SO YOU WANT TO MAKE A MOVIE
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by Thom Speechley |
 Most club activities revolve around specific problems and
individual members' special interests or productions. Occasionally the club
will attempt to mount a major project in order to involve the greatest number
of members and provide the broadest experience for all. Some clubs build
their entire programming around such projects while others have created separate
entities within the club to take on major projects.
The following is intended to offer a few tips and guidelines, which might
encourage more clubs to get involved in more ambitious productions.
Where to Start?
There is often a temptation to rush out looking for a story idea or script
to work from. A more conservative approach is recommended which involves
first taking an inventory of the club's qualifications and equipment. Once
you start looking at potential shooting subjects, this will help to answer
one of the basic considerations:
Is it "doable"?
That question applies not only to technical considerations:
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How can we build a spaceship?
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Can we do blue screen?
but equally to scenario type (storytelling) films where convincing, but not
professional acting may be required.
The inventory would include:
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Equipment: camera, lighting, edit
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Talent: act, sing, play
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Skills: craft, sport, hobby
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Properties: location, building, a unique article
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Experience: writing, directing
What To Shoot?
A good look at your inventory will now help you take the next step. It may
also be helpful to consider the many categories of production you might try.
There is no universal list of "genres" but here is a very basic list.
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Scenario (drama or comedy)
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Documentary
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Docudrama
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Musical
More specific genres include 'horror', 'sci-fi', 'western' etc. The Internet
Movie DataBase offers 27 separate categories. "Google" manages to list 38!
Other story possibilities are events from your own personal experience. You
might also borrow a news story or use an historical event.
Copyright Considerations
At some point you should think about how your production will be shown or
distributed. If it's just being done for the exercise, the original ownership
of any part of the production should not be a great concern. However if you
hope to enter your opus in any kind of competition or exhibit it at some
Internet site, then this is a good time to consider copyright implications.
Scripting a story from a news event or historical incident is perfectly
acceptable, unless you "steal" actual words or visual components from the
original source.
 One way to avoid issues is to download a prepared script from
one of several websites, which offer scripts under the "Creative Commons"
licensing agreement. One popular source is:
http://incompetech.com
- this site has royalty free public domain stories and music for download.
We'll talk about other resources later.
Planning Tools
There will no doubt be meetings and planning sessions before any shooting
takes place. A few handy resources are printed storyboard forms, a voice
recorder for note taking, a digital still camera when scouting shooting locations
and some kind of project management tool.
 This latter is a more elaborate alternative to simply writing
memos and exchanging e-mails. One very sophisticated computer program is
called Celtx,
and is a free download. It allows 'interactive' access to the main planning
notes so that changes and revisions can be performed without the need for
the working group to actually meet. It may be more than you need, but worth
a look if only to gain a better appreciation of the many elements involved
in planning.
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Another useful interactive tool is
QT
Movie Notetaker.
This free program requires the latest Apple "QuickTime" player.
All footage for the production can be uploaded to a computer and this program
will display the footage and allow notation to be added in a window beside
the picture. The material can be shared by members of the crew who can then
'interactively' make changes to the production. |
| The "storyboard" is the traditional format for planning everything from
animated cartoons to biblical epics.
They consist simply of pages with small boxes in which the director (or writer)
creates a small sketch of the scene to be shot. Text is included beside or
below the picture describing the action and may include some dialog.
It's not necessary to be an artist since symbolic figures with appropriate
text tell the story. The main purpose is to show camera angles and work out
a logical shooting sequence. You can download and print sample storyboard
templates from several sources. Just Google "storyboard template".
There are free storyboard creators. They are similar to the "Celtx" product
but more visually oriented e.g.
Director's
Notepad. |
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Added Features
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Presumably, your group will be shooting all original footage. However
it is sometimes desirable or necessary to use previously created material
such as still pictures or film, to help move the story along. Few amateur
groups would consider purchasing stock pictures or film at $75 for a picture
or over $100 for a few seconds of motion picture. So unless you have what
you need in that old can of 8mm film, you will have to look elsewhere. Once
again, we are back to the question of ownership of the material you intend
to use. Fortunately, some of those Internet sites, which offer Creative Commons
or Public Domain stories, also have archival footage and stills for use under
the same conditions.
