Writing the Documentary (Script Magazine)

November 19, 2014 / sucity / Comments Off

Writing the Documentary

By: Script Magazine | November 18, 2014

You can choose to follow the traditional 3-act structure or a nontraditional narrative format. Or you can choose to present your ideas subjectively or objectively. You can include stock film footage, use talking heads, include yourself in the story, use still photographs, live action, animation, dramatic reenactments, and voiceover narration or let your characters and images alone just tell the story.

You can choose all of the above ideas, some of the above, or none of the above.

Whatever you choose to do in order to convey your story, the execution and clarity will ultimately be vital to the success of your project.

“Making documentaries is a school of life,” stated director Agnès Varda at the 2014 Locarno International Film Festival where I asked her about her writing process. Varda described her style as cinécriture — writing on film. “In The Beaches of Agnès I am turning the mirror to the people who surround me. It shows how you build the life with others.”

At the recent Woodstock Film Festival’s Impact on Filmmaking panel, moderator Robin Bronk asked the panelists how they chose their topics and how film’s narratives evolved.

(left to right: Ali Akbarzadeh, Jon Bowermaster, Anne O’Shea, moderator Robin Bronk, Joe Berlinger, Jedd Wider)

Jedd Wider: “I work with my brother — we produce and direct together. We are very careful at the onset to take on a topic that is going to resonate socially or politically and we need to look inwardly and ask: How do I ensure it is going to be seen? We are motivated by moving the needle in some meaningful way. Our film Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God evolved because we didn’t feel that the Vatican was addressing molestation appropriately. We brought on board a New York Times reporter to consult with us, brought on Alex Gibney to direct, and approached HBO: they felt the topic wasn’t addressed appropriately.”

Joe Berlinger: “When we went to do Paradise Lost (The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills in 1996), it was not about helping the Memphis three. We were initially attracted to the story because all the news coming out of Arkansas was that it was an open and shut case. We were making a film about ‘three kids that were guilty’ — three teens in Arkansas accused of devil worshiping murder, and we went into make this film, thinking, how could kids do such a thing? We spent nine months embedded in the community, waiting for the trial, and spent time with the victims’ families. We realized that despite the media saying this was an open and shut case, we became convinced it was not. Storytelling and advocacy came together, and we hoped it would make a difference. But Damion was sentenced to death, and the film didn’t move the needle, and 18 years later, we made three films and the three guys were finally let out of prison.”

Watch documentaries that share your sensibility, and explore what makes your project different. As you develop your ideas and your interview questions for your subjects, determine what your significant message is, who the main ‘characters’ are and their goals, as well as their possible positive and negative agendas.

Joe Berlinger: “It sounds cliché, but it’s always about the stories and characters. If you want to reach people and have an impact, find a story and find a way to tell it. There needs to be a great character.”

Whether you leave some elements to chance or you stringently stick to your script, indeed, there is no right or wrong way to write a documentary — but listening to your interviewees, those who know your subject matter, and/or just being present in the location of the filming, the opportunity for more ideas might just further enhance your story and film.

Writing the Documentary

Susan Kouguell, award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker, teaches screenwriting at Purchase College, and is the author of SAVVY CHARACTERS SELL SCREENPLAYS! A comprehensive guide to crafting winning characters with film analyses and screenwriting exercises and THE SAVVY SCREENWRITER: How to Sell Your Screenplay (and Yourself) Without Selling Out!. As chairperson of Su-City Pictures East, LLC, a motion picture consulting company founded in 1990, Kouguell works with over 1,000 writers, filmmakers, executives and studios worldwide. Her short films are in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection and archives, and were included in the Whitney Museum’s Biennial. Kouguell worked on Louis Malle’s And the Pursuit of Happiness, was a story analyst and story editor for many studios, wrote voice-over narrations for (Harvey Weinstein) Miramax and over a dozen feature assignments for independent companies. www.su-city-pictures.com; https://su-city-pictures.com/wpblog/

And the winners of the 15th Annual Woodstock Film Festival are…

November 10, 2014 / sucity / Comments Off

And the winners of the 15th Annual Woodstock Film Festival are…

On a picture perfect fall day two days before the 2014 Woodstock Film Festival awards ceremony, I sat down with Meira Blaustein, co-founder and Executive Director of the Festival.

