producing Is it ok to make a fictional movie about school violence?

[Avery623]

Where I got my inspiration is from Run Hide Fight from 2020 and Class of 1999 (starring Bradley Gregg) of 1990.



Before you make any smart remarks, let me explain this carefully and please view this from the autism spectrum - I'm autistic.

Even though my Blender-made movie contains explosions and shootings taking place within a school - not to mention some murdering of some characters, it's merely special effects, makeups, etc.

Although the year of this movie, Class of 1999, is somewhat ironic to Columbine Massacre, it's in absolutely no way related to Columbine. Even though there are explosions and shootings taking place within a school - not to mention some murdering of students via robotic teachers (you could see blood oozing out of one guy's mouth at one point), it's all actors and mere special effects makeups. These characters will be in no way - any way related to the murder victims.

Heck, YouTube is becoming a cesspool of convoluted rules and regulations when it comes to uploading anything related to Columbine; I have yet to find anything stating what we can and can't upload regarding an event like the Columbine Massacre. So to play it safe, this is where surveying my surroundings and utilizing the thesaurus will come into play in naming my school setting.

But this is where it gets complicated: the reason I need a school like Columbine High for part of the setting is because of the overall size and shape of the school. It's quite roomy inside, thereby allowing me to perform stunts that require alot of space to execute the stunt safely. Like super jumping to overhead pipes in the corridors, leaping off of the pipes, and somersaulting in mid air. If you watch Class of 1999 (Bradley Gregg), then you can see they rode motorcycles in the school during the climax. But there's hardly any space for those hundreds of motorcycles to safely maneuver around the school's corridors and staircases. Plus, the Kennedy High School in the movie; even though it looks like a futuristic prison with prison fencing, barb wire, futuristic CCTV cameras, etc, it's exterior shape is a mere rectangle building, while Columbine High somewhat resembles a fortress or a small university campus. And I can't seem to find any other school that looks "fortress-style" than Columbine High that have not had any past or recent shootings.

But here's the good part: I'm going to use Thesaurus to rename the entire school. There must be another substitute word for "school" in the Thesaurus along with finding another thing to name the school after. In addition to that, I'll paint the exterior a different color and add futuristic cosmetics, furniture, appliances, etc to the exterior and interior.

Speaking of irony, Columbine High School got it's name from the Columbine Flower. Which is toxic to humans. So I can see why people loath this massacre more than 9/11.



P.S., the game Ready or Not has a mission named "Elephant". It involves saving Watt Community College from a bomb threat and a group of shooters. That game's mission is based off of the movie of the same name: Elephant (2003). Therefore, I'm well aware that people will eventually figure out that my movie was somehow inspired by a school shooting and they might figure out it was somehow related or linked to Columbine. And that's how I learned about the existence of Run Hide Fight from 2020.

 

[sfoster]

Even though my Blender-made movie contains explosions and shootings taking place within a school - not to mention some murdering of some characters, it's merely special effects, makeups, etc.

But this is where it gets complicated: the reason I need a school like Columbine High for part of the setting is because of the overall size and shape of the school. It's quite roomy inside, thereby allowing me to perform stunts that require alot of space to execute the stunt safely.

Lets see if I understand this...
You want to re-create Columbine High School inside of blender, and then use it as a location for a school shooting in your movie?

That sounds wrong to me - not the kind of project I would personally want to be associated with.

 

[Avery623]

Lets see if I understand this...
You want to re-create Columbine High School inside of blender, and then use it as a location for a school shooting in your movie?

That sounds wrong to me - not the kind of project I would personally want to be associated with.

Like I said, the reason I need a school like Columbine High for part of the setting is because of the architecture and design of the structure. But in the process, I'll redecorate it with a different exterior and interior paint scheme and use different futuristic furniture, appliances, and odds and ends like satellite dishes on the roof to make the overall building look futuristic.

I'll even give the place a completely different name with the help of a thesaurus.

 

[mlesemann]

Personally, I think you can do whatever you want. Like @sfoster , it's not something I'd want to be involved with. And you may get push back from viewers. But that doesn't mean you CAN'T.

You might consider moving it to a different type of location such as an abandoned shopping mall - if you place it in 2024, that would be very fitting. But you have the right to be offensive, if that's what you want.

 

[Avery623]

Personally, I think you can do whatever you want. Like @sfoster , it's not something I'd want to be involved with. And you may get push back from viewers. But that doesn't mean you CAN'T.

You might consider moving it to a different type of location such as an abandoned shopping mall - if you place it in 2024, that would be very fitting. But you have the right to be offensive, if that's what you want.

Thx for that warm welcome.

