Embedded Files
What is an Auteur?
The word auteur is French and literally means 'author', so to be the auteur of a film would be to be the "author" of it, but not so much in the literal sense of scripting the film more in the sense of who visually tells the story to the audience. This would typically be the role of the director, who is essentially the leading mind of a film production.
The auteur theory is the argument that a film reflects the director's artistic vision and therefore a film directed by a specific director should be recognisable through visual queues and recurring themes informing the audience of who the director is. To be an auteur is to have a consistent and unique artistic identity.
An auteur is an artist, typically a filmmaker, who has an individual distinct style. This may be because they always include certain shot types or transitions in their films or because they have similar narrative plots, which feature similar character personalities. Another very distinctive attribute of filmmakers is their use of set design and compositions.
A select few of auteur directors are so original in their work that they have essentially created their own genre because their films simply cannot be boxed off into any one specific genre and is unlike anyone else's.
A huge example of this would be Wes Anderson, who is very famous for his symmetrical frames and wide shots. Anderson is also widely known for his interesting characterisation. In Anderson's films he always creates odd characters that are quite surreal and animated. In most of his films, Anderson has his child characters with much more adult and mature personalities and adult characters are much more childish and immature. He even has scenes in a few of his films where the child character will give the adult character mature, reasonable advice about how the adult character should behave.
The Project Brief
For this project we were asked to create a short film in groups, imitating the style of our chosen Auteur.
The plot, characters and setting is up to us as a group, but we need to think about making the film immediately recognisable as the style of our chosen Auteur.
There was no set time limit but we were expected to produce a script that would be at least a minimum of 2-3 minutes of screen time.
We were given a week to write our script, a week to film, a week to edit and the finally a week to evaluate.
Deciding on an Auteur
I put Tim Burton as my first choice because I have grown up watching Burton films and I feel that I know them very well. Burton is a inspiration for my film style so creating a homage of sorts to his style is a project that would really engage me.
In the end, I was out into a group for Tim Burton with Alex, Daisy and Sirene. In our first session together, we talked about our reasons for picking Tim Burton and what we could each bring to the project.
Pre-Production
Research
Moodboard
Edward Scissorhands Script Annotation
Edward Scissorhands Script Annotation.pdfAfter researching and talking about Burton's on-screen style in the above PowerPoint, we needed to have an understanding of Burton's screenwriting style.
I chose to annotate the first scene from Burton's film Edward Scissorhands (1990). I chose Edward Scissorhands (1990) because it is an iconic film that I know well, but also because Burton has said in many interviews that the character of Edward emulates his own experience of being a teenager growing up in the suburbs of Burbank, CA. I felt that choosing a film personal to Burton would give me a greater understanding of his work and what drives him as a filmmaker.
My annotations can be viewed by clicking on the linked pdf document and viewing the comments.
How I Plan to Mirror Burton's Work
I plan to loosely base my script off of Edward Scissorhands (1990) as I have read through the film's script and have watched it many times. Furthermore, I feel Edward Scissorhands is quintessentially Burtonesque in its set design, costumes, lighting, sound and narrative plot.
I will create two characters who mirror Edward and Kim from the movie. I will do this by having the protagonist (who mirrors Edward) portrayed as lonely and quiet, with a noticeable inability to pick up social cues. The character mirroring Edward will always be dressed in black and white outfits; mostly made up of shirts, waistcoats and trousers, since we do not have the resources to dress our protagonist in leather. They will also wear dark makeup to make them seem pale and to give them the typical Burton gothic look. The character mirroring Kim will dress in all white in long, flowing dresses with minimal makeup to make her face appear bright.
I am going to include the mise-en-scene of a very colourful neighbourhood which contrasts from the two characters I have described above. All the side characters in the script will dress in bright colourful clothing in order to make the two main characters stand out, a technique Burton uses in many of his films and particularly in Edward Scissorhands.
For my narrative plot I have decided against using direct inspiration from Burton himself as I don't want to copy his work and thought it could be an interesting challenge to get the Burtonesque style across while telling a narrative that Burton hasn't done before.
So, for the narrative plot I have taken inspiration from the film Bridge to Terabithia (2007), which is directed by Gábor Csupó. I chose Bridge to Terabithia because I felt that although it isn't a Burton story it's one that I could see him adapting to the Burtonesque style, like he did with Alice in Wonderland (2010) and the Batman films (1989, 1992).
Bridge to Terabithia follows the protagonist, Jess, who draws a lot and has a bad relationship with his father. Jess meets a new girl, Leslie, in his school who he quickly becomes friends with and they often go to the forest together and play imaginative games. One, day Leslie dies and Jess struggles to cope but the movie comes to a resolution when Jess accepts Leslie's death and by extension is nicer to his sister.
I feel like this narrative is close to Burton's style because it includes many key elements that Burton has in his films. One, the protagonist has a bad relationship with his father like in Mr. Wonka does in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Two, Burton's films often have inquisitive and imaginative child characters. Three, the film talks about death in a very clear manner while still being a children's film, which is very much a feature of almost all of Burton's like Frankenweenie (2012), Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Lastly, the film ends with self-acceptance which is something Burton includes into a few of his films, like in Corpse Bride (2005) where Emily, the corpse bride, finally has freedom and her soul can rest in peace at the end of the film.
The Script - 'crow'
In my initial draft, I wrote down the skeleton of my story and initial plot on paper. I did not have a plan for the story as I write with a more holistic approach, I did however have a solid shot in my head for the first scene, which was the overhead slamming of books on a table. From that shot, I then thought over different settings in which such a shot could take place and picked the one I felt was most authentically Burton. I decided on a classroom as it reminded me of Burton's Frankenweenie (2012). After I had felt out that initial shot, the rest of the story started to unfold.
