Becoming Prepared to Write a Screenplay

I've been seriously thinking more, and more about what I want this film opening to be like, and the ideas just won't stop flowing. I guess I am feeling inspired to say the least. I am not sure that I am completely ready to begin writing a screenplay, but when I am ready, I'd like to make sure that I know what I'm doing. So, I've begun doing some research on how to do so.

Now, as a theatre kid I am not completely oblivious to the concept of scripts. I have a basic understanding of how they should look, and how they are formatted. But, I still would like to have a well written one, so on to the research.

I never realized all of the detail that went into this process. While, I was aware that some screenplays are so good that they receive Academy Awards, I never thought twice about all the tiny aspects that go into them. For example, there are some things that should always be capped, but then others that should never be, or else it's "frowned upon." By whom exactly, I am not sure, but I trust Google. Script writing also goes into such detail in which there is a certain way to bind it. So, the moral of the story is that this is going to take a lot more than one day of research. The way I see it, the best things take time. 

Below are two sites that I drew from, and a youtube video that helped breakdown the whole process to me. These were all quite helpful in showing me both the creative, and technical sides of script writing.

 

 

https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/the-10-steps-how-i-write-a-script-571d2852b555

https://www.writersstore.com/how-to-write-a-screenplay-a-guide-to-scriptwriting/

Thinking of a plot...

So, now that I finally have a more clear idea on what I am going to do for this project, I have spent some quality time considering the plot. I think I have some sort of concept in mind, and without revealing the entire thing, I'd like to share what I am thinking of doing.

I really like the idea of having a girl being interviewed by her friend on camera, but then as she is being interviewed something terrible occurs. Now what that terrible thing would be exactly, I am still not sure of. I am considering an alien invasion, a murderer, or some sort of monster vibe. I'm trying to consider the practicality of those villains, because I know that an alien invasion, and monster storyline would require a lot of interesting folly sounds. I am up for that challenge, but I would like to avoid anything sounding too cheesy, so that's something to think about.

Since the villain wouldn't appear till the end of the opening, I plan to attempt to write the beginning of the script this weekend. Now I don't know much about writing scripts, or any sort of narrative story for that matter, as the schooling stopped having us do that in middle school. But, I have faith in my creative skills ... and Youtube. Sounds like it's time to search, "How to write a Screenplay."

I Picked A Genre!!

So, less than 24 hours later of being completely lost on what direction to take this project, I am finally starting to get an idea on what I would like to do. Something about the Dunkirk film opening awakened something within me, and has inspired me to create a film opening that sets a tone. I have also decided that instead of choosing between horror, and drama … why not do both? Although I know there is no real genre that merges horror and drama, but to me that’s basically what a thriller is.

I would like to use teenagers as my actors in my opening, because not only would it be more convenient for me casting wise, but he TED talk we viewed in class from the Pixar director Andrew Stanton (I will include down below), he mentioned that we should create what we know. Teenage life is what I know! Since, the ideas have now begun whirling in my mind, I am pretty sure that my plan for the film is going to change about 700 times from now until April (or May). But, at the moment I am pretty set on doing a found footage type of opening. Now what that entails exactly, I am not sure, but it’s progress!

The next step in research will be watching as many found footage, and thriller films as possible. While my main focus will be on the openings, I think it would be beneficial to view the whole film and observe how the opening sets up the rest. I am excited to see what I come up with in the next few months. So stay tuned for some research!!

Still conflicted .. but hopeful !!

After researching some horror film openings, today I am going to be looking at some drama film openings. From a more logical, and practical stand point I believe a drama opening would probably be easiest. The genre is more flexible, and leaves room for more opportunity plot wise. Unfortunately, the horror fanatic side of me is pulling me down in this process. Not only am I up for the challenge of doing a horror film opening, I think it might be more fun to do. Before I decide, I must observe some more drama film openings. Since there are so many types of drama films, I am going to try to cover a lot of different types of films. (All trailers are included at the end!!)

After viewing these trailers, I am still conflicted on what genre to do, but I think I would like to do a trailer that sets the tone for the film. Since the internet was being stubborn I was unable to include the opening for Dunkirk, but I really like how Hans Zimmer sets the tense tone for the film in the first few seconds. I am a huge fan of his work, and am definitely going to turn to some more of his films for inspiration. While I am not ending my research here, here are some of the openings I viewed. I included the openings for Titanic, The Pianist, Call Me By Your Name, and Pride & Prejudice.

Research, Research, & More Research

It’s been a few months since I became made aware of this project, and I am still quite unsure on the genre, and storyline of my film opening.  Every time I think about it my mind seems to flip flop from horror, to drama. I am more conflicted than ever, and with that comes… more research! In order to gain some inspiration, I am going to binge watch as many horror, and drama film openings as possible, and start to think about the logistics of it all. Let the binge fest begin!

I am beginning with horror, and my next post will be focusing on drama film openings. So stay tuned for that. For my research, I am going to turn to some films that I have already seen, with themes/vibes similar to the ones that I am considering. I’ve always loved horror, but within horror I love a good psychological thriller, so let’s start with that. In order from top to bottom, we have the opening of Goodnight Mommy, Donnie Darko, then Black Swan.

Now for some non-thought provoking horror films. In order from top to bottom, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, and IT.

After watching, and observing these I am now starting to more deeply consider the difficulties of filming a horror opening. With a budget of $0, I need to start thinking more practical on what type of film opening I can produce. So, observing these openings was definitely beneficial in this process, as I am now considering many different possibilities!!

Music Marketing

In Media Studies, our latest project was to create a music marketing campaign for a brand new artist. That included making a music video, outlining, and creating a marketing plan for the artist. We worked in groups of three which was helpful in the brainstorming process, and allowed for greater productivity.

The first portion of this project involved researching common marketing practices completed by record labels for similar recording artists. We did research on Warner Bros. Records who had worked with successful alternative rock artists, Foals, and The Black Keys. The research we conducted guided us on how we wanted to structure the marketing campaign for our artist. For example, the Black Keys focused on performing at multiple music festivals, so we made sure to have our band, S.O.L.E., perform at as many venues as possible.

Our campaign focused heavily on social media promotion, and basic distribution patterns. While the marketing plan was quite ordinary, we did what we know works best for rising artists. The main portion of the outline, was our website. https://reemhabbal3.wixsite.com/solemusic It has a “meet the band” feature, concert tickets, the music video, and even merchandise available. A lot of time was spent manufacturing the website, and music video was that was what we valued the most. The social media accounts were also quite crucial, and included a twitter, and instagram. Both accounts were quite active, and attempted to build a intimate connection with the fans, and the band members.

In general, this project was pretty challenging to complete, but in a positive way. It encouraged me to try and think outside of the box more, and to conduct more research on a topic in order to fully grasp the concepts. I plan to apply this knowledge in my portfolio project in numerous ways. For starters, in order to have a decent film opening, it has to be something brand new, that draws audiences in from the first second. I am definitely going to have to be super creative. I also had never really thought about the fact that I am going to have to do some more genre research before doing the portfolio. It would’ve been crazy to have gone in to that completely blind, and I’m glad that this opened my eyes to that. On top of that, I got to improve on my editing skills, which is always a plus! Our music video is down below!!!