Pre Production ProcessPlanning the fiction film: premise, screenplay, storyboard, lined script, breakdown sheets, production design

The Short Film

5 minutesOpen endedSimpleImplicit and referential meanings drive

filmThe Most Beautiful Man in the World,

Pre-Production Notebook

Worth 20% of final grade

Produce in groups of 3

Due week 10 in COGN 21 Section in one three-ring Notebook

Provide a Buckley Waiver

The Premise

1. Find a textual inspiration through an academic essay or book (not from this course). With the members of your group, create a premise for a short film that explores the themes of this essay or responds to them. Get approval on your premise from your TA.

The Screenplay

2. In section begin to write the screenplay for this film. Use proper screenplay style and technique. The screenplay should not exceed 6 pages. Final version due by end of section Week Nine.

Storyboards

3. Draw storyboards demonstrating how the script will move to the screen.

Storyboards demonstrate: order of shots, composition, camera movement, sound

Lining the Script

4. Line the script demonstrating how you will cover the action of the script.

Each vertical line drawn through the script represents a type of shot. Lines may overlap, particularly in shot-reverse shot dialogue sequences, for example.

Breakdown Sheet

5. Create breakdown sheets for every scene in your film.

Production Design

6. Provide materials demonstrating the production design of the film:

May include: images of costumespictures of actors, Drawings / photos of sets and

locations Swatches of color

Screenplay Format: Slugline

The Scene Heading, or Slugline, are flush left in ALL CAPS.

It is used every time you change location, and set the scene in the reader's mind. Include whether the scenes takes place indoors (INT.) or outdoors (EXT.); the location: BEDROOM, KITCHEN, at the PARK, inside a CAR; and lastly it might include the time of day - NIGHT, DAY, DUSK, DAWN.

Screenplay Format: Action

The action runs from left to right margin, the full width of the text on the page, the same as the Scene Heading. Text is single-spaced and in mixed case.

Use the active voice (a window slams shut) not the passive voice (a window is slammed shut). Always write in PRESENT TENSE, not the past.

When you introduce a speaking character for the first time, put the name in all caps.

Screenplay Format: Dialog

Character’s names are in all caps and centered.

What they say is indented 2.5 inches from left.

Attitude, verbal direction or action direction for the character who is speaking is put in parenthesis below the character’s name and indented 3 inches. Parentheticals should be short and only used when necessary. This is where you would indicate if the dialog is off screen or voice over as well.

The Lined ScriptThe lined script is a script that is marked up to show which

camera angles are to be used to record each shot of action and dialog.

Draw vertical lines through the script for each camera angle and label them. You can use numbers and provide a key in the margin if you like. Indicate if it is a extreme close up (XCU), close-up (CU), medium (MS), full shot (FS), etc.

Vertical lines may overlap as in the case of shot reverse shot sequences where you alternate between two or more camera angles.

The straight part of the line indicates the active camera angle, and the wiggly part of the vertical line indicates off-camera action and off-camera dialogue.

The Lined Script