To be bold and ambitious or rather, naive and foolish, would all collectively summarise my decision to write the screenplay for WWII Drama one evening in February 2008.
Although, fingers to keys for the first scene wouldn't happen for at least a year and a half later and confined to evenings during a work placement. (To note: it's not an action war film).
As previously noted, it was a daunting prospect to be writing a drama set during the Second World War, although, it wasn't a decision made with my head but my heart. I had a burning desire to write this story and it just took over any rational thought. Plus I knew it had elements that had never been done before, other relevant positive factors and featured a knock-out title.
So I would have been a fool not to follow it, right?
I also knew nothing about the two world wars and had no real clue to the amount of research that lay in front me, as I had never written a script that required any large amount of research before. I hadn't even written a feature screenplay.
At a Danny Boyle talk last year (BFI Oct 08), he mentioned something along the lines of: In order to stay fresh, challenged and to lose your ego, he attempts a film in a different genre. This would account for his special array of films and is a great piece of advice because going in 'you know very little' and have to learn a whole new lot of everything.
In hindsight, the process of writing in a new genre is the greatest challenge there is and becomes a liberating and extremely grounding experience. I have always had ambitions to venture into different genres but this has made me even more determined but also aware of the ground work involved.
I did underestimate initially how much research was involved and soon learnt how it never ends, and that I wish I had a basic level of WWII and 1940s knowledge before I started. This lack of previous knowledge meeting the real deal soon started to chip away at my original treatment and reveal the various cliches it contained. But as the research and feedback continued the central story became more focused and its emotional journey enhanced. I became fascinated with what I was reading and it fed into my script and affected me emotionally unlike anything I've ever experienced.
The screenplay itself didn't end up as polished as I wanted due to the limited time I had to write it. But I am extremely proud and surprised at where it ended up and will trust my ability even more in the future. It did break my heart handing it in at what I consider an unfinished state, but thankfully it all worked out.
The process was unlike anything I've experienced and has become my own war story to tell or at least, to hold up against any further projects. The strangest thing is that I hardly remember the experience and question whether it was really me that wrote it.
In the end, it turned out to be an extremely challenging, rewarding and enlightening experience. It was as profound as they come and for a first feature screenplay it has certainly set the bar. It has also made me realise that I have so much to learn about character, writing and the world.
Although, I must say, I can't take full credit for the development of WWII Drama and hand over a good portion of that to my tutor for the project, Rosie Cullen. I don't think I could ever thank her enough for her advice, support and encouragement.
I look forward to polishing the current draft of WWII Drama for colleague feedback and then returning to it after one or two projects are complete. I aim to use it as a calling card script and look forward to the reunion and its next stage.
WWII Drama is the pinnacle of my writing achievements and is one I would go crazy over seeing in the cinema, and I think many others would also.
It... would... be... INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And that is why I write.
Showing posts with label WWII Drama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WWII Drama. Show all posts
Monday, 5 October 2009
Monday, 3 March 2008
Giving Life.
A strange thing occurred the other day. I’ve been slightly aware of it before but it's never been as strong as this.
A writer creates characters (to an extent) and creates or portrayals the world they live in. So we give life essentially. But I’ve never had the realisation that it's actually the other way around. Its these scripts, characters and stories that give life to us. It may sound strange but it's true.
It's down to my upcoming war drama feature script for my major in the third year.
It feels good to say that because I know it's true and that’s part of my theory. The script is set during the Second World War and is further from anything I’ve ever written or would attempt to think of writing. But somehow I am. It demands an amount of research that I don’t even want to think about. But at the same time I’m excited about it because it’s a challenge.
I’ve never had this kind of feeling with a script before. I’ve had big feelings but this is the strongest and it's hard to explain. It just feels more right than anything. My instincts tell me that this story is something special and the challenge I’ve set myself up for is without a doubt worth it.
This script has given me more confidence than anything and it seems to be sticking, which is good. For the first time in a while I’m actually happy to be at university and all the things I worried about before and that got me down have just disappeared. I’m now thinking forwards and about making progress instead of the opposite, which is rather cool.
'The writer who possesses the creative gift owns something of which he is not always master- something that at time strangely wills and works for itself.'
-Charlotte Bronte
A writer creates characters (to an extent) and creates or portrayals the world they live in. So we give life essentially. But I’ve never had the realisation that it's actually the other way around. Its these scripts, characters and stories that give life to us. It may sound strange but it's true.
