We're coming back quickly...

I haven't theorized in months on here. I really miss it. It's unfortunate that I'm so dry (code words added) and technical and some people would burn all of their money before using my theories, but I know my narrative structure is without match.

If only I still didn't love SW Development too much... But then six figures sitting in a chair is close so I can take my time and find the person who wants to print my shit - I mean it's all shit right...?

Anyway, I need to expound upon my Story theory but I've been real busy with scripts and work and trying to start a business so I guess the three people who read this blog can forgive me a bit.

But then I have a story right now that I think would sell from the title and log line so there's that.

More to come...I hope...

New Rant for today

Everything sucks.

Well,, we're almost back.

Howdy wrongers, writers and others. Just a little post to update the blog. Many things have been percolating since my "Revealing of the soul" posts. Mainly visual stuff, but that doesn't really gel well with the current blogging phenomenon.

The discourse is all but dead, replaced by the not-so-self-help blogs of flash. Unfortunately the discourse is the root of cinema as you can't copyright an expression or a gesture or a flickering of light.

I've still been creating new stories and working on existing ones but having just moved and still settling into a day job (spent most of my money) I'm not in find, send and sweat mode right now.

Wait the sound of that sucks. No wonder I'm a writer.

A Moment of Silence for The Mystery Man

Yes, the unthinkable has happened. One of my mentors and I hope friends has passed away. I never knew his real name but I feel that I knew him. He was one of the first "non-gurus" I ever came across when I began the path to being a screenwriter.

We discussed everything from sex in cinema, doing away with character arcs to four act structure and visual storytelling.

This is a really sad day for me as I was missing him ever since he changed from Blogspot to Twitter.

Go here for some of the best analyses of film you can get for any price:

Mystery Man

In his memory I'll be reposting some of his articles for the next few weeks.

Hiatus ahoy!

I just realized it's been two months since I posted a new post. I'm in a funk right now and don't really give a shit.

Indie Gold

Howdy folks,

We've got something a little different today. Rather than boring everyone with dry theory we're gonna do a spoiler free review of a cute little film called One Too Many Mornings (onetoomanymornings.com).

It's the story of two old friends. One - Fischer - lives in a church for free and has a party every night. The other - Peter - runs away from a five year relationship and comes to stay at the church. They drink, party and laugh for days. Fischer tries to convince Peter that his girlfriend is no good and goes as far as to even curse her out on the phone.

Things come to a head as Fischer's drinking gets way out of control, causing him to nearly lose his cushy job and home at the church. He tells Peter to do something to him if he ever drinks again. Peter does...something rather funny and effective.

Finally, Peter's girlfriend comes to see him and after a few near misses they reunite and we find why he really left. After things have gone South with his Pastor and landlord, he finally gets a date, though most of his encounters are filled with drunken slurs and casual sex.

To avoid spoilers we just glossed over minor points so if you want a few good laughs check it out today. The film maker you help maybe your own.

Mysterious ways...Not out like I thought

Howdy folks,

The time has for all good men... damn it Off topic already. I really need to get my banalities in order. Ehhh, fuck it. It's all served me well thus far. There is a lot to be said for a person who doesn't actually have a personality, only a function. Right now the function is cinematic excellence.

The funny thing is that I was inspired by a hero who failed me and it is the most liberating experience I've ever had. I've long tried to be accommodating through ultimate hardship and be the better man in BAD situations.

My path though has forced the return of the Poet that will NOT be denied and I'm glad that I chose to take a huge chance, relying only on faith in the power of study and hard work.

I had to make really difficult decisions recently and hope that I can handle them gracefully without obscuring my real motivation, that cinematic excellence thing.

I have found that - to wax biblical - a prophet is never respected in his own country. I'm nobody but hey this is a spontaneous post to help me relax for my next moves. My short has been getting some good people attached and I think it will be a great film for it's target demographic.

I've still not finished my Master's thesis script but I have had the opportunity to compile three years of work into a forward thinking hypothesis that should allow me to quickly and efficiently produce popular narratives.

I mean I could soup up some of my club exploits or some of experiences as a houseless person with a job in an office - well I did live in a movie theater though. It was a funny thought while worked at Microsoft after flipping a few birds for my Bachelor's program where my head exploded cause I was trying to prove my Big Bang Theory (I found Einstein did agree after I sewed my brain back up). Or hell I could dig into my basic training or AIT or even Airborne duty assignment.

The problem is that I plan on shutting out the entire world and sitting on the beach for a week or two. I love NY but I LOVE LA.

