filmmaker looking for a writer....

[Blaine]

right ... but the "process of writing" = all the prep time and plotting and bullet list and if you don't do that you will have to do it while you are writing, or if you bang out a stream of conciousness draft then aftet you have written that, in which case the stream of conciousness draft just becomes an excercise that is obstensibly still part of the prewriting prep.

Absolutely! Just saying that once the prep work is done, the actual process of putting words on the page becomes a fairly easy (and fun) thing for me. If you were to ask me how long it took to write something, I'd probably tell you "x" days and that would certainly be misleading because it wouldn't include all the time I spent "creating" the story.

I think (and it could be the fault of those like me) that that is why the author of this thread may have such an unreasonable view of how long it takes to "create" a screenplay. I differentiate between writing and creating a screenplay. But they are two sides of the same coin.

 

[kimko]

Thank you for saying this. My choice of words might have been different and less diplomatic and probably lead to excommunication from dvxuser.

As far as I'm concerned, this is a troll.

no i'm a troll

 

[Zak Forsman]

 

[brianluce]

no i'm a troll

No you aren't.

 

[xfoo]

sorry if i sounded rude or demanding... i had no clue how long the writing process is until now haha.. didnt know how much effort a script realy does take. and yes im new to the whole filmmaking thing because i have always just filmed skiing and blading... no script required

 

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

I wasn't offended. I figured as much.

You have one of the best and worst (certainly dynamic) filmmaker trates though ... You're willing to try to force a square peg into a round hole (this is supposed to be a compliment BTW). You want to make a movie LIKE NOW! even though you don't have a movie to make. That kind of no excuses / get it done mentallity is necessary and the difference between people that just talk about making movies and those that actually do it. You just have to be careful and temper that drive with prudence and realize when it might be time for a new plan, postponement, or scrapping the project al together.

So ... which are you doing with no script and a new perspective on what it takes to get one done now? ... going forward on the same timeline anyway?

I think your only shot is too look for movies that have already been written. Find a screenwriting forum and offer defered pay and expenses (travel, ink cartridge, paper, brads, and several cans of coffee for the writer's home use).

But I think people that have completed scripts may be likely to run in the other direction when they hear your timeline. A Feature takes a good bit of planning. Let's say you are going to shoot under the Dogma 95 Manifesto : Only with availble light and run and gun. You still have to break the script down into all of the scenes that share locales, coordinate all the cast and and any crew associated with the senes set on each location, get all of the props together for that. Bear in mind that you are going to be coordinating something like 6 - 20 people that you are not paying and as such you have to accomedate their schedules, which won't match up despite any efforst on your part to ensure that they do before casting them. Oh and you have to cast actors. Even if you have a bunch of actor friends to call on, you are still going to have to track them down and get commitments and you'll stil probably have to cast from an audition. So that means putting notice out, and unless you have a way to sort out people that are completely wrong or talentless (via agents or a casting director) then you are going to have to sit through hours of auditions.

If you have no job and can devote 100% to this, good luck getting ready to shoot in 2 weeks. I think you need a month to 6 weeks after you have a script in hand AT LEAST.

 

[Blaine]

Great advice, JDS. It is an incredible undertaking. On our shoot, 21 days spread across a month, I redid the schedule 18 times. Fortunately, I had production software to help me with that and the script breakdown and all the other goodies that go with it.

Everyone is in a hurry to start shooting. But to start without proper pre-production is inviting disaster. Even with the best laid plans things are going to get ****ed up. We spent about 2 months on pre-production, 1 month production and 6 months post production. Nine months to make a B-movie (and I use the term lovingly :love4: )

 

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

... Even with the best laid plans things are going to get poo pooed up... )

Yes, and that's when the forcing a square peg into a round hole may be the only way you get through your day and get something filmmed.

But, right, you have to prepare SOOOOO much in order to get to the point where the thing you couldn't possibly have thought, or forgot to think of, is now the only thing jeopordizing the entire shoot for the day, week, month ... or literally the entire shoot.

Now with the million other contingency plans in place you can assault the one or several unforseen disasters that crop up daily.

