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Being a filmmaker means picking up inspiration and ideas from all around you – writers eavesdrop on buses, cinematographers might spot some climbing gear that could double function, directors might find great locations just wandering around town. Well, I’ve listened to a lot of music and, every so often a line or song will ping something up in my head and I’ll think about it in terms of film. Sometimes it will be inspiration for a scene, sometimes it will sharpen up an idea that was chuntering around.
Being a filmmaker means picking up inspiration and ideas from all around you – writers eavesdrop on buses, cinematographers might spot some climbing gear that could double function, directors might find great locations just wandering around town. Well, I’ve listened to a lot of music and, every so often a line or song will ping something up in my head and I’ll think about it in terms of film. Sometimes it will be inspiration for a scene, sometimes it will sharpen up an idea that was chuntering around.
Here are 5 lessons I’ve learned, or had crystallized, from song lyrics. Feel free to suggest your own.
1. “Give me a reason to love you”
‘Give Me a Reason to Love You’ by Portishead
Many writers seem to assume that because someone is the protagonist they are automatically likable and we should give them our sympathy. Not so – you have to give us a reason to love the hero – we haven’t spent as much time with them as you and we need a clear indicator of their personality nice and early on in the script. A certain Mr. Snyder thought the hero should save a cat; whatever you choose is fine, but give us a clear, externalized reason to love the hero.
2. “Every picture has its shadows
And it has some source of light
Blindness, blindness and sight”
‘Shadows and Light’ by Joni Mitchell
Cinematographers will often scout natural light locations using black and white equipment. Why? Because it gives them a better idea of the contrast of light and shadow on the location. That, not the glorious colour, is what will define your image. Where you set your light source, where the shadows fall – these all create emotive responses within the audience. Make sure you control them, use them to tell the story.
3. “I feel like I’m spinning out of control
Try to focus but everything’s twisted”
Part of getting that cinematic feel comes from having a very shallow depth of field set up on your camera. Using a shallow depth of field not only gives a great look to your film but it is also a great tool in the director’s box. Because so little of the picture is in focus the audience has no choice but to look at the plane that is in focus – this allows the director to control where the audiences eyes fall and to helps him tell the story of that scene.
4. “Put on your red dress
And then you go downtown now
I said buy yourself a shotgun now
We’re gonna break it down baby now”
‘Shotgun’ by Jr Walker and the Allstars
Getting good sound on location makes your life a whole much easier when it comes to post-production. ADR can be a drag, but, even if it was always going to be necessary, good location sound makes for a much better reference point than windy, trafficy garbled nonsense. Rather than use whatever microphone comes on your camera you should get a shotgun mic. These are highly directional which means that when you point them at your actor you pick up what they’re saying, and not the sound of someone dropping their tea or whatever else is going on behind camera. Sound is one of the most forgotten parts of the filmmaking process, but is also one of the most effective ways to tell a story (the radio did alright, didn’t it?). A shotgun mic will help capture great sounding dialogue and it’s also a great way to record effects needed for your foley track. Get good sound. Make good film. Done.
5. “If I look you in the eye
I swear I’ll die
‘Cos you kill everything you love”
‘You Kill Everything You Love’ by Skin
This one goes for both editing and scriptwriting – you have to learn to kill the things you love. That cute little scene, that wonderful line of dialogue – if it doesn’t serve the story it has to go. Look at the bigger picture and make sure your favourite funny moments aren’t running counter to the project as a whole. If they are, well, it hurts, but you’ve got to kill what you love.
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