Gory Test

In "Visual Narrative and Storyboarding" we have sensibly prioritized from the agenda of

"Establish and Resolve"

showmanship vs. impact

"Showmanship" = often connotes VISUAL appeal Impact = goes beyond that surface impression.

Alfred Hitchcock

(Did Strangers on a Train and Psycho) Suspense director Believed each image cab present information on several levels.

Lessons of "The Bad Seed"

1. Art can be confessional. 2. If dialogue is going to be the dominant element, make it spectacular, compelling dialogue. 3. Even a film that is not "cinematic" can be gripping... provided the story is rich in drama and suspense. 4. Reveal surprises little by little: don't give everything away in the first moment of a scene. 5. Less is more: NOT SHOWING action is often much more powerful than being direct, and blatant.

Steps Involved in making an Animated Film:

1. Concept for "elevator pitch": your "idea" 2. treatment (a written elaboration of the concept) 3. Character Design 4. Screenplay 5. Storyboarding 6. Layout and Background Design 7. Soundtrack and Background Design 8. "Leica" reel or "Animatic" 9. Animation 19. Rendering, coloring and compositing 11. editing 12. marketing, distribution.

The Lessons of Scheherezade

1. Tell the story as if your life depended on it 2. Involve your audience immediately 3. Have appealing heroes 4. Have compelling villains 5. Every story must have CONFLICT 6. Leave your audience wanting more. 7. Balance comedy, terror, suspense, and romance.

The lessons of Carrie

1. Tell the story visually...with PICTURES, not WORDS! 2. Grab your audience right away. 3. Have sympathetic heroes/heroines. 4. Have compelling/hateful villains. 5. Use music to support the action, not interfere with it. 6. Use color wisely. Set bold colors against their opposites. 7. Employ film theory in every shot, if possible. 8. Don'y move the camera without motivation. 9. Know the value of editing. 10. Start with a good setup...then follow through. 11. Design shots CLEANLY for maximum effectiveness. 12. Every element of the film must work together. 13. Deliver on your storytelling promises. 14. Never use empty technique: always have motivation. 15. Know what the camera can do...then make it happen.

The most important quality that your work can - and should possess, regardless of story content and budget, is

IMPACT

Ray Harryhausen

Jason and the Argonotes

Being a good animator requires:

MASTERY of life and figure drawing: mastery, not competence. Understanding of acting and performance. Good character design. An astute sense of Timing - especially for comedy scenes. An ability to analyze physical action. Insight into why stories work - and why they don't Understanding of gravity, weight and balance. An ability to get along with co-workers A temperament that can tolerate boredom, repetition, and tedium. A constitution that can bear up under long hours.

Talking point of Don Bluth Lecture

1. Dialogue can be enormously powerful tool. 2. In our subtlety, we roar. 3. Strong roles for women are not always positive, admirable, and heroic characters. Villains are interesting. 4. Awful, dreadful and violent things can occur in attractive settings: irony is a bold tool. 5. Language is important: understand and exploit accent, dialogue, inference, and cadence of speech. 6. When a character goes on a journey from one type of personality to another, that ride is compelling. 7. PACE the information in a scene: don't drop every bomb at the same time. Make the audience work for it. 8. True stories are often more vivivly shocking than fiction. 9. Understand and use the setting and architecture.

What are the lessons of the Rabbit?

1. Do the work! Deliver the footage. 2. Every drawing is a chance to communicate. 3. Let the track do its work: don't rely on the animation alone to tell the story. 4. Act, Goddammit! Give a performance. 5. Always give more than is asked for. 6. Treat every single shot as if it was a complete project or film. Give it everything. 7. Use background detail wisely. Support the action: don't overwhelm it. 8. Stage shots for maximum efficiency.

Lessons of "Uncle Jonathan"

1. Don't just show what the character looks like: show the character's history and personality 2. Use clothing, attitude, expression and body language to define character. 3. Sign your work! 4. Give the character a context by establishing a relationship with another figure 5. Draw well (this should go without saying) 6. Use the time you have and the space on the page wisely.

What have we learned from [the botanical garden] demonstration?

1. Each choice we make ROBS OUR AUDIENCE of the choice THEY might have made. 2. Not every "story" is an obvious one, with a climax. 3. Editing and cutting define the rhythm of our work. 4. Know and CONSIDER your audience: speak to THEM 5. Don't wear out your welcome: be direct and brief. 6. Choose secondary elements (type, music) with great care. 7. THINK before you commit and render. 8. In Storytelling the "delivery system" matters! (In our "animation" class, it doesn't, as much). 9. Don't be preoccupied with "style" or "importance". 10. Own your choice.

