T.J. Sheehy - Chaplin's Craft

Charles Chaplin was intimately involved in crafting every part of his movies. His development techniques and approach to story design challenged the popular film making techniques of his day. What are the similarities and differences between Chaplin's film making approach and how we create software? What insights can we gather from his work to help improve our own craft?

Transcript

1. CHAPLIN’S CRAFT Lean Agile Scotland 2012 Thursday, 15 November 12
2. Thursday, 15 November 12
3. Thursday, 15 November 12
4. CAREER 1914 Keystone 1915 - 1916 Essanay 1916 - 1917 Mutual 1918 - 1923 First National 1923 - 1952 United Artists 1957 - 1967 [British] Attica-Archway and Universal Thursday, 15 November 12
5. KEYSTONE PROCESS Park Public Events Studio Combined Thursday, 15 November 12
6. KEYSTONE PROCESS Park Public Events Studio Combined No scenario Thursday, 15 November 12
7. KEYSTONE PROCESS Park Public Events Studio Combined Max 10 camera setups No scenario Thursday, 15 November 12
8. KEYSTONE PROCESS Park Public Events Studio Combined Max 10 camera setups All scenes for setup shot together No scenario Thursday, 15 November 12
9. KEYSTONE PROCESS Park Public Events Studio Combined Max 10 camera setups All scenes for setup shot together ~50 - 60 shots per 1 reeler No scenario Thursday, 15 November 12
10. KEYSTONE PROCESS Park Public Events Studio Combined Max 10 camera setups All scenes for setup shot together ~50 - 60 shots per 1 reeler No retakes, all shots used No scenario Thursday, 15 November 12
11. KEYSTONE PROCESS Park Public Events Studio Combined Max 10 camera setups All scenes for setup shot together ~50 - 60 shots per 1 reeler No retakes, all shots used Weekly demos No scenario Thursday, 15 November 12
12. KEYSTONE PROCESS Park Public Events Studio Combined Max 10 camera setups All scenes for setup shot together ~50 - 60 shots per 1 reeler No retakes, all shots used Weekly demos = ~ 8 movies per month in total No scenario Thursday, 15 November 12
13. KEYSTONE PROCESS Park Public Events Studio Combined Max 10 camera setups All scenes for setup shot together ~50 - 60 shots per 1 reeler No retakes, all shots used Weekly demos = ~ 8 movies per month in total 27 shots in His Musical Career No scenario Thursday, 15 November 12
14. Keystone Chaplin Thursday, 15 November 12
15. Keystone Chaplin Exposition Thursday, 15 November 12
16. Keystone Chaplin Expression Exposition Thursday, 15 November 12
17. MOVIE Thursday, 15 November 12
18. 1 - 384 Thursday, 15 November 12
19. 1 - 384 Thursday, 15 November 12
20. 1 - 384 385 - ~730 Thursday, 15 November 12
21. 1 - 384 385 - ~730 Outside Cafe Thursday, 15 November 12
22. 1 - 384 385 - ~730 Outside Cafe 737 - ~743 Thursday, 15 November 12
23. 1 - 384 385 - ~730 Outside Cafe 737 - ~743 Reshoot meeting Thursday, 15 November 12
24. 1 - 384 385 - ~730 Outside Cafe 737 - ~743 Reshoot meeting ~744 - ~ 762 Thursday, 15 November 12
25. 1 - 384 385 - ~730 Outside Cafe 737 - ~743 Reshoot meeting ~744 - ~ 762 Thursday, 15 November 12
26. 1 - 384 385 - ~730 Outside Cafe ~763 737 - ~743 Reshoot meeting ~744 - ~ 762 Thursday, 15 November 12
27. 1 - 384 385 - ~730 Outside Cafe ~763 737 - ~743 Reshoot meeting ~744 - ~ 762 Thursday, 15 November 12
28. 1 - 384 385 - ~730 Outside Cafe ~763 737 - ~743 few shots to end Reshoot meeting ~744 - ~ 762 Thursday, 15 November 12
29. RETAKES Year Title Total Shot Finished Film Used 1917 The Immigrant 40,000 ft 1,800 ft 4.5% Source: Chaplin, His Life and Art - David Robinson Thursday, 15 November 12
30. RETAKES Year Title Total Shot Finished Film Used 1917 The Immigrant 40,000 ft 1,800 ft 4.5% Source: Chaplin, His Life and Art - David Robinson 1920 The Kid 278,573 5,250 2% 1925 The Gold Rush 231,505 8,555 3.7% 1927 The Circus 211,104 6,500 3.1% 1931 City Lights 314,256 8,093 2.5% 1936 Modern Times 213,961 8,126 3.8% 1940 The Great Dictator 477,440 11,628 2.5% Thursday, 15 November 12
