You know how low-budget indie productions (especially those being made by first-timers) have a reputation for F-bombs galore? I think I have one possible explanation for that, and a warning for others to heed.
I almost put this in the lobby, because this is mostly just a humorous way to laugh at my own foibles, but I chose to put it in "On the Set", because maybe others might learn from my mistake.
Okay, so when I was writing this beast, I intentionally kept F-bombs to a reasonable minimum, writing them into scenes only when I felt the character would truly find that the best word to use. Though I definitely wrote an R-rated movie, I made a point of not letting the curse-words get gratuitous.
Here's where things went askew. I fashion myself a director, not really a screenwriter. As a strong-point, it seems I have a knack for writing natural-sounding dialogue (or so I've been told). However, it's only natural-sounding in the flow of the conversation. As far as specific vocabulary is concerned, pretty much all of my characters sounded exactly the same (which is to say that they all sound like me).
Going into the shoot, I was aware of this problem, so the natural fix was to ask the actors to paraphrase things. Feel free to rewrite the dialogue; capture the essense, the main points, but put it in language that is more natural to you. On one hand, this worked exquisitely. On the other hand, F-bomb alert!
It's not that my actors are just constantly dropping F-bombs; they talk the same as most other people I hang out with. However, when you're shooting just one short conversation at a time, or even just one bit of a conversation, it's easy for one F-bomb to slip it's way in, going un-noticed. Only when the entire scene is edited together does it become appearant just how many of them there are.
And WOW, there are lots of them in "Antihero". I think we've set a record.
I'm capable of laughing at this, cuz I don't think it ruins the movie, but yeah, I would defintely keep a closer eye on this next time. Keep 'em to a minimum, kids. They don't just lose their effectiveness, but can be a little distracting.
I almost put this in the lobby, because this is mostly just a humorous way to laugh at my own foibles, but I chose to put it in "On the Set", because maybe others might learn from my mistake.
Okay, so when I was writing this beast, I intentionally kept F-bombs to a reasonable minimum, writing them into scenes only when I felt the character would truly find that the best word to use. Though I definitely wrote an R-rated movie, I made a point of not letting the curse-words get gratuitous.
Here's where things went askew. I fashion myself a director, not really a screenwriter. As a strong-point, it seems I have a knack for writing natural-sounding dialogue (or so I've been told). However, it's only natural-sounding in the flow of the conversation. As far as specific vocabulary is concerned, pretty much all of my characters sounded exactly the same (which is to say that they all sound like me).
Going into the shoot, I was aware of this problem, so the natural fix was to ask the actors to paraphrase things. Feel free to rewrite the dialogue; capture the essense, the main points, but put it in language that is more natural to you. On one hand, this worked exquisitely. On the other hand, F-bomb alert!
It's not that my actors are just constantly dropping F-bombs; they talk the same as most other people I hang out with. However, when you're shooting just one short conversation at a time, or even just one bit of a conversation, it's easy for one F-bomb to slip it's way in, going un-noticed. Only when the entire scene is edited together does it become appearant just how many of them there are.
And WOW, there are lots of them in "Antihero". I think we've set a record.
I'm capable of laughing at this, cuz I don't think it ruins the movie, but yeah, I would defintely keep a closer eye on this next time. Keep 'em to a minimum, kids. They don't just lose their effectiveness, but can be a little distracting.
