Pre production blog tasks
Video adverts pre-production: blog tasks
Watch this great video on low-budget filmmaking from our friend D4Darius on YouTube - it's more aimed at narrative filmmaking but we can still learn from these tips for filming an advert:
1) Create TWO scripts for your two different adverts
You need to write two complete scripts for your adverts and format it like a real TV script (see picture on the right).
There is lots of help out there for top-quality script writing. A good place to start is the BBC Writers' Room which has top tips, a whole script library of real examples (like the Doctor Who script pictured). Although these are TV dramas and not adverts it is still very useful to learn how to write a good script.
Make sure you include both stage directions and dialogue - and as you can see from the example, often the stage directions are much more detailed than the dialogue. Try and make your script look like a professional example in terms of layout - either in your blogpost or on a linked Google Doc.
MY SCRIPT : advert 1-
ESTABLISHING SHOT OF FRONT DOOR/ ENTRANCE
DOOR IS UNLOCKED AND CHARACTER WALKS IN SLAMMING IT SHUT BEHIND HIM
ANGLE SWITCH (MATCH ON ACTION) HE GOES INTO HIS ROOM
IN HIS ROOM HE SAYS: " I HATE SCHOOL " AFTER HE SEES HIS DETENTION SLIP
HE GETS ANGRY AND GOES DOWNSTAIRS TO THE KITCHEN
HE OPENS HER DOOR, SIGHS SLIGHTLY AND WALKS TO THE KITCHEN
CHARACTER SEES PRODUCT IN THE FRIDGE
SHOTS OF CHARACTER GETTING IT OUT OF THE FRIDGE AND PLACING IT OPN THE COUNTER
MEDIUM CLOSE UP OF HIM GETTING A GLASS OUT TO POUR IT IN
PACK SHOT OF CHARACTER DRINKING THE PRODUCT
CHARACTER FEELS MORE EXCITED AND GETS AN ALERT ON HIS PHONE
HE GETS A TEXT MESSAGE FROM HIS FRIENDS AND THEY WANT TO GO TO A PARTY
CLOSE UP OF THE PHONE
HE REPLIES SAYING YES AND STARTS GETTING READY
HE FEELS MORE ENTHUSIASTIC AND HAPPILY SAYS BYE TO HIS FAMILY MEMBERS
ESTABLISHING SHOT OF THE FRONT DOOR/ENTRANCE
HE LEAVES IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MOOD.
MY SCRIPT : advert 2-
ESTABLISHING SHOT OF THE HOUSE JUST AS THE CHARACTERS ENTER
CAMERA FOLLOWS THE CHARACTERS AS THEY SLAM THE DOOR AND GO INSIDE
CHARACTERS PLAYING VIDEO GAMES (FEW DIFFERENT ANGLES)
LITTLE BIT OF DIALOGUE BETWEEN CHARACTERS
THE TWO CHARACTERS LEAVE THE ROOM TO GO TO THE PARK
CHARACTERS FEEL COLD BUT STILL GOT AND PLAY FOOTBALL
MANY DIFFERENT ANGLES OF THEM PLAYING FOOTBALL
ONE OF THE CHARACTERS GET HIT BY THE BALL
HE FALLS TO THE GROUND AND LAYS THERE AS HE CANNOT MOVE
TENSION IS CREATED AS THE CHARACTERS ARE IN WORRY
TILTED HIGH ANGLE SHOTS OF CHARACTER ON THE FLOOR
OTHER CHARACTER FINDS THE HEALTH DRINK AND GIVES IT TO HIM
HE DRINKS IT OUR OF PAIN, NOT WORRYING ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES
ALL OF A SUDDEN THE PAIN GOES AWAY AND HE IS RELIEVED
ALL PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN FIXED AS THE PRODUCT HAS BEEN DRUNK
THEY CONTINUE TO PLAY AS HE FEELS BETTER
2) Shot list
Once you have two full scripts you are happy with, you can turn them into a shot list (or shot lists) containing EVERY shot you plan to film for your adverts AND additional shots to create flexibility when editing. You'll know from your preliminary exercise that missing a shot, continuity errors or not having enough material makes editing much more difficult. A good shot list will help you avoid this. In particular, make sure you plan lots of extra shots that you may not need but can help you with editing. These additional shots are often close-ups, cutaways, alternative angles or similar. In particular, make sure you get lots of additional shots of the product as these will be vital in your adverts.
I advise using a simple table on Google Docs to set out your shot list - you can find an example here for a student film shot list. It makes sense to write your shot list by scene or location (like in the example linked) rather than a huge list of every shot in the adverts in chronological order.
ADVERT 1-
1. opening scene/ entrance
2. 3 or 4 shots of the entrance into the house from different angles and while they take shoes off and bag off
3. Shot of them going into their room
4. Shot, slight pan movement when they leave their room as the camera follows them
5. 2 different angles of them in the kitchen and their entrance/exit.
6. Over the shoulder shot of product + close up of product
7. Pack shot of them drinking the product
8. Another over the shoulder shot and establishing shot while they go back to their room
9. Close up of phone when getting text message, close up of their face/reaction and back to phone for response to the message
10. 2 or 3 different angles of him going upstairs to get ready.
11. Establishing shot of main front door again
12. 3 or 4 different angles of him putting on him shoes
13. Final shot: Medium close up of him leaving the house in a better mood.
1. opening scene/ entrance/ establishing shot of house
2. multiple different angled shots of entrance
3. pan movement following characters up the stairs
4. multiple over the shoulder shots and medium shots whilst they play video games
5. medium close up during dialogue between the characters
6. long shot of staircase as characters come down and camera follows them
7. establishing shot of new setting (park)
8. over the shoulder shots of ball being kicked
9. medium close up of character being hit by the ball
10. medium close up of character laying on the floor
11. handheld camera movement causing panic of other character
12. extreme close up of product being found
13. close up of product being consumed as dialogue is inputted as well
14. medium shot showing characters expression
15. medium shot of them playing again after helping each other
3) Mise-en-scene
What iconography or mise-en-scene are you including to ensure your audience understands your adverts and the message you are communicating? Plan your cast, costume, make-up, props, lighting and setting. This can be simply completed using your blog or on a Google Doc - the key aspect is to have planned all the critical details. Remember the mise-en-scene mnemonic: CLAMPS.
Costume: after consuming the drink, the character comes down in a vibrant yellow shirt displaying his mood change and happiness compared to earlier, before the drink was ingested in the first advert.
Lighting / time of day: after school time, shows frustration from school, explored in the first advert
Actors - casting, placement, movement: there is fast paced movement to emphasise the chaos before the drink is being consumed in the first advert. (The actors will be my cousins and I will be directing.)
Props: the characters hold video game consoles as they are playing video games like typical teenage boys reflecting their daily lives and also a football as they play outside before chaos is constructed and before the disequilibrium is able to arrive in the second advert
Setting: The first advert is set in the boy's house to show his daily routine at home after school and the second advert has 2 locations, one being one of the character's houses and the other being a park to reinforce stereotypes of male hobbies (including football and video games).
4) Shooting schedule
Plan a shooting schedule for your filming over the next week. Include when, where, who is required and what shots you will complete at each time/location. Again, this can be on Google Docs or Sheets or you could simply use your blog. The most important thing is that you've planned it!
I will re-shoot the first advert (adapted from my preliminary exercise) at my house on one of the days during the October half term and I will also shoot the second advert at the park next to my cousin's house and also in my cousin's house, also on another day during the half term holiday week.
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