 

[Mark_P]

F**k the Script

F**k the Script

F**k the Script (How to Make a Movie Without a Script)

Xfoo (Tom)
Although I have a great deal of sympathy for you and have a few thoughts about how you might get started on your own "script, " I couldn't stop laughing when I read this:

I spit on your DVX.

Alveraz, I know you really mean this, but this is one of the funniest things I've read on this board in a long time. You've got cojones and I love it! I've got to see whether I've got a role for you in the script I'm working on. You're great! Reminds me of what Tarantino once said about his films: that some of the "serious" scenes and dialogue in his movies are often funnier than the so-called "comedies" that others have made. True.

Xfoo, although I agree with almost everything that the others have said here, maybe we're all looking at this the wrong way -- from the wrong angle. Maybe you don't need a "script" at all. Sure, you need to have an idea (or ideas) for a movie and you need to be able to communicate those ideas to others who are part of your project, but that might not necessarily mean that you need a script. I need a script. Many others need scripts. But you're not us.

You could (as Robert Rodriguez has suggested) sit down in front of a blank screen or wall or whatever and imagine (picture in your head or on the screen) the whole movie (or a few scenes) playing in front of you. I do this all the time. If you're excited about something, it isn't all that difficult to start spinning out a tale. Follow it wherever it goes. Or imagine certain important events that happen, from beginning to end, without worrying too much about the details in between. If you can do this -- well, my friend, you're three parts done with your "script."

Now, you can jot down some notes about what you've "seen" in your imagination. You don't need to be thorough. You don't need to write well. Just make enough notes that you will remember the main outline (or the details, if you have them) of what your movie should look like. Or , instead of writing notes, you can make a recording (audio file) of your ideas, if you like. How you outline your ideas for the film is up to you. There are no rules that you need to follow. Fuck the "rules" that film schools and filmmaking books say you must follow. Still, you must be able to show others what you want and where you're going. And that's where you're on your own. But you seem to be able to do that already. Given all the responses you've gotten in this thread, it's pretty clear that you have enough skill to get your point across.

You may say, "I can imagine all sorts of things, but I really do need someone else to get the dialogue right." I say, do you really need a lot of dialogue? (I do, but I'm not you.) Some filmmakers create great films with very little dialogue. You may not be a dialogue person. Who knows? You may want to focus much more on the visuals. We're all visual story tellers, but you may be more visual than others. Only you can know that. There are some feature-length films that have maybe a page of dialogue for the entire 90 minutes (or 100 minutes or whatever):

Take a look at these two Asian-language films, for example:
1) "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring" by Ki-dok Kim.
2) "Goodbye Dragon Inn" by Ming-liang Tsai.

You might get some ideas about how to make a movie with very little dialogue watching films like these.
I don't know if this method of filmmaking appeals to you. This is just something for you to think about.

Maybe, sometime in the distant future, you'll have enough money to hire a writer. (Of course, just because you're paying someone doesn't mean you're going to get a good script and a great movie. It's a big risk no matter how much money you spend.) And maybe you'll want to do that then. Or maybe not. Maybe you'll find a way to scratch out your own outline of a great movie and do it your way. Who knows? Only you can find the direction that's right for you -- with or without a script.

I know a lot of this sounds a little bullshi*ty, but so do the filmmaking "rules" that so many of us blindly follow.

 

[Isaac_Brody]

I know a lot of this sounds a little bullshi*ty.

Actually this sounds a lot bullshi*ty. If a person has no mastery of screenwriting and storytelling rules, I seriously doubt they'll make a coherent entertaining movie by bucking the rules. I'd recommend mastering the basic three act structure before throwing it out the window. Of course, if you're interested in making films for yourself and not for a wide audience, you can use whatever rules you want.

But like it or not, your filmmaking tastes and experience are shaped by mainstream films. Even if you think you're ignoring the rules, you're probably still influenced by them on an unconscious level. I think that's one of the reasons why asian cinema (Chinese, Korean, Japanese) is interesting, because the influence of American cinema is filtered differently because of cultural differences. As Americans we don't have that luxury of growing up in foreign cultures and having a steady exposure to different modes of storytelling. You can get that exposure through watching films, but without an understanding of basic storytelling rules you will probably lack the understanding to bend and break rules to make something original.

