The trouble with story...

[Teddy]

Do any of you ever find yourselves bound by the confines of having to tell a story.  I see so much and feel so much that I want to convey to an audiance, but to do it I have to have an interesting and entertaining story.  It's like story is a necessary evil.  I need a story so that I can have an audiance, and then I can say what I really want to say, and this may or may not have anything to do with the story I'm trying to tell.  I want to make films about pure emotions, moments that jump off the screen and connect, but to do this you MUST have a good story.  I ALWAYS have images and dialoge in my head, but never in the context of a story.  Do any of you feel the same way?

[cowboykurtis]

direct televison commercials and music videos -- pure visual emotion -- no story.

[Cecil]

or make abstract films.

[Jeremy Blackman]

You don't need a story before you make a movie, but I think all movies will inevitably make their own stories.

[EL__SCORCHO]

I know exactly what you're talking about Blackman. I usually tend to think in themes when I start thinking about my scripts and then I get so frustrated trying to come up with a story that will be good for the theme. But then, another problem I have is I want to convey so many different ideas when I get started that I start thinking about writing another one, and nothing ever gets done!

I'm working on one right now, that I've forcing myself to finish. No matter how badly it sucks. I just wanna get it done.

Blackman: Do you have any tricks for generating premises?

[Jeremy Blackman]

Blackman: Do you have any tricks for generating premises?

I like to think of something that's really funny and try to make it serious, or think of something that's absurd and try to make it sincere.

[Teddy]

I usually tend to think in themes when I start thinking about my scripts and then I get so frustrated trying to come up with a story that will be good for the theme. But then, another problem I have is I want to convey so many different ideas when I get started that I start thinking about writing another one, and nothing ever gets done!

Same here.  I guess I need to just write something and then find a way to use the vague storyline as a jumping off point to what I want to convey.

[bonanzataz]

I know exactly what you're talking about Blackman. I usually tend to think in themes when I start thinking about my scripts and then I get so frustrated trying to come up with a story that will be good for the theme. But then, another problem I have is I want to convey so many different ideas when I get started that I start thinking about writing another one, and nothing ever gets done!

I'm working on one right now, that I've forcing myself to finish. No matter how badly it sucks. I just wanna get it done.

Blackman: Do you have any tricks for generating premises?

i know just how you feel, i've never finished a script.

[budgie]

direct televison commercials and music videos -- pure visual emotion -- no story.

 

You don't need a story before you make a movie, but I think all movies will inevitably make their own stories.

[Tiff]

Do any of you ever find yourselves bound by the confines of having to tell a story.  I see so much and feel so much that I want to convey to an audiance, but to do it I have to have an interesting and entertaining story.  It's like story is a necessary evil.  I need a story so that I can have an audiance, and then I can say what I really want to say, and this may or may not have anything to do with the story I'm trying to tell.  I want to make films about pure emotions, moments that jump off the screen and connect, but to do this you MUST have a good story.  I ALWAYS have images and dialoge in my head, but never in the context of a story.  Do any of you feel the same way?

EXACTLY the same situation here   you should try to take a different approach to the outcome of your film then. abstract always helps. just write whatever you're thinking and don't consider the audience's reaction.  

[cowboykurtis]

if you dont take an audience into consideration, it will bill a self concious, muddled peice of garbage. if you're not thinking of an audience when writng it -- why dont you just project it in your basement and YOU can be the audience. itll never have to go any further.

[EL__SCORCHO]

if you dont take an audience into consideration, it will bill a self concious, muddled peice of garbage. if you're not thinking of an audience when writng it -- why dont you just project it in your basement and YOU can be the audience. itll never have to go any further.

I kind of agree with what you're saying. There has to a story in there, thats why they call directors storytellers. However I don't think you have to keep an audience in mind when writing. If you're writing a good solid story, there will always be an audience for it no matter what. It's style that fucks a lot of writers up. I think a lot of people try to write "really cool dialogue" or try to incorporate crazy structure just to make it "unique" and then the story suffers. Then they complain that nobody gets them, or their work. That's just a bad excuse for not having paid enough attention to the story.

