Shot lists show the type of shot, the number of shots and what is in the shot. They give direction for the cameraman as well as the director as to how the shot works, such as how to zoom in, or how to pan etc. They also work well for planning out the film and allow for efficient filming due to the note like nature and the fact it acts like a checklist, making it easy to film all the parts which in one location regardless of whether it is in chronological order or not.
When filming, we have found that due to constrictions and limitations in the actual locations, specifically the size of them and fitting the tripod into enclosed areas (especially in the bathroom scene) which have meant that we had to change our shot types in order for them to work within these limits.
Our shot list meant that we could produce the storyboard much easier due to the exact description of the scene and editing. Furthermore, the shot list links with the script as well showing when to cut or when the shot changes during dialogue.
Storyboards
Storyboards are hand drawn/digital graphics which allow everyone involved in the film to pre-visualize the film (as it would look on screen) before it has actually been shot. They can be animated to allow for exact timings of shots and cuts etc to be shown.
Primarily, storyboards usually convey which characters are in the scene and their gestures e.g. waving their hand, the dialogue in the scene, the timings of cuts and the length of scenes and the actual type of shot used e.g. long shot, extreme close-up, graphic match etc. Storyboards are very useful throughout the production of an entire film, they can be placed in different orders to change the story of a film easily and allow for the writers to see how the story is affected.
My group has followed these conventions by producing hand drawn images which we have animated together allowing us to see how our opening will look before we actually film it. In creating a storyboard it has affected our shot list and script as it made us aware of mistakes we made or how the opening might look better if we tried something different. For example, we found that in looking at our storyboard, we could make changes to shots to show greater variety in their use.
Going into greater detail, we included a master shot which is a shot which is referred back to throughout the film, in our case, Adam or 'The Tester' tied to a chair.
Scripts
Scripts are produced to detail how the whole film works in it's audible and visual elements. The dialogue of the characters, filming location and cues to cut to the next scene are all important parts of the script. All of these elements help not just the director, but the editor and actors. For example, the director needs to know logistically how the whole film will be filmed, the editor needs to know how the scenes all work together and finally the actors need to obviously know their dialogue, character and emotions they need to portray.
My group has followed the conventions of script writing by using the standard layout and formatting of scripts used in films i.e. New Courier font, centering dialogue, and capitalized, abbreviated scene locations etc. We also did not include camera shots or angles, as these are detailed in the storyboard and shot list, which makes great sense as the actors in a film will not need to know about how the film will be edited. The script is indispensable when it comes to knowing how all of the dialogue fits together along with characters actions and costume , whilst providing an overview of how the film will fit together.
