Thursday, October 14, 2010

Movies, behind the camera, The Beginning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2_vB7zx_SQ&feature=player_embedded

What goes into the hour to two hours of film that you see on the screen?
i mean we all know there's the director, the actors who play the roles of the people we see, the editors who put it all together; but is it really all that simple, isn't there more to it?
The Answer is YES!

Many people fail to realize how much work is actually put into a movie, hours of film, days of work, and hours over hours of editing. Its a true art, that takes hard work, and a lot of time.

What does a director do?... well we all would answer "oh he's the guy who says cut and actions, and leads the group." and that is very true, but there is one very interesting pre-production step that directors take, which is essential for the movie's success, and that is storyboarding.

Now storyboarding isn't neccesarily what it might sound like, at first impression somebody might think its only like writing out or explaining the story; however its more complicated than that. Storyboarding is actually like drawing out a comic book version of te film, scene by scene, line by line. There is the addition of dialogue, sound effects, and other information that is essential to make the script a visual.


For example this storyboard of what a simpsons episode will come out to be.

Now the whole purpose of this storyboarding is to save time and money. It is really a way for the director to see if the film will work, what visual will work, which won't, and to have their film pre-planned. It is a great way of saving money, without it a whole lot of money could be lost.

The fun part, i think, is that there is no set way to storyboard, a director could be creative as he/she desires. for example for the Movie Return of the Jedi the production crew planned out vigorous, hard scenes by acting them out with plastic figurines. it was like they got payed to play with toys. Also in Jurrasic Park the whole movie was pre-filmed use claymations, so they knew exactly how it would come out.

Here's an example of a played story board for the movie X2 Xmen United

And once the storyboard is created the movie production can start, you see now filmmaking is something a lot more than it seems, the storyboard, thats just the beginning. After the comes the actual filming which involves actors, techniques, problems encountered, and the magic of editing which literally puts all the work and filming, together. There is still a lot to learn about :)

21 comments:

  1. - What facts surprised you?
    It surprised me how the directors actually go by scene by scene and plan these 2 hour movies out, i used to think they just told the actors what to do and that was it.

    - What questions do you still have?
    I'm still curious as to how the director thinks of all these great ideas, how they put the whoole movie together, how they edit and cut the scenes they don't like, you known stuff like that

    - What information is most memorable about this subject?
    Honestly the most memorable thing about this subject is that everything is planned out, how they go and write a script out, from sentence to sentence, and how planned out all the dialogue is.
    - What suggestions do you have for the blog creator?

    Blog cretor, i think you should expand more on the behind the scenes theme, how they create cartoons, and give examples of how many hours of labor it all takes, and mostly how many people have to work at it just to produce a simple movie, or even a cartoon.

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  2. Making a movie is very hard.
    How do you start making a movie?
    Editing a movie takes a lot of time.
    I think you should narrow your information.

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  3. What surprised me was the different was of story boarding. It was interestion to see what goes into each different movie due to the different directors.
    How do the film crew decide what style they want to use for the story board? What do they do to get the story board to become what they want it to be.
    The different ways of story boarding like using the figures to make the story board was really different than what you think most people do.
    I like the way that you set the pictures so it was visually appealing. Adding the video was also a great move. Putting a little more detail on what else the directors do during the story boarding and how story boarding is used in big name movies might help a little.

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  4. What facts surprised you?
    These facts weren't surprising, but more interesting. I liked learning about storyboards and how they play a huge role in film making.

    What questions do you still have?
    Movies are a great hit, and it's one of the most common ways to express oneself. I wonder how some stories come about.

    What information is most memorable about this subject?
    The most memorable part of this blog was the assumption people have on directors. Everyone assumes directors only take on the role of the person that says action and cut, but in film making it goes beyond that.

    What suggestions do you have for the blog creator?
    I really liked the set up and the pictures included in your blog. Overall great job, and I don't have any suggestions.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It surprised me to see how in-depth storyboards can be. I'm still curious about production work and post-production work that comes with filming. The storyboard information was most memorable for me especially the Jurassic Park clay animation storyboard. I suggest adding some more information about production work in film.

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. I had absolutely no idea that that much time and effort went into creating a movie! I thought that the director went scene by scene to tell the actors exactly what to do. That's amazing, it seems like too much work for me!

    I want to know more about what goes on behind the scenes. This blog was very specific about storyboards, and I enjoyed it! But what else goes on that we don't know about?

    What's memorable for me is the your are definitely right. The only thing I thought the director did was call cut and action and then give his opinion on how the scene should go. There is much more to being a director than what it seems.

    The blog was great! But for the essay I would say to not be so repetitive. In the section about saving time and money, you mentioned it about three times. Just make sure you reread and know what your writing.

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  8. the storyboarding information surprised me. i found it enjoyable to learn about. i would like to know more about the director's job. what process is usually taken to make a film? how many hours is "hours of film," and how long is "days of work?" explain what really needs to be done. the memorable part for me was the simpsons storyboard. it was easy to recognize and informative. go more into detail in general, and don't be afraid to explain things. we want to know about this. it's very interesting.

