Matias Crespo

Matias Crespo

Mrs. Pottenger

8th Grade English

16 April 2020

Steps to a Successful Film

For my capstone project I am choosing to do filmmaking because I have always enjoyed the art of filmmaking. There is so much that I love about film: the lights, the cameras, the sets, and the overall creativity of it. I mainly love the creativity aspect of filmmaking because of the amount of freedom there is to just put your thoughts on a piece of paper. I have gotten so much inspiration from big films and filmmakers that it makes me want to pursue a career in filmmaking. I have made a lot of short films with my friends, and I still am making movies with my friends. I have gotten some real hands-on camera experience from going to a film camp in Portland, from actually renting professional equipment for making movies. I love filmmaking and everything about it from watching movies to actually making my own movies and learning about the craft.

There are many ways to explain my research about film, though I have chosen to make an educational video explaining some of the many film techniques. To begin with, I am going to rent out a camera and a microphone from a camera rental place in Portland. For my video I will film different types of camera shots and techniques to show to the audience. I am going to take the videos that I took with my camera and add them to a video. For the educational part of my project I will do a voice over explaining what the camera shot is and its significance to a film. When I edit my video, I am going to use IMovie because IMovie is free and will work perfectly for my project. It takes a long process to create a successful film, though the result is definitely worth it.

There are many ways of getting prepared for a film, though one very reliable way is using a storyboard. Many filmmakers use storyboards to get prepared because you get to pour all your ideas in a drawing. In this step you draw sketches. The sketches don't have to be any good, but they should be visible enough to share your vision with your crew members. A storyboard includes drawings or sketches of what you want your scene to look like. A storyboard usually has some notes on what camera shots to use in a scene and notes describing what is going on in the scene. Storyboards frankely save you time and energy because you are preparing on what to do for some scenes along with the shoot will go a lot faster. The website vyond claims that “Not only will it help you explain your vision to your team, but it will also make the creation process go more smoothly ” (Vyond Team).Storyboards are a great way of saving people time and energy. That's why it is important to prepare for a film using this technique.

A storyboard is a very good technique that filmmakers use, though another common and great technique is a diagram. Every filmmaker has their own way of putting down their ideas. People may argue that a diagram is better than a storyboard, and the reason for that is frankly because a diagram has more information. A key diagram is an overhead look of the whole scene, and shows where the camera and objects are laid out in the scene. The author of How to Make a Movie in 10 Lessons says “ I often make an overhead plan to show where actors and cameras will be moving in a shot ”( Blofield).

A diagram does also include the camera angles and camera shots that will be used for a scene. It includes the character and describes what the character is doing in the action. One of many great aspects of a diagram is that it is not too time consuming. A diagram does not need to be a masterful sketch, though it just needs to include a rough sketch of all the elements. Even though it does not have to be neat, everything has to be visible so that your crew members can understand what's going on. A diagram is a very important part of the film process, and if you use it well, it can help speed up the film process.

There are many parts of a film that make the film come to life, one of which is lighting. Without lighting, a film would be bland and it would be hard to recognize a change in setting. Lighting does a lot for a film and does a great job on creating a sense of emotion for a film. Lighting emphasizes the mood of a scene and can help show emotion in the scene. Some great lighting techniques can be used by nature or by set lights. Soft film lighting is a great example of lighting from the sun because it goes off by how hard or soft the lighting for the sun is. It creates a very soft and gentle type of lighting. Practical set lighting is when you use stage lights or lamps across a room to show emotion in a scene. Natural lighting is just lighting from the sky, though for professional filmmakers, it can be a challenge to find the best day to shoot with natural lighting. A reliable lighting technique is the three point lighting setup. The author of this website says that “The most basic lighting in film is the three-point lighting setup. Lighting from three directions shapes your subject and sets them apart from their background.” (Detisch) The three point lighting setup consists of a back light, a fill light, and the main light source which is called the key light. Perfecting lighting can be a challenge, though if you can correctly position the lighting in the frame, it will further deepen the mood of the scene.

When preparing for a film, it is important to consider the type of shots you might want to use. That's why using a storyboard or diagram is helpful for preparing you regarding what shots and techniques to use. Each camera shot helps reveal a different type of mood or emotion of a character or scene. Perfecting certain camera techniques can be hard, but if one perfects it, it can create a world of creativity and emotion. Each camera shot emphasizes a new emotion or mood, though what is great about a close up shot is that it emphasizes the mood of a character in a very direct way. A very important camera shot to keep in mind is the extreme wide shot or the master shot. A master shot reveals the whole setting and is a very good technique for reminding the audience where a scene is taking place. A very common camera shot is a medium shot. A medium shot is the shot that most filmmakers use because of its clarity that someone is talking to another subject. This shot is very common when characters are talking back and forth to each other, or when a character is being interviewed. One last very interesting shot is the over the shoulder shot. This shot shows an unfocused view of a character's shoulder, and a focused view of who the person is talking too. This is a very good shot for when you don't exactly want to reveal a character yet, though you know the character is present. The website 42 West says that “Cinematography is all about the art of visual storytelling. Aside from skillfully operating a camera and setting up the lighting for every scene, it involves controlling what the viewer sees and how the image is presented to them — by choosing the right shooting techniques that best tell the story” ( West). This is a very true statement;knowing how to use a camera is knowing how to present a story and entertain the audience through a screen.

