I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean. – Socrates
Of late, I have been thinking a lot regarding how the story of any film begins in the mind of a writer/filmmaker. In various scriptwriting books, courses, workshops etc, we learn about various things related to any good story; the structure, various acts, conflict, interesting characters, beats, plot points, resolution and so on. The book, “Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting“ authored by the ultimate screenwriting guru, Robert McKee, is considered Bible in screenwriting. I cannot write enough that how much this voluminous 500 page book has taught me. Unlike most other books on screenwriting which focus more on the mechanical aspects of a story structure, Mckee’s Story turns inwards into human psychology to explain in minute detail how great dramas unfold on screen. He writes, “We need a rediscovery of the underlying tenets of our art, the guiding principles that liberate talent.” His book, Story, is a path to that rediscovery. In it, McKee offers so much sound advice, drawing from sources as wide ranging as Aristotle, Casablanca, Stanislavski and Chinatown, that it is impossible not to be influenced by this book when you start your journey into screenwriting.
No matter how much I want to talk about this book, I would rather keep the focus of this post on the very first step of any good story told via the film medium. And that first step is how the story first begins in any writer’s mind or what’s the starting point for any scriptwriter. The way I see it, any good and genuine story comes from one of the following three sources or sometimes combination of these sources: 1. An incident 2. A theme/point of view 3. An interesting character. Of course these sources just provide a seed for the story. Eventually, a story can take a completely different form from where it all started or could add/subtract lot of things into the original idea. But, it’s still important for me to understand how it all starts. So, below I discuss these three sources of inspiration:
1. An incident could be something which has happened to you, the writer; some personal experience which you want to share with the world. Or it could be an experience which happened with somebody else you know or even something you read or watch somewhere. Some examples of great film scripts which developed from an incident/personal experiences are Chinatown (an old news paper article on LA water scandal in the early 20th century inspired the whole script of Chinatown), Platoon (Oliver Stone’s personal experiences during the Vietnam war) and many many other movies’ materialized after a writer/filmmaker got inspired from some stray incident or a personal experience. Last year’s Oscar nominated Frost/Nixon happened after the filmmaker got interested in filming a play based on true historical incident happened between those two personalities.
2. Then many writers/filmmakers sometimes have a theme/point of view/subject which they feel strongly about or want to explore and hence express that through well told stories. So, in this case, it’s the theme which starts the process. Kubrick, for instance, mostly got interested in the themes first and if it was not the theme, he at least got interested in a subject first, before he wrote a story/choose a novel on which he based his script upon. The idea of Dr Strangelove happened after he first got curious and even scared regarding the worst case scenarios of cold war. Therefore, it was the theme of cold war that started the process. He then devoured hundreds of books on this subject before he finally zeroed in a story to make his point. Similarly, 2001: A Space Odyssey happened after he got immensely curious about the possibility of alien life and man’s position in this universe. As such he had no exact theme when he started the process, but he was certainly interested in an idea. He further collaborated with Arthur Clarke on the script and hence explored one of the greatest ideas brought on screen. He continued this process of getting first inspired from a theme/subject up until his last film Eyes wide Shut. Likewise, Woody Allen mostly gets inspired by an idea/theme first before he starts penning down the characters and the story. If Love and Death started after getting partly inspired by his favorite theme, Death, and partly by giving tribute to his hero, Bergman, Annie Hall and Manhattan had it’s genesis in Allen’s other favorite theme, unpredictability and incomprehensibility of man-woman relationships. His Crimes and Misdemeanours got inspired from his belief that many a times people get away with a crime committed, but more important than that is the fact that guilt of such an act is a very subjective phenomenon. He explored the same theme in Match Point too. Then ‘Sweet and Lowdown’ and ‘Bullets and Broadway‘ had their genesis in his getting interested in the idea that good artists need not be good human beings or that artistic talent is inherent rather than acquired.
