Collaboration and the Process

In writing the screenplay, I was most struck with the relative ease of creating ideas quickly when working in a collaborative environment.  Until this point, almost all of my writing experiences have been rather solitary affairs.  Those few times I did work with a group rather tainted my view of group work, since I ended up having to pull most of the weight of the project.  This time, however, was different.  It is incredible to see how much more enjoyable group work is when you have a group of creative, smart people who are equally devoted to producing a top-notch product.  In the proper environment, with the proper selection of team members, the collaborative approach to writing has some very clear advantages:  it offers a blend of viewpoints and styles, avoiding the monotony of using only one set of ideas; it allows a system of checks and balances so that any person's contribution can be verified and approved, letting only the best material remain; it increases the total creative potential for whatever the project is involved.  It is important to note, however, that while this exercise was a creative endeavour, my primary writing experience, including prior groupwork, has been of an expository or argumentative character, so much of the difference I sense between prior work and this may be due to the highly different natures of the project at hand.

The Screenplay

Senior year is winding to a close for James Ladd, the no-nonsense MCB pre-Med and protagonist of our story.  The opening sequence of the film is a time-lapsed collage of different items and actions of his last four years here, giving us insight into his no-time-for-fun attitude and his ongoing friendship with Norah Johanson.  We are introduced to the characters through pictures and post-it notes before we get our first live-action shot of James, muddy, ragged, and sitting in a police interrogation room, not at all where we would expect to find him.  Quickly, however, the clock rewinds and we enter the scene a week before to find James studying hard at his desk, the last day of class near at hand.

As he studies, he is interrupted by Norah, who has taken the time to check up on him and make sure he gets a little break.  In the course of their conversation, with the irresistable wonder of Pokey Stix, it becomes apparent that James has completely missed the finer points of a college experience, neglecting the non-academic as a distraction.  Norah insists that he must learn to appreciate at least some of the necessary college joys before they reach graduation, about a week away.  She drags him off to a party, kicking off their adventures for the next week.

Most of their adventures over the next week will be explored in a montage of still photographs that highlight James's gradual enlightenment that school and life are to be enjoyed, not merely exploited for some nebulous idea of later "success."  This montage will take us up to the night before graduation; James and Norah go mudsliding on the quad, after which James recognizes his feelings for Norah moments before the pair are caught by the police. 

The next day, the scene is the same one we started with, in the police interrogation room, where James is pleading to be allowed to attend graduation.  The interviewing police officer is replaced by a higher ranking sergeant who takes the conversation on a different bent, asking James about his relationship with Norah.  James answers truthfully about his feelings, and the sergeant, who turns out to be Norah's father, decides to have leniency on James and lets him go.  As the credits roll, we see scenes of James rushing through campus to get to his place so he can clean up before the ceremony.

Scratching Post

As I was browsing pictures once more, searching for ideas, I found this one.  This photo just screams story!.  It is from Greece, where anti-riot police have had their hands full, however, my mind immediately takes me to a post-apocalyptic world instead.  A world of stark, beautiful brutality where the only currency is force and factions compete for control of precious resources.  The confident stride of the closest man, despite being covered head to toe in someone else's blood spatter just reinforces the idea that this is a way of life, not a rare or strange occurrence.  This is something he is used to.  I love the mystery that the smoke causes as well... where is he coming from?  What devestation did he leave behind him?  All we know is that he has taken care of some bloody business and that doesn't bother him at all.  For another day, the enemy won't take his food, his shelter, or his energy.  Today's work is done... until another enemy arises tomorrow.

Script Scene

Enter the scene just after mudsliding on the quad.  It is late, about 2:30 in the morning.  The sky is overcast, and the thin sliver of the moon barely shows its light through the clouds.  Our character, James Ladd spryly walks from the middle of the quad, accompanied by his female friend (for now, we'll call her Leah).  They are both covered from head to toe in mud, not too thick to obscure their features, but sufficiently dirty to let us know that they have had a rollicking good time.  They walk side by side, but not too closely.  They are joking and laughing loudly with each other.

