Thursday, May 5, 2011
How to Make a Movie: Story, Part II
'Kay-so, yesterday's post was that a good story needs:
An interesting character who comes up against a series of obstacles until they win.
I should mention that the obstacles should get harder and harder. Maybe that's obvious, but I've seen people forget.
So, let's assume you've got a character, and a general idea of what your story is. Are you ready to write?
I'd say no.
Here's why:
Writing a screenplay takes time. I know people who do it in a week, or two weeks, or a month (and I know one guy who wrote one in a day, which is crazy) but generally, it's going to take some time to write 110 or 120 pages of script.
I tell my students that they need SOME kind of outline. That bit is pretty firm. You might be able to write a movie, start to finish, without one, but you'll probably stumble a lot more often, and cut more stuff, and if you get to the end you'll have to do a lot more editing.
Plus, if you get to the middle, and you don't know what comes next... then you're out of luck. Because it's your story, my friend. If you don't know what comes next, who can bail you out?
So, okay, you need an outline. What kind of outline?
That part, I leave to you.
A lot of folks use note cards. They write down a line or two that describes a scene, and they put it on the floor, and then they add another card, and put it on the floor, and then they keep moving cards around, adding some to fill in gaps, pulling some out, etc.
That works for some people.
Some folks write a synopsis type thing, where they type out the whole story in 10-12 pages. Usually, this is called a treatment, and sometimes Hollywood asks for them. But when you're nobody, they usually just want your script.
As for myself, I generally do some version of a treatment. But what I teach my students is how to make a beat sheet.
Lew Hunter uses the term "Two-Minute Movie" to describe a beat sheet. It is, essentially, every scene in your movie in one or two lines of text. Lew thinks that the write-up shouldn't be more than two pages, because ANYONE will read two pages if you stick it in front of them.
Then they can ask questions, or say it's good, or bad, or offer up suggestions.
Once your beat sheet, or synopsis, or whatever you want to make is done, it's just a matter of writing up what happens in a more complete fashion.
It's like a grocery list, in a sense. You look at what you've written, put it into screenplay format, and once one scene is done, you go on to the next.
And if you get stuck in the middle of the story, or realize halfway through writing your beat sheet that the movie idea is a stupid one, you can abandon it without having done quite so much work.
After this lecture, I give my students a copy of a beat sheet I put together from "Finding Nemo." Why? Because I had to watch the movie two-dozen times with my toddler. So I knew it pretty well. And most of them had seen the movie.
Is it two pages? At normal font type, it edges into three, but I generally shrink it down, because why waste paper? But this should give you a general idea of what one looks like.
Remember to watch for the rising action, the escalating challenges, and the character of Marlin - who goes from being an overprotective parent (which makes sense) to a dude who learns to calm down a little and stop being such a jerk to people:
Finding Nemo
Meet Marlin and his family.
Marlin’s entire family is killed – except for one egg. Nemo.
Marlin takes Nemo to school, demonstrating that he’s a smothering parent.
Nemo leaves with his school. Marlin follows.
Marlin makes Nemo angry because he says Nemo is “not being safe.” Nemo swims away and touches a boat against Marlin’s wishes.
Nemo is taken by the people on the boat.
Marlin pursues to boat, but it gets away from him.
Marlin meets Dory. Dory tries to take Marlin to the boat, but she has a memory problem and can’t remember which way the boat is going.
Marlin and Dory run into the sharks.
Dory and Marlin participate the shark meeting – Dory gets a bloody nose, and the sharks come after them. Marlin also finds and grabs the goggles that belonged to the person who took Nemo.
While trying to escape the sharks, the fish run into a bunch of land mines, and just barely escape with their lives.
Nemo wakes up in a fish tank, and learns to trust his new friends.
Marlin and Dory examine the diver goggles. Marlin can’t read. Dory can. Also, they’re being pursued by a fish with a light on its head. The only way to read the goggles is with the light, but the fish wants to eat them.
They manage to read the address on the goggles and escape the fish.
Nemo joins the brotherhood of the fish tank by swimming through the ring of fire.