 

[brianluce]

Actually this sounds a lot bullshi*ty. If a person has no mastery of screenwriting and storytelling rules, I seriously doubt they'll make a coherent entertaining movie by bucking the rules. I'd recommend mastering the basic three act structure before throwing it out the window. Of course, if you're interested in making films for yourself and not for a wide audience, you can use whatever rules you want.

But like it or not, your filmmaking tastes and experience are shaped by mainstream films. Even if you think you're ignoring the rules, you're probably still influenced by them on an unconscious level. I think that's one of the reasons why asian cinema (Chinese, Korean, Japanese) is interesting, because the influence of American cinema is filtered differently because of cultural differences. As Americans we don't have that luxury of growing up in foreign cultures and having a steady exposure to different modes of storytelling. You can get that exposure through watching films, but without an understanding of basic storytelling rules you will probably lack the understanding to bend and break rules to make something original.

Yeah. What he said...

 

[tradur]

I think the script is so important that unless you have a great one , dont even bother wasting the film. no amount of great camera,costume work can hold interest if the story is not very compelling. great lines make great movies, sucky lines ruin a otherwise great movie.

 

[Domino Harvey]

Pirates Of The Caribbean 3 started with no script. They are now extending the filming session on "Hiatus" untill late summer. I guess we will just have to see how that turns out.

 

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

yes but that's the rare instance when a movie doesn't need a script because they instead start with map that leads to a buried treasure ... I think the map said something like Johnny Depp + ten paces north past the previous sequel = pure gold. :cheesy:

 

[brianluce]

Pirates Of The Caribbean 3 started with no script. They are now extending the filming session on "Hiatus" untill late summer. I guess we will just have to see how that turns out.

Yet another unhelpful post in this forum. I suppose the inference here is scripts aren't necessary since a big budget feature allegedly started production without one. If that is indeed the inference intended, this must be the single worst piece of filmmaking advice I've ever heard.

 

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Yet another unhelpful post in this forum. I suppose the inference here is scripts aren't necessary since a big budget feature allegedly started production without one. If that is indeed the inference intended, this must be the single worst piece of filmmaking advice I've ever heard.

that's an awful lot to read into his post

I think he was stating a fact and saying "we'll see how they do" never got an endorsement out of it ... but maybe.

 

[Domino Harvey]

All I am saying is that sometimes its not only amateur or small time film makers that start with no script, forced against the clock etc. People are saying various things like.

Dont even bother filming if you dont have a script

I spit on your DVX.

And the part about single worst piece of filmmaking advice I've ever heard. I suppose the spitting part is much better and will boost someones convidence by 100%. My bad. Ill be more like him in the future.

Im just saying to comptonxfoo directly. Dont give up any hope. "You see the chance, just go, theres no use waiting" Just keep in mind that whatever situation you come across. Someones either been there done it, and got out the other side. Or that someones there with your right now. Theres always another route. I heard that your working on your script now and that its coming along "quite cool" so thats good news. Keep up the good work.

 

[brianluce]

All I am saying is that sometimes its not only amateur or small time film makers that start with no script, forced against the clock etc. People are saying various things like.





And the part about single worst piece of filmmaking advice I've ever heard. I suppose the spitting part is much better and will boost someones convidence by 100%. My bad. Ill be more like him in the future.

Im just saying to comptonxfoo directly. Dont give up any hope. "You see the chance, just go, theres no use waiting" Just keep in mind that whatever situation you come across. Someones either been there done it, and got out the other side. Or that someones there with your right now. Theres always another route. I heard that your working on your script now and that its coming along "quite cool" so thats good news. Keep up the good work.

\

Okay, that sounds terrific. I'll reply later once I've run it through Babblefish.

 

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

ugh ... this thread

 

[Isaac_Brody]

Pirates Of The Caribbean 3 started with no script. They are now extending the filming session on "Hiatus" untill late summer.

I took this to mean that the hiatus was in part due to not having a script. If they'd had one, there would be no point for a hiatus would there? Anyway, this thread has run its course.