Category Archives: Filmmaking

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

July 20, 2015

Posted under

Filmmaking

Comments

Leave a comment

How to Study Film Craft through Analysis

How to Study Film Craft through AnalysisPeople are shocked to hear how often I watch movies. After I share that I’m not just watching, but studying the films, they become amazed at how I draw information from the greatest directors of our time. The steps are simple enough and the value of my findings exceeds that of what a focused film student can gain from a professor, so I’ve decided to share the steps of my analysis process.

  1. Watch the Film for Fun. The first screening is done for the purpose of entertainment and gives a solid overview of story and the emotional impact it makes. It reveals the obvious set pieces and whether it worked or didn’t. The structure of the story also becomes apparent.
  1. Analyze Favorite Scenes. The next several viewings are only of the best scenes that stood out during the first screening. These subsequent viewings allow for the analysis of the camera, set-ups, orchestration and editorial flow. Further focus can be placed on transitions, entrances and exits, character reveals, and over all cinematic presence.
  1. Ask Questions. Pinpoint a favorite sequence, segment and shot. Ask why it worked and what set up was necessary to make it work. Ask what the role of the camera, editing, acting, music and other key elements were in the successful creation of the scene. Then, ask “what if” questions and determine if the scene could be changed for the good or bad.
  1. Breakdown the Scene. Rebuild the scene from a preproduction perspective, making directorial notes that are executable. Determine the emotional scale of each shot, scene and sequence. Reduce the dramatic blocks and narrative beats to writing. Create margin notes for expanding an actor’s performance with verbs that can increase or decrease the performance for a potential reshoot. Find a way to be immersed in the emotional investment of the main characters and notate the highlights for a sequel treatment.
  1. Recut the Film. Capture favorite scenes and dreaded scenes to video and re-edit the segments for greater emotional impact. Shift the tone of the scene by changing the cutting pace, music or soundtrack. Or, take a weak film and cut it down to a half hour piece, dropping all slow segments and subplots, but maintaining the action plot beats.

These analysis steps put a director through several of the processes of making a film without making a film. It’s great for practice, but more importantly it gives the director experiential understanding of what works and what doesn’t – Leading to a more diverse tool belt for his next movie.

What steps do you take in analyzing a film?

Copyright © 2015 by CJ Powers
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

July 17, 2015

Posted under

Filmmaking

Comments

6 Comments

Prescreening Opportunity – Princess Cut

Princess CutPrescreening or advanced screenings have been a part of the motion picture industry since the late 1920’s. It’s a tool used by producers, directors and marketing teams to make adjustments to the film or marketing plan before it’s released to the general public. I’ve attended numerous prescreenings over the years and find them fascinating.

Director Kevin Smith sat quietly in the back of the theater when I screened Jersey Girl. He was incognito to learn if the Ben Affleck film would work with its Jennifer Lopez opening during their heated controversy. After the film, there were a series of questions that drew out the needed information for Smith to make a decision.

I was amazed at the audience’s response and realized they gave him a precious gift in how to fix the film before it failed. Unfortunately, he decided not to heed the audience’s ideas and released the film unchanged. The film flopped at the box office and didn’t come close to breaking even.

And yes, I did take time after the screening to chat with Smith about directing. I always take advantage of learning from experts in the industry whenever I can.

Unfortunately, audiences aren’t always truthful. Viewers of the Faith-Based genre are known for lying about prescreened films to avoid making the filmmaker feel bad. They feel it’s their job to encourage the filmmaker, not reveal the reality of his potential disaster. This results in the filmmaker releasing his film with confidence, followed by shock when he learns that the film failed because of something simple he could’ve changed had the prescreening audience been truthful instead of courteous.

I’ve also been to several screenings where the marketing took detailed notes that the director used to alter the film. In every case, the final film was significantly better than what the director had ever imagined. The audience is always right when it comes to their honest view of a film.

Paul MungerThis week I received an advanced screening notice for Princess Cut. It’s a film made by my friend Paul Munger. I haven’t seen it yet, nor have I read the script, but I’d like to give my readers the opportunity to attend one of the advanced screenings.

