We had another lovely session with Robert this week and this time we discussed Mission Statements and how they are crucial to keep in mind while making stories! 😀
MISSION STATEMENT – DIRECTORS POV/RESOLUTION
- Arms you with the “IDEA” of the story
- MAIN THEME
- What you want to communicate to the audience i.e. what you want to them to feel at the end
Robert mentioned that sometimes its better to start off with the end of the story and then make your way through, so that you know how the film ends. A film usually starts off with an introductory location, where the character is presented with a problem and then a series of events take place, leading to some form of a change that end with the resolution. The location says something important about the character and we need to focus on how we introduce our film. For stop-motion, Robert’s suggestion was to keep the locations to a minimum so that we don’t spend ages on unnecessary stuff.
A very interesting film by a former NFTS student that Robert introduced us to, that tackles the concept of divorce in a unique way. I think the mission statement was negligence and how the child is affected the most because of the neglect she receives from her parents.
Another great film! I love the dark comedy in this film! As Robert mentioned the mission statement of this film is ‘the impulses we feel in our day to day lives but never act upon’. This came through so well in the film and the comedic timing throughout is absolutely perfect! Especially at the end with the man copying the lady who misses the bus!
I absolutely loved this quirky little film! The concept is concise and clear. The simple characters and fluid animation just add to the film and make it that much more better!
We analysed the Mission Statement of this film with Robert:
- People living in extreme conditions
- It’s amazing how the human race can adapt
- But its still stupid how we afflict this on ourselves
- Comedic change – The wind is man made
This was another great film that Robert showed us. I absolutely love the way the director depicted the trip into the character’s subconscious mind, it was very effective! We then analysed the mission statement of this film. He wants to be accepted by the audience but his self doubt (conflict) stops him from doing so. The mission statement (directors pov) is that ‘if you’re doing it for yourself then maybe other’s will like it too’.
LOOKING AT THEMES:
Just taking note of some important points and films that Robert mentioned in the second half of the lecture, for future reference 😀
- 3 is a magical number in storytelling
- They show rhythms and patterns
- Repetition pulls the audience in
- 3 situations in conflicts and then we see the sudden change
This was made by a former student at CSM MACA, the course I’m currently on and I thought it was a successful animation! I loved the style with which she drew the characters, because it leant that sensitivity to the topic. Robert mentioned that the music at the credits is very important as it conveys the nature of the ending; if it was happy/sad, etc. For this film the music at the end tells us that she has a happier ending because the power of the society has helped her understand her right to say no.
THREE ACT STRUCTURE:
- ACT ONE – SET UP
- ACT TWO – CONFLICT
- ACT THREE – RESOLUTION
These usually indicate a characters emotional journey throughout the film. This keeps the audience invested in the film. For instance if there is too much conflict going on for far too long, the audience will get bored and lose their emotional connection to the film. Most films usually follow the Hollywood arc – starts off good, then things get bad and then finally everything becomes great.
This film is very quirky and different but tells a sad story of how the woman has lost the love of her life and now no one can fill in that hole (this is what I interpreted from the film). I first saw this film in one of Shaun’s theory lectures, where we analysed films throughout the day, it was fun!
Robert mentioned how this film ‘Un Jour’ captures the European style of the arc where the story starts in the opposite way and ends on a bad note. So things go well in the conflict and then towards the end everything goes downhill. The rule of 3’s kind of comes into play here; she first cuts a hole in her dress for the man, then she puts a hat on his head to protect him and when she bathes she gives him diving gear so he doesn’t drown. Repetition is also present in the shot of them eating, where at first they are on different rhythms and then as they continue eating their pace becomes the same.
AFTERNOON EXERCISE: COMING UP WITH MISSION STATEMENTS IN GROUPS
I was put into a group with my classmates Sophya, Penny and Rosie. We had to come up with three images, so thinking about last week, we had to draw the first three things that came to mind.
These were the three images that came to mind: The first one is my (sort of) pet pigeon back home, a pigeon that fly’s to my kitchen window every single day looking for food and I feed it. The second is of my father hanging the clothes to dry in our balcony and the last is me having an Indian chat specialty called Pani Puri with my family.
We started to discuss our images and then we found out that each one had drawn up an image of food and so we started talking about how during lockdown, food has been our go to thing for whenever we feel lonely. Like we are spending more time in the kitchen preparing meals for our friends/family/partners/ourselves and actually enjoying it. So we thought about making a story that was related to the loneliness created by the pandemic and here is what we came up with:
A boy/girl is alone on their birthday and is sad when they receive a cake in the mail sent from their loved ones and also have a surprise zoom call! They cheer up and then it’s all over and they’re back to feeling a little bit lonely, although happier because they got to celebrate their birthday. They then think of what to do with the rest of the cake and then it strikes them that they would feel happier if they had someone to share it with! So they end up knocking on their neighbours doors and placing a piece of bday cake, waiting for them to come out and then they all have a social distanced birthday party!
We each took a scene (I did the last bit with the neighbours) and Penny put it all together! This was really fun!