1: Work on Engaging Material & Promote Discussion

-Reaching out and engaging with your audience

2: Respond to People Directly

Folks want to engage with you, but you have to engage them back. 

3: Be Visual

Take advantage of photos.

4: Show Transparency

Remaining transparent allows people to actually know about your brand rather than knowing of it.

5: Add a Blog

gives people a peek through the curtain. 

6: Participate in the Experience

show your willingness to network in a social atmosphere.

7: Have a Solid Identity

you should be thinking about the business coming across as if an actual person is operating it.

8: Move Past the Product

For branding purposes, it’s about appealing to a niche, not about selling to one.

9: Add a Personal Touch

You can find a lot of personal data on sites like Facebook & LinkedIn, and you can target specific users. Taking the time to send someone a personal message, or even being personal with your fans in a group message, shows a lot of character. Using names helps a lot too.

10: Put the Effort In

release quality content.

One of the most effective new marketing approaches out there is content marketing. According to the Content Marketing Institute, over 85 percent of brands use it, but less than half believe they're good at it. In many ways, content marketing is even more important for small businesses.

So what, exactly, is content marketing? Why is it important? And how the heck do you actually do it? I asked three experts to weigh in: Michael Brenner, head of strategy for NewsCred and a Forbes Top 40 social media marketer; Neil Patel, co-founder of KISSmetrics and Crazy Egg and a featured expert in Kauffman's Founders School; and Shelly Kramer, founder and CEO of V3 Integrated Marketing, who has been recognized by Forbes as one of the top 20 best marketing and social media blogs.

A Layman's Definition of Content Marketing

"Content marketing is a way for a business owner to educate your customers and potential customers about your products and services," says Patel. "The goal is to offer tips, help, and education about anything that can be helpful to a customer. This kind of information can be shared in the form of blog, white paper, webinar, video or social post. The opportunities are endless."

Why Should Small Businesses Invest Time in Content Marketing?

"Small businesses should be even more focused on content marketing than larger brands," says Brenner. "Small businesses don't have the luxury of massive budgets that are over-weighted in ineffective advertising. But they also need to drive brand awareness and leads with limited resources. Content marketing is a great way for small businesses to do both."

The bottom line is that smaller businesses should invest in content marketing because it can generate awareness, engagement, and leads. Ultimately, content marketing can do something even more meaningful for businesses, Patel says. "Good content marketing builds trust. And if someone trusts you, they are more likely to buy your products and services and more likely to tell their friends and family."

How Does a Small Business Marketer Start?

First, Brenner says, "Start by identifying the business goals, who you are targeting, what value will be created for the customer, and what value will be created for the business." Second, Patel says, "Get inspiration by asking potential customers. Reach out to them and ask, 'What do you want me to blog about? What are problems do you have? What can I help you solve?'

Finally, Kramer suggests developing a holistic plan. "Write down your strategy. The key is to tie your overall business goals and objectives into your content marketing strategy," she says.

What are the 3 Biggest Mistakes Small Businesses are Making?

Kramer says the biggest problem brands have is not minding the three legged stool--an integrated marketing strategy that includes SEO, social media, and content marketing. "SEO, social, and content all have to work together in order for you to be successful, and all too often marketers don't yet understand this," Kramer says. "You can't have success with content without a robust presence in the social media space. And you can't have great SEO success without understanding the role that fresh, relevant content and social media channels play. There is great content being published on corporate blogs on a daily basis that no one ever sees."

How do You Break Through the Clutter?

Breaking through the clutter is as simple as the 3 Vs: Volume, Value and Variety. "You cannot just publish a couple of times a month and hope that it moves the needle," Brenner says. "So it starts with this notion that you need to be present in our always-on, always-connected world. The second thing is value. Your content has to be good. I always recommend brands identify what they want to talk about (the topics of conversation surrounding their brand) and then make every effort to produce as much valuable content around those topics as often as possible," Brenner says. "The final tip is about variety. People (and search engines) reward those brands that deliver value in multiple ways. So think about text-based articles, videos, SlideShare presentations, research reports, and all the different things we consume across the digital, social and mobile Web," he says.

How Do You Know if You're Successful?

When you're putting your content out in the digital world--via YouTube, Twitter, your blog, the list goes on and on--how do you know if your content is actually successful? Patel offers three specific steps: First, track views. Second, use Google Analytics, a free measurement tool. Google Analytics will show you how much these pieces of content are driving traffic back to your site. Third, check to see how much search traffic you're getting. Visitors will link to it from their sites and you will also notice that it ranks in Google or Bing and you will start to see more search traffic.