Dory and Marlin don’t know where Sydney is. They ask a passing school of fish, but they don’t like Marlin. Dory intervenes, and they get directions.
Dory and Marlin swim through the jellyfish, because Marlin doesn’t trust Dory about not swimming through the trench.
Nemo attempts to clog the tank filter, and nearly gets killed. It looks like there’s no way for him to escape.
Marlin and Dory ride the East Australian current with the turtles. Marlin tells the turtles the story of everything that has happened to far. The story spreads far and wide.
Nemo learns that his dad is coming to get him. He decides to clog the filter.
Marlin and Dory attempt to find Sydney, but have to ask for directions. A whale swallows them.
The dentists decides to clean the tank. Escape is imminent.
The whale drops Dory and Marlin off in Sydney.
Everyone in the tank wakes up and discovers the tank is clean. Nemo gets scooped out.
Marlin and Dory are almost swallowed by one bird, but they fight back, landing on a dock. They are about to be eaten by seagulls, but another pelican, who knows where Nemo is, rescues Dory and Marlin.
Darla comes, and the dentist gets ready to give Nemo to her. Nemo plays dead, assuming he’s going to get flushed down the toilet (all water leads to the ocean). Marlin arrives, just as Nemo is about to be tossed in the trash.
Marlin is thrown out of the dentist’s office.
Nemo is dropped, but he manages to make it down a drain thanks to some help from his tank friends.
Marlin and Dory separate, and Marlin heads home.
Dory and Nemo run into each other in the ocean. At first, Dory doesn’t know who Nemo is. Then she remembers when she sees the word Sydney.
Nemo and Dory attempt to find Marlin. Dory has to threaten a crab with death by seagull to get directions.
Nemo and Dory find Marlin. Dory is immediately captured in a fishing net.
Nemo swims into the fishing net and tells all the fish to swim down. The fish do, the net breaks, and everyone is free! It looks like Nemo might be injured – but he’s all right.
Everyone heads home. (The movie is effectively over.)
Nemo goes back to school, and the movie revisits several of the characters we met along the way (the sharks, the turtles).
All the members of the tank also escape.
An interesting character who comes up against a series of obstacles until they win.
I should mention that the obstacles should get harder and harder. Maybe that's obvious, but I've seen people forget.
So, let's assume you've got a character, and a general idea of what your story is. Are you ready to write?
I'd say no.
Here's why:
Writing a screenplay takes time. I know people who do it in a week, or two weeks, or a month (and I know one guy who wrote one in a day, which is crazy) but generally, it's going to take some time to write 110 or 120 pages of script.
I tell my students that they need SOME kind of outline. That bit is pretty firm. You might be able to write a movie, start to finish, without one, but you'll probably stumble a lot more often, and cut more stuff, and if you get to the end you'll have to do a lot more editing.
Plus, if you get to the middle, and you don't know what comes next... then you're out of luck. Because it's your story, my friend. If you don't know what comes next, who can bail you out?
So, okay, you need an outline. What kind of outline?
That part, I leave to you.
A lot of folks use note cards. They write down a line or two that describes a scene, and they put it on the floor, and then they add another card, and put it on the floor, and then they keep moving cards around, adding some to fill in gaps, pulling some out, etc.
That works for some people.
Some folks write a synopsis type thing, where they type out the whole story in 10-12 pages. Usually, this is called a treatment, and sometimes Hollywood asks for them. But when you're nobody, they usually just want your script.
As for myself, I generally do some version of a treatment. But what I teach my students is how to make a beat sheet.
Lew Hunter uses the term "Two-Minute Movie" to describe a beat sheet. It is, essentially, every scene in your movie in one or two lines of text. Lew thinks that the write-up shouldn't be more than two pages, because ANYONE will read two pages if you stick it in front of them.
Then they can ask questions, or say it's good, or bad, or offer up suggestions.
Once your beat sheet, or synopsis, or whatever you want to make is done, it's just a matter of writing up what happens in a more complete fashion.
It's like a grocery list, in a sense. You look at what you've written, put it into screenplay format, and once one scene is done, you go on to the next.
