FILM/TV2 – A&R3 – QUESTION TWO

Select from one of the readings and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you.

The reading that I am going to be talking about this week is a section from “Storytelling for film and video makers” by Bernard Curran.
The section in which something completely new to me appeared was in the “finding the story during production” (page 28.) The article states that “it is fairly common to hear filmmakers talk about “finding” the story, or the story revealing itself, over the course of the production or even in the editing room” (28). Of course I had heard this phrase before yet I had never known what was truly meant by it. The article continues on to explain: “With experienced filmmakers, this tends to mean not that a filmmaker has simply shot material without any story in mind, but that he or she alters the story’s focus or, more likely, it’s structure during production and post-production” (28).  I also quite enjoy further on how the author states that “you can’t know where real life will take you, but you can certainly anticipate a range of outcomes and determine whether to not the story holds sufficient promise” (29). This particular point excites me as so many times I begin to write a story or develop an idea but am quick to dismiss it as I haven’t got a solid plan pinned down. This point, however, points out that sometimes you just need an idea, and roll with it, while developing it along the way.