Monthly Archives: May 2010
[Ditty Makes a Short Film] Part 3: Spec to Shooting Draft
This pre-production stuff is no joke, people. I’m itching to get back to writing, to be honest, as after spending about 
six hours on the shooting draft and shot list on Saturday, I’m starting to feel a little neurotic.
But I’ll have to carry on as this is week leading up to the shoot. On the to-do list:
1) Arrange for food for cast/crew, which I will call craft service so I can sound like a real filmmaker.
2) Work with my wardrobe/production designer to gather props and clothes.
3) Procure a scooter or similar low-to-the-ground-with-wheels item to use as a dolly.
4) Check in with cast/crew to make sure everyone’s still on board and comfortable with their roles.
5) Go over shooting draft/shot list/storyboards to make sure I haven’t forgotten something that could in turn derail my entire film shoot and thus filmmaking career before it’s even begun.
I’ve been attempting to document my reactions to the process on twitter with my very own hashtag, #LiaE.
I’m going to try and keep it up during the shoot itself because I’d appreciate similar documentation from other short filmmakers. There are so many things you can’t really grasp until you’re in the trenches yourself, but it’s nice to at least have a window, even if it’s dirty and foggy and smudged and only 140 characters at a time.
So, apropos to my middle tweet up there, as a writer of spec scripts, giving myself the opportunity to create a shooting draft was enlightening to say the least. It forces you think about how words on a page translate to real-life and real-time staging. Doing storyboards helped with this quite a bit, but it was, in a lot of ways, a macro version. Plus it turns out I’m a terrible storyboard artist, as more than one of my drawings ended up becoming accidental stick-figure porn.
This is supposed to be two people moving from standing to sitting, not... well... nevermind.
Camera direction is something I’d thought about only vaguely before, so having to do it in a truly concrete manner kind of hurt my brain. In a good way. Sort of.
In short, a shooting script has numbers associated with each scene heading, thus enabling easier reference for the production team. I didn’t really have much to go off when creating my own shooting draft, so I decided to do what would be easiest and clearest for me and my team. Because of this, I subdivided my major scenes with letters, e.g., 1A, 1B, 1C, etc. Normally, you’d only use letters to denote a scene had been inserted in revisions, but, since I’m not dealing with that complex a production, I decided this would work best for me. I also decided to add headings any time I needed to change camera shots (hence the A, B, & C bits to denote they’re part of the same scene).
Because I hadn’t really thought much about specific camera shots as I was writing it (which you wouldn’t include in a spec script anyway), it inflated the scenes a bit. Here’s an excerpt from both drafts to compare:
Spec Draft
Shooting Draft
Getting that hammered out allowd me to create a shot list, which includes all scenes/shots in the order they’ll be filmed plus the shot type, any camera movement, props needed, and actors. This will help us stay organized on Shoot Day.
So, that’s where the short film currently stands. Saturday, we shoot. And hopefully I will still be (mostly) sane come Sunday.
And Now For Something Completely Different
This post is a break from the norm for this blog, but after hearing today that Kansas City is now the sixth-fattest city in the nation combined with the ever-present health epidemic in the United States anyway, I figured if I could help someone by sharing a brief glimpse of my story, no matter how mortifying, it would be worth it. The focus of this blog isn’t changing, but I feel like I’ve got an opportunity here; so I’m taking it.
A little background: I was never a skinny kid, per se, but I started playing soccer at the age of 5 and was involved in competitive sports until I graduated high school. I was a bit overweight in elementary school, but then, adolescent metabolism took over, and while I was never anything close to skinny as a rail, I managed a fit, athletic build throughout high school. I never thought I was thin, but, looking back, I know I was as thin as I should have been.
That all changed when I hit college. I was no longer involved in sports; I was no longer exercising regularly; and I was certainly not eating anything even close to resembling a healthy diet. On top of that, and pardon my vagueness here, I was very, very unhappy and trying very hard to look quite the opposite. All of those things took a huge toll on my physique, and I gained around 100 pounds in about four years. In short, it sucked.
In 2006, I started making changes. I started working out and eating better. With the help of SparkPeople, a social weight loss community, I lost about 40 pounds. Life intervened, and my efforts took a backseat to other issues (once again, pardon my vagueness). I kept working out, but I did it less; and diet became about maintenance rather than weight loss. Twenty or thirty pounds crept back on, though they were thankfully significantly less noticeable thanks to my workout routine.
In 2009, I resolved a lot of those old issues that I’d thought were more important than my own health and well-being (mental, physical, spiritual, etc.). I started putting myself first in a lot of aspects of my life, and I knocked those pounds off again plus a few more. This year, as part of my Year of Awesome initiative, I’ve kicked back into health & fitness high gear. As of May 10, I’m down 34.8 pounds for the year. From my highest weight ever, I’m down 78.6 pounds — a number that is both impressive and embarrassing.
Today I got my new badge photo, and seeing how different I look from my old one warrants the same emotions for me: I’m impressed and embarrassed. Weight loss is a mixed emotional bag, folks. Posting this old photo is a pretty big deal for me, but, as I said, if it can inspire even one person out there to put themselves first and get moving, then it’s worth it. So, here we go.
