When I'm on the journey of making film and hit an obstacle, a wall that stops me in my path, the solution to breaking it down tends to always be the same. SIMPLIFY.
When a problem occurs the first plan of thought generally is to add something new, more detailed scene description or more exposition in the dialogue of the screenplay, more scenes and details in the drawings of the storyboard, and both more and more extreme poses in the animation. But these solutions never fully work. They may hide the problems to a certain extent, but the problems are still there peeking out from the layer of polished dirt trying to cover them.
Why do we behave this way? I think part of the answer lies in the way we approach the issue - we focus on finding a solution and not solving the problem, we focus on finding something new and not solving what is already there.
When a problem occurs, it doesn't matter during what stage of the filmmaking process, I first try to focus on why the scene is in the movie. What is the message that the scene needs to communicate to the audience? Is the scene actually needed or is it there only because I have a personal love for it? (Remember it's not about you, it's about the story. You are the slave to the story not the other way around). Often I find that I only believe that I know what the scene is about and why it's there when I actually don't.
If I find myself trying to force a message on to the scene I try to accept that the scene is not the right one for this story. If I really like the scene I write it down in my notes so that I remember it and may use it in a later story.
When I know the message of a scene and why it is in the story I always write it down, and this is important. Writing something down forces you to actually think about it and not just flashing over it in your mind.
The next step is thinking about the basic rules of how to convey that message. If storyboarding - should the image be flat of have depth? Should it have a low or high viewing angle? Should the characters be framed in or be in an open environment? What geometrical shapes and what colors communicate the message? I write it all down and try to not be too critical and try not to worry about if something is too stereotypical, I just want to get it all down on paper. When I'm done, I look at the material I've collected and think about what I could use and how to use it to help me make the scene communicate its message in the most efficient way.
After going through these steps I now know the goal and have a strategy that will help me solve the problem faster without going through as many hours of trial and error that would otherwise be needed.
Some one has said that perfection is not when nothing else can be added but when nothing else can be removed, and I can only agree.
Thank you for your time,
Peter Hertzberg
When a problem occurs the first plan of thought generally is to add something new, more detailed scene description or more exposition in the dialogue of the screenplay, more scenes and details in the drawings of the storyboard, and both more and more extreme poses in the animation. But these solutions never fully work. They may hide the problems to a certain extent, but the problems are still there peeking out from the layer of polished dirt trying to cover them.
Why do we behave this way? I think part of the answer lies in the way we approach the issue - we focus on finding a solution and not solving the problem, we focus on finding something new and not solving what is already there.
When a problem occurs, it doesn't matter during what stage of the filmmaking process, I first try to focus on why the scene is in the movie. What is the message that the scene needs to communicate to the audience? Is the scene actually needed or is it there only because I have a personal love for it? (Remember it's not about you, it's about the story. You are the slave to the story not the other way around). Often I find that I only believe that I know what the scene is about and why it's there when I actually don't.
If I find myself trying to force a message on to the scene I try to accept that the scene is not the right one for this story. If I really like the scene I write it down in my notes so that I remember it and may use it in a later story.
When I know the message of a scene and why it is in the story I always write it down, and this is important. Writing something down forces you to actually think about it and not just flashing over it in your mind.
The next step is thinking about the basic rules of how to convey that message. If storyboarding - should the image be flat of have depth? Should it have a low or high viewing angle? Should the characters be framed in or be in an open environment? What geometrical shapes and what colors communicate the message? I write it all down and try to not be too critical and try not to worry about if something is too stereotypical, I just want to get it all down on paper. When I'm done, I look at the material I've collected and think about what I could use and how to use it to help me make the scene communicate its message in the most efficient way.
After going through these steps I now know the goal and have a strategy that will help me solve the problem faster without going through as many hours of trial and error that would otherwise be needed.
Some one has said that perfection is not when nothing else can be added but when nothing else can be removed, and I can only agree.
Thank you for your time,
Peter Hertzberg
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