split the money after they have

marketed it well, as this is a motivator for them to properly advertise your film. If this fails, you

may end up looking for more difficult and unsavory situations, such as distributors who will

leave your movie on the self. Word of warning, do not let anyone see your movie before the

official first screening, because early rejection means no real benefit. Most likely, you will have

to do self advertising and allowing your movie to be bough on Amazon or available on

demand. This may not be ideal, but it can still result in a relatively good situation.

…in the end.