Film School

[Lord]

Well I'm not going into specifics with these stories for obvious reasons. It's way more advanced than that for both.

That's a good thing
I don't need details, i don't want details, seeing the final product if made will be more satisfying

 

[Spidermatrix53]

I also go to Full Sail and just started my physical classes Tuesday with Digital Photography. Did four months of online, first.

I'm really enjoying it so far.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

25 best film schools.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/25-best-film-schools-rankings-215714

My Syracuse is 15th!

 

[Spidermatrix53]

Why is it that I seem to find Lord in every thread I go into?

Hello!

 

[MadVillainy]

You guys with ideas and are actually writing them: how do you stay inspired to keep writing? Like I have many ideas that Ive started to write or outline and then I just lose the drive and just sit on my ass.
Sometimes seeing a certain movie will get me back into it but lately even that isnt working. Sometimes I open the document and cant even think of anything decent

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

That's why you structure a movie before writing. You think of where you want to go with the movie first. You start with what lesson you the character to learn, or (in movies like the James Bond movies) how do you want the character to reach their goal and add suspense to it. If it's not working, then leave it and come back later to it.

 

[Spidermatrix53]

You guys with ideas and are actually writing them: how do you stay inspired to keep writing? Like I have many ideas that Ive started to write or outline and then I just lose the drive and just sit on my ass.
Sometimes seeing a certain movie will get me back into it but lately even that isnt working. Sometimes I open the document and cant even think of anything decent

Discipline. Sometimes you just have to force yourself to, just to get it done.

 

[MadVillainy]

That's why you structure a movie before writing. You think of where you want to go with the movie first. You start with what lesson you the character to learn, or (in movies like the James Bond movies) how do you want the character to reach their goal and add suspense to it. If it's not working, then leave it and come back later to it.

I do. I outline everything, make character sheets, etc.

 

[moviedoors]

I do. I outline everything, make character sheets, etc.

You do what Woody Allen does. He gets writers block too, but he gets over it by staring at a blank monitor and not letting himself get up until he's written something. That's all you have to do. Even if the output is not up to your usual standards, you have to make yourself write even when you're not in the mood. That's what separates the men from the boys. Having written something sloppy is a million times better than just giving up and leaving it blank.

 

[Ultra Lantern]

Why is it that I seem to find Lord in every thread I go into?



I think Lord likes you.

 

[Spidermatrix53]

Why is it that I seem to find Lord in every thread I go into?

I think Lord likes you.

Or maybe we both click New Posts a lot?

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

I think Lord likes you.

That's probably the case.

 

[Ultra Lantern]

I was kidding Spidermatrix53.

 

[MadVillainy]

You do what Woody Allen does. He gets writers block too, but he gets over it by staring at a blank monitor and not letting himself get up until he's written something. That's all you have to do. Even if the output is not up to your usual standards, you have to make yourself write even when you're not in the mood. That's what separates the men from the boys. Having written something sloppy is a million times better than just giving up and leaving it blank.

Im gonna try that

 

[Aesop Rocks]

Pitch: A young kid moves halfway across country to finally get out of his town and family's constant drama. He's forced to choose between his education and family when the unexpected death of his father puts his family in a downward spiral. Coming back to town isn't going to be easy with him, all the old memories, regrets, and enemies are going to be waiting for him.

 

[Spidermatrix53]

I was kidding Spidermatrix53.

... What does "Kidding" mean?

 

[Ultra Lantern]

... What does "Kidding" mean?

Making a joke.

 

[Spidermatrix53]

Making a joke.

Really? Must be an American thing.

 

[Hurm...]

What are some good film programs/schools in England?

