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

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.


 
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.
So you're thinking of an actor, dressed (and looking like) Churchill on screen lip-syncing
to you reading Churchill's words?

Or an actor, dressed (and looking like) Churchill on screen doing some business as you
read Churchill's words?
 
@directorik, I am thinking of a narrative. For example, Churchill said, "We will fight n the beaches", so, instead of hiring an actor to be Churchill, I would say, "They will fight on the beaches."

An example would be General Chang, oops, I mean Christopher Plummer narrating the Nutcracker below.

 
So an actor, dressed (and looking like) Churchill on screen doing some business as you
reading Churchill's words.

Or a picture of Churchill (or pictures) on screen as you read Churchill's words?
 
So an actor, dressed (and looking like) Churchill on screen doing some business as you
reading Churchill's words.

Or a picture of Churchill (or pictures) on screen as you read Churchill's words?
@directorik, no actor, just me narrating the war. @mlesemann, there's nothing to learn from this exercise, just my artistic expression, using my version of Churchill's golden oratory.

@indietalk, so we have stories within stories, which come full circle. :wait:
 
Well someone has to say it .. do you have an amazing voice for radio or something?
Most people hate their own voice, I would never put myself as the narrator lol.
 
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Well YouTube exists for this very reason. You can literally just do this and start today and see if anyone likes it. It's free and you are the actor. So I hope we are not talking about this the whole year lol!
 
nike GIF
 
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.

@directorik, no actor, just me narrating the war.
I'm sure you understand the confusion...

I know you're just "bubbling" here our Founder is right - this is something
you could just do. Write what you want and record it. Have something to
show this time around.

Do you really want to do this? Or just ask us what we think of the idea?
 
Well YouTube exists for this very reason. You can literally just do this and start today and see if anyone likes it. It's free and you are the actor. So I hope we are not talking about this the whole year lol!

@indietalk, not at all - as you rightly said, the thread about two people talking lasted a year, so this one, about one person talking, will last 6 months.

@directorik , I know. But, as I understand it, a professionally-done narrative could be very different from just a youtube straight shot, and I thank you and everyone else for telling me that. So the issue is about how such a narrative can be filmed professionally.

@sfoster, I do narratives all the time - I'm a lawyer. :wait:
 
I know. But, as I understand it, a professionally-done narrative could be very different from just a youtube straight shot, and I thank you and everyone else for telling me that. So the issue is about how such a narrative can be filmed professionally.
I'm trying to understand:
What is the visual? You said an actor. Then no actor. What do you see in your minds eye
on the screen as you narrate? What needs to be filmed professionally?
 
How would it be filmed? That's up to YOU! Do you have footage you can use? Are you shooting reenactments? Do you want to show someone talking in a studio, a museum, in their home in front of a fireplace with a brandy?
 
Ah, I just found this gem. How would you film someone narrating this?
With a camera? Sounds obvious but what are you asking exactly? I will echo Rik.
I'm trying to understand:
What is the visual? You said an actor. Then no actor. What do you see in your minds eye
on the screen as you narrate? What needs to be filmed professionally?
 
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