Lectures & Workshops

Over the past couple of days, I've attended 3 different lectures/workshops, so I've collected all of the notes taken below - concept art, storyboarding, genre and the history of cinema.

Concept Art & Storyboards [Kerry Bradley]

We begun with a table marking out important elements and which belongs to concept boards or storyboards or both [seen below].

Other notes:

Concept Boards - Label every piece of work, give character designs a atmospheric background, create a suggestion of what's outside of the frame.

Storyboards - Number each frame, keep it in black and white, act out scenes to help illustrate them.

Important: The lightest points in a frame attract focus to that area first, they act as a guide. Kerry mentioned a particular artist who's renowned for his use of light in his paintings, Edward Hopper. Below are a few examples of his works. I'll revisit his work to help create the final storyboard.

During the workshop we also discussed aspect ratios, camera angles and camera movements. I've found some usefull images to help memorise these below.

Note: For our own film, we've decided on the aspect ratio 16:9.

When it came to camera angles we had a discussion on how certain angles will inflict certain feelings upon the viewer. For example, birds eye = observing, high-shot = superior to scene, low-shot = inferior to scene, canted/oblique = state of confusion.

The Use of Arrows in Storyboarding

An important feature of a storyboard is the use of large, clear arrows to indicate movement. Arrows outside of the frame and just touching the edge are directions for the camera's movement, whereas arrows within the frame are direction for the movement of the actor/object.

Storyboarding Activity: A Close Shave

The final part of the workshop was to attempt storyboarding the first scene of 'Wallace and Grommit: A Close Shave' (1995), applying everything we had learnt in the session. Below you can see the outcome and some comparisons with the original storyboard.

It was a fun activity to do, especially under the time limit. The key things gained from this was the important of light [and dark], camera movement and subject movement.

Introduction to Genre [Richard Parkin]

Genre: "The condition for film art as we most often experience it" - David Bordwell.

What is genre? A descriptive term/catergory. A marketing tool. A guide in production. A system of expectations.

Genre's are more than just film, they are a system of expectations that are taken for granted. This system provides spectators with means of recognition and understanding - rendering the film as intelligable and, furthermore, explicable.

They can be placed into 4 main catergories: Destination, Function, Syntax & Semantics. Destination would be something like the 'Family' genre, where the genre is crafted to a specific audience. Function would be 'Horror' or 'Comedy', where their function is to evoke a certain emotion out of the viewer. Syntax would refer to a genre made in a very specific way, for example a musical or an animation. Finally we have Semantics, this covers most other genres and refers to a specific collection of sets, props and characters to create a specific feel to the film.

Note: actors may eventually become associated with certain genres, allowing us to recognise film genre through the casting made.

Much like the comments made in 'Jodorowksy's Dune' (2013), a film is more likely to be produced only if they can be likened to a pre-existing film [or two combined].

History of Cinema [Richard Parkin]

Today we had a brief run-through of the origins of cinema, taking us from the late 1600's to the early 1900's. Below I've accumulated all of the notes in the form of a timeline.

A brief timeline from 1600's to 1900's:

1600's - The magic lantern is invented. Essentially, the first projector that worked by shining a light behind painted glass panels. This creation would continue to be developed right through to modern day.

1659 - Inventor Christiaan Huygens creates the first example of 'Phantasmagoria' with the visuals of Death removing his skull from his neck and putting it back again. It is thought that this was projected with one of the very first magic lanterns. This genre of film proved very popular, proving mankind's appetite for emmersive visual experiences - in particular, feeling fear.

1793 - English portrait painter, Robert Barker, coined the word 'panorama' to describe his use of his paintings exhibited on a cylindrical surface. Audience members paid money to stand in the centre of this structure, experiencing the illusion of a panoramic environment.

1820's - The moving panorama comes into popularity. A cousin to the original panorama, but unlike its predecessor the paintings were moved on a screen in front of an audience sat down.

1822 - Louis Daguerre and Charles Marie Bouton invent the diorama; a form of immersive cinema in which a transparent linen screen is painted and the light projected through it controls which parts are revealed in which sequence.

1843 - Using the idea of zoetropes, the first Phénakisticope projector was created by T.W. Naylor. The projection was achieved by shining a light rapidly behind a transparent glass disc - projecting each frame onto a screen in front.

1888 - An animated picture system called 'Théâtre Optique' is patended by Émile Reynaud. This was the first 'moving image' and involved strips of film where the subject was placed against a black background and subject was coloured by hand.

1894 - Edison Studios is founded, the first ever film studio to be built. They went on to produce nearly 1,200 films but were then closed in 1918 due to financial difficulties. Their main invention was the Kinetoscope which was designed for films to be viewed by one individual at a time through a peephole viewer window at the top of the device.

1895 - The Lumière Brothers invent the Cinématographe [hence the name we give today of 'cinema']. It was a means of projecting film straight from the camera.

1900's - The renowned work of Georges Méliès comes into the frame, innovating the use of special effects and one of the first to use storyboards.

The main genres identified during this era:

Actualities - Films of real life scenarios.

Phantom Ride - Attaching the camera to the front of a train, taking us on the journey.

Topicals - Special occasions.

Stage Acts - The performance of magic and illusion.

Comedic sketches - Slapstick type productions.

Other notes:

As film developed we were introduced to 2 important elements; the use of the close-up [which took quite a while to catch on, became more prominent in the early 1900's] and the suggestion of location [giving a sense of a larger geographical map than just what's in the frame].