A Good Story, Well Told
Someone once said that a good script is A Good Story, Well Told. Sounds simplistic, even condescending perhaps. But pause awhile to think before you allow cynicism its unabashed will. A good script, or film, really just requires these 2 elements: (1) A Good Story; & (2) that it is well told. Straightforward.
The challenge lies in even getting either of these 2 elements right. A Good Story is the IDEA. Well Told is the EXPRESSION, the craft & skill. The 2 are like Siamese twins, conjoined at the birth of the Idea, destined to grow and live together, and create a miracle of jaw-dropping proportions. Perhaps a better illustration is the world's best violin. Without the world's best violinist to bring it to life and help it fulfill its calling, it is at best a finely-shaped piece of log illegally harvested from the deep recesses of the Sumatran jungle. You can't have one without the other. You need a good story, and you need a good voice to tell it. A bad story Well Told is akin to a rocket scientist using an abacus to tabulate bills at a rundown leaky chinese restaurant.
What about your life story? Is it a good story? Is it well told? What kind of a voice have you given to your story?
Who are the characters in your story? The protaganist, the antagonist. What is the conflict in that story? How does the plot evolve?
Where is the beginning, middle and end? Where are the highpoints of the story? Where is the climax?
How is the pacing? Fast ----------, or s-l-o-w...
Where is the setting?
What type of style are you employing to tell your story? Is it a comedy? Film noir? Mime? Melodrama? Sytlistic, Realistic? Puppetry?
Who is your target audience? Who are you telling your life story to?
Do you have the right resources to tell your story? Do you have the necessary Props & Sets? Do you have to beg, borrow or steal?
Who's telling your story? Is it a monologue, or is the Narrator someone else?
Who writes the ending? How will it end? How do YOU want it to end?
A Good Story, Well Told, is every Film-Maker's dream come true. And when the curtains finally fall, the audience will rise in rapturous applause and with a lasting standing ovation, shout out "Well Done, Thou Good & Faithful Servant".
The challenge lies in even getting either of these 2 elements right. A Good Story is the IDEA. Well Told is the EXPRESSION, the craft & skill. The 2 are like Siamese twins, conjoined at the birth of the Idea, destined to grow and live together, and create a miracle of jaw-dropping proportions. Perhaps a better illustration is the world's best violin. Without the world's best violinist to bring it to life and help it fulfill its calling, it is at best a finely-shaped piece of log illegally harvested from the deep recesses of the Sumatran jungle. You can't have one without the other. You need a good story, and you need a good voice to tell it. A bad story Well Told is akin to a rocket scientist using an abacus to tabulate bills at a rundown leaky chinese restaurant.
What about your life story? Is it a good story? Is it well told? What kind of a voice have you given to your story?
Who are the characters in your story? The protaganist, the antagonist. What is the conflict in that story? How does the plot evolve?
Where is the beginning, middle and end? Where are the highpoints of the story? Where is the climax?
How is the pacing? Fast ----------, or s-l-o-w...
Where is the setting?
What type of style are you employing to tell your story? Is it a comedy? Film noir? Mime? Melodrama? Sytlistic, Realistic? Puppetry?
Who is your target audience? Who are you telling your life story to?
Do you have the right resources to tell your story? Do you have the necessary Props & Sets? Do you have to beg, borrow or steal?
Who's telling your story? Is it a monologue, or is the Narrator someone else?
Who writes the ending? How will it end? How do YOU want it to end?
A Good Story, Well Told, is every Film-Maker's dream come true. And when the curtains finally fall, the audience will rise in rapturous applause and with a lasting standing ovation, shout out "Well Done, Thou Good & Faithful Servant".
posted by idea-expression dichotomy | 12:49 am
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