Lookbook / Photo Credit: Movie Maker Magazine
WHAT IS A LOOKBOOK? (In the
Entertainment industry.)
Bruce Bisbey…please follow me at: https://dumbdogproductionsllc.blogspot.com
or https://www.facebook.com/DumbDogProductionsLLC/ thank you.
What is a Lookbook?
A lookbook is a collection of photographs compiled to
show off a portfolio of locations, set designs, storyboards, models,
photographer, style, stylist, hair or makeup.
Lookbooks in their online form can be described as
"diaries" because bloggers are constantly updating them on a daily or
weekly basis. However, sometimes they are made to compile the looks of other
people such as a celebrity, politician or socialite. They can also be used as
an artist's portfolio.
Write, Direct, Repeat: Lookbooks for Films and
Scripts
Following Article By: Kim Garland
In my own pursuit of Write, Direct, Repeat, I’m
currently deep in the writing phase. I’m working on a couple of short film
scripts and a couple of feature scripts, and ever since I began directing, I
can’t resist writing everything with an eye toward directing it myself.
Because of this relationship that has developed
between my writer and director selves, I adapted what is traditionally a
director’s tool — the lookbook — into my new favorite obsession: the writer’s
lookbook.
In filmmaking, a lookbook is a collection of
photographs selected as visual references to express the director’s vision for
the look and feel of the film. Traditionally, a lookbook contains photographs
but you can include whatever helps you get your ideas across, including
drawings or even a multimedia lookbook.
A director’s lookbook is usually shared during
pre-production with the key department heads on a film, especially in the
camera and art departments. I’ve found that every step I’ve taken when developing
lookbooks has been invaluable for honing in on the myriad of choices I’ll need
to make in order to direct the film.
THE DIRECTOR’S LOOKBOOK
My director side was already a big fan of the
lookbook. I created my first one at the request of Roberta Munroe, the
powerhouse Producer of my first short film, Vivienne Again. We had just moved
into pre-production and she wanted me to have it ready to give to key
department heads as they were hired.
As I compiled my lookbook, it was the first time I
could really felt myself shifting hats from writer to director.
The first step I took was to break down my script and
look for all of the specific visual details I incorporated while writing. I had
built a lot of images into the script and could quickly make note of where I
had made selections for the look of the film and where I hadn’t.
Next, I took my list of characters, locations, props,
etc, and went to town with Google Images. Not only is it ridiculously fun to
pour over images and call it work, but it was also essential for me to uncover
all of the choices I would have to make to go from script to screen.
Once I had a huge collection of images, I began to
cull them down to the two or three that I felt best represented my vision for
the overall tone and style of the film, including costumes, hair and makeup,
lighting, and framing. I organized the photos, labeled them, laid them out in a
word processing app, saved as a PDF and voilà… a lookbook!
Tip: Your lookbook is intended to offer visual
references and work as a jumping off point for discussions, but it’s not meant
to lock any of your ideas in stone. Just as you need to let go of being
precious about your script when you direct it, you also need to see your
lookbook as a blueprint to help you and your team find the best visuals for
your film.
Examples: You can find highlights from the lookbooks
for my short films Vivienne Again and Deal Travis In on Pinterest. In addition,
you can watch both films for free at my website and compare them to the
lookbooks to see how those references translated to the screen.
THE WRITER’S LOOKBOOK
The transition to using a lookbook for writing, in
addition to directing, began when I started working on the script for the third
short film of a trilogy I’m creating. The films are all set in the same world,
but after completing the first films, I had trouble envisioning them as part of
the same story world and not as two individual films.
I needed to see these stories and characters in a
fresh way so I got a bulletin board and started pinning up images from the
completed films. I grouped characters based on their story roles, not on the
films they were in, and immediately my view expanded.
From there, I added images I’d googled that
referenced new ideas I had for the third film and mixed them right in with the
rest. Since I didn’t know where the third story was heading, I re-arranged the
board to look more like a police detective’s board you’d see on TV to further
egg on my imagination to uncover the illusive new story idea.
Over a period of about a week, I built the board and
to this day I’m still adding new ideas to it as I write. It absolutely allowed
me to see my story with new eyes at a point where I felt stuck.
During this process, I realized I was creating a
writer’s lookbook. It was in a different form than the director’s book (on a
bulletin board vs a portable doc) and working toward a different goal (to
assist me in brainstorming vs share my visual ideas for the film) but it was
helping me to “see” my story nonetheless.
Since then, I’ve created three more lookbook boards
for three more projects. Just as with the director’s lookbook, I gather photos
from different elements in the script, such as locations, props, and costumes,
and use these images to build a visual world for myself.
As I outline or write scenes, the images keep the
style and tone of the world in focus and remind me to look for those telling
details that can bring the story to life on the page.
Creating clear pictures in the reader’s mind using
nothing but words is one of the great challenges for writers. Since I’m writing
for film, I’m especially interested in learning how directors develop and build
their story worlds visually and I’m not above cribbing tools and techniques
from wherever I can.
The director’s lookbook was wisely recommended to me
and helped me immensely in working through my ideas and then expressing them to
key department heads. Taking those same tools, my new writer’s lookbooks are
giving me one more way to train myself to think visually and get my stories and
characters from the script to the screen… where they belong.
Sources, References & Credits: Google, Wikipedia, Wikihow, WikiBooks,
Pinterest, IMDB, Linked In, Indie Wire, Film Making Stuff, Hiive, Film Daily, New
York Film Academy, The Balance, Careers Hub, The Numbers, Film Maker, TV Guide
Magazine, Blurb, Media Match, Quora, Creative Skill Set, Chron, Investopedia,
Variety, No Film School, WGA, BBC, Daily Variety, The Film Agency, Best Sample
Resume, How Stuff Works, Studio Binder, Career Trend, Producer's Code of
Credits, Truity, Production Hub, Producers Guild of America, Film Connection, Variety,
Wolf Crow, Get In Media, Production Beast, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, UCAS, Frankenbite,
Realty 101, Careers Hub, Screen Play Scripts, Elements of Cinema, Script
Doctor, ASCAP, Film Independent, Any Possibility, CTLsites, NYFA, Future Learn,
VOM Productions, Mad Studios, DP School, DGA, IATSE, ASC, MPAA, HFPA, MPSE,
CDG, AFI, F & W Media, Kim Garland,
THIS ARTICLE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THE INFORMATION IS
PROVIDED "AS IS" AND BRUCE BISBEY MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF PERFORMANCE,
MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, REGARDING THIS
INFORMATION. BRUCE BISBEY DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY OR
TIMELINESS OF THIS INFORMATION. YOUR USE OF THIS INFORMATION IS AT YOUR OWN
RISK. YOU ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK OF LOSS RESULTING FROM THE USE OF
THIS INFORMATION. BRUCE BISBEY WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL,
INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES
WHATSOEVER, WHETHER IN AN ACTION BASED UPON A STATUTE, CONTRACT, TORT
(INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, RELATING TO THE USE OF
THIS INFORMATION.
Lookbook / Photo Credit: Movie Maker Magazine
No comments:
Post a Comment