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Here’s Part 1: Directing your own script
I will be a guest on #ScriptChat (Sunday: March 27th – 8pm EST) to talk about my experiences on bringing your script to life. Learn more about this group here.
Here’s the second video sample of bringing a script to life on the screen. This is a sequence from DEATH OF THE DEAD penned by Bo Buckley. It features the gifted actress Christina Rose and Logan Fry (the perfect straight man for this situation).
As you can see, Christina brings a lot to her performance of “Wanda” that isn’t written on the page. We also changed the action a bit in which Wanda runs with the Old Man away together (instead of turning to see that he’s already got a head start on her).
During our shoot that day, I noticed birds sitting on some telephone wires and thought it’d be cool to have them “dramatically” fly away just as our two characters make a dash for it — so I waited until I believed the actors nailed the take and then had our AD (Assistant Director) make loud noises to stir the flock away. It was a “one-time deal” so I’m glad they flew away exactly when we needed them.
The last part of the scene was changed due to budget limitations. I didn’t believe we had the body count needed to pull off hoards of zombies coming out from everywhere – nor did we have the time to get the type of coverage to make it work as written. We basically streamlined the gist of the scene — to make Wanda feel threatened and in danger — and shot it in basically one setup.
And last but not least, I added a pickup shot later in which I wanted to pay homage to a “cult classic” to bookend the scene which gets a great response from the audience every time.
Please note: Click the icon with 4 arrows (located at the bottom right hand corner of the video window — next to the VIMEO logo). This will expand the image to FULL SCREEN so you can read the text of the script much easier.
This scene Inspired the bookend to our sequence
Next Up: Directing a treatment (when there is no script)
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6 Comments
I wondered how you got the shot of the birds. Hats off to you and your crew. Very clever.
Christina brought great life to Wanda that wasn’t presented in the script, in my humble opinion.
When directing someone else’s script, how do you approach ad-libbing? Is it the same way you approach your own script?
As an actor, I’d like to add that the lack of clarity about ad-libbing before arriving to set is confusing and frustrating.
Directors, and writers, please let this be known as soon as possible. Your actors will not only be thankful they will give you a better performance because they will know what rules to play by.
That said, this is how I approach someone else’s words so I may be alone in my thinking.
I agree that Christina totally made this film work. Without her grounded performance, range and comedic instincts (which even surprised me a few times!!)….the film would’ve never played as effectively as it does now. Thanks for the kind words about her. We worked very hard at it.
Re: Directing another’s script — I approach improv pretty much the same way whether it’s my script or someone else’s….except that I have to make sure the producers are aware that I’m going to be doing it. Sometimes I’ll shoot what’s on the page first to make sure the producers are satisfied, then play around with it after. Sometimes we’ll talk about the scene ahead of time and agree that we will not be going word-for-word from the page. It all depends on several factors and the situation.
I also agree that actors should be informed of the ground rules from the very start. I’ve always made it clear so that no one is unsure of the set protocol (which could be disastrous).
Got sidetracked. Where were we? Oh, that’s right, budgetary limitations. Does this imply you shot this for no money?
Great performance by Christina. I hope I get to see her on the big screen someday….
I was a “director-for-hire” on this so I don’t have the exact totals. But we made the entire film for less than $25K. 18-day shoot on location in Cleveland. It was a blast to make.
Christina is amazing. We’ve screened this film at some great venues….one of the best being at a sold-out crowd (300+) at our world premiere last year: http://grking.com/blog/index.php/2010/09/14/the-reason-i-make-movies-2/
And I totally agree…would be great to see her in a film that has a national (2500+ screens) release someday. She’s that good.