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Screenplay & Film Consulting By Susan Kouguell

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THE ART OF REENACTMENT

April 16, 2015 / / Comments Off on THE ART OF REENACTMENT

‘Repeat as Necessary: The Art of the Real’ Series at the Film Society Lincoln Center

by Susan Kouguell

As part of the Repeat as Necessary: The Art of the Real series at Lincoln Center, Harun Farocki’s anti-war film “Inextinguishable Fire” and Jill Godmilow’s “What Farocki Taught” were recently screened followed by an insightful Q&A.

“Inextinguishable Fire” directed by Harun Farocki and “What Farocki Taught” directed by Jill Godmilow

"Inextinguishable Fire"
“Inextinguishable Fire”

“Because so many images already exist, I am discouraged to make new ones; I prefer to make a different use of pre-existing images. But not every image can be recycled; a hidden value must pre-exist.” (Harun Farocki, 2008 interview with the South China Morning Post)

As part of the Repeat as Necessary: The Art of Reenactment at the Film Society Lincoln Center program, German director Harun Farocki’s anti-war film “Inextinguishable Fire” (1969, black and white, 29 minutes) screened first followed by Jill Godmilow’s “What Farocki Taught” (1998, 16 mm 30 minutes) a shot-for-shot remake of “Inextinguishable Fire.” Translated from German into English and filmed on color Kodachrome, the backdrops, props, script, costumes and shots are all copies of the original. Every shot is reproduced — with an occasional superimposition of Farocki’s on set about her project: “We don’t have a name for this type of film… it replaces the documentary’s pornography of the real.”

"What Farocki Taught"
“What Farocki Taught”

Filmmaker and video artist Faroki (1944-2014) made over 100 films, many of which were experimental documentaries, often addressing the use of images to instruct and propagandize.

Director Jill Godmilow’s films include the 1974 Academy Award-nominated “Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman” co-directed with Judy Collins, “Far From Poland” (1984), about the Polish Solidarity movement known for its ground-breaking deconstructive approach to the juxtaposition of fact and fiction in documentary, and the Sundance fiction winner “Waiting for the Moon” (1987) about Gertrude Stein.

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BAUMBACH on WHILE WE’RE YOUNG

April 7, 2015 / / Comments Off on BAUMBACH on WHILE WE’RE YOUNG

Writer/Director Noah Baumbach Discusses

While We’re Young

by Susan Kouguell

Displaying NOAH1.JPG Photo Credit: Tatiana Kouguell-Hoell

In writer/director Noah Baumbach’s latest film While We’re Young, a middle-aged couple’s marriage and career are turned upside down when a disarming twenty-something couple enters their lives. Thematically, the film centers on age – growing up and growing older in one’s relationship and career, as well as taking ownership of one’s life.

I asked Noah Baumbach about his writing process on While We’re Young and how strictly he stuck to the script as the director.

Baumbach smiles and states: “My writing process is not going on the Internet.” More serious now, he continues: “I have to spend a lot of time on the script – for me, and for the actors. I stick close to the script when shooting. Scripts are a blueprint of a film. Actors bring their own interpretations. Going on set with actors on location you discover even more about the characters. Knowing that you are going to discover something else about the characters on location is something I have to acknowledge. I think about how it is going to be when they are in a certain location, how they are going to react. As the director, you’re guiding and controlling what you can.”

When asked about Jamie’s character (played by Adam Driver) Baumbach responds to the line in the film about Jamie: “He’s not evil. He’s just young.” Baumbach states: “I think that’s true. He is who he is.”

 

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Adapting Novels, Memoirs and Short Stories: What to Keep and What to Cut (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

March 30, 2015 / / Comments Off on Adapting Novels, Memoirs and Short Stories: What to Keep and What to Cut (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

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Adapting Novels, Memoirs and Short Stories:

What to Keep and What to Cut

by Susan Kouguell

 

Many successful novels, memoirs, and short stories have been adapted for the screen and made into equally popular and often award-winning movies, including the most recent American Sniper, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, and Wild.

Over the years, I have been assigned, as a writer-for-hire, to adapt several novels into feature-length screenplays. It can be a daunting task particularly when the novel is long – very long — like 500 pages or more! This page-length challenge presents the inevitable next step and question:

adaptationWhat to keep and what to cut?

