Films Never To Make

In my pre-production class, our instructor gave us a list of films never to make. They are as follows, and you will soon learn why it disturbed me so:

1.) The "In" Film: A film that only other film students or your immediate group of friends will understand. Full of "in" jokes about the film program, or experiences you've had with your friends.

2.) The "Spoof" Film: A film that parodies a film that's already been made. (I'm sure sweding falls under this category)

3.) The Music Video with Copyrighted Music: A music video of a song that you don't have the copyrights for. Even more pointless, a song that already has an official music video.

4.) The "Full Length Hollywood Movie in 15 Minutes" Film: A film so ambitious in scope that it is better suited for a feature length hollywood film than for a short student film.

Well. Looks like I'm a failure, doesn't it! I think every film I've done falls into one of those categories. Oh well...

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My instructor did, however, suggest that we make a film about something we feel strongly about. Since I'm not one to get involved with social or environmental or political issues or anything of that sort, I initially felt uneasy with this statement.
But as he kept talking, I starting thinking about things that actually bother me, without feeling like a bad citizen and human being because global warming didn't pop into my mind right away.

What makes you angry? He asked us. What frightens you?

And that's how I came up with the idea I'm going to propose on Thursday in class. More details in the next post.

The Grand Revision of a 22 Year Old Filmmaker

I finished my first feature length screenplay, The Grand Regret of a Teenage Superhero, in May 2008, having rushed it's completion so I could turn it in for class.
I was excited to see some of my characters that originally only had life in my original comics come alive in script format. So, initially, I was pleased with the outcome.

In the past year or so, I've tried my hand at developing both short and feature length screenplays. Only recently have I been very determined to get something new written...and have been getting very frustrated because I can't stick to one project and finish it.

I decided in the past few days nothing was getting done because I was unhappy with the way I left Grand Regret. It was rushed, written on the fly with little to no planning, and it was my first experience with script format. Ever. It's been nagging at my subconscious, and finally, I'm realizing what I need to do!

I cannot move forward until I am happy with my first screenplay. I love the characters, and I love the story. I have to make it into something I want to show people, instead of something I want to shove under my bed. Then, I can move forward to the various other projects I have planned.

So! Now that I have that figured out. My revision of Grand Regret initially scared my half to death. Now, I'm really liking some of the things I've been adding. The characters are fuller, the stakes higher, and I can really start to feel some emotion coursing through it. I'm having some issues with the villain's plotline, but I think that's something that I will visit once I've gone through once to change some character motivation issues and add some new scenes that will add depth.

Wish me luck!

A Project Update

Wow, I really need to force myself to update this thing! Having moved home for the fall, the only projects I really have underway are some scripts that I'm writing. Which is wonderful, because I'm really excited to use this time where I'm not really in production on anything to hone my scriptwriting skills and come up with some new ideas. Anyway, here's a lowdown of what's going on:

Classes and Clubs.

I'm taking two classes at University Wisconsin Oshkosh this fall: Pre-Production and Cinematography/Videography.
I really enjoy both of them! What we're learning now in Cinematography are things that I am already familar with, such as shooting subtext, how German Expressionism used light/dark, and concentrating on telling a story visually instead of solely with dialogue. But Pre-Production is all new information, and I couldn't be happier. I'm finally getting some insight on some very important things!

I have to come up with a short script for a film I might want to do in the future for Pre-Production, but I'm really struggling. I can't seem to come up with ideas that are best suited for a 10 minute film rather than a 90 minute one!

I'm also going to join my friend Jenna's Creative Writing Club. I feel it would definitely be good for me to spend some time with other writers and receive some very important feedback. It is, of course, also an incentive to keep working!

Scripts.

Here's an idea of the sort of projects I'm working on currently or thinking about developing soon.

The Harriston Terror

The Grand Regret of a Teenage Superhero

Her Conscience (working title)

Leon

Mystery Date: The Movie

A New Body For Grant Mulligan (working title)
       

Productions.

  I know, I know. I said I didn't have any projects this fall. Well, I have a few short things I want to do just to keep my hands on a camera. Two music videos, one documentary.

Shut Up and Sleep With Me - Sin With Sebastian

Love Potion Number 9 - The Clovers

Enter To Win! (working title)