Follow My Film

As many of you know, most films are often textually summarized in a short synopsis for a variety of reasons, including fund-raising and marketing.  Additionally, writing a synopsis  helps the filmmaker.  It forces one to boil down the content to its basics, helping the filmmaker better understand the core and essence of his/her film.

This is easier said than done!  What do you include?  Even harder, what do you not include?  Once again, the goal is to capture the essence of the story and characters in such a way that readers will want to watch the film.

I spent countless hours last week writing a synopsis of my film, based on the script, and I’d like to share it with you.  Though this might eventually change once the film is complete, at least for now, it offers a sense of what to expect!

When her ex-boyfriend, Rob, reappears, Bethany finds herself trapped by indecision: should she give him another chance?  He broke her heart before.  Will he do it again?  Caught in the crosshairs of emotion and reason, Bethany’s heart aches and her body yearns.  Rob is talented, kind and sexy and his sincere desire to reunite  plagues Bethany with a simple, yet excruciating decision.  A decision that triggers intimate memories and a menacing imagination.  There is no easy way out.  There is no savior.  For Bethany, there is only a decision that must be made.

Set primarily in one location through the course of one day, this intimate drama roams in and out of Bethany’s mind, weaving reality with the imaginary.  Its unpredictable approach is both reflective and punchy at the same time.

As you may know, I’m in the midst of rewriting the first draft of my script and it’s been both enjoyable and nerve-racking.

Enjoyable because I can sense my script improving.  I wrote my first draft rather quickly, so I naturally infused it with cliché and trivialities.  Eliminating such content has improved the script tremendously and has given it focus.  I’ve also refined some complex dimensions in the plot, which will lead to a more effective film.

On the other hand, the rewrite process is literally waking me up at nights.  It’s basically on my mind throughout the day and night, so I continually wake-up around 4AM thinking about my script.  Because my mind is constantly engaged, it’s difficult to turn it off.  But that’s not all.  The truth is that I’m quite worried and fearful since this is my first feature film project.  In the end, I will have invested a lot of time and money into my film, making it quite a gamble.  And as anyone who has made a film knows, there are a lot of elements outside your immediate control that need to come together.

I think it was the pastor of Mosaic Church, Erwin McManus, who said you’re probably on the right track if you’re pursuing something that makes you afraid.  Well, let’s just say I got that criterion covered.

Here’s another sneak peek at my script:

As I rewrite my script, I keep wondering whether or not  filmmakers should intentionally create their films to satisfy the tastes of a target audience?  And, if so, what effect does this have on the creative process and the final film itself?

In search of an answer, I wrote an article for the Garage Production Notes exploring this issue.  You can read it HERE and please share your thoughts.  I really want to know what you think…

Last Saturday I printed out the first draft of my script and gave it a read.  Though I was  pleased overall, something bothered me, something left me quite dissatisfied.  As usual, I took Sunday off and woke up on Monday eager to tackle the issue head on.

After a few hours with the script, I still couldn’t nail down the problem.  I simply could not articulate what was bothering me, so I turned to my reading notes of Beauty in Photography by  Robert Adams and, in an instant, my issue with the script became clear.

Mr. Adams states that the artist must not be concerned about doing the “right thing,” but rather connect with what is uniquely theirs to explore without a need to reform.  Without realizing it, I attempted to make my script “right” by following conventional rules and technique.  This led to a script that felt somewhat contrived and inauthentic.

Additionally, I realized that I had judged my main character rather than merely explore her humanity.  Movies too often judge characters and pronounce moral platitudes.  I definitely did just that and it really bothered me.

Though I am quite happy with my script, it is now time to weed out banality and plant some authenticity.

An excerpt from Beauty in Photography by Robert Adams, Aperture 2005 (pages 68, 69)

Second Story Sunlight by Edward Hopper

The first draft of my script is now complete!  Though I’m quite tired, I feel really good and happy with the results.  In fact, due to a couple of factors, I actually finished ahead of schedule.  First, I spent a lot of time developing my characters and outlining the script prior to writing and, second, I forbid myself from editing as I wrote.

Knowing the characters well and having a solid outline prevented confusion as I wrote.  I knew who I was writing about and what they were doing.  My outline was a map, so to speak, thus, I faced no dead ends.  Rather than ending up lost and brainstorming a way out, I merely entered the scene and wrote what I saw and heard.

And forbidding myself from stopping to edit was absolutely freeing.  I kept my eyes on the road and put the pedal to the metal!  I avoided the temptation to continually stop and reword a sentence or a bit of dialogue.  And I didn’t care if I kept using the same adjectives or adverbs.  I simply wrote, going with the flow, without exiting the scene to mull things over.

Thus, instead of writing like a poet, I basically was a transcriber of what I saw and heard.  This pleasingly led to many surprises not included in the outline!

And the most exciting part is yet to come.  They say writing is rewriting and I absolutely love it.  I’m detail-oriented by nature, so I really enjoy reassessing sentences, words and phrases and even entire scenes.  I will post updates as I rewrite.

Here’s a sneak peek from my first draft: