Pre-Production Documentation

One last post for the month of February before it ends! & 2 more months to go before this semester will end! Okay, so working on the pre-production document really was quite an eye-opener for me, because even for such short films (approximately 4 mins in all) there's already so many considerations apart from the aesthetic design to look in! Imagine just how thorough the pre-production document for a sitcom would be, needless to say a movie!

Anyway I never understood the importance of a pre-production document until I actually got down to writing it. It's really useful to keep track of things and make sure everyone's on the same page! If it wasn't for this pre-production document, I would still be thinking that there's a lot of time to work on the final project, but HELL NO, we're really running out of time especially when the coming weeks will be when all the other essays/projects/presentations are going to be due. The weeks ahead are going to be a struggle! :O YOU GOTTA HANG IN THERE, SHERILYN!!

Okay, so scriptwriting can be quite fun. Once you get the hang of it, you'll start writing faster. It's especially useful to have the storyboard in front of you while writing the scripts, because everything becomes so much clearer! I'll post the storyboard for our videos up in just a moment, just be patient. I've learnt that writing scripts for pre-production document does not have to be very detailed as long as it captures the essential elements. You don't even need to include transitions, shots etc. - that will all be included in the production document. For pre-production, you basically need to capture the important actions as succinctly as possible!

So the ideas that we generated for our final project to promote NUS would be in the form of a MTV/Documentary, as well as an Advertisement. More details will be up in the pre-production document which will be handed up soon!

In the meantime, as promised here's the storyboard for our videos!

VIDEO 1: MTV/Documentary


VIDEO 2: Advertisement


Sounds interesting? Hope you're able to visualize it the way we do! Check back again at a later time for our progress!

& it's back to school again! ARGH, time to brave the winds of assignments, essays, projects, presentations!

Presentation 3

Okay, the letter of the day is T. So we shall review 2 scripts from 2 very well-known movies, namely Titanic and Transformers! :D

First up, Titanic! After seeing the script, I really feel that it's really very detailed and well-written. Good job James Cameron! :)

http://www.awesomefilm.com/script/titanic.html



Written and Directed by:

James Cameron

Cast:
Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater
Leonardo Dicaprio as Jack Dawson
Kathy Bates as The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Billy Zane as Caledon Hockley
Bill Paxton as Brock Lovett

VOICE OVER (indicated by V.O.):

1) LOVETT (V.O.)
Dive nine. Here we are again on the deck of Titanic... two and a half miles
down. The pressure is three tons per square inch, enough to crush us like a
freight train going over an ant if our hull fails. These windows are nine
inches thick and if they go, it's sayonara in two microseconds.

8 Mir Two lands on the boat deck, next to the ruins of the Officer's
Quarters. Mir One lands on the roof of the deck hous nearby.

2) BODINE (V.O.)
Walkin' the dog.

SNOOP DOG drives itself away from the sub, paying out its umbilical behind
it like a robot yo-yo. Its twin stereo-video cameras swivel like insect
eyes. The ROV descends through an open shaft that once was the beautiful
First Class Grand Staircase.

Snoop Dog goes down several decks, then moves laterally into the First
Class Reception Room.

3) LOVETT (V.O.)
I've planned this expedition for three years, and we're out here recovering
some amazing things... things that will have enormous historical and
educational value.

CNN REPORTER (V.O.)
But it's no secret that education is not your main purpose. You're a
treasure hunter. So what is the treasure you're hunting?

LOVETT (V.O.)
I'd rather show you than tell you, and we think we're very close to doing
just that.

The old woman's name is ROSE CALVERT. Her face is a wrinkled mass, her body
shapeless and shrunken under a one-piece African-print dress.

But her eyes are just as bright and alive as those of a young girl.

Rose gets up and walks into the living room, wiping pottery clay from her
hands with a rag. A Pomeranian dog gets up and comes in with her.

The younger soman, LIZZY CALVERT, rushes to help her.

4) REPORTER (V.O.)
Your expedition is at the center of a storm of controversy over salvage
rights and even ethics. Many are calling you a grave robber.

CAMERA MOVEMENT:

1) TILTING DOWN to follow it as it descends away into the limitless blackness
below. Soon they are fireflies, then stars. Then gone.

2) PULL BACK from the screen, showing the CNN report playing on a TV set in the living room of a small rustic house. It is full of ceramics, figurines,
folk art, the walls crammed with drawings and paintings... things collected
over a lifetime.

