FILM - Research & Planning: Storyboard

SHOT BY SHOT: SPAGHETTI WESTERN


This storyboard is based on my location shoot, my synopsis, and the ideas in my head.
I scanned my pictures into photoshop. This meant I could colour them with the colours from my location shoot (using the photoshop eyedropper tool), to get a very rough ideas of how the shots might look as well as use it as a normal storyboard. I apologise for the crappy drawing, but it will help me get the general gist of what shots to use.
(This storyboard - slideshow does work, I found that clicking it until it changes seems to do the trick).

Storyboard

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FILM - Script

THE SCRIPT

I don't want to have too much dialogue in my film, as it's harder to act that way - again I don't have Eastwood in my cast, just GCSE drama students. (No offence to GCSE drama students). Furthermore, Sergio Leone's characters became famous for speaking very little, making the scenes more tense. However, tension was not the original purpose. In Leone's biography, it explains some of the reasons for the low amount of dialogue. 

Firstly, Clint Eastwood simply did not say some of the script because it was written badly and was of low quality. Furthermore, because sound was not recorded on sight but added afterwards in a dubbing studio: too much dialogue looked scrappy as it was hard to sync the speech. Nevertheless, it does add tension to the flms, so I will want to minimise the amount of dialogue in my script.

(Click the script to enlarge it).

As you might have noticed, there are some shenanigans going on with a cigar. First, it is stolen by the Mexican, and then by the Cowboy. Well, in 'Once Upon a Time in the West':

Bronson forces the harmonica into Franks mouth when he takes his revenge...

...just as Frank had forces the harmonica into Bronson's mouth when he brutally murders his brother.

Well I plan on slightly reversing this idea. At the start of my film, the Mexican will snatch the cigar from the Jailers mouth. When the Cowboy takes his revenge against the Mexican, he will then take the cigar from the Mexicans mouth. This will remind us of the earlier scene, and at the same time (hopefully) make the victory more satisfying for the audience: the victory is not just a personal victory for the Cowboy but a moral victory, aa the Mexicans bullying ways are over.

FILM - Research & Planning: Synopsis

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FILM:
I have a good idea of what my films synopsis will be, based on my pitch and a weekend of endlessly watching cowboy films.

Spaghetti Western is a short western with a theme of revenge. A villainous Mexican, who lives outside the law, is unwillingly set free from a Mexican fort prison. The threat of a return to life behind bars seemingly has no effect upon him, as he immediately seeks revenge upon the man who put him there - a lonely, quiet cowboy, who still mourns the loss of Maria, his old love whom the Mexican murdered. The two exchange a few words before menacingly circling each other and preparing to fight. After a few tense minutes, the pair fire, and it is not clear who has shot who until the Mexican drops to his knees, before slumping, lifelessly to the floor. The mournful cowboy takes a cigar from the Mexicans mouth before walking off slowly into the orange, setting sun.


I feel as though I can insinuate a past between the two characters, through the cross of 'Maria' and carefully chosen dialogue, which will help build tension/emotion through the theme of revenge - the audience have to actually care about the outcome of the duel.
I think one characters motif being revenge is very important, as it makes the viewer have immediate emotional attachment to the characters. Revenge has always been the motif for the previous films - and they showed that it worked. 

'The Colonel' returns to take his revenge against 'El Indio' for the rape and murder of his sister.

Bronson returns for revenge against Frank for the brutal murder of his brother in 'Once Upon a Time in the West'.

Eastwood returns for his revenge...

...to fight the notorious 'Rojo Brothers' - the men who tried to kill him.

The seeking of revenge for the protagonist is a winning format for Spaghetti Westerns - a format I think it will be important to follow. 

There are other themes/ideas I think I'll pinch from Leone. Like people always say, 'good artists borrow, great artists steal'. In 'For a Few Dollars More', there is a comic scene with a comic character - and the comedy comes from his cowardice. 

The coward in For a Few Dollars More

I think I might include one or two characters inspired by this one - perhaps the jailer? Coming to think about it, it will provide other benefits too - if the characters are cowardly towards the Mexican, it will make him seem scarier, hence making the cowboy seem braver for standing up to him.