And if you get stuck in the middle of the story, or realize halfway through writing your beat sheet that the movie idea is a stupid one, you can abandon it without having done quite so much work.
After this lecture, I give my students a copy of a beat sheet I put together from "Finding Nemo." Why? Because I had to watch the movie two-dozen times with my toddler. So I knew it pretty well. And most of them had seen the movie.
Is it two pages? At normal font type, it edges into three, but I generally shrink it down, because why waste paper? But this should give you a general idea of what one looks like.
Remember to watch for the rising action, the escalating challenges, and the character of Marlin - who goes from being an overprotective parent (which makes sense) to a dude who learns to calm down a little and stop being such a jerk to people:
Finding Nemo
Meet Marlin and his family.
Marlin’s entire family is killed – except for one egg. Nemo.
Marlin takes Nemo to school, demonstrating that he’s a smothering parent.
Nemo leaves with his school. Marlin follows.
Marlin makes Nemo angry because he says Nemo is “not being safe.” Nemo swims away and touches a boat against Marlin’s wishes.
Nemo is taken by the people on the boat.
Marlin pursues to boat, but it gets away from him.
Marlin meets Dory. Dory tries to take Marlin to the boat, but she has a memory problem and can’t remember which way the boat is going.
Marlin and Dory run into the sharks.
Dory and Marlin participate the shark meeting – Dory gets a bloody nose, and the sharks come after them. Marlin also finds and grabs the goggles that belonged to the person who took Nemo.
While trying to escape the sharks, the fish run into a bunch of land mines, and just barely escape with their lives.
Nemo wakes up in a fish tank, and learns to trust his new friends.
Marlin and Dory examine the diver goggles. Marlin can’t read. Dory can. Also, they’re being pursued by a fish with a light on its head. The only way to read the goggles is with the light, but the fish wants to eat them.
They manage to read the address on the goggles and escape the fish.
Nemo joins the brotherhood of the fish tank by swimming through the ring of fire.
Dory and Marlin don’t know where Sydney is. They ask a passing school of fish, but they don’t like Marlin. Dory intervenes, and they get directions.
Dory and Marlin swim through the jellyfish, because Marlin doesn’t trust Dory about not swimming through the trench.
Nemo attempts to clog the tank filter, and nearly gets killed. It looks like there’s no way for him to escape.
Marlin and Dory ride the East Australian current with the turtles. Marlin tells the turtles the story of everything that has happened to far. The story spreads far and wide.
Nemo learns that his dad is coming to get him. He decides to clog the filter.
Marlin and Dory attempt to find Sydney, but have to ask for directions. A whale swallows them.
The dentists decides to clean the tank. Escape is imminent.
The whale drops Dory and Marlin off in Sydney.
Everyone in the tank wakes up and discovers the tank is clean. Nemo gets scooped out.
Marlin and Dory are almost swallowed by one bird, but they fight back, landing on a dock. They are about to be eaten by seagulls, but another pelican, who knows where Nemo is, rescues Dory and Marlin.
Darla comes, and the dentist gets ready to give Nemo to her. Nemo plays dead, assuming he’s going to get flushed down the toilet (all water leads to the ocean). Marlin arrives, just as Nemo is about to be tossed in the trash.
Marlin is thrown out of the dentist’s office.
Nemo is dropped, but he manages to make it down a drain thanks to some help from his tank friends.
Marlin and Dory separate, and Marlin heads home.
Dory and Nemo run into each other in the ocean. At first, Dory doesn’t know who Nemo is. Then she remembers when she sees the word Sydney.
Nemo and Dory attempt to find Marlin. Dory has to threaten a crab with death by seagull to get directions.
Nemo and Dory find Marlin. Dory is immediately captured in a fishing net.
Nemo swims into the fishing net and tells all the fish to swim down. The fish do, the net breaks, and everyone is free! It looks like Nemo might be injured – but he’s all right.
Everyone heads home. (The movie is effectively over.)
Nemo goes back to school, and the movie revisits several of the characters we met along the way (the sharks, the turtles).
