From idea to script writing

Today I would like to continue the recent flight of thoughts and share it with those several people who are out there reading this (not sure if anyone will ever read this, but why shouldn't I try - they say a thought let in the wind will eventually hit a strayed soul). Well, I've been thinking lately - what are the things I enjoy in my life the most? What lights up the sparkles in my eyes and makes the fire in my heart, so that I sometimes forget the count of the hours and days? An I could find so many answers to this - dancing, cooking, the sound of the music, motion pictures, reading and, yes, of course - writing - the one and the very special way how to express myself in words.

Well, I must say, words have their own way of making things alive. You let the mind flow wildly in every possible imaginable way and the pen suddenly starts to create pictures, taken in the world of your deepest subconsciousness. Pictures of words which seem pretty alive. Of course, only for those who want to accept the undeniable fact of the power of imagination. And as you go further in this marvelous world, you may start to notice something totally fantastic - yes, the pictures start to move along the story! And no wonder I sometimes see a whole movie in front of my eyes while typing some of my queer stories. I call it the Life of Words - as long as your imagination is turned on and the movie continues (in the best way how your brains can produce something like that on your limited mind), the words are living their unique life making colorful variations, incredible universes and leaving breathtaking emotions (in case you have not forgotten to turn on your heart on this journey).

And I must admit, lately it has been a really great life for my words- they have been transformed to galaxy never seen before in my universe. Well, not that I have not thought about it before - script writing. But how does it all begin, how does a script worth making alive comes to its form of existence? It all begins from the sparkle of the tiniest idea and it changes, grows and takes the shape of a story. And the only reasonable way how to keep the story alive so it did not vanish in the vast universe of oblivion, is to put it on a paper.

Well, I would say this is quite a responsibility. To put the idea on a paper in a way that it perfectly reflects the story-line and would be easy perceived by those (usually film directors, producers, actors and etc.) whom we want to present it.  Moreover, it is a fundamental base, a foundation-stone on which a new movie production is grounded on. And as any fundamentals it must be as solid as possible so it could hold the pressure and survive during all the phases of movie production. Here I like to think of cookies, let's take the same French Macaron - the better you make the base dough, the better is the result in the end.

And as hard as making the perfect Macarons is the task to build a foundation-stone for a movie, the script.  In order to succeed the following things must be kept in mind. The script is like a blueprint for the entire movie, which, first of all, helps the director to clarify ideas and develop a project that works from the beginning till the end. Secondly, it is a tool which helps to coordinate the production team so that everybody is on the same page and knows what it is all about.  And finally a good script helps the director to assess the resources needed for the production.

It may seem that there should be one original formula how to generate a good script that could fulfill all the functions mentioned above, but as many writers and types of motion picture productions, as many ways how to write a script appears to be out there. Basically it depends of the type of the movie one wants to create. Some professional crews may seem to shoot everything spontaneously (for example, news and other live broadcasts), but they are just following a pattern that has proved to be successful in the past. In some productions, such as drama, the script generally begins entire production process where director reads the draft script and analyses all the details. Here the story usually can undergo dozen of changes until it reaches the stage of fulfillment and all the crew is ready to make it alive. Sometimes the original script is changed so many times by so many people that in the end it turns into a story no one has expected to be like in the beginning. But it is not always a bad thing – we are making movies for people to watch them after all and a movie starts its life only when it reaches the hearts of the audience.  Another method of scripting begins with an outline. For example, when writing a documentary this extended outline becomes a shooting script, usually showing the types of shots that will be required during the filming process.

No matter the type of the script, there are in fact several basic script formats. One of them is a single-column format where all video and audio information is usually contained in a single main column. Each scene starts with an explanatory introduction describing the location and the action. Reminder notes usually are made in a wide left-hand margin, including transitions and indicating cues and camera instructions. It is used in single camera video production where the director works alongside with the camera guy.  Another way how to put a story on paper is to use a two-column format script writing, which is extremely flexible and informative structure and anyone from the filming crew can add their own specific details, such as lightning changes or camera instructions.

Single-column and two-column script formats

In general, a script that fully describes the story and the shooting process should include detailed information on all aspects of movie production. It should include description of scenes, shots, dialogs, equipment, camera instructions, transitions and contributory sources (details of where for example videotape, graphics or remote feeds appear in the program).

Taking this all into consideration and making some detailed research the very first script of mine was created keeping a strong goal to write it as professional and original as possible. Well, writing stories and poetry is one thing, but script writing is a world where your story must not only be in your heart and on paper, but also in your head – already alive as a movie that everybody would want to see and enjoy.

The script has changed many times until its fulfillment and during this process I have pointed out some basic tips to be kept in mind for all of the upcoming stories that I will write in the future (and surely there will be some more).  Remember – being visual is extremely hard sometimes, but putting the imagination at work helps a lot and then even the dialogs (which most of the writers find to be extremely hard and annoying) turn out to work somehow. And even though sometimes you want to write a lot, keep in mind that one scene with good and unhistronic acting is worth than thousand words. Because movies started as silent artistic motion pictures and still, the substructure is not gone anywhere – often the most heartfelt episodes are created based only on great acting without dialogs, breathtaking enough to touch the hearts of the audience and make the movie alive.

And, yes, yes, yesssss!Here is the outcome of one of the latest short-movie projects that I consider to be pretty decent if we keep in mind the limited resources and that none of the actors in this short clip is an actual actor (well, yeah, one of them happened to be me as well, however hands are still shaking and heart wants to break through the chest every time the camera is turned on me, but sacrifices must be made in the name of the good cause ). And I must say - THANK YOU, guys : Esben, Dite, Bart and Anders for a great time spent together and a productive teamwork! It was a pleasure working with you :) And I hope it was not the last time.

For a better quality click here : http://vimeo.com/54589618