Making of my first film: Chapter One: What is the ‘idea’?

In my last post, I wanted to get in to the feel of film-making. I have lost touch. I remember I made my first film in the summer of 2007. It was a, well, very amateur output. I can recollect my friends making fun of every scene, rarely did they appreciate. It was okay. I learned few things from that movie. Thereafter, in same year in the month of November, I made another short film with my friend – Sammir. I assisted him in direction, we wrote the script together (the script was inspired from a popular short story) and we worked on it. People didn’t hate it, but they didn’t like it much either.

It is very embarrassing for me, as a film-lover and an aspiring film-maker that I didn’t ‘lead’ in any of my film projects. I never took the position of a director or of that an independent film-maker. I was always an ‘assistant’. That’s why it has been my involvement wherein I could experiment only with selected field. What I mean to say here is that I could only experiment on video editing at one point of time, or writing, or assisting the director. I want to make one thing clear, that I don’t have a professional experience. The projects I am talking about are small time, college assignments.

Now, after long duration of three years, here I am preparing myself to make my own independent short film.

So, I was preparing my mind last night. I was scanning through my experiences, the stories that I have heard, and trying to find out which among them can be source of my inspiration. I did end up with a blank piece of paper. Then I tried to imagine about the things I like, hate, and some random thoughts that had crossed my mind once, caught my attention and dissolved thereafter. I could come up with some ideas. I asked myself the following questions:

1. Why am I making a film?

2. What is the moral of the story?

3. Do I want to make a change in people’s perceptions? Really?

4. Is it experimental?

5. What sources I have got?

6. Am I preaching? Will it get boring?

7. Should I include my ideology/principles/opinions; and will they be accepted/rejected?

8. What kind of audience do I have?

9. Is it a thought-provoking film, or just an entertainment?

I had such questions in my mind, and many others. What I want to point out here is that I faced a problem here. I couldn’t shortlist my subject/topic of the film. I was sceptical about my idea(s) and none could actually dazzle me.

I will think over my film again today, and when I get an idea that I feel convinced with, I will post it here.

Short Films & Their Making - Part One

In this blog, I am going to share with you some basics of film-making process. There are many aspiring film-makers and script-writers. I am not a professional film-maker. Neither I’ve made any film independently nor have I worked with any professionals. The information that I am going to share with you is something that I’ve learned while making some low-budget short films and documentaries with my friends. We group of friends have been involved in couple of short films. While making them, I have learned some of the basics of film-making. I am sure that this will surely help you at the very initial stage of film-making, if you ever wanted to make one.

First of all, think of an idea. Now, when I say that you have to think of an idea, then it can be any random thought. The idea must be appealing to you. This is the prime factor. Most of the newcomers forget this quality that their thought/idea should possess. It is going to be the topic of their film. When you make a film, you must be the person who find the topic most appealing. You don’t have to think of audience at this stage, not even your co-workers/colleagues.

When the topic is decided, write a short story on it. Let me make you one thing clear. Your thought may have been presented to audience previously, but it really doesn’t matter. Trust me. What matters, is how you are going to present it. See, the topics are more or less similar of most of the films of same genre, but there are slight differences. The final presentation is completely different. This is what makes the ordinary story into extra- ordinary film. So if you are thinking that the thought, that just crossed your mind, is a cliché, think again!

Let us now assume that you have thought of a topic. You have decided to make a film on it. The time length of the film is not the factor important at this point of time. The next step is to write a short story. Write a simple story with very few details and dialogues. Write story even if you are a bad writer or even if you have never written any article. Write story even if you find it boring. This is most important step which people generally skip. If you’re not capable of writing one, ask your friend or any of your acquaintances to write for you.

In the story, make an attempt to have few characters involved. The end should be the high point of the story. The story must build up of curiosity in the mind of reader. Take any story, you will find one common format. There is stability in the beginning. In the middle, there is a conflict which results into instability or chaos. In the end, stability is restored. This is how any film story is constructed. Believe me, it is the most common yet most accepted format. Most of the people like good, happy endings.

When a short story is written, you have to follow a strict method after its completion. You have to systematically write down a screenplay for your film. You can make numerous changes. You can add new characters, new locations, new twists, new situations, etc. If you are a low-budget, independent film-maker, make sure that while writing a story you are keeping count of your resources.

Resources, Yes! This is big problem. For example, if you have a bike. Imagine that you have included a plane in your script. Is it possible for you to get a plane while shooting? If it is, then good for you! But if not, then I will advice you to add only those elements in your script which are accessible to you. Therefore, instead of plane, you have to use bike or some other vehicle. If you think that the story is not going as you want, then change some other elements. According to me, the elements of the film story are the characters, situations, locations, etc.

Elements like some of your friends who are good actors or who think can act well, think of them and include characters like them in your story. If you have a big farm house or if anyone, who you know owns one and if he/she is willing to give you to shoot, & then include it in your script. The point is, use resources that are available and that fits in your story. It is all about how deliberately you place unlinked elements wisely into one meaningful masterpiece!

Coming back to screenplay, which is a tedious process. It can be tiring. I will advice you to write at least three refined screenplays. When you write it for first time, after its completion, get out from the place and do something else. Do anything that is not related to your film. After some time, come back and read your screenplay. Read it as if it is not written by you. This helps you to identify your mistakes; and I am not talking about just grammatical mistakes. I am also talking about some logical, practical mistakes in you character’s behavior, locations or situations that you have described in your screenplay.

Rewrite your screenplay and follow same steps again. Remember, more the times you do this procedure, better will be your screenplay. The objective is to sharpen your own idea. It also helps to produce new dimension to your story which can be more appealing than old one.

As of now, I think I had shared enough information. Script writing is first stage of film-making process. A script should be known and explained to almost all members of the crew. It helps them to know what the film-makers want from them, what kind of work they should produce and what role they have to play in the process.