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synopsis Western synopsis wanted!
- Thread starter pocho99
- Start date
Yup.
Which I took seriously, so I asked about his resources so that we wouldn't be wasting time thinking up of stuff with no way for him to shoot:
Reply:
And eventually we get this:
So, yeah.
OP migrated from SHOOTING (but doesn't wanna think about problems) to WRITING a spag.western.
If he wants to shoot then write for available resources. Don't write about horses if you have no horses.
If he wants to write pie-in-the sky then don't say he's going to shoot a spag.western.
The theme is loyalty and relationships. It could include redemption
and there might be an element of revenge.
Since you like this plot this is the one you should try writing.
In my opinion it is never a waste of time thinking up stuff a filmmaker
has no resources to shoot. Especially at age 15. True, you didn't know
that at the time you posted but I don't think it's a waste of time at any
age. Write about horses if you don't have horses - won't hurt. It might
even help. It frees your creativity. Then the script can be rewritten to
the filmmakers limitation.
Writing and exploring on paper is never a waste of time.
We don't mind helping you but you need to be direct about what you want. Your inital request was for a story you intend to shoot. Writing a script takes time and for many of us is a serious undertaking.
Now you come forward with the information which you really needed to state in the beginning. While you still need to do your own work, it helps those in the community to give you better advice.
Since you love Leone's works, you should write your own summary of your favorite movie. You want to 'deconstruct' it. Figure out how he told his story. Then take those ideas and apply them in a different context. The idea behind "Romeo and Juliet" was not Shakespeare's, and it has been used and modified many times. As Directorik pointed out, there are many variations on the Western.
It almost always involves an outcast and two other characters. Borrowing from the D&D world, most characters are lawful, neutral or chaotic in their basic instinct of good, indifference or evil. You can learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_(Dungeons_&_Dragons). An example applied to Harry Potter can be seen at https://rantingsoftheninjarobot.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/harry-potter-alignment-chart/ or a more generic example at http://ifeellikeschrodingerscat.blogspot.com/2010/05/alignment.html . Usually the three are from non-overlapping categories that share the same named goal (find gold) while having different individual goals (pay off debt, get rich, free enslaved sibling, etc.). That conflict drives the drama.
A characteristic of the Western is that the outcast/loner is often neutral good or lawful neutral. They are often teamed up with a like soul who is lawful good or chaotic neutral and in an uneasy alliance with a lawful evil or neutral evil. The 'Western Formula' is a variant of 'flawed/bullied boy stands up to father/authority' where the town folk are menaced by some powerful figure. A strange lone figure(s) enters and destabilizes the situation by providing small assistance. The conflict shifts between the loner and the powerful figure (always lawful or neutral evil) with a henchman who is chaotic evil. The loner gets a severe smack down. The love interest becomes involved and the loner rallies. He manages to unite the town but they are still afraid. He must face the power figure's legions and is aided by the town in the end. He leaves the love interest, dies or she dies." [traditional] Depending on the story, certain elements are often switched up a bit--water rights, land rights, cattle rights, oil rights. Bad guy(s) turn hero(s). Hero(s) gets the girl(s) and/or lives [upbeat version]. etc. (NB: if you see shades of Avatar, Spiderman, Harry Potter, etc. in there, you're right.)
Take your favorite Leone film and figure out the elements like above. Then take a situation in your school or home town and apply those elements. It's fiction, so it doesn't matter if that is not how the situation really happened.
The only way to learn to write is to also learn to think about story. What are the elements of a story, what makes it work. You don't need someone to write a synopsis for you, that is something you need to do to learn to think like a screenwriter. Even at 15, if you want to learn to make movies, you need to begin thinking about story. It is the same thing I have done with my students. I have them take their favorite story and break it down into its elements then re-apply it. If you understand the elements of a western then you can re-write a fairy tale like Cinderella using western elements. You see some of that play out in the book, "Ella Enchanted".
Why don't you try writing a synposis and then posting it here when you're done. Then we can give you feedback. Good luck.
Your next post suggests that you simply want us to provide you a story idea but with no credit for coming up with the idea. A synopsis often takes a significant investment of time as well. It makes you sound lazy.
Now you come forward with the information which you really needed to state in the beginning. While you still need to do your own work, it helps those in the community to give you better advice.
Since you love Leone's works, you should write your own summary of your favorite movie. You want to 'deconstruct' it. Figure out how he told his story. Then take those ideas and apply them in a different context. The idea behind "Romeo and Juliet" was not Shakespeare's, and it has been used and modified many times. As Directorik pointed out, there are many variations on the Western.
It almost always involves an outcast and two other characters. Borrowing from the D&D world, most characters are lawful, neutral or chaotic in their basic instinct of good, indifference or evil. You can learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_(Dungeons_&_Dragons). An example applied to Harry Potter can be seen at https://rantingsoftheninjarobot.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/harry-potter-alignment-chart/ or a more generic example at http://ifeellikeschrodingerscat.blogspot.com/2010/05/alignment.html . Usually the three are from non-overlapping categories that share the same named goal (find gold) while having different individual goals (pay off debt, get rich, free enslaved sibling, etc.). That conflict drives the drama.
A characteristic of the Western is that the outcast/loner is often neutral good or lawful neutral. They are often teamed up with a like soul who is lawful good or chaotic neutral and in an uneasy alliance with a lawful evil or neutral evil. The 'Western Formula' is a variant of 'flawed/bullied boy stands up to father/authority' where the town folk are menaced by some powerful figure. A strange lone figure(s) enters and destabilizes the situation by providing small assistance. The conflict shifts between the loner and the powerful figure (always lawful or neutral evil) with a henchman who is chaotic evil. The loner gets a severe smack down. The love interest becomes involved and the loner rallies. He manages to unite the town but they are still afraid. He must face the power figure's legions and is aided by the town in the end. He leaves the love interest, dies or she dies." [traditional] Depending on the story, certain elements are often switched up a bit--water rights, land rights, cattle rights, oil rights. Bad guy(s) turn hero(s). Hero(s) gets the girl(s) and/or lives [upbeat version]. etc. (NB: if you see shades of Avatar, Spiderman, Harry Potter, etc. in there, you're right.)
Take your favorite Leone film and figure out the elements like above. Then take a situation in your school or home town and apply those elements. It's fiction, so it doesn't matter if that is not how the situation really happened.
The only way to learn to write is to also learn to think about story. What are the elements of a story, what makes it work. You don't need someone to write a synopsis for you, that is something you need to do to learn to think like a screenwriter. Even at 15, if you want to learn to make movies, you need to begin thinking about story. It is the same thing I have done with my students. I have them take their favorite story and break it down into its elements then re-apply it. If you understand the elements of a western then you can re-write a fairy tale like Cinderella using western elements. You see some of that play out in the book, "Ella Enchanted".
Why don't you try writing a synposis and then posting it here when you're done. Then we can give you feedback. Good luck.
I have a comedy western that would love to get make for the right deal.
Title: Johnny Quick
Logline: Born the son of a lawman Johnny chose instead to make his living with his gun. Now accused of a crime he didn't commit he must stand trial to prove his innocents while repairing his relationship with his father.
email victory44709@yahoo.com for synopsis