Does anyone know of a good online course (preferably free 
or any online info/theory on script writing/storyboarding? Particularly on: how & when to use different kind of shots, close-up, medium, long shot, etc. in developing your script.
I’ve seen some stuff on film/animation etc. (and searched elysium) but thought I’d like to get a more personal slant on things as I’m new to all… (aka… working on my very first Blender animation.
Thanx
Just off the top of my head (or rather, “the top of my filmmaking bookmarks” ) here are some sites on video/filmmaking that cover these topics along with other areas of videography and filmmaking. RewindVideo is especially useful as a resource and news outlet for amateur or low-budget filmmakers.
RewindVideo
http://www.rewindvideo.com/R2006/public_html/index.php
Video101
http://www.video101course.com/Shots/s_100.html
Not online, but I would highly recommend Steven Katz’s “Film Directing:Shot by Shot” (published by Michael Wiese Productions) for storyboarding and shot composition since these are what the book spends most of its time covering.
Much appreciated.
Thanx
Watch your fav. shows/ movies also. If you can find a good program in the theme of your animation that would be great.
Instead of watching, break it down. Examine what shots they do when, what you liked and what you think worked.
While lighting is more of a science, camera work is more of an art. To me, the best directors are creative with their shot selection. They utilize different angles to keep a scene fresh. I hate when there are two people talking and they just go back and forth between the two with the same lame camera angles over and over again.
The 3d environment is a great place to expirement with cameras. You can put them anywhere, which is a huge advantage over a normal crew. Make sure to use that to your advantage.
But a quick nutshell. Scenes start off with an establishing shot. That is a wide view of the scene to acquaint the viewer. You then move into mid and close-up shots. Keep the scene fresh. Change camera angles often and use them to show different facets of your scene. You don’t have to be on someones mouth every time a word comes out.
Read up on it, then just expirement a little. Use the same creativity you use in your modeling and texturing when you determine shot selection. There is no one right way to shoot a scene. There are many ways to do it that can be both exciting and effective. Just don’t let yourself get stuck with one or two angles that never move.
Use zooming and panning of the camera to help you simulate the motions in your animation. Sounds a little silly, I know, but it can be very effective, and make some of the animating a bit easier. If there are any imperfections in your modeling or animation, use camera angles to hide them. If you have a crease you don’t like in an animated mesh, when it bends that way, focus the camera somewhere else. Hollywood uses all kinds of tricks with the camera to hide scene elements from the viewer, most notably the faces of the stunt doubles.
Quite a bit to chew on. Thanx.
Writing the story and seeing the scenes in my minds eye seem to be happening quite easily, for this one a least . Thinking about actual shots seemed a bit daunting. But then maybe I’m just just jumping ahead of myself in the proceess. By that point it might all seem quite logical (maybe not :))
I usually just do graphics and images. Doin animation is an interesting challenge. Certainly a bigger apple to bite into.
I also like:
Visual Storytelling (the art and technique)
by Tony c. Caputo
This book is from an author whose background is in comics and the book discusses how to provide a visual treatment of a story for comics, film, animation and games. I paid about $25.00 (USD) for mine. Amazon may have it cheaper.
Cheers,
Mike
…& eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping too
Looks like a good read.