Story Board for Dinner with...

Step 1: What aspect of German Expressionism are you going to use?

Dinner with... ingredients:

If you already have an idea, then run with it. If you are stuck, however, then begin with what you know about German Expressionism. If you need to, go back to previous lessons, or watch a scene or two from any of the films we have explored again, do it.

What aspect about this style of filmmaking appeals to you?  Maybe you really like Chiaroscuro. If so, build your scene around the interplay of light and dark. Perhaps you are intrigued by the distortions of the set and the deliberate use of harsh angles. Find a way to suggest that in your scene's background.

Is the deliberately over-the-top, histrionic acting a style you find lacking in movies today?  Go for it. Tell your actors to 'chew the scenery'.

Jump Cut

Stop here until you pick the aspect of German Expressionism you want to attempt in your scene. Brainstorm possibilities and then make your choice. 

Maybe refer back to your research from the German Expressionist.

This is a great but quite long film essay on German Expressionism that will help refresh what we looked at.

There are some excellent ideas that can be linked to your project here.

Step 2: Jump Cut 

Stop here until you pick the aspect of German Expressionism you want to attempt in your scene. Brainstorm possibilities and then make your choice. 

Maybe refer back to your research from the German Expressionist.

This is a great but quite long film essay on German Expressionism that will help refresh what we looked at.

There are some excellent ideas that can be linked to your project here.

Step 3: Create the characters

Good, you have your setting.

Now create two characters, preferably stock characters that an audience can easily recognize without knowing any backstory.

What is their relationship to each other?

What is the conflict?

Keep it simple, but put the two characters in a position where there is some reason for tension between them. Otherwise you will not be able to build suspense, which, after all, is one of the requirements.

Two guys just having lunch together happens all the time in real life, but we certainly would not want to watch a movie about them.

Two guys, one of whom has just poisoned the other one's soup - now, you have a movie!

Think in terms of what characters want. As soon as one wants something (to poison his former best friend) and the other wants the opposite (to live through dinner), then you are on the right track.

Since this is just a short exercise, your audience may not not get the whole story, but if you know it, then that will help guide you to make more interesting choices.

Once you have a scenario - some characters, a conflict, and a setting - then you can plan your shots.

What are two main ways to pre-visualize your scene?

Everyone, say it loud and proud - a storyboard! (or an animatic).

Now you have to make choices.

Decide on the emotional effects you want to achieve first, and then decide camera distance and angle based on those intentions.

Landscape not Portrait:

The first thing you have to remember is you’re shooting a movie, not a photo, not a selfie, and not something you’re just going to post to Facebook or Instagram. So, you now have to remember to turn your smartphone sideways. This is called landscape mode. The normal way you’re use to holding your phone is profile mode. Note that landscape mode resembles the dimensions of your 16×9 TV. Note also that when you watch YouTube videos or feature films on your smartphone, you turn it sideways for the image to fill the whole screen. If you don’t shoot your movie in landscape mode, you’ll have black bars on each side of the image, and your movie will not fill the entire screen. So, landscape, don’t profile!

Shooting Format and Resolution

Before you start shooting with your smartphone, you need to go into your camera video settings. You will have a choice of resolution quality. Usually the options are 720, 1080 (2K) and 4K. I’m sure that 6K and up will soon be available for your phone. I recommend shooting on 720 or 2K because the quality is awesome and both resolutions are broadcast quality. If you shoot in 4K, you will very quickly eat up a lot of storage space on your phone. In the video settings, you should also have the choice of shooting at 30 frames per second or 24 frames per second. Choose 24fps for a more film-like look. A great smartphone app called Filmic Pro will add even more professional shooting options to your already advanced smartphone.

Step 4: What shots will you include? Help attached below

Step 5: Create your story board - Use an example attached below

Another ingenious advancement with the Filmic Pro app, is the ability to use the iPhone Pro 11 to shoot an interview in which both the interviewer and the interviewee are filmed at the same time. The app records footage from both the front and back camera at the same time and creates two separate digital files. So, you don’t have to have two separate cameras to shoot your interview! This unique technology is absolutely a game-changer for the independent filmmaker shooting with an iPhone and the Filmic Pro app!

Story Boarding:

please ensure you have a minimum 3 images planned in your story-board