JAMES:  How do people even come up with this stuff?! ... Your face [laughing] when you hit that dry spot...was priceless!  [He makes a face of confused terror, mocking her]  How did I not do this before?!  [laughing loudly again]

The pair continues to talk as the camera moves to a wide shot, silhouetting them against the illuminated Illini Union.  They reach the west edge of the quad and reach the eternal flame, where they sit.  The camera once again closes in.  The two are leaning back, looking up. 

LEAH:  Chalk another one off the list... Pokey Stix, frat parties, the bell tower, interrupting a Foellinger lecture! [chuckling] getting hammered at every bar on campus and belting it out from on top of the Alma Mater! [laughing louder this time]  What a week!  So, did ya get everything done for graduation tomorrow?  [turning her head to look at him]

JAMES:  [turning his head to look back at her, a look of realization coming into his eyes... hesitantly...]  Not... everything.

She looks at him curiously, but before she can ask, he begins to lean in for a kiss.  She is startled for a moment, but kisses him back.  They look at each other, realization creeping into their minds.  Suddenly their faces are briefly illuminated by the spillover beam of a flashlight.  The camera swivels quickly to reveal four or five flashlights searching over the area and examining the damaged turf.  A look of terror sweeps across James's face.  The cops have not yet noticed them, but it is only a matter of time.

JAMES:  [in an excitedly sharp whisper] Cops!  Run!

He takes Leah by the hand and hurriedly rushes from the quad with her.  As they run, his foot catches the edge of the sidewalk and twists violently; he falls and immediately tries to get back up, however he cannot support himself.

JAMES:  GO!  I'll be fine!  I'll stall them!

Leah begins to protest, but James insists.  She runs into the darkness.  As the camera swivels around, James stands in the foreground, silhouetted by the dancing lights of the police officers as they head towards him, alerted by the noise of the attempted escape.

Resonance

If Schubert is correct -- mere observation suggests that he probably is -- an artist of any type must capture and hold his audience's attention within seconds.  He must capture that which connects with poeple in a way that makes them both comfortable and excited, not an easy balance.  What this means for the filmmaking team is that within seconds of the start of the picture, their film must make a positive impression.  Accordingly, a great amount of thought must be put into the opening sequence of a film.  If there is dialogue, it must be immediately engaging, if there are visuals, they must be striking, if there is music, it should provoke feeling.  Schubert, in the realm of video games, talks about "play tests;" the equivalent in filmmaking I would assume would be mini-screenings to guage audience reaction to particular sequences.  It may then be a good idea to pitch an idea or an early cut of a film to a small group to determine their interest, especially in the opening sequence.  That way, if it needs tweaking, it is not so hard to go back and do.  I suppose one of the biggest lessons is to never neglect detail -- if an awkward jumping animation or funny names can tank a video game, then a wrong note, strange pause, or iffy camera angle can kill a film. 

Rewriting Trek

I think Star Trek:  Nemesis needs some work on its ending.  In fact, it's really only a very few minutes, with a corresponding change earlier in the movie to match, that needs the change.  At the climax of the film.  Data, the android, sacrifices himself to save his shipmates.  At the conclusion of the film, however, we see Captain Picard meeting with Data's brother, B4, who shows some glimmer of having inherited Data's personality through a memory transfer earlier in the film.  If I were going to have creative control of the film.  I don't think I would have included this.  It's far more powerful a sacrifice if it is final.  Having a copy of the deceased, even if it isn't fully realized just cheapens the act.  A much more fitting ending would have included a memorial service of some sort, and would not have included B4 at all, who should never have even existed in the film.  A full honors funeral would have been a more fitting tribute and a more final goodbye to the Next Generation cast.

Reading a Screenplay

After reading the first 10 pages of Joss Whedon's Serenity, I am struck by how little dialogue there is for 10 pages of story.  I've read -- and performed and directed -- stage plays in the past and, in comparison, they are far more dense with dialogue while stage direction is often left at a minimum.  The screenplay includes a lot of what might be termed as stage directions.  It is very detailed as far as what will actually be seen on the screen, down to and including angles of some of the shots.  I had not realized how much structure there was to the screenplay, translating to a far smaller creative role than I had originally concieved of for the director.  I assume the director still has the prerogative to depart from the scripted directions in some fashion at times, however, I had thought that much of the thought for the design of the set and the angles for the cameras would have been his job, whereas now it appears that he has a far more structured plan to work off of than I thought.