Three Guiding Talks
Gearing up towards scriptwriting and planning, we've had three talks from people more in the know: the first from a young filmmaker called Ryd Cook, the second from an aspiring scriptwriter and the third from an ex-student who has found success with his own recent shorts. Each gave some clarity as to the steps we need to undertake in the planning, development, shooting and editing of our own pieces.
Ryd Cook is a young filmmaker currently working in cinematography and acting, but with over 10 years experience around the industry: his talk was the most eye-opening, given the naivety by which I entered the room. He took us through each process involved in the assembly of a film, even one as short as the 5 minutes runtime we have been given; the sheer quantity of steps was what set in at first. I have some experience with the creation of screenplays and as such, this area is familiar to me - but on top of that storyboarding, shot lists, equipment checks, editing etc. I had little scope as to the time commitment of. Perhaps the greatest of these revelations came from the way he described the process of editing - on top of which our teacher told us that the average amount dedicated to those in a similar position to ourselves was 20-30 hours. On top of this, the software will have to be learned and practised before much efficient work can be done. Ryd showed us an example of a film he had made in reference again to the stages of editing, through rough-cuts and refinements, before the features of diegetic and non-diegetic audio were introduced - this was invaluable to someone without a clue as to the editing world.
Second, the scriptwriting process was introduced to us by an aspiring scriptwriter and film teacher, whose purpose it was to teach us the language and formatting that goes into professional screenplays; it must be said that I am already reasonably confident in such language given previous experience, but it was a good recap of technical features nonetheless. We moved from this onto some screenwriting exercises, which I will elaborate upon in a later post. Overall, it was good to see another screenwriter's work and begin to place my ideas in a more tangible form, seeing how they might be communicated through a script... the idea of a surrealist or non-traditional narrative is becoming ever more appealing to me, it must be said; especially given some previous experience in writing, it might be nice to stretch the previously traditional work I have done.
Third of all, we had an ex-student (Neil) talk to us on a more personable and practical level about the process at hand. He offered somewhat similar ideas to Ryd, but having undertaken the same project as we have now just last year, was able to give far more specific tips for our own films. He pointed out some ideas as to the selection of ideas according to available resources, but also according to the effectiveness of our own abilities, and the acting talent available to us: I've skimmed past this point before, but I think it incredibly important and Neil really put it in perspective - I simply cannot afford to rely on my peers to deliver shattering performances (maybe it sounds cruel, but I mean it sincerely). It is the stature of my own idea and the planning around the execution of it that must be done to the best of my ability - that is ultimately all I can focus on in any given moment.
Some exercises in screenwriting and other planning exercises next - see you then.
Ryd Cook is a young filmmaker currently working in cinematography and acting, but with over 10 years experience around the industry: his talk was the most eye-opening, given the naivety by which I entered the room. He took us through each process involved in the assembly of a film, even one as short as the 5 minutes runtime we have been given; the sheer quantity of steps was what set in at first. I have some experience with the creation of screenplays and as such, this area is familiar to me - but on top of that storyboarding, shot lists, equipment checks, editing etc. I had little scope as to the time commitment of. Perhaps the greatest of these revelations came from the way he described the process of editing - on top of which our teacher told us that the average amount dedicated to those in a similar position to ourselves was 20-30 hours. On top of this, the software will have to be learned and practised before much efficient work can be done. Ryd showed us an example of a film he had made in reference again to the stages of editing, through rough-cuts and refinements, before the features of diegetic and non-diegetic audio were introduced - this was invaluable to someone without a clue as to the editing world.
Second, the scriptwriting process was introduced to us by an aspiring scriptwriter and film teacher, whose purpose it was to teach us the language and formatting that goes into professional screenplays; it must be said that I am already reasonably confident in such language given previous experience, but it was a good recap of technical features nonetheless. We moved from this onto some screenwriting exercises, which I will elaborate upon in a later post. Overall, it was good to see another screenwriter's work and begin to place my ideas in a more tangible form, seeing how they might be communicated through a script... the idea of a surrealist or non-traditional narrative is becoming ever more appealing to me, it must be said; especially given some previous experience in writing, it might be nice to stretch the previously traditional work I have done.
Third of all, we had an ex-student (Neil) talk to us on a more personable and practical level about the process at hand. He offered somewhat similar ideas to Ryd, but having undertaken the same project as we have now just last year, was able to give far more specific tips for our own films. He pointed out some ideas as to the selection of ideas according to available resources, but also according to the effectiveness of our own abilities, and the acting talent available to us: I've skimmed past this point before, but I think it incredibly important and Neil really put it in perspective - I simply cannot afford to rely on my peers to deliver shattering performances (maybe it sounds cruel, but I mean it sincerely). It is the stature of my own idea and the planning around the execution of it that must be done to the best of my ability - that is ultimately all I can focus on in any given moment.
Some exercises in screenwriting and other planning exercises next - see you then.
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