As I understand it, this screening wasn’t designed to help contour the film to the audience’s taste or perspective. It was designed to test the film with an audience to determine if it should get a general theatrical release or go straight to video. Unfortunately, I haven’t chatted with Paul yet to learn if there are other reasons for the limited screenings.

Mimi SagadinThe Chicago screening will be in Rosemont. My friend Mimi Sagadin, who played the mother, will host a Q&A after the film. You can click here to get your tickets.

For those located in other states, you can click here for screenings in your area.

When films are prescreened for adjustments or for the press, the screenings are typically free. However, screenings designed to build a grassroots movement of support for a film are charged the going rate for each theater. This positions the audience to respond to the value of the film against its out of pocket costs for viewing it – A true indicator of the film’s ability to draw a crowd and entertain.

I plan on attending the Rosemont screening and hope to see you there.

Copyright © 2015 by CJ Powers
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

July 8, 2015

Posted under

Filmmaking, Leadership

Comments

Leave a comment

Controlling Kills Creativity

Control Kills CreativityWhen I was the lead carpenter for the Before Broadway Players, my director asked me to create a special effects box that looked high tech and gave the audience the sense that it was beyond this world. Having been empowered, I quickly put everything I had into the tech and the final stage prop created a great publicity buzz.

I was only able to use my ingenuity because I had a director who understood that controlling his team’s decisions would kill their creativity and force the audience to pretend the box was more than just junk parts glued in place.

There’s a fine balance between setting vision or giving a project direction, and controlling everyone involved. The latter tends to dilute creativity and drives creative types to withdraw their best efforts and replace it with something mundane.

It’s true that at certain key moments control is necessary to get things on track with market needs, but continuous control robs the team of unique successes and slaughters their inspiration for innovation in the arts. Put simply: long-term control kills the art form.

So why is it that new directors tend to control the actors and crew, rather than collaborate with them?

It might be due to insecurity. Or, maybe watching previous works demolished by the wrong choice in team or talent selection. In any case, I believe all directors can find a balance between control and collaboration by practicing three important steps.

EVALUATE YOUR ACTIONS. Most controlling leaders are not aware of their grasp on people. They make decisions based on their goal, not the person they work with. This causes them to stifle innovation from those around them, which is detrimental in all of the arts, but especially motion pictures.

To break free of control issues a director can ask himself several questions:

A. Are my ideas always the best?
B. Have my cast and crew stopped contributing?
C. Do people constantly ask questions for approval, rather than risk their creativity?
D. Have all of my projects gone flat and are no longer interesting?

If any of the answers above are yes, then the director must practice letting go.

PRACTICE LETTING GO. The word practice is critical in revealing the ongoing process for the controller. No one can throw a one time switch and suddenly turn everything into a great collaboration. It takes single daily steps to accomplish the change. There are a handful of questions a director can ask himself to move forward in letting go:

A. What responsibility can I delegate?
B. How can I measure the delegate’s success without taking over?
C. What new responsibility can I use to fill my time?
D. What new behaviors can I develop to keep my hands off the delegate’s details?

By letting go of the minutia and filling time with more important focuses, the director can empower his team to put their soul into the project.

LEARN TO EMPOWER. The best way to empower someone isn’t by understanding their ability to perform a task, but rather understand their behaviors and how they make choices. It’s the choices that determine if the individual will follow the vision or head off in a different direction.

A director, who spends a lot of time understanding people and how characters develop, can plan how behaviors can be triggered. To move in this direction, the director can ask himself the following questions to prepare:

A. What behaviors are needed to accomplish the responsibility?
B. What choices must be present to give comfort when I let go?
C. How can these behaviors be inspired or given to the person?
D. What support is required to empower the person?

Empowered individuals always out perform controlled people. Yet, it takes hard work on the director’s part to empower the people, while maintaining his vision.

Some new directors who get past the control factor shift to the opposite extreme with a mishmash of unclear activities. Empowering people does not stop the director from painting a vision and directing everyone towards it, as there is a great difference between getting buried in the minutia and inspiring everyone’s behaviors to reach the goal.

Whether you’re a film director or a manager, what do you do to empower your people?

Copyright © 2015 by CJ Powers