ISP W22: Filmmaking Tips

ISP Week 22: Filmmaking Tips

Tips from Gretta Gerwig

• Don’t judge your drafts right away and don’t throw your ideas before
• Get others to read it- it forces you to listen to your own work from another perspective
• Give yourself a chance 
• Story structure is within us- how we create meaning in our everyday lives 
• Be honest with yourself about what excites you as a writer- think individually and what hasn’t been done before 
• Have a special writing plan 
• Listen to your characters- what they are trying to tell you and who they are
• Your character will tell you things you didn’t even know they had in them 
• ‘Writing is listening’ 
• Film making is a progression and collaboration 
• Write a long first draft (350 pages) to figure out what the core story is, then hone is down
• Have script readings with friends and make simple short films from your screenplays 
• Avoid cliches- think how you can bring the unique premise to your genre 
• Don’t let rejections stop you and work other jobs around film to get in
• Write characters who are more brave and courageous versions of yourself
• Inventing a character is a way to explore something that you’re not able to do as a person 

Tips from Paul Thomas Anderson 

• If you work on a script for a certain actor try to work together with them, watch the same referential movies and research the story theme together 
• When you get your chance, create without fear- every movie that gets made is a miracle
• Don’t fear authorities, their opinion is just different- not better 
• Try to go to film school by all means- but if you don’t agree with their concepts its perfectly okay to drop out because all the information is out there if you want it 
• Never start with a theme- start with the characters that are the opposite and then just let the characters guide you 
• To again inspiration again type out works from others
• Write about what’s happening around you- write about yourself and people close to you
• Families can be endless juicy ammunition for great stories- good drama and good comedy 
• Let your characters tell your truth 
• To write an outstanding scene it’s not just about ‘moving the story forward’ it’s also about suspense and character reveals 
• The actual writing can happen pretty fast when you’ve done enough research to know enough about the period, the story and the characters
• Never get yourself in a position where you just stare at a blank page.
• When you finish a project, start writing he next one ASAP 
• Just start with the relationship or a dialogue that excites you 
• To get great performances, your first job is to be a really good writer for the actors
• Don’t be overly descriptive, write about their motivations through dialogue and actions- it enable actors to do their job and just act
• Constantly be writing and practicing
• Revisit your old ideas or short stories, then practice writing them as a documentary, then write them as a feature film 

Tips from Spike Lee

• Write about yourself and what you know- pull something from life experiences
• Find your voice and work on your voice- be honest 
• Making even a terrible film is hard 
• If you want to be a director, you have a much bigger chance to get your first film made if you also write your own screenplays 
• Keep writing
• For drama, you got to have two people butting heads- and to elevate that drama both have to be right   
• Your filmmaking always had a room for improvement- try to grow with every project 
• Laziness can hinder a filmmaker the most
• Entitlement is not a good look in the film industry 
• To make it, you got to be relentless
• You got to preserve
• You got to be focused
• You have to work on your craft and never stop learning 
• Overnight success doesn’t exist 
• It’s about expressing yourself and telling your story 
• Make films with your phone and make them seen online
• Film agencies have people whose only job is to look for new talent on the internet 
• Develop your own voice 
• If you got to films school, don’t go for the degree, go to learn the game, to use the resources and come out with a finished film or screenplay 
• Write by hand 

Tips from Martin Scorsese

• Write what you know 
• Have confidence and passion while promoting yourself shamelessly 
• Write with music in mind- juxtaposition of music is effective 
• Write empathic characters that the audience will care about 
• Watch a lot of movies and study them for visual literacy 
• Tell a story through film form- camera and lighting 
• Include your family when starting out 
• Find humanity in your anti-hero- their evil streak is something which we may find in parts of us and something to explore 
• Wants to explore the lawed natures of characters to reflect us as humans beings
• Use anger for dedication and humour to get through
• Make your own industry 
• Use projects to learn more about yourself and the important life questions- 

