Angry, Cross, Irritated and Chasing your tail around...

At times I get annoyed with the film making world. And yes, it is probably the most competitive world that anyone could choose to enter. It is a closed world, surrounded by buddies, relations and other hangers-on. It is almost masonic, perverted in its nature. And there always seem to be a lot of people doing rather well in the film business except for the people who actually come up with the ideas. The writers seem to get particularly dicked over in the film world. Plus there is a lot of crap that is screened. For some reason, people in the film making world do not seem to gauge the audience very well.

Still, that's no reason to quit so soon into the race...

'Soundscaping'

First job, before you clean up the sound, sort out your edit. My soundtrack on an edit is normally all over the place. My mind can actually make sense of the mess, but seeing as I was about to correct the damn thing, it was a good idea to sort it out. So my Soundtrack went from this:



to this:



It may not look much different to the untrained eye and it does sound exactly the same, but there is now a logic to my sound cuts as a result of this.

And yes, this took me a whole day!

Lord of the Rings (Part IV)

I have to really admire these guys, and my eyes will be glued to the screen today at 4pm! Take a look, it is The Hunt for Gollum! I happened across it yesterday in the news and I am so there today...



Hunt For Gollum - Trailer One
by HuntForGollum

(Trailer of the film The Hunt For Gollum courtesy of Rickety Shack Films)

Pre 4: Rewrite the Script

My joy at all film making comes from the script writing. Getting at the script and hacking out a piece of flesh worthy of shooting upon. The script is the most important part a film. The storyboard is the guide, but the script is the blueprint. It is what launches a film and without a script then there is nothing to bother the film maker, actors or crew with.

A good script allows not only the film maker to visualise, but also inspires the musicians, the players on screen and the guys behind the camera.

Rewrites are important. The first draft is often an excited rendition of my mind's eye. So the rewrite is the clear crystal look at the script. Is it as good as I first thought (50-50 chance), how are the spelling and grammar of the script (my weak point), how cluttered is the dialogue (another fault of mine).

Once the rewrite is done, the script gets leaner, more punchy. When I first write something, the sheer telling of a story becomes important. But on the rewrites, it is the visualisation of the story that becomes the key. Telling the story not through words but through images. And that is why the rewrite is so important.

And yes, even a short film such as Jay and Kay save the World is rewritten. Especially in a short film, where every second counts, rewrites are essential in order to keep the audience transfixed on what I am trying to tell them. In a short film, you only get one shot at the audience...

Laptop vs Desktop

A real geek moment for the film maker, but a good question to pose. Is it better to use a laptop or a desktop. Well, overall that depends on personal circumstances.

Overall, a desktop is in my opinion the better of the two machines to get especially if on a budget. Most film makers are now editing digitally, but as the computer is essential in even the most basic of film tasks, a desktop does make a lot of sense. They are more powerful than their laptop counterparts and usually more reliable.

However, a laptop does have it uses, particularly when it comes to the Pre-Production stage. 'Pre' involves a lot of meeting up, a lot of faffing and a lot of rushing around. This is the time you appreciate a laptop. Great to show people things, bits and bobs. Wi-Fi is essential too.

Oh well, got a lot more pre-production to do...