Film Studies and Cinematography/Project 1

-SPETEMBER 24, 2024

24/09/2024 - //2024 (Week 02 – Week 06)

Wang Yifan / 0368363

Film Studies and Cinematography / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylors University

Project 1 – Story Development

INTRODUCTION

LECTURES

Week 1

In this week’s class, Mr. Kamal provided us with a detailed overview of the MIB (Module Information Booklet) for this subject, walking us through the course objectives, key learning points, and expected outcomes. He also outlined the tasks for each phase, including initial research and analysis, mid-term design development, and final review and presentation. His explanations gave us a clearer understanding of the course structure and task distribution, helping us better grasp the direction of our future studies and the effort required.

Fig1.1 Class Notes,Week 1(24/9/2024)

Week 2

Introduction

The power of storytelling lies in its ability to resonate deeply with people on an emotional level.

When personal experiences are woven into a story, it becomes more vivid, relatable, and impactful. Often, it takes multiple retellings to shape a fully realized story.

Pixar aims to inspire others to tell their own stories through the storytelling process.

Your Unique Perspective

Pixar’s storytellers share how they began their creative journeys, using different methods to express themselves. They talk about drawing, comic books, and finding inspiration in their lives. Each creator emphasizes the importance of personal experiences and unique perspectives in storytelling, encouraging audiences to recall their own vivid memories and express them in unique ways. This highlights the power of storytelling and the individuality each person brings to their stories.

How Asking “What if…” Sparks Imagination

“What if…” questions spark the imagination and strengthen storytelling skills. These questions open doors to endless possibilities by setting aside logical constraints. For Sanjay’s Super Team, the director used “what if…” questions to guide the creative process. At Pixar, “what if” is a simple yet powerful way to communicate story ideas.

Notes

World and character are essential elements in storytelling. The world can symbolize deeper themes, like growth in Toy Story. Even if the world takes a backseat, characters should remain compelling and persuasive. Some creators focus on character development, while others prioritize the world. The most engaging stories often arise when world and character intersect.

Week 3

Character Development：Character Development is about creating characters that engage the audience by placing them in situations that reveal who they truly are.

Key Ideas

Elevator Test:A quick scenario to understand a character’s reactions under pressure.

Character Flaws:Characters should have noticeable flaws, which make them relatable and engaging.

Audience Connection:Characters lead the audience through the story by sharing their experiences and emotions.

Creative Exercises:The lesson encourages trying various approaches to craft interesting characters.

Supportive Guidance:A virtual assistant is always available to provide help and direction.

Character Development Process：The goal is to build multi-dimensional characters with whom viewers can connect. This involves both external traits(appearance, style) and internal traits(fears, strengths). Realism is achieved by drawing from real-life influences and understanding a character's desires, which fuel their journey.

Understanding a character’s wants versus needs is essential in crafting depth. Wants drive their actions, while needs shape their growth.

Challenges

Challenges, whether external or internal, add depth by preventing characters from easily getting what they want or need. These obstacles reveal a character’s flaws and push them toward growth, triggering fight-or-flight reactions.

The best challenges reflect the character’s shortcomings, forcing them to evaluate their wants and needs.

Character Arc：A character arc charts how a character changes through the choices they make in response to challenges. Without obstacles, there’s no growth.

In films like The Incredibles and Inside Out, characters face challenges that lead to personal growth. Characters must work for their achievements to truly value them.

Stakes：Stakes create tension and answer, “Why does it matter?” Stakes may be external (physical consequences), internal (emotional stakes), or philosophical (impact on beliefs or values).

Fig1.2 Class Notes,Week 3(8/9/2024)

Class Notes：

External feature: A character's appearance or style.

Internal feature: A character’s personality, beliefs, or motivations.

Want: The drive that pushes a character forward.

Need: The growth required for a character’s success.

Obstacle: Anything that hinders a character from achieving their goals.

Character arc: The transformation that occurs through overcoming challenges.

Stakes: What’s at risk if a character fails.

Types of Stakes:

- External: Physical consequences to the character or world.

- Internal: Emotional impacts on the character.

- Philosophical: Effects on values or beliefs.

Week 4

Story Structure

Story structure is the way a story is organized, similar to the foundation of a building, providing support for the plot and helping establish its rhythm.

Basic Structure: Beginning - Middle - End

Storyline: A straightforward framework that organizes the main flow and development of the story.

Theme: The theme is the deeper message or lesson (moral) within the story, often related to the protagonist's needs and growth.

