More responses, and what the film is really about.

So I have more responses from people who read the script. Here are some of them, paraphrased:

"The film builds up to the montage scene, which if pulled off successfully, will be quite memorable."
"What? It was all a dream? I don't think I get it."
"I normally don't like the 'It was just a dream' ending, but I think it works pretty well in this story."

There are some minor things that I think I will change for the next draft. For example, the Junior character seems a bit out of place with a lot of his mannerisms and lines. But I think what raises a lot of people's eyebrows is the ending. This leads me to discuss what I believe this film is really about:

-brain transplants
-the mind, and the games it plays on us
-youth and fun

I don't intend to make a point or criticize anything. I just want to explore, and have fun along the way.

The ending reinforces that idea, forcing the audience to question what they saw, by having a cute girl say "it was just a dream" and wish the audience a good night. Though breaking the 4th wall raises another question: will this really work without pissing my audience off?

It's a fine line I'm walking here.

Next post will include character breakdowns.

Storytelling and Response.

I've been reading a lot of John Kricfalusi's blog (http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/) and he's been updating about the difficulty of pitching when his ideas of storytelling are different from the executives. Essentially how they use technical jargon and formulas to avoid genuinely good ideas.

In THE SHAKESPEARE PROCEDURE, the intention behind how it was written is to use cartoon structures in a live action short. I'm using the brain transplants as a vehicle for gags. Plain and simple. No complicated formulas, no real "arcs" just fun (or my definition of it).

So I've been shopping the script around, trying to get people behind the project. I really need a strong Producer to help organize things a bit, and get more people behind it. Someone who isn't going to flake on me. Someone who is going to really get behind the project as much as I am.

And I do feel really strongly about the project.

Some of the responses so far to those who have read the script, which have gotten me really optimistic:
"WHAT THE EFF?"
"I thought it was funny and cute. Should get some laughs"
"I get the comedy, but I think it also lends itself to creepy, eerie atmosphere."

I'm talking with someone about creating storyboards to use for pitching. Stay tuned.

Pigs is Pigs

In keeping with this "Looney Tunes" vibe I mentioned in the previous post, and as I'm writing the script (in my head) it seems that the story is shaping up to be quite similar to an old short that I remember seeing as a kid called "Pigs is Pigs":



In the video, a young pig who selfishly eats his mother's pies and his brothers' food has a bad dream in which he's force fed to the point of almost bursting, then in one last indulgence he explodes, finally. The short includes a memorable montage of the various machinery used to force feed the piglet, a sequence that has been parodied numerous times, including once in an episode of 'The Simpsons".

So, apply this to brain transplants and you essentially have "The Shakespeare Procedure". A doctor discovers a way to transplant his brain into other bodies, but his motivations for doing so may seem pointless or selfish. His contemporaries discover his secret reasons and actually encourage him to undergo more procedures, assuming the escalating side effects will make him come to his senses. The film, as it stands currently in my head and on paper will include a montage sequence in which Dr. Shakespeare's brain is transplanted into up to 20 different bodies! Pretty ambitious, eh?

I am currently recruiting for crew positions but before I can do that I have to finish the script! I hope to have the script done within the next 24 hours of this post. Stay tuned!

First Post!

This is the first post of my production blog for my capstone film THE SHAKESPEARE PROCEDURE. It's about brain transplants. I can't really delve into more details because, well, to be perfectly honest, the script isn't finished yet! But it will be. And it will be good.

I've been working with David Bush on the script, and he's been immensely helpful in getting everything started. So I'd like to thank him for all the help he's been giving me in fleshing out the characters and writing the first three drafts of the script. Right now I'm working on the new drafts myself and getting it to where I'd like it to be.

I can say though I'm going for a kind of Looney Tunes quality to it - kind of goofy and fun. I'll post a video or something in another post, to make it clearer as to what I mean.. I also want to match the distinct qualities of those characters into this film, and make them easily recognizable with clear motives and personalities. I think that will be the most challenging part of making the film, and casting it just right.

I feel I'm a little behind on progress. When the semester starts I want to hit the ground running and get production done ASAP. So here I go, to get some lunch and work on the script!