"A few things we've mentioned that you should keep in mind" Storytelling points from Week 3 Powerpoint.

Again, here are those points I found within the notes that were a nice basic summary of some of the overview points we've been discussing in class. Think about the example scenes we've watched  in-class, where these points were used, and ultimately, how you can adopt these conventions into your own storytelling language.

Know the rules before you can play with them, to make your sequences entertaining.

Remember: Clarity, Empathy, Entertainment! That's what we're striving for ;D

•1. Varied shots. Make some shots wide, others close.

•2. Building tension. Show the audience what the characters don’t see. Cut to a bomb counting down. Show shadowy figures in the background.

•3. Use Close-ups (C/U’s). Draw the viewer into the action.

•4. Establishing shots. Give your viewers an overview of who is where to help them follow the action.

•5. Cut-aways. Shots of a character’s fingers twitching, or trophies on a wall, can say more about a character than lengthy dialogue.

•6. Extreme Close-ups. An extremely close shot of a character’s eye, mouth or finger will help enforce the urgency in what is happening.

•7. Point of View shots (POV). Show the audience what your character sees from the character’s view point. Point of View shots (POV). Show the audience what your character sees from the character’s view point.

•8. Motivate your shots. For instance, in order to have a POV, you need to first show the character looking toward something, which motivates a cut to their POV.

•9. Over the Shoulder shots (OTS). This draws the viewer into the action and makes a scene more intimate.

•10. Use as many drawings as necessary to show the action. (But concise storytelling is a skill in itself. Why use 3 shots when 1 will do?)