2 Scripts 1 Week; Lots of Extra Work
So a few weeks ago, I was drafted to help write a five-minute video for Dylan’s (my friend who made this whole nonsense possible) competition for his degree program. They needed to make a short film in 144 hours (6 days) that had a shot of a dog, footage of some of films for their games and random items. I’d explain why, but honestly that is a blog post in its self.
So Dylan and Val, came to me with an idea. I started writing, while they were throwing out jokes, and eventually I had written out an entire script. I thought it was awful, but hey, they liked it. So we sent it off to get made. However, they were unable to make it due to some limitations. Anyway, because of that, Dylan thought, “Hey what if we write out, film, and edit an entire video in under 20 hours!” Of course me being the film professional* said "let's do it!' So, we got started writing. Now for this one, Dylan wrote out the lines in a word document. I just had to go through and turn it into an actual script (rewriting it in Final Draft). So, after calling for our actress, Astha (who became our all night editor) we started filming. We finished filming close to midnight. Editing was done around 8am and uploaded and turned in by 9, just 4 hours short of the dead line. In under 11 hours, we did it!
Now, the point of this blog isn’t to just make me feel better about myself. I feel like I have learned a lot from this event; and I feel like just sitting on it is a waste. So I’m going to list the things I figured out along the way. *Professional just meaning I've been paid to film. And that's it. Not about skill.
Just put ALL your dumb ideas on paper, take it out later
Sure this may seem obvious, but a lot of people completely skip it. (Should I call you people writers, are you writers? Who reading this blog? [Other than my mom] Obviously an editor isn’t.) {Actually Dylan is editing and is very offended by this comment}
Okay, ADD kicked in, back on topic. Most of the time we think all of our ideas are trash, and most of the time they are! Write them down anyway! That’s what editing is for, if you have an idea and think “Oh, if I feel this needs more, I’ll add it later” you’ll forget it. I forgot so many good jokes that I thought were stupid. Also, bad ideas can lead to good ones. The joke may have been off because of location in the script or maybe the wrong person said it. Keeping it helps in the long one.
Don’t. Stop. Writing. *Full Stop*
So, these are starting to sound like things you hear in your 9th grade English class, where the teacher keeps yelling at you, because instead of looking up research on how to better help yourself deal with ADD, you were busy looking at how Russia was able to compete with the US in the arms/nuclear/space race while not having nearly as much GMP. [The answer is cutting out the unnecessary things, like entertainment, the arts, public safety and food.] But this is really good advice.
Make yourself work on stuff, even if it is for a project you hate. Finish it! Having a short film you hate, is better than having half a script for one you’re unsure about. Seriously, I have several films I HATE WITH A BURNING PASSION, but I learned so much from them. So I’m glad I finished them.
Also, Set deadlines for yourself. If it can be done in five days, set the goal for three to four. Heck set them so short you can’t possibly make them. Writing a five-minute screenplay in under three hours seemed impossible to me, then I did it. I don’t know if I can do it again, but I’m going to try to! Because of the short deadline, I forced myself to finish it! Sure, I know if I had more time I might have written a better story. But I’m sure if I had more time I wouldn’t have finished it either. The script would have just sat unfinished on my laptop like always.
Write what you got, edit for what you want
I hope after this the title makes since. When I wrote out the second script all we had was dialogue. Just two characters sitting and talking to each other. It was everything that my script writing teachers told me not to do, but I did it anyway. Why? I was making this film in thirty-minutes so it needed to be done. But honestly, I didn’t feel like actions were needed. Overall, this was a video were the jokes were more from dialogue and editing than action.
Now if I was going to have submitted the script to be made, then sure I would have added some action lines, and broken up the dialogue. (Though I ad-libbed most of my lines) But, I was making this script, so I made it for me. I think that helped me get it done. What I’m trying to say is, worry less about your work looking right, and more about it being right. Don’t worry if it seems unconventional, or if it is wrong according to the book, if it works. It works.
Side note: Learn how to do everything properly. Learn how to break up dialogue with action lines. Learn how to pace your story with the proper techniques. Listen to actual feedback if someone critic’s your work. Don’t write a first draft think it’s perfect. This is just a reminder that, just because everyone else does it one way, doesn’t mean you have to too. Just know, there is a reason most people do it the same way, it works.
Write Characters you can already hear in your head
I asked a friend why he always used real people in his D&D campaigns and he said “Why create new characters when our world has already done it for me?” For me this was blasphemy, creating characters is one of my favorite things. But, I though on it for a bit and realized Brand new characters can be built based already existing content. This is a great way to save time writing.
When I wrote out the first script, I wasn’t sure how I wanted the protagonist and the antagonist to act. What their motivations were, how they talked, interacted with the world and other characters in it. Then I thought about actors, I wanted me to play the villain and my old filming partner-in-crime Quincy to be the hero. I have already filmed videos with me as a villain and Quincy as a hero, just never in the same story. As I played the idea of these already created characters off each other, they begin to change. The villain had to be more over the top due to the scenario at hand; thus the hero had to become more straight-faced. By the time I was done, these were totally different people.