As opposed to a novel, screenwriters just don’t have the page length to explore characters’ extensive backgrounds, elaborate settings — nor do they have the luxury to include a cast of thousands (or hundreds – or less) all of whom have a penchant for endless verbosity. There just isn’t the time in a two-hour film and it’s up to you, the screenwriter, to make the right choices. So, it’s time to let go.

  1. TOP TIPS FOR ADAPTING A NOVEL INTO A SCREENPLAY
    1. What is the novel about? Write down the answer to this question and use this as your guidepost to determine the major storyline of your plot.
    2. Determine who your protagonist is, and his or her wants, needs and goals and determine who the antagonist is, and why he or she is in opposition to the protagonist.
    3. For your subplot ask yourself: How does the protagonist with the help of alliances (friends, family, and so on) achieve goals despite the antagonist’s opposition?
    4. Write an outline or beat sheet that follows the key plot points and your protagonist’s journey.
    5. Decide whose voice the plot will follow. Since most novels are written in the first person voice avoid using voice-overs unless absolutely necessary.
    6. Avoid flashbacks. In screenplays they are often overused, unnecessary, slow down the pacing, and can take the reader out of the story. If you choose this device, then consider incorporating this device as an interesting structural choice.
    7. Show don’t tell. Critical plot information and back story should be revealed in dialogue or through visual storytelling. Convey characters’ feelings and conflicts through dialogue and actions. Remember — the viewing audience will not know what the character is thinking, as opposed to a novel where there are pages upon pages to describe the internal worlds of each character.
    8. Cut all extraneous subplots, characters’ inner thoughts, and lengthy set descriptions. Then cut some more. And then cut even more.
    9. Consider cutting down the number of characters in your novel by first briefly describing the purpose they are serving. This will enable you to decide if each character is necessary to include in the script and if several characters can be compiled into one character.
    10. Make every word of your screenplay count; this applies to both dialogue and action paragraphs.

    Your mantra: Film is a visual medium. Unlike a novel, you don’t have the luxury to get inside your characters’ minds with pages and pages of internal thoughts. Your characters’ motivations, agendas, goals, and so on, must be revealed in dialogue and through visually storytelling.

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ADPTATING NOVELS, MEMOIRS, SHORT STOIRES

Character Relationships – The Finishers

March 19, 2015 / / Comments Off on Character Relationships – The Finishers

Character Relationships:

Families Who Get Along and Those Who Don’t

By Susan Kouguell

Conveying your characters’ dynamics and their layered and complex relationships is an essential element when writing a savvy screenplay. Characters with specific opinions, attitudes and points of view, and what they need and want from their relationships, will give your screenplay the necessary depth to grab the attention of film industry folks.

Characters’ wants, needs and goals can motivate them to seek help from one character for advice and assistance, or slyly befriend another character to achieve a goal. Relationships can be judgmental or nonjudgmental, one character can hold the other accountable for his or her actions, or assist the other through a challenging time.

The opening night film of the recent 2015 ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival The Finishers (directed by Nils Tavernier, screenplay by Nils Tavernier, Laurent Bertoni and Pierre Leyssieux), is a drama, centering on a father and son relationship. The film was inspired by the true story of Team Hoyt — Dick Hoyt and his son Rick Hoyt (with cerebral palsy), the Massachusetts father and son duo, who competed in dozens of races from 1977-2014.

At 17 years old, Julien has a great sense of humor, bags of charm, and cerebral palsy. In a bid to bond with his father, Julien challenges him to participate with him in the Ironman race in Nice, France, a triathlon in which his father has previously competed. Doing the race alone is an incredible challenge, but completing it together with Julien would be nearly impossible. Still, his father agrees and the two set out to train for and compete in one of the most intense races on earth. Beyond the sporting exploit, this is the story of one family’s exemplary journey, and a moving portrait of the love between a father and his son.

While a story about the triumph of this father and son team, the plot of The Finishersalso reveals the challenges of Julien’s mother, Claire, who has been Julien’s primary caregiver due to husband Paul’s emotional and (work-related) physical absence. An interesting triangulated relationship emerges when Julien, who is about to turn 18, finds himself in the middle of this shifting mother/son/father and father/son/mother relationship.