Meira Blaustein: “It’s very easy to meet people here at the Festival; it’s casual, and friendly, yet high quality. One can have conversations with those who can potentially buy your film, buy your next film, challenge your creativity and elevate your creativity and push the envelope. The goal of the Festival is to bring together outstanding, thought-provoking, and passionate films. This year we have twenty-two world premieres. We have filmmakers from all over the world. I’m proud we have a spotlight on women in film; eight narratives directed by women is unique — unfortunately it is unique but it is. These women are smart, talented and strong, and their films are powerful. We have a lineup that dares to ask questions, and dares to be bold. It’s important to put together a tapestry that is reflective of the current state of filmmaking and a reflection of the current state of what is happening in film.”

The Woodstock Film Festival Award Winners

The Maverick Award for BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE: “Patrick’s Day,” directed by Terry McMahon

The Maverick Award for BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: “Red Lines,” directed by Andrea Kalin and Oliver Lukacs.

Susan’s: Jon Stewart Speaks About Rosewater and Adapting for the Screen

November 10, 2014 / sucity / Comments Off

Jon Stewart Speaks About Rosewater and Adapting for the Screen

Photo credit: Tatiana Kouguell-Hoell

Adapting for the Screen

Adapting a book into a screenplay can be regarded as all about the choices you make while bringing forth the essence of the story. Translating internal thoughts of a character without overusing voiceover or another device, and/or making choices to fictionalize certain events and restructuring time frames, are just some of the elements that screenwriters must consider when adapting material for the screen.

Screenplays are generally 120 pages or less, and many novels, for example, are often double or triple that length. Generally speaking, one script page equals one minute of screen time, which means that you must focus on the basic plot points of the material, thus often resulting in cutting subplots and characters. Unlike a novel or memoir, you don’t have the luxury to get inside your characters’ minds with pages and pages of internal thoughts. Characters’ motivations, agendas, goals, and so on, must be conveyed in dialogue and through visual storytelling. Keep in mind the screenwriting adage: Show Don’t Tell. The bottom line: Film is a visual medium.

Jon Stewart Speaks about Rosewater with Janet Maslin at the Jacob Burns Film Center

As part of the Global Watch: Crisis Culture & Human Rights film series (November 6-26) at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, New York, film critic and JBFC president Janet Maslin interviewed Jon Stewart, following the screening of his directorial debut of Rosewater. Stewart’s screenplay, adapted from Maziar Bahari’s memoirThen They Came For Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival, centers on Bahari’s family history and his arrest, torture and 107-day solitary confinement imprisonment, following the 2009 presidential election in Iran.

A few days before his arrest, Bahari, a contributor to Newsweek, appeared on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show in a taped interview with the show’s correspondent Jason Jones. Mr. Bahari does not believe that this interview was responsible for his arrest; he was already being monitored.

Stewart on Rosewater

The title ‘Rosewater’ is inspired from the rosewater scent of Maziar’s interrogator. That’s all Maziar knows (in solitary confinement and blindfolded); that’s how Maziar can identify him.

(Stewart emphasized that what drew him to this material and to direct this film, as opposed to another project, was how Maziar kept both his spirit intact during solitary confinement, and his humanity through his memories of his family. This optimism and sense of hope is what Stewart would like the audience to come away with after seeing this film.)

The Decision to Direct

If I didn’t do anything I wasn’t nervous about I would just sit in a room. I was nervous about directing.

I want my work to be about things I believe in. As a comedian I’m drawn to commentary of events around the world. I’m fascinated by human stupidity. But I’m optimistic, too. We forget that there’s some six million people living in New York City. How is New York not just some Mad Max? It’s kind of incredible.

I like my work to be about context. I want this film to be seen as relevant. Journalists are in a terrible position right now. These people are out on their own. Bloggers and active social media people are being arrested and imprisoned.

The best move I did was hiring the people I did to make this film. I showed the script and film to every director that came on The Daily Show. Paul Thomas Anderson? Sure let’s have him on! Ron Howard read it and thought, this will be a wonderful –play–add visuals if you want to make this a film. I’m thinking: How do you visualize the scenes in solitary confinement with the hallucinations in the cell and make it effective and emotional.

Susan’s Screenwriters Utopia: Men, Women, & Children, and Jason Reitman & Themes

November 10, 2014 / sucity / Comments Off

Men, Women, & Children, and Jason Reitman & Themes – Screenwriter’s Utopia

At the Jacob Burns Film Center in October, film critic and JBFC president Janet Maslin interviewed director Jason Reitman after the screening of his latest film Men, Women & Children (based on the novel by Chad Kultgen) written by Reitman and Cressida Wilson.

