Based on a screenplay, how to set up a shot?

F

Fellipe

Active member
Hi

Let's say the screenplay is:

Int. Room - Day
John enters the room, grabs a book on the shelf and sits confortably on the sofa.
He puts his coffee mug on a center table and opens the book. A letter falls down to the floor from the first page and he reachs for it.

So this is the first scene of a screenplay.

As a director I should have an idea of the shots I want for this particular scene before the actual shoot, right?
So should I draw storyboards of each camera angle?
Let's say the first shot is the establishing/master, he enters the room and grab the book. I'm aware of the concept of overlapping action, so I call CUT at this point. Then I set up another shot of his hands reaching and grabing the book on the shelf. And so on...
For a matter of 'filmmaking language' how do these different shots are called since they are from the same scene??

Sorry if it's confusing.
Thanks
 
You're talking about setups. How many camera moves/reconfigurations, and lighting changes do you need to shoot to get enough coverage of that scene, and more important, to serve the story.
 
Get with your DP and plan this out, it is rare that it be done sequentially action per action. but rather planned out to minimize light setup changes.
 
It's a short. Very small production. Just to learn the basics of the craft. I'm the screenwritter, the DP and the director :)

How would you guys shot this scene? Could you please elaborate a simple 'list'?
 
all depends on layout of room.

1. Master of all the action you described.
2. medium and close up(of book and hand) of grabbing book.
3. reverse medium of grabbing book and walking to couch.
4. medium sitting on couch all they way to letter falling with close up(face) of reaction to letter falling.
5. close up setting mug down
6. closeup opening book, letter.
7. shot from below the book, camera facing up and letter falling towards camera and hand reaching towards camera/letter/picking it up.
8. Close up grabbing letter.

This is how I would shoot it.
 
Fellipe said:
Hi

Let's say the screenplay is:

Int. Room - Day
John enters the room, grabs a book on the shelf and sits confortably on the sofa.
He puts his coffee mug on a center table and opens the book. A letter falls down to the floor from the first page and he reachs for it.

So this is the first scene of a screenplay.

As a director I should have an idea of the shots I want for this particular scene before the actual shoot, right?
So should I draw storyboards of each camera angle?
Let's say the first shot is the establishing/master, he enters the room and grab the book. I'm aware of the concept of overlapping action, so I call CUT at this point. Then I set up another shot of his hands reaching and grabing the book on the shelf. And so on...
For a matter of 'filmmaking language' how do these different shots are called since they are from the same scene??

Sorry if it's confusing.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes, as a director, you should have an idea of the shots... in fact that's the director's job... and it should be done before the shoot.

'storyboards', as in professional art work, may or may not be done. Stick figures frequently are done, just enough to get an idea and communicate that to the cinematographer. There is a feedback loop. You, the Director, may want a 'look', but it may be impossible with the camera and the lenses you have available. The cinematographer will feed back what a given 'location' will allow.

On major motion pictures, where sets are built from scratch, there are often sets that have walls that can be removed easily, light rigging that allows for highly controlled lighting setups... for no-budget productions, one may be using a location, and have no ability to 'break out a wall' to get a particular shot... so you will have to live with whatever the location provides.

All this needs to be worked out before anyone shows up...

Try to make a top view of the location, and scale schematic drawing of walls, furniture(interiors), or buildings (exteriors), etc. Then measure how much room you have for what sort of shots. You will have to know what camera and lenses you are going to use, to come up with an incredible detailed shot list. Otherwise a visit to the location and by 'trial and error', set up a blocking diagram for the camera and actors.

On the day of the shoot, the script needs to have the shots marked in vertical lines that indicate where a shot begins in the script, and ends. A person called the 'script supervisor' makes notes about the shots, that person is also involved in marking the slate which allows the editor to assemble the whole mess of shots in some sort of organization.

When I read a script, I am always trying to have a movie running in my head. So, for a given scene, I'll have several shots in mind. The top view diagram is fairly simple, doesn't require too much draughting power to produce... unlike nice detailed storyboard artwork... and will organize the shoot.

Otherwise with impromptu actors, being filmed by an impromptu film crew... well, unless you're a film great... it will usually end as yet another Youtube video no one wants to see...
 
Fellipe said:
It's a short. Very small production. Just to learn the basics of the craft. I'm the screenwritter, the DP and the director :)

How would you guys shot this scene? Could you please elaborate a simple 'list'?
Click to expand...

If you're the writer than this should be fairly simple. Try to craft the story boards the way you imagined it. You have some specific actions there so you can easily create a shot list.

Right out the gate I envisioned 3 very different edits.

1. with all of the action done from a static location with only a slight pan of the tripod head as John sits on the sofa.
2. jump cuts of all the action. "Knob turns->door opens->foot steps walking in->Door slams close->book on shelf as hand grabs it->punch in of butt hitting sofa->foot going up on coffee table->mug being placed on end table; etc.

And

3. Dollying shot over the back of John doing everything.

Now of these three scenerios which will work for you in regards to lighting placement, camera rig movement, space in room. At the end, look at what you got and what you need.
 
Fellipe said:
It's a short. Very small production. Just to learn the basics of the craft. I'm the screenwritter, the DP and the director :)

How would you guys shot this scene? Could you please elaborate a simple 'list'?
Click to expand...

This is really dependent on the script... for some scenes it may be just a 'master shot', that is as much of the set as required to give a location. If one person is in the scene, perhaps working on something, then a master shot to give 'location/setting', then perhaps some set of shots of what the person is doing...