Coming soon - Genre Abstraction for Action Lines

Yeah, we're getting geekier and more dry by the day but I also punch peopel so I can.... Ooops I romised i wouldn't let my lack of "life" to creep its way into this blog.

OK I have done very freaky things in clubs all around the country not to mention various "Spring Break" type events - god I could write a movie about it. Get back on track... ehhh shut up. Listen this post is about serious stuff. ....yeah, yeah, yeah.

Excuse my prsonality - excuse me - banality issues.

At any rate a new frontier has emerged after months of "dialog-action-personality" study we have found that the diverse types of genre require an abstract pattern to accurately represent the desired "scene-emotions." Much of this can be gleaned from the study of the active\reactive patterns of the involved personality but that more so influences description of character action rather than scene - "mise en scene" - description.

The key therefore lies in the use of abrupt, curt descriptive language. Scenes of motion will then become quick cuts

The cars smash together...smashing side to side....pedestrians scream

Because these are not descriptions such as character movement

He drops down amongst them a whirling dervish of blinding speed.

the shortness of the lines denote the pace. This works even when the pace of generated action is horror film limping slow like

The creature growls menacingly.....its flashing eyes reflect in the low light...it approaches on all fours....deformed.....nearly human...Jennifer stops...breathless.....eyes wide....legs immobile

When these lines are analyzed they contain the minimal information, doled out in visual chunks, some rooted in imagination, some rooted in emotional state, others vividly descriptive.

Because the script is merely a visual guide for a film maker it's a tightrope to grab the reader but also give the film maker a map that is direct and FILMABLE AS IS. (Some readers need Godard like thugs need Jesus.)

Some people believe in the multiple draft theory, but that's not the science in the craft. The science in the craft requires due diligence of thought before the draft is accomplished. As a software developer who has daily business in their hands I have learned the discipline of careful architecture. Film making is even more complex than any web site as the only linearity is time. The dialog-action narrative will bump and assuage, turn and rotate, characters adapt, change and are emotionally forwarded by a change in situation and intensity.

That's where creative abstraction can enable a more in-depth picture as it doesn't complicate but isolates traits, reactive emotion, dynamic interaction and overarching thematic construction. There have been millions of visual narratives presented all over the world and this allows for enough diverse comparison that modern film makers need just review their "list of catalogued cinematic examples," some of which may be found in the review of old movies, some may be be found in the various analyses of "the original film makers." Be they right or wrong they started the ball rolling and a true embrace of the tenets of cinema and not the trappings of fame can lead to a freeing of words to emotion.

Welcome to the Revolution.

Just when I thought I was out...

We've extended our thesis a little more to cover elements of story. We're not going to expound greatly at this juncture but in essence the extension follows the same hierarchical pattern as before where:

The Subtext of the Story is the Characters,

the Subtext of the Characters is the Situation,

the Subtext of the Situation is the Dialog,

the Subtext of the Dialog is the Emotion,

the Subtext of the Emotion is the Personality

and the Subtext of the Personality is the Soul.

As always this fits with my earlier Circular Argument - that everything in cinema is defined as circular, where no matter where you are on the circumference of the cinematic experience, whether it be character, story, structure, they all intersect along the path.

For instance Story will determine what type of Characters you need, but the Characters can influence the Story based on their Personality - or the Subtext of their Emotion (one personality responds differently to the ambush than another). At the same time the Character will determine the Story as different Characters will end up "on the run" for different reasons.

For example, the Accountant will probably not be in a seedy bar when they overhear "McGuffin plans" or pick up the wrong "bag."

From the opposite perspective the Soul you wish to reveal will affect each of the things on the pyramid. From Dictionary.com "Soul" means:

the principle of life, feeling, thought and action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity separate from the body.....

and

the emotional part of human nature, the seat of the feelings or sentiments

The definition of Story is:

a report or account of a matter or a statement of allegation

and

a narrative, either true or fictitious, in prose or verse, designed to interest, amuse or instruct the hearer or reader; tale

Looking at the definition one gets a sense of similarity in that we are in effect writing "a report or account of the emotional part of human nature."

Or Revealing the Soul.

The Circular argument extends to the relationships of the definitions applied to all of the "Steps" of the hierarchy and I think we'll get to those later. I've got some software code to write.

The Soul Has Been Revealed

A heavy sigh of relief emanates from deep within. I can slow down a little now and finish the six or so half done scripts in my pile.