Tips from Alfred Hitchcock 

• Create suspense with the ‘Bomb theory’- surprise vs suspense- designed to work the audience 
• Make the audience scream and cry and they will come out the theatre giggling
• Give the audience some exposition but when you give it, it must appear to be something else 
• Direct the audience rather than the actors- get the emotions you want from the audience 
• Avoid cliches 
• The quality of identification is most important for the audience’s emotions 
• Whatever the content, always put effort into creating an emotional response 
• Content isn’t important but how to handle the material to create an emotion for the audience
• Mystery is just an intellectual process, while the suspense is an emotional process- the two juxtapose each other 
• You can only get the suspense process going by giving the audience information 
• The Kuleshov effect- show don’t tell
• The story begins with only a couple of sentences
• Begins with basic material- an idea 
• Happiness is a clear horizon- that’s when you’re the most creative 
• Hatred is wasted energy and it’s all non-productive 

Tips from Christopher Nolan 

• Do something you believe in, rather than what other people want 
• Stick to your guts and do something you’re passionate about
• Play to your strengths and do what excites you as a story teller 
• Figure out what is interesting to you and present it in a way that it will be interesting to the audience 
• Add multiple layers- incorporating it into the narrative 
• Add ambiguity and layers so that the audience views them a different way on the second watch and will sustain an interest and multiple viewings
• Approach structure mathematically with diagrams- create a narrative rise in intensity and sustain it 
• Structure approach helps create a rhythm and story movements built on a constructive narrative 
• Start by yourself as soon as you can, grow your projects and never stop 
• Make a film you would want to see yourself 
• Learn a little bit of every aspect of film making 
• Engage in all aspects of film making 
• Write about what inspires you 
• Have a new project ready for when you are asked what you want to do next 
• Take your favourite genre and bring new elements to it and turn it on its head 
• Look at genres in a new way 
• Don’t be afraid and write the most exciting and the most unexpected story you can think of
• You want to challenge yourself with every film and do something different 

Ava DuVernay on Filmmaking 

• Create films that nourish you 
• Stop asking permission and focus on building your dream 
• Trying to extract from other people is stopping you doing- desperation 
• You have to be doing something- don’t waste time trying to grab something when you could be using that time to move forwards and be productive 
• Don’t be afraid to take risks- experiment with film 
• Film will be a subjective experience- how art will be received by an audience 
• Audiences should think what they will and take what they will from a film 
• Each audience member has their own lens- every person processes  things differently 
• Use your influence to help others
• If your dream only includes you then it’s too small
• Do passion based on work 

Wes Anderson interview: Masterclass on film making 

• Took inspiration from Hitchcock, Spielberg, and French film makers like Truffaut 
• Wanted to be a writer then went into directing 
• Relied on multiple mentors
• We are always steeling and taking inspiration from films 
• Every actor is different to work with 

David Lynch Masterclass 

• Hollywood blockbuster is taking over cinema 
• Doesn’t watch any modern Hollywood films
• Believes in individuality and creating something original 
• Uses paintings and photography as inspiration
• Art house films have lost their power as they now at as ‘cable television’ 
• Shooting on film is ‘beautiful’
• ‘Cinema will never die’ ‘It changes’
• Loves a continuing story- has lots of room to move, doesn’t follow a certain formula and doesn’t have to end
• Importance of music- the scene needs to be seen and heard 
• Music and sound is very important for the mood-  you can experiment with this to impact and change the mood of the scene
• Cinema can work with time and the feeling of time 
• Pace and flow is important when telling a story 
• ‘I want to realise these ideas in the way they came and the way they thrilled me’
• Be true to yourself and be true to the ideas  
• Find your voice 
• Never turn down a good idea but never a bad idea
• Never make a film without final cut- make a film you want to make with full control 
• Don’t walk away from any element until you’re happy with it 
• People are divided and when they talk they don’t listen to the other- film is universal 
• If you enjoy the work there is more creativity- it’s not about the goal but about the work 
• A screen play is a way to organise your ideas

Anges Varda Ted Talk: Inspiration and good mood 

• Creation and sharing is important 
• Inspiration is the essence of creating 
• Art feeds us
• Everyday life was an inspiration 
• Interested in real people- even in a fiction films documentary could be used
• The truth is very interesting and powerful
• Life would inspire a documentary
• Catch the best of people by showing empathy for them and listen to them
• Share what could be understood about people
• Art is the power of imagination and the freedom in creation