PLANNING - Plot and more
Plot and More
So it's impossible to create a film without an idea. Obviously from this blog you can see I have been busy trying to come up with every idea under the sun. Trying to look at everything from every angle. As you have probably read in 'RESEARCH - Film Making Advice' I learnt about log lines and put them to the test! Well I have now come up with my very own final Log Line for my first ever film! I know crazy times! It really is all go!
LOG LINE:
Grieving girlfriend decides to revisit their old favourite cafe without breaking down at the new situation
PROTAGONIST GOAL ANTAGONIST
So there we go! Log Line complete at last. But, what exactly is my Plot Synopsis?
PLOT SYNOPSIS:
My film is about a grieving girlfriend. Through flashbacks and voice overs I will reveal that in fact her boyfriend has been killed in an accident. It will show her going back to the cafe where they used to spend all of their time together. I hope to have the audience wondering slightly what is going on, what has happened. I think it's a film about coping with loss and sentimental moments with people.
3 ACT STRUCTURE:
I looked into three act structures and learnt about the set up, confrontation and then resolution.
What is the three act structure?
This is the essence of most simple and complex stories. It is around this that a poem, tale, film or book is created. Thinking of any films you can see this... here are some examples of three act structures in common films we know and love:
1- This is where main characters are introduced and a certain hook must be brought in to keep everyone interested. The hook is an inciting incident. Examples of this could be in Nanny McPhee when the Nanny arrives. This changes the everyday course of the families life. Or in Harry Potter when he receives all of the Hogwarts letters. It's the moment when we see that yes this characters life is going to change!
2- Here is where we see the rising action. Our characters are out of their comfort zone and a certain goal has to now be set. For example in Nanny McPhee, the dad needs to remarry. He can only do this really if his children are better behaved. It's the biggest part of the film and everything gets a lot worse before it gets better. Think about any film! in Act 1 the Set Up, we have met our characters living their usual life. Now here in Act 11 their normal lives have turned chaotic. Harry is off fighting Wizards, The Avengers are having to solve some terrible invasion from here or there, and every Rom com the Protagonist is having to deal with the fact that their 'one true love' is not interested at all and is definitely going to hook up with the Antagonist!
3- Now for the final part of the film! I know you're reading this and realising just how common the 3 Act Structure is! It's everywhere. All the Princesses' are rescued, all the baddies killed. Everyone we've grown to love or hate in the past 2 and a half hours is back to a comfortable equilibrium.
However, after this I decided that for my film to be most effective it would be a lot better to use an Achronological order. This allows for more suspense than a 3 act structure film would allow. I also had been really interested in using elements of surrealism and so by doing this structure I get to add a little homage to surrealism which makes me very happy! If my film were in chronological order then it would begin with Lucy (Protagonist) and Alex (Boyfriend) in the cafe. I like this as a flashback so that we can already have a slight understanding that maybe everything isn't so okay anymore. And then bring us back to the lonely Lucy. I think it's more powerful and it shows that her mind isn't steady that she's slightly confused and lost due to the events. To add to this I'm going to have a voice over of other characters. One dialogue will be a police officer delivering the awful news, and then the mother delivering the news on further. As well as this voice over I will have a voice over conversation of Lucy and Alex when he was alive, this will highlight their love for each other and also show the illusion of all the memories fluttering around Lucy's mind. I've taken this idea slightly from The Operator where you hear events rather than see them, as well as in The Arrival where the scene is calm while the voice over is busy and shows a lot more going on. I think this can prevent my film from being too cluttered. I think the flashback along with the voice over will be the ultimate hook to keep the viewer engaged.
CINEMATIC IDEAS:
As you diligent readers will know, I have watched lots of short films to get my mind into creative mode!. Well here are a few cinematic ideas I thought I would take from them!
Echo - I will also change the colouring on my film to give it more of an effect
The Operator - I will also be using scenes that can only be heard and not seen as this gives the film a really great twist!
Over - I liked the framing of people walking in and out of the screen maybe I will use something like this?
The Arrival - I will use the framing of filming through a window I thought that was great. I also like the shots that are from over the table as if you are sat with her. Again I also like the voice over I'll certainly be doing something like that. I also love the venue.
Slap - When thinking of venues this film has taught me that I should use a smaller place to really stop characters from being swallowed and then larger spaces to emphasise the loneliness. I think some of my forward facing shots of just Lucy will be able to capture her loneliness well because of where I have planned to have the table under the light. By doing this I have all lines pointing to her. and showing the wide loneliness she's feeling. It was Slap that made me start thinking about spacial awareness thanks to the variety of shots.
AIMS AND INTENTIONS:
So really after having a pretty decent idea of what I am aiming to do, what am I intending from all of this? Well I suppose I want to improve my practical skills, I want a film that really hits the audience and gives them a saddened feeling by the end. I want to be able to have a fab time filming and create a film that has been inspired by all of the superb works that I have seen. I also aim to use my sound and voice over to make my film slightly different from other short films I've seen. I love Silent films like the Pianist and I think that this is a modern twist on a silent film. There is no direct dialogue and I like that. I aim to be able to be fitting quite a complex story into a short space of time tidily. I think hopefully it should work pretty well!