Reitman: “I like making movies about the sides we don’t show.” Describing his film as an ensemble story, Reitman said, “I wanted to make a movie about relationships. I think people have been cheating on each other for a long time. Some of the things that the movie addresses are porn, girls with body issues, and relationships. We’re brave on a first date; there are certain things you stop sharing in a long-term relationship.

http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/article/727d0528

The Ms. Factor: The Power of Female-driven Content

November 7, 2014 / sucity / Comments Off

A Panel Discussion at the Inaugural Produced BY: NY

The Ms. Factor: The Power of Female-driven Content

Held on October 25 in New York City, the panel — The Ms. Factor: The Power of Female-driven Content — was held on October 25 in New York City, as part of the Inaugural Produced BY: NY event sponsored by the Producers Guild of America.

Panel Description: Audience demographics and buying power are changing. The power of females at the box office reigned supreme this past summer in terms of on-screen presence and audience turnout. A look at the 100 highest-earning movies of 2013 reveals that on average, movies with a female protagonist earned 20% more than movies with a male protagonist. So why the overall shortage of female protagonists and women filmmakers? What hurdles or opportunities does the current environment present for producers seeking to tell stories about girls or women?

The Ms. Factor: The Power of Female-driven Content | SydneysBuzz

The panel moderated by Cathy Schulman (“Crash;” “The Illusionist;” President, Mandalay Pictures & Women In Film LA) featured Kelly Edwards (VP Talent Development, HBO), Lydia Dean Pilcher (“Cutie and the Boxer;” “The Lunchbox;” “The Darjeeling Limited;” Vice President: Motion Pictures, Producers Guild of America), Stacy Smith (Director, Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative, USC Annenberg), and Lauren Zalaznick ( “Kids;” “Zoolander;” Media Executive Founder & Curator, The LZ Sunday Paper).

The printed information sheet ‘Females in Film & TV Facts: On Screen Behind the Camera, and Career Barriers Faced’ was available to attendees from panelist Stacy L. Smith.

An Overview:Onscreen Portrayals
Prevalence of Females across 100 Top Films from 2007 to 2013:

Percentage of female characters in 2007: 29.9% and in 2013: 29.2%
Percentage of films with gender parity in 2007: 12% and in 2013: 16 %
Percentage with female lead/co-lead in 2007: 20% and in 2013: 28% Behind the Camera
Prevalence of Female Filmmakers across 100 Top Films from 2007 to 2013
Percentage of female directors in 2007: 2.7% and in 2013: 1.9%
Percentage of female writers in 2007: 11.2% and in 2013: 7.4%
Percentage of female producers in 2007: 20.5% and in 2013: 19.6%
Gender ratio in 2007: 5 to 1 and in 2013 5.3 to 1

Independent Film Behind the Camera
Prevalence of Females Behind the Camera at Sundance Film Festival 2002-2012

Director: Narrative 16.9% Documentary: 34.5%
Writer: Narrative: 20.6% Documentary 32.8
Producer: Narrative: 29.4% Documentary 45.9%
Cinematographer: Narrative: 9.5% Documentary: 19.9%
Editor: Narrative: 22% Documentary: 35.8%

The Prevalence of Female Filmmaker across 120 Global Films from 2010 to 2013 in the United Sates:
Directors: 0, Writers: 11.8%, Producers 22.7% and the Gender Ratio 3.4 to 1.

For more information on these reports: http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/DrStacyLSmithMDSCI

Kelly Edwards

Moderator Cathy Schulman opened the discussion with the goal for the panel — to discuss some of the myth-busting in the industry and the deep set cultural ennui.

Cathy Schulman: How do we break the status quo?

Lydia Dean Pilcher: There is a perception in our industry that female-driven content is not commercial. We see that’s not true. Women are driving the conversation. We have a responsibility to debunk perception. Finance models are driven by foreign sales estimates and the myth is prevalent among foreign sales agents. We have new data for female-driven content internationally.

Cathy Schulman : Statistically 93 percent of foreign sales buyers are men,

Stacy L. Smith: On screen, less than one-third of the speaking characters are girls and women, and if you are trying to appeal to the women audience, you’ve lost proportion. Behind the camera, there’s a fiscal cliff; very few women are attached as directors in narrative films. Women are perceived as less confident to lead a production crew. Internationally, female-driven films made more money. The audience is there, but authenticity is lacking due to who’s behind the camera.

