producing Making a movie about ONE person talking about a war.

A

Aspiring Mogul

Dear members,

Last Christmas/New Year season was a happy time for me, as I discussed the various aspect of film with you and even got to watch, "12 O'Clock High". This season is also a happy time, as I continue to progress in my goal. And, as always, I want to thank the regulars here for their encouragement and patience for all these years, as they help me find myself through my artistic passion.

And that passion is writing, as opposed to film or other artistic endeavour. I still want to be a filmmaker, particularly a writer-executive producer, because film is, ultimately, the most powerful means of expression. But writing would be my skill set.

With that in mind, I have been doing several storylines, of which I list a few

1) A history of the Second World War,
2) A trilogy of short stories involving Superman,
3) A Buck Rogers story,

And various others.

Getting to the history of the Second World War, I did do substantial research and work on it, many years ago, and I'm revisiting it. Military history and military studies is my passion, so that, along with military science fiction, would be a natural genre for me. I did send some samples to a history professor at Stanford, who said my prose was lively, and the book, if it was ever made, should be of publishable quality. I stopped, because my career took off, but, now, I can revisit that history again.

With this in mind, I have been thinking of putting bits and pieces of that history into film, with one person talking - that is known as a soliloquy, and one of the more famous pieces would be Hamlet asking if he is to be or not to be. Another one, for sci-fi fans, would be Rutger Hauer's famous last speech in Blade Runner.

I would like to do a short film or series of short films talking of WW2. My hero is Winston Churchill, so I write in the lively prose that he did. As I thought about it, one possibility would be to get an actor to be Winston Churchill and speak it out, like the scene in "Darkest Hour" below. But I would like to be the person speaking it, not as Winston Churchill, because I don't want to be an actor, but as a narrator.

Things are bubbling for me, and I sense a time is coming to start filming.


 
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Aspiring Mogul said:
@directorik , in my original post, I said I don't want to be an actor, just a narrator. Another example by Christopher Plummer is the video below.
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Okay, I get it. In three examples you posted there is a still picture:
The cover of the audio cassette
A photo of Christopher Plummer
A drawing of Eric Dolphy

So you want a still picture as you narrate the war. So write what you want
to narrate - record the narration and then select the picture you want.

I suspect you don't have even a simple video or photo editing program so
sent the audio and a jpeg to me. It will take me just a few minutes to put
them together exactly like the three examples you posted.

But YOU have to write and the read what you wrote. Are you up to that task?
 
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@directorik and @indietalk, I already have written it. But it's more like me appearing and speaking. As I view it, I would be before a microphone, and I will also walk around, as I talk. It would be something like the Churchill scene in my original post, and the setting would have to be finalized - I would not be saying, "They will fight on the beaches" while sitting in an armchair in a living room.

As you all know, the film has to be finalized, but here's a monologue by, again, General Chang.

 
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Despite the various queries and replies, I'm still not entirely sure what style you're thinking of, but I'll offer this morsel of "audience feedback" : there are two things that really bug me about certain YouTubey styles -

(1) the vlogger/narrator who's face is half obscured by a giant microphone ; to my mind, if I can see a microphone in the shot - even a discreet lavalier - that shouts "cheap, no-budget, amateur" production, and makes me question the value and reliability of the "research" that's gone into the material being presented.
(2) "straight to camera" shots where the narrator is filmed speaking to some unidentified point at 45°-90° to the camera's position; these are frequently intercut with down-the-lens shots, and there's no logic behind the change in camera angle. Again, to me that shouts "cheap editing trick" because what's being said isn't valuable enough on its own.
 
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Mogul,
I'd really like to contribute to this thread but I haven't been able to figure out what you're trying to do. I sense a lot of unfocused energy.

..but in the spirit of saying something, I'll offer this; Gary Oldman was transformed into Churchill by the most talented make-up artists on the planet. His name is Kazuhiro Tsuji. Kazu has absolutely no competition when it comes to realistic prosthetic make-up design and creation. He is in a league of his own. He was first discovered by Rick Baker who brought him to America where he quickly rose to the top of his field. About 12 years ago I contacted Kazu and found him to be a most generous and humble person. He complemented my work and also offered suggestions on how to improve. He also allowed me a question/answer session with him so I could ask highly technical questions about state of the art make-up techniques that were being used. Kazu is a great man........ Maybe he can narrate your, ,,,, your,,,,, um,,,,, movie or,,,, um,,,,, the thing,,, you are,,, um,, making.
 
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Once again, I used the various youtube videos as partial examples. I am trying to film me or someone like me narrating a history of WW2 or part thereof.

I wrote out the following:

In July 1940, after the British evacuation at Dunkirk, Britain was almost defenseless against the Nazi might that stood on the shores of France. But Churchill wasn’t going to give in. For his country, he had nothing to offer but blood, sweat, and tears, so he mobilized the English language and sent it to war.

In a rousing speech before Parliament, he told his people that they would fight on the beaches, fight in the towns, fight in the countryside, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. And, even if Britain was to be occupied, the British Commonwealth, guarded by the famed Royal Navy, would continue the struggle, until America, with its infinite might and glory, came forward once again to make the world safe for democracy.
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And, as I continued to write, bits and pieces of the war that I have studied for decades, I have another piece, this time about what happened to Japan after the war.