It's down to my upcoming war drama feature script for my major in the third year.
It feels good to say that because I know it's true and that’s part of my theory. The script is set during the Second World War and is further from anything I’ve ever written or would attempt to think of writing. But somehow I am. It demands an amount of research that I don’t even want to think about. But at the same time I’m excited about it because it’s a challenge.
I’ve never had this kind of feeling with a script before. I’ve had big feelings but this is the strongest and it's hard to explain. It just feels more right than anything. My instincts tell me that this story is something special and the challenge I’ve set myself up for is without a doubt worth it.
This script has given me more confidence than anything and it seems to be sticking, which is good. For the first time in a while I’m actually happy to be at university and all the things I worried about before and that got me down have just disappeared. I’m now thinking forwards and about making progress instead of the opposite, which is rather cool.
'The writer who possesses the creative gift owns something of which he is not always master- something that at time strangely wills and works for itself.'
-Charlotte Bronte
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
A World War II Drama.
The genre of a feature script contender for my third year. It's further from anything I’ve written or thought I’d ever be interested in writing. The only reason being, I don’t think I’m good enough.
At first I was intimidated at writing a war piece because I didn’t think I’d be able to achieve it. It would take a lot of research and the quality and level of detail would need to be perfect. But then I thought the backdrop of the war does bring a nice contrast and unusual twist to this type of story. Not to mention the story itself, which is really moving and hopefully an original side to the war.
I’ve had the title and a story idea for years. But it was an idea that I knew would have its time 'much later' when i actually had a career rather than 'much sooner' when i don't.
Initially it was a novel idea with a brief description but a year or two later it turned into a film. That story idea was only a page which consisted of a few characters and the main character's story development. That still stands but the setting has been shifted from the present day to the past and actually during the war.
This idea is a significant development in my writing and attitude as a writer and has opened my mind to many possibilities in terms of genre and setting. Before I limited myself to a few specific genres and was mainly interesting in contemporary dramas about people. They were the scripts I would be comfortable with writing and didn't look in the direction of the others because they were far from what I thought I wanted to tell or could tell. But at the core the same always remains; people and their dramas. So it doesn't matter where its set or under what context. It's still about people and what its like to be human. But the challenge in a script shouldn't just be in the emotional story but also in its arena and setting and how that's used to enhance the story and its characters.
Overall, this script has taught me to avoid what is repetitive and easy in a story and go for the challenge and originality in every script.
At first I was intimidated at writing a war piece because I didn’t think I’d be able to achieve it. It would take a lot of research and the quality and level of detail would need to be perfect. But then I thought the backdrop of the war does bring a nice contrast and unusual twist to this type of story. Not to mention the story itself, which is really moving and hopefully an original side to the war.
I’ve had the title and a story idea for years. But it was an idea that I knew would have its time 'much later' when i actually had a career rather than 'much sooner' when i don't.
Initially it was a novel idea with a brief description but a year or two later it turned into a film. That story idea was only a page which consisted of a few characters and the main character's story development. That still stands but the setting has been shifted from the present day to the past and actually during the war.
This idea is a significant development in my writing and attitude as a writer and has opened my mind to many possibilities in terms of genre and setting. Before I limited myself to a few specific genres and was mainly interesting in contemporary dramas about people. They were the scripts I would be comfortable with writing and didn't look in the direction of the others because they were far from what I thought I wanted to tell or could tell. But at the core the same always remains; people and their dramas. So it doesn't matter where its set or under what context. It's still about people and what its like to be human. But the challenge in a script shouldn't just be in the emotional story but also in its arena and setting and how that's used to enhance the story and its characters.
Overall, this script has taught me to avoid what is repetitive and easy in a story and go for the challenge and originality in every script.
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
Feature. Early Thoughts.
Probably way too soon to be thinking about it. But I have been. I’ve been thinking about the types of things I could do for it. It's a big undertaking and will need a lot; story and character-wise to carry the weight of ninety-minutes.
Initially, like I thought with the one hour drama, I’d do something different. Sinking (Narratives) and Marlow Road (Audiences) are in the family-drama arena (from the parents point of view) and I thought I’d challenge myself for sixty-minutes and do something in a different genre. But that didn’t happen - although the main focus in Requiem (One Hour Drama) is a teenager and only child. So something did change.