3. Finally, it could be a character- historical or otherwise- which a writer/filmmaker gets interested in exploring; hence in this case, character is the starting point. So, Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski happened because brothers knew somebody like the character Jeff Lebowski in real life. Or a Gandhi happened because Richard Attenborough got interested in telling a story about a man who he thought influenced the whole world. Schindler’s List happened because Speilberg got interested in the real life story of Oskar Schindler plus the subject of Holocaust was something he always wanted to do. There are many such films which got inspired from a character.
My very limited experience in developing/trying to develop two short film scripts tells me that in both cases, I was primarily inspired by a theme (bit by a character too in one case). But, I think that this method- building a story around a theme- is perhaps the most difficult method of all three to start the process of writing a fictional narrative. I would rather start from an interesting incident happened and then around that build an appropriate theme and/or characters. But then, to zero in a really interesting personal experience or an incident which you think can make a very good story is difficult too. So, I guess each method comes with it’s own pros and cons.
I’m curious to know from all you writers/filmmakers out there that what’s your method? What was your first inspiration/thought before you developed a script or a film idea? Even for those of you who haven’t written any script or a story, I would love to know your thoughts on this issue.
12 responses so far ↓
scriptlarva // July 1, 2009 at 11:32 am |
Good examples.
Some how its evident where these film makers started off their script from the tone of their work. Kubrick and Woody Allen always try to address a bigger issue- for them the characters are just mediums to put their points across. You are never going to see the protagonist of ‘A clockwork Orange’ in real life. He is unreal. But the issue of criminality and ‘the right to be wrong’ he addresses is pertinent to our everyday life. I think Tarkovsky fall in the same category.
At the sametime, Coen Brothers are always interested in quirky characters. Be it ‘Fargo’ or ‘Raising Arizona,’ they hang the film on some interesting character pegs. Eric Roth may also belong in the same group.
What happens is that, in some way the point from where you start your script, may decide your target audience. Character oriented stories may attract more of ‘mass’ while theme oriented ones may be more after ‘class.’ Still I will have to say that this demarcation is not that clear cut.
cweinblatt // July 1, 2009 at 4:13 pm |
Sometimes movies start with a political or social statement. Such is the case with Holocaust movies. Whenever we stand up to a government that denies the Holocaust, or supports genocide, we offer a critical message to the world. We live in an age of vulnerability. Holocaust deniers ply their vitriolic poison everywhere, especially with young people on the Internet. We know from captured German war records that millions of Jews (and others) were systematically exterminated by Nazi Germany – most in gas chambers. Holocaust books and movies help to tell the true story of the Shoah, not Neo-Nazi historical revision.
To learn what it felt like to live through the Holocaust, read “Jacob’s Courage. This is a tender coming of age love story of two young adults living in Salzburg at the time when the Nazi war machine enters Austria. This historical novel presents accurate scenes and situations of Jews in ghettos and concentration camps, with particular attention to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. It explores the dazzling beauty of passionate love and enduring bravery in a lurid world where the innocent are murdered. From despair, to unforgettable moments of chaste beauty, “Jacob’s Courage” examines a constellation of emotions during a time of incomprehensible brutality.
Standing up to those who deny the Holocaust today (Iran) is what America is all about. It is about showing the world that anti-Semitism is wrong and that America is a tolerant nation.
purnima // July 1, 2009 at 11:02 pm |
Daar Lallo,
Growing up my father used to tell me that every story in this world is an old story till somewhere in time it meets with a storyteller and then starts walking, running or dancing through the hallways of his mind. Waiting for the moment the storyteller starts what has begun long before and will continue long after.
As per me. With nothing on my name. I couldn’t possibly say anything sensible on this topic or what method to use except for; start. I think it works in business, in love, in writing, in life, in everything.
Just start.
Love,
P.
Mahendra // July 2, 2009 at 4:29 am |
I’m not qualified to comment here, but I’m always amazed by movies whose ‘germ’ or ’seed’ is pure abstract imagination. E.g. Groundhog Day. Toy Story. Rashomon.
I guess you may classify them as ‘abstract themes’, and I do agree with you that theme-inspired scripts can be the most difficult to film.