All the members of the tank also escape.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
How to Make a Movie: Story Part 1
Before I get started, I want to dedicate this post to Victorine E. Lieske. Much like the super-awesome Karen McQuestion, she's been sharing a lot of publishing information on her blog, and it's frequently fascinating. Read her stuff.
(Seriously. Here's her write-up on how to create a press release. So useful.)
Okay, story.
Here's the first thing I always ask my students: What makes a good story?
Usually, at this point I have to qualify what I mean a little bit. When I talk about the story in a movie, I'm not talking about, say, a movie that puts together a thoughtful dialogue on the human condition.
I am, for better or worse, talking about a general-audience popular movie, like "Star Wars," or "Toy Story," or "Terminator." They all have philosophical points, yes, but for the most part, they are good stories well-told.
I'm going to semi-steal the idea of good story from a speaker I saw, whose name escapes me. If I remember it, I'll cite it here later.
And to be fair to him (and me) I've modified his definition a touch:
A good story follows a character you find interesting through a series of greater and great obstacles, until your character wins.
Now, if you're writing a story with a sad ending, well, then your character doesn't win. But most of the time, if you want a lot of people to see your movie, your character has to win.
Sometimes, you can make your character both lose and win. Indiana Jones, for example, finds the Ark, but then it's tucked away where no one will ever look at it again.
You should also note that I don't say you have to like the character in question. I can't say that I really "like" any of the characters in "Pulp Fiction," or "Fight Club." But I find them interesting enough to follow them around.
There are other aspects to a good story, as well. If a character can learn something about themselves, or the world at large, that's awesome, especially if it can make the audience think in new ways.
But James Bond has cycled through a lot of movies and learned pretty much nothing. He is just an interesting person who overcomes obstacles.
Okay, so now that we know what a story is (for certain versions of the word story), the next question is, how do you assemble a story?
Here's where I have to get into something that annoys me: The Three-Act Structure.
TAS, as I'm going to call it, because I don't like typing it over and over, is one of those things that just about every screenwriting book emphasizes, because they have to tell you SOMETHING.
It's not really a new idea, as from everything I've read, it goes all the way back to the Greeks. Essentially, it breaks the story down like so:
1st Act: Chase Character Up a Tree
2nd Act: Throw Rocks at Character
3rd Act: Character Knocks Tree Over on Top of Villain
The biggest advocate for this was a guy named Syd Field, who for a long time was THE reference point in Hollywood. (These days I think the book Story, by Robert McKee, has eclipsed it.)
I have no real feelings on McKee, as I haven't read his book. I have read Field's book, and I thought most of the ideas in it were obvious at best and questionable at worst.
If you really want to read a book on screenwriting that talks about three act structure, I prefer Lew Hunter's book, "Screenwriting 434." Why? Lew has actual writing and producing credits, something Field lacks.
The thing is, I don't think that the structure is wrong, per se. But I think it does make people new to writing attempt to conform to a template that doesn't always fit what they're trying to do.
Instead, I tell my students (and anyone else who asks) that as long as their character is always facing a new and difficult challenge, their story will always be interesting and have a clear thread the audience can follow.
You want that.
More in Part II, tomorrow.
(Seriously. Here's her write-up on how to create a press release. So useful.)
Okay, story.
Here's the first thing I always ask my students: What makes a good story?
Usually, at this point I have to qualify what I mean a little bit. When I talk about the story in a movie, I'm not talking about, say, a movie that puts together a thoughtful dialogue on the human condition.
I am, for better or worse, talking about a general-audience popular movie, like "Star Wars," or "Toy Story," or "Terminator." They all have philosophical points, yes, but for the most part, they are good stories well-told.
I'm going to semi-steal the idea of good story from a speaker I saw, whose name escapes me. If I remember it, I'll cite it here later.
And to be fair to him (and me) I've modified his definition a touch:
A good story follows a character you find interesting through a series of greater and great obstacles, until your character wins.
Now, if you're writing a story with a sad ending, well, then your character doesn't win. But most of the time, if you want a lot of people to see your movie, your character has to win.
Sometimes, you can make your character both lose and win. Indiana Jones, for example, finds the Ark, but then it's tucked away where no one will ever look at it again.