BTW, there's no such site-wide, in fact, internet-wide rule that says "just give up and end it if your question gets locked/you've been (perma)banned for asking a 'bad question'", is there? If there is, then this is the most absurd rule anyone can ever make up. Like... why would anybody want an individual to stop learning something they just stumbled upon? Especially after a certain amount of time to the point that that person made their final decision? Because on Reddit, other users can follow you via your reddit profile's posts page and they can see which subreddits you posted to recently and this is what's making me feel like this is becoming an internet-wide rule I overlooked.

This is complicated: I was perma-banned from r/Filmmakers for "breaking the community's rules". But it never said specifically which rule. The mods didn't even give a reason. And when I try to ask why in a nice and calm manner, this was their reply: no answer. In fact, a mute from talking to them for 28 days! - All because of that thread I made above.

Is this any way to treat a student or a scout trying to learn something new that they recently stumbled upon?

Because if you don't succeed at first, try try again somewhere else. - As in another area, as you need to seek help from anybody willing and available to provide assistance and answers to the question that's so itching your curiosity.

Clearly, those guys just had a poor taste in autistic creativity. So I'll just try asking on another site.

 

[sfoster]

Clearly, those guys just had a poor taste in autistic creativity.

Maybe their son was shot dead in school and you trigger their anger.
Maybe they thought taking their real life tragedy and spinning it in an entertainment spectacle was in poor taste.

The reminder of defenseless children that were massacred can be a touchy subject for some people.

 

[directorik]

Where I got my inspiration is from Run Hide Fight from 2020 and Class of 1999 (starring Bradley Gregg) of 1990.



Before you make any smart remarks, let me explain this carefully and please view this from the autism spectrum - I'm autistic.

Even though my Blender-made movie contains explosions and shootings taking place within a school - not to mention some murdering of some characters, it's merely special effects, makeups, etc.

Although the year of this movie, Class of 1999, is somewhat ironic to Columbine Massacre, it's in absolutely no way related to Columbine. Even though there are explosions and shootings taking place within a school - not to mention some murdering of students via robotic teachers (you could see blood oozing out of one guy's mouth at one point), it's all actors and mere special effects makeups. These characters will be in no way - any way related to the murder victims.

Heck, YouTube is becoming a cesspool of convoluted rules and regulations when it comes to uploading anything related to Columbine; I have yet to find anything stating what we can and can't upload regarding an event like the Columbine Massacre. So to play it safe, this is where surveying my surroundings and utilizing the thesaurus will come into play in naming my school setting.

But this is where it gets complicated: the reason I need a school like Columbine High for part of the setting is because of the overall size and shape of the school. It's quite roomy inside, thereby allowing me to perform stunts that require alot of space to execute the stunt safely. Like super jumping to overhead pipes in the corridors, leaping off of the pipes, and somersaulting in mid air. If you watch Class of 1999 (Bradley Gregg), then you can see they rode motorcycles in the school during the climax. But there's hardly any space for those hundreds of motorcycles to safely maneuver around the school's corridors and staircases. Plus, the Kennedy High School in the movie; even though it looks like a futuristic prison with prison fencing, barb wire, futuristic CCTV cameras, etc, it's exterior shape is a mere rectangle building, while Columbine High somewhat resembles a fortress or a small university campus. And I can't seem to find any other school that looks "fortress-style" than Columbine High that have not had any past or recent shootings.

But here's the good part: I'm going to use Thesaurus to rename the entire school. There must be another substitute word for "school" in the Thesaurus along with finding another thing to name the school after. In addition to that, I'll paint the exterior a different color and add futuristic cosmetics, furniture, appliances, etc to the exterior and interior.

Speaking of irony, Columbine High School got it's name from the Columbine Flower. Which is toxic to humans. So I can see why people loath this massacre more than 9/11.



P.S., the game Ready or Not has a mission named "Elephant". It involves saving Watt Community College from a bomb threat and a group of shooters. That game's mission is based off of the movie of the same name: Elephant (2003). Therefore, I'm well aware that people will eventually figure out that my movie was somehow inspired by a school shooting and they might figure out it was somehow related or linked to Columbine. And that's how I learned about the existence of Run Hide Fight from 2020.

No smart remarks from me.

I say, yes, it's okay to make a fictional film about school violence. It sure
seems like this is a passion of yours. Go for it!

 

[CelticRambler]

It sounds like you're asking three different questions:
- (1) is it okay to make a film about a highly emotive topic? Answer: yes, of course; it's done all the time. Whether it's a topic that will interest other people when it comes to making the movie, and whether it's a topic that'll attract an audience are separate points, that very much depend on the when and the where and the why and all the other circumstances surrounding the realities of making and marketing any movie.