Applying Storyline Structure

Act One

1. Once upon a time… (setting the scene)

2. Every day… (establishing the normal state)

3. Until one day… (introducing conflict or change)

Act Two

4. Because of that… (the protagonist’s response)

5. Because of that… (further challenges or choices)

6. Because of that… (escalating complications)

Act Three

7. Until finally… (reaching the climax or resolution)

8. And ever since that day… (the story’s conclusion and lasting change)

Story Meaning

The meaning of this story is… (summarizing the theme or lesson)

Fig1.3 Class Notes,Week 4(15/10/2024)

Week 5

Script Formatting Guide

Scene Heading: Scene headings should be in all caps, starting with "INT" or "EXT" to indicate interior or exterior, followed by the location and time of day (e.g., DAY or NIGHT).

Action: Any important sound effects that are heard off-screen should be in all caps to emphasize their significance to the story.

Character: Character names should appear on a separate line in all caps. If the character is speaking off-screen or in voiceover, mark it with "OS" (off-screen) or "VO" (voiceover).

Parentheticals: Use parentheticals sparingly to provide context or clarify how a line should be delivered, without cluttering the script.

Dialogue: Dialogue blocks should be centered and set apart from other text on the page. For overlapping dialogue, write in side-by-side blocks.

Margins and Spacing: Left margin should be 1.5 inches, with 1-inch top and bottom margins. Dialogue blocks should be indented 3.7 inches from the left side of the page.

Week 6

Elements of Film Grammar

Framing: Organizing and composing the visual elements within each shot.

Phasing: The progressive development of story segments.

Motion: The movement of both the camera and the characters.

Editing: The sequencing and rhythm of shots.

Tone: Conveying atmosphere and emotion through major and minor tonalities.

Primary Shot Types

Wide, medium, and close-up shots are the most commonly used, determining how the audience engages with the scene.

Extreme Shots and Angles

Wide-Angle Shots: Use ultra-wide angles to showcase the vastness of the setting and create a sense of scale.

Close-Up Shots: Extreme close-ups bring the viewer near the subject, amplifying intense emotions.

Dutch Angle: Tilting the camera to create a diagonal perspective adds a feeling of disorientation or tension.

Static vs. Dynamic Shots

Static Shots: Fixed framing provides straightforward composition, keeping attention on the subject rather than the camera movement.

Dynamic Shots: Moving shots create varied effects and enhance emotional or visual impact.

Fig1.5 Class Notes,Week 6(30/10/2024)

Project 1: Develop Short Story

In this project, we have to develop the story from each week activities progressively:

Story Ideas - get ideas on various techniques such as write what you know, what if statement and character & world.
Character Development - from your ideas, develop your main character by giving his or her obstacles (external & internal), goal, want vs need, character arcs.
Setting - putting the character into the right setting such as era, world
Story Arcs and Theme - inciting incident, 3 acts structure, log line

Requirements:

Write a report in word document which consist of:

Story Title
Logline
Synopsis
Theme
Character Description
World Description
Script

Export as pdf
Update all the progress in e-portfolio

Story Exploration

In week 2, we should first think about the story ideas. I drafted out a few ideas initially.

Idea 1: A lonely man received an unanswered phone call. From then on, the phone kept ringing, as if there was an unknown force monitoring his life. As he continued to investigate, he finally discovered a terrifying... the truth.

Idea 2: The heroine found an unsent letter in the attic of an old house. The letter described a love that could not begin. She decided to find the original owner of the letter and help him fulfill this regret, and finally found her own love in the process. love.

Idea 3: A young woman who has just entered the workplace feels powerless and exhausted about her life. One day, she met her "other self" in front of the mirror. The self in the mirror complained about her living conditions and walked out of the mirror.

At first, I wanted to go with the first idea, but then, I felt that idea 3 would be more interesting compared to the other two ideas.

Story summary：

Xiaomei, a young woman who has just entered the workplace, feels powerless and tired of her life. One day, she met her "other self" in the mirror - Xiao Hei. Xiao Hei angrily criticized her living conditions and walked out of the mirror, dragging Xiao Mei into the dark mirror world. . In this confrontation with her "inner self", Xiaomei gradually realized that only she could control her life, and finally decided to face reality and work hard to change.

Character Description

Initial Character Description

Xiaomei:

Basic Info: Just graduated, now working and adjusting to office life.

Appearance: Used to have good skin, but now it's dull and acne-prone due to stress. Gained weight, looks tired.

Xiaohei (Mirror Xiaomei):

Basic Info: Represents Xiaomei's negative emotions and self-doubt.

