Learning to fail

You need to have the bad to appreciate the good. I’ve long looked at the idea of Karma as a great way of making sense of the world and film making and other creative pursuits are no different. For every day you feel that buzz, that rush from a new, exciting idea that you can’t write down fast enough you’re bound to have half a dozen days where all you want to do is space out in front of the television and just do bugger all (although I call telly watching “research” :P). For every success, there will be other failures. However, if you constantly had that buzz and achieved perfection each time would there be any magic left in trying?

Many people far more successful than I say you should write every day but that’s just not feasible sometimes when you’re working a full time job and want to keep an active social life (I know: excuses, excuses). Hell, I hardly ever update this blog because every time I go to (this post included) I feel that if it’s not going to perfect and world changing is it worth the bother? The same goes with my films – I don’t make half as many as I want to because of pressures on finances and time. I guess, if you wanted to be harsh, you could call every day that a creative person doesn’t create something a failure day. But that’s not such a bad thing.

Recently, I took to streets of London with a friend who wants to get into film making armed with her Canon 5D camera. The day before we had come up with a loose concept based around Alice In Wonderland that in my head that wasn’t impossible but did require a little bit of luck, so we were pacing up and down Brick Lane desperately in search of someone sat outside with a Hookah pipe for our caterpillar and my definitely-not-vague-at-all request for a “pretty girl to be our Queen of Hearts”. I had a hat with white rabbit ears from a previous short film Deep In The Maddening Mind and a deck of cards packed in a bag ready to go (TIP: it’s probably stupidly obvious but keep all your props from Halloween or house parties or collected oddities together in one place so you can dig it out quickly when inspiration strikes) so we were just relying on a few chance willing participants and ideas to come to us as we went. Needless to say the shoot was a bit of a failure. But that’s not such a bad thing.

There are plenty of positives I took away from the experience, even if it didn’t yield the results I was expecting. I got to play with the 5D for the first time so now I know what different factors to consider when planning a shoot around it. I built up my self confidence and communication skills by approaching complete strangers on the street and asking them if they would be part of the project. Most importantly, though, I remembered why I usually spend hours planning a shoot beforehand from concept to script redrafts to call sheets and editor notes. If this shoot had worked perfectly, then I’d have felt there’s no need to put in all that pre-production effort and sooner or later I would have got sloppy. The reason why we plan is because we’re often flooded by a hundred different ideas and we have to wrestle them down onto paper before we can decide which is actually best in the long term.

Even if it was a failure, the person I was working with was convinced enough by the idea and my enthusiasm to commit to the project long term. Now, we’re slowing down the process to do it properly and I’m even more excited about it than I was at the start. So maybe failure is the wrong phrase – let’s call it a “delayed success”…

48 Hour Film Challenge

Sat around in a living room on a Friday night with three other writers in the classic calm before the storm. The weekend ahead holds a lot of mystery, anticipation and excitement. We’re waiting for the signal to get cracking at what we’ve decided to dedicate our time and passion to. We could easily be in the pub, talking about films but we want a bit more. Call us selfish but we want people talking about our films… Our phones beep and my eyes light up with joy at one stand out word: “horror”. And so began my experience of the London leg of the 48 Hour Film Challenge 2012. The premise is quite simple on paper – you set up a team, ideally source a few locations and set pieces in advance and then wait for the scramble to begin. Each team is given a broad character description, a prop and a line of dialogue which must be included in a film of between four to seven minutes then we pick a genre out of the hat at random. Then the clock starts ticking and the whole shebang has to be written, shot, edited and submitted in person not a second later than the deadline. It's called a challenge for a reason but it's a hell of a buzz. I'm already planning what I'd do next year, so here's my break down. Obviously, each film maker works differently so there are likely to be some points that you'll massively disagree with me on. That's cool – just try to be constructive when you’re tearing me a new one about my slightly incorrect lay out for storyboards, please? I know this is the internet and all but that doesn’t mean we can’t be civil…