PANNING to show a glassed-in studio attached to the house. Outside it is a
quiet morning in Ojai, California. In the studio, amid incredible clutter,
an ANCIENT WOMAN is throwing a pot on a potter's wheel. The liquid red clay
covers her hands... hands that are gnarled and age-spotted, but still
surprisingly strong and supple. A woman in her early forties assists her.

3) PAN 180 degrees as it roars past. There is no land at either
horizon.

TRANSITION:

1) As the underwater camera rises past the rusted bow rail, WE DISSOLVE /
MATCH MOVE to that same railing in 1912...

HOW DOES IT PRESENT TIME AND PLACE?

Time and place are presented through the use of cuts, or transitions such as dissolve. The following are some examples:

1) CUT TO: 2 EXT./ INT. MIR ONE / NORTH ATLANTIC DEEP

2) CUT TO: 3 EXT. THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA

3) CUT TO: 14 EXT. STERN OF DECK OF KEDYSH - DAY

4) CUT TO: 15 INT. LAB DECK, PRESERVATION ROOM - DAY

5) CUT TO: 18 EXT. KELDYSH DECK - NIGHT

6) As the underwater camera rises past the rusted bow rail, WE DISSOLVE /
MATCH MOVE to that same railing in 1912...MATCH DISSOLVE: 34 EXT. SOUTHAMPTON DOCK - DAY...SHOT CONTINUES IN A FLORIOUS REVEAL as the gleaming white superstructure of Titanic rises mountainously beyond the rail, and above that the
buff-colored funnels stand against the sky like the pillars of a great
temple. Crewmen move across the deck, dwarfed by the awesome scale of the
steamer.

Next up, TRANSFORMERS!



http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Transformers-The-Movie.html

For transformers, there are a lot of characters! But okay, I will just name the few main ones that all of us would know :)

Characters:
Ironhide
Optimus Prime
Jazz
Bumblebee
Spike
Megatron
Starscream
Daniel
Springer
Arcee

VOICE OVER (indicated by V.O.):

1) OPTIMUS PRIME (V.O.)
Jazz, report security status.

2) JAZZ (V.O.)
Jazz to Moon Base 2.

3) CLIFFJUMPER (V.O.)
Liftoff. Suddenly, the shuttle rips out of the ground in a ball of fire.
As it takes off, we realize this isn't any dinky shuttle, but a
massive ship, capable of carrying all the energon needed to
fight a war and an army to boot.

CAMERA MOVEMENT:

1) DOLLY THROUGH THE COMPLEX until we arrive at a Command Center where several Autobots peer into monitors, running constant
surveillance on Cybertron.

2) TRACK WITH KRANIX AS...
He takes off.

3) ANGLE ON ONE OF THE CREATURES - TRACKING
The creature is KRANIX. We will meet him later on in a very different context, but for now, he is running from the ever-growing mist that threatens to engulf him

4) PAN FORWARD to SHOW that this hideous planet is on a direct collision course with...

5) HIGH ANGLE - LOOKING DOWN ON COURTYARD - TRACKING SPRINGER AND ARCEE

6) LONG SHOT -AUTOBOT CITY BESIEGED

TRANSITIONS:

1)FADE IN

2) DISSOLVE TO: EXT. SPACE - LATER
The shuttle hurtles though a massive asteroid field.

3) DISSOLVE TO: EXT. EARTH - CLOSE SHOT- MINIATURE RADAR SCREEN

HOW DOES IT PRESENT PLACE AND TIME?

Time and place are presented through the use of cuts, dissolve and panning.

1) PAN UP and through the sky to - ANOTHER MOON
This is the second moon. It is much closer to Cybertron than the first one. This is where Bumblebee and Spike are stationed.

2) CUT TO: INT. THE SHUTTLE

3) DISSOLVE TO: EXT. SPACE - LATER

4) DISSOLVE TO: EXT. EARTH - CLOSE SHOT- MINIATURE RADAR SCREEN

& now for my own script! As mentioned during the previous tutorial session, I will have my narration be read out as a rhyme. Okay, so here’s my script FOR NOW. It will be subjected to more changes as I go along the way. Oh I’m not very sure of the transitions to use yet, got work with it to see which one would fit best. I hope this is the way to write scripts…so here goes my first attempt!

