This is an outline that I made up for my Intro to Film courses. For more examples of film scripts and writing by Bob Shepherd, go here: https://bobshepherdonline.wordpress.com/category/film/
Film, Course Outline |Robert Shepherd
Note: Emphasis throughout will be on applying the techniques and concepts taught to the production of original work. The typical modus operandi of the course will be: definition of technique or concept, illustration of concept in film shorts and stills, application of the concept in original work by the student.
Preliminaries: Intellectual Property
Copyright
Fair use
Preliminaries: The Basis of Film
Cognitive/Perceptual Bias: Persistence of vision
Cognitive/Perceptual Bias: The Phi Phenomenon
Cognitive/Perceptual Bias: Blurring as the Basis of Smooth Motion
Cognitive Bias: The Kuleshov Effect
Automaticity, Manipulation, and Propaganda:
Why Lenin and Hitler Both Started Film Studios
Preliminaries: Montage
W. Griffith and Continuity Editing
Fixed camera shots in early film
Editing to show continuous action, based on narrative
Fills in gaps between locations
Sergei Eisenstein’s types of montage
Metric (editing based on the clock)
Rhythmic (cuts based on length of time action takes)
Tonal (cuts to establish mood)
Overtonal (using all of the above)
Intellectual (cuts for symbolic or other intellectual purpose)
Vsevolod Pudovkin’s types of montage
Contrast (cuts between two different things or actions)
Parallelism (cuts between similar actions)
Symbolic (cuts between a thing and a symbol of the thing)
Simultaneity (cuts between events happening at same time)
Leitmotif (cuts to significant item to which film returns from time to time)
Continuity versus ellipsis
Preliminaries: The Language of Design
Design Elements
Color and light
Hue
Additive (RGB projection) versus subtractive (CMYB printing) color
Saturation
Tone and Value
Line
Resolution
Shape
Form, or Volume
Pattern
Texture
Balance
Symmetry and Asymmetry
Raster versus vector images
Composition and the Frame
Aspect Ratio
Academy standard (old films) 1.375: 1 (11:8)
SC TV 1.33: 1 ( 4 x 3)
HDTV 1.78: 1 (16 x 9)
Film (European widescreen) 1.66: 1 (5 x 3)
Film (current U.S. film standard, widescreen) 1.85: 1
Film (U.S. widescreen, anamorphic) 2.35: 1
Focal Length and Field of View
Normal Lens
Telephoto (compresses z dimension, makes things look closer together)
Wide-angle Lens (extends z dimension, makes things look further apart)
Aperture, f-Stop and t-Stop, and Depth of Field
Aperture controls depth of field (amount in focus)
Smaller aperture increases depth of field/larger decreases it
Full stop halves or doubles the light (higher f-Stop, smaller aperture)
The Rules
- Fill the frame.
- Save the symmetry for objects; if you use it with people, there must be a compensating element.
- Use balance across vertical, horizontal, or diagonal planes.
- Avoid distracting foreground/background overlaps.
- Use asymmetrical balance.
- Include lead and head room.
- Follow the Rule of Odd Numbers.
- Avoid lining objects up horizontally and vertically; use diagonals.
- Include objects to indicate scale.
- Frame the shot
- Don’t use the unreal or unnatural unintentionally.
- Avoid crowding or clipping objects unintentionally.
- Avoid unintentional crashes.
- KISS: Focus on the subject; unclutter the foreground and background.
- Lead the eye.
- Use negative space.
- Put the horizon high or low, but not in the middle.
- Have one point of primary focus.
- Use the Rule of Thirds.
- Use the Golden Ratio.
- Use the Golden Triangle.
- Shoot from an interesting angle, high or low, but not straight on.
- Arrange things geometrically, especially in triangles.
- Use color symbolically.
- Use “follow the eyes” to focus attention.
- Align things, but not overly obviously.
- Make it natural.
- Use wabi-sabi.
- Use varying planes to create depth.