FILM - Film Title

WHAT WILL MY FILM BE CALLED?

I can tell you, coming up with a title has been hard. Surprisingly it is harder to pin down what the unique selling point of my short film might be, even though less happens. So, after a few frustrating days, I'm going to go with: 'Spaghetti Western'. This was always a working title, but its stuck and I've thought about the positives. Its slightly humorous, as my film is a western movie filmed in Italy, while it uses all the conventions of and essentially is a recreation of a traditional spaghetti western film. So it is a 'Spaghetti Western' in more than one way.I think that it sounds intriguing also, so may help to intice an audience, fans of the films of the 60s and those who have never even heard of one before. To entirely convince myself, I conducted and asked people what they thought of the title.

Audience feedback found surprisingly that potential female viewers were in fact intrigued by the title enough that they wanted to see it, even though they didn't know what a Spaghetti Western film is. So perhaps the title works well for people who do and don't know what the spaghetti western film genre is.

FILM - Research & Planning: Film Pitch

INITIAL FILM IDEA.


"Pitch me, 25 words or less" - Steven Spielberg.


Here is a pitch for my film, in '25 words or less', based on initial ideas from my research.

I have been toying with the name 'Spaghetti Western', simply as a name to refer to the project. It will probably change at a later date.

Link to Pitch

FILM - Actors

The holidays been booked - so now I can choose out of the people who are coming who can be in my film. Hopefully the authentic location will make up for the unauthentic actors who will play the two main parts - Jim Higson and Louis Crompton, both 15. They may lack facial hair, rough skin and grit - but they can easily make up for it with their accomplished acting. I was never going to get Clint Eastwood of course - for a film without a budget.

FILM - Location Shoot

WHERE DO I FILM?
Here is my location shoot, taken in the half term before the summer. I cannot stress the importance of having a good location for my film, so I went with Puglia, Italy. What it is important to remember is that these pictures were taken in spring, when the flowers and grass were more bright and colourful than in the summer, where the sun dries out and kills most of the wildlife. However, to speed up the process in the summer, I wanted to find a place to shoot, so I could start planning a storyboard. On a walk around the local area, I found a location that I was happy with, where there was a circling of trees and large stone rocks, whilst still allowing a view into the distance.

(A click on a picture will enlarge it).

In these shots, I was testing out using the rock for shooting. I found a low angle shot from below the rock, looking up at a figure - the dog, it made the dog look very high up. I think it would be an effective place to shoot an antagonist, maybe as the first time we see him. The silhouette against the sky makes for a very effective shot, the low angle suggesting danger.

 In these pictures, you can see the difference between a sun lit shot and a shaded shot. I will make a shooting schedule to make sure I get the type of lighting that I want.

The ground on my desired shooting place is dark, earthy and rocky, giving connotations of a harsh environment. I will also want to bring protective mats to put down in case any characters are on the floor or I wish to film from the floor for a high angle shot, and possibly gardening gloves to remove any spiky plants or rocks.

This shot, with the sun coming through the trees, looks brilliant and I could use as a concluding shot to my film. However, as you can see, the figure becomes very dark and indistinguishable, so if I do use this shot, I may want to film in a medium/close-up.

Cactus's are assosciated with westerns. However, I only had the wrong type of cactus's. I think they look quite good though, but are hard to properly silhouette in a shot. Because they are not the type of cactus you might expect, it is uncllear exactly what it is. I think, although I tried testing them out, I might not use any shots of the cactus.

Here I am testing out shooting from the roof, for a more exciting shot option. I think they work very well as establishing shots, although many angles I cannot use because of what is in the frame...

...For example, in this shot, we can see palm trees and an umbrella amongst other things. 

I like this shot alot, it seems very symmetrical and framed, and could be used for a confrontation, with a character at each end.

 If I am to use these buildings, I might use them as a fort/prison. The iron bars suggest that it is a prison, and the large stone walls make it look strong, threatening, and also simple, as you wouldn't expect an old fort-prison to be extravagant.

I hope that you agree with me that I have a fantastic location for a Spaghetti Western, with a potential for lots of different exciting shots and filming styles...so thats one less important thing I have to worry about.