*sarcastically* What if....now listen to this. WHAT IF ... We all decided to be squirrells, and there was this raccoon that was always touching our nuts. We get fed up with the gay shit and fly on the squirrell plane and beat this raccoons ass. Do you think that story is nuts or what? Let's do it. OKm seriously, I have been reading these threads daily and I havent seen us kind of settle on an idea. PICK A FUCKING IDEA and lets go with it. I dont care if it is about a basketball team who dreams of challenging and beating the dam globe trotters. Lets all agree on something and start writing some drafts... Thanks, Jack
IndieTalk: The Movie (Story Development)
- Thread starter aoristic
- Start date
Take some responsibilty and suggest which one -- CVF's dealing with a complex situation here, he wants to give everyone space to put their ideas on the table and the truth is that NO ONE has yet thrown an idea on the table that sets the whole group on fire.
I agree that it's probably time to move onto the next stage.
When I was a stand-up I learned that it's easier to heckle than it is to take the stage, because anyone can tear something down, but not everyone can create -- if you really want to move this process forward -- look at the ideas already pitched -- pick the one you think will work and make your case for it -- help persaude us that it's the right route to commit to.
clive said:
Well I for one disagree with Jack. IMO, finding the right concept is so critical to a film that we need to take our time to find the right idea.
No one idea has stood out to me as THE IDEA!!! Now, we may never find an idea that stands out to everyone as THE IDEA!!! Everyone has different tastes. But we need to find an idea that stands out to a large portion of us.
If some of us are feeling abit impatient at the process, understand that patience is key in filmmaking.
Poke
I don't mind spending a bit of time on the concept and script. This will be the backbone of everything that follows.
With that said, though, there are enough ideas put forth now that we could cull a list together and start revising these concepts rather than suggesting new ones.
With that said, though, there are enough ideas put forth now that we could cull a list together and start revising these concepts rather than suggesting new ones.
Why can't everyone submit a script and everyone gets to vote on it?
Media Hero said:
All ideas are up for revision, but I don't think we should cut off new ideas.
mrde50 said:
That's an idea, but with the inability to take an accuarte vote (remember the problems we had with the last ITOOFC poular vote?) I think it better to try and come up with an idea, then find writers to write the script(s).
Poke
Thinking strictly as a vignette idea:
A postman runs into various comedic obstacles as he makes his rounds.
Four to five stories of things the postman comes across. Ideas: at one house, a housewife tries to seduce him -- at another, he has to negotiate a treacherous front yard that is watched over by a military like group of dogs -- across town, he delivers to a house that is occupied by a group of drug runners that are hiding from the authorities -- down the block, he delivers to a house full of FBI agents running a sting operation on the drug runners.
This would be very much like "Four Rooms" in style and tone.
Drawback: if we're gonna have multiple crews shooting in multiple countries, having one actor available to play the postman (and he'd need to be a major character in a couple of the vigenttes -- namely the seductress and the dog ones -- the others could be introduced by him, but really be a story about something else) might be difficult because of travel and the like.
Poke
A postman runs into various comedic obstacles as he makes his rounds.
Four to five stories of things the postman comes across. Ideas: at one house, a housewife tries to seduce him -- at another, he has to negotiate a treacherous front yard that is watched over by a military like group of dogs -- across town, he delivers to a house that is occupied by a group of drug runners that are hiding from the authorities -- down the block, he delivers to a house full of FBI agents running a sting operation on the drug runners.
This would be very much like "Four Rooms" in style and tone.
Drawback: if we're gonna have multiple crews shooting in multiple countries, having one actor available to play the postman (and he'd need to be a major character in a couple of the vigenttes -- namely the seductress and the dog ones -- the others could be introduced by him, but really be a story about something else) might be difficult because of travel and the like.
Poke
Another idea:
See the world through the eyes of a ball point pen.
You know how you can never seem to keep track of pens? Last Thursday I filled the cup in my edit bay with pens (approx. 25 pens), today...all gone.