Film Flow and Editing
The Master Shot method
The master shot, cover shot, or A roll
B-roll, or overlay
Coverage and the turnaround (going to the next shot)
The Establishing shot
Clean frame entrances and exits
Bridging shot
The Freeform method
Continuity
Types of cuts and transitions
On action (while subject is in motion)
Cutaway, or insert
Cross-cut (back and forth, as in telephone conversation or parallel events)
Content or continuity cut (takes one seamlessly from one scene to another)
POV (cutaway to what actor is looking at)
Morph (one changes to another)
Iris (opening and closing an aperture)
Wipe (up, down, left, right, diagonal)
Smash cut (abrupt transition)
Match cut (same shape, different content)
Verbal match cut (new completes the sound)
Dissolve (blending one shot into another)
Cut hidden in black, object crossing, invisible
Conceptual (idea-based)
Zero (overlap of A and B roll)
Jump (cut between same shot, violating 30-degree rule)
L-cut (audio carries to next shot)
J-cut (audio starting before cut)
Fade (to white or black or from white or black)
Intertitle
The 30-degree rule
The 180-degree rule
Follow shot, or Tracking shot
Pan
Zoom
Storyboarding
Superimposition
Types of Shots
Character Shots
Wide shot, Full Shot, and Long Shot, or WS, FS, LS
Full Shot
Cowboy
Medium shot, or MS
Medium close-up, or MCU
Close-up, or CU
Big head CU
Extreme close up, or ECU
The Two Shot
The Three Shot
50-50
Dialogue establishing WS
Over-the-shoulder, or OTC
Answering shot, shot reverse shot
Clean single
Dirty single
Cutaway
Jump shot
Types of Eyeline matching
Other types of shots
Insert
Connecting shot
Transitional shot
Iris shot
Angles
Straight-on
Low
High
Dutch
Mise-en-Scène
Character(s)
Setting, landscape, natural and artificial objects (set pieces)
Properties
Costumes
Lighting
Key lighting (fundamental coverage)
High key
Low key
Fill lighting
Background lighting
Sound Effects
Special Effects
Music
Visual/Conceptual metaphor and symbolism
Rules for mise-en-scène
The Rule of Simplicity (KISS)
The Rule of Time and Place
The Rule of Sufficient Illumination (key, fill, and backlighting)
The Rule of Contribution to the Dominant effect
The Rule of Focus
Via position/geometry
Via hue, saturation, and tone
Via depth of field
The Rule of Stylistic Integrity
The Rule of Continuity
Eye tracking studies
Saccades
Fixation
Scene-driven
Audience-driven
Effects of multiple viewing
Narrative
Ways of telling a story
Diegis (narrated)
Mimesis (acted out)
Parts of a Narrative
Conflict
Internal versus external
Individual versus group
Inciting incident
Exposition
Rising action
Pinch points
Crisis
Climax
Falling Action
Denouement
Foreshadowing
Flashback
Dream sequence
Subplots
The fourth wall/reality and unreality
Theory of mind
Ascription of motivation
Cognitive Bias: The Fundamental Attribution Error
Character complexity
Flat, Stereotypical
Round
Character arcs
Static (no arc)
Dynamic (arc)
Character types
Hero
Villain
Antihero
Supporting
Incidental/extras
Point of view
Omniscient
Limited
Third person
Second person
First person
Acting in Film
Elements of vocal character
Pitch and Intonation
Stress and rhythm
Length
Pace
Volume
Timbre
Articulation and Enunciation
Diction (word choice)
Heightening
Expectation
Silence, pausing
Movement
Register
Dialect
Tone/Emotion
Paralinguistic vocalization
Speech acts
Propositional content
References
Illocutionary force, performatives
Assertives
Directives
Commissives
Expressives
Declarations
Perlocutionary acts
Persuading, convincing
Scaring
Insulting
Inciting
Body language and movement
Dress
Respiration
Facial Expression
Eye Contact
Gesture
Stance
Posture
Proximity
Contact
Movement
Gait
Flexion
Fighting
Dance
Blocking
Cues
Marks
Crosses
Covering
Upstaging
Asymmetry and Focus
Entrances and Exits
Motivation
Appeals
Ethos
Logos
Pathos
Hierarchy of needs
Physiological needs
Safety
Social
Esteem
Self-actualization
Moral foundations theory
Care/harm
Fairness/cheating
Loyalty/betrayal
Authority/subversion
Sanctity or purity/degradation
Character continuity
Character growth
Dynamic characters
Static characters
Method acting technique
Constantin Stanislavsky
Being the character
Techniques
Line-by-line motivation
Sensory memory
What’s in his/her pockets?