Once you're finished boarding consider:

1. Have you said what needed to be said? 2. Are the characters consistent, from frame to frame? 3. Have you rendered the backgrounds recognizably? 4. Does this board accurately reflect the script? 5. Are any complicated movements ignored? 6. Have you presented professionally?

Questions to ask when storyboarding

1. Is your story clear in your own mind? 2. Are your treatment and screenplay thorough? 3. Do you know what the tone of the scene is? 4. Are your character designs locked down? 5. Have you considered staging? 6. Is there a better way to present each shot? 7. Are the drawing CLEAN and CLEAR? 8. Could a child - or a stranger - look at this and know exactly what is happening? 9. Have you satisfied the needs of the scene?

Lessons from "The Poseidon Adventure"

1. Metaphor is powerful in visual storytelling. 2. TELL THE STORY FIRST! Spectacle is empty without characters we care about. 3. Moments of action and disaster can be done in unexpectedly simple ways. Don't "over-produce". 4. Editing and montage are excellent tools for communicating complex moments of confusing action. 5. Use the wide screen to its' best advantage. 6. Never forget that the characters are paramount even in stories with epic visuals.

Lessons of "The Ten Commandments" and "Samson and Delilah"

1. Nice people don't often make big movies. It takes a bastard. 2. "Big" moments demand "Big" treatment. 3. If you're going to see color, apply it wisely. 4. Delay gratification on scenes of spectacle: create and sustain suspense. 5. The epic moments mean nothing without the context of the smaller moments, juxtaposed. 6. Know what to do with crowds: give every character some business. 7. Understand special effects and employ them generously, if the budget allows for that. 8. Stage and frame shots for MAXIMUM IMPACT. 9. CLARITY is more powerful than "involvement" - even in moments of chaos. 10. Deliver more than the audience expects, in climatic scenes of spectacle and drama.

What have we learned about presenting a character design?

1. Sign your work! 2. good character design is about more than simply "drawing the figure". 3. be accurate in your details. 4. Body language, stance, clothing, attitude, props, gestures, personal history, and placement in frame all contribute to the statement we make. 5. Draw hands and feet well...or else 6. Give character context, by placing them against an appropriate setting, or another character. 7. know how to render persuasive anatomy. 8. Work within the given parameters. 9. Consider the project - and author - when designing. 10. LISTEN and ANALYZE when you are given a drawing assignment. 11. bring a sense of personal style to your work. 12. Honor the assignment before experimenting.

Lessons from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"

1. Simple animation can also be powerful storytelling. If you can't deliver opulence, you MUST deliver something else, to compensate. 3. Infusing limited animation with psychology elevates it. 4. Strong poses and good vocal performances can make up for less inspired animation. 5. Have characters physically interact, for maximum acting and impact, in confrontation scenes. 6. Understand budgetary and time limitations.. and work within them!

There are several ways to begin: to conceptualize a story

1. Start with a main character, and build from there. 2. Build "The World" first - then decide who belong there. 3. Be inspired by your OWN life, or some historical period. 4. Start with the GENRE, then ask what new can be brought to it. 5. Go with a classic story, and re-imagine it. 6. Keep an "idea file" in a notebook. 7. Work WITHOUT a story: make abstract animation.

What are the lessons of "Mildred Pierce"?

1. THE DOMINANT ELEMENT OF THE FAMOUS CONFRONTATION SCENE IS DIALOGUE! 2. If dialogue is to rule, it MUST be strong, compelling, and well written. 3. The rhythm of a scene is critical: move, move, MOVE! 4. Style in film is paramount: strong lighting, capable set design, and crisp direction really do matter. 5. The film is IRONIC in its presentation of Mildred: is she a wonderful mother, or a neglectful failure? 6. We must take films in a historical context, and not judge them by our own prejudices and experiences. 7. "Mommie Dearest" failed to see the irony and the satire within itself: it is "camp" and not serious drama. 8. The screenplay format is spare, sparse and commercial: EVERY word, EVERY though, must count and make an impression!