1. Opening:

(sound starts)

Narrator:
While searching high and low on the map,
SHOW world map.
Narrator:
Allow me to share with you a single fact.
ZOOM IN on Asia on the world map.

Narrator:
Being the 30th best university on the map,
CUT TO Singapore map.
Narrator:
C’mon I think we deserve a clap.
ZOOM IN on Clementi (NUS).
FADE TO BLACK

2. Body

Narrator:
Just up ahead
SHOW ahead sign and pan upwards
Narrator:
Towards the west,
SHOW University sign pointing west
Narrator:
You can see our flag waving at its best
PAN upwards towards flag
FADE TO WHITE?

Narrator:
If you think you’re not cool enough for school, think again!
SHOW and ZOOM OUT from cool sign
Narrator:
You’re the one who will define what’s cool.
SHOW and PAN ACROSS spastic photo
FADE TO WHITE?

Narrator:
Many friendships will be forged along the way,
SHOW camp photo 1
SHOW and ZOOM INTO camp photo 2
Narrator:
Especially oweek and rag day.
SHOW balloons
SHOW and PAN ACROSS rag day photo
FADE TO WHITE?

Narrator:
You are given the chance to shine,
SHOW teamNUS photo 1
SHOW and ZOOM INTO teamNUS photo 2
Narrator:
Seize it and don’t lag behind.
SHOW and ZOOM OUT teamNUS photo 3
FADE TO WHITE?

Narrator:
World peace that’s what they always say
SHOW peace sign
SHOW and ZOOM OUT suichuan photo 1
Narrator:
But who ever goes about making their day?
SHOW and PAN ACROSS suichuan photo 2
FADE TO WHITE?

Narrator:
If you’ve got a heart of gold,
SHOW suichuan photo 3
Narrator:
Go overseas and do something bold.
SHOW and ZOOM INTO suichuan photo 4
FADE TO BLACK?

Narrator:
Academic wise you may ask,
SHOW books photo 1
Narrator:
You’ve got to do more than just pass
SHOW and ZOOM OUT of failing photo
CUT TO:

Narrator:
Work may pile up high,
SHOW and PAN upwards books photo 2
Narrator:
But hey at least they’re still not as high up to the sky
SHOW and ZOOM OUT sleeping photo
FADE TO BLACK:

Narrator:
Everybody has a part to play, what are you waiting for?
(photo collage of all the photos shown)
Narrator:
Come join NUS today!
ZOOM OUT NUS logo.

Assignment 2: Ken Burns

恭喜发财，把A拿来! Okay, just kidding but not really. :]

For assignment 2, we're supposed to use Ken Burns effect to create a video to promote NUS. SO the big question is...what have I gained from my 3 years in NUS other than huge black eye rings? I've gained opportunities to experience different things. I've gained new perspectives in life. But most importantly, it's really the friendships that are forged here in NUS. So in this video I intend to incorporate the significant events that I had participated during my stay here in NUS, and will touch very briefly on academic stuff because showing too much academic stuff gets a little boring. Besides, if it's going to be used for Admissions, then a video that just shows too much academic content will not be effective in persuading - it might even scare people off. I feel that it's the personal touch that will move people! Anyway, I already have a theme in mind which I will use throughout my video, and I kinda can picture how my video is going to be like...but I will not divulge it here YET! Keep y'all in suspense for awhile until the final product comes out!

In the meantime, here's the draft of my video.



Oh, check out Yale's video! My gosh, after watching it, it really makes me wanna go to Yale! Very effective admissions video even though it's 16mins long, but I was captivated all the way! GOOD JOB YALE! :D (never gonna be able to create a video like this in such a short span of time, plus with the lack of resources! sigh.)



* Edited at a later time.

OKAY, I'M DONE WITH MY KEN BURNS ASSIGNMENT :) Actually, I got to say Ken Burns is quite easy to do with Adobe Premiere Pro, basically just putting the photos together and adding in transitions! This assignment feels much easier than creating a website!! I guess the hardest part for this assignment was choosing the correct photos to put in and the right music. Oh yeah, not forgetting the voice overs! I had to redo them many times to perfect it. At first, I intended to do some animation using Adobe After Effects, but I was afraid I might get too caught up in it, and shift the focus away from the Ken Burns effect. So I said no no to After Effects!

Okay, so here's the final product! CHECK IT OUT! :D