So now I’m thinking that for my feature I’ll do something different. But now I know I won’t.
Initially I thought: A feature. Cool, I’ll do one of my sci-fi films. I had one in mind, which is essentially a futuristic cop conspiracy/thriller but with a twist and is pretty straightforward. But then I thought: Sci-fi?
I know I want to write sci-fi someday but my main passion and one of the big things I want to write is the offbeat family drama or Indie drama as it may be better known as. The dysfunctional family is my calling. There's something quite remarkable about these films, which are essentially dramas but offer so much more about life and what it is to be human. Its often presented in black comedic form and that's the beauty of it.
It's the comic relief from life that keeps us alive (mentally & physically) and no other film highlight that importance. Similar examples to my own aspirations are cult films like; The United States Of Leland, The Squid And The Whale, Imaginary Heroes, Igby Goes Down, Thumbsucker, Storytelling, American Beauty, etc. Although they're not exactly what I want to do they are the closest examples. (It's this type of storytelling that's missing from the small screen. Hello Mr. T.V Executive!)
Anyway, getting back to the point- I thought it would be more useful writing something in the vein of what I wanted to write feature-wise (after I left uni) than something that‘s limited to something that I want to try someday. So that got me thinking and a few existing coming of age-like features came to mind. There’s a main bunch that I’ve been developing over the years and I‘ll probably choose one of those. But by having to pick one (if it works out) I feel that I’m choosing ‘to lose it’ - because I know if I write it for the university then there’s no chance of it existing outside - not to say that it's amazing and will be sold. But it's nice to know that every idea you have has a chance.
But the way I’m looking at it is that a) it can be used as a spec-script and b) it will give me experience of not only writing a feature but one in the vein of some of the serious projects that I want to write in the future. So I hope it will give me enough experience and knowledge and push me to write the others. On the other hand I may not even choose an existing idea I might even create something afresh, which would be pretty cool. But I think it is worth considering testing and fully exploring one of them.
Initially, like I thought with the one hour drama, I’d do something different. Sinking (Narratives) and Marlow Road (Audiences) are in the family-drama arena (from the parents point of view) and I thought I’d challenge myself for sixty-minutes and do something in a different genre. But that didn’t happen - although the main focus in Requiem (One Hour Drama) is a teenager and only child. So something did change.
So now I’m thinking that for my feature I’ll do something different. But now I know I won’t.
Initially I thought: A feature. Cool, I’ll do one of my sci-fi films. I had one in mind, which is essentially a futuristic cop conspiracy/thriller but with a twist and is pretty straightforward. But then I thought: Sci-fi?
I know I want to write sci-fi someday but my main passion and one of the big things I want to write is the offbeat family drama or Indie drama as it may be better known as. The dysfunctional family is my calling. There's something quite remarkable about these films, which are essentially dramas but offer so much more about life and what it is to be human. Its often presented in black comedic form and that's the beauty of it.
It's the comic relief from life that keeps us alive (mentally & physically) and no other film highlight that importance. Similar examples to my own aspirations are cult films like; The United States Of Leland, The Squid And The Whale, Imaginary Heroes, Igby Goes Down, Thumbsucker, Storytelling, American Beauty, etc. Although they're not exactly what I want to do they are the closest examples. (It's this type of storytelling that's missing from the small screen. Hello Mr. T.V Executive!)
Anyway, getting back to the point- I thought it would be more useful writing something in the vein of what I wanted to write feature-wise (after I left uni) than something that‘s limited to something that I want to try someday. So that got me thinking and a few existing coming of age-like features came to mind. There’s a main bunch that I’ve been developing over the years and I‘ll probably choose one of those. But by having to pick one (if it works out) I feel that I’m choosing ‘to lose it’ - because I know if I write it for the university then there’s no chance of it existing outside - not to say that it's amazing and will be sold. But it's nice to know that every idea you have has a chance.
But the way I’m looking at it is that a) it can be used as a spec-script and b) it will give me experience of not only writing a feature but one in the vein of some of the serious projects that I want to write in the future. So I hope it will give me enough experience and knowledge and push me to write the others. On the other hand I may not even choose an existing idea I might even create something afresh, which would be pretty cool. But I think it is worth considering testing and fully exploring one of them.
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