How do you make a film?

john threat

john threat

Carbonite Member
Just curious.

Anyone open to sharing there processes? Right now here is my flow:

Come up with idea and write it down.
Yap about it for weeks with friends with elation.
Make sketches of stuff from the film.
Bang out the script.
Make more sketches
Think about how I don't have the money to make it.
Do storyboards
Cast it.
Shoot it.
Edit it
Watch it 1000000000 times.
Try to get others to watch it 1000000000 times,
Depression
Repeat
 
I like to think about my idea for about ten years before I get to step #1. And then take about a month and a half for more thinking between step #3 and step #4.
 
Seriously though. I remember hearing that Aaron Sorkin considers the time he spends watching football, driving and taking a shower to actually be "work". It's his process. I love that.
 
john threat said:
Just curious.

Anyone open to sharing there processes? Right now here is my flow:
Click to expand...

(With a few things I added):

Come up with idea and write it down.
Start turning idea into outline/treatment
Realize idea needs a great deal of additional work
Come up with massive amounts of story/idea refinements
Repeat the previous two items several times
Run the outline/treatment by knowledgeable associates, esp those who know story structure
Make refinements based on the previous
Write first draft of script
During the previous, additional story refinements will result
Write second draft of script
Show script to knowledgeable associates, esp those who know good dialog writing
Make refinements based on the previous
Write third draft of script
And so on, as needed...

...then all the other stuff you listed.

...except that "Depression" should be much less severe, and may in fact be replaced by "Pride" due to others (likely fewer than 100000000 though) saying "Hey - you may actually have what it takes to be a filmmaker"...

: )
 
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zuckerpunch said:
Seriously though. I remember hearing that Aaron Sorkin considers the time he spends watching football, driving and taking a shower to actually be "work". It's his process. I love that.
Click to expand...

Me too. He's probably one of those guys who is always knocking story ideas and dialog around in his head when he's not 'writing', strictly speaking. And he may also be *getting* ideas from things that happen in football games, commercials, people he overhears in restaurants, etc.

Good stuff...

BTW, on a semi-unrelated note, I thought his acceptance speech last night was a textbook example of shameless Hollywood egocentricity, as he pompously droned on and on and on while the 'get off the frickin' stage now, you asshole' music played and played and played, as though he personally owned the place. Or maybe even the whole town. Yuck...
 
Actually, someone joked about spending ten years thinking...

Superseeds was a mild thought for about half a year, then it took two to write it around work and living, one to pre-pro (cast, etc) and shoot it, and currently half a year to finish (if we hit the deadline).

I think I am on the Aaron Sorkin boat: I do consider all of the time I spend daydreaming part of my working process, whether that's in the car or sleeping.

Most of the stuff I'm finally going to write's been brewing for a number of years, and it's all about to boil over.
 
john threat said:
How does one think about your film?
Or is that a silly question.
Click to expand...

LOL I can't tell if you're trolling, but it's interesting so:

Let it play out in some semblance is thinking about it. Big beats, small beats, information. Sort of compiling ideas etc over a long period of time.

Just kinda think I guess.
 
zuckerpunch said:
Seriously though. I remember hearing that Aaron Sorkin considers the time he spends watching football, driving and taking a shower to actually be "work". It's his process. I love that.
Click to expand...

I agree. I play NCAA Football on my playstation 3. As I navigate GA TECH to multiple national titles in Dynasty mode...I'm working on my scripts. I process the outline & notes and even come up with scenes as I play. My wife only half believes me when I say I'm working on my script when I'm playing...but it's true.

-M
 
If I get completely stuck on some aspect of a script or story, and it's before I've taken a shower that day (ahem), I quit writing, hit the shower, and about 90% of the time proceed to get the 'solution' to it while I'm in there. I have seriously thought about putting a whiteboard and crayons in because otherwise I have to resort to continuously repeating my 'key thought(s)' to myself lest I forget. This sort of thing also happens to me, equally problematically, while driving (a voice recorder's the answer there, but I have yet to get into the habit of having one ready at all times). There seems to be something about a large change of scenery, especially one with certain physical 'restrictions', that unlocks the subconscious...

Jail time would probably be a creative bonanza... : )
 
Ted Spencer said:
BTW, on a semi-unrelated note, I thought his acceptance speech last night was a textbook example of shameless Hollywood egocentricity, as he pompously droned on and on and on while the 'get off the frickin' stage now, you asshole' music played and played and played, as though he personally owned the place. Or maybe even the whole town. Yuck...
Click to expand...

True dat.
 
I do a lot of thinking on the road while blasting music, or dancing and acting it out in the house while blasting music
For dialouge, sitting in a cafe,
For general story usually laying in bed day dreaming or reading news articles,
 
Ted Spencer said:
BTW, on a semi-unrelated note, I thought his acceptance speech last night was a textbook example of shameless Hollywood egocentricity, as he pompously droned on and on and on while the 'get off the frickin' stage now, you asshole' music played and played and played, as though he personally owned the place. Or maybe even the whole town. Yuck...
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you here. He says some fairly complimentary things but they just don't sound sincere to me. Like, "here is a a compliment...you're so lucky to have participated in my genius"

I guess it's because I've heard him talk about it...and he thanks the writer of the book at the Oscars but when I heard him speak earlier he distanced himself so far from the book that you'd think that he hadn't even read about it and that his masterpiece came from one room and the hack who wrote the novelization came from the basement (just the impression I got). So, him thanking the writer of the book felt very false and thus everything else ringed false as well.

I did like the movie though, so he deserves credit...glad the old man won too for Original screenplay.

-M
 
Martay said:
...glad the old man won too for Original screenplay.

-M
Click to expand...

And by contrast, his acceptance speech was a gem IMO. Humble, respectful, kindly, smart, amusing, and perfectly realtime-edited for length. My favorite of the entire night.

And like you said, his was the *original* screenplay of the two... : )
 
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