For the second script, me and Dylan had to create ways for a man to ruin a wedding. So, we just used me. I do weird stuff. How would I write out a wedding vows? How would I propose to a woman? Sure, we had to make them a little bit of extremes, but they worked out. (It also helped since I was the actor, it helped me sell the awkward)
Think about production BEFORE writing your script
This is one of those odd ones. Because well, I hate it, but I also really understand it. I say write that epic space opera with the war of the space elves versus the dinosaur people! But then, now you’ve made this million-dollar short script. How do you get it made? Charge it all on credit cards? Or, do you save that idea for a rainy day and start writing short detective films with only three actors and two locations all near you. I say knowing how to do both is key.
After I finished writing the first script I handed it to Dylan to be read. Midway though he stops and asks “Where is the film crew going to find a warehouse?” Which my reply was “That’s their problem.” This was the wrong response when getting a film made, but eh. In my olden days of film, we only had locations we could find, so our plots revolved around places we could find. But now that I’m focusing on the story side. I tend to forget that, well, the film has to be made by a crew. Every new location is more pressure for the production company to refuse your script. So think logically to help you in the long run.
Build your own film crew
This isn’t something everyone is going to want to do, but I think knowing how is important. Writing out plot and dialogue is a good skill, but knowing how to show those emotions with a camera is another. Sometimes when you write a script it’s easy to think “okay because of the action and the dialogue, its obvious I want a crane shot of them walking into the house as it burns down.” But, most of the time film crews just do what’s easiest. They won’t spend 14 hours on your perfect shot, because they have just spent 20 hours setting up the rest of the film and don’t feel like it’s worth the cost in man hours.
But if the film crew is you and some friends who are super dedicated. You will spend all weekend getting the shot perfect. (I know because I HAVE DONE THIS AND IT WAS AWFUL!) But it will also help you discover the little things. Film can show us things we don’t realize; little hand motions can mean a lot. Every little detail is important and the more a writer understands that, the better off for their film.
Let them do their Job
The reason we have people act in our scripts is because, not only would it look stupid if you played all the parts in your romantic comedy, but because actors know how to act. Same with everyone else on a crew. As a writer we often think that we created the story and we know what is best for it, but remember all the hours you spent honing your craft, they have as well. Let the camera crew get the shots they need before you start telling them all the Dutch angles you want. Art department knows how to make a room look like a mess, don’t remind them to put trash down. Let the director change up some things, it’s okay. They might actually know what they are doing.
When we were filming the short, I’d tell Astha what to do and she’d tell me what to do. Then Dylan would give us advice to change things, then he’d check to make sure it worked on camera before just filming it. All of us worked as co-directors, changing things as they needed to be. Even rewriting jokes on the fly. As actors, we changed lines entirely, on paper they seemed fine, until an actual female said it. So, Astha changed it. Made it flow so much better. Even lines I had written out for myself to say, didn’t work in the moment. Some I liked a lot had to be scrapped due to the timing of the other jokes.
Focus on all the rules after you write the story
This is one might get me in trouble with some of my creative writing teachers, but I think it’s good advice. In writing, they always tell you to think about plot structure, and subplots, character arch’s. Who is the protagonist, antagonist, the supporting characters? What the themes, story morals, and all those other arbitrary literary terms. Well save all that stuff for the second draft. Because its slowing you down. Just create, especially for short content. It takes no time to rewrite. So just write, let your ideas flow as you move though the story. If it doesn’t end where you planed, good. If you don’t like that, rewrite something. Let your story start and stop where you want it. Then go back and ask what would help these characters. What makes the drama more intense, what makes these characters more interesting? Rewriting is where the craft is, keep it that way.
Have fun with it!
Alright back to elementary school, but I really feel like I need to be reminded of this, so maybe you do to. I got into filmmaking because it was fun to go out and shoot dumb videos with my friends. I got bored of my full time job and left to go make movies. Now I'm in school learning to write. Sure I’m doing a lot of nonsensical stuff along the way, but it’s all because I enjoy making content for others to enjoy. I hated writing scripts in class. I hated editing and revising all of that stuff, it felt like a waste. (It wasn’t) I said I didn’t want to work in film. I would stick to writing for video games and short content. I wanted nothing to do with the art from that bought me here. But, after writing a script for me to film on my own, that was a lot of fun and I plan on doing it again.
So, here are a few things I learned. I don’t know if anyone else learned anything from this, but I feel like I learned a lot from writing it. (Like I need to learn to spell) Let me know if you guys enjoyed this, I hope you find it helpful. I’m going to post a link to the video down below. If anyone wants to see it, I’ll share the awful scripts. I think it’s cool to look at what was originally on paper verses what we actually created. I hope