Lauren Zalanick

About Television and Cable

Lauren Zalanick: In television there is some movement that may be systemic or cyclical, we don’t know. The most powerful showrunner today is not the most powerful female showrunner, it’s the most-powerful showrunner — Shonda Rhimes. The heat around television programming now is based on strong female characters.

To read more and find out what I asked the panel:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/the-ms-factor-the-power-of-female-driven-content-20141107

My article: Women in the Director’s Chair

October 30, 2014 / sucity / Comments Off

Left to right: Jenna Ricker, Leah Meyerhoff, Thelma Adams, Courteney Cox, Debra Granik

Film critic Thelma Adams moderated a provocative discussion with filmmakers Courteney Cox (feature directorial debut “Just Before I Go,” Friends actress, actress/producer/director Cougar Town), Debra Granik (Academy Award nominated director/co-writer “Winter’s Bone” nominated for four Oscars, “Down to the Bone” Best Director at 2004 Sundance Film Festival), Leah Meyerhoff (“I Believe in Unicorns” her debut feature premiered at SXSW 2014, previous award-winning short films have screened in over 200 film festivals), and Jenna Ricker (wrote, directed and produced her first feature film, “Ben’s Plan” awarded Best Drama at the AOF Festival, Distinguished Debut at the London Independent Festival, and honored with the Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker).

To read more:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/women-in-the-directors-chair-panel-at-the-woodstock-film-festival-20141029

Susan’s THE SCRIPT LAB: The Choices Your Characters Make: The Consequences in ‘Force Majeure’

October 26, 2014 / sucity / Comments Off

The Choices Your Characters Make: The Consequences in ‘Force Majeure’

Regardless of the genre you are working in, your main characters must make key choices that will propel the narrative forward and shape your plot.

Force Majeure (written and directed by Ruben Ostlund), the official entry for the foreign language Oscar from Sweden, centers on a picture-perfect family; a handsome young couple and their two young children on a ski vacation in the French Alps. When the father makes a choice to abandon his family as an avalanche approaches, the consequences of this choice propels the narrative forward. This choice is further examined by the themes of male gender stereotypes; specifically shame and expectations of men.

In the chapter entitled ‘Your Unforgettable Characters Come Alive’ in my book Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays! I write:

Characters must be complex, fully defined, multifaceted, and distinct. Readers must understand who your characters are, their motivations, behaviors, needs and goals, and feel empathy for them.

TO READ MORE: http://thescriptlab.com/features/screenwriting-101/2945-the-choices-your-characters-make-the-consequences-in-force-majeure

Susan’s TOP TIPS FOR SELLING YOUR SCREENPLAY

October 1, 2014 / sucity / Comments Off

The chances of selling a screenplay are a zillion to one. Maybe a billion to one? A million to one? Or — if you’re lucky, the math is in your favor and the chances are less than that. But yes, the odds are staggering.

The biggest and most important tip I can share with you is this — do not submit your screenplay unless it is absolutely brilliant. Seriously— if your script is not the absolute best it can be then your script will be rejected. Your screenplay is your calling card; it is your audition piece to gain entry into the film business. If you’re having doubts about the strength of your screenplay then it’s not ready to be submitted. Seek professional feedback from a screenplay consultant or industry professional. Keep in mind that if you ask a friend or family member, this person might not have the tools to determine a script’s strengths and weaknesses — and might not tell you the truth because — they don’t want to alienate you! The competition to get a script read by a film industry executive, let alone, having it be considered for production or even sold – are indeed staggering. Keep the odds in your favor.

Now that I’ve gotten the negative, depressing statistics out of the way, let’s look at the positive news. If you think outside of the proverbial box, you increase your chances of selling your screenplay.

Susan’s: Highlights from the Locarno Film Summer Academy Master Class with Award-winning Director Agnès Varda

September 30, 2014 / sucity / Comments Off

Agnes Varda with Stefano Knuchel at the Locarno Film Summer Academy Master Class

Stefano Knuchel, Head of the Locarno Film Summer Academy, invited me to sit in on his master class with the 2014 Locarno International Film Festival’s Pardo d’onore Swisscom winner French film director Agnès Varda.