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Ageism, Disappearance, and Blurred Lines in Clouds of Sils Maria (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

March 17, 2015 / / Comments Off on Ageism, Disappearance, and Blurred Lines in Clouds of Sils Maria (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

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Ageism, Disappearance, and Blurred Lines in Clouds of Sils Maria

by Susan Kouguell

MARIA ENDERS
I’m sick of hanging from wires
in front of green screens.

The lines between reality and fiction are blurred and layered in Olivier Assayas’ Clouds of Sils Maria, a character study about ageism and mortality.

clouds-of-sils-maria.png (1001×583)

At the peak of her international career, Maria Enders is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years ago. But back then she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She departs with her assistant to rehearse in Sils Maria; a remote region of the Alps. A young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal is to take on the role of Sigrid, and Maria finds herself on the other side of the mirror, face to face with an ambiguously charming woman who is, in essence, an unsettling reflection of herself. (Synopsis courtesy of Cannes Film Festival)

Now in her 40s, Maria Enders, who has been asked to play the part of Helena on the London stage, finds herself conflicted; she is both terrified and intrigued by the role because it will force her to confront ageism and mortality — the latter underscored by the fact that the actor who originally played Helena died in a car accident.

Maria Enders is very much aware that if she chooses to play the Helena role she might just be tempting fate, as well as her own downfall.

Here we are presented with the question that propels the narrative forward: Despite the various obstacles thrown in her path throughout the film, will Maria Enders play the Helena role on the London stage?

Once Maria accepts the Helena role, she continues to be conflicted by her choice. The narrative stakes rise as Maria prepares the role of Helena with her assistant, Val, who is running lines of the vital young upstart in the play. Their lines literally become blurred: Are they acting lines from the play or is this real life? Taking this idea one step further, life imitates art and art imitates life, when a satirical nod is made to the “real life” dramas (marital infidelities, intrusive paparazzi, and more) these real-life actresses have faced.

Thematically, this film draws some inevitable comparisons to Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve; the psychological and emotional toll and consequences of aging on a successful actress are examined. In All About Eve antagonist Eve Harrington insinuates and schemes her way into the life of Broadway star, Margo Channing (the protagonist) and will stop at nothing to achieve her goal — to become a bigger star than Margo. Introducing herself to Margo as her biggest fan, Eve’s manipulation of Margo’s vanity is calculated; she is duplicitous and has an agenda, and plays on Margo’s fear of getting old. Margo Channing’s biggest vulnerability is age; an aging actress with a younger lover. In Clouds of Sils Maria, Joann Ellis is coy and savvy, and she flatters Maria Enders not so unlike the unscrupulous Eve Harrington. Both Margo Channing and Maria Enders briefly fall into their opponents’ traps, and each discovers that the next generation of stars is ready and armed to take their places. Time marches on with or without them.

Margo expresses her doubts about her age to playwright Lloyd, regarding playing the lead character of Cora, a young ‘twenty-ish’ woman, in his new play:

MARGO CHANNING
Lloyd, I am not twenty-ish. I am not thirty-ish.
Three months ago, I was forty years old. Forty.
Four oh – That slipped out. I hadn’t quite made
up my mind to admit it. Now I suddenly feel as
if I’ve taken all my clothes off.

The characters of Maria Enders and Margo Channing are two actresses who will not quietly fade away into actor oblivion. Yet ironically in Act 3, there is one character in Clouds of Sils Maria who does fade away and disappears, never to be seen, heard, or referred to again – – perhaps reinforcing another them of this film — loss. As one character in Clouds of Sils Maria states: “The text is like an object. It’s gonna change perspective based on where you’re standing.”

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Clouds Sils Maria

Gimmicks, Ground Rules, and Gender in ’52 Tuesdays’ (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

March 9, 2015 / / Comments Off on Gimmicks, Ground Rules, and Gender in ’52 Tuesdays’ (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

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Gimmicks, Ground Rules, and Gender in ’52 Tuesdays’

By Susan Kouguell

When James’s lover asks James: “Do you wish you were born a man?” James replies: “I wouldn’t have Billie.” And then soon James adds: “Yes.”

52 Tuesdays

The Australian independent feature 52 Tuesdays captures a year in the life of 16-year-old Billie, whose reluctant path to independence is accelerated when her mother reveals plans for gender transition.

Sophie Hyde, winner of the Best Director, World Cinema Dramatic for 52 Tuesdays at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, and her co-writer Matthew Cormack, set out with specific ground rules to develop this film. They created the structured rules first and then decided on the story and characters.

In a Skype interview, Sophie Hyde explained: “We started with the idea of two people meeting every Tuesday for a year. The ideas came from that.”

The rules: They would shoot every Tuesday until midnight for 52 consecutive weeks. An entire nonprofessional cast, the actors were given the script one week at a time, and only the scenes they appeared in.

Interspersed with the narrative are two-second long news clips of various world events from protest demonstrations to Julian Assange. Sophie Hyde explains the decision to incorporate the clips, which separate the various Tuesdays that are labeled by dates: “With all the emotional change that occurs in the characters’ lives, and all the things that happen, it reminds us that the world still goes on. It is about the promise of change.”

There are the inevitable comparisons between 52 Tuesdays and writer/director Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, which was shot one week every year for twelve years. Both films not only share themes of transformations, coming-of-age and parent/child relationships, but each used a gimmick — in the case of these two films, the decision to set rules for shooting to convey the narratives. The Boyhood structure revisits the characters yearly for twelve years, the 52 Tuesdays structure revisits the characters weekly for one year.

Whether viewers and critics feel this specific gimmick works in either or both of these films continues to be up for debate. The question screenwriters must ask themselves when considering using this type or other types of gimmicks is this: Is it necessary to use the gimmick to tell the story you want to tell? Would it work without it?

The initial gimmick of Hyde and Cormack’s idea takes it a step further and relates it directly to the plot, applying it to boundaries set by James as to the days and times (Tuesdays after school) Billie and James can meet and for how long.  Billie reluctantly agrees to these terms, and moves in with her father.

Billie and James embark on their respective personal journeys, recording their experiences of change in video journals. These videos may at first seem like another gimmick, but they effectively add another layer of conflict while advancing the narrative.

Film executives want to discover original plot ideas and distinct visions; they don’t want to read gimmicks that don’t serve the plot. Screenwriters should not rely on gimmicks — there must be compelling characters and a solid plot otherwise industry folks will stamp REJECT on the screenplay.

To learn more about the film here.

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52 TUESDAYS

Buzzard: Potrykus interview at Locarno

March 6, 2015 / / Comments Off on Buzzard: Potrykus interview at Locarno

Opening today in New York City: Buzzard

Here’s my interview with Joel Potrykus, Writer, Director, Editor and co-star of “Buzzard” from the 2014 Locarno Film Festival for IndieWIRE/SydneysBuzz. (Originally posted in August 2014.)

Returning to the Locarno International Film Festival after winning for Best New Director in 2012 for his feature “Ape,” Joel Potrykus and his Sob Noisse collaborators are receiving quite the buzz in the American independent film scene. I met with Joel Potrykus during the Festival to talk about his films and “Buzzard.”

Joel Potrykus, Writer, Director, Editor and co-star of “Buzzard”, and Producer Ashley Young

Joel Potrykus and Producer Ashley Young

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INTERVIEW

IDA: THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY

February 26, 2015 / / Comments Off on IDA: THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY

IDA: The Search for Identity
and Creating Captivating Characters

by Susan Kouguell
WANDA
“You’re Jewish.”

These few words are revelatory in the Oscar-winning Ida, written and directed by Pawel Pawlikowski.   

The setting; 1962 post-Stalin Poland.

A few days from taking her vows at the convent where she was raised, Anna, a naive orphan and young novice, learns the existence of Wanda — her aunt. A former state prosecutor, the cynical Wanda is part of the Communist elite.  

These two women are distinct characters . Wanda drinks heavily, chain-smokes, and has one-night stands.  Indeed, she is the opposite of her niece; worldly versus sheltered, atheist versus believer.  

Wanda reveals key secrets from Anna’s past: Anna’s birth name is not Anna but Ida, and her true religious identity is that she is Jewish.  This revelation  advances the narrative forward, prompting Wanda and Ida to venture together on a journey to discover what happened to Ida’s parents during the Nazi occupation.