We start with a guy putting a pen in his ear -- he goes to lunch and has some weird stuff happen to him -- back at the office, he sets the pen on his desk, where...
A coworker picks it up -- she has something happen to her at work -- she drops the pen on the floor, where it sits until...
A janitor picks it up at night -- she takes it home where thinsg happen to her -- the pen runs out of ink, so she drops it in the trash, it goes to the dump, where it gets buried, and it stays there for two hundred years until...
A salavage crew digs it up -- they try to stave off an alien invasion that destroys Earth.
Another idea along the same line:
See the world through the eys of a restaurant fork.
The fork goes from table to table without ever being washed properly. At each table a conversation tells a story (which could be told in flash backs).
Okay obviously I am just tossing out random ideas, but this is the process I go through.
Poke
See the world through the eyes of a ball point pen.
You know how you can never seem to keep track of pens? Last Thursday I filled the cup in my edit bay with pens (approx. 25 pens), today...all gone.
We start with a guy putting a pen in his ear -- he goes to lunch and has some weird stuff happen to him -- back at the office, he sets the pen on his desk, where...
A coworker picks it up -- she has something happen to her at work -- she drops the pen on the floor, where it sits until...
A janitor picks it up at night -- she takes it home where thinsg happen to her -- the pen runs out of ink, so she drops it in the trash, it goes to the dump, where it gets buried, and it stays there for two hundred years until...
A salavage crew digs it up -- they try to stave off an alien invasion that destroys Earth.
Another idea along the same line:
See the world through the eys of a restaurant fork.
The fork goes from table to table without ever being washed properly. At each table a conversation tells a story (which could be told in flash backs).
Okay obviously I am just tossing out random ideas, but this is the process I go through.
Poke
Not a bad idea and I take Poke's point about democracy not working in filmmaking
A variation would be a script competition where CVF as producer picks the winner (or CVF and a small panel of non-particapting and impartial indietalk volunteers -- Bebblebrox springs to mind as someone who could be asked)
My own take on where we're at is that there are three possible routes:
a) Keep pushing for new ideas until someone hits the jackpot (the danger is that doing this too long may lead to a massive drop out rate from participants)
b) Script contest as suggested by mrde50
or
c) Pick the best idea we've got so far and concentrate on developing it into something that is compelling. (as suggested by Jack)
I'm easy with any of the above.
The only thing I would say is that my motto for script development is "Do you want it right, or right now"
and my current variation which is "But you can have both if you've got $5000"
Ok, firstly, Jack. You have been pretty rude to me in a few pm's, and you have deleted a rude post before in the other thread, have suggested we make a porno, and told us to hurry up. I dont want to make waves, and i want smooth sailing, so i have tried to bite my lip and say nothing. But i now have to say please dont post or pm me and words that wont help this project forword, it can be critizism, but make it constructive please. And this is a complex project, and you have to understand you are not the only person i have to deal with, just because i dont go in a way you want, it doesnt mean i dont want you to participate.
Secondly. A deadline. The first. Its a tentative one, and if your not ready to pitch your idea before this date, pm me to let me know. 8th of May. Its this monday. By then, ill fully get a list of the ideas, and ill get a group together to make a decision.
Cheers, Kane.
Secondly. A deadline. The first. Its a tentative one, and if your not ready to pitch your idea before this date, pm me to let me know. 8th of May. Its this monday. By then, ill fully get a list of the ideas, and ill get a group together to make a decision.
Cheers, Kane.
...did I miss something 
Why do we need a deadline? Its not as if we have to have a decision about anything by tomorrow.
Even though if we are really going to attempt to do something, yeah, we do need to pull an idea together and so forth, but haste makes waste and we don't have to answer to anyone about any time contraints. So, I kind of feel as though we should come up with the best idea that we can, in a reasonable amount of time.
Contempo, don't be rushed by anybody, everyone is not expecting this all to happen overnight. If we rush this, it will look rushed. I, for one, would rather take the time to come up with something great, than hurry to do something mediocre...