- (2) is it okay to use real-world, recognisable events and locations as the basis of a fictional story? Answer: again, yes; it's done all the time ... but in this case you have to ask yourself why change the names/places if they're so recognisable? If you want to re-tell that story, then tell it as it is "based on true events" with a few minor name-changes or invented characters for dramatic purposes ; otherwise, tell your own story and don't get bogged down in trying to match your scenes to what happened in real time and space.

- (3) what does a school look like? Answer. Huh? If your script calls for a classroom with a high ceiling, then tell your location scout/set designer to find you a room - any room - with a high ceiling, and dress it up as a classroom. If you are the set designer and the set is being built in Blender, then do whatever you want. There's no reason at all to make any reference to Colombine when there are probably a million other school buildings that could serve as inspiration.

 

[The Lone Banana]

I think that CelticRambler has posted the best answer so far.

You ask us to "please view this from the autism spectrum". I suggest that you are exhibiting a typical Aspie trait: fixating on details that are important to you but not relevant to others. (You also spend a lot of your post pointing out that movies are not real; I suggest that most people will not need to be told this.) You have seized on the real school, but is that necessary to the project? If it is, then you are making a movie about the Columbine massacre. The massacre is the only reason anyone outside that city has heard of Columbine High School; if your movie's school is recognizable, you are invoking that tragedy and must account for the fact that your audience will have that in mind. If that's not what you want to do, then perhaps change the location. What are the features that your movie's setting requires? Classrooms, a hallway, a gymnasium, a playground or quad, ivy-covered walls, what?

Break a leg with the project!

 

[Nate North]

Typically, this isn't a community that "thrives on being offended", so if you want to make a film with some hard edges, I wouldn't think you'd be immediately judged as a person and banned from the forum. Films are fictional, even those based on real life circumstances, and as a group of creatives, I think most of us here understand when QT made a "Inglorious Basterds", a film about Nazis, that it wasn't because he was a Nazi, nor was it a statement of anti semitic beliefs. You will find many places today where people are foaming at the mouth in anticipation for an opportunity to attack someone based on even the most trivial association to some topic they have negative feelings about, but in my experience, people are generally fair here, and won't attack you unless you actually do something stupid, such as get wasted and troll people to amuse yourself.

As to making what sounds like a thinly disguised film about the Columbine massacre, here's my feedback. It's a serious topic, and an important one, especially since it's still ongoing. When you approach a film based on a very serious topic, in general you need to insure that your tone, thought process, presentation, etc, match the level of respect required for that topic.

In an easy example, I wouldn't make a comedy film about a school shooting. People's kids died, and those people are still out there. Do you ever get those "Sandy Hook Promise" ads on youtube? It's parents from a school shooting many years ago, that are still broadcasting memorials for their dead children every day. They are scarred for life, and who can blame them. In the middle range, forget comedy, I wouldn't make a film about a school shooting and use it as a tool to push my own political beliefs. It's corpse looting, (extracting financial or ideological gains from the demise of others), and they used to shoot people on sight for doing it back in the olden days. I have no reason to believe that that's what you're doing, but it was partially what "run, hide, fight" was doing, though to be fair they weren't too egregious about it, and I feel that film handled the topic, "ok". Mostly though, as Mara said, we're all free to do whatever we want in fiction, (for now), until one of the two parties wins total control, at which point you'll have to watch what you say for fear of being labeled as a dissident. If it were me directing a film on that topic, I'd simply make sure that I had something significant to add to that conversation, and would avoid sensationalizing the topic with profit as a motive.

The only thing that jumped out at me was the "blender made movie". Nothing wrong with blender, in fact, it's great. It takes a lot of work and intelligence to get a good film out of blender, and if you can do that, you're doing better than most indie filmmakers. I would ask though if you've considered how the type of look blender can create will mesh with this topic. If you're 7 years into blender, disregard this, you can generate whatever you need, but if you're 1 year in, then the looks you'll be able to get might be more aligned with children's films, like "A Bug's Life" or "Antz". My point being that there might be kind of a visual clash between your topic and presentation.

The people above have given you some good feedback on the information you presented, but if you want more actionable feedback, you might wish to describe the project further to add dimension to the discussion. I know the topic, I know the location, but I don't know the vibe, philosophy, presentation, or point of the film. Core aspects like that might get you more useful feedback. The feedback would likely be very different dependent on these things, so until we have some insight, it's hard to say much that would be genuinely helpful.

Lastly, couple quick notes, I don't think it's universal that Americans see Columbine as more impactful that 9/11. And those who do consider it more significant probably don't feel that way because it's named after a flower. I'd cut that from the pitch deck. Just kind of nonsensical points IMO.