The 25 Second Movie
The 5 X 5 Project
 

In this exercise you will record a sequence of shots and then edit them to create your first movie. Think about what your movie will be about, what will the subject be? How will you shoot your subject? Will you try to tell a story or just show off your subject? What shots will you use? Will you follow the LS, MS, CU sequence? How will you frame your subject?

Write down a simple textual storyboard of your five shots. Here is an example

  1. LS of Mr. Dodge on the front steps of school. Subject is looking foward toward camera.
  2. MS of Mr. Dodge standing in main door way.
  3. Low angle shot of Mr. Dodge in door way as he turns to open the door.
  4. Profile shot from the right showing Mr. Dodge opening the door
  5. Full frame shot of the door closing as Mr. Dodge enters the school.

Here is another example:

  1. LS from front driver side of car in school parking lot, students leaning against car.
  2. MS of the driver side of the car with driver in car smirking at camera.
  3. CU of wheel spinning slowly.
  4. MS of student holding up the hood showing the engine - engine is centered in the shot
  5. CU of the engine showing the chrome valve covers and air filter.

Once you are ready to start shooting (you have your textual storyboard - show this to your instructor before beginning shooting) remember to record three seconds of preroll at the beginning and end of each shot. Once you have your five shots let the other members of your group get their shots.

Once your shots are done you will now create your 25 second movie. But first you will need to get your videos into FCP. Here are the specs for your first movie.

The movie you create will be composed of the following:

5 seconds of black screen (insert a gap, alt + w)
Title ~ 3 seconds - should show up during the 5 seconds of black screen and should have your name.
Five different clips that are exactly 5 seconds each for a total of exactly 25 seconds of shots.
5 seconds of black screen at the end. (alt + w)

Once your video is completed you will need to export your video so it can be played on other computers without FCP. Here are the steps for exporting your file as a quicktime movie. Name your movie "Five_Shot_Movie_YourName"

Once you have created your quicktime movie place a copy in the drop box for the class.