Characters’ specific journeys — their experiences as they attempt to achieve their goals and what they learn about themselves and others—are the basis of defining a screenplay’s themes.  The theme is what your story is about; it is the central idea or dominant subject matter that reoccurs throughout your screenplay. Examples of themes include redemption, survival, empowerment, alienation, and triumph over adversity.   In Ida, the two central themes are identity and secrets of the past.

 

 

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A Look at the Western Genre: ‘The Salvation’ and ‘Unforgiven’ (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

February 24, 2015 / / Comments Off on A Look at the Western Genre: ‘The Salvation’ and ‘Unforgiven’ (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

A Look at the Western Genre: The Salvation and Unforgiven

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Film industry executives have expectations. The most obvious expectation is to discover a brilliantly written screenplay that can be made into a film that will garner lots of attention and yes, lots of money at the box office. Executives also expect, if not demand, an engaging, plausible screenplay that follows the rules of the writing genres. Understanding genre conventions (characters, settings, events) and applying this knowledge to your script, will help you to sharpen your plot and characters, and deliver on the readers’ expectations.

Let’s take a look at one of the classic genre — the Western.

From my book Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays:

Western Ride ‘em, cowboy…or cowgirl! Whether your protagonist is faced with violence, robberies, shootouts or stampedes, typical Western heroes are courageous, tough, self-sufficient, honorable, independent, and/or moral with an expertise in physical skills and abilities that will enable him or her to survive. Generally, the settings for westerns are the American frontier with sweeping landscapes, rugged terrain, and ranches or the small town streets containing the local bank, general store, barbershop, and saloon. Themes include revenge, lost love, greed,man versus man, good versus evil, man versus nature, law enforcers versus criminals, and new settlers versus homesteaders. Research the iconic symbols of the time period in which you set your story. From lassos, to cattle drives, to sheriffs and their sidekicks, you must be historically accurate.

western genre

A Look at Two Westerns

In the 2014 film The Salvation, written by Anders Thomas Jensen and Kristian Levring, director Kristian Levring pays tribute to the classic western. Inspired by Nordic sagas, The Salvation, is set in the American west of the 1870s. John, an ex-soldier and Danish settler, kills his family’s murderer, unleashing the fury of notorious gang leader Delarue. Betrayed by his corrupt and cowardly community, the peaceful pioneer turns vengeful hunter. John slays the outlaws, as he attempts to cleanse the town’s black heart.

Director Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Unforgiven (screenplay by David Peoples) is also set in the American west of the 1880s. In this film, a local prostitute in the small town of Big Whiskey is brutally attacked by two cowboys. When antagonistSheriff Little Bill Daggett lets them off with the condition they give some ponies to the saloonkeeper, the outraged prostitutes pool their money and offer a $1,000 bounty to murder the cowboys. A young man, known as the Schofield Kid, goes to the home of William Munny, an aging former outlaw, to convince him to team up with him to win the reward. Having sworn off his violent past, Munny first turns down the offer but changes his mind.

Both The Salvation and Unforgiven share not only the settings of the American west of the 1880s and themes of greed and revenge, the protagonists are vengeful heroes and the antagonists are ruthless. Protagonists must make key decisions that will propel the narrative forward and shape your plot. The steps leading up to Unforgiven’s Munny making the significant decision to join The Schofield Kid, by going back on his pledge to his late wife that he will never again pick up a gun, advances the narrative, and continues to build as he must face antagonist Sheriff Dagget . In The Salvation, the steps leading John to change from peaceful pioneer to a man seeking justice for his family’s murder are underscored by his unwavering stance against Delarue. Antagonists Dagget and Delarue are the villains whose objective is to prevent the protagonists from achieving their goal.

Following the conventions of a genre is imperative when writing a savvy screenplay. Watching films and reading scriptsin the genre in which you are working will help to guide you to deliver on film executives’ expectations.

 

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‘Ballet 422′ and Cinema Truth (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

February 11, 2015 / / Comments Off on ‘Ballet 422′ and Cinema Truth (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

by Susan Kouguell

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‘Ballet 422′ and Cinema Truth

The truth about documentary is this — there are many categories and styles — from investigative to personality-driven, to topics that expose cover-ups and catastrophes, to — well, yes – the list goes on and your imagination is the limit.

Many film theoreticians and documentarians differ on their interpretations over what elements should or should not be included when categorizing the various styles of documentary films, but what they do agree upon is this — there are no strict rules one must adhere to when making documentaries.   And so, one can say there is often an exception to every “rule” when labeling and categorizing the various styles of documentaries.