Total recall
Backstory
Select Genres of film
By setting
War film
Western
Space opera
By theme or topic
Sci fi
Sports drama
Crime drama
Legal drama
Bildungsroman
Action/adventure
Road Trip
Generational Saga
Epic
Literary
Musical
Documentary
Mockumentary
Educational
By mood
Comedy
Romantic comedy
Romantic tragedy
Illness-of-the-week
Horror
Film noir
By target audience
Children’s
Tween and teen
Women’s
By type and cost of production
Big-budget blockbuster
Hollywood
Bollywood
Indie
Short
Animation
B-movie
By format
Analog
Digital
35 mm
16 mm
8 mm
Aspect ratio
Mixed genres
Styles of film
Realism
Box drama
Expressionism
Surrealism
Dada
Music and sound effects
Establishing
Ambient
For continuity
For transition
For punctuation
Theme
Sound editing
Visual and special effects
Mechanical effects
Properties
Scenery and set pieces
Animatronics
Masks
Pyrotechnics
Atmospheric effects
Prosthetic makeup
Multiple exposure
Mattes
Green screen
Miniatures
Backdrops and screens
Rear projection
Traditional animation
Bullet time, stop motion, and go motion
Wires and wire removal
Laser printing
CGI
Hand coloring
Layering/rotoscoping
CGI Animation
Motion capture
Morphing
3D models
Laser printing
Film Editing using Camtasia
Master shot method
Adding titles
Adding credits
Adding stills
Adding transitions
Adding and editing music
Adding and editing sound effects
Screenwriting
Script format for screenplays
Cover
Title
Scene headings
Scene descriptions
Character names
Dialogue
Stage directions
Believable dialogue
Story structures
The hero’s journey
Three-act structure
Hollywood Paradigm
Opening image
Act 1
Exposition
Inciting incident
Plot point 1
Act 2
Pinch 1
Midpoint
Act 3
Pinch 2
Plot point 2
Showdown
Resolution
Tag, or Denouement
Adaptation
Comparison of Rod Serling stories and scripts
Comparison of treatments of a single work (Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet)
Approaches to film criticism
Formalism
Auteur theory/intentional criticism/New Wave
Feminist criticism
Post-colonial criticism
Structuralism
Semiotics
Paradigmatic relations
Sign
Signifier
Icon
Symbol
Index
Syntagmatic relations
Synchronic
Diachronic
Diatopic
Lacanian and Existentialist Criticism
The Look, or Gaze
Deconstruction
The Future of Film
Giant widescreen
Sonar 3D mapping
Interactive environments
Interactive plotting: forking paths
Virtual reality: Immersive, mixed reality environments via wearables
Haptics
Digital actors
Drone-mounted cameras
Holographic film
Remote presence live action
Crowd-sourced development
Exponential decrease in barriers to entry: The future is indie
Careers in Film
Semester Projects
Semester 1: Educational film-making project (Khan Academy-style short)
Semester 2: Short dramatic film project
Copyright 2014, Robert D. Shepherd. All rights reserved. Feel free to copy and use this outline, but please acknowledge its source (e.g., adapted from Intro to Film Course Outline by Robert D. Shepherd). Thanks!
Bob Shepherd | Praxis 