AFI Screen Ed- Behind the Camera
Terms
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- Screenwriter
- While the dialog in a film may seem natural to the viewer, a writer carefully crafts it. This person does far more than provide dialogs for the actors. He or she also shapes the sequence of events in a film to ensure that one scene leads logically to the next, with the story being told in a logical and interesting way. When using a novel or play as a starting point, this person inevitably rearranges, adds or eliminates scenes to make sure the final order or sequence of scenes makes sense when presented on the screen. The screenwriter also includes descriptions of settings and often suggests movements or gestures for the actors. Like the producer, this person's role is generally overlooked by the movie-going public, yet is essential to the completion of any film. If there is no script, there is no movie.
- Actors
- For the audience, these people are the most visible and tangible part of the production. While they are obviously essential to any film, they are pieces in a much larger puzzle. Behind these people is a director guiding his or her performance, a cinematographer creating the perfect light and film exposure, a screenwriter providing plot and dialogue, an art director designing the physical environment and a costume designer providing the proper attire. Considering this person's role within this larger context also suggests that his or her job is much more difficult than just appearing on the set and reciting lines.
- Costume Designer
- Costumes convey a great deal about the film's time period and the characters who wear them—their economic status, occupation and attitude toward themselves.
- Cinematographer
- After the production designer, art director and costume designer have finished their work on the film's physical elements, this person, is responsible for capturing their handiwork on film or video. This person is an expert in photographic processes, lighting and the camera's technical capabilities. When the director wants a shot to achieve certain visual or atmospheric qualities, this person achieves it through his or her choice of lighting, film stock and careful manipulation of the camera. During shooting, the director and this person work closely to shape each shot, using the storyboards created by the production designer as a guide.
- Storyboards
- illustrations displayed in sequence for the purpose of crafting an animated or live-action film.
- Music
- This has been an integral part of movies since cinema's earliest days in the 1890s. A piano or organ player accompanied even the simplest silent films. The silent movie palaces of the 1920s were equipped with elaborate organs and orchestra pits to accommodate large groups of live musicians. When sound was integrated into the filmmaking process, this term, sound effects and dialogue became essential tools for enhancing a film's visual qualities. Writing this has been a full-time profession since the 1930s and is still a critical component in filmmaking.
- Director
- The individual primarily responsible for overseeing the shooting and assembly of a film. He or she is most directly responsible for the picture's final appearance. This person is sometimes referred to as the author or amateur of a film because of his or her essential involvement with its creation. While this person might be compared to a novel's author as a film's primary visionary, he or she would not be able to make the film without the help of numerous other artists and technicians. In fact, the notion of this person as author is misleading because it assumes the this person does everything—just like an author writes an entire book—which is not the case. This person works at the center of film production, but is inextricably linked with dozens of other people to get the job done.
- Art Director
- This person is responsible for the film's settings: the buildings, landscapes and interiors that provide the physical context for the characters. Art direction and production design are often and easily confused. While the production designer determines the big picture—the overall appearance, color palette and basic visual composition of the film—this person provides the individual pieces within this framework, which includes everything but the actors themselves.
- Editor
- Shortly after shooting begins, this person begins to organize the footage—known as the daily rushes—and arranges individual shots into one continuous sequence. Even in a single scene, dozens of different shots have to be chosen and assembled from hundreds of feet of film. this person's choices about which shots to use, and the order in which to place them, have a profound effect on the appearance of the final film.
- Producer
- The person or group responsible for managing the production from start to finish. This person develops the project from the initial idea, makes sure the script is finalized, arranges the financing, hires the personnel to make the film and oversees its distribution to theaters. This person also coordinates the film making process to ensure that everyone involved in the project is working on schedule and on budget. Ironically, this person's role is often invisible to the movie-going public, who tend to focus on actors and directors. Yet, without this person at the helm, films do not get made.
- Production Designer
- Before one inch of film is shot, this person is the first artist to translate the script into visual form. He or she creates a series of storyboards that serve as the film's first draft. A storyboard is a series of sketches, paintings or watercolors arranged on panels to show the visual progression of the story from one scene to the next. This person determines the palette of colors to be used and often provides important suggestions about the composition of individual shots. Creating this sketch of the film on storyboards also ensures the visual continuity of the film from start to finish. Storyboards serve as the director's visual guide throughout the production.