While my research practice will be highly subjective and will be a learning process on my own perspectives of creative control and ownership, it is still important for me to research how other screenwriters and directors work together, how different writer-directors work to create their visions, and their opinions/experiences with creative control & the collaboration of filmmaking.

During my research I came across a name that was unfamiliar to me; Alex Garland an interview in which he discusses his experiences working as a novelist and screenwriter collaborating with directors, while also reflecting on his experience directing his first feature film (which he also wrote) Ex Machina. The interview is available online: http://www.indiewire.com/article/why-ex-machina-writer-director-alex-garland-doesnt-consider-himself-a-first-time-filmmaker-20150408 Garland has previously written The Beach, 28 Days Later, and Sunshine which were directed by Danny Boyle. His work is primarily science-fiction based, which is probably why I hadn’t been aware of his work, as I am not a fan of science-fiction.

When asked if he originally intended to direct Ex Machina, he replies with a definitive no. Explaining that he wrote the script not for anyone else except himself and having a sense of ownership of it, then led to a natural progression of him directing the film. “A film like this, to make it in the way that it was written, requires a certain amount of creative freedom.” From this quote, it becomes a bit clearer that perhaps he wouldn’t have trusted another director with his material, “It requires license to have conversations that go on a certain amount of time, or nobody saying, ‘you know what needs to happen now, is a car chase.’ ”

It’s interesting that despite not having directed any films previously, Garland feels as though he has been working as a filmmaker “for years”. He explains that he felt somewhat confident that he could “nail his vision” due to his experience collaborating with other directors and also having a crew around him that he had worked with for a long time.

Garland reveals that in the past he has made himself become involved in the production of his scripts, whether the directors liked it or not. He believes in collaboration, and that the neurotic idea of a director taking credit for their “vision” is not the way he likes to work – he values the collaboration of the people he works with. “We present films in a director centric way – I’m not very director centric and never have been.”

His way of working as a collaborative filmmaker came from working with director Danny Boyle, who was very inclusive in the entire process, ensuring that Garland was involved every step of the way. He took this experience with him and used it when working with other directors, despite their wishes for him not to be as involved. He would invite himself to the actors’ rehearsals and make sure he was a part of the process.

He also discusses working with actors and the notion of “getting performances out of actors.” His discussion struck a chord with me as to how actors can create a whole other meaning behind the dialogue written on the page, and how this may alter or even enhance the writer’s vision. He describes the actor as a collaborator, and that they will bring a performance to the film because of the director allowing them that collaborative freedom. “As a writer I got very used to that because I saw actors create meaning in lines that I never thought or intended.”

“Here’s the thing. As a reduction, I came from books, I came from sitting on my own and writing a novel. Now, that word auteur means author. That is an act of authorship. And it’s kind of miserable because you don’t have a lot of people to talk to or hang out with or share problems with. The exact thing that attracts me to film is the collaboration. That’s single truest thing I can say about that, is what I enjoy about it. When somebody looks at this film, such a large part of what they’ll respond to is the obvious stuff, the performances and stuff. But the production design, the way it’s shot, they’re harder to see. Part of the beauty with those guys is that they do it beautifully but don’t draw attention to what they’re doing so it doesn’t get in the way of he drama or the characters or something. All I’m really doing is acknowledging that.” Perhaps my experience during my research practice will be completely different from Garland’s, or maybe it will lead me to a better appreciation for collaboration and insight from different creatives.

Garland’s experiences are very interesting, however I still want to continue researching different people’s perspectives on the idea of creative control.