Filmmaking For Teens

This funny and irreverent how to takes young would be filmmakers fromt he moment of inspiration to a finished short film amd beyond.

Troy Lanier is an award-winning documentary filmmaker Clay Nichols is a distinguished playwright and screenwriter. Both teach filmmaking at St. Stephen's Episcopal High School in Austin, Texas

(Fast) Foreword

xix

Introduction

xxi

Roll Credits

xxi

The Keychain

1

(6)

Key 1 --- Five-minute Rule

1

(1)

Key 2 --- Scripted in Advance

2

(1)

Key 3 --- Slash and Burn

2

(2)

Key 4 --- Go Digital

4

(1)

Key 5 --- The Three-Day Shoot

4

(1)

Key 6 --- Cut Off for Cutting

5

(1)

Reshoot

6

(1)

Honey, I Shrunk the Concept

7

(10)

Picking a Subject for Your Film: Shelving Godfather IV

7

(1)

Brainshowers

8

(1)

Subject Yourself

9

(2)

The Real World

11

(1)

Be Adaptable

12

(1)

Culling the Herd

13

(1)

Get Into Treatment

14

(1)

Put It to Bed

15

(1)

Reshoot

16

(1)

Screenplay---The Every Other Daily Grind

17

(18)

Why You Script

17

(1)

But Before You Start...

18

(1)

Screenplay Format

19

(1)

A Note on Screenwriting Software

19

(1)

Stage Directions

20

(1)

Slug Lines

20

(1)

Dialogue

21

(2)

The Story, A Couple Ideas

23

(1)

Start Late

23

(1)

Staying Ahead of the Crowd: Reversals

24

(1)

The Writing Process: Three Weeks Later

25

(1)

Your Writing Calendar

26

(1)

Schedule a Reading

27

(1)

Screenwriting Unplugged

27

(1)

Don't Interrogate the Draft

28

(1)

Readings: Getting Something for Nothing Listen Carefully

29

(1)

Quiz Show

30

(1)

Do Over

31

(1)

Revision: Hello Old Friend

31

(1)

Overtime

32

(1)

Reshoot

33

(2)

The Producers

35

(20)

You're Not a Cheeseball

35

(1)

Your Peeps

36

(1)

The Superfriends

36

(1)

Raise Your Hand

37

(1)

Superfriends: Personality Profiles and Job Descriptions

38

(2)

Really Good But Not Quite Super Friends

40

(1)

How to Ask a Really Big Favor

41

(1)

Screen Test

42

(1)

The Audition

43

(1)

The Audition Room

44

(2)

Casting

46

(1)

Locations: Scout Then Schedule

47

(1)

When Pulling Off Your Shorts, Remember Your Pants

47

(1)

Shooting on Private Property---The Fine Art of the Mooch

48

(1)

Props/Costumes---Finding Continuity

49

(1)

Giving Everyone Their Props

49

(1)

Rags

50

(1)

Ask First, Spend Later

51

(1)

The Rehearsal

51

(2)

Reshoot

53

(2)

Time and Money---The Schedule and the (Non-Equipment) Budget

55

(10)

Timetable

56

(1)

Six Easy Pieces

57

(1)

Call Sheets

58

(2)

Moolah

60

(1)

Food/Drink

60

(2)

Other Expenses

62

(1)

The Bill: What's the Damage?

62

(1)

Asking for Money

63

(1)

Reshoot

64

(1)

Director's Preparation

65

(8)

Font to Film---A Shotboard Approach

65

(1)

Watch and Learn

66

(1)

Three Exercises

67

(2)

Creating the Shotboard

69

(3)

Reshoot

72

(1)

Ringmaster---The Eye on the Monitor

73

(12)

It's All About You

73

(1)

The Director on the Set

73

(1)

The AP and AD

74

(2)

The Huddle

76

(1)

Action!

76

(1)

Shooting Shouting

77

(1)

How You Know You've Got It

77

(1)

Getting the Performance---Coaching Actors

78

(1)

Go Small Yet Again

79

(1)

Don't Do It Like I Do

79

(1)

Squash the Improve Bug

80

(1)

Moving Violations

80

(1)

Check the Gate

80

(1)

Collateral Damage

81

(1)

Personal Damage

82

(1)

Worst-Case Scenarios

82

(2)

That's a Wrap

84

(1)

Reshoot

84

(1)

Equipment

85

(18)

The Camera

86

(1)

What Kind of Camera to Get

87

(2)

How to Buy a Camera

89

(1)

How to Borrow a Camera

90

(1)

How to Rent a Camera

91

(1)

The Tripod: Rock, Rock, Steady, Steady

91

(1)

Microphone

92

(1)

Mic Hunting

92

(1)

Hey Mike, Can I Borrow a Mic?

