I would take a look at all the successful filmmakers we know. The ones who have become successful are the ones who went out there, with little or no money, begged, borrowed, stole and made their first film by hook or by crook, the success of which put them in a position where they could actually pitch and get a film made.
Robert Rodriguez went to Mexico with an Arri S, few Home Depot lights, and a PMD and made El Mariachi which became a cult hit. Shyamalan with a bit of his parents' money came to India and made Praying With Anger which he sold to an American cable TV channel. Richard Kelley got out of USC, found Drew Barrymore through some heavy networking and got Donnie Darko made.
Few filmmakers I know have been able to make features based on thematically similar short films they made. Manish Jha made Matrubhoomi with French money after A Very Very Silent film won the jury prize at Cannes. Richie Mehta raised money and made Amal with Naseer saab after his short of the same name had a successful festival run with lot of exposure. Murali Nair made Oru Neenda Yathra, a short that got nominated for the golden palm at Cannes based on which he raised French money to make a Malayalam feature. He continues making Indian films with French money till today. In fact, he is the man to talk to learn how to pitch a film that perhaps doesn't fit into the moulds of traditional Indian filmmaking.
Views By Vijay
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Script Development 1
What I was taught as part of my screenwriting course at USC was to begin with the protagonist before translating the idea into a story.
Identify the protagonist, then identify his or her main goal, then make up your mind whether or not by the end of the film you want the protagonist to achieve that goal.
Then, write the story. Write in prose if you wish, but write the entire story out as if you were writing the abridged version of a novel, be as detailed as you want. The remaining characters will either be born or develop during this process. Re-write this till you are satisfied.
Then separate that story into 3 acts and make sure each act serves its purpose well.
Then move to the screenplay format where you break this story out into scenes. Write the script outline, which basically means, write the scenes, without dialog.
Once this is done and you have re-written several times and are satisfied with the structure, begin writing in dialogues for each scene. From here on, the script can change on many levels with each re-write.
This is what I was taught in film school. Some writers will say, fuck this formula bullshit and some swear by it because you get to iron out story issues well before you enter screenplay form. I discussed this once with Nagesh Kukunoor who said...I dont know man. I just write.
Identify the protagonist, then identify his or her main goal, then make up your mind whether or not by the end of the film you want the protagonist to achieve that goal.
Then, write the story. Write in prose if you wish, but write the entire story out as if you were writing the abridged version of a novel, be as detailed as you want. The remaining characters will either be born or develop during this process. Re-write this till you are satisfied.
Then separate that story into 3 acts and make sure each act serves its purpose well.
Then move to the screenplay format where you break this story out into scenes. Write the script outline, which basically means, write the scenes, without dialog.
Once this is done and you have re-written several times and are satisfied with the structure, begin writing in dialogues for each scene. From here on, the script can change on many levels with each re-write.
This is what I was taught in film school. Some writers will say, fuck this formula bullshit and some swear by it because you get to iron out story issues well before you enter screenplay form. I discussed this once with Nagesh Kukunoor who said...I dont know man. I just write.
Views by Vijay
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Believers And Beggers
I strongly believe that there is some super natural force(GOD) which is driving us, there is no doubt about it.
The almighty had given me a good physique and also a beautiful mind. I feel that is enough to survive and create your own mark on this world if you REALLY start utilizing your potentials . Start believing in you, You had that spark in you ,the only thing you need to do is think and work appropriately .If you REALLY start thinking and working you can achieve what ever you want in life. For that you need to have a plan and a course of action. I f you are in this stage , that is where you have enough confidence in you to go get it , then you dont have to beg anything from the almighty.
If you sit idle ,chit chat something without a goal, work on things lazy ,believing in fate ,thinking that almighty might come and do that particular thing for you ,keeping all your failures on destiny without analyzing your faults, thinking that if being good doing good and thinking good will help you or thinking that you are a strong believer in god so he or she helps you , I bet these kind of people will never make it. They will lead a life that is so mechanical which other creatures in this world are living without using their mental capabilities.
I think even Almighty(GOD) hates this kind of people as they are not working upto their potentials and inturn begging god for everything, even to make a decision they beg god . God gave you good physique and mental ability to think and take a decision .God sent Every one here to perform something and achieve something and make your own mark and help some one who is not capable of doing things.Rather doing this People started begging GOD everything .
The people who say they are strong believers in god are the best beggars in this world,
and are the most scared people of god. The way they think about god is , when ever they have a difficulty ,they ask god why you are doing this to me and then they start praying "i say they start begging for that particular thing". If you pray you wont get things done , you should work and think to get things done.
Nothing in this world comes easy , no one in this universe gets anything freely from god without working for it .
Please stop begging god and start working and plan things and work accordingly ,so that you will achieve a result which you can improve by analyzing your previous faults, but dont waste your time and also The most precious time of god for your silly wants.
When you believe in you and have a confidence that you can achieve what you want , then you wont have anything to disturb god because you really dont have anything to beg. Please give him free time to think about the uncapable people either physically or mentally. If you feel you are in that category then you can keep on begging him.
The almighty had given me a good physique and also a beautiful mind. I feel that is enough to survive and create your own mark on this world if you REALLY start utilizing your potentials . Start believing in you, You had that spark in you ,the only thing you need to do is think and work appropriately .If you REALLY start thinking and working you can achieve what ever you want in life. For that you need to have a plan and a course of action. I f you are in this stage , that is where you have enough confidence in you to go get it , then you dont have to beg anything from the almighty.
If you sit idle ,chit chat something without a goal, work on things lazy ,believing in fate ,thinking that almighty might come and do that particular thing for you ,keeping all your failures on destiny without analyzing your faults, thinking that if being good doing good and thinking good will help you or thinking that you are a strong believer in god so he or she helps you , I bet these kind of people will never make it. They will lead a life that is so mechanical which other creatures in this world are living without using their mental capabilities.
I think even Almighty(GOD) hates this kind of people as they are not working upto their potentials and inturn begging god for everything, even to make a decision they beg god . God gave you good physique and mental ability to think and take a decision .God sent Every one here to perform something and achieve something and make your own mark and help some one who is not capable of doing things.Rather doing this People started begging GOD everything .
The people who say they are strong believers in god are the best beggars in this world,
and are the most scared people of god. The way they think about god is , when ever they have a difficulty ,they ask god why you are doing this to me and then they start praying "i say they start begging for that particular thing". If you pray you wont get things done , you should work and think to get things done.
Nothing in this world comes easy , no one in this universe gets anything freely from god without working for it .
Please stop begging god and start working and plan things and work accordingly ,so that you will achieve a result which you can improve by analyzing your previous faults, but dont waste your time and also The most precious time of god for your silly wants.
When you believe in you and have a confidence that you can achieve what you want , then you wont have anything to disturb god because you really dont have anything to beg. Please give him free time to think about the uncapable people either physically or mentally. If you feel you are in that category then you can keep on begging him.
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