We arrived back at the BFI at 10:00am, ready for a long day which was focused on screenwriting and different filming skills which included; grip, sound and lighting.
A woman came in to teach us about screenwriting and the different techniques within it. We learnt the basic structure of any feature film which is called a 3 part story, consisting of a beginning, middle and end as well as including; a hook, an incident, a plot device, a middle point and a climax to the story. She then showed us different styles of screenwriting which often worked better for a short film which were; jack-in-the-box, experimental and parody. I really like the look of experimental because you don't have to follow a narrative and it gives you more freedom to discuss serious issues without having to embed it into a larger plot.
She then also showed us different scripts from two different movies to help give us some insight and inspiration for our own short films which was incredibly useful. She gave us some really good advice which was to watch through some movies we liked and to download the scripts so we can see the transition from paper to screen and to see what bits were used or taken away.
She then put us into our different groups where we had to choose which ideas for a short film we liked the most and prepare a pitch. We ended up choosing one about a person who cannot leave a room and starts being tormented by someone else within the room, but it ends with the realization that all this happened within the persons mind and the other person torturing him was just his thoughts.
I then had to pitch our idea to the other groups and the lecturer who gave us feedback, and told us that our idea sounded very exciting.
After that talk we had lunch, during which the staff at the BFI prepared us for an intense afternoon of lighting, sound and grip. I was already aware of lighting but I was keen to learn more because its a crucial skill to have in the media industry.
First we started with sound where we were shown different microphones and types of recording equipment which also included transmitters and receivers and different types of "dead cats" which are used to cover a microphone. We then learnt about a very funny but serious job surrounding sound in the film industry called "folio" in which people record the background sound in any given shot such as high heels on the ground or horse hooves because the camera cannot record all of it and the original sound cannot always be used in editing. I was surprised that so much sound was re-recorded after shooting and it looked like you had to be really insightful and original to come up with ways to record all those different types of sounds.
Afterwards, we then went on to looking at lighting. This consisted of the layout of the lighting equipment and how to use the different gels or fabrics which cover the lights if they are too bright. After a while, we started playing around with the different colour gels, thinking about what could work for our short film. A red gel really stood out to us and when the light only caught half the face it helped to create an intense look which would work perfectly for our psychological thriller.
Lastly, we went on to look at grip which focuses on the different apparatus which hold a camera. My favourite was the track and a specific technique which was used by Alfred Hitchcock in Vertigo in which you zoom out as you move inwards. This would look amazing at the end of our short film when it is revealed that all the horror is going on inside the characters mind.
Once we finished learning about grip, we packed up and went home, using the rest of the week to flesh out an idea for our short film and start working on a script.
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