Code: 
INT. GARAGE -- NIGHT

CLEM stands a bench pouring black powder into a 1 inch water pipe.  A small amount of the powder gets on the threads of the pipe.

He then picks up a end cap, and slowly screws it on the pipe.

KABOOM.

Clem's fingers fly, and his face is torn by jagged pieces of metal, and his body is smashed against the wall.


So:

Shot 1: Master shot, Wide Shot, full length of scene, Clem at bench in garage, pouring powder, screwing on cap.
Shot 2: Medium Closeup full length of scene, Clem pouring black power into pipe, picks up cap, and screws it on.
Shot 3: Extreme Closeup black power on pipe threads.
Shot 4: Extreme Closeup, Clem screwing cap on.
Shot 5: Closeup Clem getting blasted with a big fan/blower, to setup for Effects shot of explosion ripping of his fingers and metal blasting into his face.
Shot 6: Wide Shot, but with setup for 'blast', with an eye for matting out any equipment or personel manning the blower, or the harness that pulls Clem, to simulate the blast.
Shot 7: Wide Shot, Clem hitting the wall from the blast.

-----
Notes: In order to get a 'realism' to the blast some sort of high powered blower will be needed to make Clem's hari and clothing look like it's being blasted. In addtion, in order to get the 'blast jerk' Clem will wear a harness for those shots that depict the blast, and a wire to jerk him out of position to simulate being blown away.
 
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I think there's a forest for the trees thing here, with the cornucopia of angles suggested above.

"John enters the room, grabs a book on the shelf and sits confortably on the sofa.
He puts his coffee mug on a center table and opens the book. A letter falls down to the floor from the first page and he reachs (sic) for it."

Okay, the only dramatic moment is the letter falling. Everything else is pretty much cuttable.

Since this is a short, we want fast getting to the point, presenting a character. A guy walking across a room and sitting down is generic and not specific to any character really. The scene currently lacks specificity and a build up.

Now -- if the opening shot was a feminine hand sliding the letter down into the book, which immediately faded out and to the book with the letter slightly visible in the foreground. The man rushes in on a beeline toward the book and flips through, searching... (2 shots) much better, dramatically and economically with screen time.

That's how I see it.
 
2 shots maximum. Any more and it's a headache for the crew as well as the editor. Pan and tilt the camera to follow him. Assuming each shot takes 2 - 3 takes,


1. WS --> MS on character. (Pan/Tilt or be creative with Rack-Focusing) Dolly if need be.
2. Cut-IN of letter falling from the floor and his hand picking it up.

Honestly, that's about it. The audience will immediately understand what's going on - you already have the bare minimum coverage. I would aim for those two first and if there's more time you can play around with MS from the side or a MCU/CU.
 
I would really recommend the hollywood camera work DVD's. When I first started they helped me tremendously in learning how to cover scenes effectively, and using camera movement to tell the story.

All of your shots depend on the script though, if it's a thriller, everything might be handheld and there might be a lot of jump cuts with different angles. A lot more things might be dirty in the frame. If it's a drama though things might be more slow and perhaps a little bit of movement but not much. Often times you'll setup your blocking to make the sort of shots you want happen.
 
Personally, I only use the script as a guide. I would think "does he need to be sitting at the sofa? Is it important? maybe I the shot would be better if he's standing at the bookshelf etc" These decisions I make when going over the script before shooting.

In terms of shots... that's how you develop you're poetics or style as a director. Watch your favourite films carefully. When I read your scene actions, my preference would be to do it in one shot because I don't usually like to cut when one character is alone in a room. (that's just my style - it's not right or wrong)...

Choosing your shots is a massive part of being a director!
 
Storyboarding is very common, and it can't hurt, even if it's just sketches for yourself to confirm your own hunches.

But in terms of choosing your shots, there should be a specific reason for each. They're words in the sentences of scenes. (With sequences being paragraphs, if you want to continue the analogy.) Personally I'm partial to static, wider shots. Practically speaking it means fewer set-ups, but aesthetically—psychologically—I think it involves the audience more when all they have to follow onscreen is the actor, without having subconsciously to keep track of camera movement as well. On that note, numerous other visual cues also make a psychological difference in how the shot itself and the unfolding action within it is perceived—the visual geometry, how "flat" the scene is (both of which can add tension), how complementary the color palette is, etc. I highly recommend Bruce Block's The Visual Story for the latter, and Nicholas Proferes' Film Directing Fundamentals for story-oriented aspects of shot design. The point is that as the director, you should know how you want the scene to come across, plus how to visually represent the changing dynamics within the scene, and that will steer—direct, if you will—how you compose your shots.

As for your hypothetical scene, I'd shoot as wide as I could and condense—depending, of course, on the size of the set—that scene to three or four shots. Again, it's a personal preference, but I've found that especially in smaller productions, camera movement tends to be excessive and draw more attention to the shooting style than to the performance. My rule of thumb: Let the actors act, not the camera.
 
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story structure, your telling a story for a reason.

what makes that scene important in the grand scheme of things?
why was there a paper in the book, is it there for a reason in the story. or is it a plot device.
are you going for a flashback at the start of the story?
what is the genre, character feelings, etc...

you should not go for last resort methods, flashback, voiceover, text scroll. if you start weak, it only goes downhill. :beer:
 
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