Known as the Grandmother of the French New Wave (a term with which she takes issue, as I cite in my Conversation with Varda).Varda’s film credits include “La Pointe Courte” (1955), “Cleo from 5 to 7” (Cléo de 5 à 7, 1962), “The Creatures” (Les Créatures 1966), “Lions Love (…and Lies)” (1969), “Documenteur” (1981),”Vagabond“(Sans toit ni loi, 1985), “The Gleaners and I” (Les glaneurs et la glaneuse, 2000) and ” The Beaches of Agnès” (Les Plages d’Agnès, 2008).

Speaking to the group of international students, Varda shared her passion for cinema, photography, and installation work, with humor and honesty. Here are some highlights from Varda’s talk.

I asked Varda about finding inspiration and her writing process

I don’t search for ideas; I find them. They come to me or I have none. I would not sit at a table and think now I have to find ideas. I wait until something disturbs me enough, like a relationship I heard about, and then it becomes so important I have to write the screenplay.

I never wrote with someone else or directed together. I wouldn’t like that. I never worked with (her late husband, director Jacques) Demy. We would show screenplays to each other when we were finished.

When you are a filmmaker, you are a filmmaker all the time. Your mind is recording impressions, moods. You are fed with that. Inspiration is getting connections with the surprises that you see in life. Suddenly it enters in your world and it remains; you have to let it go and work on it. It’s contradictory.

Question from Student: How did you manage to navigate a male-dominated film world?

First, stop saying it’s a male world. It’s true, but it helps not to repeat it. When I started in film, I did a new language of cinema, not as a woman, but as a filmmaker. It is still a male world, as long women are not making the same salary as men.

Put yourself in a situation where you want to make films; whether you are woman or not a woman, give yourself the tools: maybe you intern, maybe you go to school, or read books. Get the tools.

On Filmmaking

We have to capture in film what we don’t know about.

If you don’t have a point-of-view it’s not worth starting to make a film.

Whatever we do in film is searching. If you meet somebody, you establish yourself, who you want to meet, what kind of relationship it is. Our whole life is made up of back and forth, decisions, options — and then they don’t fit.

When one is filming we should be fragile; listen to that something in ourselves. The act of filming for me is so vivid, it includes what you had in mind, and includes what is happening around you at that moment — how you felt, if you have headache, and so on. A film builds itself with what you don’t know.

Life interferes. You have friends. Kids. No kids. Then there is a leak on the wall. Everything interferes. It’s how you build the life with others.

Sometimes I go by myself to do location scouting. When I go by myself, something speaks to me in a place I’ve chosen and I know maybe we should take advantage of that. We have to be working with chance. ‘Chance’ is my assistant director.

Susan’s: Grief and Plot Choices in ‘The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them’

September 16, 2014 / sucity / Comments Off

The theme of grief prevails in this love story about the once happily married couple Conor (James McAvoy) and Eleanor (Jessica Chastain) in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them. The disparate ways in which Conor and Eleanor handle their bereavement after a tragedy is the central conflict of the story; their grief tears them apart and the couple separates. This grief is the catalyst that drives the narrative forward, and it is also the elephant in the room. The tragedy is unspeakable — literally — neither Conor nor Eleanor are able to speak about the death of their young child.

It is never revealed exactly how or when their child died, or if anyone was at fault. This was a deliberate choice writer/director Ned Benson made when developing this story.

Not detailing the when, how or why, in a screenplay can be risky. There are pros and cons to this type of choice; some readers might feel that they have been cheated while others might feel satisfied. The bottom line is this: The risk can be lessened if your characters are well-developed and their motivations for their actions and attitudes towards each other are clear.

Following the screening of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them at the Paris Theater in New York City on September 13, there was a Q & A with the two leads, James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain, moderated by film critic Thelma Adams.

I asked Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy about Ned Benson’s choice not to reveal what happened to the couple’s child.

McAvoy: “Benson wanted the film to be about two people healing and carrying on after a tragedy. The film would not be any greater knowing the cause of death.”

Chastain: “I’m grateful Ned Benson didn’t expand upon it. I saw Eleanor as a wounded animal; if the animal is hurt they’re going to bite you. For Eleanor, the only way she can survive is to move forward. Sometimes you just can’t talk about the grief. For her, if she talks about it, she’s back in the water.”

Leaving the question to what happened to their son unanswered, was a thought-provoking decision for writer/director Ned Benson, but a satisfying choice for both Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy, who concluded his response to my question, “Life happens in life.”

Su-City Pictures East, LLC

Screenplay & Film Consulting By Susan Kouguell

Author: sucity (page 19 of 34)