Appearance: Looks like Xiaomei but with a more angry and harsh expression.

Character Development

After getting the story idea, I try to develop the character by identifying her features, personalities, needs, wants externally or/and internally after Week 3's class.

Want: Xiao Mei wants to escape pressures and avoid facing her issues.

Need: She needs to care for herself, take responsibility, and regain control over her life. "Xiao Hei" represents her desire for a better version of herself.

Obstacles for Xiao Mei

External Obstacles:

Work pressure makes her exhausted.
Daily life is out of control.
Social expectations bring immense stress.

Internal Obstacles:

Self-doubt, lacking confidence.
Escaping reality, unwilling to face problems.
Lack of motivation, declining self-discipline.

Obstacles for Xiao Hei

External Obstacles:

Trapped in the mirror, limited actions.
Directly affected by Xiao Mei's behavior.
Powerless over reality, forced to endure.

Internal Obstacles:

Anger and resentment, dragged down by Xiao Mei.
Desire for control, wants to replace Xiao Mei and live better.

Feeling isolated, being ignored intensifies his anger.

Character Arc

Initial State: Xiao Mei struggles with work and neglects herself.
Turning Point: Confronting "Xiao Hei" makes her realize her dissatisfaction and the need to change.
Final Awakening: After being thrown into the mirror, she fights to regain control and wakes up determined to change.

World Description:

The background of the story is modern workplace life. Xiaomei is a newcomer to the workplace who has just graduated one year ago. The story is set in the office and her home, where reality and the "mirror world" alternate. The mirror symbolizes her inner reflection and her dissatisfaction with her current situation. At the same time, it also reflects Xiaomei’s anxiety and inner struggle under the pressure of the modern workplace.

Story Structures

After week 4's lecture, we continue to improve our storyline based on the 3 act structure. We applied story spine to our story idea.

Act 1

Once upon a time, Xiao Mei had just graduated from college, full of hope as she entered the workforce.
Every day, she worked hard, but life gradually became monotonous and stressful, and she began to neglect her health and well-being.
Until one day, Xiao Mei stood in front of the mirror at night and noticed that her reflection (Xiao Hei) didn’t move with her, and even looked angry, criticizing her lifestyle, which scared her.

Act 2

Therefore, Xiao Hei started scolding Xiao Mei, blaming her for dragging both of them down with her poor lifestyle.

Therefore, Xiao Hei stepped out of the mirror, grabbed Xiao Mei, and dragged her into the mirror world, forcing Xiao Mei to confront her inner fears and dissatisfaction.

Therefore, Xiao Mei found herself trapped in the mirror, watching Xiao Hei take over her life, feeling helpless and scared, realizing that she needed to make a change.

Act 3

Until finally, Xiao Mei suddenly woke up from the dream, realizing it was all just a nightmare, but it served as a wake-up call.

From that moment on, Xiao Mei decided to take her life more seriously, starting to make positive changes, even though the final smile from Xiao Hei in the mirror hinted that her inner struggle was still ongoing.

The moral of this story is: In the face of challenges and self-dissatisfaction, we must confront these issues head-on and strive to change rather than avoid them. Only by acknowledging our inner voices can we find the strength to move forward.

Theme:

The story reflects the anxiety and pressure many young people face today, especially feeling unhappy with their life but struggling to change. Xiao Mei's struggle represents young professionals wanting to improve but feeling powerless. Xiao Hei in the mirror symbolizes her desire to be better, highlighting her dissatisfaction. The mix of reality and dream shows the psychological pressure of striving for self-improvement.

script

After learning the format of a title page and screenplay writing, we began writing a screenplay in class that included our storyline.

Final Project 1:

Final Project 1: Story Development - Report

REFLECTION

Experiences

In my first Film Studies and Cinematography project, I independently developed the story from concept to plot. This process deepened my understanding of personal creativity and self-management. Working solo allowed me to focus on my unique perspective, and through ongoing refinement, I improved my skills in balancing plot logic with character development.

Observations

I observed that each story element plays a crucial role in crafting a compelling narrative, especially in animation. Clear character motivations and conflicts, along with a well-defined setting, are essential to quickly engage the audience. Every component needs to work cohesively to form a complete and immersive story experience.

Findings

This project highlighted the importance of structure and clarity in storytelling. Utilizing a three-act structure kept the narrative streamlined, while a clear theme and character arc made the story more engaging and memorable. Overall, this experience reinforced the power of structured storytelling techniques in creating impactful animations.

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Wang Yifan (0368363)