PROTAGONIST GOAL ANTAGONIST
So there we go! Log Line complete at last. But, what exactly is my Plot Synopsis?
PLOT SYNOPSIS:
My film is about a grieving girlfriend. Through flashbacks and voice overs I will reveal that in fact her boyfriend has been killed in an accident. It will show her going back to the cafe where they used to spend all of their time together. I hope to have the audience wondering slightly what is going on, what has happened. I think it's a film about coping with loss and sentimental moments with people.
3 ACT STRUCTURE:
I looked into three act structures and learnt about the set up, confrontation and then resolution.
This is the essence of most simple and complex stories. It is around this that a poem, tale, film or book is created. Thinking of any films you can see this... here are some examples of three act structures in common films we know and love:
1- This is where main characters are introduced and a certain hook must be brought in to keep everyone interested. The hook is an inciting incident. Examples of this could be in Nanny McPhee when the Nanny arrives. This changes the everyday course of the families life. Or in Harry Potter when he receives all of the Hogwarts letters. It's the moment when we see that yes this characters life is going to change!
2- Here is where we see the rising action. Our characters are out of their comfort zone and a certain goal has to now be set. For example in Nanny McPhee, the dad needs to remarry. He can only do this really if his children are better behaved. It's the biggest part of the film and everything gets a lot worse before it gets better. Think about any film! in Act 1 the Set Up, we have met our characters living their usual life. Now here in Act 11 their normal lives have turned chaotic. Harry is off fighting Wizards, The Avengers are having to solve some terrible invasion from here or there, and every Rom com the Protagonist is having to deal with the fact that their 'one true love' is not interested at all and is definitely going to hook up with the Antagonist!
3- Now for the final part of the film! I know you're reading this and realising just how common the 3 Act Structure is! It's everywhere. All the Princesses' are rescued, all the baddies killed. Everyone we've grown to love or hate in the past 2 and a half hours is back to a comfortable equilibrium.
However, after this I decided that for my film to be most effective it would be a lot better to use an Achronological order. This allows for more suspense than a 3 act structure film would allow. I also had been really interested in using elements of surrealism and so by doing this structure I get to add a little homage to surrealism which makes me very happy! If my film were in chronological order then it would begin with Lucy (Protagonist) and Alex (Boyfriend) in the cafe. I like this as a flashback so that we can already have a slight understanding that maybe everything isn't so okay anymore. And then bring us back to the lonely Lucy. I think it's more powerful and it shows that her mind isn't steady that she's slightly confused and lost due to the events. To add to this I'm going to have a voice over of other characters. One dialogue will be a police officer delivering the awful news, and then the mother delivering the news on further. As well as this voice over I will have a voice over conversation of Lucy and Alex when he was alive, this will highlight their love for each other and also show the illusion of all the memories fluttering around Lucy's mind. I've taken this idea slightly from The Operator where you hear events rather than see them, as well as in The Arrival where the scene is calm while the voice over is busy and shows a lot more going on. I think this can prevent my film from being too cluttered. I think the flashback along with the voice over will be the ultimate hook to keep the viewer engaged.
CINEMATIC IDEAS:
As you diligent readers will know, I have watched lots of short films to get my mind into creative mode!. Well here are a few cinematic ideas I thought I would take from them!
Echo - I will also change the colouring on my film to give it more of an effect
The Operator - I will also be using scenes that can only be heard and not seen as this gives the film a really great twist!
Over - I liked the framing of people walking in and out of the screen maybe I will use something like this?
The Arrival - I will use the framing of filming through a window I thought that was great. I also like the shots that are from over the table as if you are sat with her. Again I also like the voice over I'll certainly be doing something like that. I also love the venue.
Slap - When thinking of venues this film has taught me that I should use a smaller place to really stop characters from being swallowed and then larger spaces to emphasise the loneliness. I think some of my forward facing shots of just Lucy will be able to capture her loneliness well because of where I have planned to have the table under the light. By doing this I have all lines pointing to her. and showing the wide loneliness she's feeling. It was Slap that made me start thinking about spacial awareness thanks to the variety of shots.
AIMS AND INTENTIONS:
So really after having a pretty decent idea of what I am aiming to do, what am I intending from all of this? Well I suppose I want to improve my practical skills, I want a film that really hits the audience and gives them a saddened feeling by the end. I want to be able to have a fab time filming and create a film that has been inspired by all of the superb works that I have seen. I also aim to use my sound and voice over to make my film slightly different from other short films I've seen. I love Silent films like the Pianist and I think that this is a modern twist on a silent film. There is no direct dialogue and I like that. I aim to be able to be fitting quite a complex story into a short space of time tidily. I think hopefully it should work pretty well!
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