The best place to start is the Internet Archive, a place where hundreds of
donors have uploaded thousands of hours of old films and pictures. The address
is:
www.archive.org/index.php
The site contains separate sections for 'Moving Images', 'Live Music", 'Audio'
and 'Texts". It's a bit of a slog and can become habit forming but could
have just that short clip you are looking for. |
Sound and Music
Most productions will benefit from the addition of sound, either music or
sound effects. If your 'inventory' includes a talented musician your production
could enjoy the real advantage of self produced music. (Copyright considerations
might still apply to the score used!)
Note
If I seem to be preoccupied with copyright and ownership issues, it is simply
because those issues are becoming more important to the way we communicate.
A club video won't stay up on "YouTube" very long if the Intellectual Properties
police get involved. (Several THOUSAND private videos have already been expunged
at the insistence of the legitimate copyright owners). For the same reason
many competitions are turning away entries if they cannot be satisfied that
the entrant has permission to use some of the content.
SCCA is trying to encourage conformity and recognition of other creator's'
efforts, and at the same time provide members with some alternatives in dealing
with the situation.
Start At SCCA
 AMPS webmaster suggests: consider
joining SCCA.
It's cheaper than many a royalty-free music CD. Dues
in Canadian dollars: $20 first year, return years $30 and Student $15. Membership
years run from 1st June. Details on their website (click on the logo to the
right), use the drop down menu at the foot of their home page to download
a membership application. |
Unless your group has access to royalty free or "buy-out" audio files, if
you are members of SCCA the best place to start is to examine their collection
of royalty free music and sound effects. With over 60 CDs and hundreds of
tracks, there is audio for virtually any type of production. The CDs are
available only to paid-up members of SCCA and subject to some conditions.
However SCCA has negotiated licenses with the copyright owners so that any
member may use the tracks for any purpose we are likely to have in mind.
One more "perk" for SCCA membership. Visit the SCCA site, open the pop-up
menu at the bottom of the page and select "Music Library". You can sample
each track. Loan conditions are explained at the end of that page.
Additional sources for royalty free downloadable music are:
http://incompetech.com
And as previously mentioned, the Internet Archive has several sources for
music under Creative Commons.
A Word of Caution
 The key to using anything in the Creative Commons category is
to very carefully read the terms of the CC "Deed", or "Public Domain Dedication".
The conditions are usually very generous: "to Share – to copy,
distribute and transmit the work or to Remix – to adapt the work
." The main requirement is "attribution":
Attribution
You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor
(but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the
work).
Note that the Creative Commons document is not a legal instrument. And, since
any of these conditions may change according to the desires of the author/owner,
it is necessary to check the words carefully. The following disclaimer explains
the conditions in a more 'legal' sense, although the disclaimer itself is
not a legal document either!
Disclaimer
The Commons Deed is not a license. It is simply a handy
reference for understanding the Legal Code (the full license) –
it is a human-readable expression of some of its key terms. Think of it as
the user-friendly interface to the Legal Code beneath. This Deed itself has
no legal value, and its contents do not appear in the actual license.
Creative Commons is not a law firm and does not provide
legal services. Distributing of, displaying of, or linking to this Commons
Deed does not create an attorney-client relationship. For further clarification,
check:
www.pdinfo.com/record.php |
Many popular Rock groups are now issuing compilations under the Creative
Commons guidelines despite protests from their producers. For example "The
Who", Check out:
www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/f5hj
Here is a summary of some additional websites you might find helpful in
identifying useful material.
Public Domain/ Creative Commons Materials
- Thom Speechley
This article first appeared in SCCA Panorama magazine for summer 2007,
by courtesy of the author and editor.
Visit the Society of Canadian
Cine Amateurs website to see many more issues of that stylish magazine.
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