First off, it's always important to pick the right team of people to work with, no matter what project you’re faced with. When there's so much uncertainty in what you'll actually be shooting, you're best off ensuring certainty in as many areas as you can. Try to pick people similar to you that you've worked with before so that you know that the team gels. Debates and disagreements during the writing process are inevitable. Full blown arguments aren't. Try and keep the writing team small otherwise you risk drowning in good ideas. Normally, I'd say you can never have enough ideas – good or not so good – but when you're working to a deadline you need to make a decision quick and ensure it's built up to the best it can be. After all, you're only making one film this weekend. If you have two writers, then one can direct the shoot while the other keeps them in check and be constantly re-assessing the big picture. Too many more writers and you could be dealing with lots of different interpretations of the same concept and that's not going to help any one. If you can get the writing done quickly in the main locations with your equipment and actors nearby, you could get one or two quick night scenes shot (you don't really want to be filming on Saturday night if you can avoid it). You won't be able to write a full script, so just get a skeleton structure and agree on the pace and flow of the story. Flesh out the scenes and dialogue as you shoot.

Then get some decent sleep on the first night. Not only for practical reasons (it's going to be a physically demanding day for everyone) but also to let your mind wrap around the idea that you've come up with. It'll be too late in the morning for a complete overhaul of the script but you'll be able to tweak and change it better if you step away for a moment. I always find myself coming up with ideas that feel amazing at the time but they don't stick in the long term, so I try to give it a while before I properly start writing any idea to make sure I’m still excited about it. Obviously you haven’t got that much time but you’ll still benefit from stepping back for a little bit.

When you're shooting, keep everyone informed and as happy as possible. Some people will be working insanely hard, while others will be waiting around not doing much for a while. This is where your Production Manager will shine. People will likely cross over in their roles but have it set out before hand who is primarily responsible for what (and play to everyone's individual strengths and experience). To be honest most of the actual shoot will be fairly standard, if a little slower paced and more disorganised than I’m used to, so I’ll cover that stuff another time. Getting off to a good start is the key to this challenge and then it’s just a case of ensuring that energy and enthusiasm isn’t beaten by fatigue.

Finally, it pays to have your Editor starting work on importing footage and a rough cut as you shoot but make sure they get a lot of rest on the second night for much the same reason as with the writing. Editing can be mentally exhausting so make it as easy for them as possible. If you can, get an early rough cut submitted as early as possible. We were told that it was perfectly acceptable to do this but then bring in a second, more polished cut closer to the deadline. If someone's ensuring your submission is going to make it with plenty of time to spare, then your Editor will have a lot of pressure taken off them to focus on what they do best.

Films are made be people, so are only ever as good as the people involved. But the magic of film making doesn't come from one individual but is greater than the sum of its parts. Use what you've got to the best of your ability and most importantly enjoy it. If it starts feeling too much like tedious work, then maybe it's time to call cut. If you're bored shooting it, the audience will be bored watching it.

All the films made for the London leg of the 48 Hour Film Challenge will be screened at the amazing Prince Charles Cinema on Saturday October 6^th in three slots (11:00, 1:30 and 4:00) If you’re coming, aim for the 1:30 slot because that’s when The Art Collective’s entry will be screened. I had zero input on the team name, btw… Tickets cost £10 and can be picked up at the PCC or here:

http://www.jack-roe.co.uk/stdcgi/taposcgi/prilon/book?perfcode=4898

Otherwise, I’ll have a link up to YouTube when we can make it public and make another post analysing it.

Stealing The Twenty Six

I'm going to kick off my blog with possibly my most ambitious (and maybe least successful...) short story. I know that it needs work but still need to figure out how to drop bigger clues about what the stolen twenty six are, without giving the game away too obviously. Any suggestions are very welcome.

“The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog,” Mary-Kate White savoured every letter in the pangram for the last time. Then, because she was a perfectionist, she added: “Cwm fjordbank glyphs vext quiz.” She sighed deeply but the satisfied smile soon stiffened into a determined look as she moved along towards her goal. Things were about to change. She had no choice but to do this – people had had their chance for so very, very long and they had ruined it. That incident on the bus had been the final straw for her – it was a mystery how she had managed to control herself surrounded by the abuse of those youths. In a way, it was for their own good. Yeah. Sorry; “yes”.

There they stood before her, almost defying belief but her heart knew this was no lie. Temptation flickered through her mind for a moment to take them all now. Keep them where they belonged, where they would be truly appreciated. But no, she resisted, just one for now. See if anyone notices; then come back for more. After all, it had been surprisingly easy to get this far. Granted, first the Quay, then the Bridge and finally the Gate had all flummoxed her briefly but now that she knew their secrets she could return any time she desired. And oh how she desired to spend as much time in this wondrous place as she could. She lost track of how long she spent there, admiring each one individually then sitting back and taking them all in as a complete entity for one last time. Then she nervously moved over to the one that had taken her fancy and opened the container she had ready for it.

