Building Tension in Moving Images: Analyzing and Producing Narratives

1. Narrative II

2. To understand what is important in a narrative To recognise the features of moving images and camera techniques To understand how tension is built within a moving image Class discussion and notes Class discussion- sheet and looking at frames from shower scene in ‘Psycho’ Drawing storyboards Objectives Outcomes

3. What else is important in narratives? • Conflict: Good v Evil. • Motivation: • Ideology:

4. Types of Narrative • Linear- Works from beginning to end in real time • Parallel- When two plots are running simultaneously. Cross cutting is used i.e switching from one place to another so that the action appears to be happen at the same time • Anti-narrative- when the narrative structure is disrupted e.g flashbacks

5. Moving Images • What else do we need to consider when producing or analysing a moving image? • Camera movement • Editing techniques

6. Building Tension in the moving image: • Use of CU and BCU to show emotion • Focussing away from the action at more significant detail • Changing subject (e.g murderer and victim) • Short cuts

7. Editing • Film editing is a series of questions and answers – not always in the logical order – our next task is to play around with the order of images.

8. Group Task Look at the series of frames in front of you- they are from the film ‘Psycho’ and depict a very famous scene where the lead role is murdered in the shower. • In small groups try and put these frames in a sequence that builds tension. • How does your sequence attempt to build tension? • Which frames do you think build up tension effectively and why?

9. To be able to find examples of building tension in the moving image To be able to recognise tension building in the sound To be able to pick out diegetic and non diegetic sounds Watch clip and answer questions Watch again and make notes on sound Make notes on sound codes OBJECTIVES OUTCOMES

10. Watch the Clip- no sound Make notes on the building of tension

11. Write notes on • Lighting- positioning, shadows etc • Angles and shots • Editing- dissolves, cuts, framing, switching subject • Mise en Scene: Characters’ actions, setting, props • Focus and camera use - blurred/sharp, black and white/colour • Special Effects

12. To be able to apply knowledge on tension to production task To be able to storyboard Modelling as a class Brainstorming ideas Objectives Outcomes

13. Class Activity Task: We are going to plan and film a short sequence that builds tension. The scenario is that one of your group is doing something silly and will eventually fall off and hurt themselves. How are we going to build up tension leading up to the event.? Discuss and note down the possibilities as a group: Camera angles, subjects, transitions etc.

14. Storyboarding • A picture that shows the basics of the shot. • A commentary on the lighting, camera angles, sounds, mise en scene: • Timings and transitions between scenes.

15. Storyboards Storyboarding is the process of producing sketches of the shots of your script. The end result looks like comic book of your film (without the speech bubbles).

16. Storyboards are used primarily in film making to design individual shots before filming.  • They are also common in comic strip, animation, TV commercials, and multimedia design, but can be used for many other sorts of projects. 

17. Why do them? • It helps you think about how your film is going to look. • Pictures communicate better than words • It allows you to experiment quickly and cheaply, testing out different versions of how a scene may look and play on camera.

18. A storyboard should contain: • a sketch of the visual aspect of the screen, • information which will be present, • descriptions of animations, • interactions (e.g. dialog boxes), • sounds, • and any other media.

19. Showing Movement • To illustrate movement - whether its movement within the frame (actors walking) or the frame moving itself (camera panning etc.) story board artists often use arrows.

20. Suppose the camera is tracking in, following a bad guy's footsteps. Draw in an arrow pointing into shot to show the camera's movement. • Now the hero's head is pulled back by one of the bad guy's goons. Use an arrow to show the movement of the head being turned. • What about a zoom in? From each corner draw in arrows pointing to the centre, draw in a new smaller frame to show the end of the zoom. • Generally use thick white arrows to show camera moves and thin black arrows to show objects moving.

21. The Floating Frame There's two options: • Illustrate one shot using more than one storyboard frame showing the key stages of the shot's movement across a number of frames or • Draw out the entire scene (e.g.. the horizon of a city) and place a frame on it with an arrow indicating the direction of movement.

22. Transitions • The storyboard can also include transitions in your film. • Write these in the gaps between the frames e.g.. DISSOLVE TO :

23. A quick way of producing a Storyboard • Keep the area you have to draw small. • Copy up a set of storyboard sheets • Sketch in pencil • Scribble down short notes • Number your shots

29. Now it is your turn In your groups you are going to create a story board for a scene that leads up to an accident. • Brainstorm the ideas for building tension. • Begin to create your storyboard. • Be prepared to feedback to me and the class.

30. Detailed Storyboards

31. Guidelines for preparing a Storyboard • Decide what is to be shown • List the visuals in a logical order • Sketch the main elements and what will be in each shot • Describe the type of shot, e.g. LS, CU • If possible give a rough idea of the length of each shot • Explain what sound or dialogue is going on at the same time, e.g music, speech etc. • If someone else is involved in the shooting then make sure that they too can understand the storyboard.

32. Simple Storyboards Type of Shot: Action: Sound:

33. Simple Storyboards Type of Shot: Action: Sound:

34. Simple Storyboards Type of Shot: Action: Sound:

35. Simple Storyboards Type of Shot: Action: Sound:

36. Simple Storyboards Type of Shot: Action: Sound:

37. Storyboard Components & Influences: • Shot – a single element • Frame – limiting, cropping the image • Narrative flow – cutting/mixing/wiping/dissolving between scenes and sequences • Director of Photography – controls visual quality, camera placement etc. • Director - controls: acting, dialogue, editing etc. • Camera angle – direction of camera • Camera movement: pan, zoom, tilt, tracking, steady cam, crane etc.

38. Classwork – ‘P’ is for Psycho • To Discuss: imagine that you are about to make a short action-packed film. Give 3 reasons as to why it would be a good idea to draw up a storyboard before you began shooting the film. • Study the storyboard for ‘P’ is for Psycho. Try to imagine what it would look like on the screen. • What is happening in the opening sequence of the film? • How is the narrative flow established? • If you were directing this sequence, what aspects of the storyboard would you like to change?

39. Media Studies AS Level Practical Project – Storyboards/Soaps • Produce a storyboard for the scene you have written involving your assigned character in the soap ‘Gosforth Street’. It must contain at least 10 frames and describe: • Camera shots • Camera angles • Camera movements • Transitions (mix/dissolve/fade/cut/wipe etc.) • Action (what happens in each shot) • Sound (dialogue, voice-over, diegetic sound or musical soundtrack) • Any other relevant features e.g. lighting or special f/x • Produce a 500-word commentary on your storyboard. Make particular reference to the concept of representation (how you have presented your story, point of view, use or avoidance of stereotypes). Discuss how you have made your scene appeal to a particular audience and whom it might exclude. Show evidence of research into other media texts (soaps) and the target audience.