PRODUCTION CORNER # 2

Second Edition, January 2002, by Tim Ritter

The Good Book starts out with three very important words that start any good story. Those three words are...In the beginning...

So let’s start at the beginning. So you want to make a movie, but even before you have the equipment, you need to have something to light your fire, some idea that resonates from within, a story that needs to be told. So the question for some is...where do ideas, specifically low budget ideas, come from? How do you get an idea that is so strong, so compelling, that it pushes you into making a movie?

Well, the first thing I would say is don’t go looking for it. It’ll come on its own, just keep an open mind and start absorbing everything around you. And I mean everything. Music. Songs. The news. What people are talking about. Read novels. Watch other movies.

For me, the right music can be a key launching pad for a crazy idea. I love movie soundtracks and heavy metal. The right U.D.O. or Halford song can sometimes give me apocalyptic visions of death and destruction, or even of a character that makes a mistake and needs redemption. In the days before video and DVD were so prevalent (and that wasn’t too long ago, try early ‘80s), soundtracks were the key to my inspiration. There was nothing like staring at the tiny black and white newspaper ad for the latest slasher movie like Maniac and wondering what the movie was about. It’s not like it is nowadays, where the latest creepfest is a direct to disc release and you simply go to the store and buy the thing. Back then, we had to rely on articles about the movie that fueled our imaginations...and since I was too young to even bluff my way into the theater, I’d have to settle for buying the soundtrack to get my fix. Coupled with the detailed Fango ‘making-of’ articles, I’d begin to imagine my own take on the movies...and began churning out my own stuff on super-8 film. Simply because I was so inspired.

I yearn for those days. There was nothing like hunting that vinyl disc soundtrack down at the Record Theater in Cincinnati, Ohio. Finding such treasures as the Halloween or Friday The 13th music...and then making a movie based on what I felt. This can still work today. It’s a lot of fun to READ about movies you’re interested in, then wait a few weeks before you actually SEE it. Go to the record shop and pick up the soundtrack and digest what you hear. And then hit the typewriter with what you see. Trust me, if you’re creative, something will come up. Two soundtracks that really helped me were Basic Instinct by Jerry Goldsmith and Natural Born Killers, produced by Trent Reznor. After reading about both movies and getting excited about them, I opted to wait awhile before seeing them, and just kept reading and reading about them, finally getting the soundtracks. And boy did I have a lot of ideas I wanted to explore, which were jumpstarted by those films!

The same goes with metal songs, or pop songs, or country songs. Whatever you’re into. If an artist takes you with his or her ideas, then you’re bound to be inspired by what they’re saying. You wouldn’t have purchased the CD if you weren’t into the music, right? So keep your ears tuned to what you like and draw from it. A lot of songs can give you character traits, backstory, or even whole scenarios. Consider a sad country song about a guy who’s been left by his wife. Maybe a character you’re thinking about has to deal with this issue while dealing with something in your main story. It can all add up, so jot some ideas down if you’re feeling anything from what you listen to. It could turn out to be relevant. And don’t watch the videos on TV, I try to stay away from those. As cool and hip as they are, it’s my firm belief that rock videos take away from your imagination, so give it a few months before you give in to the VH1 or MTV version of the song. If you associate the video with the song, there’ll be no personal movie version of it in your mind...

The news, while primarily all bad, does give you ideas for movies. I don’t watch the news much, but when I do, I’m never short on subjects I’d love to make a commentary on. Same with newspapers. In every paper, you’ll find screaming headlines that might inspire you to write a story. Or at least a piece to the giant jigsaw puzzle you might be putting together. The key is to write down your ideas when you have them, just jot ‘em down in a little pad. Doesn’t have to be a book, maybe a few sentences or a paragraph that focuses on what your take on the subject is.

For instance, I recently saw an article on a terrorist training camp. I thought, wow, with all that’s going on in America, I bet it’s more than possible that one of these crazy places exists somewhere...right on our own soil. After all, these guys use our resources, take classes here, and live the good life here before committing atrocious crimes. So...what if...in some isolated area up in the mountains...a group was amidst intense training for a horrible act? Immediately my mind downsized the idea for a lower budget...say it’s just three guys, preparing to do some crazy thing. And they’re getting everything ready...

And what if...a couple of campers...perhaps Army?...perhaps average citizens?...are camping in these said woods and accidentally run into these terrorist guys. Maybe they SEE some things...OVERHEAR some things...and decide to take the law into their own hands and ELIMINATE these evildoers BEFORE they can commit their crimes!

