Gar.
How is it that one day I can have so many ideas and be so passionate about my film, and the next day I feel about as creative as a can of tuna? Maybe I just write better at night. That's when I do it most.
At the same time, I feel that my lack of inspiration has to do with the fact that I'm so much in my own head. Walking around and talking about the story concept--that's how all the great ideas seem to come to me/us. Syd will ask who's prominent in the town, I say a wealthy man and the mayor. So we talk about the mayor. Man or woman? Woman's more interesting. What's her role? I suggest the town's becoming more touristy. Okay, then she's concerned about appearances, the town's in particular. Syd suggests that maybe she has her fingers in the P.D. Then I suggest she's having an affair with the wealthy man. Great. He suggests that perhaps they both have kids, the kids interact... and you get the idea. It just flows. Alone, I feel like I come up with an idea and then... I don't have anywhere to go with it. The character's feel flat. An outside perspective just helps enormously.
At the same time, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I think better verbally. That's why blogs appeal to me so much. I get to write, but at the same time it's conversational, so I'm able to process through things. And this, my friends, is why I'm so fucking long winded, and why I often say stupid things. From my brain to your ears, direct route.
On another note, we watched The Truman Show in my Reality TV Studies class today. I forgot how much I love that movie. I've been trying to keep all the things that I've been learning in Save the Cat and Screenplay in mind when watching films, but whenever I'm enjoying a movie I just find it hard to not get drawn into its world. When I was finally able to pull out a little (which was at the beginning of the third act) I realized how well that film really fits the BS beat sheet and Syd Field's three act structure and whatnot.
I have to say, it's very reassuring to be able to apply the Beat Sheet to a film I actually like. I find a lot of what Blake Snyder talks about in Save The Cat! to be very useful and applicable, but at the same time he just makes me sick! The man touts himself as an expert, but only has two bad scripts to his name - Blank Check and Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot. The man is so outrageously concerned with the commercial that I find myself slamming the book shut only to pick it right back up. I'm sorry, I personally don't want to write about idiotic 20-somethings just because that's the main movie-theatre audience. I'd much prefer the existential 40 year old he brings up only to reject. More and more I'm realizing that DIY (or even Indiewood) is the area in which I would like to work. I'm still moving back to LA, mind you, that's where I have job prospects, that's where my connections are, but I think that my ultimate goal will no longer be to work my way up, but to take advantage of the opportunity to make my own goddamn movie.
I'm enjoying Syd Field's Screenplaya lot more than Save the Cat!, but at the same time I find Blake Snyder much more concise and comprehendable (not to say that Syd Field is hard to understand, it's just that like me, he's long winded). I can see, however, why Screenplay is considered the bible for screenwriters. It's well written, he has some really good film analysis and he goes into great depth about the writing process. Unfortuately, like the bible, there's a whole lot packed between the covers. That's the one problem I'm having with this class. Sure, the reading's are all incredibly helpful, and I honestly wish I could do all the optional reading as well, but there's at least twice as much to read for this course as there is in all my other classes combined! Oh well, at least this reading doesn't make me want to gouge out my eyes, so that's something. I just wish that I actually had some time to write!
I'm feeling really excited about my screenplay. The more I think about it, the more complex and rich the world of the film becomes, and the more I feel like it really has the potential to be a great movie.
I just hope I'm up to the task of writing it.
How is it that one day I can have so many ideas and be so passionate about my film, and the next day I feel about as creative as a can of tuna? Maybe I just write better at night. That's when I do it most.
At the same time, I feel that my lack of inspiration has to do with the fact that I'm so much in my own head. Walking around and talking about the story concept--that's how all the great ideas seem to come to me/us. Syd will ask who's prominent in the town, I say a wealthy man and the mayor. So we talk about the mayor. Man or woman? Woman's more interesting. What's her role? I suggest the town's becoming more touristy. Okay, then she's concerned about appearances, the town's in particular. Syd suggests that maybe she has her fingers in the P.D. Then I suggest she's having an affair with the wealthy man. Great. He suggests that perhaps they both have kids, the kids interact... and you get the idea. It just flows. Alone, I feel like I come up with an idea and then... I don't have anywhere to go with it. The character's feel flat. An outside perspective just helps enormously.