"You have to give it time. Don't expect great results in three months or six months, but you will see traction," Patel says. "Within the first three months you should see more traffic to your site. Within a year, you should start to see good results and an opportunity to monetize traffic on your site."

Where Do You Go to Learn More About Content Marketing?

According to our experts, the best online resources are Content Marketing Institute, Kauffman Founders School, Hubspot, MarketingProfs, and of course Patel's QuickSprout, Kramer's V3Blog, and Brenner's NewsCred. And for a longer read, check out Content Rules by Ann Hadley and Youtility by Jay Baer.

What are your favorite places to go to learn about content marketing for startups? Message me and let me know.

http://www.inc.com/anita-newton/what-exactly-is-content-marketing-and-why-do-you-need-it.html

One of the most interesting projects that a graphic designer can take on is designing a logo. It can be daunting (and stressful) to come up with logo options based on market research, and stumble upon some "design magic" through the exploratory process. Narrowing it down to a final approved logo and then seeing it out in the world can be a very rewarding experience for a designer.

However, most of the time, a logo is not enough. Large organizations with layers of management require a thorough brand identity system that provides a unified vision and tools that help everyone build the brand. But before we dig in, let's define the difference (and relationship) between a brand, an identity and a logo.

Brand vs. Identity vs. Logo



• A Brand (or Branding) refers to the perceived image and subsequent emotional response to a company, its products and services. It also represents the conversation that customers are having with each other about the company, and how that spreads. My favorite definition about brand is the one Seth Godin gave: A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer.

• An Identity describes the visual devices used to represent the company. Identity systems are a visual components package that is paired with style guidelines and used as a framework to ensure the corporate image is cohesive and consistent. Some of the visual devices that leverage the brand elements and style guidelines are as follows: stationery, marketing collateral, packaging, signage, messaging, and digital projects, among others.

• A Logo is the central, identifiable visual element that helps customers discover, share and remember a company's brand. Usually it's in the form of an icon (mark or symbol), logotype, or combination of the two. The main purpose of a logo is summed up nicely as the five principles of effective logo design in this Smashing Magazine article.



Phase 1: Research, Vision & Design Brief



This phase should be as thorough as needed — depending on the depth of research and size of the company. It's the most crucial part of the overall process, and should result in a design brief that guides the rest of the project.

Below is a list of foundational questions and key dynamics to explore and document through qualitative and quantitative methodologies. (Note: This is only a quick overview of the most complex part of this process.)

• How is the brand perceived against competitors in the market for products and services you're looking to provide?

• What is the positioning statement of your brand? Answer the what, how, to whom, where, why and when questions.

• What is the heritage of your product type, and the origin(s) of it's ingredients and fabrication process?

• Who is your audience? Are they digitally savvy? Where will your products/services have contact with them? How do you want that contact experience to make them feel, take action and think about your brand?

• What values & beliefs should the brand have about the business and it's mission in the world? If the brand was a person, what would it's personality be? How would it look, act and talk?

• What benefits do you want customers to associate with your brand? What is the vision of the brand that you want to create?

• Other brand image concerns: market awareness, emotional associations, value to the consumer, brand perception vs. consumer behavior, changes desired in the brand-consumer relationship over time.

As you can tell, it's complicated. Two agencies who I think do a good job with their brand research are Landor and Fi. It shows in the way that they describe their completed work as challenge-and-solution projects.

The Design Brief

It's important to have a design (or creative) brief if the brand identity project is bigger than one designer doing work for a small local business. A design brief should contain summaries from the research phase, such as: target audience(s), messaging objectives, values and mission of the brand, and the brand's products/services offering. It should also include budget, project schedule, file formats for delivery, and other practical needs.

If you're looking for tools and help on how to write a design brief for a brand identity project, explore the following: Freelance Switch Brief Tips, Link List and Logo Design Brief, 99designs, Just Creative, and FreePDF Templates.

Phase 2: Logo, Identity, & Guidelines



After the research phase is complete and a design brief has been created, it's time to start designing the logo and identity system.

