The Storyteller's Corner: the Aesthetic side to Filmmaking

[diem]

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Like to talk about about concept development, story plots, acting principles, casting, directing techniques, thematic issues, writing for Hollywood etc. etc.

Come to the storytellers' corner!

[MrBiddle]

I think cohesion is very important.

Plant it (set it up, foreshadowing), and pay it off later.

[diem]

Let's talk about casting. Getting the right kind of actors to play the characters of your film is vital if you want your film to be a success since stories are character-driven. It is your characters that will be the bridge that audience will cross from their theater seats into your film world. The strength of that bridge will greatly depend on how believable the actors' performance are.

There is no exact criteria in selecting actors, often enough it really rests on directors' gut instinct, serendipity, in short... magic. But a director should be particular in what s/he is looking for, and it must be TOTAL particularity. There are instances where I believe if the director had been more particular in his selection of actors, the film would have taken a whole new direction, and its impact would have been more tremendous. Let me give you two examples:

LOCAL) Maryo de los Reyes' MAGNIFICO, excellent story, great cinematograohy, noteworthy performances from the actors. Now here's a casting issue which I like to raise. I feel (and anyone's free to contend) that Lorna Tolentino and Gloria Romero were miscast. They are incredible talents but they look too 'meztiza' for the roles. Physically paired with Jiro Manio, they don't seem like a family at all (unless I missed a story point where Jiro's character is adopted). Anyhow, I think Amy Austria as mom and Caridad Sanchez as grandma would have been better choices.

INTERNATIONAL) Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy had a theme that has universal appeal so there were a few critics who raised the obvious racial comments, why were all the actors white and the only black race seen in the film were the Uruk-hai. A part of me tends to agree with those critics. I felt Morgan Freeman would have made a kick-ass Gandalf Stormcrowe. Asians would have made slicker looking Elves.

Imagine if these casting choices were made, how different the films mentioned woud have been! It may sound like nitpicking but this is a quality vital to the process. A filmmaker must be very particular, get into the details as much as it is possible, so as to arrive with a film that is close to his/her heart.

[vanceloma]

hi deimjudiila, I think kaila ta

yup, I agree casting is very essential gyud! inherent man gud na sa mga tao to judge people by appearance, so sa salida nimo, kailang ang mga viewers maka tell dayun sa character, casting the right people for the right character which makes the movie more real.

on the LOTR thing, di ko sweto sa books ha, pero I also had the question "nganong walay may blacks sa LOTR?" basing sa akong friend who are into the books, wala kunoy black na person on the good side dapit.

Sa iya pud gi sulti, (I'm sure tirahon ko ninyo ani) Tolkien is a WHITe only kind of person, I don;t know kung tinuod gyud na, can anyone confirm it?

nindot unta Samuel L. Jackson kay Gandalf.

Pwedi sa si Frodo black.

SAM: Mr FRODO! The RING! it's turning you evil!!!

FORDO: werd up!? Which ring, nigga? gots lots of bling bling here ya'll.

[MrBiddle]

Sa iya pud gi sulti, (I'm sure tirahon ko ninyo ani) Tolkien is a WHITe only kind of person, I don;t know kung tinuod gyud na, can anyone confirm it?

He got problems with ebony.

[diem]

hey vanceloma, i'm just curious na in what way kaila ta? Blown by your flash animation, is it your creation? ASTIG!

Anyhow, for those aspiring screenwriters and those who know one or two. Please refer to www.wordplayer.com, a cool site filled with witty articles on story quality and insider knowledge on the biggest film scene on the world: Hollywood!

My next post will be what stories to tell on film or my philosophy on storytelling.

[MrBiddle]

The ways of writing for Hollywood can be quite masochistic I think I posted something like this more than a year ago in the FILMMAKING ANYONE? thread.

[diem]

Writing for Hollywood isn't everybody's cup of tea... but it's the Babylon of Film Anyway, I would like to talk about Filipino TV shows for this post... and their lousy editing.

What do I mean?

Okay, let's get real, I watch Filipino TV shows like Darna (only because I found Angel Locsin surprisingly voluptous). I watch and get irritated with the constant "cut to's" and 'kalit-kalit' interruptions in sequence. Like in an episode there are about 2 or 3 storylines... once the pace in storyline A is getting nearer to that of my pulse, it cuts to storyline B...once the conflict in storyline B heats up to that of my body temp, it cuts back to storyline A.... grrrr!

Opinions, anyone?!

For writers, let me share this something I've gleaned from all the wanna-be-a-writer-? books I've read so far...

1) Write what you like/enjoy
2) Write what you know
and most importantly
3) Write NOW!

[MrBiddle]

Okay, let's get real, I watch Filipino TV shows like Darna (only because I found Angel Locsin surprisingly voluptous). I watch and get irritated with the constant "cut to's" and 'kalit-kalit' interruptions in sequence. Like in an episode there are about 2 or 3 storylines... once the pace in storyline A is getting nearer to that of my pulse, it cuts to storyline B...once the conflict in storyline B heats up to that of my body temp, it cuts back to storyline A.... grrrr!

Opinions, anyone?!

This is the editor's failure in the rhythmic dimension of film editing. One of the 4 dimensions of editing.

2) Write what you know

Yet know what you write.

[diem]

be you be a director or a screenwriter... it pays to read... you never know where that next great story idea will come from...

Here is my list of suggested reading...

The Bible, The Qu'ran, The Prophet of Khalil Gibran
Classic Works of Shakespeare, O. Henry and Charles Dickens, Anton Chekov
World Mythology-- Greek, Viking are more prominent-- but Hindu Mythology rocks! Also include the darkside.
Current events from newspapers, tabloids, and periodicals
History
Comics and Mangga-- Frank Miller and Watsuki Nobuhiro are among my faves
Poetry by Emily Dickinson
Posts on Istorya.net