Hey guys and gals... let's get a contest going. Any ideas? Script2Screen2? Another idea? Script2Screen with new ideas, or a totally fresh idea?

I totally loved Script2Screen and would love to see another one.

If I think of any ideas to help, I will put them in here.

I'm thinking Script2Screen with new ideas. What if we do it like the last one, but with the following exceptions:

1) During the "script" phase of the process, the writers ONLY write the the dialog. In this phase, there will be no genre or stage directions. The genre, actions, and context will be determined by the directors when they receive said dialog.

2) There will only be one dialog winner in phase one resulting in different (hopefully drastically different) interpretations of the same script.

I'm not certain, but I believe this is how they started picking directors for Project Greenlight.

That sounds similar to Project Greenlight...

There's really no way to know for sure at this point, as all the info about it is pretty much gone from the website, here's what I did find: "Each Top 10 Director was given an identical scene assignment. The assignment challenged the contestants to be creative, while still following all the assignment parameters."

I agree though, that would be fun to see dramatically different final films based on the same initial material, whether that is dialogue alone, or a bit more fleshed out than just dialogue...

That sounds similar to Project Greenlight...

There's really no way to know for sure at this point, as all the info about it is pretty much gone from the website, here's what I did find: "Each Top 10 Director was given an identical scene assignment. The assignment challenged the contestants to be creative, while still following all the assignment parameters."

Well how many 24 hour and 48 hour film fests are there? Every idea may sound like something done, we'll put our own twist on it.

;) I was agreeing with Charles..

;) I was agreeing with Charles..
I knew that :blush:

hehe.. just making sure. ;)

If we do a script portion with dialogue only it really kills the idea of it being a screenwriting and filmmaking comp -- because dialogue is only one (important) part of screenwriting.

Contests rule.

* I would like to see the return of one of the previous contests where we are given two or three things to include in the final production (previously there was a baseball cap and a knife) so that we can create a film that's not restricted to those who have a large(r) cast and crew available to shoot with. This way, one man and a camera (like me) have an opportunity to have a submission as well as everyone else.

* Also, as a bonus, extra points are given if we use a Maniacal Plan song in the film (difficulty: not in the beginning or end credits). The song used should be the filmmaker's choice.

Like? Dislike? I'd like to hear opinions.

Any length requirements? Page layout requirements (double-spaced, margin sizes)?

Sounds interesting. Writing dialogue only - would the writer initially write a full script and then delete action and descriptions?

I would like to see the return of one of the previous contests where we are given two or three things to include in the final production...

I see no reason why the ITOOFC and the ITSTSC can't coexist. We could do each, once a year. Say winter time we do the ITSTSC and in the summer we do ITOOFC.

And I like the idea of implementing a Maniacal Plan song.

I liked the format of the last comp. I could also see pairing writers and filmmakers randomly (I'm a non-writing filmmaker-so I have to arrange writers for everything I shoot). This could help writers to think within the context of differing available resources as well as styles...and widen the filmmakers networks a bit as well as pushing the "outside our normal cavalcade of talent" outlook a bit.

For folks like spat and LOC who do both parts of the process, they could be writing one production for another filmmaker to produce, and working with another writer on the piece they are producing.

We could use skype or chat of some sort to communicate free. And produce a stronger community by having more direct interactions with one another.

Just throwing this out there...

What about something with NO dialogue?

filmy

How about scripts with no dialogue OR actions? Hmmmmm...?

Or, how about we write scripts with either no dialogue OR no action, and filmmakers agree to shoot with either no lights OR no cameras?

Why you wanna take tools out of the writers hands? Isn't it hard enough finding good scripts to shoot, without limiting your writers?

Just askin'.


And, as a P.S. - the script I wrote for the last Script2Screen contest, "Scare Tactics", was produced by Mark Diestler and Red Giant Productions (http://www.redgiantproductions.com/) and is an Official Selection of the FAIF International Film Festival in Los Angeles, screening at Disneyland November 1, 2007 (schedule here):

http://www.magicalfilmfest.com/faif_films.html

So, good things really DO happen to indietalkers!

yay for you!


and steve, take a deep breath, it's just brainstorming. ;)

I know, I know - it's just interesting to see it from the point of view of someone who's done both sides.

Not everyone would necessarily feel comfy entering a contest where they said, "You can't use (insert essential element of filmmaking here)", but no one seems to think twice about taking away half the writer's elements.

Although it could be interesting to see some modern-day silent movies...?

