Tag: Film

So we’ve said the first part of Act One is about world building and introducing characters.  In that post, we provided you with some of our main and supporting characters and a little bit about each of them.

Now, it’s time to start figuring out how we get them interacting and put them into this world that we’re building.

First, you might remember that we envisioned a couple of things for making this film:  First, that we could film it on a low to modest budget (meaning very few locations and could be shot in a minimal amount of time). Second, we wanted a film that focused on story and creating emotions.  If any of you saw the recent film “Eighth Grade” then you can imagine the type of film we’re looking to make.

We decided to make a film about a high school senior (we’ll call him “Jinx” for now) who has to try to move past a horrible accident, and because of the overwhelming guilt he feels, wants to leave his small Texas town forever.  Less than a year after the accident, he is coaxed to come to a graduation party at a lake house.

And so the outline begins.  The way Rick and I write together, one of us will start with the genesis of the story.  We’re not actually writing the script, mind you, we’re just putting in a Microsoft Word document a draft of ideas for the story.  I drew the short straw, so I’ll write a few ideas for the opening.  Rick will follow behind, edit my first draft and add some ideas of his own, and we’ll go back and forth until we’re somewhat happy with moving on to the next sequence.

I started with putting Jinx and his friend Ellie and Tate in a car on the way to the graduation party.  While they’re talking about graduation earlier that day and about the party to come, what we want to make sure in writing the script is that it’s not expositional dialogue.  In other words, we don’t want them describing everything that’s happened, and we don’t want to use flashbacks (or if we do, to use them sparingly). So we just drop hints at what’s happened in this past, to set up for a big reveal later.

We’ll have them drive through the small town that they live in, to give everyone a hint of this place that Jinx is trying to escape.  Thus, we don’t have to have a full discussion by the characters of what the town is like.  You’ll see it and understand.

Next, we have them arriving at the party.  Given the small town, we couldn’t have hundreds of students attending the party and it’s this huge blow out.  It’ll be maybe 50 to 75 students, and consequently everyone is going to know each other, meaning we don’t have to introduce characters to each other.  But we do have to introduce them to you, which we hope to do by the way they interact with each other.

Jinx, Ellie and Tate arrive at the party, and Jinx is self-conscious about the way people are looking at him (or how he perceives people are looking at him).  This will be a continuing theme — how people react to him versus how they might actually be reacting.  This world Jinx lives in is a world that he’s built to help him cope with what he’s done in the past.

Ellie leaves Jinx and Tate to go visit with some friends, and after she goes, Jinx tells Tate that he’s always had a crush on her.  Tate asks why he’s never acted on it, and that’s when he reveals he’s leaving for college when the summer’s over and never coming back.  Tate is clearly surprised — he didn’t think Jinx was going to college and was instead going to get involved in the family business (perhaps we’ve even seen this business during that opening drive through the town), but Jinx wants nothing of it.

Through this small but impactful exchange, we’ve established some important story points that will have to be developed and addressed throughout the film:  (1) Jinx’s relationship with Ellie, (2) Jinx’s desire to move on from this small town; and (3) the family business that he’s obviously expected to take over someday.

This is creating tension and important for making the film interesting to the viewer.  As we continue to develop the outline, we’ll continue to drop in these kind of plot points and create obstacles that will hinder our protagonist from achieving his goals.

Will delve further into the outline in future posts.  Hope you continue to follow along!

Taking a quick break for the outlining sequence for a moment, as Rick Hansberry, my writing partner for “According to Plan”, “The Journeyers” and now “Lake Regret” provides some thoughts around whether you should consider a writing partner for one of your projects.  Listen up, guys, Rick is a sage when it comes to this stuff!

His thoughts on maybe why you DON’T co-write with someone:

“Generally, use these as guidelines, if you’re considering co-writing with someone. Everyone’s situation is different and these are by no means universal but intended to help those that have never co-written a screenplay with someone and are trying to evaluate if it will suit them. In reverse order of consideration:

5. Do not co-write to ‘learn.’ Before attempting to write a screenplay, be sure to read hundreds of them. Literally. They’re on-line and in books. There’s no excuse to not have read countless screenplays to understand, format, structure and the nuances of the craft. Your experience level may vary but never co-write your first screenplay. Learn the craft, then apply it.

4. Do not co-write to ‘coast.’ Sure, having a writing partner makes it easier to advance pages and attack revisions but there should always be a balance. A co-writer is a co-creator and there should always be a back-and-forth, give-and-take. If you tend to be lazy about writing, do not co-write to have someone to procrastinate with, rather treat him or her like an exercise or dieting partner — Push them through tough stretches – Hold them accountable and expect the same back. You’ll both win in the end.

3. Do not co-write for the ‘credit.’ If you’re looking to hitch your wagon to someone so you can finally say you’ve had something ‘produced’ or ‘optioned’ you’re doing it for the wrong reasons and it’ll show. Just about any produced writer (yes, I can say that my work has been ‘optioned,’ ‘bought,’ and ‘produced’ but I won’t say I speak for all) will tell you that there’s a certain amount of luck and having the right script at the right time in this business. They’ll also most likely share that there’s countless dozens of scripts by writers that haven’t sold anything or had anything produced that have more than one script that totally blows them away. Know in your heart of hearts that a good script doesn’t always get bought or produced and own it for what it is.

2. Do not co-write if you’re the type of person that doesn’t argue well or holds grudges. Just like every screenplay needs conflict, so do writers. Having a strength like structure or dialogue is fine but ultimately you have to bring your complete game to every script and so does your co-writer and inevitably there will be times when you disagree about a character, a joke in dialogue, a scene, or an ending. If you can’t argue for it and lose and be okay with it, then don’t waste the other person’s time. Creativity inherently wounds egos because no one loves everything. Accept going in that you’ll lose some battles and win some and the script will be better for it but if you hold a grudge — it’ll show in future exchanges and the script will suffer for it.

1. Do not co-write if you can’t accept a subordinate role sometimes. This is a rule to follow for relationships and marriages and careers in general. Let others take credit. Have enough self-esteem to know that your contribution to a project is valuable and it’s not all about you. One of my many hats is to work as a paralegal in a law firm. In many instances, I do the lawyers work for them (at a cheaper billable rate) and they simply review it and often present it to the client as their own — and that has to be okay with you. You have to accept that we all have different roles and times to shine. If you know you’re not the type of person that needs to be recognized or given credit or put on a pedestal, do not co-write but also — unless you’re producing and directing your own films, do not pursue screenwriting. In the film industry, even after the script is optioned or purchased and everyone loves it — it’ll be changed by countless others involved in the production. Have the internal fortitude to know that you’re not the chain, just a link.”

Next time, Rick will chime in with the 5 rules in favor of co-writing.  Stay tuned — and if you’re enjoying this blog, follow and share with your friends!