The Logo

There are many ways to start designing a logo, but most often times you'll see designers begin by sketching out dozens if not hundreds of iterations on paper. The process of getting concepts down on paper and then iterating on those ideas can unlock new directions to explore and final solutions that you wouldn't have normally arrived at when starting on the computer. After selecting your best sketched concepts, you should start iterating on them digitally.

Here's a peak behind the curtain of a few logo concept sketches as they became final digital solutions:

Firefox Logo by Martijn Rijven of Bolt Graphic, art direction by Wolff Olins



ITV logo by Matt Rudd of Rudd Studio



Greenpeace Airplot Logo by Airside



The Identity System

The identity system usually starts after the logo is complete. The purpose of the identity system is to form a systematic visual language around the logo — one that compliments the design thinking of the logo and offers a family of useful, flexible elements that will help to design marketing and business collateral. Here are some examples:

Fortaleza 2020 by Guivillar



Handsome Coffee Roasters by Ptarmak



Patina Restaurant Group by Mucca Design



The Style Guidelines

The style guidelines contain and prescribe the logo usage rules, typeface system, color palette, layout guidelines, and more. They exist so that others can create design collateral and marketing materials that will have a cohesive look and voice.

Style guidelines have traditionally been produced as print and web-ready PDFs. They're the core of the identity design, and usually accompany the logo, templates, fonts and other resources packaged together to make designing for the brand easier. Style guidelines are in-depth rules about logo usage, styling, and layout, and are always interesting to browse through.



Here are a few style guidelines of popular brands: Skype (pdf, brand page), BestBuy (Euro Guidelines), BBC, Adobe, Apple, Google, and Walmart. Looking for more? Dig into this list by Logo Design Love.







These days, the documentation that a designer must deliver has a heavy digital skew, with an emphasis on development-ready files, such as Style Tiles, Element Collages, Style Prototypes, SASS documentation, a Logo/Brand download page, among others.



Don't forget to check out our simple Creative Market brand page, and download the logo if you want to promote and share Creative Market.

Phase 3: Monitoring & Rebranding

Lastly, after a new brand identity has launched, it's important to monitor and care for it, as it's a living and breathing thing that interacts with your customers. Honestly, that's a loaded statement as there are many ways to properly care for a brand. Regardless, over time, if your target audience shifts, the market evolves, or the brand's products and services change, it may be time for a rebrand. The main challenge with rebranding is trying to maintain familiarity and consistency so that your customers will remember you.

There are two really awesome sites that give an inside look when prominent brands get rebranded: Rebrand and Under Consideration's Brand New. Here is a quick sampling of their short before and after case studies:



1. Emma, 2. Bishop of London, 3. Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2013, 4. Cancer Research UK, 5. Google SketchUp, 6. oDesk

Resources for Brand Identity Design

If you're starting a new brand identity or rebrand project, here are some Creative Market resources that might help get you started.

 

 

 

https://creativemarket.com/blog/2013/07/23/designing-a-brand-identity

黑卡

專攻晨昏攝影的 丁健民 ，透過與各地前輩的請益學習，以及跟親朋好友的鑽研分享，這幾年累積了不少使用黑卡 的經驗。他致力於追求畫面上的每一處細節，希望可以將眼前所見的美景，真實呈現在每位觀者面前，因此除了精進搖 黑卡 的技術，在後製疊圖的部分也下了不少功夫。

易犯的黑卡使用錯誤

以拍攝黃昏來說，從有太陽到沒太陽，再到色溫、夜景出現，不同情況需要裝減光鏡與否，還有不同倍率減光鏡使用時機上的差異，或是在海邊在山上、有雲海沒雲海，刷黑卡的狀況也都不一樣。例如拍101這種城市夜景，在天空藍色溫慢慢消退、地景燈光漸盛之際，我就會由上往下把黑卡慢慢刷下來，而不是由下往上，但很多人還是蓋一半在那邊搖，可能地景有開燈的地方就爆了，而高空已經快要沒有色溫的區域就會變得很黑，所以搖黑卡的方式需要針對不同時間和地點去做改變。

比較特殊、具有挑戰性的拍點

一般來說，海邊是比較理想的拍攝環境，它有一條很明顯的地平線，方便你去藏卡線，相對比較困難的就是高山的地方，像潭腰或五分山，山巒起起伏伏，照平常的方式搖黑卡就會看到山黑一半。這個時候我會配合狹縫黑卡去做處理，或是多次的去刷黑卡，再配合後製疊圖避免這個情形發生。

黑卡之所以有不同的刷法其實都是因地制宜的關係，而我到不同的地方取景會碰到不同的前輩，他們在那邊拍這麼久了，無疑都是箇中翹楚，自然會有因應該處地形地貌的搖黑卡方式，多跟他們請教就會學到不同的處理方法。

▲搖黑卡的方式會針對不同的時間和地點改變，但概念仍是相通的。

有關狹縫黑卡

狹縫黑卡的概念就跟相機上的快門簾是類似的，黑卡上的這條縫可以針對畫面上高光低光不同區域，隨著移動的快慢來做曝光時間長短的控制。它可以處理的狀況很多，舉一個很明顯的例子就是大湖公園，在拍攝日出的時候為了不讓拱橋的部分變成剪影，就可以用黑卡上的這條縫，先在橋身和橋的倒影那塊區域上下來回，讓這個區域多曝光一點，最後由下往上抽起來，就可以讓拱橋和背後山脈都呈現出細節。

▲製作狹縫黑卡要選用塑膠材質才不會有毛邊，不然縮光圈拍攝時會在畫面上拉出一條一條的線。

▲上圖：沒搖黑卡；下圖：使用狹縫黑卡。配合狹縫黑卡拍攝的大湖公園，拱橋不會變成剪影，細節依然可見。

後製疊圖的處理方式

後製對我來說不是為了無中生有，最主要的宗旨是希望我的作品可以更貼近現場看到的狀況，把細節層次處理的更豐富、更完美，並帶有個人風格，這才是我後製的主要目的。有些人會排斥後製，一來可能是因為部分比賽禁止後製，或是覺得一曝完成才叫真實，但我覺得要考量的是後製這個做法的意義是什麼，而我後製只是為了要讓照片更貼近現場狀況，讓不在現場的人也可以透過照片看見我眼前的美好風景。

▲在不同的攝點與其他玩家交流分享，也有助於黑卡技術的精進。

雙黑卡

除了狹縫黑卡，丁健民也跟編輯分享了雙黑卡的拍攝方式。雙黑卡其實是一種修飾的手法，當畫面下方是湖面或水面這種容易高光過曝的場景，可以再用第二張黑卡由下往上遮住這塊區域，讓它少吃點光來呈現更多細節。其他像是在不厭亭拍芒花，或是去六十石山拍金針花，凡是畫面下方有會反光容易導致過曝的景物，都是雙黑卡可以運用的範例。

▲雙黑卡的使用情境。

1) import raw file

2) select the pic>click on create virtual copy (x2)
3) select 1 "virtual copy", click on increase 1 stop exposure, another "virtual copy" for decrease 1 stop exposure
4) select all three pic, right click export> photomatrix pro
5) click ok in photomatrix pro

now you can adjust in photomatrix pro if wanted.

剧本写作基础：剧本的格式 

首先明确一点，剧本区别于任何一种文体形式，我经常看到有的朋友把剧本写成了小说或人物传记，这是不对的，至少是不专业的。剧本有自己专署的格式，写剧本从某种程度上说是个技术活。 

写剧本也不是什么很崇高的艺术创作，这只是一个普通的工种，剧作家和清洁工人没什么区别，都是很普通的工作而已，所以每个人都可以写剧本，每个人都可以当导演。当然，既然是一个工种，就有自己的规范。这些规范也许不会让你迅速变成一个专家，但至少能使你看上去像一个专家。或者，不至于让你糟糕的格式成为审稿人枪毙你稿子的理由。因为一个审稿人每天要看三到四篇稿子，如果你的剧本格式看上去不怎么专业的话，他完全有理由翻上几页就把你的剧本扔在角落里凉快。 

先来看看剧本写作常犯的错误： 

1：把剧本写成了小说 

刚刚上面提到有的朋友把剧本写成了小说，不是不可以，但那个是文学剧本，根本不能用来指导拍摄和制作。举个例子，你可以在小说里花几页的笔墨来写一个人的身世，背景，家庭组成，或是用几页的笔墨来描写主角的心理斗争过程，但这些东西是无法表现在电影屏幕上的。你的剧本就是一个屏幕，你所要表现的是电影屏幕上能被观众直接看到感受到的东西。像心理活动这类东西是无法很好的表现出来的。加旁白？当然可以，除非你能忍受主角的画外音在一动不动的镜头里读几页小说。电影*画面表达情绪，你的剧本就是电影画面，要通过摄像机的角度来写，这可能引起第二个问题。 