93

(1)

XLR Cables

94

(1)

XLR Adapter

94

(1)

Boom Pole

94

(1)

Wind Eliminator

95

(1)

Headphones

95

(1)

Clear UV Filter

95

(1)

Digital Videotape

95

(1)

Batteries

96

(1)

Reflectors

96

(1)

Lights

96

(2)

Black Foil

98

(1)

Electrical Cord

98

(1)

Surge Protector

98

(1)

Gloves

98

(1)

White Balance Card

98

(1)

Monitor

99

(1)

Gaffer Tape

99

(1)

Diffusion

99

(1)

Stabilizer

99

(1)

Dolly

100

(1)

Sandbags

100

(1)

Stands

100

(1)

Extra Lenses

100

(1)

Digital Still Cameras

101

(1)

Jib Arm

101

(1)

The Lists

101

(1)

Low Budget List

Big Budget List

Reshoot

102

(1)

Getting Pretty Pictures

103

(24)

U-G-L-Y, Do You Have an Alihi?

103

(1)

Part One: Lighting

104

(1)

Before You Plug in the Lights, or What To Do If You Don't Plug in the Lights

104

(1)

Monitors

105

(1)

The Dark Side

106

(1)

The Lighter Side of Things

107

(1)

Healthy Avoidance

107

(2)

From Automatic to Five Speed

109

(1)

First Gear: Zebra Bars

109

(1)

Second Gear: Shutter Speed

109

(1)

Third Gear: Aperture, F-Stop, Iris

110

(1)

Fourth Gear: White Balance

111

(2)

Fifth Gear: Progressive Scan

113

(1)

Plugging in the Lights

113

(1)

Start with Your Action

114

(1)

Throw Your Light Around

114

(1)

Diffusion

115

(1)

Use Light to Create Depth: Three-Point Lighting

116

(1)

Setting the Mood

117

(1)

Get Creative

117

(1)

Part Two: Framing

118

(1)

Framing Uglies

118

(1)

No Shaky Shaky

118

(1)

No Zoom Zoom

119

(1)

Just Say No to Autofocus

119

(1)

A Conversation about Conversations

120

(2)

Framing: The Art

122

(1)

Camera Angles

122

(1)

Moving Shots

122

(1)

Tripod Head Movement

123

(1)

The Dolly

123

(1)

Handheld

124

(1)

The Jib Arm

125

(1)

Some Final Hints

125

(1)

Reshoot

126

(1)

Getting Good Sound

127

(6)

Wanted: Sound Engineer

127

(1)

Shotguns and Grips

128

(2)

Location Wrap, Almost

130

(1)

Do the Right Thing

131

(1)

Reshoot

131

(2)

Editing

133

(18)

Ready

133

(1)

Aim

133

(1)

Edit

133

(1)

The Editing Studio

134

(2)

The Computer

136

(1)

Mac vs. PC

136

(1)

The Software

136

(1)

Downloading Your Footage

137

(1)

The Concept of Editing---Nonlinear and Non-Destructive Editing

138

(1)

Nonlinear

138

(1)

Non-Destructive

139

(1)

The Downside: Editing Zombies

140

(1)

The Craft

140

(1)

Cuts

141

(1)

Dissolves

142

(1)

Fades

142

(1)

Be Precise

142

(1)

Telling the Story

143

(1)

Be Cruel, Be Kind

144

(1)

Sound

145

(2)

Audio Fades

147

(1)

Audio as Transition

147

(1)

Soundtracks

147

(2)

Final Soundtrack

149

(1)

Putting It in the Can

149

(1)

Reshoot

150

(1)

Getting Noticed

151

(18)

Wow! You've Finished

151

(1)

One Festival, For Now

151

(1)

Then Go Local

152

(1)

Location

152

(1)

Big, Dark, and Loud: AV

153

(1)

The Hook Up

153

(1)

Promotion

154

(1)

Posters and Postcards

154

(2)

Tickets

156

(1)

Website

157

(1)

Press

157

(4)

The Big Night

161

(1)

What to Say

161

(1)

Festivals

162

(2)

Beyond Festivals

164

(1)

The Web

164

(1)

Television

164

(2)

The Digital Bake Sale: A Way to Fund Your Next Film

166

(1)

Production and Reproduction

167

(1)

Reshoot

168

(1)

Conclusion---Final Credits

169

(2)

About the Authors

171

(1)

Index

172

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Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials