the boring stuff
This is gonna be another boring “script minutiae” type of email so BUCKLE UP!
We had a great production meeting last week, and my next task is to make sure any place where there’s a montage has appropriate sluglines (i.e. the heading for a scene - where it is, and when it is).
This seems like such a small thing but let me show you why it matters:
INT. SASSY’S ROOM - DAY
Sassy writes in her diary. She starts to go mad with hunger.
MONTAGE:
Sassy goes to the kitchen to look for fish.
Sassy goes to the river to look for fish.
Sassy goes to Mars to look for fish.
END MONTAGE.
Pretty vague, and maybe not a true representation of all the action that will take place! A lot of working as a team in film is making sure stuff doesn’t only make sense to you, but makes sense to dozens of other departments.
Additionally, film tends to be “one minute of screentime per one page of script.” And many big films can only film a few pages of a script a day (!). So montages gum up the works, because they don’t take up page-space but DO take a ton of production time and possible screentime. So it helps to really outline what’s happening in the montage and separate WHERE it is happening, like this:
MONTAGE:
INT. KITCHEN - DAY
Sassy looks for fish in the fridge. In the drawer. Under the sink. On top of the cabinets. SIGH. No fish.
EXT. RIVER - LATER
Sassy sniffs around the river. Under rocks. Under bugs. She paws at the water. GRUMBLE. No fish.
EXT. MARS - LATER
Sassy exits the spaceship, already sniffing. She sniffs under rocks, but starts floating away. She sniffs empty space for fish. A TEAR DRIPS DOWN HER FACE. CRASH IN: we see the reflection of God in her teardrop.
END MONTAGE.
As you can see, this is a very good montage. And detailing it out adds more page-count to your day (yuck), but is a WAY more accurate representation of what it takes to film it!
So: this is my plate for this week! And is a symbol for the one million small things that need to happen for the BIG thing to happen (a movie getting made). And I hope that is interesting?!
Also: if you’ve sent messages on Kickstarter or here and haven’t gotten a reply yet, please bear with us, as we are SLOWLY moving through it all <3
You guys have been such a rock during this whole process and I cannot thank you enough.
More soon!
Rekha