Filmmaking workshop
Getting your story on the big screen
Workshop outline
• What is REC Ya Shorts Youth Film Festival
• Choosing your story – simple, simple, simple
• Three phases of filmmaking
• The first steps – how to get started
• Writing, shooting, and editing your film
• Getting on the big screen at National Youth Week
Why make a short film?
Getting started
Concept
What makes you happy?
What do you find interesting?
What do you think more people should know about?
Word association exercise
Three phases of filmmaking
Pre-production
Every that happens before you shoot your movie
Production
Shooting your movie
Post-production
Everything that happens after you shoot your movie
Pre-production
Plan everything!
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Crew
Script
Actors
Locations
Release Forms
Shot List
Shooting Schedule
Call Sheets
Equipment List
Production
Shooting your movie!
• Be prepared. Be safe.
• Keep to a shooting schedule
• Allocate time for breaks
• First AD runs the set
• Bring food, water, sunscreen, hats etc
• Know your production roles –
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Director, First AD, Producer, Cinematographer, Sound recordist
Post-Production
Editing and distributing your film
Editing
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Tell the best story from the raw footage
Be ruthless. Cut away the dead wood.
Get some fresh eyes on your work
Allow time
Distribution (Producer’s role)
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What film festivals is your short film eligible to enter?
Promote your film for FREE on Youtube, Vimeo, and Social Media
Create a Facebook page for your film
Writing
Finding your voice and your story
• What’s something you find interesting? What do you do in your spare time?
• What kind of story do you want to tell? Documentary/drama/comedy/lifestyle?
• What’s going to be that one great moment/idea in your film (the climax)?
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Work backwards to fill in the blanks with the Three Act Structure
• Plan your story using the Three Act Structure
Writing cont.
Tips to writing a better story
• Actions speak louder than words - show it, don’t tell it
• Keep it simple, keep it short, keep it practical
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Locations, actors, props, crew
• Writing organically
• Format your script so that others can tell your story
Script formatting example
Shooting your story
• Director creates storyboard
• Cinematographer/DOP decides how
to shoot storyboard
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Camera type, handheld vs. static shots,
lighting
• Nine basic shots
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Wide, Medium Wide, Medium, Medium
Close-up, Close-up, Extreme Close-up
Establishing shot, 2-shot, cut away
Shooting (cont.)
Establishing shot
• Places the scene
• Creates a reference point
for the audience
• Sets up the next shot
Shooting (cont.)
The two-shot
• Has two people in frame
• Used for dialogue scenes
• Helps the audience follow
the scene more easily
• Use walking & talking shots
to add energy to scene (see
figure 1)
Figure 1
• Be kind to your editor –
get lots of cut away
shots
• Can be used to cut two
different takes together
into one scene
• No actors’ faces
Shooting (cont.)
Cut-away
Video editing
Like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, video editing is about piecing
together the raw footage to fit the Director’s story.
Steps to video editing
1. Gather all raw footage
2. Setting up your timeline
3. Importing raw footage
4. Cut together the story
5. Sound and music
6. Effects and colourisation
7. Export final film
Video editing (cont.)
Editing software that you can use
Entry level editing software
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Microsoft Movie Maker (Windows – free!)
iMovie (Mac - $20)
Professional editing software
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Adobe Premiere Pro (Windows)
Final Cut Pro (Mac)
Video editing (cont.)
Troubleshooting
Getting stuck with editing?
Google and Youtube are your friends!
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Example searches:
• Introduction to iMovie
• How do I import video into Microsoft Movie Maker?
• “Which timeline settings should I use?” (Widescreen, 48Khz)
• How do I trim a video clip in Adobe Premier Po?
• How do I set in and out points?
• How do I make the timeline bigger/smaller?
• How do I add titles?
• How do I slow down a video clip?
• How do I add effects on to my video?
• How do I export my film?
Make a film about what makes you happy
…and include a banana in your film!
Let’s Make a Short Film (2012)
Fruit Man (2012)
Twisted (2014)
Milk (2014)