Preparations before hitting the keys

I was discussing this blog with friend a few days ago and he gave me the thought that people with the ‘film bug’ might find it interesting. The ‘film bug’ is something that a lot of us carry. Possibly more of us have that disease than we may think. We all love movies and we all have a story to tell. It’s like singing. We all love to sing. Just that films cost money and take time. So we give up. And here I am trying to show how a feature film can be made with very little. So maybe watching this space, might get you going. So as I’ve promised earlier, I will be dropping my pearls of wisdom and maybe they will be of some use to the afflicted of whom I am most certainly one.



Initially, for me, there was a prep period. When you are setting out to make a movie on your own resources, you should before you even start thinking of the story, think of what you already have that can be used in the film, what you can forage and source in terms of actors, props and locations and then start thinking of a story based on that. The initial stages are about second guessing. Thinking backwards.

This is filmmaking and films, come in genres. So first think, what kind of film would you like to make? A thriller, a love story, a comedy, a horror, a science fiction?

After you’ve decided on the genre, think of the title, the poster and the byline. Yes, this is the time to do it. It will set you straight into the right direction. This is a good time also to imagine the audience for your movie. The kind of people who will see it and enjoy it.

Step two would be to think of the story in 25 words. Just check out movie synopses, they write out the story very precisely. At this stage, don’t start thinking of visuals and camera styles and scenes. Just the happening. For many filmmakers, who are right brained people, this is a tough stage. Their thoughts instantly go into details that are abstract at this early stage and this is when a lot of filmmaking ambitions get thwarted or remain grounded forever.

A film story is actually in three parts. Japanese drama is divided into Creation, Destruction and Haste. All drama takes this form. You can check this out for yourself. In STAR WARS for example, Creation is when Princess Leia is captured and she has to be rescued. Destruction is when she is rescued. But then by the time we have reached the end of Destruction, a new challenge has been set up, the Death Star has to be destroyed. And in Haste, the Death Star is destroyed, Luke Skywalker’s character reaches its realization and we are all happy. There are many wonderful gurus of film structure out there and they have different ways of breaking it down, my favorite is by labeling the three parts as the Set up, the Story and the climax.

The title of the film most of the time, has to do with the story and that happens in part 2. If you are going to do a love story, let the couple get together only after the first act. Act 2 is when they are together. If you watch THE EXORCIST, the first haunting comes only after the first 30 minutes. In THE SEVEN SAMURAI, I need to check this, the seven come together after the first half hour of the film.

Part 2 is story. This is the main happening of the film and this is a tricky part. This is the meat of the film. The Samurai have teamed up and they reach the village, what do they do there? In a love story, the girl and the boy have got together, what do they do now? At this initial stage if you list out all the possible events, your writing will be smooth later.

And finally, the CLIMAX. Never betray your audience. I’ve talked about explosions before. Yes, this is the cathartic moment. Your set up is not just the set up for the story, it’s the set up for the climax. Whatever you show at set up, the viewer’s mind gets tuned to a right royal resolution. If your spaceship is hovering near the sun threatened by its radiation, the audience wants to see the spaceship plunge into the sun and emerge scathed and bruised and victorious. If you show two people coming together who will have to part, you have to start a countdown and the audience’s pulse has to be racing in anticipation of the final tragic moment. This is the stage at which you deliver the goods. So think of the climax first and write towards it. I think it will work better.

But then again, it’s easy to write these hints. The real adventure is in taking the plunge yourself.