There are many film techniques that filmmakers try to use to convey a message, though one very important and significant technique is a montage. Camera techniques can be used to show emotion, mood, or growth of a character. A montage is best known for showing the growth of a character, and perfecting this technique can create a big impact on the film. A montage is when a filmmaker combines short clips that are in a sequence to show a character's growth. The online Master Class states that “Montage sequences often imply the passage of time or multiple simultaneous events, and are a vehicle to present the audience with a lot of information at once. They can be used to evoke a range of emotions”( Learn About Montage) Montages are a good way of conveying a message in a short amount of time, so that the audience understands. If someone wants to show the growth of a character, then they should use a montage because it will save them a lot of time. A very good example of a montage is when Rocky in the movie “Rocky” is training for the big fight. In this montage, there is no dialogue, just music and short clips of what Rocky is doing to prepare for the fight. Filmmaking is all about storytelling, and a montage is a great technique to show how a character is changing physically and mentally.

After the long process of shooting a film, there is no doubt that the last stage of the process is editing.When you edit you get to see all your work and see what scenes were good, and which were not so good. Editing is when the story comes together and you get to experiment with different effects and music to make the film smooth. When you edit it is very important to show a new view or subject for each new scene. Along with that, it is very important to also have a new camera shot or angle for each new scene. It is very important to keep the film fresh with different shots every scene. A very good tip is to not cut between two very similar scenes. When you cut you should always show something new. Something that will confuse the audience is if you do an extreme wide shot into an extreme close up. You need to ease the audience into the character by potentially using a medium shot instead. When thinking about how to remind an audience of a setting, use a master shot. A master shot will remind the audience or introduce the audience to a setting. The author of the website who recommends these tips claims that “Editing is one of the most interesting and rewarding parts of making a short film or video. It’s where the story really comes together. Decisions you make about which shots to use, how you put them together, and how you use sound, will make a big difference to your movie” (Barrance). There are a lot of components to editing, though editing can be the most rewarding parts of the film process.

All these sources were very helpful on the key steps of how to create a successful movie. The sources talked a lot about camera techniques and how to and when to use them. Perfecting camera techniques can be very tough, though these sources were very clear on how to use them. Before this research assignment I did not know too much about lighting and how to use it. Fast forward to now, I learned important lighting techniques that will improve my films. This topic matters to me because I want to be a storyteller through filmmaking. I love the process and creativity of creating a film, and I want to pursue a career that allows me to be creative. I want to create change in the world, and I feel one of the best ways to change the world is to create a film that changes people and inspires them.This topic matters to the world because films spread messages. Films spread all sorts of messages varying from the dangers of bullying, bad habits, how to protect our earth and more. People get inspired when they watch great movies and want to push themselves to achieve a tough goal. That's what film has done for me; it has made me want to push myself to be the best storyteller that I can be.

Works Cited

Barrance, Tom. “ Basic Editing Principles for Filmmakers.” Learn About Film,

https://learnaboutfilm.com/film-language/editing/. Accessed April 9, 2020.

Bloffield, Robert. How to Make A Movie in 10 Easy Lessons. Walter Foster Jr; Spi edition, Accessed May 19, 2015

Detisch, AJ. “ Film Lighting Techniques: How to make your film look more cinematic.” Studio

Binder, 9 February. 2020, https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/film-lighting-techniques/.

Accessed April 2, 2020.

“Fourteen Cinematography Techniques.” Adorama, March 16, 2018,

https://www.adorama.com/alc/14-basic-cinematography-techniques-for-better-cinematic-

shots. Accessed January 29, 2020.

“Learn About Montage in Filmmaking: How to Create a Memorable Movie Montage.”

Master Class, Accessed September 20, 2019,

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-montage-in-filmmaking-how-to-create-a-m

memorable-montage#what-is-a-montage. Accessed April 7, 2020.

Team, Vyond. “ What is a storyboard? And why do you need one?” Vyond, November 11, 2019,

https://www.vyond.com/resources/what-is-a-storyboard-and-why-do-you-need-one/. Accessed April 2, 2020.