Dev // July 2, 2009 at 5:20 pm |
Scriptlarva, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. Yes, Coens are interested in quirky characters all the time. They merge that very well with their, mostly, film noir narrative. Regarding the tone, I guess most writers/filmmakers are conscious of it when they start.
Cweinblatt, thanks for your comment here.
Purnima, why is it that your each comment always ends up as being better than my whole post?
You rock senorita..
Your father is absolutely right. Yes, ‘just start’ is the key..but I believe that more difficult than that is to be sure of the right timing for that..I mean you have to learn some swimming atleast before putting your foot in the ocean..isnt it?
Mahendra, ofcourse you are qualified to comment here.
. Regarding abstract imagination, I think many a times abstract themes develop over the course of scripting or even filming rather than filmmaker being very sure of it in the start..
For instance, even Rashoman was changed considerably from it’s origanl source, the novel, by Kurosawa.
Amit // July 2, 2009 at 7:15 pm |
When I think of a story, I start with a one line like – What if there exists a dimension where people don’t die. And then I build a whole story around it. Well, I am talking about short stories, but I get your idea.
By the way, have you seen “The Fountain”? I think you are going to like it.
Dev // July 2, 2009 at 8:45 pm |
Thanks Amit for sharing your method. Yes, I know you write short stories.
Havent seen Fountain, will try to check it out soon.
Indyeah // July 3, 2009 at 5:59 am |
“Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger.”
- Ben Okri
fascinating to read this Dev..I barely have any clue about the nitty gritties of script writing..
@Purnima Growing up my father used to tell me that every story in this world is an old story till somewhere in time it meets with a storyteller and then starts walking, running or dancing through the hallways of his mind. Waiting for the moment the storyteller starts what has begun long before and will continue long after.
that was beautiful!!
Nita // July 3, 2009 at 11:46 am |
Writing a story around a theme is a no no. At least for me. It means actually thinking of some sort of plot which isn’t a real story. It’s like treating something creative with some sort of formulae.
A real story has to come from within. If one says one incident then it’s not really so. It’s never one incident. It’s a feeling, or an incident which triggers off a whole host of feelings and other incidents. At times one doesn’t even know what it’s all about until one starts to write.
I have been writing stories since I was 10 years old. For me the process never stops. There is no time to think of themes or incidents. One shouldn’t. One should go by what one feels, and then the structure wraps around it. Yes, once it’s all over one can try and find a theme and structure, and try to give it a polish.
Dev // July 3, 2009 at 5:57 pm |
Indyyeah, nice quote.
Nita, thanks for sharing. Yes, I agree that story writing should never be treated like a pure formula. The soul has to come from a genuine source in any good story, but it’s also true that all good stories follow a definite structure and unlike life, which is random, stories are carefully designed and hence one needs to understand the art of story the same way one learns dancing or any other art. Atleast that’s what I believe in.
Actually when I wrote about getting inspired from a theme, it does not really mean that you have to concoct the whole story on the basis of some theme. But what it means generally, in terms of many filmmakers, is that a theme inspires them to find the right story. Because more often than not, all good films are based on good novels or short stories.
Amit // July 7, 2009 at 12:51 am |
“But then, to zero in a really interesting personal experience or an incident which you think can make a very good story is difficult too.”
Dev, as an immigrant to North America, I’m sure you could find a whole lot of interesting stories from your personal life, which many other immigrants (not just Indians) could possibly relate to. Experiencing and living in two (or more) different cultures always brings up thought-provoking ideas around one’s identity.
Dev // July 7, 2009 at 1:21 am |
Amit, you are absolutely right. I didnt want to give it away in my post, but since now you mentioned it, let me admit that immigrant experiences, cross cultural conflicts and cross cultural mis-communication have always piqued my interest; Professionally also, I have worked a bit in the field of cross cultural management.
Infact, the very first script I wrote had cross cultural conflict as it’s central theme and even the script Iam working on currently, and which most likely I will shoot too, is an extension of that idea only; with of course different story and characters from my first script. You can look for that post, The Meeting, where I wrote about my first script, under filmmaking workshop category.