Crow - Initial Paper DraftMy Initial Draft
Draft Before Teacher Feedback
Crow - Initial Draft.pdfFeedback received from Teacher
Copy of calums feedback.pdfOnce I had completed the initial skeleton of the story, I went back and completed a second draft. This second draft added more depth to each character and included more description for the costume design and set designs. I then went to my teacher with the second draft and asked him to read through and tell me what he thinks of it. He provided me with written feedback, which you can view to the left.
Transcription of teacher feedback:
New Location 'Burbank High' - describe this.
Remember to give character heading with your action
Scene header
add more nuance e.g. 'Crow's' room - consider the mise-en-scene.
Think about Crow's personality + flaws - how can Luna oppose these? They can find common ground, but you need conflict to drive their story forward.
Lastly, consider Burton conventions e.g. a flashback would work nicely for the mother of when 'Crow' was known as 'Mich...'
After receiving this feedback, I went back and corrected and improved my script based off of the feedback I received from my teacher. As you can see on the written version I ticked off each point as I went along. I found this feedback very helpful and it helped me to progress the story of Crow and Luna in such a short space of time, which is something I admittedly struggled with because I am used to writing longer, slower-paced scripts.
I included descriptions of Burbank High and of Marcus' character, and I learnt how to include a scene header for a title sequence. I added more depth to Crow's room by describing more props and talked about the lighting to create a clear atmosphere through the mis-en-scene.
I added in the flashback right when Luna and Crow seem to be getting somewhere in their awkward exchange to create a feeling of suddenness. I thought about how Tim Burton introduces flashbacks in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (2005), where Willy Wonka has many flashbacks of his dad, and noticed they seem to transition through match cuts. I opted to mimic this in my script by using similar lines for Luna and then moving to similar lines for background characters as we move into the flashback.
I created a conflict between them by making Crow's reaction to the flashback volatile and his reaction to Luna's comforting even worse, which I also fits the character's self-sabotaging personality.
Positive feedback from a friend
After re-drafting, I let a few close friends read extracts from the script and collected there responses to help me finalise the script.
This particular feedback was from a friend, Thinara, who I am co-writing a script with currently, which you can access here:
We talked for a while about what she liked with the script, the out of place interaction between Luna and Crow and the foreshadowing of the gender identity. She really liked that I didn't make it obvious that Crow isn't cisgender, she felt that made it actually more relatable for other trans youth and even made it more accessible to them. I agreed and I'm glad that that came across in the script as I was writing from experience.
Crow - Second Draft.pdfDraft After Teacher Feedback
Final Draft
Crow - Final Draft.pdfAfter receiving feedback from my friends and parents, I created my final draft and proof-read one last time before showing my group what I had created. We all read through our scripts and collectively decided to go with mine as it was the most Burtonesque and the most realistic to produce considering our resources and time frame.
Director's Script Annotations
crow directors annotationsScript Breakdown
Storyboard
Copy of storyboardLocation
crow Location Report.docxCall Sheet
Copy of Copy of [10] Call_Sheet_TEMPLATE.docxSchedule
For every shoot day, we convened as a group and I went over what we would be shooting, in what order and for how long.
Here is an example of the notes we would make about the schedule on a document shared with everyone in the group.
Production
Behind The Scenes: Day 1
Behind The Scenes: Day 3
Behind The Scenes: Day 6
Equipment
We booked out equipment from the BRIT FMP Kit Room and worked with Alice, the technician at the time, to arrange when we could have the equipment over the half term to shoot the outside of school scenes.
Post-Production
Editing
Before doing anything in my timeline, I sifted through all of the footage, field recording and foley and chose what I wanted to use in my edit and imported them into premiere pro. I then moved them all into their correct ordered scenes and separated the footage and sound for ease of access. As I was going through and moving them all into their correct folders, I renamed them with key words that I could then use to then search in the search bar if I need it quickly. I found this helped me a lot when editing as when I couldn't find something, thinking I had lost it or forgotten to import it, I did a quick search and there it was. This saved me so much time as I wasn't panicking and searching through all the footage on my hard drive again.
Scene Folders (+VFX, SFX and Soundtrack Folders)
Footage + Foley Folders
Clearly Labelled Footage
I then created my own custom workspace for the project that I found let me edit just that bit easier as I knew were everything was and I didn't have to constantly search through all the boxes to find what I wanted.
My Workspace
In my timeline, I used markers and colour labels to keep me organised. The white markers you can see at the top of the timeline told me where scenes started and ended and the green markers you can see helped me to make the curtain shot as smooth and equal as possible. Here is a list explaining my organisation:
V3 - (Pink) Overlapped writing
V2 - (Pink) Colour-grading + (Pink) Writing
V1 - Footage
A1 - (Blue) Field recording
A2 - (Cerulean) Sound effects
A3 - (Violet) Narration + (Cerulean) Overlapped sound effects
A4 + A5 - (Rose) Soundtrack
My Final Edit Timeline
Final Edit
This is the final edit that we chose as a group to submit for the screenings, it is my final individual edit. Although the scenes after the opening sequence has been cut in this edit, we felt it was the best edit and felt it was the smoothest in terms of audio and colour grading. You can read more about our reasons for this in the last few paragraphs of my script evaluation, which can be seen below.
Enjoy watching! Feel free to leave a comment about your thoughts on it!
Evaluation
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