2：不必要的摄象机标注 

如果你这样写剧本：在5号升降台，用盘纳为升70型相机，60mm镜头，由8.5m摇至2m对焦…………如果你这样写，就算过了审稿人这一关，你的剧本也会被导演扔掉。你不需要教他怎么拍，这不是你的事。你在写剧本的时候完全不用担心相机的事。但是不是剧本就不要考虑相机了呢？也不是，你需要考虑相机的关系而不是位置。剧本里有自己的专用相机术语，多多使用这些术语，能让你的剧本很专业，至少看上去很专业。 

1.Angle on 角度对准：比如BILL走出便利店，相机对准BILL。 

2.Favoring 主要表现：BILL在一个大广场，人很多，但主要表现BILL。 

3.Another angle 另一个角度：换个角度的相机表现BILL在大广场玩的很开心。 

4.Wilder angle 更宽的角度：先表现BILL在广场的一角喝可乐，然后镜头拉远，表现BILL所在的广场。 

5.New angle 新角度：换个角度表现BILL喝可乐，使镜头丰富。 

6.POV 视点：从BILL的视点看东西。就是第一人称视角。 

7.Reverse angle 反拍角度：BILL和SALLY在一起跳舞，先拍BILL看到的SALLY，再拍SALLY看到的BILL，通常是两人的POV互反。 

8.Over shoulder angle 过肩镜头：相机越过BILL的肩头看到SALLY，BILL的肩头能把画面自然的分割，很常用的类型。 

9.Moving shot 运动镜头：包括跟拍，摇移，追随等等，反正镜头是运动的，至于具体怎么动，还不是现在考虑的问题。 

10.Two shot 双人镜头：BILL和SALLY在边喝可乐边交谈，这种镜头的相机不要随意移动，防止“越轴”。把BILL和SALLY两人连起来有一条轴线，相机只能在轴线一侧运动，如果越过这条轴线，在画面上BILL和SALLY的位置就会左右互换，引起观众视觉上的逻辑混淆。 

11.Close shot 近景：强调SALLY美丽的眼睛，但一般少用为妙。 

12.Insert 插入镜头：某物的近景，比如天色已晚，SALLY问BILL几点了，BILL抬起手来，接下来可以接一个BILL手表的特写，当然你还可以用此种镜头来换景，比如BILL移开手表时摄象机里看到的已经是夜晚的舞会了。 

以上就是剧本里的镜头描写格式，看个例子就明白了。这是具体的写作格式： 

场景说明要黑体，时间地点要黑体，居左 

场景中出现的音效要黑体标出 

第一次出现的人物名要黑体居中 

人物的对话要居中，两边留空，不同人物的对话要另起一行 

标明摄象机的关系 

标明场景的切换，“切至”就是硬切，“化至”就是加转场的效果，全部居右 

如有特效运用，也要用黑体标出 

二剧本写作入门 

这是我在大学修读剧本写作课程时所得到的体会。记得当年导师和我们说：「要想写好剧本，就必须懂得剧本的基本知识和理论，搞明白电影的规律！」 

今天，身为其中的一员，有幸和大家分享一下我所懂得的剧本理论知识，如有错漏，还望大家多多包容。 

简单来说，要写好一个故事，首先要构思好你的故事走向，人物关系，情节高潮，主题思想等…… 美国好莱坞有一套编剧规律：即开端、设置矛盾、解决矛盾、再设置矛盾，直至结局。中国也有自己的编剧规律：起、承、转、合。 

在下面的文字，本人会分类将写作剧本的基本和重要的元素详加论述，并会举出实例加以说明。 

< 第 一 节 > 

剧本基本理论 ：态度、主题 

<<态度 (Attitude)>> 

写故事最重要的是对故事的态度，不同的态度会产生不同的效果。举一个简单的例子，同样是写一个青楼女子的故事，如果作者是以一个淫秽、色情的态度去写，故事自然集中于男女之间欢爱的部份。相反，如果作者是以一个同情、尊重的态度去写，故事便会集中于描写青楼女子被迫卖身，身不由己的可怜、无奈…… 

<<主题 (Theme)>> 

在下笔写故事之前，你必须要问自己：你要讲一个怎样的故事？是朋友之间的友情(如电影午夜牛郎—midnight cow boy)，男女之间的爱情(铁达尼号—Titanic)，外星人入侵地球的故事(天煞地球反击战)，还是一个控诉战争的故事(杀戮战场—platon)等。这就是主题。 

