Indie Film – From Concept to Completion (Part 1)

You’re thinking of making a film? Congratulations! The road to a well-executed film is one of good intentions and many possible pitfalls. You’ll learn a lot, and take that knowledge/experience forward to other future films. Be excited by the journey, and don’t be afraid of failure. First of all, it’s time to first consider…

THE CONCEPT PHASE.

This is where you give birth to all your ideas and then formulate them into a workable, exciting script. Please remember: THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE WHOLE CREATIVE FILMMAKING PROCESS. Also recall that this should be a hive of creativity where you bounce ideas around, and see what sticks. Don’t be afraid to go off at tangents, or consider anything too “off the wall” or just plain silly.

1. Brainstorm ideas – what is interesting to you? Try to see all thoughts/ideas (settings, dialogue, plot twists, character type, etc.) visually, as if looking at them through a camera lens.
2. Don’t be afraid to be inspired by others’ suggestions (take a look at Stephen King’swebsite). However, don’t plagiarize or steal people’s works. Remember: there are still plenty of good ideas yet to be thought up, in fact, the “idea pool” is infinite, and that’s exciting to know. Also know that in general, your first thought/idea is generally not your best—as in any other venture in life, you’ll get out of this what you put into it.
3. Expand your idea(s) by writing down how you see your characters, who they are, how old, their life experience, what they look like, etc. Remember the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell (very under-rated) & taste. For example, does your character have a certain smell? Why? What does that tell you about him/her? Feel excited by this part of the process: there are no limits, think about a “stream of consciousness” approach and see what you can compile.
4. You’re thinking of making a film Don’t use everything you come up with (not all ideas will be fruitful), only that which fits your character/concept.
5. Think about what medium you’ll use to flesh out these characters/ideas; i.e., will you go straight to screenplay, or perhaps write a fictional story first before adapting it to screenplay? Consider: This part of the whole creative journey perhaps being the most important—don’t jump straight to screenplay form because it feels like it will be less work. Be willing to take time and effort in adding flesh to the bones of your initial ideas.
6. You’re thinking of making a film Don’t think you’re finished once you’ve created a first draft of the script (read other scripts to study script structure): you’ve really just begun. Read ALOUD what you have (or even better, have someone else read it so you can hear what the words sound like). If you think it’s good, it’s okay to be excited by what you see/hear, but now invest more time into a second, third draft, adding ideas, taking away what doesn’t work anymore. Important: be open to killing the thing you love: you may have initially come up with a plot twist or interesting character that just doesn’t work for you in a later draft of your work. If so, tear it out and place to one side for possible future projects.
7. Now’s the time to be bold: let your work be critiqued by someone else whose opinion you trust. This can be painful, and it helps if you have a “thick skin” and not get offended. Other people’s valid opinions can enlighten your work, offer fresh ideas and take you in directions you never initially considered. Better still, offer your work to at least a handful of people—if, for example, seven out of eight people have a problem with something you’ve written, the chances are they’re on to something. If only one person in eight has an issue, maybe it isn’t so important to correct. However, YOU be the final judge.

Finally, take into account that no matter how great the direction, acting or cinematography, if the script is merely mediocre then the film will end up being mediocre at best. Do yourself a favor and make that script the very best it can be before proceeding forward to the next phase.