Enter the music...after thinking about this idea, I put in the new Dope album and I actually start to SEE some of the action as our heroes set booby traps for the bad guys. Later on, I throw in Wes Craven’s classic Hills Have Eyes movie, taking specific note of the pace and how the story unfolds. I jot down more ideas. I catch a news story that gives me an idea about what my bad guys are planning to do and how they are planning to do it... I am ALIVE! I am EXCITED! This is how it happens for me, and how I get ideas for crazy little movies...movies I feel I MUST make. The idea becomes a vision...the vision becomes a loose story...the story becomes a script...and then the script becomes a movie.

Everyone is talking about terrorist activity right now, obviously, so you might hear someone talking about some crazy thing that fits into your story. For instance, someone at work was speaking of how the U.S. might have undercover CIA agents working within terrorist groups to ultimately foil their plans. WHOAH! Wait a minute! Hold the presses there!

What a great idea for our possible script. Suppose our heroes, who have decided to take out the bad guys, take out one of the terrorists...only to discover he was a CIA agent getting ready to bust the others? How’s THAT for a twist? From a simple conversation by the water cooler, suddenly you have a new element of craziness to throw into the mix! That’s what I’m saying about keeping your ears open. As you mull over a simple idea, suddenly all kinds of things will start to influence where your idea might go. Songs, music, conversation, headlines, it’s all part of the mix. And keep jotting those little flashes down, I myself tend to forget things if I don’t write ‘em down right away. Keep that little notebook and a pen with you at all times!

So now we’re really cooking. We’ve got a story about three terrorists training for some hideous act in the middle of nowhere and a group of all-American campers that run into them. They decide to play vigilante and get rid of the scumbags, saving the taxpayers some money. The first “terrorist” they kill turns out to be a CIA agent that was working undercover, perhaps waiting to call in the Calvary when the last element of a bomb or something was purchased. But he’s dead now, and the two remaining killers are in the woods after our heroes.

What about that song, that was maybe about a guy upset that his wife left him, or cheated on him? Let’s suppose that two of the all-Americans are a married couple that are having marital problems? And let’s suppose that, inspired by this song...you think...what if...one of them decides this would be the golden opportunity to kill off the other and blame it on the terrorists? WOW! Now you have even MORE twists going and you MUST morph this into your story!

And how does it end? Who knows, but let’s say you’re reading a really good novel and it ends in a way you didn’t like, and you say to yourself...what if it would have turned out like this or that, it would’ve been so much better...hey, wait a minute, I can apply that to MY story and wrap things up nicely! Hence, reading a novel has come into the mix as well.

So now you have all your ideas written down. The way I do things from here is I write a detailed outline of my story, from A-Z. Start at the beginning and get to the end. Write down character ideas, location ideas, key lines of dialogue that you might need, and wrap things up. Once you’re satisfied you have everything down, let it sit for a week. Step back from it for a while.

A week later, you’ll have a new perspective on your story. Plot holes will be noticeable and you might have worked out (in your head) any other problems you were wrestling with. This is the make or break point for me...are you still excited about it, that’s the question. If you are, then more than likely this is gonna be story that makes that trip from a bunch of crazy little flashes and ideas into a full-length movie.

Here’s where things get a little tricky. If you love the story and you’re not a writer, one who can finish longer pieces of work, then find and hire someone who can. There’s plenty of decent, struggling writers out there who would jump at the chance to develop something from a strong story like this. And most will do it for deferments, so don’t let this little obstacle stop you. One idea that sometimes works for me is to write down each separate scene on index cards. Once all your scenes are down, you can easily add to them, change the order, or take one out. It’ll make things a lot easier if you decide to bring in a writer, too.

Whether you plan to raise some money or go the no-budget route, always give yourself some rules to follow when fleshing out your script. The main ones are: keep the cast down to a minimum (no more than 6-8 main characters), keep the locations simple (keeping in mind where you live and what you have at your disposal), and keep the special effects simplistic.

Our terrorist story fits the bill perfectly: we’ve got three or four bad guys and three or four good guys. Maybe a few extras in the beginning, so we’re right on the money there. The location, the woods, is a pretty sure-fire bet for a low budget movie. Everyone is at least a few hours away from state parks (where you’ll need some permits or at least to clear things with park officials) or better yet, maybe you know someone who owns some land and they’d love to have a movie shot there (the best way to do things...on private property!).

Perhaps a friend owns a bar, and another acquaintance has a really bizarre looking apartment, so you add some scenes before the friends go camping at these places. In other words, tailor your script for things that are all around you and you have easy and free access to. This will make things much easier, and also make the moviemaking experience that much more pleasant for you.