主题必须十分明确、贯彻、毫不怀疑。你不能写一套战争片段，一时就怀疑战争，一时就歌颂战争。主题有如一支指南针，它会引导你创作故事，和贯穿故事中的枝节。而最重要的是它能避免你在写作中偏离主道。试举一例，清朝皇帝雍正在野史是一个杀弟、杀父夺位，强奸弟弟妻子的禽兽。但在雍正皇朝(早期亚视播出的电视剧)作者笔下的雍正，却是一个好皇帝。因为作者的主题是要写一个好皇帝，所以在故事中只会见到雍正彻夜不眠批奏章、视察农民、减税、推行德政等场面，并没有杀弟、杀父等场面。 

所以，一套成功的剧本是要让观众看完后，清楚明白作者想表达的思想和主题。 

< 第 二 节 > 

创造角色冲突 (create character conflict) 

角色冲突是吸引观众的不二法门。这包括故事角色和角色之间的冲突，角色和他自身价值观的冲突等。 

<<方法一： Potogonist Vs Antogonist>> 

故事里的人物想做一些事，但有一股力量抗衡他，这就是Potogonist /Antogonist 

例如电影怒火风暴(Falling Down)故事中，主角刚刚经历完痛苦的劳狱生涯，当他出狱时，他一心想见回自己的妻子，重过正常人的生活(Potogonist，他想追求的事)。但他的妻子逃避他，不认他，而四周的人也因他的犯罪纪录而歧视他(Antogonist，阻止他达到目的的力量)。 

<<方法二： 不能分解的关系 (unbreakable bonding)>> 

当角色和角色之间存在冲突，而且有一个不能分开的结把他们拉在一起，好戏便来了。举一个简单的例子，男主角的妻子是个三姑六婆、八卦的女人，而男主角的母亲则是个守礼节的传统妇女。因为环境的因素，主角和他的妻子必须搬进家里和妈妈一起住。试想两个完全冲突的人：媳妇和奶奶被一个 unbreakable bond 拉在一起时，会是怎样。 

< 第 三 节 > 

创造表面张力 (create dramatic tension) 

<<方法一： 让你的观众知道一些事而故事中的角色是不知道的>> 

例如故事中的主角闯进了敌人的基地，有支枪在黑暗处伸出来瞄准着他(观众知道但主角不知道)，敌人就快要开枪了，观众也为主角担心。 

<<方法二： 让你的观众感到故事中的角色是走在一条错误的路上>> 

主角的母亲病了，他全身家只有一百元，于是他便去睹场碰碰运气。很好运地，主角不停地赢钱，已有几千元，有足够的医药费了。但他竟然贪胜不知输，继续赌下去，结果输了一局又一局(观众已知他已走在一条错误的路上)。最后连手上的一百元也输了，竟然还去问大耳窿借钱(他用错误的方法企图达到目的)。 

<<方法三： 时间限制 (deadline)>> 

故事中某些事件若存着时间的限制，或计时炸弹，能够给观众一股紧张的情绪，并且这股紧张情绪能维持一段长时间。 

还有十二个小时，陨石便会撞击地球，地球上超过一半的生物会死亡。(电影--陨石撞地球) 

这辆巴士必须维持在时速一百二十公理，否则车上的炸弹便会爆炸。(电影--生死时速) 

<<方法四：转折点 (Turning Point)>> 

使用转折点能制造意外的效果，引起观众的预期心理，加强情节张力，从而持续观众对故事的兴趣。转折点最常出现于故事的前段和后段。剧本前段的转折点一般用于开启故事和陈列出主角即将面临的各项选择。至于后段的转折点则指向主角解决危机，收拢故事。 

例如著名电影「生于七月四日」(Born on the fourth of July)，主角在故事开始面临第一个转折点：是否要参加越战。主角最后选择参战，走上战场。但好景不常，在战争中主角被打破了双脚，要终生坐轮椅。原本爱国主战的他经历了多件事件后，改变了他的想法。导致故事结局出现了很出人意表的转折点，他由主战派变成反战派，从而带出反战的主题。 

< 第 四 节 > 

其它技巧 

<< 伏笔 (Planting)>> 

相信有作文的人都会知道什么叫做伏笔吧！埋下伏线可以吸引观众追看剧情。例如在电影心计中，主角汤美一早便表露了他有模仿人签名和行为的能力(伏线)，到故事发展到他杀了有钱人迪奇后，观众凭借伏线已经估到主角会假冒迪奇。 

