This is s a presentation I gave at a meetup to Independent Filmmakers. As the live presentation was mostly visual, I added a brief summary of the discussion points. Contact me directly to expand on these points. Tw: wildfireeffect or www.wildeffect.com

1. Just another day at the office Imagine getting a call From your boss suggesting That you need to move a 757 To the top of a mountain in 48 hours for filming- well I did And effective communication Is how the info got out to 100s of crew

2. Film Communication From the perspective of an Art Department Coordinator My prez was not designed To stand alone but for the sake of effective communication I am adding these captions - the original was more intimate-

3. Who are we talking to?

4. The Crew Graphic Designers Construction and Paint Coordinators Propmaster Special Effects Coordinator Set Designers Hair/ Makeup Artists Costume Designer Clearance Camera, Grips, Electricians, Onset Crews Imagine your Set is a hockey rink Who are you speaking to?

5. Post Production/Visual Effects Supervisor After the film is shot,the crew is done, information needs to get to post production

6. Hierarchy Imagine the costume Department is having difficulty Getting a costume. They need to change The wardrobe- the Director is all good But the information does not travel further What could happen?

7. Hierarchy Flickr image via creative commons by kylejackson This is why the 2nd in the department is usually Designated as the inter-departmental communication leader If the Art Director was informed Of the change, this would not have occurred.

8. Someone else’s story The story is Always a collaboration

9. Script pages Every script revision Gets a new color The color sequence is standard in the industry

10. Storyboards Action scenes are always Storyboarded, by mounting It on foam core the vision is portable

11. Where ? ? ? In life Where? Means an address In film, Where could mean Close-Up? Night/day?, Area of room….gotta be specific.

12. Scale Models Before an Art Dept builds They create a scale model To confirm it will work for the crew.

13. 3D Modeling Flickr via creative commons by Speedye If your budget or skill level Does not allow for a 3D model Sketch-up for free will do, just get your measurements

14. Panoramas If sketch up takes too much time, A location shot, or photo or video Will answer the questions you don’t know you need

15. Tech Pack Every location based preparation comes together In a Technical Survey Package Careers are valued over this 20+ page document

16. That Art Thing … You are judged on what The Set looks like, so Communicating design elements are key

17. Color Charts “ Green, light blue, purple”= useless You must quantify colors in a standard way cheap way= Photoshop will read a formula

18. Board it Scene 10 “Old fashioned Living Area” If the script communicates the story Then a board with the examples of confirmed Design communicates the goal

19. Who’s legal? 99 The Wildfire Effect Elm Street 101 7-11 30 Rockefeller Plaza WD-40 FCUK 124 Conch Street, Bikini Bottom Know your policy on the legal, make sure crew too Graphics, names, streets, numbers… The one that owns the right will ask for their share

20. “Choices” Flickr via creative commons by Scott Kinmartin The communication leader will have a limited Audience with the busy Decision maker, all design Elements start with a selection from choices

21. Show and Tell Via http://siberianhusky.trainingcare.net/dogs-faq/ Flickr via creative commons by Scott Kinmartin You have control of which choices are presented Have a strategy, do you want to highlight the detail Or will simple do, its easier to communicate simple VS

22. Make it easy The 1st project in an Art Department is to create A lanyard or business card the contains the Leaders phone numbers- makes it easy when time is short

23. What about Technology ? ? ? I left the industry as digital technology began to sore I asked those established in film production to comment So that you don’t think it’s all my own opinion

26. 2011 & beyond How can technology help keep all On the same path to one vision… Here are some of my favorites Collaborative Tools On the Cloud Take you design boards digital Access the contacts you trust What phone App helps?

27. www.wildeffect.com TW: @wildfireeffect YouTube/FB: The.Wildfire.Effect Stephanie Michelle Scott - communication strategy - Thanks, muchly! “ Sometimes all you need is the spark” Wildfire Effect Consulting