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  9. Storyboarding most surprised me, the time and work it must take to draw out every scene and everything to better help the actual filming is really interesting.

    What other tools do directors use to help their films in the long run? How long does a typical movie take? Do comedies take less than action movies?

    The most memorable thing is that for Return of the Jedi they played with plastic figures to plan their scenes.

    My only suggestion would be to include more ways than storyboarding, or go more in depth on a diferent persons job such as the producer.

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  10. What facts surprised you?
    I was surprised about the storyboarding. I knew at times movies did create comic strips for scenes, but didn't know the amount that they depended on it for outlining the film.

    What questions do you still have?
    I would like to know maybe some of the other jobs that the filim industry has that many people don't know about.

    What information is most memorable about this subject?
    I enjoyed the videos that supported your information very well.

    What suggestions do you have for the blog creator?
    I wouldn't really suggest too much. I thought it was a good blog, just maybe add details about the steps that are used to create a storyboard.

    ReplyDelete
  11. By Kevin R.

    Its surprising how the whole storyboarding is just the beginning process, they still have ti film and edit.

    I would like to know what else goes on behond the camera? and more about the driectors job.

    i find it interestingn how storyboarding is backbone of the whole movie production.

    My suggestion is to next time expand more on the whole filmmaking thing, you really stuck to just storybaording.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Bernan wrote this.

    They draw it all out like a comic book, thats surprsing, its also a lot of work... I still have questions about what else goes on. i've heard editing is so bug when i come to movies, how does that work?... I find how the star wars movie made their storyboard, those guys got to play with toys and get paid... My suggestion is to add some more about the director and editing, honestly i know those must bne huge, great blog nontheless.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Steven C. Comment

    Jurrasic park filmed the whole movie using clay, thats amazing, just shows how hard movie making is, and how much of a work of art it is.
    I would like to know about the filming techniques they use to make movies so crazy good, like camera angles and lighting, and machines use.
    I find the whole storyboarding thing fascinating, and how the director is the mastermind behind it all.
    I suggest is to tell more about jobs that different people have in the movies.

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  14. Eric

    The whole storyboard and drawing thing, it just surprises me.

    what does the director do? what goes into editing?

    The video was interesting, it was like watching a live comic book.

    Expand more on other things than just storyboarding, ehat comes next. Good blog.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Justine's comment

    -Wow, the whole movie making thing is amazing, especially since this is just the beginning.

    -What does a person have to do to start the production of a movie?

    -It interested me that without the storyboard the movie is sure to fail, it really important isn't it?

    -i suggest you expand more on how great and amazing movies were made, like avatar, it took so much and sop long, why? :) but you got me interested.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Eleanor wrote this one :)

    Well i didn't find this all too surprising, i mean everything needs to be planned out, and how storyboards are setup only makes sense.

    What i would like to know is about the filming techniques, i've seen a few clips on them and it all seems so complicated, it would be nice to understand it.

    The whole director being behind everything interest me, i knew it sort of, but its still interesting that one man control everything.

    I suggest you expand more on what goes on as the camera is rolling, thats where the action is at.

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  17. this is by Darwin D.

    Comic Books! i love comic books, i wish they would sell copies of the story board, that whole process fascinates me.

    I would like to know how long it takes? what happens if it is not done? and i would like to know about movie editing, thats also an amazing element of movie making.

    The star wars and jurrasic park storyboarding ideas where awesome, that just seems so fun and creative.

    I suggest you give a whole detailed layout of the filmmaking process, its true not many people are aware of the work that goes into making a movie.

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  18. Jacob - not from twilight -__-

    Well it was all surprising, to be honest i never stopped to think what makes the movie i pay nine bucks to see.

    I would like to know why it takes so long to make a movie, and why sometimes movies come out so crappy if they have storyboards that shouldn't allow that.

    i found it interesting that the director is the head-hancho... i was one of the guys who just thought he only called action and cut.

    Good blog, my suggestion is that you explain what comes next, and more of whats behind the cameras.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Kangaroo Robert :D

    Nothing surprised me, i knew a basic amount about filmmaking, so this wasn't knew to me, but i did like how informative it is for people who don't

    Well one thing im not to clear about is the intense editing, there is so much editing that goes into movies, expand on how it all works please.

    It interesting how jurrasic park filmed the whole movie in clay animation before actual filming, those guys had patience.

    I suggest you expand big time on editing, thats here the magic happens in the movies, but not many people know exactly how much, including myself.

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  20. York says

    Storyboarding is surprising, thats some complicated way of planning, but it also seems fun. you get to draw a movie.

    I want to know what else does the director do?

    i find it interesting that storyboarding seems like so much, and so long, and so essential, but it is only the beginning of the making of a film.

    Well you stuck with storyboarding, i suggest you don't make it so much about one thing, make it more complex and full of the different aspects of filmmaking.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great job, Miguel! Your blog is visually appealing and engaging. However, it seems as if you could have given more details to some of the points you presented. You don't want your audience to be left with too many questions about the material you included.

    Thank you for the insight!
    Grade = 45/50

    ReplyDelete