As mortifying as that first picture is, I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’m happy and healthy now, and the best part is, thanks in large part to Jillian Michaels
And the truth is, ANYONE can do it, folks. We don’t know what we’re capable of until we try. And most of the time, we can do WAY more than we originally think is possible. Check out The Biggest Loser. Michael, one of this year’s contestants, was thrilled when he jogged one mile on the treadmill. Bob Harper, co-trainer along with Jillian, told him to keep going. He was skeptical, but he did. He got to 3.1 miles (a 5k!) and was ecstatic. Bob congratulated and told him to keep going again. He was still skeptical, but he kept moving, all the way to the 5 miles Bob demanded. Michael, by the way, weighed somewhere upwards of 350 pounds that episode.
So, if you’ve been wanting to eat better and move more, then get to it. Make that choice, and then make the first step. And then take the next one, and the next and the next and the next. Saying it’s a difficult journey is an understatement, and there are more layers of emotion than you’d probably expect, but I cannot put into words how worth it that journey is. As Tony Horton says in one of his P90X workouts, “We tumble, we fall, but we move!” That’s the key, folks — you keep moving. And that’s with any goal you set, whether it’s weight loss or writing or whatever.
So, that’s a tiny slice of my story. Health and fitness is something near and dear to my heart these days, and what I’ve learned on this journey has transferred into every other aspect of my life, as promised by Jillian at the end of one of her DVD workouts (which are all completely fabulous, as is her book, Master Your Metabolism). I’m happy to talk details of my journey via e-mail (izzi dot ditty at gmail dot com) or facebook if you’re curious or need a little motivation and inspiration to start your own adventure.
Haiku Review: 9 May 2010
If you haven’t checked out The List of Movies That Made Going to the Movies Suck over at Mike’s blog, there are some really interesting essays going up daily all month long. You can find my essay on IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, which kicked off The List, here. Now, onto the reviews.
The Back-Up Plan (2 stars): if you are aching /to see Alex O’Loughlin / watch Moonlight instead
Stuntmen (3 stars): an amusing look / at the stuntman industry / mockumentary style
Orange County (3½ stars): the transition from / high school to college is hard / but also funny
The Princess Bride (5 stars): truly a classic / epic comedic romance / with awesome swordfights
Singles (3½ stars): from Cameron Crowe / a film about single life / and finding the one
Shades of Ray (3½ stars): a sweet indie film / an identity crisis / both funny and real
Iron Man (3½ stars): excellent relaunch / to a franchise and career / more RDJ please
Iron Man 2 (3½ stars): the sequel lives up / to my expectations and / perhaps exceeds them
And last but not least, don’t forget to watch Chuck, (catch up online!) because I don’t want it to get cancelled, because then I’ll have nothing to live for on Mondays (8/7 Central on NBC, folks!).
[Movies That Made Going to the Movies Suck] #27: It Happened One Night
Hi everyone! I’m participating in a fun little film analysis list this month with the Desert Island DVDs crew, spearheaded by Mike over at You Talking to Me? The idea is to take a look at movies that brought forth a movement in film and inspired a bunch of generally lackluster copycats trying to cash in on the magic without creating any themselves. When Mike came to us with the idea, there was one film that immediately popped into my mind as something great that inspired a whole lot of films that, well, aren’t. Here’s my essay, and head on over to Mike’s blog all month long to see what other folks have designated as Movies That Made Going to the Movies Suck.
Ah, the romantic comedy. Once a person begins to self-identify as a film enthusiast or a cinephile, one is supposed to turn down his or her nose at the modern entries in the genre. And let’s face it: the romantic comedy of today is quite often a pale and weak imitation of the great romantic comedies of the past. Whether it’s Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, The Lady Eve, or any of the other stellar picks from the 1930s and 1940s, there’s one romantic comedy for everyone that more or less forever ruins the genre. The king of them all, the one that ushered in the screwball comedy and the modern romantic comedy, is It Happened One Night.
Starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable, it follows the story of Ellie Andrews, a young, spoiled woman who, in a fit of rebellion, marries fortune hunter Westley King. Her father collects her before the marriage can be consummated only to have her run away once again. On board a bus to New York City, she happens upon one Mr. Peter Warne. Turns out he’s a down-on-his-luck reporter in need of a good story, so he blackmails her: either she gives him an exclusive, or he’ll rat her out to her father (and collect a handsome reward for it, too). Not a complete cad, he does offer to help reunite her with her beloved quasi-husband (readers love a happy ending).
Now, because the story arc of 90 percent of romantic comedies to follow used this one as a template, we can guess what happens. They hate each other at first, but she’s a little charmed by him, and he’s a little amused by her. Charm and amusement turn to affection, and all of a sudden it’s “Westley who?” Of course, there’s confusion and misunderstanding that leads to Boy Losing Girl, only to prove his worth and eventually get her back.
The difference between this film and the cookie-cutter romantic comedies that follow is that, even now, the film has a certain energy you can’t quite describe. It feels fresh, even though we’ve seen it hundreds of times over. Every once in a while, a romantic comedy captures some of that same spark, even if just for a moment. And I think that’s why we keep coming back, hoping for the best from the genre, even when we’re not supposed to. We’re waiting for that moment when the romantic comedy can prove its worth, regain its honor, and recapture those magical moments we experienced in the past together with films like It Happened One Night. The truth is, when romantic comedy is at its best, the genre contains some of the greatest films and film moments in history.
