More Script Writing

We are now well into week 3 of the project and it's time to start creating. I've started the story board to my film opening and although there are still final changes that need to be made to it, I am happy because this means I can actually began writing the script for the voice over. I was a little nervous choosing to go the voice over route since many consider it to be difficult to execute well and many just consider it to be straight up "an overused gimmick" or a cover up for "lazy writing," but I was very set in wanting to do a voice over from my characters perspective because I feel that that will give an intimate look on her life and give her a very established voice. As Mark Hughes, a film reviewer for Forbes says, "a person's inner monologue as they consider their life and perceptions, and how our memory and ideas and emotions are so filled with layer upon layer of subtext" is what voice overs are all about and that layering of perception and subtext in a personality is exactly what I want to portray. But anyway, good writing may be very important for the voice over, but at the end of the day I couldn't let myself forget that film is a visual medium. This means that no matter how great the writing for the voice over may be, it must pair up to what is being shown on screen for it to be effective, powerful, and to make sense. The voice  over should never fall behind the action occurring visually, and the action should never have to drag to comply with the narration, so this is why creating my story board with a quintessential step in starting my script. 

Another thing I thought I should consider as I start writing the script for my film opening is that since I am only using one actor, it will be a bit different than typical openings that use different character's and dialogue between them to establish relationships and vital information, "it is through dialogue that we tend to get to know characters and grasp plots." I don't think the lack of dialogue will be that big of a deal since I am choosing to do a voice over but I thought it was worth some thought and research on how to make my one person film opening "interesting," and if I were to make a full film, how I would go about it if I chose to only have my protagonist and few other characters. 

The 2013 film Gravity, for example, does not start off as a one person film, but soon turns into one as Sandra Bullock is left alone in space and must find a way to get back home safely. Because of the setting of this film, it utilizes stunning visuals, movement, and action to get around the fact that most of the dialogue being hear is Bullock talking to herself and coaching herself through the film, although this is also a vital part of the movie. 

The 2010 film Buried staring Ryan Reynolds follows, for 94 minutes, a truck driver who has been kidnapped and buried in a wooden box under the sands of the Iraqi desert. The film is what some call "the most claustrophobic film ever shot." In the box however, Reynolds' character has a blackberry phone he uses to communicate with others outside of the crate. Through this phone audiences are given dialogue and interaction. Although they can only ever see Reynolds and no one else, they still hear conversation and use this to build the story. It is interesting because such a different concept for a movie could have so easily failed. Shooting a man in such an enclosed space with only a cellphone must not have been easy, but director Rodrigo Cortes stated that he was "told it would bring some oxygen to the audience if we were to show the surface or to cut out to the other side of the [phone] line. Or if we showed the other characters … There was talk of doing flashbacks. All of this, I thought, was the perfect way to spoil everything and ruin the film." So despite all the speculation Cortes chose to go with his gut and his artistic vision and in the end made a ground breaking film. 

The 2010 film 127 Hours does star other actors as minor characters throughout the film, but for the most part it is James Franco's time to shine. Director Danny Boyle even warned the audience at the premier, "If you don't like James Franco you should just leave now." James Franco is a great talent so obviously he carries the film on his own merits, but when a movie's protagonist is stuck with his arm between a boulder, there is only so much that can be done. So as one way to get around this, and also to stay true to the actual event that prompted this movie, 127 Hours utilized video diaries to continue the plot and film. The scene above does feature other outside elements like laughter and applause but that is because this scene is sort of a breakdown scene so it is not supposed to be entirely realistic, it is where Franco's character's mind was at the time.   

Buried 201 Clip (Ryan Reynolds) Paul Calls His Mom. YouTube. N.p., 20 Jan. 2011. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.

"Going Solo: Movies With (Mostly) Just One Actor." IFC. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.

Gravity Scene Tiangong. YouTube. N.p., 22 Feb. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.

Hughes, Mark. "What Are Examples of Narrative Films That Successfully Utilize Voice-over Narration? Why Is Voice-over Narration so Tricky for Filmmakers/screenwriters?" Quora. N.p., 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.

"'Locke,' 'Gravity' and More One-actor Wonders." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.

127 Hours (key Scene 6). YouTube. N.p., 6 Jan. 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.