That all important film script and problems with writing it!

They come and go, those ideas for a winning script. But getting down to the nitty gritty is no easy matter. Alfred Hitchcock or David Lean had to have a script to work from, the first priority. You need to go back through the history of film making for almost a hundred years to see a movie that all it had going for it was that it showed photographs of people actually moving!

Getting back to my problem, and I am sure there are others with the same problem, I find that it is one thing for me to have an idea pop into my mind, but how do I use the idea to fit neatly into a story with some kind of point or plot? If it doesn’t say something, there is no need to bother with the camcorder, except just for recording your holiday. Even that could be boring if there is no theme. It seems to me that there has to be some kind of conflict, even with a holiday film. But conflict is very important in any drama. So where do I start? I sit with pencil poised over paper, or at the keyboard. Now, what was that dream I had last night? I know it would make a sit with pencil poised over paper, or at

the keyboard. Now, what was that dream I had last night? I know it would make a good story - there were plenty of things happening and I thought it had a good ending. But I’ve forgotten what most of it was about and I certainly don’t remember the ending, that is if it had an ending! If I do remember it, it might be censored anyway.

Getting back to holiday conflict. I know it is only natural to hope all goes smoothly. But how I wish I could have had a movie camera with me when on holiday in France. A party of us were staying in a Brittany farmhouse and we were running short of logs. So we dragged a large tree trunk from along the roadside. I sawed off a good log and split it up with an axe. The next day we were near to being arrested by armed policemen, having been seen by a farmer, but managed to calm them with glasses of red wine. We replaced the log where we found it and rubbed dirt into where we’d laid the two pieces of trunk together. The farmer drove by on his tractor, just giving it a glance and it seems honour was satisfied! Now there was a holiday conflict.

On another occasion, also in France, while on a friend’s boat, we were moored along side a fishing vessel. We were suddenly harangued by an irate fisherman very typically French: tubby, with a dark blue jersey and beret. A glass of wine I was about to drink was snatched from my hand by a crew member and handed to him with the cry, “Bon Appetit!” This went down in one gulp, while he continued to berate us until we agreed to move from the mooring. How difficult it would have been to film, but wouldn’t that incident have made a good conflict. It’s never easy, and you might end up having to contrive a situation. That is an example Of where reality can give you ideas.

I’ve often longed for our club to make a musical. I have fond memories of Gene Kelly dancing round lamp posts, ‘Singing in the Rain,’ etc. Then it occurs to me that the agility of our members might be lacking. As for their vocal expertise, I have my doubts! Wait a minute, I think our chairman took Tap Dancing lessons once. Maybe I’ll think again.
Jon