Chapter 1: "What Is It?"
Synder starts off with one of the biggest things pounded into our heads during this class: HAVE A GOOD PITCH/LOGLINE! Blake outlines the 4 elements of a good logline: Irony, A Compelling Mental Picture, Audience & Cost, and . . . A "Killer" Title.
Chapter 2: "Give Me The Same Thing...Only Different!"
This chapter is all about genres. Blake categorizes them in a rather original "Blake Snyder-ish" way, which is both cool and kind of annoying cuz he seems do damn smug about it all. He also delights in pigeon-holing movies into these categories (many of them do fit, but I'm starting to get the impression that he just really loves categorizing things cuz that's what he does for much of this book).
Chapter 3: "It's About a Guy Who..."
Finding the hero of your story is almost as important to Blake Snyder as coming up with a winning concept (and by winning he means one that will "sell"...cuz Blake Synder seems predominately in it for the money here). He stresses that every hero and protagonist must have an adjective attached to them in the logline. The best heroes have the most conflict in the situation that makes up your story.
Chapter 4: "Let's Beat It Out!"
Ah, the Blake Synder beat sheet. Very helpful actually, if somewhat restrictive when he gets as specific as "BY THIS PAGE YOU MUST DO THIS!" This chapter is pretty self-explanatory. We've done the beat sheet in class, and it is very nice to have a map of your story like that before diving into it full-force.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
"Screenplay" by Syd Field
Hi Brant and Ben,
If you haven't noticed already, most of the posts on this blog so far have been me freaking out about my senior thesis project, which I JUST turned in. So that's finally done with and I can think about something else for a second.
Now...I suppose I should use this blog in some way that relates to the class. Here it goes...
READING SUMMARY #1:
"Screenplay" by Syd Field
Chapter 1: "What is a Screenplay?"
Field's "Screenplay" is really all about structure, so it's only fitting that he starts us off in the first chapter with a breakdown of the three-act structure. Put simply: Act 1 is the set-up, Act 2 is the confrontation, Act 3 is the resolution.
Chapter 2: "The Subject"
Field breaks down the SUBJECT of a screenplay into "action" and "character." For a film's protagonist, the screenwriter must define a NEED (and thus create conflict). The character is then revealed by his/her ACTIONS throughout the story ("character through action" as Syd says). He also goes down to break down "action" into "physical" and "emotional." Depending on what kind of movie you're making (Romantic comedy vs. action-adventure), the action in the film will be more of one than the other.
Chapter 3: "The Creation of Character"
Syd Breaks down characters into their INTERIOR and EXTERIOR. Their interior, emotional life, from birth till present, is what forms a character. Their exterior, physical life, what we during the film, reveals the character.
Chapter 4: "Building a Character"
Once you've created a character, you then have to fill them up with details--details about their past, their work, their hobbies, their culture. These details require work and research and preparation and thinking time, but the end result will be characters who are authentic and believable, which it what it's all about.
Chapter 5: "Story and Character"
Syd explains there are two ways to approach writing your screenplay. One way is to create an idea, then create characters and insert them into the action. The second way is to create a character and then let the story, emerge out of character.
If you haven't noticed already, most of the posts on this blog so far have been me freaking out about my senior thesis project, which I JUST turned in. So that's finally done with and I can think about something else for a second.
Now...I suppose I should use this blog in some way that relates to the class. Here it goes...
READING SUMMARY #1:
"Screenplay" by Syd Field
Chapter 1: "What is a Screenplay?"
Field's "Screenplay" is really all about structure, so it's only fitting that he starts us off in the first chapter with a breakdown of the three-act structure. Put simply: Act 1 is the set-up, Act 2 is the confrontation, Act 3 is the resolution.
Chapter 2: "The Subject"
Field breaks down the SUBJECT of a screenplay into "action" and "character." For a film's protagonist, the screenwriter must define a NEED (and thus create conflict). The character is then revealed by his/her ACTIONS throughout the story ("character through action" as Syd says). He also goes down to break down "action" into "physical" and "emotional." Depending on what kind of movie you're making (Romantic comedy vs. action-adventure), the action in the film will be more of one than the other.
Chapter 3: "The Creation of Character"
Syd Breaks down characters into their INTERIOR and EXTERIOR. Their interior, emotional life, from birth till present, is what forms a character. Their exterior, physical life, what we during the film, reveals the character.
Chapter 4: "Building a Character"
Once you've created a character, you then have to fill them up with details--details about their past, their work, their hobbies, their culture. These details require work and research and preparation and thinking time, but the end result will be characters who are authentic and believable, which it what it's all about.
Chapter 5: "Story and Character"
Syd explains there are two ways to approach writing your screenplay. One way is to create an idea, then create characters and insert them into the action. The second way is to create a character and then let the story, emerge out of character.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The End Is Near
Two weeks.
