Select from one of the readings from week 1 or 2 and briefly describe two points that you have taken from that reading. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you. 

Week two’s first reading “Slogans for the Screenwriter’s Wall” lists a collection of self-construcive comments and criticisms about film making as though they were sprawled upon a screenwriter’s wall. Below are two slogans I found quite insightful:

“Student films come in three sizes: Too Long, Much Too Long and Very Much Too Long.

If it can be cut out, then CUT IT OUT. Everything non-essential that you can eliminate strengthens what’s left.”

– Page 40-41

The importance of selecting content that is relevant from the ‘fluff’ is invaluable. The above quote outlines that student films are always too long and as a principle everything that isn’t necessary should be cut out. Perhaps student films are too long because there is an inability to refine the product and decide what stays and goes; or students have so many ideas and experimental inspiration they try to make space for everything rather than determine what’s necessary and make that excel.

“If you’ve got a Beginning, but you don’t have an end, then you’re mistaken. You don’t have the right Beginning.”

– Page 42

The importance of ending was also noted by Jasmine in her Screenwriting lecture, primarily it’s impact in short films. The above comment defines the importance of the ending so much so that the beginning is subordinate to the end. Therefore if you have a beginning and not an end, there is a sign of fault in the beginning. This idea isn’t relevant to whether the actual story is good or bad, but more so in order to achieve something right you have to understand where it’s going. So I offer this analogy, the journey of film relies upon transportation, if you can’t identify the final destination you won’t know what transport to take.

Reference

Mackendrick, A. “Slogans for the screenwriter’s wall.” On film-making, Faber & Faber, New York, 2004. Page 40-43.

Consider Jasmine’s lecture on Screenwriting and briefly describe one point that you have taken from it. A point that excites you, something that was completely new to you, perplexes you or even one you take issue with.

One of the major points I took away from Jasmine’s lecture was her emphasis on character and the tip to ‘make your charcaters interesting.’ This can be done through such things as stress and unexpected circumstances – when characters push the boundaries of what’s expected of them to avoid the pitfall of cliché. Jasmine particularly noted that film characters work ‘better’ if they’re larger than life. They should be bold, wilful, determined, strong and emotional; meaning no wallflowers, no introverts and no ‘nice guys’ as we need to be able to introduce emotions. I concur with this as I believe the characters in a short film need to be well understood by the audience due to time restraints, but there is a charcater for every story and films can be built up around the lack of understanding between character and audience.

The lecture then furthered the idea that if the characters are interesting the situations they are put in will become interesting as well, and as an audience we will learn more about a character from their reaction to their surroundings. In the creation of character, Jasmine offered some simple addition:

Take a character + Want + Problem

Through this we can use constraints as stimulus. For example, the character of a young Irishman who wants to write and paint but he has cerebral palsy since birth and can only use his left foot. Through this equation we can create the pure form of character for the story to build upon.

Jasmine notes that the problem the character has will constitute the events and therefore the problem should be something that is outside the everyday. However, this doesn’t always have to be the case as it can be done by making everyday activities interesting, such as in a show like Seinfeld. The problem causes an event which the protagonist is then affected by and which should ruin your character’s day or peace of mind as a mechanic to a chain of reactions.

As a conclusion Jasmine offered some general tips for our production:

1. Keep it simple

2. Stick to 1-3 speaking parts

3. Use one locale

4. Beware of flashbacks and featured time frames

5. Think about your ending as they become important, especially in short films because they have much more impact

Seinfeld screenshot sourced from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WRxEY8o3kc

In 200 words or less please outline your goals, desires – what you want to get out of this semester. You will review this later in the course. Many will rethink this dramatically – this is a good thing.

With the production of a short video a key aspect of the course I believe there is a strong desire to achieve an enjoyable film; for me this means creating something that you’re not only proud of but that will be well received by others. In order to achieve this the choice of an idea and it’s interpretation in a way that is enjoyable for the audience will be paramount and prove the biggest challenge of the course. It would be nice to create a product that is not only aesthetically pleasing but that also has a developed and refined construction that has been achieved through collaboration. The fact we will work in groups will also help improve technical, creative and organisational skills as we share knowledge and experiences over the following weeks.

More personally, I’d like to develop more of an awareness of the processes it takes to produce such things as film and television, and then understand how to apply that knowledge not only to my own creations but the analysis of others as well. This will also mean building my ability to direct and evaluate my own learning through such outlets as this analysis/reflection task. Lastly and most importantly I want to be able to enjoy the whole process, as yes things won’t always go to plan, but that’s what it’s all about. It’s a process that can be planned but that can’t be, it asks for the haphazard and if anything uses those moments to inspire creation.