You should also note that I don't say you have to like the character in question. I can't say that I really "like" any of the characters in "Pulp Fiction," or "Fight Club." But I find them interesting enough to follow them around.
There are other aspects to a good story, as well. If a character can learn something about themselves, or the world at large, that's awesome, especially if it can make the audience think in new ways.
But James Bond has cycled through a lot of movies and learned pretty much nothing. He is just an interesting person who overcomes obstacles.
Okay, so now that we know what a story is (for certain versions of the word story), the next question is, how do you assemble a story?
Here's where I have to get into something that annoys me: The Three-Act Structure.
TAS, as I'm going to call it, because I don't like typing it over and over, is one of those things that just about every screenwriting book emphasizes, because they have to tell you SOMETHING.
It's not really a new idea, as from everything I've read, it goes all the way back to the Greeks. Essentially, it breaks the story down like so:
1st Act: Chase Character Up a Tree
2nd Act: Throw Rocks at Character
3rd Act: Character Knocks Tree Over on Top of Villain
The biggest advocate for this was a guy named Syd Field, who for a long time was THE reference point in Hollywood. (These days I think the book Story, by Robert McKee, has eclipsed it.)
I have no real feelings on McKee, as I haven't read his book. I have read Field's book, and I thought most of the ideas in it were obvious at best and questionable at worst.
If you really want to read a book on screenwriting that talks about three act structure, I prefer Lew Hunter's book, "Screenwriting 434." Why? Lew has actual writing and producing credits, something Field lacks.
The thing is, I don't think that the structure is wrong, per se. But I think it does make people new to writing attempt to conform to a template that doesn't always fit what they're trying to do.
Instead, I tell my students (and anyone else who asks) that as long as their character is always facing a new and difficult challenge, their story will always be interesting and have a clear thread the audience can follow.
You want that.
More in Part II, tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
How to Make a Movie: Loglines
This handout deals with loglines.
Here's what a logline is for: At some point, you're going to have to describe the movie you're making (or want to make) to another person.
A logline is your story in one snappy sentence.
The problem is, when most people try to describe a movie or book, they get lost.
Imagine trying to describe your favorite movie to another person. They want to know the premise, and you start off okay (a character, a situation) and then you start wandering around, describing everything that happens in the movie.
If you try to tell people what your movie is about, and you get wandery, it will stop making sense and the person you're talking to will glaze over.
A logline is also a good focus tool, which is why I teach it in my second class. Once you have a premise, if gives you a target to aim for. You can look at it, and say, "This is the story I'm telling."
If you change your mind, you can always change your logline. But if you started off writing a screenplay about how Bob has to save his wife from ninjas, and halfway through the script Bob has taken a job at a fish market, you've lost the thread a bit, and should look at the ninja thing again.
One other thing: A logline is not a poster line. You know what I'm saying? A poster line is one of those things like, "He came, he saw, he conquered." And then in the background there's your star, doing something star-like.
That's not a logline. A logline just lays out your story in one line.
You can do this pretty much any way you choose, but I like to put on training wheels and give my students an easy way to do it.
In this instance, I've taken the logline formats straight from Max Adams. Click her name to see the book that I took it from.
Apparently, the book is getting a new edition this year, which is great because it's ten years old. So watch for that. It's a great book and you should buy it.
And now, logline formats.
Format 1: (Title) is a (genre) about (protagonist) who must (objective) or else (dire thing that will happen if the protagonist fails).
I always do the Harry Potter series with this one:
The Harry Potter series is a fantasy about Harry Potter, who must stop the evil wizard Voldemort or else Voldemort will take over the world and enslave everyone.
That's really rough, but it works.
If your movie is less plot-driven, try number two:
Format 2: (Title) is a (genre) about (protagonist) who (inciting incident that creates the situation the story revolves around).
One of my kids used The Hangover, so let's try that:
The Hangover is a comedy about a group of guys who go on a bender and lose their friend, who they must find before tomorrow, when his wedding commences.
Again, that's very rough, and you'll want to play with getting your wording just right. But once you've got it set, you can memorize it, and much more easily answer the question: So, what's your movie ABOUT?