Now as far as special effects, I always advise to keep them simple. It’s easy to add and upgrade if you end up getting some decent financing and a lot harder to downsize things once you’ve got your heart set on something. When I made Truth Or Dare- A Critical Madness back in 1986, it was a simple slasher movie with gore scenes. I knew an effects artist and what he could do for ‘x’ amount of dollars. So that’s how I wrote the script, with that in mind. As the movie progressed and more and more money started to filter in, we were able to add in car chases, explosions, and stunts, so it was a lot of fun to UPGRADE the original idea! What a blast! But downsizing...no fun. Hurts morale and ultimately dilutes your vision. So think small.

Four our fictional story, maybe you have the talent to build some booby traps and know an effects artist that will work for material costs, so write things in like that. If the effects guy is good at creating gory aftermath deaths, play that element in your script. Have one of the characters get all messed up and someone trying to rescue them while they’re all messed up. Entire scenes should be developed based on what the talent around you can deliver. This is the key to your project staying afloat and finishing it. You keep the passion going by not making things too difficult to attain.

Also, don’t forget to look at the locations you can use. Take a long walk around those woods, and make some notes. If there’s a little pond that looks like quicksand, write a scene into the story where one of the characters falls in there. Use anything and everything around you to your advantage! This will keep the whole thing very exciting for everyone involved, and you won’t be biting off more than you can chew.

Generally, writing a full-length script should take about a month, and no matter who writes it, if you’re serious about getting things done, give yourself a completion deadline for that first draft. Touchups and a second draft should take no more than 2-3 weeks.

The general rule of thumb for screenplays is that one page = one minute of time, and I have found this to be extremely accurate with every project I’ve made. I always shoot things a little long, just to give everyone more options during editing.

I like a script that is about 80-90 pages long. I know some people write them longer, but once you get over 90 pages, it becomes more and more difficult to schedule things, to break the script down for shooting, and to keep track of everything. I’ve found this particularly the case with smaller budgeted movies, keep things simple. Let the actors do some improv scenes and shoot a lot of scenery scenes in case you need extra time, but don’t get too bogged down with a LONG script. This will also force you to learn about tight pacing when you hit the editing room. An taut, action-packed, and fun 80 minute movie is much more of a treat than an overlong 120 minutes that seemed very forced, especially in a business where you’re competing for the public’s free time. Better to be quick, and hit the ground running, otherwise they’ll zap your movie with the old fast-forward button faster than Dirty Harry pulls out his .44.

Once the script is completed to your satisfaction, it’s time to make photcopies and venture out to find some collaborators. If you’re a writer, hammering out that script based on a bunch of crazy ideas you’ve collected can be a truly joyful and fun experience. Have a blast with it, turn up the music, and ENJOY.

A lot of people ask about script FORMAT, and it’s very simple. The first line of every scene includes a basic description of INTERIOR (INT.) or EXTERIOR (EXT.), where we are, and roughly the time of day. The next line is a brief sentence describing things, always be brief, but write what is imperative for the reader and your cast and crew to know. The only other thing is the characters’ names and dialogue, which are framed in the middle of a page, like a play. For exact script specs (if you’re into that sort of thing), head to a bookstore and pick up any of Syd Fields’ fine screenwriting books.

And don’t worry too much about the writing---write what you feel, there’s no "magic scriptwriting forumla" to screenplays. You simply write down what you see, that movie in your mind. Here’s a sample of a scene from our fictional story and how it might be written out (words in italics written out so you can get the "lingo"):

1 EXT. WOODS NIGHT 1

FOUR CAMPERS come across a cabin in the middle of a clearing. It’s lit up by a growling generator and smoke is wisping out of a chimney. It seems an odd place for a cabin...very remote and impossible to get to by vehicle.

CU (Close-Up) of ED. He scans the area with his eyes.

MED (Medium) SHOT: Ted’s POV (point-of view): The cabin. Stillness around us, but movement visible behind the windows, we SEE shadows on closed shades.

2 EXT WOODS NIGHT 2

Ed looks over at Kim.

ED

What do you think? Odd place for a house, wouldn’t you say?

KIM

I’ll say. (She lowers her voice) Is that a GUN that guy is carrying?

ANGLE CU ON CABIN WINDOW...A figure walks by, almost like a shadow on a movie screen, but we see he is carrying something long and mean...it has the general shape of a ROCKET LAUNCHER!

ED (groans)

THAT...does not look good...

CUT TO:

3 EXT. WOODS NIGHT 3

Someone cocks a gun from behind our innocent CAMPERS, sneaking up behind them. A sickly voice emits from the gloom. It is dry and mean-sounding.

VOICE

You all just freeze now, ya hear?

And that’s all there is to it! Just write down what you hear and see, and number each shot scene as indicated. (This is for later when you break the script down for a shooting schedule.) Okay, now head out there and read the headlines, buy some music, watch some TV, read a book...and absorb! Your project is just beginning!