 

[Spider-Fan]

You guys with ideas and are actually writing them: how do you stay inspired to keep writing? Like I have many ideas that Ive started to write or outline and then I just lose the drive and just sit on my ass.
Sometimes seeing a certain movie will get me back into it but lately even that isnt working. Sometimes I open the document and cant even think of anything decent

You don't write a story straight from scratch. You outline it. Detail the story and what happens in a more general way, and then you get into more and more specifics before even sitting down to write page 1. As far as finishing, the driving force is passion. True writers don't write cause they want to. They write because they HAVE to, and finishing the story is the all encompassing goal. Like me, I actually have a full screenplay written. But, it is not perfected yet. I still plan on adding new material, like 10 pages to it. I haven't added the new material yet because I have to outline what I think it needs, first. I think I have a good idea and plan to get heavy into it when my course load lessens.

I've been working on this story for 2 years now.

 

[Hurm...]

Wish you the best of luck, Spider-Fan!

 

[BobbyCorwin88]

I'm going to be starting my last official semester of film school later this month.

I attend Trident Technical College in Charleston, SC and I'm about to graduate from our film program. You would not believe the kind of hands on training and coaching you get at this place, and it's only a 2 year program! The thing I've loved most about it is that I've been trained on film and hardly on digital. I won't get into the arguments about which one is superior over the other, but I will say there's a reason most motion pictures are still shot on film. The technology behind it just keeps getting better. Film also forces you to really take all of your shots seriously since you're working with a finite amount of stuff to shoot with. That's why I've developed a really big "waste not" kind of attitude toward film making and it's why I'm as critical as I am when talking about these movies.

This program truly is great. Over the summer we had our Practicum class, in which the instructors hire an outside director to shoot a short film that they've written. The whole class lasted 3 weeks, with the first 2 weeks committed to pre-production and the last week committed to the shoot. In our case we were split into two groups because this was the first year they had hired 2 different directors for the class to do two different films. They were shot on 16mm, which I was upset about because we have great Arri 35mm camera's, but it's expensive to shoot 35 and that's really all it came down to.

My job during pre-production was working in the casting department. We marketed the film locally and held an open casting call for two days, working with actors and finding the right people to fill the right roles. I had a ton of fun with that because I've been an actor for a while. I managed to sit in as an extra in one of the scenes. During production I worked in the sound department as a boom operator, which was probably the best job I could ask for. Gadgets are my expertise and I felt right at home wit mics and mixers. I was also in charge of coordinating our green screen scenes, probably because my instructor knew I was the only one in the class who had taken after effects. We had a driving scene that had to be shot in front of a green screen so I had to find the location to set it up and make sure we had it up during the right time of day to get proper, controlled lighting. It was such a great class. Hopefully when the final product is edited I can share it with you guys.

The only ongoing production down in my neck of the woods is the Lifetime program Army Wives. Their offices are located down at the Navy bases in downtown Charleston. I'm trying to get on in one of the departments when they start back up next month, but I'm still trying to decide what to start in. At this point I'll pretty much take anything. I love film and I love the people involved with it.

 

[MadVillainy]

You don't write a story straight from scratch. You outline it. Detail the story and what happens in a more general way, and then you get into more and more specifics before even sitting down to write page 1. As far as finishing, the driving force is passion. True writers don't write cause they want to. They write because they HAVE to, and finishing the story is the all encompassing goal. Like me, I actually have a full screenplay written. But, it is not perfected yet. I still plan on adding new material, like 10 pages to it. I haven't added the new material yet because I have to outline what I think it needs, first. I think I have a good idea and plan to get heavy into it when my course load lessens.

I've been working on this story for 2 years now.

As I said before I outline all my stories and plan everything out its just the driving force a lot of the time

 

[Mandalore464]

Here's a few tips on how to approach a script for anyone constantly getting a writer's block over their projects:

Start with a very short pitch (one sentence, no more) and a concept (the way I will approach the story to make it "original").

Determine the main theme of the story. From this theme, create the final revelation, or choice that the character will have to face.