Two weeks until my senior thesis project is due.
Two weeks until...I graduate.
Two weeks...is not enough time.
I'm happy to say I've finished principle photography on my film and I've taken a couple days to recover and waste time making a trailer.
Now...how to edit the film in the next 14 days while helping Michael Tucker film the rest of his 45-minute epic film and getting homework done for my other two classes.
This should be interesting.
Two weeks until my senior thesis project is due.
Two weeks until...I graduate.
Two weeks...is not enough time.
I'm happy to say I've finished principle photography on my film and I've taken a couple days to recover and waste time making a trailer.
Now...how to edit the film in the next 14 days while helping Michael Tucker film the rest of his 45-minute epic film and getting homework done for my other two classes.
This should be interesting.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Progress
Things are getting back on track.
After a hellish week, I think I'm finally ready to go full-speed-ahead on this movie.
I'll keep you all updated on how this weekend goes...
After a hellish week, I think I'm finally ready to go full-speed-ahead on this movie.
I'll keep you all updated on how this weekend goes...
Sunday, May 4, 2008
The "All Is Lost" Moment
So a little over a week ago, when I last posted, I thought I had reached that point in the "Blake Synder Beat Sheet" where All Is Lost.
I had the stomach flu from hell (not food poisoning like I originally thought...) all week, and consequently had to push back some of my 196a filming till this weekend. I thought certainly this is the part where "All Is Lost" in regards to my film project and now (just like the third act in a feature film) I'll come up with a plan and fix everything!
Then, earlier this week, I learned that my composer/lyricist was planning to drive to LA this weekend--right when we needed to record my lead actors' vocals for the upcoming scenes in my musical. I freaked out, but figured out how to make it all work, and prepared for a full weekend of shooting as planned. I thought, surely, at this point, nothing else can go wrong.
But as Ben and Brant point out to us about our movie ideas: MAKE IT WORSE.
So this morning, just as we prepared to film the first of MANY scenes featuring my lead actor, Aeon, I get a call.
He got into a motorcycle accident.
He broke his wrist.
He now has a big, fat cast on his hand.
Did I mention that Aeon is supposed to play the piano in nearly every scene of the film? And that we've already filmed a major scene featuring him WITHOUT a cast?
Now I'm hoping I can safely say this is the "All is Lost" moment of Spring Quarter 2008 for Alex Calleros.
And I'm coming up with a plan. To hopefully execute in a big, successful finale. It involves body doubles and my hands playing the keyboard and more pushing back of scenes.
But it's time to make it work. The hero is learning his lesson (that he can't control everything) and he's prepared to make the best of the situation. Because I'll be damned if this movie doesn't have a happy ending!
I had the stomach flu from hell (not food poisoning like I originally thought...) all week, and consequently had to push back some of my 196a filming till this weekend. I thought certainly this is the part where "All Is Lost" in regards to my film project and now (just like the third act in a feature film) I'll come up with a plan and fix everything!
Then, earlier this week, I learned that my composer/lyricist was planning to drive to LA this weekend--right when we needed to record my lead actors' vocals for the upcoming scenes in my musical. I freaked out, but figured out how to make it all work, and prepared for a full weekend of shooting as planned. I thought, surely, at this point, nothing else can go wrong.
But as Ben and Brant point out to us about our movie ideas: MAKE IT WORSE.
So this morning, just as we prepared to film the first of MANY scenes featuring my lead actor, Aeon, I get a call.
He got into a motorcycle accident.
He broke his wrist.
He now has a big, fat cast on his hand.
Did I mention that Aeon is supposed to play the piano in nearly every scene of the film? And that we've already filmed a major scene featuring him WITHOUT a cast?
Now I'm hoping I can safely say this is the "All is Lost" moment of Spring Quarter 2008 for Alex Calleros.
And I'm coming up with a plan. To hopefully execute in a big, successful finale. It involves body doubles and my hands playing the keyboard and more pushing back of scenes.
But it's time to make it work. The hero is learning his lesson (that he can't control everything) and he's prepared to make the best of the situation. Because I'll be damned if this movie doesn't have a happy ending!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Status Report
My brain is about to melt and seep out of my ears.
Okay that's a lil overdramatic. But here's why I feel a bit like imploding:
So I just spent the last weekend in Vegas (as a very late 21-st b-day present from my family). I had a great time, managed to forget about school for 48 hours or so, and upon returning Monday night...began vomiting my guts out.
Seems the Pizza Hut cheese pizza I got at the Las Vegas airport had salmonella or something in it becuase for the last 36 hours I've felt absolutely terrible. I've always heard about the horrors of food poisoning, but now I truly understand how debilitating it is. Luckily this morning I'm slowly returning to functionality...the only problem is, I've just realized exactly how much work I've put off by being in Vegas and being sick...and now my brain is melting.
