104 The Digital Filmmaking Handbook, 4E

Figure 5.6

FrameForge 3D Studio offers a multi-cam 3D environment where you can use accurate 3D models to set up the lighting, camera, and other variables to match your set.

Less Is More

Remember, storyboards are a visualization tool, not an end product. The most important thing about them is that creating them forces you to really think about the camera angles you will need to tell your story and whether or not they are doable. If you show crew members detailed, photorealistic storyboards, they’ll be inclined to think that those images are what your final scene will look like. It’s better to give designers, costumers, set builders, and actors rough, sketchy storyboards. Let them use their expertise to design and create the details for which they’re responsible.

Storyboarding is only one of your previsualization tasks, and you’ll probably refine and change your storyboards throughout your preproduction and production phases.

Camera Diagrams and Shot Lists

For scenes that have a lot of complicated action like the James Bond scene mentioned earlier, you might find it useful to create a camera diagram. This is a simple visual reference that will help you understand what camera setups you need once you’re on the set. In addition to helping you plan your shoot, camera diagrams can help ensure that you get all of the coverage that you need. Camera diagrams can also include information about light placement, to help your lighting crew stay organized.

Take a look at the scene below.

INT. THE UPTOWN BAR – DAY

A woman, DEBRA, sits drinking alone at the bar. She doesn’t look up as JOE, a greasy-looking character in his mid-thirties, enters.

MAX, the bartender, comes out from behind the bar.

Joe stops dead in his tracks.

JOE

I thought you quit. Left town. Something about cleaning up your act.

Debra looks uneasily from Joe to Max.

MAX

Doesn’t look that way, does it?

JOE

She’s with me. Aren’t you, Deb?

Debra nods nervously.

MAX

I don’t think so.

Max pulls out a gun and, without waiting for Joe’s reaction, shoots. Joe falls to the floor, dead.

106 The Digital Filmmaking Handbook, 4E

According to the corresponding storyboards in Figure 5.7, this scene needs a master shot, three close-ups, and a two-shot.

Figure 5.7

A simple storyboard of the scene in the previous script.

These storyboards are based on master shot style coverage. Shot 1 is a master shot that covers the entire scene and serves as the foundation onto which you will add the close-ups (shots 2, 3, and 5) and other shots in the editing room (see Figure 5.8).

Camera diagrams can also include information about light placement and other crucial objects. Figure 5.2 is an example of a much more complicated camera diagram.

Legal Legwork

Here’s a quick list of some legal issues to be aware of in advance of your shoot:

nIf you are shooting on private property, you need to get a location release from the owner. This includes schools, universities, shopping malls, etc.

nYou will need a license for any original artwork, photographs, book covers, music, etc., in your film. All of this work is copyrighted and you’ll need permission, or license, from the owner of the copyright. Sometimes getting copyright licenses can take months.

nYou will need an actor or model release from any person in your film, including voice actors, people in photos stuck on the fridge in the background of a shot, celebrities on the cover of magazines, and so on. Always get names, contact info, and releases for anyone who ends up in your footage as soon as possible. It is much harder to track those people down later. There’s a great iPhone app called iRelease for getting releases on the fly.

nMost feature film production companies have a standard liability insurance policy with at least one million dollars worth of coverage. You’ll need proof of this insurance to rent locations, stages, and more expensive camera and lighting gear. If you’re in film school, your school might be able to provide this for you.

Figure 5.8

The corresponding camera diagram and shot list to the storyboard in Figure 5.7.

Legal Legwork (continued)

nYou may need permission from companies to feature their product logos in your film. As a rule, it’s best to avoid logos if you can.

nIf you didn’t write the script yourself, you will need proof that you own the rights to the script when you sell your movie to a distributor.

nIf you are making a documentary, the right to use copyrighted images, footage, etc. might be available to you under the “Fair Use Doctrine,” but only under certain conditions.

nWhen you sell your film to a distributor, you will need E&O (Errors and Omissions) insurance to protect you in case you made a mistake in your legal dealings along the way.