From thereon, outline the characters, start with the main character, then the main villain, then the secondary characters. EVERY character should be defined according to :
- Their needs
- Their weakness(es)
- Their desires (not the same as their needs, they might not know what their needs are, but will have desires nonetheless).
- Their opinion about the main theme.
- The way they will conflict with each other.

Create the universe as an arena. Is it large (a universe? The world?), medium-sized (a city? A neighbourhood?) or small (a house? An amusement park? etc etc.).
In this general arena, determine what places are worth visiting. If a place is attributed to a character in particular, then it should be created so as to reflect their personality, needs, desires, etc...

Determine the main steps of the story, or the major events. They usually go like this :
- Weaknesses and needs of the main character(s) - You establish who they are and how their lives are not fulfilled because of their situation/morals/way of living/etc...
- Problem - This is the most important thing to determine. WHat is the triggering event that will put this/these character(s) on the path to their new selves.
- Adversary and obstacles - who they are. Why are they adversaries. How they will try to prevent the main character to reach his/her goals.
- Main character's plan - What idea will they come up with to overcome their adversaries and obstacles.
- Final confrontation
- Choice (has to be related to the main theme)
- Revelation (the character(s), world(s) etc. is/are changed.

NB : The FIRST thing to determine is what the ending revelation will be. Whatever you do, do not ever get into a story without knowing what its outcome is. The best writers might be able to do it (Although I will argue that they always have at least an idea of what it will be), but usually inexperienced people start from the beginning and they will inevitably reach a point when they will ask themselves "OK, what now?" and stay stuck for days, weeks, months, years before they give up and either start it all over or move on to another project.

SYMBOLS : They are an essential part of moviemaking. Create/determine objects, colours, any symbol you can come up with that will add another layer to your story. There should be a general symbol representing the main theme or the overall story. Then, each main character should have not one or two, but dozens of symbols representing their personalities and conflicts. Attributes such as objects (DiCaprio's spinning top in Inception), the use of colours, etc. usually work very well.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Once you're all set, it's time to outline the story as precisely as possible.

Here's how I do it :

Get as many pieces of paper as possible (make them 3"x2") and write your scenes ideas on each of them. Don't bother writing in chronological order, just stick as many ideas as possible on as many pieces of paper. One scene = one piece of paper.

If you're writing a feature-length film, try to have as many as 150 pieces of paper.

Once this is done, try to arrange them in chronological order in front of you. This is when you start to put together the structure of your story. Get rid of any piece of paper that you've written but that doesn't "fit" into the general scheme, or modify it so that it fits.

If you find out that there's a gap between two scenes, come up with a new scene that bridges it.

Whatever you do, there are two things you should ALWAYS go back to, no matter what : your theme and concept. If a scene does not relate to any of them, get rid of it.

I've seen a lot of young writers get into scriptwriting, and especially for Fanfilms. That's the thing they always get wrong. They go "I'm gonna create a Batman story with such villains. Batman's gonna do such kickass fighting moves and he's gonna hide in such cool place. Eventually they'll defeat the villain thanks to such trick, etc.

Those projects NEVER get made or they suck. The Dark Knight worked because Batman was faced with his greatest enemy : HIMSELF. The main theme of the story was (more or less) "how far will you accept to go to stop a limitless force?" It wasn't just a film depicting "Batman vs. The Joker". It was more like a "Batman vs. Batman because of the Joker" situation.

The most important thing in your story is a/Your character needs to have weaknesses, desires... b/He has to be challenged and c/He has to CHANGE. And those three basic steps should be intimately related to the main theme. If they aren't, you'll lose your grip on what you're writing, and be all over the place.

Hope that (long) post will be useful... Of course, none of this is set in stone, it's just the way I do things, but you may find out that you work better with another method, or by starting to develop your characters, etc. I only suggest that you try it, because it sure worked for me.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

It was very useful and I couldn't have said it better myself. All of the stuff you said I've read in books and you said it in only a few paragraphs.

Excellent job.