WHAT MAKES A GOOD SCRIPT.

[Chance1234]

kind of reminds me of Andy Warhols Film "sunrise ? " where he filmed the sun coming up and down over the empire state building just one camera static, the guy then wondered why at the 14 hour premiere people walked out and i dont know if this is myth or not some guy slapped him round the face.

Andy Warhol made the film cos he wanted to, by the sounds of it no one liked it, but would anyone on this board not call andy warhol and artist ?

[his Dudeness]

I'd call him a cunt

[hairbrain]

Marti-C wrote: Nearly all scenarios have been done already so just adapt your script to fit into the run of the mill shots that have worked for years.

IlPostino wrote: "Make without thinking" I love that, hey I'm going to make a shopping centre but I'll be fu*ked if I'm going to think about it!


I'm behind IlPostino 100%. I think films should be made in a thoughtful manner and not just taken verbatim from books. Although I have to say that I wouldn't go so far as his rather new-age beliefs in `omnipotent beings of pure light and matter`. But hey nobody's perfect.

Sorry I didn't reply earlier. I've been working on my latest film over the weekend. It's great to see all you guys getting creative with words. That'll help when it comes to scripting.

Oh yeah and good tip Marti-C. It sounds like that QE2 footage was really muddled and dis-coordinated. Now I know that if I want that look I could try bouncing the camera position back & forth. That would work really well.

Chance, Andy's film has gone down in history as Art. It's not a good movie though because it's boring and crap. I don't think you'll find anybody on this thred, apart from possibly Marti-C's run-of-the-mill persuasion, espousing the idea that films should be boring and crap.

[miker]

wow, 42 posts and I didn't read any of them.

What makes a good script?

A craftsman.

[king13]

marti Cs comments are duely noted, also your dudenesses comments about andy warhol, i'd call u an uneducated, ignorent jackass, so riddle me that batman.
next, i'd like to point out that the simple rule
"without experimentation there can be no innovation"
is very valid to our discussion because with out the likes of mr Foster who are willing to go out and do what they want to do (even if most of the time it doesnt make a whole lot of sense and tends to rub a lot of people up the wrong way,no names mentioned) they are still pushing forward. and for the million mistakes they make there going to get the one thing right that is going to define there work forever.

[Chance1234]

anyone ever heard of Lev Kuleshov ?

[Matt J Heaton]

N. Foster Tyler, do you really not want to make a living doing what you love to do?

[N. Foster Tyler]

Not if that means I won't be able to tell my stories the way I want to tell them. Besides, I have other interests too; I'm studying journalism & hope for a career as a freelance writer for newspapers and magazines, writing about film.

On to other things, Andy Warhol's EMPIRE, which runs about 8 hours (which can also be compared to Warhol's SLEEP, which is essentially 6 hours of a man sleeping), is a very important film in my eyes. It may not be what most people would call a "good" film, but it was very important in its time in terms of breaking new ground and destroying traditional barriers that have suffocated popular cinema for decates. That's primarily what the New York 'underground' scene in the 1960's was all about. EMPIRE shouldn't be simply overlooked as 'stupid' or 'boring', as there is much more to it than just what the content of the film is.

[marti-c]

C,mon lads no one is suggesting that a film should be boring and crap. What i,m trying to say is that,for me, the most important thing is the SCRIPT. Sure try different things when telling the story but you have to know the basic way to shoot a scene and this is why so many short films or student projects fail miserably. Whenever i do any recording i always think "professionalism".....how would a pro deal with this. The answer usually is a sensible ,tried and tested method. It,s all very well to experiment with things but when the clock is ticking and your shooting to a tight schedule then being too experimental may just cost you a whole scene re-shoot.

The reason my opinions may not be going down a storm is probably due to the fact that i have had 2 years of intensive training to be shown how to "GO BY THE BOOK" and most of it relates to the pressure industry of television and not so much the movie industry.

But hey you can all be the "ideas"men and i can be the one to get the shot for you. (if it,s possible) Maybe it,s great that not everyone is alike!

marti

[hairbrain]

I get your drift Marti-C. Now I feel a rat for dumping on you soooo hard. I hope you see my point of view though. That is.....

I already work in the film industry, have done for the last three years. Over this time my career has gone onward and upward. I have worked with great Hollywood names and great British names and I have done my job well. But what has come through all of this experience is the Glorious and Shining reality that, in these hallowed halls, imagination has long since flown to other pastures. This is partly because of the pressures of having to make a commercially viable product, and partly because the `Creatives` who are running things have long been so hard worked that any real creativity which they once had has been drummed out. So now, with my day job in film still secured, I set out to do what I believe very few successful directors are doing.... to make inspired, creative, imaginative cinema. If I sound up my own arse... well that's just the way I'm coming across.

I actually agree with Marti that it's good to get some knowledge of the mechanisms of film under your belt. The difference with me, after all this learning, I'm prepared to question it and maybe even throw it in the bin. Indeed I go to learn with the knowledge that it is all probably wrong. Wrong not for the general public perhaps, but wrong for me.
The question, however, is that if a youngster comes along with a `natural` aptitude to film, and I strongly believe there is a growing tendency to this, should they still bog themselves down with books or should they keep their imagination sharp and just head out there and start making stuff?

peace