I've been a writer, I just lose interest after I've come up with the story...so I falter on the physical writing part of it...it's a weakness about myself that I work around by having others write for me.

I'm a competitive person. I love working under strict restrictions, makes the challenge greater. I enjoy the 48 hour film project specifically because they've taken away the tool of time from me as a filmmaker (time being one of those 'essential elements of filmmaking' (tm)). The time constrained films are the ones I have completed...my feature which I built under the premise that "time=money, they are therefore interchangeable" is still not completed.

I understand that having your hand tied behind your back while competing is uncomfortable for some, but I would argue that it's harder to wrestle with someone covered in oil, therefore, the reward from competing is greater (greco roman wrestling vs. american wrestling reference - no offense to american wrestlers, nor the GR wrestlers).

I think there are tons of competitions out there that are nearly identical, so all aspects have to be at least considered when concocting something compelling, but not so bland it looks like every other competition out there.

I personally liked the format of the last competition, and I have 2.5 strong pieces in my portfolio because of it (it'll be 3 when I finish editing FO)...but don't discount difficult competitions because they are made to be more difficult. I like to use the time constrained projects to hone my shooting speed, I target specific failings in my productions every time we start another project, my AD and I pick a piece of technology or a specific skill set to work on each shoot.

On "9th Life" for the 48 hour, we chose to figure out how to move the camera for that one. I'm really quite happy with the footage we got, learned a lot from it. On our heinz commercial, we wanted more interesting angles.

Next target we've agreed upon will be more inserts, less standard shots...to the point where we're restricting ourselves to only use insert types of shots.

When I was learning to drive, my dad setup sawhorses to teach me to parallel park, each success, he'd move them together a few inches. By the end of the day, I could park that Olds Delta 88 just about anywhere...the parking portion of the driver's test was painfully easy. I still train that way.

As a writer, what are your weaknesses? Do your participles dangle? Is your character structure weakerr than you'd like? do you overuse certain words? on each short project, pick one of those weaknesses and beat it out of yourself...impose the restrictions on yourself in competitions that don't require you to do so.

See if you can write your next 2-3 page script without verbs to strenghten your adjectives and description (it really does work, I love that excercise-try to make them seem as if they are full sentences when read). These don't necessarily have to be for release to the public, but will strengthen your craft. Welcome the challenges you are given on these competitions...they can only make you stronger, perhaps you've got this marketable little gem of style that is covered by a weakness and you'll never find it without clearing away the problem area.

My AD, script super and I will be getting together over beer to turn my "99 film scenes for actors" into shot lists over the winter. This will make the 48 hours stuff go faster even yet and greatly benefit us when we start to get into budgeted work that we expect to make money off of.

I don't look at competitions as a way for me to increase my portfolio so much as a way for me to get more practice trying to catch lightning in a bottle (which is what I consider filmmaking to be...any little piece that's missing breaks the suspension of disbelief). I don't feel I've gotten it yet, but I'm much closer than I was when I started... I'm falling into many more scenes of mine than ever before...and that makes me happy.

Now if I can just get it to the point where I can fall into everything I shoot.

Just throwing this out there...

What about something with NO dialogue?

filmy


Now you're talkin!

How about scripts with no dialogue OR actions? Hmmmmm...?

Or, how about we write scripts with either no dialogue OR no action, and filmmakers agree to shoot with either no lights OR no cameras?

Why you wanna take tools out of the writers hands? Isn't it hard enough finding good scripts to shoot, without limiting your writers?

Just askin'.


And, as a P.S. - the script I wrote for the last Script2Screen contest, "Scare Tactics", was produced by Mark Diestler and Red Giant Productions (http://www.redgiantproductions.com/) and is an Official Selection of the FAIF International Film Festival in Los Angeles, screening at Disneyland November 1, 2007 (schedule here):

http://www.magicalfilmfest.com/faif_films.html
Again... Just THINKING OUT LOUD HERE...

So, good things really DO happen to indietalkers!

Taking away dialogue from a writer does not take away his or her tools... LOL. It simply requires MORE FOCUS to tell their story visually.

The REASON I threw it out there was simple...

Visual storytelling and filmmaking going hand in hand...

filmy

Visual storytelling and filmmaking going hand in hand...




What was the last script with no dialogue that was produced by a major studio...?

It's fine and fun to make contests with all sorts of keyholes to fit through, and sure any writing exercise is a way to build the writing muscle, and etc. - but really, how many scripts are any of us going to write or produce that have no dialogue?

Again, I'm just asking. I can write pretty much anything.