“Judge my vow,” Mary-Kate White paused then and bottled her prize, “Sphinx of black quartz.”

She ran as quick as her legs would allow, did our Kate White, faltering for a second as the effects of her actions hit her. Her identity would have to change now that she possessed her gift but that was a tiny price in exchange for one of the greatest treasures. A treasure so valuable that the thought of taking it had never even seduced the wildest fantasies of the greatest thieves.

Days, weeks and... other durations... passed and the world did indeed notice but couldn't quite understand the change. Official addresses were forcefully dropped, save for the highest Sirs and Ladies of the world; roads connecting the cities of Britain conjured up deeply unsettling feelings to all who drove there upon and the finest poets and singers consistently lost their flow. No one could understand what was causing this tiny but persistent itch to their every day lives. Save for Kate White, who gazed lovingly at her prize for hours each day.

“But this is not right, it should not be alone,” she told herself on a day following a Sunday, “If I release it, things will be as before. The world does not deserve this, nor any of the others. The love I have is the greatest, so they should all be with I.” And with that she ventured back to the place where her beloved dwelt to take possession of further treasures.

Kate White stood nervous in the forbidden place, wondering which ones to take next. She was torn between her desire to cradle every last one and her fear of being caught then losing everything. Eventually, she decided upon just two of her favourites and opened the containers ready. “Quite exciting,” her entire body buzzed as she snatched the precious pair. As she turned to leave, Kate White paused and turned towards one of the big five with a glint in her eye and patted one that she had just taken, “Well, this one would be worthless without the other...” 

With two and two of the prizes locked in the wardrobe of Kate White, the world fell slowly into disorder. Lacking the pair none asked for the answers they so desperately wanted, and with the other gone daily thrills appeared fewer and fewer. The thief was too dazzled by her slowly growing collection to notice the distress in every direction. However, she was no longer content with a few and the craving to own every last one grew with every day. She opted to control her desire, for now, and only lead the world a little deeper into her insanity. “Patience, Kate White. Take half now then the rest another day, if they still beckon.”

While the dock had lost its power over her, the Bridge and the Gate still took a great deal of skill to pass to one who didn't know their secrets. Kate White passed both and breathed in the air of the forbidden place once again.

Too late to stop. The chaos will not slow now. Few can stay sane this way. Howling is easy, speech is not. English wilts into yelps. Call the one with the owl to help. Please. Only he can fight this. Please... He follows, he watches, he waits, while White glances at the stolen. She wants all. With only the Gate in the way, White acts with haste to steal. Steal. S_eal.

W so lonely. Now only nonsense. Only slowness. Only woe. W senses lens. Yes, solo owl's eyes on snow see W's news. Ene_y.

...

…hit the floor hard as every last one of the containers spilled over, releasing their contents. Mary-Kate White shrieked as a thousand suppressed thoughts flooded into her mind at once. Luckily for her, the wounded attacker was experiencing the same and grasped his head as he became overwhelmed by the echoes inside. She dodged another swoop from his winged familiar and grabbed the dropped gun before he could.

“Waltz, bad nymph, for quick jigs vex,” the detective used his last moments to deliver a holoalphabetical curse as he stared the down the barrel at the bullet would take his life. He would welcome death over the world she had planned.

Mary-Kate White unleashed a primal roar; words unable to justify her outrage. She squeezed the trigger again and again and again and again – long after the shots were replaced by feeble clicks –  until her own blood trickled from her finger tips. Then, with all the tranquillity of the hypnotised, she paced through the shallow tide of blood slowing creeping across her kitchen floor. She didn't spare a glance for what was left of the man's shattered skull, as the treacherous owl picked out its gooey dinner from between fragments of bone and lead. Mary-Kate White lovingly picked every one of the nineteen spilled containers from the floor and carefully checked to ensure they hadn't been damaged beyond use in the fight. She packed seven new containers into her bag and set off for one last quest to the place that had started to feel like a second home. No Quay, no Bridge and no Gate would hinder her now. Soon, her quest would be complete.

.._