Tag Archives: story

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January 18, 2016

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Filmmaking

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They Got It Backwards

I love the juxtaposition of talking with a horror filmmaker and a faith-based filmmaker over the same weekend. The former asked why I sometimes wrote about faith-based films. She couldn’t comprehend why I’d even broached the politically incorrect subject of religion. The later questioned me on educating horror filmmakers who bring evil into the world. He rebuked me for not separating myself from “the likes of them.” I chuckled at both perspectives.

Filmmaking is an art, which both people had forgotten. It’s also a craft that requires thousands of hours to master. Since I’ve worked several features and 300 plus television episodes, I’m willing to share my knowledge and hope to learn something new during the exchange of ideas and craft secrets. I’m a people person, what else can I say.

The conversations opened my mind to just how backwards both filmmakers got it. Let me start with the faith-based filmmaker.

There is an interesting trend in the faith-based market niche. Churches have gotten so good at entertaining that its congregations are dropping off. Millennials aren’t interested in a polished presentation in their services, but instead in an authentic person sharing how to do life. They also want to sing during worship, but the loud music and professional singers leading the congregation stops them from sharing their untrained voices in song.

Christian filmmakers are creating films with authentic stories that are real and rough around the edges, the exact thing Millennials want from their services. But, they don’t want that in their movies, instead they long for highly entertaining and professional films. The church and Christian filmmakers have it exactly backwards from what their audiences demand.

Horror filmmakers also have it backwards. The genre started out as a tool to launch great, unknown filmmakers into the mainstream movie making system. Those with good stories rose in the ranks and transitioned to thrillers and later to action films. Today, most horror filmmakers aren’t concerned about story. Instead they focus on the latest FX to make mutilation more realistic.

Without a story about characters you learn to care about, the scary aspects of horror films hold little fear in our heavy CGI based world. The lack of story makes the film appear campy, just like unprofessional faith-based films. In fact, the relationship between horror and faith-based films is so close that I’m surprised no one has done a high quality Christian horror film that causes the audience to consider their own mortality.

The bottom line is that genres only work well when done in the way the media demands. Since high quality technical equipment is now readily available to both genres, storytelling becomes critical to sort through the noise of the thousands of bad films. Even TV has hit a glut of programming and most people aren’t aware that over 400 new series were released last year. The support of an audience is still critical to the health of a series. Without the right audience the shows get cancelled or make little to no profit.

It’s time our churches give up the professional entertainment for the authentic sharing of life. Our faith-based films must also turn around by creating professional and highly entertaining universal stories. And, our horror films must get back to the core work of storytelling, as movies without stories are a waste of everyone’s time.

Let’s turn around these backwards trends.

Copyright © 2016 by CJ Powers

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October 7, 2015

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Supporting Your Why

WhyStrong leaders know that passion motivates their team and produces high returns on their products/services. This passion is the heart of the company or the reason why the company does what it does. It’s the one filter that everything being worked must be analyzed through.

I recently reviewed a film script that was being produced by an Atheist and a Christian. I found it fascinating that they set their religious differences to the side in order to make a great story. I was also eager to see how the film turned out due to the diverse passions they brought to the table.

However, the screenplay had some major flaws in it. I asked both men how they’d deal with the hole in the plot and they both instinctively knew how the story needed to end, but couldn’t understand how to get there. So I asked if they’d like my input and they agreed.

I asked one question: Why are you making THIS story?

They both answered in almost perfect unison, “To show the audience that people can change with every choice they make including the decision to show a weaker person kindness.”

Here is how I responded…

If a person is going to change, it needs to be the protagonist. (Although other characters can also change.) Therefore ACT 1 must show the unchanged protagonist in his normal flawed life. In ACT 2A, the protagonist must be introduced to the possibility of change or at least the contrast between his current life and his possible life. In ACT 2B, the protagonist must battle through his internal and external obstacles to overcome whom he is to give room for who he can become. In ACT 3, he must look at his flaw from a new perspective and turn it into the thing that catapults him through the change into his new life.

The restructuring of their story based on their agreed “why” drove a dynamic rewrite that made the story award worthy. It also drove their shared passion into the story itself. The rewrite was simple when they filtered every thing through their powerful why.

In the independent filmmaking business, the number one thing that kills great stories is when the writer loses track of the why. Writers are naturally drawn down interesting rabbit holes that take the story in a significantly different direction. The only way to stay true to the story is to understand why you’re writing it to begin with.

When I created Tried & True with Guy Cote and Anthony DeRosa, I started the story with the following why: To help people realize they are trapped in a comfortable, false freedom and need to break free to experience a true adventurous freedom that is available to all who seek it.

Unfortunately we didn’t use the why as a filter during the writing process and ended up having a different story with each draft. Each version would make a great film, but there would only be one version that matched our passion – The one we had neglected to write. It became clear that one more run at a rewrite was necessary to birth the version that we could all passionately get behind.

Filtering everything through your why will keep you focused and headed in the direction you originally intended. Everyone has a why to follow, whether in business, among family, or in creative endeavors. And, everyone can shine brightly in a profound way that the world needs when their life’s output reflects their why.

Copyright © 2015 by CJ Powers
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August 3, 2015

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5 Steps that Create the Middle of a Story

© ktsdesign - Fotolia.comOver the weekend, I coached a couple of young filmmakers in a Google Hangout. Their goal was to create an award winning short story that could be produced as a film. They had a beginning and an end, but struggled to know how to get from one to the other in a plausible fashion for the audience.

I shared five story analysis steps to guide them in how to fill out the middle of their story:

  1. Review the Logline.

I asked what the film was about and they weren’t able to answer within two sentences, which suggested clarification was needed on the core story. Our first step was writing down the logline to make sure they understood their story and its key elements including protagonist, antagonist or obstacle, setting, and protagonist’s goal.

  1. Determine Character Development.

The writer and director knew who the protagonist was in the beginning of the story and the end, but didn’t know how to move him through his character development transitions. In this case, the hero starts out selfish and ends up selfless. A simple response could’ve been the following progression: Selfish -> Disinterested -> Apathy -> Selfless.

However, the excellent conflict between the protagonist and antagonist throughout the story suggests the development should instead be based on the character’s relationship. This perspective led to the following progression: Selfish -> Acknowledgment -> Respect -> Selfless.

More information about the process can be found here.

  1. Make the Scenes Visual.

Motion pictures are about motion and emotions. Something needs to be moving and stimulating. This forces the story to be visual, which opens the door to symbolism, metaphors and allegories. We indirectly discussed what the film would look like if there were no sound, just action.

While the writer feared that the success of the picture would rest solely on the actor’s visual performance (facial reactions), those visualized moments would catapult the story to award winning levels at festivals. Projects that rest on the dialog to tell the audience what’s happening depower the story’s impact.

  1. Find the Symbolism.

Finding symbolism within a story and attaching it to a physical object for visualization makes for a powerful story. This short story was about a precious commodity that the hero holds dear. The physical element quickly emerged as a symbol on its own merits once the story was sound. Having a key visual element tied in to the story as a symbol always turns the heads of festival judges and most audiences appreciate the added depth brought to the screen.

  1. Test the Story.

By writing down a sentence or two for each of the story beats, the writer and director can create a mini treatment that will reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the story. Making alterations at this stage is simple compared to reworking several pages of script.

By reviewing the above five items, an obvious outline of the story emerged for both the writer and director to work from. By adjusting their perspective when reviewing each element, more potential scenes came to mind for exploration. This process makes it easy to create numerous scenes from which the best can be selected for the middle of the final script.

Copyright © 2015 by CJ Powers