Senior Narrative

Introduction

The Senior Narrative was a bear of a project. The better part of six months was committed to learning both the technical and creative aspects of producing a narrative film, one that resembled the popular ones in the movie theaters. We were given the open-ended prompt of making a short film. After many hours revising screenplays, working on plot holes, reaching out to actors and casting, shooting, and finally editing, my partner Katherine and I produced a short film that was the production of our passion and excellent talent.

Pre Production

Pre-production was the most important part of the entire filmmaking process. This included pitching our stories, reaching out to potential partners, and collaborating on an idea. Katherine and I chose to work together, as we were both excited to develop her concept. Then, the real work began.

Screenplay and Other Preparation

Writing our screenplay was fun and tedious. We used Final Draft 11, one of the many resources available to us by Freestyle, and got to work learning the format of a screenplay, how to signify our transitions, and how to make the table read give an idea of what our story could look like. We also learned to line our script, cut it into eighths, and delegate each small detail to a specific department – this allowed us to simulate how script lining is done in the industry. Rather than the tens of staff members in each niche department, the entirety of our film class pulled together to exchange equipment, costumes, makeup, and props so that we could all make our dreams a reality.  We also worked on shot lists, pouring over notes from our producer and flushing out exactly what we (Katherine and I) wanted our film to be.

Mabel, the Professional – Screenplay

Mabel, the Professional – Shot List 

Production

The production phase was both the most exciting and tiring aspect of the process. Many days after school, weekends, and any free time we could spare was dedicated to shooting. This included not only our own film, but volunteering as sound or lighting techs for other student films. Below are some behind the scenes images of production.

Katie Bousse capturing an insert of Cynthia Greaves while on set
Marisa Novotarski capturing focus and balancing exposure while preparing for a shot on set.

 

Mabel, the Professional