-- spinner
Why do we need a deadline? Its not as if we have to have a decision about anything by tomorrow.
Even though if we are really going to attempt to do something, yeah, we do need to pull an idea together and so forth, but haste makes waste and we don't have to answer to anyone about any time contraints. So, I kind of feel as though we should come up with the best idea that we can, in a reasonable amount of time.
Contempo, don't be rushed by anybody, everyone is not expecting this all to happen overnight. If we rush this, it will look rushed. I, for one, would rather take the time to come up with something great, than hurry to do something mediocre...
-- spinner
spinner said:
I'll second that.
Poke
Third.Poke said:
spinner said:Contempo, don't be rushed by anybody, everyone is not expecting this all to happen overnight. If we rush this, it will look rushed. I, for one, would rather take the time to come up with something great, than hurry to do something mediocre...
-- spinner
yep, I agree. Contempo's got a terribly challenging job. Plus, I don't know about anyone else, but it would take a bit of time to write a first draft feature length script, and the faster it's written, the crappier it will be. Unless you're a genius. And only Clive sits on that throne, IMO
Anyway, the rewarding part of any project I am involved in is always going through the process of creating something. No one is breathing down our backs, or holding out a fistfull of cash tied to a deadline. I am expecting this project to be ongoing for a while, and I'm looking forward to it being enjoyable.
I'll take the opposing position.
Set a deadline, make a choice, and move forward. Otherwise, we will just keep throwing out ideas and not get anywhere. I think contempovision is doing what a good producer should do, set expectations and keep the project moving. There have been other discussions of collaborative IndieTalk projects in the past. To my knowledge, none of them became reality because no one agreed to drive.
Regarding the story concept -- Clive commented earlier that we should probably focus on developing a good story for one good movie, rather than developing a concept that requires sequels or vignettes to make the project feel more complete. If the first story is good, and the writers are capable, then a sequel can be developed. (Sorry if I mis-interpreted your statement, Clive...I was just too lazy to go back and re-read what you actually said
). I agree with this thought. The project will be better off if we develop one story that will stand on its own without the need for other productions. Poke put out four concepts in a previous post that all stood as independent projects. At the moment, I would opt for any one of those four over a planned series.
Set a deadline, make a choice, and move forward. Otherwise, we will just keep throwing out ideas and not get anywhere. I think contempovision is doing what a good producer should do, set expectations and keep the project moving. There have been other discussions of collaborative IndieTalk projects in the past. To my knowledge, none of them became reality because no one agreed to drive.
Regarding the story concept -- Clive commented earlier that we should probably focus on developing a good story for one good movie, rather than developing a concept that requires sequels or vignettes to make the project feel more complete. If the first story is good, and the writers are capable, then a sequel can be developed. (Sorry if I mis-interpreted your statement, Clive...I was just too lazy to go back and re-read what you actually said
). I agree with this thought. The project will be better off if we develop one story that will stand on its own without the need for other productions. Poke put out four concepts in a previous post that all stood as independent projects. At the moment, I would opt for any one of those four over a planned series.
We should develop a good story. I don't think anyone would dispute that. However good stories take TIME. How long would you (Jack) take to write a feature- a feature that will get out there and BE SEEN? Me, I am all for the slow and steady wins the race approach. We can't set a deadline (Bophe) till we have a story. Once there's a story in place, then we can set all of our deadlines on pre-prod.
I too read Jack's rude post and was mystified by it. That is not the attitude we need to be taking here.
I too read Jack's rude post and was mystified by it. That is not the attitude we need to be taking here.
Okay, clearly we all are not on the same page here.
I am the only genius here, not clive.
Poke
I am the only genius here, not clive.
Poke
How do I go about getting a refund? I said, "GAY SHIT". I am sorry if that offended you. I am a Marine, and we use cuss words on a regular basis. I didn't know my fellow filmmakers were soft? I would like a refund, being that I can contribute nothing to this project because I am "rude". Grow up.