Here's what a logline is for: At some point, you're going to have to describe the movie you're making (or want to make) to another person.
A logline is your story in one snappy sentence.
The problem is, when most people try to describe a movie or book, they get lost.
Imagine trying to describe your favorite movie to another person. They want to know the premise, and you start off okay (a character, a situation) and then you start wandering around, describing everything that happens in the movie.
If you try to tell people what your movie is about, and you get wandery, it will stop making sense and the person you're talking to will glaze over.
A logline is also a good focus tool, which is why I teach it in my second class. Once you have a premise, if gives you a target to aim for. You can look at it, and say, "This is the story I'm telling."
If you change your mind, you can always change your logline. But if you started off writing a screenplay about how Bob has to save his wife from ninjas, and halfway through the script Bob has taken a job at a fish market, you've lost the thread a bit, and should look at the ninja thing again.
One other thing: A logline is not a poster line. You know what I'm saying? A poster line is one of those things like, "He came, he saw, he conquered." And then in the background there's your star, doing something star-like.
That's not a logline. A logline just lays out your story in one line.
You can do this pretty much any way you choose, but I like to put on training wheels and give my students an easy way to do it.
In this instance, I've taken the logline formats straight from Max Adams. Click her name to see the book that I took it from.
Apparently, the book is getting a new edition this year, which is great because it's ten years old. So watch for that. It's a great book and you should buy it.
And now, logline formats.
Format 1: (Title) is a (genre) about (protagonist) who must (objective) or else (dire thing that will happen if the protagonist fails).
I always do the Harry Potter series with this one:
The Harry Potter series is a fantasy about Harry Potter, who must stop the evil wizard Voldemort or else Voldemort will take over the world and enslave everyone.
That's really rough, but it works.
If your movie is less plot-driven, try number two:
Format 2: (Title) is a (genre) about (protagonist) who (inciting incident that creates the situation the story revolves around).
One of my kids used The Hangover, so let's try that:
The Hangover is a comedy about a group of guys who go on a bender and lose their friend, who they must find before tomorrow, when his wedding commences.
Again, that's very rough, and you'll want to play with getting your wording just right. But once you've got it set, you can memorize it, and much more easily answer the question: So, what's your movie ABOUT?
Monday, May 2, 2011
How to Make a Movie: An Overview
Besides writing novels and screenplays (my three indie films have gone to 29 films festivals and won 13 awards), I also teach a couple of classes on Basic Movie-Making.
Much of what I do is in lecture format. However, I do give out a few handouts at the start of the semester.
Recently, I've been catching up with author Karen McQuestion, an extremely kind indie author who has been putting her self-publishing lecture notes up on her blog.
I thought this was VERY cool of her, so I've decided to put a few of my handouts up here.
This is the handout I give out on the first day. If you have questions (or comments) feel free to post them in the comments section, and I'll do my best to answer:
A List of Useful Web Sites and Books
Due to the fact that we’ll be cramming about three year’s worth of movie-making information into one short semester, here are a few places you can go to learn more about the art and science of putting images on film (or tape).
Free Music for Movies:
http://www.mobygratis.com/film-music.html
http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/
Both of these sites have free music for use in your films. In the event that you put music in your movies, you are much, much better off getting music that doesn’t have any cost or rights attached to it, especially if you plan on showing the movies at film festivals or trying to sell them.
Free Screenplays:
http://www.dailyscript.com/
http://www.weeklyscript.com/
Much like all other forms of writing, the more screenplays you read, the more you’ll understand the format and how to explain action and write good dialogue.
Free Screenwriting Software:
http://celtx.com/
http://www.writingacademy.com/screenplay.html - Works with MS Word
Though there’s nothing wrong with making up your own screenplay format when you’re working on a small scale, the standard screenplay format has been the same for almost 100 years. It’s easy to understand, easy to use, and these programs make it very easy to write in this format.
Books:
Rebel Without a Crew – Robert Rodriguez
Rodriguez underwent a month of medical testing to make a $7000 film, which he sold to Columbia Pictures, launching his career. The book also contains his “10 Minute Film School,” which claims to tell you everything you need to know about making movies.
