Empire - Lawrie Brewster - New Age Film

lawriejaffa said:
Okay, so I now have an idea, that this film will be exploring the dark reflection of political idealism and mans failure to overcome his base instincts that we will represent metaphorically through landscape and the 'monstrous' pursuer (be it animals or a monster.) All of this seen through the minds eye of a romantic political idealist - our leader of the band of survivors 'Luke'.
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So this is a bourgeious tale of an 18 year old, who lives in the middle class suburbs... who drives an SUV... and whose sole life purpose is to hope that the girl he texts on his newest mobile phone (sorry cell phone) will sleep with him at his friends college party (the er exciting climax as it were) entendre ending?

...or putting it in simpler terms...Luke DOES get laid...right?

:):):)
 
EPIC! Can't wait for it.

If you need snow in the summer just shoot everything in black dirt and invert the colors in post. :)

Good luck!
 
Cheers mate but its epic at the cost of a penny - and we'll see how it comes together. Im wanting to open up the process as far as the rules allow? Thanks fro the advice on black dirt (my god that would be interesting to try?)

Am i allowed to post the script here? and stuff like that - i would welcome comments, involvement etc. I will be posting the screen tests, costumes etc. Funnily enough i dont have a huge amount of time to produce this but im desperate to get involved in the film fest as i really missed not getting involved last time.

So this is maybe a bit too ambitious - however, if it works, then it will be great fun for folks wanting to have a go at surreal historical story telling hehe.

When i get a chance later i'll be paying a visit to all my fellow comrades threads who are making films for the comp too - I won't be just living in my own thread ;)
 
Epic in terms of the amount of work you'll have to put in place of your lack of funding.

I don't know if you are allowed to post the script, but I would rather not see it and be surprised, so if you do, make it a link. I like to see movies without knowing anything about it, but that's just me.
 
Oh I know! I mean its a fun endevour really though - if it sucks it sucks - to be honest this is cathartic really, im doing so much corporate work at the moment (some of it great fun and creative of course.)

That this will be great - i hope that by detailing my process (be it a success or not in the end) it will prove helpful to the other filmmakers. Particularly I would like to encourage some filmmakers to take more intellectual and artistic consideration into their projects (even genre.)

In fact Yeehaanow you have been quite persistent in expressing original ideas in your films - particularly so with your Twilight and Lossfest entries.
 
This could prove to be really cool with the '300' look and possible green screen stuff.

I think I've seen one of your CGI projects on this forum? Might there also be some CGI?

Good luck with your film and your busy schedule! :)
 
Thanks Robert - yes well at present the entire film may be CGI!!! Apart from the actors of course lol. It won't have a real look, a surreal look and thanks the schedule is busy (its a cop out excuse) but my biggest goal will be to ensure the entry makes the deadline in and around work.

10/04/09 - Conceptual Revelations....

So I was struggling with how one can marry together a surreal visual element with our main character. Subconsiously the CGI will not (in the time i have to produce effects) render photo realism. Neither do i want some of the strange visions we will see in the film to be a purportive realism.

What I want - and need, is a reason for the protagonist to be in such denial of his circumstances, and so idealistic - that what he sees - be it real or metaphor can have an acceptable reason to be there. I'm not convinced that Luke should be simply dellusional and so obsessed with Republican Nationalist ideals that he sees things differently.

Neither does it create the right impression for their monstrous pursuer - for i would it to almost exist in metaphor - in so much is this creature really the monster - or is the monster something more natural (inflated by imagination.)

And who has such an imagination? As that of a child or young adolescent. Whose unrepenting idealism... can be better sewn in times of extreme political transition by those adults around him. Now I am considering Luke, as a young adolescent (14 playing age) whose spirit is so unrelenting and strong, that it gives the energy for the old soldiers dying around him to go on... (even if they themselves know the true fate that Luke is oblivious too.)

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This photo from Confederate Re-enactors for the American Civil War - is true enough to the tragic useage of children in conflict by the great powers. It was simply done, that young adolescents and sometimes children were the drummers deigned to keep those men of the line in formation.

Such were the horrors of the starvation that reaped the French Army on its retreat - that rumours swirled the hungry men were forced to eat more than their horses...


Sidenotes -

Its important even when dealing with a surreal story like this - that the feelings of those forced into war are considered - both intellectually by the filmmaker - and in their characterisations. I've had the honour of providing free video workshops to gentlemen of the British Armed Services who themselves suffer from Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder. Their stories are both tragic and surreal - as they will be to the men of all nations who fight and suffer... regardless of the side they fight on. I think we glorify the brief moments in time - that couragous behaviour results in 'glory' - we recall those moments in epitaph. They are romanticised in heroic tales - to sentimental bravado. But what is left of our heroes... is not unlike that of a traumatised drummer boy - and that is the story we are most keen to forget. CERTAINLY so with most of the film depictions of war - particularly with those emulative indies :P

The overriding idea is as always the absurdity of war - (as was present i hope in my Scriptfest entry Covenant.)

A great poem reflective of the old lie, http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html
 
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WOW! This sounds great! You've always got a lot going on under the surface and I can't wait to see how this will come across on screen.


lawriejaffa said:
The overriding idea is as always the absurdity of war - (as was present i hope in my Scriptfest entry Covenant.)

A great poem reflective of the old lie, http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html
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As far as Covenant...It struck that chord perfectly.
Great poem, I'd never read it before, it has great visuals in it.
 
Hey mate thanks for that - Yep the poet is Wilfred Owen, one of the most famous of all British Poets - known mostly for his WW1 Poetry. He as there in the thick of it and wrote his poems whilst in the trenches (on scraps of paper that he would send back.)

He died a week before the armistace - a tragic loss to literature.

Congratulations btw to your well deserved polling in Scriptfest Conlan!
 
lawrie lawrie lawrie, just saying hi lol. u using that pink hat thing again?
u know u are gonna.

I do declare old boy that your film seems rather spiffing,

I sense a massive army of Gavs chasing down the french haha.
 
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Your first post Stuart - :P Welcome to the thread and yes I certainly do sense an army of green screen fellows, though if i do attempt that it will probably be the 'Atilla the Hun' FX route (if I do and can!)

The pink hat to which you refer is unfortunately long gone - its memory will live on in the historical documentary in which it featured :) That I hope to post up here when permission is given by my clients!

I will post an update later today gents! (And wonderful ladies!)
 
I agree
The pink hat should be your recurring theme, or nightmare
mwahhaahahhaaha.

Hmm anyhoo, waiting on my pitch bein accepted still lol. fingers crossed
kinda excited about my epic. although sense itll be an epic fail more than anything haha, but you always learn from those. gotta try it to be in it eh,
on the plus side, its something new and positive for me to focus on with the way things have been the last few months lol
 
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13/04/09

Righto so the first draft of the Script is done (hurrah hurrah!)

Now its looking okay im fairly confident about its intellectual qualities (ie it is saying something which i think has a point) but also has spectacle and some pretty disturbing er characters.

(Always an important feature of my er scripts)

So I don't think we're allowed to post scripts but if we are i can maybe post it in the screenwriting section for feedback. If not then I can't boo - but i will be storyboarding next and that will include some Concept Artwork! (always fun)!
 
14/04/09 - Concept Artwork

Heres the first of a series of Concept Sketches :P Yey!

Now I will put more descriptions in about who these characters - but this i hope gets a little vibe across! More to come!

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