For starters, I need to write up "beat sheets" for Quality of Life and my own "Gay Armenian" movie. I also need to write a short paper for Film Comedy. These are both due tomorrow.
On top of that, I need to prepare for my first big weekend of shooting for my 196A Project, a short film musical! I need to buy costumes, props, do rehearsals with my actors, assemble a crew, lock down locations, etc...in the next 48 hours or so. God help me.
So basically, I need to stop procrastinating by writing this blog and get to work. Wish me luck!
Okay that's a lil overdramatic. But here's why I feel a bit like imploding:
So I just spent the last weekend in Vegas (as a very late 21-st b-day present from my family). I had a great time, managed to forget about school for 48 hours or so, and upon returning Monday night...began vomiting my guts out.
Seems the Pizza Hut cheese pizza I got at the Las Vegas airport had salmonella or something in it becuase for the last 36 hours I've felt absolutely terrible. I've always heard about the horrors of food poisoning, but now I truly understand how debilitating it is. Luckily this morning I'm slowly returning to functionality...the only problem is, I've just realized exactly how much work I've put off by being in Vegas and being sick...and now my brain is melting.
For starters, I need to write up "beat sheets" for Quality of Life and my own "Gay Armenian" movie. I also need to write a short paper for Film Comedy. These are both due tomorrow.
On top of that, I need to prepare for my first big weekend of shooting for my 196A Project, a short film musical! I need to buy costumes, props, do rehearsals with my actors, assemble a crew, lock down locations, etc...in the next 48 hours or so. God help me.
So basically, I need to stop procrastinating by writing this blog and get to work. Wish me luck!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Loglines and Pitches...
...are harder than one would think.
**NOTE: I meant to post this last Wednesday, but didn't realize it was only saved to "drafts" and not actually "posted"...so here it is, a week late...
Without ever consciously thinking about it, I've always been asked to pitch my movies--I just never knew how. If I excitedly tell a friend: "I'm making this awesome kung-fu action movie, it's gonna be...awesome!" (as I did often in my last couple years of high school) they DID always have the same question: "What's it about?"
And then I would, without exception, break into a 5-minute ramble about the film, describing individual scenes from the film in excruciating detail until the poor questioner's eyes would glaze over. I'd usually finish with: "Trust me, it's gonna be awesome."
Which brings me to this week's reading/assignment. I was asked to do a "real" pitch for my film, but before that I read a bit of "Save The Cat" by Blake Snyder. The first chapter: "What Is It?" basically re-pounded into my head the importance of being able to describe my film in not three, not two, but ONE sentence.
How the hell do you do that?? It's kind of tragic actually, for a screenwriter--to have to compress all these thousands of scattered thoughts and ideas that coalesce to form a story into...one sentence. But as Snyder points out, creating a logline isn't only practical (our society has an attention span of about 5 seconds) it's vital for the writer him/herself to be able to understand what, at its core, their screenplay is really all about. Because if it's just a bunch of strung-together sequences that add up to no real meaning...that's not really a film worth making. It's certainly not going to be a film worth watching.
Alright, now all I gotta do is narrow my gay-Armenian-college-graduate-homophobia-culture-clash-love-story screenplay into 1 sentence! Damn you Blake Snyder.
**NOTE: I meant to post this last Wednesday, but didn't realize it was only saved to "drafts" and not actually "posted"...so here it is, a week late...
Without ever consciously thinking about it, I've always been asked to pitch my movies--I just never knew how. If I excitedly tell a friend: "I'm making this awesome kung-fu action movie, it's gonna be...awesome!" (as I did often in my last couple years of high school) they DID always have the same question: "What's it about?"
And then I would, without exception, break into a 5-minute ramble about the film, describing individual scenes from the film in excruciating detail until the poor questioner's eyes would glaze over. I'd usually finish with: "Trust me, it's gonna be awesome."
Which brings me to this week's reading/assignment. I was asked to do a "real" pitch for my film, but before that I read a bit of "Save The Cat" by Blake Snyder. The first chapter: "What Is It?" basically re-pounded into my head the importance of being able to describe my film in not three, not two, but ONE sentence.
How the hell do you do that?? It's kind of tragic actually, for a screenwriter--to have to compress all these thousands of scattered thoughts and ideas that coalesce to form a story into...one sentence. But as Snyder points out, creating a logline isn't only practical (our society has an attention span of about 5 seconds) it's vital for the writer him/herself to be able to understand what, at its core, their screenplay is really all about. Because if it's just a bunch of strung-together sequences that add up to no real meaning...that's not really a film worth making. It's certainly not going to be a film worth watching.
Alright, now all I gotta do is narrow my gay-Armenian-college-graduate-homophobia-culture-clash-love-story screenplay into 1 sentence! Damn you Blake Snyder.
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