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jeremyhung

Hi guys,
I really want to start writing a short film about disabled teenagers finding happiness. I would like it to be multi-plot, focusing on around four characters. My aim is around 20 minutes.

Do you think 20 minutes is too long for a multi-plot?

I want to give the characters more life so they are believable, and so the audience care for them. To achieve this I believe, is going to take longer than 20 minutes, especially for 4 characters...

Any suggestions how I can make the characters more real in a short period of time? Or should I stick with one good character and focus on that?

------

Also,
I've seen numerous films about people with disabilities (blindness, hearing impairment...) before. Do you have any suggestions about how I can spice this screenplay up and turn it into something else?

If you have any suggestions about what disability to write about, please do share. Currently, I think blindness would be something interesting to write about. However, there are too many films about this...

Thanks,
Jeremy
www.twitter.com/jrhmy
 
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jeremyhung said:
Hi guys,
I really want to start writing a short film about disabled teenagers finding happiness. I would like it to be multi-plot, focusing on around four characters. My aim is around 20 minutes.

Do you think 20 minutes is too long for a multi-plot?

I want to give the characters more life so they are believable, and so the audience care for them. To achieve this I believe, is going to take longer than 20 minutes, especially for 4 characters...

Any suggestions how I can make the characters more real in a short period of time? Or should I stick with one good character and focus on that?
Click to expand...
Since you have a time limit set by the competition and you
believe you need more than 20 minutes to fully develop
four characters my suggestion is to focus on two characters.


------

Also,
I've seen numerous films about people with disabilities (blindness, hearing impairment...) before. Do you have any suggestions about how I can spice this screenplay up and turn it into something else?
Click to expand...
Turn it into what? Do you want to turn it into an action film?
A horror film? You could spice it up by making it really funny
or you could spice it up by adding a musical number.

But seriously; you've seen numerous films about people with
disabilities. What did you like about them? What didn't you
like? What do you think you can do to make yours something
you would like to watch?

If you have any suggestions about what disability to write about, please do share. Currently, I think blindness would be something interesting to write about. However, there are too many films about this...
Click to expand...
I have several suggestions. But the question is which disability
are YOU interested in writing about? You're the writer, you
have interests, you are curious - you should write about
what interests YOU.

If blindness interests you, you can find something new
to write about.
 
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Thanks directorik for the reply.

I also think that I should focus on just 2 characters. Thanks for the suggestion!

I'm going to search for some more movies on disability and see how I can make mine different.

I like the idea of writing about blindness, I think it would be interesting. But since most areas about that disability is covered in not just films, but books and more, I'll search for a certain cause for the blindness and research even more interesting stuff I can write about.

Thank you!
 
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Character development can be rushed, but it takes a pinpoint author to pen it. In my experience 20 min isn't enough time to develop four characters. You'll have to make due with key introductions and minimal detail.

If the multi-plot is to be balanced, you'll need equal development (or at least almost) for each character. If you want to have side-plots, you may be able to focus on one character and flesh them out a lot more.

Still 20 minutes isn't a lot of time for character development. It can be done, and has...but it's a tight squeeze.

I went to a premiere last night of three short action films, shot by a buddy and colleague of mine. One of them (SONS OF LEMURIA) was a period piece where two brothers torn apart at birth are at war with each other. The good brother (who we follow as the viewer) leaves his family and friends behind in search of his evil brother. After a few jump-cuts through multiple nights, a fight with raiders, and a flashback, the main character and his brother meet for the final fight. *spoiler* After the fight we watch the bad raiders who work for the main guy walking into the main characters village heading for the tent of his wife and kid. We know they are going to die. End credits.

Powerful ending? Not quite...we didn't have enough time to become invested in the main character and his family. The film was only 20 min long. I just didn't feel for the characters. If this was a feature length film, there could have been a lot of development with the lead and his wife...his best friend...his child...but we didn't have any real development. So this desperately powerful (brutal) ending fell flat. (shhh, don't tell him I said that).

Anyway. It's important to make decisions about how important development is to your particular film, and then work around it the best you can without throwing shit at the lens.
 
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Hi M1chae1,
thanks for the descriptive and helpful reply.

Considering that such a powerful ending can be ruined by the lack of character development due to the limitation of time, I'm most likely going to focus on one character, and scratch the multi-plot idea. I will focus on having one main disabled character who meets with other characters, just to keep it simple.

Once again, thanks!
 
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Jeremy, it's been said that it's far more difficult to make a good short movie than a good long one, and it looks like you're finding this out! I have a tendency to over-write. It's my biggest problem. So if I were in your shoes, I would go ahead and plan this script like you'd intended, with the four characters. I'd write the first draft paying little attention to length. Then I'd walk away for a day and read it fresh, keeping note of everything that doesn't need to be stated. I'd try to figure out how much I could whittle away from each of the four characters stories while making sure everything still made sense. For instance, if one of the teenagers was destined to be a concert guitarist before accidentally mangling his hand in a gardening accident, I'd probably write my first draft including a long monologue where he recounts the tale or an elaborate flashback sequence. Then when whittling it to make it under 20 minutes, I might come to the realization that I could accomplish the same thing by showing him trying to play with his mangled hand, getting frustrated and smashing the guitar to bits. This would take all of 30 to 45 seconds of screen time. The reasons for his mangled hand aren't necessary to telling the story. The rest of his story might be his friend showing him how to play with his opposite hand or playing drums instead.

I don't know how much time you have but if you have time I would encourage you to try your original idea of four stories intertwined. Write it, know you are overwriting it, THEN edit your writing and see if you can get it in under 20 minutes. You may whittle away three of the characters anyway, but it might be a mistake to engage in too much self-editing before you've begun.

Consider one of my favorite TV shows and one of the best examples of dramatic writing in history, The Twilight Zone. Four out of the five seasons of TZ were half hour episodes, 22-24 minutes of screen time. And most of them were brilliant. And most of them contained many characters that we cared deeply for by the end of the 22 minutes. Season four of The Twilight Zone was expanded to an hour (49-53 minutes of screen time). And these episodes were not nearly as good as the shorter ones. They contained too much back story and development, slowing the pace of the story and nullifying the traditional payoff at the end. The better episodes were the half-hour ones, where the characters were so strongly written you had an idea who they were and where they stood upon their entrance.

Best of luck and please keep everyone posted on the development of your project!
 
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Thanks Uranium City!
That was a very helpful post! I think by writing that way (overwrite first, edit later) would really help me separate what's necessary and important over other scenes.

I haven't set a due date for my project yet, but the entire film will most likely be due a year later.

The mentioning of a television show really reminded me of one thing. It's that countless times we've seen characters we cared for after only seeing them for around 20 minutes. It's like the pilot of a T.V. series. Like Friends.

Again thanks for the help!

Jeremy
Follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/jrhmy
...and my Tumblr! www.jrhmy.tumblr.com
 
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