This isn't a major studio though Steve, it's indietalk. ;)

But, to answer your question, I believe it was Legong: Dance of the Virgins (http://imdb.com/title/tt0129196/)

I understand the reason Filmy suggested it, as it would force the writer (AND director) to focus on the visual aspect of the story, not rely on dialogue to tell the story, which sadly seems to happen entirely too often.

I would love to get a short silent script to work with.. I've got some B&W Super 8 film stock that's been sitting in my fridge for a couple years waiting for the right project. Silent would be great, as currently only one of my two super 8 cameras is functioning, and it'll only do 18fps, which would be less than ideal for a talky.. :D

I would be for writing a script without dialogue -- simply because it is the hardest part of writing for me. But it would be an interesting challenge.

What was the last script with no dialogue that was produced by a major studio...?



Quest for Fire? But that was 1981 -- so Steve does have a good point. However, Will's point is also good -- we can do things differently at IndieTalk.

What was the last script with no dialogue that was produced by a major studio...

Lawnmower man 2

I understand that the contest can and will be whatever is eventually chosen, and I know this isn't Hollywood, it's Indietalk ("It's Chinatown, Marge!"), but....

Wouldn't it be better if we were working the muscles that might get us further ahead in the studio movie game? I mean, we can write fan movies, one page scripts, scripts where the lead character had to work a type of fruit into every sentence of his/her conversation....but will that experience benefit those who participate?

Not saying that everything has to be made/written/shot with purpose, but if people are going to invest the time, energy, money, creativity, whatever to participate, an appreciable benefit or practical angle to improving skill sets might not be so bad.

While I can certainly understand your concern, I think you're focusing on the wrong thing Steve..

The suggestion is to eliminate dialogue. So, yes, from a certain point of view it is limiting, but in the broader sense, it would force the writer to focus on writing visually, as filmy stated.. which is ultimately the essence of the film medium anyway. Telling a story with pictures.

This was done successfully for many years prior to the advent of synchronized sound tracks. I honestly think it's a good idea because it directly addresses an issue that rears its head time and again in small (and often not so small) indie projects.

By eliminating dialogue, you can not use it as a means of exposition. This is something that happens far too often. There are many examples, both on this forum and around the net, that clearly illustrate this point -- characters telling us what's going on, rather than showing us visually through actions, expressions, etc.

Once the visual part is solid, the dialogue supports it, rather than replaces it. So, in effect it's the same as telling people just starting out in film making to shoot a bunch of shorts, rather than jump into a feature project. Practice the basics, hone your skills, and then move on to projects with a new element.

Example: Shoot a bunch of shorts with locked down static camera shots. Work on blocking with the actors within that constraint. Then, move on to moving camera shots, using what you've learned/practiced of blocking, and adding the movement of the camera to further enhance the scene. Then move on to something else, over and over, ad infinitum.

Here, it would be the same thing, tell a compelling story visually, without relying on dialogue (which, lets be honest here... more often than not becomes a crutch that writers lean on). Perfect that, and you'll have something more compelling, watchable, and worth your "time, energy, money, creativity, whatever" than a mediocre script with dialogue. Then, you take what you learned from that and move on.

I'm not saying anyone in particular is a horrible writer, it's not my place to say, not being a writer myself. But fundamentals are important, and since anywhere between 55 and 90% (depending on which research you look at) of communication is non-verbal AND this is a visual medium, why wouldn't a focus on that particular fundamental element not be a worthwhile challenge? The majority of indie scripts I see, here and elsewhere more often than not is extremely dialogue heavy... Lots of talking heads and such.

So, I think perhaps that you're not seeing the whole forest, but rather are focusing on a leaf. I think if you try to look at filmy's suggestion from a different point of view you'll see that it would in fact be beneficial to improving skills that are valuable in film making -- both in writing and production.

Lawnmower man 2
Lawnmower man 2 has dialogue... albeit maybe not the best ever written.. ;) It sucks that sarcasm isn't always apparent in text form. :yes:

Thanks, Will. I get the concept of the silent script as a writing challenge from all of those well-expressed angles. I'm not denying the value in filmy's suggestion.

I wrote a character into a script with the idea that he would never say more than three words at a time. It was fun and challenging to have him say everything he needed to say, in a natural manner, in three words or less.

I was basically just stating a preference in the form of a question - writing something without dialogue doesn't necessarily interest me at the moment. It might tomorrow, or when the full parameters of the contest are decided, but it doesn't at this moment. That's all.

Shooting something with no dialogue would be more interesting than writing something with no dialogue, IMO.