At the same time, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I think better verbally. That's why blogs appeal to me so much. I get to write, but at the same time it's conversational, so I'm able to process through things. And this, my friends, is why I'm so fucking long winded, and why I often say stupid things. From my brain to your ears, direct route.
On another note, we watched The Truman Show in my Reality TV Studies class today. I forgot how much I love that movie. I've been trying to keep all the things that I've been learning in Save the Cat and Screenplay in mind when watching films, but whenever I'm enjoying a movie I just find it hard to not get drawn into its world. When I was finally able to pull out a little (which was at the beginning of the third act) I realized how well that film really fits the BS beat sheet and Syd Field's three act structure and whatnot.
I have to say, it's very reassuring to be able to apply the Beat Sheet to a film I actually like. I find a lot of what Blake Snyder talks about in Save The Cat! to be very useful and applicable, but at the same time he just makes me sick! The man touts himself as an expert, but only has two bad scripts to his name - Blank Check and Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot. The man is so outrageously concerned with the commercial that I find myself slamming the book shut only to pick it right back up. I'm sorry, I personally don't want to write about idiotic 20-somethings just because that's the main movie-theatre audience. I'd much prefer the existential 40 year old he brings up only to reject. More and more I'm realizing that DIY (or even Indiewood) is the area in which I would like to work. I'm still moving back to LA, mind you, that's where I have job prospects, that's where my connections are, but I think that my ultimate goal will no longer be to work my way up, but to take advantage of the opportunity to make my own goddamn movie.
I'm enjoying Syd Field's Screenplaya lot more than Save the Cat!, but at the same time I find Blake Snyder much more concise and comprehendable (not to say that Syd Field is hard to understand, it's just that like me, he's long winded). I can see, however, why Screenplay is considered the bible for screenwriters. It's well written, he has some really good film analysis and he goes into great depth about the writing process. Unfortuately, like the bible, there's a whole lot packed between the covers. That's the one problem I'm having with this class. Sure, the reading's are all incredibly helpful, and I honestly wish I could do all the optional reading as well, but there's at least twice as much to read for this course as there is in all my other classes combined! Oh well, at least this reading doesn't make me want to gouge out my eyes, so that's something. I just wish that I actually had some time to write!
I'm feeling really excited about my screenplay. The more I think about it, the more complex and rich the world of the film becomes, and the more I feel like it really has the potential to be a great movie.
I just hope I'm up to the task of writing it.
1 comment:
Re: inspiration
Inspiration is awesome. Inspiration is the drug for writers - the one that keeps us going, that suddenly turns on the faucet and we just fill the sink and desperately try to get the stuff noted down or remembers before it floats away for good.
Everything after that is hard.
Sitting down, without anyone else around, and turning that pure potential: ideas, characters, that world you have created, into a screenplay, play, poem, short story, etc. is HARD WORK.
If you ever look at Craigslist, a lot of the "Writer" positions for LA are usually someone thinking, "I've got the idea for the story, all you have to do is write it and we'll split the money and credit 50-50!" This, to me, is an absolute bullshit deal, since the writing is the HARD PART. Anyone can come up with an idea for a story, actually writing it is what makes a writer different from a/an [insert apt profession].
And I am with you on the DIY / Indiewood thing. I'm pretty much tired of waiting for someone to recognize my genius as an actor or writer, and I'm on this crazy kick that I can produce my own work. Because I'm an organized little fuck and I'm willing to put in the time and effort to do so.
Also, I love telling people what to do.
So, keep an eye out for Bumps in the Night, coming to the internet near you very soon (strike.tv).
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