The Unkindest Cut – Joe Queenan
The flip side of Rodriguez’s book. Joe tries to make a film for $7000, ends up spending a LOT more than that, and eventually has to make up his own film festival in order to get it shown anywhere.
Girl Director – Andrea Richards
Though the book is written for teenage girls, pretty much everything in it applies to any young filmmaker.
On Directing Film – David Mamet
Essentially a series of questions and answers about directing written on paper, Mamet talks a classroom through how to direct a scene, one shot at a time.
$30 Film School – Michael W. Dean
Michael W. Dean is a little too obsessed with his Do-It-Yourself ideas, but he still lays out some very basic practical information about making movies.
Fast, Cheap, and Written That Way – John Gaspard
While the book is aimed at writers, it’s well worth a read to learn how people turned very small amounts of money into films that were eventually released.
How Not to Make a Short Film – Roberta Marie Munroe
Favorite chapter title: How to Avoid Kicking Your Producer in the Throat. Details the pitfalls of the short film, from boring stories to bad sound.
Much of what I do is in lecture format. However, I do give out a few handouts at the start of the semester.
Recently, I've been catching up with author Karen McQuestion, an extremely kind indie author who has been putting her self-publishing lecture notes up on her blog.
I thought this was VERY cool of her, so I've decided to put a few of my handouts up here.
This is the handout I give out on the first day. If you have questions (or comments) feel free to post them in the comments section, and I'll do my best to answer:
A List of Useful Web Sites and Books
Due to the fact that we’ll be cramming about three year’s worth of movie-making information into one short semester, here are a few places you can go to learn more about the art and science of putting images on film (or tape).
Free Music for Movies:
http://www.mobygratis.com/film-music.html
http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/
Both of these sites have free music for use in your films. In the event that you put music in your movies, you are much, much better off getting music that doesn’t have any cost or rights attached to it, especially if you plan on showing the movies at film festivals or trying to sell them.
Free Screenplays:
http://www.dailyscript.com/
http://www.weeklyscript.com/
Much like all other forms of writing, the more screenplays you read, the more you’ll understand the format and how to explain action and write good dialogue.
Free Screenwriting Software:
http://celtx.com/
http://www.writingacademy.com/screenplay.html - Works with MS Word
Though there’s nothing wrong with making up your own screenplay format when you’re working on a small scale, the standard screenplay format has been the same for almost 100 years. It’s easy to understand, easy to use, and these programs make it very easy to write in this format.
Books:
Rebel Without a Crew – Robert Rodriguez
Rodriguez underwent a month of medical testing to make a $7000 film, which he sold to Columbia Pictures, launching his career. The book also contains his “10 Minute Film School,” which claims to tell you everything you need to know about making movies.
The Unkindest Cut – Joe Queenan
The flip side of Rodriguez’s book. Joe tries to make a film for $7000, ends up spending a LOT more than that, and eventually has to make up his own film festival in order to get it shown anywhere.
Girl Director – Andrea Richards
Though the book is written for teenage girls, pretty much everything in it applies to any young filmmaker.
On Directing Film – David Mamet
Essentially a series of questions and answers about directing written on paper, Mamet talks a classroom through how to direct a scene, one shot at a time.
$30 Film School – Michael W. Dean
Michael W. Dean is a little too obsessed with his Do-It-Yourself ideas, but he still lays out some very basic practical information about making movies.
Fast, Cheap, and Written That Way – John Gaspard
While the book is aimed at writers, it’s well worth a read to learn how people turned very small amounts of money into films that were eventually released.
How Not to Make a Short Film – Roberta Marie Munroe
Favorite chapter title: How to Avoid Kicking Your Producer in the Throat. Details the pitfalls of the short film, from boring stories to bad sound.
I Love Karen McQuestion
Why is that, you say?
Because she's a Wisconsin author.
And she's very, very, very nice.
And she puts up post like this one, where she tells you how to publish your book on Createspace, and what it'll cost you.
Because she's a Wisconsin author.
And she's very, very, very nice.
And she puts up post like this one, where she tells you how to publish your book on Createspace, and what it'll cost you.
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