What have we learned from storyboarding

1. The function of storyboarding is primarily practical: it helps us to commit to the right angle, and to save money. 2. Storyboards lay out the action, sets, framing, and staging of shots as an aid to production personell and performers. 3. Storyboards are usually loose, but they must be clear in their staging, understandable, and simple in presentation. 4. Storyboards break down the action, and the scene, on a shot-by-shot basis. If it's in the boards, it should be in the film. 5. Storyboards can be used to define and dictate the movement of the camera, as well as the placement of the camera. 6. On a big production, where there will be dangerous stunts and expensive special effects, it is foolish to dismiss storyboards. 7. Storyboards must be created under the supervision of the film's director, whose vision MUST be paramount! 8. Choosing the most efficient and cost-effective way to render a moment of spectacle is NOT always a compromise! It is instead admirable, practical common sense.

Lessons from Norman Rockwell

1. The individual image can have tremendous storytelling power. 2. STORY is first, and everything in-between, in good illustration work. 3. A good sense of psychology can inform a still image. 4. Symbols are useful, even when they are cliches. 5. Color, composition, staging and accomplished rendering all contribute to an image's strength.

Betty Davis

AShe knew art wasn't always pretty Did All About Eve

Why shouldn't we "mythologize" the minds of artists and creators we admire?

Because this mindset tends to keep us in "fanhood", instead of recognizing that the process by which art is created is gradual, often collaborative, and in many ways derivative.

Peter Kulbulka

Believed film is an oportunity to be informed 24 frames per second. (did the epilepsy thing)

What is the essence of Drama

CONFLICT the essence of conflict is a dream or goal, deferred and delayed.

What is HarryHausen's lesson to all of us?

DO NOT WAIT FOR OTHERS TO "HAND YOU" YOUR CAREER. Go after what you want even if it means you must go after it ALONE!

Remember: Character Development is essntial and critical but its' primary function is that it is a

GIFT FOR THE AUDIENCE and a tool to give them a better, richer and more complete experience with the information.

Betty Davis

Played "All About Eve" To Betty Davis "Film Theory" was merely an aspect of her art as an actor. It was a communication delivery system that enabled her to make every gesture and line reading offer the most profound value. She was concerned with the mechanics of the camera, and more preoccupied with how it recorded her choices and decisions: she acted for the camera, but to her, the motion picture camera was a recording tool, which enabled her to communicate fully on film.

Why do I want to be an animator?

Possible Answers: 1. I want to express myself in this art form. 2. I want to show people what I can do. 3. I want to enlighten my audience, and make them think in new ways. 4. I want to tell stories with pictures. 5. I want to give a performance in animation. 6. I want to be like Len Keane/etc.

How are storyboards used in "The Poseidon Adventure"?

Storyboards are indeed an essential practical tool for designing and executing special effects - but in "The Poseidon Adventure" they were also employed to support compelling and symbolic psychology.

What is "Film Theory"?

The art of a symbolic image. The power and impact of the individual frame. Film theory is the science and art of the psychology of the image. It is the art of making each frame have double (or triple) meaning. Film theory is a tool which enables the filmmaker to invest symbolism, subtext, or subconscious messages within the pictures and dialogue.

what is the essence of storytelling?

The essence of storytelling is to set up an expectation and then deliver on that expectation.

Why is psycho worth seeing?

The film is filled with stunning visual "jokes" and clues - and impressive pictorial symbolism, as well. It succeeds as great horror, as great black comedy, and as great ART. IT IS BRILLIANT ON SEVERAL LEVELS AT ONCE. Very, VERY few other horror films are.

What does Gallico's novel and Ronald Neame's film "The Poseidon Adventure" tell us?

They tell us that we should turn inward: that we should look inside - instead of to exterior sources - for whatever we call "God". The conflict in the film is the battle for control of the souls of others, between the Church and government and the police.

Questions to ask before you begin writing films

What DVD's are in your collection? Which movies do you watch and rewatch? What genre do you prefer? How do you see new animation? Which filmmakers inspired you? What style of animation do you prefer? Is writing and story more important than animation, to you? DO YOU ENJOY MAKING FILMS, OR DO YOU ENJOY TALKING ABOUT MAKING FILMS? Have you ever written a story before? Do you prefer working with others, or alone?

Cinematic

of or pertaining to the cinema: that is to say, a product obviously concieved engineered for the motion picture

elevator pitch

typewriter type-face single-space adjust everythung to the left 12 point font ALL CAPS when introducing a character for the first time. use present tense communicate story in as few words as possible