[cowboykurtis]

if you dont take an audience into consideration, it will bill a self concious, muddled peice of garbage. if you're not thinking of an audience when writng it -- why dont you just project it in your basement and YOU can be the audience. itll never have to go any further.

I kind of agree with what you're saying. There has to a story in there, thats why they call directors storytellers. However I don't think you have to keep an audience in mind when writing. If you're writing a good solid story, there will always be an audience for it no matter what. It's style that fucks a lot of writers up. I think a lot of people try to write "really cool dialogue" or try to incorporate crazy structure just to make it "unique" and then the story suffers. Then they complain that nobody gets them, or their work. That's just a bad excuse for not having paid enough attention to the story.

agreed

[Teddy]

if you dont take an audience into consideration, it will bill a self concious, muddled peice of garbage. if you're not thinking of an audience when writng it -- why dont you just project it in your basement and YOU can be the audience. itll never have to go any further.

I kind of agree with what you're saying. There has to a story in there, thats why they call directors storytellers. However I don't think you have to keep an audience in mind when writing. If you're writing a good solid story, there will always be an audience for it no matter what. It's style that fucks a lot of writers up. I think a lot of people try to write "really cool dialogue" or try to incorporate crazy structure just to make it "unique" and then the story suffers. Then they complain that nobody gets them, or their work. That's just a bad excuse for not having paid enough attention to the story.

agreed

I agree with all of that too.  This is the same problem I face when trying to think of a story.  I'll get something in my head that revolves around images and feelings, mostly inspired by my everyday life, and then I'll try to think of a story to build around it.  The problem is, all I come up with visually does not have a match for anything I come up with narratively.

For example, I came up with a great idea for a story a couple of weeks ago.  This was the most excited I had been in weeks, so I wrote pages of ideas for the film and what I wanted to do story-wise.  After I read my notes a couple of days later, I realized this could be the start of a great film, but I did not connect with it at all.  It was something great narratively, but the visual style that would be best to shoot the movie in was something that I was totally against.  So I scrapped the idea.

See, if I don't get it visually, then I loose all interest.  That is why I need a loose story that can let me run wild with the visuals while still keeping an audiance.

[cowboykurtis]

if you dont take an audience into consideration, it will bill a self concious, muddled peice of garbage. if you're not thinking of an audience when writng it -- why dont you just project it in your basement and YOU can be the audience. itll never have to go any further.

I kind of agree with what you're saying. There has to a story in there, thats why they call directors storytellers. However I don't think you have to keep an audience in mind when writing. If you're writing a good solid story, there will always be an audience for it no matter what. It's style that fucks a lot of writers up. I think a lot of people try to write "really cool dialogue" or try to incorporate crazy structure just to make it "unique" and then the story suffers. Then they complain that nobody gets them, or their work. That's just a bad excuse for not having paid enough attention to the story.

agreed

I agree with all of that too.  This is the same problem I face when trying to think of a story.  I'll get something in my head that revolves around images and feelings, mostly inspired by my everyday life, and then I'll try to think of a story to build around it.  The problem is, all I come up with visually does not have a match for anything I come up with narratively.

For example, I came up with a great idea for a story a couple of weeks ago.  This was the most excited I had been in weeks, so I wrote pages of ideas for the film and what I wanted to do story-wise.  After I read my notes a couple of days later, I realized this could be the start of a great film, but I did not connect with it at all.  It was something great narratively, but the visual style that would be best to shoot the movie in was something that I was totally against.  So I scrapped the idea.

See, if I don't get it visually, then I loose all interest.  That is why I need a loose story that can let me run wild with the visuals while still keeping an audiance.

i used to have that problem as well. i would get very attached to the visual element -- this is a very bad thing in my opinion. you have to learn to seperate the roles: do not think as a director when writing. the story has to exist on the page. dont worry abot visuals. let the characters breath life. if you're screenplay is brilliant from a story standpoint, the adding of a strong visual approach to the story will make it twice as strong. however if you get caught up with visuals when writing, teh story will suffer. be a responsible writer first -- after its written, then put on the director hat.