After the war, the Japanese turned their energies towards industrial production, and they succeeded magnificently, and not only in making goods but in exporting their culture – in the decades that followed, sushi became a staple all over the world, anime cartoons became fan favorites, and Godzilla became a household name. And the children of their emperor did it not by raping and killing people but by providing customer satisfaction – a far better way to create a co-prosperity sphere, with an influence far greater than what the militarists could have imagined.
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I have other parts, and I am seriously thinking of self-publishing a short book on the history of the war.
 
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@James Rogers, I am NOT asking to have an actor appear as Winston Churchill and narrating; I am saying that I or another actor will narrate the war as I wrote it, and not appearing as Winston Churchill. As of now, I would like to narrate it, so, short of just filming it on my smartphone and uploading to Youtube, I'm wondering if there's a more professional way of producing a film.
 
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James Rogers said:
Honestly, if writing is your thing, I'd say go with a book or a script that you can shop around for someone else to make into a movie.
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Agreed, and I've begun writing on various story lines, just to get it out of my system, and that is the latest version of my business plan. But the issue is if I can or should do some filming in the meantime.
 
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Filming what? I'm just not following you. Do you mean you want to practice film making so that when your manuscript is ready, you'll be ready and able to film it? If so, sure, go film something with your cel phone. Edit it. Learn from it.
 
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This is like a puzzle but you already have the answer. Every time we suggest something, you say no no no THIS is what I want. So you know already, it seems. So you know what you want to see on the screen and what you want to hear. That is in your head. You want it on screen. I think this boils down again to procrastination and you not being ready. Like you have said many times in your other threads. Because here you have what you were seeking, ultra-low budget, limited talent (cast), and the script (your narration). It also seems you are passionate about this. All the ingredients are there. I really do think you just like talking about it lol! As long as we can keep talking, you can keep stalling. Honestly, with this one, there's no reason to not start right now. ALL directors have a hard time describing what they want on the screen visually. The only real answer is to show us. That's why we make films. Now... show us!
 
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Aspiring Mogul said:
Once again, I used the various youtube videos as partial examples. I am trying to film me or someone like me narrating a history of WW2 or part thereof.
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Once again, I hope you understand the confusion you cause when you post
partial examples that do not show what you want to do. Finally you post an
example of what you want to do; a monologue with high production value.
Aspiring Mogul said:
But the issue is if I can or should do some filming in the meantime.
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You know what my answer will be before I even offer it - because I have said
the same thing to you for many years:

You should do some filming in the meantime. You want great lighting, an interesting
location and perfect audio. There are a dozen people who post here that can do it.
I know there are people within 10 miles of where you live who can do it.

Then you ask how much could it cost. And you know the answer to that, too: it can
cost a few hundred or several thousand. I know you enjoy talking about it and we
sure enjoy talking about it with you. Specifics become essential when you become
serious about doing it. It's been a little over ten years of talking. This one seems like
a project you could actually do.
 
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There's no reason to film "in the meantime." What you should do is just film it for real. In the meantime means you want to do it more professionally later. This idea is a narrator and a camera or two, some professional crew, slick editing and graphics, and it looks pro. This is easily attainable if you get serious about it and stop talking about it. "In the meantime" is now.
 
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It's like when it comes to music no one really does demos anymore because it's so easy to do it pro, you may as well just go for it once, name it, put the art and call it a record.
 
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And the longer you sit on a project the more you dislike it. You need to do it now so you can move on to the next. Your whole "in the meantime" and "when I'm ready" plan is just going to lead to having a body of zero work.
 
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sfoster said:
Sounds like he wants to do a one man stage show

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Yes, this was what I had in mind, but I didn't have the right youtube video. Thanks, @sfoster. :clap:


indietalk said:
This is like a puzzle but you already have the answer. Every time we suggest something, you say no no no THIS is what I want. So you know already, it seems.
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Yes, but see above.


directorik said:
Then you ask how much could it cost. And you know the answer to that, too: it can
cost a few hundred or several thousand. I know you enjoy talking about it and we
sure enjoy talking about it with you. Specifics become essential when you become
serious about doing it. It's been a little over ten years of talking. This one seems like
a project you could actually do.
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Thank you. But see the above video for what I was thinking of, except I won't be on a bed. I will be in suit and tie - expensive suit and tie - in a library, talking about the war or at least bits of it. And I'm glad you enjoy talking to me, because we've been talking.

By the way, do you enjoy talking to me about Summer Glau? :wait:


indietalk said:
And the longer you sit on a project the more you dislike it. You need to do it now so you can move on to the next. Your whole "in the meantime" and "when I'm ready" plan is just going to lead to having a body of zero work.
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@indietalk, far from it. In fact, I had to write out several scenes in various story lines, just to get it out of my system, and, the more I talk about what I'm doing, the more I like it - hey, my last few threads were all about me, so how can I dislike what I'm talking about? :wait:
 
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