November 19, 2012

Movies - What are they?

Made up of FIVE parts (kind of)

Development

Pre-Production

Production

Post-Production

Marketing and Distribution

You are going to be responsible for doing work in all FIVE areas until the end of the semester.

Development -
screenwriting - WRITER
rewriting
getting a team together - key job - PRODUCER
DIRECTOR needs to come on board
financing
in Canada, financing has a weird twist - the government is involved - Telefilm
in the US it is much more about big business - you try to get money from production companies (here too)
for our needs we will look at a few things:

Writer writes a script
Tries to get a producer to want to make it
Producer tries to package the film up and get some studio interest
Producer OWNS the film - the writer is basically done

Screenwriting
writing a screenplay starts with an idea
some writers start with a character that is awesome and then say, “What kind of trouble can this character get into?”
maybe with a defined character - superhero, sequels, etc.
come up with a great character type or for an actor, and then choose what kind of problems that character will have - Adam Sandler (ps, he is terrible)

more commonly, the writer has a concept about a story - this is the most likely way to write
a story is not necessarily what you think it is.

what is at the root of a movie? What does a writer start with?
the pattern at the root of almost every movie is called The Hero’s Quest
this pattern was discovered by looking at legends and stories and myths and religions and so on, and saying, hey, these are all similar!
Joseph Campbell said that this pattern was in our heads, and we do it, use it, watch it, love it and feel it without necessarily realizing it


The Screenplay Structure Map

Movies begin with Act 1

Act 1 is Setup

What has to get set up?

Character - lead and otherwise
Place - where are we? when are we? what are the rules? what kind of movie are we in? (tone and genre)
Problem - what is wrong with the lead character’s current life? what is the character’s problem? The movie is better if the lead character’s problem at the start is worse.
Why do we want to start movies with a problem for a protagonist?
we need a relatable character
we need to be grabbed and pulled into a story and a problem demands to be solved - we want to resolve (or see the resolution of) the problem
stimulates empathy in the viewer - (empathy is feeling someone else’s feelings)
movies NEED conflict to drive action forward

This setting up of a problem IS the movie, in all reality.

The nature of the problem is based on a real thing we all have - We need to change in order to live. If we don’t change, we die.
Movies are ALWAYS about a character who HAS to change or die. (the death might be metaphorical)

The start of a movie is often the best part because we are just learning all this new stuff - there is a sense of discovery -

Most Hollywood producers, agents, readers, and people who are looking for scripts only read the first few pages to decide whether it’s good or not.

Hollywood movies almost always start with a particular kind of pattern.

Meet Guy/Girl. See problem life. Feel for Guy/Girl. See Guy/Girl’s awesome real personality. We love Guy/Girl.


Prepare to Write an Opening to a Movie that You Want to See!

A character (the lead) that we can love:
-Who has a problem.
-Who has something awesome about him/her
-Who is in a place that is interesting or realistic and feels relatable.
-And who has a problem that we can see

Show the character in a way that introduces as much as you can in ACTION.

Have something happen that makes me want to see your movie and follow this character for 2 hours. (OR 95-115 MINUTES/PAGES)

November 15, 2012

1890s - 1990s

Find something to profile in detail and present in some form

Bios
Overviews
Timelines
Examples
Analyses
References
Influences and influenced bys
Why
How
Explain
Show where it went

Francis Ford Coppola
Hollywood
Video camera
Film noir
Science Fiction
Comic Movies
Robert DeNiro
Comparative Look at early movies on a theme and later movies on a theme

Requirements:

You must watch 2 movies. At least one must be from before you were born. Maybe both.

You must include material that is analytic in nature.

You must work on some kind of visual presentation.

You must do some editing, music, sound, voice over and incorporate information.

You must be able to keep LOBB’s interest in a subject for at least 5 minutes.

Group Mark - Solo Mark - How it was done - Content - Application

How do I define a role for me? Defend your place!

The 1980s

Mr. Lobb’s Playground

VCR - this was an invention that really changed the industry just like TV in the 50s
you can “own” Hollywood movies
you can make your movies with cheap cameras
you can watch movies a hundred times for one price
there is a whole new market for “movie catalogues” - Warner Bros has a giant storehouse of old movies - the home video market = free money

the studios realized that they could make new money on old movies

the studios realized that people watching movies at home had different expectations - the movies didn’t have to be big and awesome and amazing -
all new B movies that were “straight to video”

however, Hollywood also saw that movies could make money like they’d never imagined - Star Wars, Jaws, Close Encounters, ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

LA saw that movies were MUCH bigger and much easier to make and the more flash in the movie, the bigger the sales -

High Concept - the idea for the movie is obvious and HUGE and a clear sell

Die Hard - bad guys trapped in a building with hostages and a pissed off Bruce Willis
Speed - bad guy traps hostages on a bus that can’t go under 50 mph or it blows up
Under Siege - Die Hard on a train
Air Force One - Die Hard on the president’s plane
X meets Y movies - Commando - Terminator meets Rambo
Predator - Commando meets Alien

1990s - BIG BUSINESS in Hollywood - spec script sales