Homework for Wednesday:

Now that you have learned the basics of storyboard pro,  take the rough sketches of your thumbnail drawings and create a draft of your storyboard in Storyboard Pro!

1. Roughly sketch out the drawings for your story.
2. Add proper timing to the drawings, and export out a .MOV file that we can check out Wednesday!

At this point, do not spend a lot of time making perfect drawings. I will ask you to revise your stories to make them better!

Email me if you have any questions!

Introduction to Cinematrography: Shot Types, Blocking, Rule of Thirds, and More!

Note: The following resources were compiled from various resources on the internet. Pick and choose and find what works best of you! That said, there are three books that will need to be in your library if you want to be the best at what you do, be it animation, illustration, or more cinematic photography.

Why are we learning shot types?  The only way for you to expand your knowledge as a visual storyteller is to know all of the formulas and conventions you have at your disposal.  Even one new frame could be the difference between an amateur production and presentation and a visual masterpiece of storytelling!

A list of helpful books for cinematic storytelling, good for both Animation and Live Cinema!

http://www.amazon.com/Cinematic-Storytelling-Powerful-Conventions-Filmmaker/dp/193290705X

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Shots-Vol-2nd-Techniques/dp/1615930876/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Shots-Volume-Shooting-Dialogue/dp/1615930558/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z

THE RULE OF THIRDS:

http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds

http://vimeo.com/14315821

VARIOUS CAMERA SHOTS:

Basic Shots: http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/

Advanced shots begin to manipulate the camera and treat it as more of a character in the film, moving and swaying between angles and shots to create a more lived in space:

Examples:  http://revision4gcses.wordpress.com/media-studies/camera-anglesmovementshots/

Dolly shots are some of the most advanced, yet easiest to preform in animation.  Dolly shots are where the camera trucks, weaving in and out of the scene, around characters, key environment elements, and other places.  (in short, move the camera from one side to the next)

Two Shot: A medium shot with two subjects.

Overhead shot (bird's eye view):  Camera is facing down from above.

Canted shot:  When the camera is tilted on it's axis so that normally vertical lines appear slanted to the left or right.  Ordinary expectations are frustrated.  Often used to create mystery and suspense in films to create a sense of unease in the viewer.

http://www.slideshare.net/StaceySmith1/camera-shots-and-angles-5618222

Handheld Shot:  "shaky cam"  sometimes played up in action scenes to suggest a state of unrest.

Remember that the shots you use already come loaded with information for your character to use.  Also remember that keeping the camera steady in some instances will give your character pivotal moments to come alive.

BONUS: Notes on camera angle diversity: Notes on camera diversity.

http://www.demotix.com/blog/advice/1072724/creating-shot-list-diversity-your-camera-angles-and-image-submissions

FOCUSED CASE STUDY that Teaches Cinematography: 
The Cinematography of the Incredibles, parts 1-3.

Staging and blocking for animation: 

Why do we stage and block shots?  To better plan our animation.  It's a good idea to have a list of documents for what our cartoon will be.  Printouts of our character and our character's expressions for easy reference.  Printouts or organized sketches for your characters.  Documents of the action and shot direction. Drawings of where you think your shots will be.  And, it makes you feel better about the work you do. Seeing the pieces of your cartoon come together creates a sense of pride in your cartoon, as if you are doing something important that many people are simply unable to do.  It's the truth.

Things to remember when planning cinematography:

Practice your draftsmanship!  Draw lighter in the beginning, sketch first, refine second!  We will animate our character through drawing frames!  Block out each shot.  Export your drawings out of Storyboard pro as a pdf.  You can board on paper, or photoshop, and scan in too.  but we will make an animatic of your work for the final.

STORYTELLING: Three Act Structure:

Review the formula for a movie's "Three Act Structure" at these links:http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThreeActStructure
http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/pruter/film/threeact.htm
http://scripteach.com/?page_id=223

HOMEWORK FOR WEDNESDAY, 11/11/2015

Hello Class!

Today we did an AWESOME exercise where we storyboarded an entire episode of a cartoon in 22 minutes!

I hope it was a rewarding experience for all of you, and a way to practice drawing clear, easy to understand storyboards!

What you are to do for homework is this:

1. Take an episode of Samurai Jack from the ones I have selected for you on the server, OR an episode from a cartoon of your choosing. (The episode must be at least 22 minutes.)
2. When watching the episode, draw each shot as clearly as you can, trying to tell the story on your paper with clear images.
• You want to focus on actions and environments that you feel are KEY shots and KEY environments.
3. If you were absent, I STRONGLY ADVISE you to get a copy of notes from our talks today from another student. It will help you a lot when trying this assignment on your own. Further more, any student whom was absent needs to board following episodes we did in class.
• Jack and the Ninja (S4, E1)
• Jack and the Blind Archers (S1,E7)
4. Bring both a hard copy and a digital copy of your storyboards to class on Wednesday! We will talk camera techniques and storyboards with purpose on Wednesday!

The movies you need are in the STORYBOARDING SAMPLES folder on the server. In that folder is also a copy of the storyboarding sheet you need to use to do this assignment. I've included a copy of it here for download!

Print as many as you need, and try to stay within 35-50 minutes when you do this exercise.  That way, if you feel like you're messing up, you can try multiple times!

HAPPY BOARDING!