How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography?

[Brian Drysdale]

That particular script is still in development. The development budget has been bigger than the budget for your feature film.

[Paul R Johnson]

It went into theatres here, and while I produced it, we had a decent director who did what they could with my very average script. Got some nice revues, but I tried to do too much and had to give away the real roles I wanted to do to others, but I trusted them, and everyone pulled together. My usual areas were given to decent people and I ended up being music supervisor, which means all things music, including the legal stuff came down to me as we used quite a lot of pre-existing music and clearing the rights was a nightmare.

The hardest thing for me was letting others have control, and stopping me interfering. I know the script sucked in places, but we were stuck with it.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Ryan this goes back to what Bryan asked what is the purpose of this movie and what Paul just said. Every indication this appears to be a passion project with no realistic hope of any commercial success or even reel material.
1. You have little to no budget.
2. You want to micro manage and be involved every aspect.
3. You want to do everything your way. Not following accepted movie producing methods.

While in the short term it might feel good to control everything and indulge your every whim, it's not going to lead to a good result. Movie making is a collaborative process where you need competent people all doing their job.

[Josh Bass]

I like how Paul’s definition of failure is “got into theaters and got some nice reviews.”

[Ryan Elder]

Okay sure, I can not micromanage then and be collaborative. I would definitely want success for the movie and possible release, but if that's not possible then it's good to just use it on my resume to show.

[Paul R Johnson]

Forget the movie thing - perhaps you are a little optimistic? Have you tried perhaps doing some music videos for people in your area? Get used to the process. You might not see the link, but lets say somebody plays the guitar and sings, and perhaps noodles on the keys too. This will give you things to record and enhance, and be good test fodder. All the movie needs are there. Your actor, but s/he sings not speaks. You need to work on audio, set, lights, directing and best of all, it's not so huge. This will test your editing, and also how the audio has to fit. This is pretty much how I can make money. Big budget stuff has vanished with covid.

In the past you've mentioned editing audio. Do you have DAW software? If your singer doesn't play keys, can you? make a basic sing and strum into something nicer.

Music videos are all about manipulation and keeping the person playing happy. All the stuff in this video was not what it seems. Nothing you hear will be recorded live. Lip sync and finger sync (not sure if that is even a term) but whatever lights you have available, maybe a hazer and for set - upturned flight cases and black drapes are what I've made do with in the past. Process wise - take a recording of the guitar - edit and tweak then s/he sings to the guitar track, then you repeat it multiple times, take the best bits, then s/he mimes in the studio for the video. It's a good test of how you can integrate everything and put it back together. Unless you can manage this kind of thing properly and comfortably, I don't see how you can jump to the project you're currently struggling with - it's just too complex for where you currently are working.

I get the impression you need to do some client work, with timescales and problems to solve.

[Josh Bass]

I think you may be forgetting the three or four other threads he's started involving various client projects and their attendant problems (martial arts video, religious guy in the woods, documentary about Vietnamese guy, etc.).

[Ryan Elder]

Yeah I'm still working on the Vietnamese one right now, and I'm helping some others out with their movies. I want to take in all the screenwriting advice but I find there to be contradictions in some of the advice, and wonder if I could ask about one in particular. It was said on here before that I introduce too many plot points too soon, instead of spreading them out more. But it was also said that my first act seems too long and that I am leaving the audience hanging.

But what I don't understand is, if their are a lot of plot points to keep the audience busy, then how is that leaving them hanging exactly?

[Brian Drysdale]

You should read a few more books on script writing, there's a wide range of them. Because, at the moment, you seem to have little understanding of the process and what engages an audience. .

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay sure. So far I have read John Truby's The Anatomy of Story. I can read more.

[Paul R Johnson]

Do you read novels? If so, who are your favourite authors? It's always been an interest of mine to take a novel I know really well and then compare it to the abridged audio book to see what the editors removed, or changed.

The trick of keeping the plot running yet removing the padding. The same thing is applied to movie scripts and that's where the skill comes in telling the story quicker.

You say you've been told the first act is too long? Too long as in it's difficult to follow, or too boring, or pointless or what? The length of a section needs to be sufficient to tell the story. If that means it has to be long, that's not a problem. The minute the viewer starts to drift into watching the scenery or seeing what is happening on their phone .... it's too long. There's no real rule that cannot be broken for a purpose.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay. I don't read a lot of books, but I read scripts and watch movies, to try to study movie structure more.

I was told too long, but I am not sure which of those to. It was on here before. It was said that I introduce too many plot points too soon, but also that I leave the audience hanging because the frist act seems too long. So both, I guess?

[Brian Drysdale]

It's worth reading the books, they give other people's take on things and they have probably have thought about it in greater depth than you have.

[Ryan Elder]

Sure. I read some of Save the Cat before, but I could not write a story in that style, compared to The Anatomy of Story. I can try others.

[Brian Drysdale]

I suspect the more you read, the more your questions may have some answers, Although, you will need to write more scripts in order to improve and learn that not every script will make it as a film.

In reality, the majority will not get made as films and that includes some that are way better than ones that have been..