EVERY FRAME A PAINTING: GATHERING SHOT IDEAS

Say you want to start generating visuals for your script. You know its tone, its scope, its general aesthetic. But you might draw a blank of sorts when it comes to visual framing, composition, angles, etc.

As I said in my second screenwriting post, Google Images is a great way to gather new visuals for your stories without being "married" to their original intents.

Here are a few ways to look for visual ideas if you don't see yourself as a "sketcher" of early storyboards.

THINK OUTSIDE THE CAP

Ubiquitous online are screenshot images of film torrents. You know, the ones with the timecodes and webhost URLs? Oftentimes, these images "choose" random points in a given film that aren't usually the "most memorable" visuals, but can still provide some great ideas for your story's vision.

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)

Photographs are especially useful if your story is set (or intended to be filmed) in a real location.

Nanaimo's Commercial Street, circa 1970s.

Seeing how a photographer views a location will aid in how you see it on film, providing a new glint to a place even you yourself might not have thought twice about.

Nanaimo overlooking the Strait of Georgia, circa 1970s.

Your visual references don't have to be other movies. They can be things you see in real life, or something you want to reverse and flip the concept of.

GO FOR FIRST IMPRESSIONS

If an image gives you an instantaneous reaction in the visceral sense, it will do the same for your audience. Even if it evokes a feeling you can't quite put into words, if you feel something, anything upon seeing it, save it. 

Ray Walston in The Apartment (1960)

START A COLLECTION

This can save you a lot of time in the future, as keeping together shots you like in one place will be better than "looking for every shot" once you finish a script. Say you like a certain wide shot or landscape, but it doesn't fit your current project? Save it for a time when you will have a story that will go with it. I guarantee, your shot collection will grow very large and very quickly.

Myrna Loy in The April Fools (1969)

Lauren Bacall in Blood Alley (1955)

Lee Van Cleef in For a Few Dollars More (1965)

KEEP ASPECT RATIO IN MIND

It's not set in stone, but do try and get a feel of how scenes are blocked in 1.85 vs. 2.35, so if you choose to crop a frame from the former to the latter, you can avoid making it look cramped or crowded.

Yeah. Pretty wrong, huh?

(Sorry Steve, just making a point.)

WHAT ERA DO YOU WANT TO EVOKE?

Whether your story is a period piece or not, you should keep an eye out for what cinematic eras will complement your story, in keeping with its tone, worldview, etc. For example, the staging of an "Old Hollywood" film vs. that of the more naturalistic "New Hollywood" is an important distinction to look out for. 

Martin Scorsese's New York, New York (1977) tried to mix his trademark 

gritty naturalism with Old Hollywood-style visuals, with awkward results.

Finding the right film to draw inspiration from can also provide you a "cheat" on how to frame, stage, and block scenes you have that display similar dynamics, situations, and emotional beats.

For example.

Countless other factors will likely influence the visual choices you make, but always looking for shots will exercise your cinematic muscles and help you see all the different ways to frame even a single image.

Copyright © Chynna Moore