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story It was all just a Dream

Nate North

Nate North

So this is something we've all seen, that complex plot with a lot of loose ends, that gets quickly resolved at the last minute, by the writer revealing that "It was all just a Dream". I wanted to discuss the reputation dreams in film have gotten, and how the concept could be used in the right way, even though we've seen it used as a cheap escape so many times.

Basically, Dreaming in cinema has gotten a bad name, and it's easy to see why. Shows like Lost, seasons of hit TV shows, and more, have used this super crutch to hit the reset button on plotlines that weren't working out, or simply tie up plots they didn't have the time or inclination to finish.

I think though that it's just as valid as many other plot concepts, if used correctly, rather than as a cop out. I think the key factor in making a dream plotline work is for it to actually be written as a dream plotline. The Matrix is a prime example of this being done right. In this case the dream was the matrix itself, but the point is that the script was written ABOUT the dream, and was thus coherent and interesting. The dream sequence in "stir of echoes" was great, and significant to the plot. (hypnosis in this case). My argument is simple. Just because a lot of people misused this concept, doesn't mean the concept itself is bad, and I think there are a good number of case studies proving my point. This may or may not be a preemptive defense of my own writing, lol.
 
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Andrei Tarkovsky wrote a bit about his experience working with dreams.
Working on Ivan's Childhood we encountered protests from the film authorities every time we tried to replace narrative causality with poetic articulations. And yet we were moving quite tentatively, still only feeling our way. There was no question of revising the basic working principles of film-making. But whenever the dramatic structure showed the slightest sign of something new — of treating the rationale of everyday life relatively freely — it was met with cries of protest and incomprehension. These mostly cited the audience: they had to have a plot that unfolded without a break, they were not capable of watching a screen if the film did not have a strong story-line. The contrasts in our film — cuts from dreams to reality, or, conversely, from the last scene in the crypt to victory day in Berlin — seemed to many to be inadmissible. I was delighted to learn that audiences thought differently.
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There are some aspects of human life that can only be faithfully represented through poetry. But this is where directors very often try to use clumsy, conventional gimmickry instead of poetic logic. I'm thinking of the illusionism and extraordinary effects involved in dreams, memories, and fantasies. All too often film dreams are made into a collection of old-fashioned filmic tricks, and cease to be a phenomenon of life.
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Faced with the necessity of shooting dreams, we had to decide how to come close to the particular poetry of the dream, how to express it, what means to use. This was not something that could be decided in the abstract. Casting around for an answer we tried out several practical possibilities, using associations and vague guesses. Quite unexpectedly it occurred to us to have negative images in the third dream. In our mind's eye we glimpsed black sunlight sparkling through snowy trees and a downpour of gleaming rain. Flashes of lightning came in to make it technically feasible to cut from positive to negative. But all this merely created an atmosphere of unreality. What about the content? What about the logic of the dream? That came from memories. I remembered seeing the wet grass, the lorry load of apples, the horses, wet with rain, steaming in the sunshine. All this material found its way into the film straight from life, not through the medium of contiguous visual arts. Looking for simple solutions to the problem of conveying the unreality of the dream we hit on the panorama of moving trees in negative, and, against that background, the face of the little girl passing in front of the camera three times, her expression changed with each appearance. We wanted to capture in that scene a foreboding of imminent tragedy. The last scene of the dream was deliberately shot near water, on the beach, in order to link it with the last dream of Ivan.
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From his book "Sculpting in Time"
 
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Nate North said:
So this is something we've all seen, that complex plot with a lot of loose ends, that gets quickly resolved at the last minute, by the writer revealing that "It was all just a Dream". I wanted to discuss the reputation dreams in film have gotten, and how the concept could be used in the right way, even though we've seen it used as a cheap escape so many times.

Basically, Dreaming in cinema has gotten a bad name, and it's easy to see why. Shows like Lost, seasons of hit TV shows, and more, have used this super crutch to hit the reset button on plotlines that weren't working out, or simply tie up plots they didn't have the time or inclination to finish.