So, if one truth is that there are no hard and fast rules in making documentaries, how does the writer know how to write a documentary?

In writing and/or sketching out the ideas for a documentary you can present ideas objectively, subjectively, or let the subject and/or subject matter speak for themselves/itself. You can follow the traditional 3-act structure or a non-traditional narrative format, or use talking heads, stock footage, dramatic reenactments, voiceover narration, still photographs, live action, animation, put yourself in the story or just allow images and your subjects to convey the story. You can use some or all of these choices, or create something else. The choice is up to you.

large_ballet422_web_2

Choosing Cinema Vérité: Ballet 422 and Cinema Truth

Director Jody Lee Lipes describes his new documentary Ballet 422 as Cinema Vérité. Translated from the French, this term defined as “cinema truth,” is also referred to as Fly on the Wall or Direct Cinema. The “truth” is underscored in this definition; the filmmaker captures what is happening in front of the camera without artifice.

Some of the elements that are seen in Cinema Vérité include the use of handheld cameras, natural lighting, direct sound, and location filming — while elements not generally seen are the utilization of voice-over narrations, talking heads and extensive background information. Examples of this filmmaking category are the 1973 PBS series An American Family, which followed the daily lives of the Loud family for seven months and Grey Gardens (1975) directed by Albert and David Maysles, Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, about a mother and daughter reclusive socialites, living in a decrepit Long Island mansion.

From first rehearsal to world premiere, Ballet 422 goes behind the scenes at the New York City Ballet, as it follows Justin Peck, 25, a dancer with the NYCB and up-and-coming choreographer, as he creates his new work “Paz de la Jolla” from its first rehearsal to world premiere. This commissioned ballet is NYCB’s 422nd new ballet — hence the film’s title.

Justin Peck is the main character and the film takes the viewer on his journey, offering glimpses into the ballet world and Peck’s work process as he collaborates with fellow dancers, orchestra musicians, lighting and costume designers.

In Ballet 422, there are no re-enactments, voiceovers, or talking heads — there are only a few lines of superimposed text that offer only brief background information about choreographer Peck, who shows minimal emotion throughout the film. Peck is focused, confident, and demonstrates only glimpses of nervousness as the premiere date approaches.

A vital element of cinema vérité is spontaneity. The director is the observer, witnessing the action without interfering in it or controlling it. Portable equipment (handheld cameras, and so on) allows the cameraperson and sound recorder to go to the subjects rather than the subjects going to them. Another cinema vérité element seen in Ballet 422 are several quick moments where there was a boom mic in the shot, or a mirror reflection of a camera person filming the dancers.

Director Jody Lee Lipes and Producer Anna Rose Holmer at the Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck, New York discuss the Writing Process and Influences

Producer Anna Rose Holmer: “The film’s influence is Studs Terkel’s Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. When you focus on people, you learn a lot about what makes them tick. The drama is there. There were no tantrums. The quiet storm was happening.

Director Jody Lee Lipes: “Letting people in the film dictate it is better than what you can write. We sketched out ideas of the story arc. The biggest change was in the end when we learned that Justin was dancing in another piece the same night of his premiere. The writing process happened in the editing room. One of the storytelling devices the editor and I used to make it feel move forward was to build on each rehearsal — we see Justin alone, Justin with one dancer, then the whole corps, and then the entire cast. The first time we see Albert (ballet master) and Justin walking on stage, because of that progression of scenes, we know we’re getting closer to the premiere of the ballet.”

There is not the expected or anticipated drama or melodrama of a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the New York ballet world.

Lipes: “Justin, the subject, doesn’t change with the camera on him. That is the real Justin. This is why I made the movie; I love watching someone really focused on what they’re doing.”

Your Next Steps

Watch documentaries that share your aesthetic, ideas, and sensibility, and then note down what makes your project different. As you develop and sketch out your ideas think about who your main characters are, their goals, desires, and agendas, and what your significant message is.

You can leave everything to chance or adhere strictly to your script. The choices are up to you. Your mantra to keep in mind when writing and sketching out your ideas for a documentary? Truth is stranger than fiction.

 

– See more at: READ MORE HERE

 

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