Narrative Vissual Perspective in Film

Introduction to the Narrative Project 

The Narrative Project is by far one of the most challenging projects in freestyle and highschool as a whole. The goal is to emulate and attempt to exceed what projects are created in the film industry and the process of doing so is no joke. This project took months of time and is a compilation of blood sweat and tears. 

 

 

The Process

Pitch/Logline

This is the first step of any film project. For an idea to work out it requires a vision and good pitch and title. If a project lacks these it often spells doom for the future of the project. For my project, I developed several ideas but in the end went with the idea with the logline…

“The Brothers Dim” 

 

Synopsis

The Synopsis is like the final test for an idea before it can begin being truly developed. A synopsis is a rough summary and vision of the completed project. It is less focused on absolute details and more focused on the overall feeling and bigger picture of the idea. My synopsis for the brothers dim can be read below. 

 

“Two Idiot Brothers start a ridiculously epic adventure to reach their full potential and become the best [Insert] in the world”

Andrew and Jim are best friends but they are nerdy and are vastly different characters. Jim is crazy and unapologetically wild and himself and lives in dreamland while Jim is pragmatic and insecure and unable to get the courage to speak for himself. Jim and Andrew need money so they start a mall/shop Kiosk. They fail on selling their product but not because of a lack of effort. They work tirelessly on selling but continuously are met with failure. One day a new kiosk appears, shiny and almost alien-looking the two look in awe at the kiosk as its flamboyant owner appears and opens his kiosk. The two stares in awe as his tip jar grows full and the constant ring of the cash register fills the store. After the day ends the two approach the stranger and ask how he was able to succeed so effortlessly. The stranger glances at their stand and smiles and begins telling a grandiose story which the two eagerly take in. Upon its completion, they thank the stranger and return to the HQ (gamin castle) and plan their campaign to acquire the ingredients as the stranger described and succeed. Andrew has his doubt and brings up concerns about the plan only for Jim to resolve the problems simply and with very minimal thought or effort. Andrew is nervous and doesn’t think its a good idea. Eventually, with enough coercion the two agree to start the quest. In doing so they get geared up in Larp gear and search for the ingredients each challenge building on their weaknesses and helping them to overcome their internal issues. As they approach the final ingredient a colossal failure ends up ruining their plan and leaves them back at square one. They both turn on each other and voice how terrible the other is. Angry and upset Andrew and Jim part ways saying that they don’t need each other and try to get the ingredient their own way. They fail miserably for different reasons, Andrew meticulous plans lead to colossal failures as he is unable to adapt to situations not thought up in their plan. Jim fails as he constantly goes in guns blazing and ends up never accomplishing anything. After taking time to think about their failures they both try to call each other at the same time and both awkwardly apologize and go back to working together. They succeed and gather all the ingredients and return to the mall with the golden fleece which wins them the day and Andrew learns to speak for himself and to not be so tense and Jim learns to think and have some semblance of a plan.

Screenplay

The Screenplay is one of the most important parts of a film project. It is also one of the most difficult. At least for my partner and I. We mad multiple upon multiple revisions and we were very good writers (my partner much better than me shout out to spencer cook). The issue was since we were all so focused on writing and so creative it was hard to pin down an exact story and we even went a little too far and wrote one of the biggest scripts in our film class history. It would be a challenge but we loved the story. (Click the Link Bellow to read) 

The Brothers Dim

 

Shotlist/Schedule 

The Shotlist and schedule are some of the most tedious items in the film but are integral for good production time. A shotlist is a list of EVERY shot the cinematographer or sometimes the directors envision. It is a long drawn out process but it is necessary to head into post-production with a plan that will lead to success. The schedule like the shot list is important but often a very long and tedious process. The schedule list shoots times and plans out the full scope of a project working with all the actors and crews timelines and timeframes. Both of these parts of film production are very long in detailed so I will screenshot a sample bellow.

Shot List
Production Schedule

Gallery Locations/Production Shots 

Locations are crucial for any film and careful consideration is put into a location that properly represents the vision of the film. Here are some photos from our film locations. 

 

The Final Product

After several months of work the project was completed, and here’s what it ended up looking like. (Narrative Film Currently not on Freestyle youtube) 

 

 

Reflecting on the Narrative

When it comes down to it this project was not a total success for me. My partner and I had disagreements and issues with each other’s a creative style which led to petty conflict which hindered the project and in the end led to a final product that I could not really call my own. This project was a learning experience that taught me lessons for not only film but life. I learned humility, respect and something I value more than anything else, I learned the value of being able to work with people even when you have very different styles of creativity and vision.