Switching Gears

and thinking film

We’re going away this week to do some climbing (real climbing, not hallucinatory climbing). And, before we head out, I’m finishing (I just deleted several phrases like ‘hoping to’ ‘planning to’ and ‘intending to’) the first draft of the new short film script for my friend, Andy. **

Writing a script is a totally different way of working to my other writing, starting with the software. I like Highland 2, which is pretty straightforward but gets the job done.

Film makes me think in pictures - kind of like comics but they move way faster and I don’t actually have to create any images. I just have to suggest what needs to appear on the screen (INT. Andy’s Living Room) for example. Because it’s a small production and I know Andy (and we chat back and forth about all things related to the film), I can pretty much leave it there. He’ll decide exactly where he’ll be for the parts that will be filmed interview-style in his living room.

I have to think 100% visually - what do we need to see on the screen? What has to be happening? What images will tell the story best? I like the fact I don’t have to worry about the technical details of how to make the magic happen on the screen. I just tell a story and all the many other people who get involved after me will set up the dominoes so we can all watch them topple.

I like writing dialogue, but the words that come out of Andy’s mouth need to sound like, well, like he is just saying them without going anywhere near a script. Handy, then, that we talk a lot because I sort of channel my inner Andy when I write what I think he might say. That gives him a starting place beyond which he’s free to improvise and change stuff as he sees fit.

Writing for film is supremely collaborative. Sometimes, what I put on the page is just there so the filmmaker gets a little clearer on what they absolutely don’t like. Stuff gets cut, chopped up and rearranged, added to, and completely changed to fit the director’s vision. The actor’s interpretation. The editor’s ideas. And yet… under all that somewhere is something of the original script. It’s a weird and wonderful process and I’m loving being in the early stages where nothing (yet) has gone terribly wrong.

Given this is a documentary/drama where we don’t actually know for sure what’s going to happen (we can set things up, but until the guys get out there in the wilderness, we don’t really know how things are going to go sideways… ), I can’t be too definitive. It’s kind of like writing a choose-your-own-adventure story (remember those?) I can put some options out there, but mother nature and human foibles will have a say that will likely be more interesting than anything I can dream up.

Anyway, that’s what I’m working on today.

Curious about the last film we worked on together? Check out the Facebook page where you can keep track of festival screenings, award nominations, and other fun stuff:

** I did get that draft off to Andy, but somehow forgot to send this draft anywhere beyond my drafts folder… So… the ‘today’ mentioned is a few days ago and we are already several days into the climbing trip… We’ve dealt with extreme heat, encountered a couple of rattlesnakes, and survived torrential downpours but have also managed to get in some fun climbing. More of that to come, I hope!