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dvtvaustralia
Joined youtube.com: 12 March 2007
The dvtv project established a video channel at dvtvaustralia on 12 March and uploaded a sample of 12 short videos to 'test the waters'. After 7 months dvtvaustralia has had over 9900 hits.
For more information or how to participate, phone Andre Steyl 9848 1623 or email: <artists@denmarkwa.net.au>
dvtv was established in 2000 to explore digital arts and video as a new arts medium
through workshops, experimentation, innovation and movie club screenings
www.denmarkarts.com
hits increasing with growing interest, with new records set last month
members bulletin and downloadable forms for markets, membership and constitution are now available on line
dvtv services
fees negotiable for members and community eventsscreenings
community groups, business and public events
with operator or equipment onlyvideo equipment hire
dv handicam 1CCD with tripod
BENQ digital projector
PA stereo system with/without sub woofer
DVD player
VHS player
Wireless microphoneservices
capture and edit dv video
burn video and/or audio to DVD/CD
print DVD/CD lables and covers in plastic boxes
convert old VHS or 8mm tapes to DVDinternet
denmark arts website - maintain and update
dvtvaustralia project through youtube.com - develop tv news programworkshops and/or projects
skills training in producing video documentaries
video editing facilities for dvtv projects - final cut express 3.5 sales
DVD/CD/VHS copies of local productionsdesktop publishing
from design to print A3 or A4 full colour
photoshop and A4 laser printer
click here for the dvtv review at dramaticonline.com
Aims of the dvtv project
To celebrate and appreciate the art of cinema and the moving image
To provide a forum for the digital arts
To provide a forum for independent filmmakers and festivals
To provide regular monthly screenings for its members
To stimulate film activity in Denmark
SCRIPTWRITING
Scriptwriting, like any process of making art, cannot be reduced to a formula, to a neat set of rules or guidelines. Those wanting certainty, order, clarity will be frustrated by a creative process which is characterised by disorder, serendipity and ambiguity.
Film-making is an intuitive rather than a reductive or logical process, one which proceeds through a series of steps into the unknown or discoveries on the part of the artist, not by beating a path straight and true down a route which is set out on some map or chart.
In a few days one cannot learn how to write a screenplay, and I believe
that one should be wary of any author or expert who claims to be able to
'teach' you how to make a movie.One learns by a process of discovery,of trial and error, of getting out of the way of the work and ignoring
the inner voice of criticism and doubt which will usually be telling you
to be sensible, asking for certainty, and demanding logic and reason in
a world of images, metaphor, dreams.The logic of movies is closer to that of dreams. You have to get out there with camera, or with pen and paper/word processor and do the work, then reflect and analyse. Not the other way round.
You have to keep watching movies, writing and makingyour own, and accumulating a store of intuitive knowledge of the art
form.These few days are an introduction to a much longer process.
All that said, there are some exercises and activities that you can do
which will help you get out of the way of the stories which you are
telling in your movie or your screenplay.There are certain questions you can ask if you feel your movie or screenplay is not working, and the only way to know if it is working or not is to trust your intuition, andthat of others.
The most basic exercise is freeflow writing, simplyallowing yourself to write whatever comes up on the page, keeping your
hand moving, moving towards what is uncomfortable or has 'edge', writing
sensory detail whenever it comes up, accepting all first ideas, never
censoring or editing ideas or words.In short, learning to get out of the way of the work and pay no heed to the inner voice of criticism.
The same kind of activity can help you to string together sequences of images, in the same way as the sleeping mind strings together dreams.
The exercise of intellect, rationality and logic cannot help you create the raw material of movies, whether in the form of screenplay,storyboard or images.
But the intellect does have a role to play when we are shaping and
ordering this raw material.We can begin to ask questions about thestructure of what we are making.
Some good places to start are:
Whose story is it?
Is this clear to the reader/viewer?
Does this central character/hero/protagonist have an objective?
What are they trying to get?
Are they active/determined/somewhat impulsive in trying to achieve this goal?
What obstacles are in their way?
What kind of struggle do they go through?
Does the story start with some kind of strained equilibrium, ie not from total stasis or lack of tension?
Does tension build and things get worse for the c.c. during the story?
Are the c.c. and the situation pushed to their limits?
How does this force them to change?
What kind of change do they experience by the end of the story,especially change in their belief system?
In what way is the character revealed as the story unfolds?
In short - why should we CARE about this character?
Are their signposts pointing to future action/interest, or to the past, which raise interesting questions in the mind of the viewer/reader?
In the story, and in each scene, are coming in late and getting out early?
Are we telling the story in filmic rather than literary terms, ierelying on images rather than spoken word?
Can any dialogue be cut?
Does the dialogue have a vocal, rather than literary, energy? (ierhythm, echo, repetition, music, sound qualities)
Does the dialogue/monologue/voiceover have subtext?
Is it simply illustrating the images, and vice-versa? (If so, thenchange it.)
Some pointers for the short film project:
The short film (here 3 minutes) should deal with one central
action/event/moment, and dig deep into it. It is often structured
around some kind of filmic gag or punch-line.By the end of the story are we aware of a theme?Can you put it into a sentence? (If not, it is not really a theme.)
Does the ending do justice to the story?Using a voice-over first person narration ('I . . .') solves many
problems for a low budget (or no budget) amateur short film. Again,
freeflow writing will help here.Incorporating the title into the opening scene can be interesting.Avoid scenes which demand a high level of psychological realist acting:
this kind of performance is not easy to turn on for the camera for the
untrained/inexperienced actor.Some reading:Drouyn, Coral: 'Big screen, small screen' (Australian writer, focus on
the Australian tv and film industries)Seeger, Linda: 'How to make a good script great' (American, focus on the
North American market)There are also books which focus on the short film, and whose titles I
can't remember - try a web search: visit Amazon Books website.And remember, have fun. Movies are entertainment. Film making is
playfully serious and seriously playful. Without the sense of play it
does not work.Alan Hancock January 2001