I think though that it's just as valid as many other plot concepts, if used correctly, rather than as a cop out. I think the key factor in making a dream plotline work is for it to actually be written as a dream plotline. The Matrix is a prime example of this being done right. In this case the dream was the matrix itself, but the point is that the script was written ABOUT the dream, and was thus coherent and interesting. The dream sequence in "stir of echoes" was great, and significant to the plot. (hypnosis in this case). My argument is simple. Just because a lot of people misused this concept, doesn't mean the concept itself is bad, and I think there are a good number of case studies proving my point. This may or may not be a preemptive defense of my own writing, lo
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Nate North said:
So this is something we've all seen, that complex plot with a lot of loose ends, that gets quickly resolved at the last minute, by the writer revealing that "It was all just a Dream". I wanted to discuss the reputation dreams in film have gotten, and how the concept could be used in the right way, even though we've seen it used as a cheap escape so many times.

Basically, Dreaming in cinema has gotten a bad name, and it's easy to see why. Shows like Lost, seasons of hit TV shows, and more, have used this super crutch to hit the reset button on plotlines that weren't working out, or simply tie up plots they didn't have the time or inclination to finish.

I think though that it's just as valid as many other plot concepts, if used correctly, rather than as a cop out. I think the key factor in making a dream plotline work is for it to actually be written as a dream plotline. The Matrix is a prime example of this being done right. In this case the dream was the matrix itself, but the point is that the script was written ABOUT the dream, and was thus coherent and interesting. The dream sequence in "stir of echoes" was great, and significant to the plot. (hypnosis in this case). My argument is simple. Just because a lot of people misused this concept, doesn't mean the concept itself is bad, and I think there are a good number of case studies proving my point. This may or may not be a preemptive defense of my own writing, lol.
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I totally agree with your take that the dream concept is not inherently a bad one. Gets a bad name because it's an easy way out for a lazy writer who couldn't come up with an interesting conclusion. For me dream sequences are only relevant if they have real life consequences
 
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The big positive about setting a story or section of a story in a dream world is that it's essentially a blank check for the visual artists involved. Typically you can only be as creative as the scene allows, but in the case of dreams, there really is no limit but your own skill.
 
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Nate North said:
The big positive about setting a story or section of a story in a dream world is that it's essentially a blank check for the visual artists involved. Typically you can only be as creative as the scene allows, but in the case of dreams, there really is no limit but your own skill.
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:hmm: If you're the script writer-artist-director yes; if you're collaborating with others, there are limits. Say the script reads "[guy] finds himself standing alone in a vast white plain ..." You can't really start adding in pink unicorns and giant mushrooms just for fun!
 
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CelticRambler said:
:hmm: If you're the script writer-artist-director yes; if you're collaborating with others, there are limits. Say the script reads "[guy] finds himself standing alone in a vast white plain ..." You can't really start adding in pink unicorns and giant mushrooms just for fun!
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I've occasionally been given a good bit of leeway as art director on projects. It varies of course. It's mainly creative freedom for the writer, but there's still a lot of room for visual iteration on the core concepts they provide. If you can get a writer who understands what things cost more and less in GG, you can get a powerful result. Sometimes if working conditions are right, you get a collaborative flow that goes both ways, like you see in Avatar or LOTR.
 
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Dean Jay said:
I am writing a story based on dreaming, I definitely picked one of the hardest subjects to make a story within, but I could care less... because all it costs me is time, that, and it is fun as hell to write:)

A movie I really enjoyed that is (sort of) based on a 'dream' is Mr. Destiny.
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I too finished writing a short film based on dreams a few months back. It is titled Chimera.
 
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I wrote a script about a real loser who, for some reason, was suddenly able to get hot chicks, a great job, a cool car, respect and admiration from all.

Then he woke up while driving on a mountain road. He swerved to miss a construction worker then went careening over a cliff. While in midair, his car exploded. The end.
 
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