<< 关键匙 (Payoff)>> 

所谓 Payoff，就是最能象征整个故事的对象。例如在电影”Apartment”中，那条门匙就是Payoff。又如著名电影「舒特拉的名单」中，那张犹太人的名单也是Payoff。 

<<蒙太奇 (montage)>> 

有两个画面，梅花间竹地播出，这就是蒙太奇。例如在电影教父中，画面一边播出教会里正在举行的神圣仪式，如神父替孩子洗礼，向天主祈祷等。但另一边画面却转接地播出教会中邪恶的一面，例如教会中的领袖为求夺权，去反对他的人的住所，不停地大开杀戒。 

蒙太奇亦可以指一些不同而没有关系的画面,当他们剪接在一起的时候,会产生另一种意义,简单来说,如第一画面中有一只手正在投球,而另一画面是另外一只手接到一个球,然而球不见得是同一个,但当两个画面前在一起的时候,就是一个人把球投给另外一个人,注意/若中间再加入另外的画面,这意思就完全不一样了!! (注：这一段蒙太奇的文字解释由网友「贝戈」提供) 

< 第 五 节 > 

剧本三大忌 

<<写剧本变写小说>> 

剧本写作和小说写作是两样完全不同的事，要知道写剧本的目的是要用文字去表达一连串的画面，所以你要让看剧本的人见到文字而又能够实时联想到一幅图画，将他们带到动画的世界里。小说就不同，他除了写出画面外，更包括抒情句子，修辞手法和角色内心世界的描述。这些在剧本里是不应有的。举一个简单的例子，在小说里有这样的句子： 

「 今天会考放榜，同学们都很紧张地等待结果，小明别过父母后，便去学校领取成绩通知书。老师派发成绩单，小明心里想：如果这次不合格就不好了。 

他十分担心，害怕考试失败后不知如何面对家人……』 

试想，如果将上面的句子写在剧本里，你叫演员看了怎样用动作去表达。 

如果要用剧本去表达同样的意思，就只有写成如下： 

「 在课室里面，学生都坐在座位上，脸上带着紧张的表情，看着站在外面的老师。老师手上拿着一叠成绩通知书，她看了看面头的一张，叫道：「陈大雄！」大雄立刻走出去领取成绩单。小明在课室的一角，两只手不停地搓来搓去。他看出课室外面，画面渐渐返回当日早上时的情景。小明的父母一早就坐在大厅上，小明穿好校服，准备出门，看了看父亲，又看了看母亲，见到他们严肃的脸孔，不知该说些什么。小明的父亲说：「会合格吗？」小明说：「会……会的。」 

「陈小明！」老师宏亮的声音把小明从回忆中带回现实。老师手上拿着小明的成绩单看着他，小明呆了一会，才快步走出去领取……』 

<<用说话去交待剧情>> 

剧本里不宜有太多的对话(除非是剧情的需要)，否则整个故事会变得不连贯，缺乏动作，观众看起来就似听读剧本一样，好闷。要知道你现在要写的是电影语言，而不是文学语言。只适合于读而不适合于看的便不是好剧本。所以，一部优秀的电影剧本，对白越少，画面感就越强，冲?力就越大。 

举一个简单的例子，比如你写一个人打电话，你最好不要让他坐在电话旁不动，只顾说话。如果剧情需要，可让他站起来，或拿着电话走几步，尽量避免画面的呆板和单调。 

<<故事太多枝节>> 

很多人写剧本都写得太多枝节，在枝节中有很多的角色，穿插了很多的场口，使故事变得复杂化，观众可能会看得不明白，不清楚作者想表达什么主题。试想如果在一幕电影中同时有十几个重要的角色，角色之间又有很多故事，你叫观众在短短时间里那能把每一个角色记得这么清楚。 

其实，写剧本有一句格言：「 Simple is the best! 」愈简单的故事就愈好。大家想想你们所看过的好电影中，它们的剧情是不是都很简单。例如电影铁达尼号(Titanic)只是讲一艘大船下沉，而下沉当中男女主角产生了爱情。其它电影也一样，简单到报纸短评用短短几十个字就能讲出故事大纲。 

但是，简单永远是最困难的：「 Simple is difficult。」