31. RETAKES Not broken Thursday, 15 November 12
32. RETAKES Not broken Experimentation - Film is free Thursday, 15 November 12
33. RETAKES Not broken Experimentation - Film is free Simplicity through refinement Thursday, 15 November 12
34. RETAKES Not broken Experimentation - Film is free Simplicity through refinement Shaking the tree Thursday, 15 November 12
35. SUGGESTIONS Thursday, 15 November 12
36. Suggestions, not requirements Thursday, 15 November 12
37. Suggestions, not requirements Labyrinth Thursday, 15 November 12
38. Suggestions, not requirements Labyrinth “the brevity and simplicity with which the final plot can be told is a mark of it’s structural excellence” - David Robinson Thursday, 15 November 12
39. CORE IDEA Thursday, 15 November 12
40. THE CIRCUS (1928) Thursday, 15 November 12
41. A SOFTWARE PROJECT Thursday, 15 November 12
42. CORE IDEA Discover the trunk of the tree Thursday, 15 November 12
43. CORE IDEA Discover the trunk of the tree “he emphasizes the particular sequence which happens to be uppermost in his mind at the moment as the main theme of the current story” - Harry Crocker Thursday, 15 November 12
44. CORE IDEA Discover the trunk of the tree “he emphasizes the particular sequence which happens to be uppermost in his mind at the moment as the main theme of the current story” - Harry Crocker Alter and discard suggestions Thursday, 15 November 12
45. ATTENTION TO DETAIL Thursday, 15 November 12
46. High Technical Quality Thursday, 15 November 12
47. High Technical Quality Equipment Thursday, 15 November 12
48. High Technical Quality Equipment Camera Thursday, 15 November 12
49. High Technical Quality Equipment Camera Continuity Thursday, 15 November 12
50. SUMMARY Thursday, 15 November 12
51. SUMMARY Expression over Exposition Thursday, 15 November 12
52. SUMMARY Expression over Exposition Features and Requirements are suggestions Thursday, 15 November 12
53. SUMMARY Expression over Exposition Features and Requirements are suggestions Suggestion generation and triage through Experimentation and Refinement Thursday, 15 November 12
54. SUMMARY Expression over Exposition Features and Requirements are suggestions Suggestion generation and triage through Experimentation and Refinement For expression, design always emphasises the Core Idea (like DDD) Thursday, 15 November 12
55. SUMMARY Expression over Exposition Features and Requirements are suggestions Suggestion generation and triage through Experimentation and Refinement For expression, design always emphasises the Core Idea (like DDD) Reduce constraints through Attention to the right Details Thursday, 15 November 12
56. SUMMARY Expression over Exposition Features and Requirements are suggestions Suggestion generation and triage through Experimentation and Refinement For expression, design always emphasises the Core Idea (like DDD) Reduce constraints through Attention to the right Details Thursday, 15 November 12
57. QUESTIONS? Chaplin, His Life and Art - David Robinson The Art of Charlie Chaplin - Kyp Harness The Search for Charlie Chaplin - Kevin Brownlow My Autobiography - Charles Chaplin Hollywood, The Pioneers - Brownlow & Kobal (also a TV series) Silent Cinema, An Introduction - Paolo Cherchi Usai Domain Driven Design - Eric Evans More Info Me T.J. Sheehy @tjsheehy The Circus: http://cinema.sapo.pt/filme/the-circus/media/poster Totheroh and the stage fire: The Search for Charlie Chaplin - Kevin Brownlow The Immigrant: http://kittypackard.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/chaplin_theimmigrant.jpg?w=584 http://deeperintomovies.net/journal/archives/1327 Image sources Thursday, 15 November 12