R541 Instructional Development&Production 1

R541 Instructional Development and Production I

ROUGH IN IMAGES

Start with the images. The primary rule of video is that most people pay attention to the images, believe the images, and remember the images to a much greater extent than they do the sound. Human beings have incredible memories for images; we can say with certainty that we have or have not seen an image among, literally, thousands of images to which we have been exposed only briefly. We exhibit strong physical reactions to images, although they are not always the same reactions we would display in seeing a real object or event. We "read" the emotional content of images remarkably well and very quickly. That reading influences what we think we hear in a script, and what we remember from a video experience. As a writer for video,therefore, you have to start from the images.

This is not to say that you can ignore the sound portion of your script at all! People get their specific and most accurate knowledge about what your video means from the sound. Turn the sound off on your television and notice how quickly you lose the specific thread of the action. You can still tell a lot about the emotional content of the show you're watching, and often you can interpret what's happening at a gross level with the plot. But you are missing the specific details that allow you to say with certainty what the plot of a dramatic program was, or which main points of content were covered in a scientific program.

ACTIVITY: Go to your local video rental store and rent a tape of the British comedy, Mr. Bean. As you watch the show, notice all the visual devices this comedian uses to keep the need for words extremely low in the script. His performance is a form of pantomime in which every reaction and movement is both exaggerated and precise, so you can follow the storyline easily most of the time without support from words. He establishes relationships wth props (objects) and then uses the props again later to express ideas without using words.

Notice, however, the times when he is forced to use a few words for the sake of clarity. At those times the words give context, or clarify the intention of an action. Notice also that Mr. Bean uses sound effects often to enhance the meaning or the impact of an action. When he mutters "hmm-hmm-hmmm" or "o-oh" he is encouraging you to "read" his actions in a particular way. Mr. Bean is a concentrated demonstration of the power of images, and the necessity of sound.

Images and sound will have to work together. Since your audience is affected first and longest by the pictures, you start a script by roughing in the images. "Roughing in" means that you create a complete sequence of image descriptions, but that you may have only a rough idea of the exact images that will appear at any certain point.

How may images be used?

In the abstract, you can think of using images in different ways depending on their relationship to the sound in your video. The relationships described in the table below vary in their effectiveness for general use, although each has a place in some contexts. As with the techniques for video (How to do it: Decide on Techniques), these approaches to using images may be mixed together in one script. You will also find as you watch other people's video that the boundary lines between these definitions are fuzzy. When does sound move from augmenting images to complementing them? It's generally worth knowing what you're doing with images and sound, but don't get hung up on trying to define each method you use with infinite precision.

use the images to illustrate the sound	In this approach the visual elements (images) are usually chosen after the text of the script is written; each image or visual sequence is selected or staged to show: an instance of what is being spoken about a concrete image of the narrative itself a related image, or a mood-setting image that illustrates the feeling of the words This approach is not very effective for most purposes, although useful for specific purposes: for example, children's videos sometimes present the reading of a storybook in which the images are literally the illustrations from the book. If you find yourself using this approach for the whole sequence, you need to ask whether video is the right medium for your project!
repeat the content of the sound in images	In this approach the images are, as closely as possible, a repetition of the script's text. The repetition sometimes extends to showing the word portion of the script in text overlaid on the screen. Use of this approach for most video projects (including multimedia video segments) is the sure sign of an inexperienced scriptwriter, and often indicates that a scriptwas developed "words first." However, the approach itself does have valid uses: for example, re-enactment of a crime or an historical event with voice-over narration. Don'tbe afraid to use this approach when it is appropriate.
meld the images and the sound	In talking head, dramatization and documentary techniques, the images and the sound are often melded together into a single unit. The images show the people who are talking, or the animals or machines making noises, or the orchestra actually playing the music. Concert videos are a good example of using this approach for most of a script.
use the sound to clarify, or explain, the images use the sound to augment, or amplify, the images	This approach uses two channels of human perception -- audio and visual -- to present different, but related information simultaneously. The advantage of doing so is that each part of the message enriches and reinforces the other - - and is the primary reason to choose video as your medium in the first place.

use the sound to complement the images	You see this approach clearly in modern advertisements that show images (often in montage) with accompanying sound that does not clarify or explain, but matches the . Both the images and the sound are primarily establishing mood or emotional content.

What does a "roughed in" sequence look like?

Your roughed in sequence will look like a series of notes arranged in the order of your video. One of the best side benefits of producing arough sequence is that you can rearrange it easily to try out variations in sequence for your video.

Notice in the sample below that the writer had to have an idea of the video's content firmly in mind in order to produce the roughed in sequence. You don't forget your content when you start with images -- you simply realize that your content is not synonymous with the words of your script!

ROUGH IDEA of IMAGES	CONTENT to be COMMUNICATED (chunks of content from the introductory section -- this is not the script itself)
montage of stills - happy employees from every level of the company wearing Company X uniforms and waving "hello"	welcome
short series of quick talking heads ... actual employees endorsing the work environment; 3 seconds each, no more than 5 in the series; show a range of levels and representative groups from the employee base	Company X is a great place to work
animation of product blueprint changing to real photo; "glamour shot" product awards in montage 3-4 very short staged documentary shots of happy widget users; show representative users from our top markets - context establishes their demographics	we make the best widgets in the US
graphic ... company founder; fades to - graphic ... workers in front of first company plant; fades to - graphic ... series showing the changes in product logo from last 2 decades	we have a distinguished history of widget-making
onscreen narrator (Company X lead engineer- will use nformal script) - walks onto set with huge blowup of the logo series images from previous shot and addreses the camera directly	it's ok if you don't know what widgets are - we're going to tell you

As you rough in the images, you can also make yourself technical notes to follow up on later:

is there any confidentiality problem with shooting footage on the production line? (check with headofmanufacturing, and maybe legal dept.)
what are the demographics of our top markets? investigate with marketing
will our lead engineer be personable enough to appear on screen? schedule some trial shoots with several engineering personel?

Remember that this rough sequence is rough ... you may end up changing it several times, and you may redo it completely before you finish your script. But, it's your best starting point!

You may not think you can create the actual storyboard, but you can. Your storyboard will not look like the massive artworks produced for Star Wars films, but they will do the job. What is that job? You are providing the participants in your reading trial with a visual stimulus for each of the major visual elements you specified in your rough sequence of images. Doing so may take some ingenuity and imagination, but you don't have to be able to draw!

Using a set of index cards, a felt-tipped marker and a photcopier, or a computer with slide-creation program (like PowerPoint) and a scanner, you can pull a storyboard together quickly. Your goal is to give trial participants a sense of the visual side of the script, not to reproduce the video experience with fidelity. Keep that in mind and use any or all of the following elements:

your best block printing for onscreen text, or large text printed out from a word processor
stick figures (you can draw a stick figure!)
photos that you shoot quickly (maybe digitally) and scan for printing out or import to your slide-creation program
scans of documents, photos and other still images
images composed or altered from other images, or traced from various sources

Resist the temptation to use clip art!

Clip art has two problems:

It is too "finished-looking" so people think it represents the actual visual style you are going to use.
It is typically crummy in style and/or not appropriate for your specific content so it gives a false impression two ways; 1) that you will have crummy visuals in your video, and 2) that you will be showing images that do not relate to the content of the video.

Either of these problems will interfere with your getting useful results from your trial reading. Avoid clip art for your storyboards.