No matter what camp of writers you follow or attempt to emulate, all know that the opening scene in a feature film must be attention getting and set the tone for the audience. If it can also introduce the main character, you’re one step ahead, but the second scene is sufficient for an introduction.

Big box office screenwriters prefer to leave the main character’s introduction for a subsequent scene and focus on what some call the First Strike. Some great examples include J. J. Abram’s Star Trek reboot, which opens with an attack from a future century Nero who changes the course of history for Kirk and Spock. Typically in the James Bond franchise, the films open with a special 007 mission with cool effects and explosions that aren’t necessarily related to the story.

In the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the opening is of a man who receives a dried flower that causes him such great turmoil, he must do something different to bring an end to his pain. This scene doesn’t qualify as a First Strike, but rather an emotionally charged atmosphere, although some might argue that his misunderstanding of who is sending the dried flowers could be construed as a First Strike. The challenge for the screenwriter was in making the first scene a clear setup for an investigative thriller.

The screenwriter’s goal is to make sure he raises a question in the first scene that gives the audience a desire to find the answer as they watch the movie. This technique would be dressed in accordance with the story’s theme or genre. The audience expects to be taken to a place they’ve never been before, or experience something they haven’t seen.

If the main character is introduced in the scene, the audience expects to learn something special about the hero or what his typical day looks like. They desire to experience something with him that is either humorous, touching or formulated as a crisis – A shared emotion.

These techniques are designed to hook the audience into watching the entire movie and without it, the audience won’t suspend disbelief and enter the screenwriter’s world. It’s therefore important that the screenwriter touches on all the senses by addressing the following elements:

1. Location
2. Time
3. Mood
4. Tone
5. Style
6. Intent
7. Atmosphere

These important elements, coupled with raising the key universal question that drives the audience to seek the answer, will entertain and hook the audience long enough for the screenwriter to get through the needed backstory. It will also give the audience the confidence that they are watching a film worth their time.

Copyright © 2012 By CJ Powers
Photo © GIS – Fotolia.com

I recently saw that a film festival was offering directing classes to its attending filmmakers. Directing is one of the positions on a production team that few people really understand. Many books have been written on the subject, but few address what really happens between the director and his actors.

The best way to understand directing is for me to put it in relationship terms. The actor, who is exposing great vulnerability during each shot, needs comfort and confidence from the director. She needs to understand and trust that he will protect her performance and make sure it is not bad.

To accomplish this one element of directing, he can call on a couple dozen techniques. The three most common are:

1. Say something to the actor before and after every take.
The actor is unable to see herself or know how to feel about her performance until she takes her cue from the director. He must give her some form of honest feedback. If she did a poor job, then he needs to carefully explain that what “he” attempted in that shot didn’t work and mention that he’d like to try something a bit different. Actors are used to performing variations, so this response would be acceptable.

2. Don’t ask the actor to repeat what she just did.
If the director tells the actor to redo what she just did, she won’t know what he is referring to. Actors do movement, exude emotions, speak dialog, and about a couple dozen other things that spring from the moment, their history, and listening carefully to the other actors. Instead, the director must affirm the previous performance and suggest some action verbs that might help draw out additional emotions or visuals.

3. Give the actor permission to do business.
If the timing is a bit off with the actor’s interaction with a prop or form of touch involving other actors, telling the actor to do something earlier pushes the actor out of the character and into a robotic nightmare. Instead of saying, “pick up the mirror earlier,” the director should affirm the moment and state, “It’s okay, if you feel led to pick up the hand mirror a bit earlier.” This direction keeps the focus on the character and not the prop.

When the actor is allowed to create their character and are continually managed with the above techniques, they are free to be more creative and find a performance that is unique and screen worthy. In fact, the once vulnerable actor might receive a film festival award for best acting, with few people knowing that it was the director who made sure her award winning performance made it to the screen with confidence.

The best part of directing well is the relationship built between the actor and director during the shoot. Both will be keeping a look out for another story worth their collaboration.

Copyright © 2012 By CJ Powers
Photo © T.Tulic – Fotolia.com

Product placement has been around since James Dean combed his hair with an ACE Flex pocket comb and sales quadrupled. Sony, Coke and other big boys immediately jumped on the product placement bandwagon.

“Risky Business” and “Men in Black II” gave a boost in sales to Ray-Ban sunglasses. “Back to the Future” promoted several Pepsi products. “You’ve Got Mail” promoted AOL and Starbucks. And, “Cast Away” successfully teamed with Fed Ex and Wilson.

Satires and Parodies also jumped into the product placement game with “Wayne’s World” and “Josie and the Pussycats.” The latter, having 27 products placed within the film, a parody of massive proportions.

Michael Bay (Transformers, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor) and partner Scott Gardenhour (Pearl Harbor, Jumper, Coyote Ugly) teamed together to create The Institute, a multi-platform media company that integrates creativity with brand marketing. They believe in innovation and finding the right balance between products and story, to drive consumer demand.

Filmmakers have always been in need of funds and Brand Managers have always needed story to promote their products. Frankly, it makes sense for the two to come together in a way that enhances the story and doesn’t detract from it. Bay’s Institute is already exploring numerous stories that promote products by drawing the audience into the story that encourages them to accept the product without any real consideration.

Corporations love this new approach as it demonstrates their product in a good light and helps the future buyer remember the product in conjunction with the great feelings the film attributed to it. The key is making sure the right storytellers connect with the right products, to ensure a seamless partnership that everyone accepts without feeling pulled out of the story and into an ad.

This same innovation works in reverse, as Bay made a couple commercials with memorable stories that brought a smile to the viewers face and introduced him or her to a specific product. The Levi product story promotes future dreams and the Audi story promotes a more nostalgic look at love and making the wrong choice.

The more integrated the product is within the story, the greater the ability of the audience to receive the related feelings through future associations – A strong selling point for any product. However, to avoid the story turning into a bad job of product placement, it must be done in an artistic and creative way that moves the story forward.

When successful, everyone accepts the reality of E.T. eating a Reese’s Pieces. Hershey saw its sales go through the roof with a 65-85% increase in sales. To this day, I’m sure Mars is still wondering why that executive turned down Steven Spielberg’s request for M&Ms to be in the film.

When story and product match up well, all parties win big. The key is finding the right product that fits the right audience with the right story. Anything less than that makes the sad attempt appear to be a parody without effort, which is a lose/lose scenario for all involved.

What type of story would you tell and to what audience? Is there a product that naturally fits the story and the audience? Most independent filmmakers can’t place products in their stories because they don’t take the time to use the science that determines what audience the story is geared toward, let alone what product fits it.

Independents love to throw ideas together fast enough to shoot something, rather than planning a story that properly integrates a product with its symbolism and theme. But for the filmmaker who can figure out this new process, they will be in filmmaking for years to come, while others scrape for enough funds to shoot their next picture.

Copyright © 2011 By CJ Powers