8th March 2015"Writing Creatures"

As the characters i'm creating would most likely be contexturally appropriate in a film, I thought watching this DVD could teach me how to better fully develop and realise a character, thereby translating it better in design. 

 

Notes:

- Study genre and creature movies

- Stiles worked with Stan Winston for 8 years before writing. He would read the scripts and generate an effects breakdown of the effects that would be needed from the studio. What the technique would be and how much time...... etc

- The story informs how the character will be created

- Brainstorming session - Boil the question down to WHAT IF? eg, what if a robot travelled back in time.... etc. What if a boy befriended an alien...?Getting that initial exciting idea. Write down initial ideas. CHangeing the what if slightly to the who and what.. etc. Ask further questions after what if to generate the plot...

- Before writing, plan main character with an identity and then a situation around them. Treat the creatures as if they are as real as the rest of the world

- Themes of love, faith, family, bravery....

- Every scene can be used to tell the audience something about the creature even when its not on the screen

- Creature type? Motivation? What does the creature want? What is the environment of the creature? What is the conflict? (human....?)

- Write as if you are the one that must figure out the effects process

- Is the creature a villain? Who will the creature be up against?

- Relateable issues cause empathy

- Re-invent creature to make it different and new; 28 days later which had fast zombie instead of slow ones. They also never mention the word zombie and its virus based

- Be aware of the history of those creatures that has come before it so you don't repeat it. 

- Near Dark and The Lost Boys were new vampire films. Took traditional archetype of vampires and bought a rock n roll appeal to them

- District 9, alien invasion. Most invasion films have the alien revealed at the end as the money shot. But they introduced the alien within 5 minutes, the horror was the human transformation and the social issues of an alien invasion.

- What does the creature want in the story?? Predator - to hunt and kill. The Lost Boys - to join the vampures and become one of them. 

- Can figure out a lot of scenes based on this

- Conflict: how are people and characters in teh way of the characters aims?? Are people trying to survive the threat of the creature? 

- Determine the world were the story takes place. Creature From the Black Lagoon. Moons. Eclipses. Planets. Deserts. Jungle. Spaceships. 

- Sense of time; past, present, future. Blade Runner. Coyboys and Aliens.

- Beginning. Middle. End

- Ends with a battle? Returning to a planet?

- Information you can get without seeing the creature; speed of things, power, movement, sounds, environment, lighting, reactions, other characters descriptions.....

- What are the rules? Some sense of logic.... Why this creature is possible? What is the way that this cerature was born/vreated/defeated?? A simple set of logical rules. 

- The Link; something about a character that we can recognise in ourselves. Like in Aliens - Ripley has lost her daughter yet finds a 'new daughter' and queen alien is also a mother trying to protect her young. There is a common goal and both are trying to outdo eachother. Also the link between Elliot and ET; both have been abandoned by their father figures, so they have a symbiotic relationship. Lost Boys has themes of family

- Show little bits of creature before one big reveal. Jaws: see the damage of the creature. A good time to reveal is at the end of the 2nd act. Have a teaser, bits and glimpses, have established rules.... Then can reveal. This is partially for budget reasons (lots of effects is very costly) but also works as a story telling device. But this also creates build up and a second wind. (The reveal in Edward scissorhands a the start, ET with the torch, terminators skeleton at the end). 

- The defeat of the creature. Man vs Nature in Jaws. Terminator is killed (ironically) by a machine. Aliens - queen is returned to space after being born out of this mystery of space...... Terminator 2 in the liquid metal

 

Writing Creatures. n.d. Juliet Snowden and Stiles White. Stan Winston Studios.[DVD]  USA

 

 

This DVD had some very relevant advice and used really key movie excerpts to demonstrate how to practically deliver an idea or character. I feel like this has given me as excellent outline for how to plan characters/plots/environments and have an overall more cohesive mindset when creating. 

 

I think I may plan some kind of scene for my characters. If i only create the 2 of them, then I could have maybe a scene that takes place between the two, maybe some kind of altercation or discussion which could elude to what would happen in the rest of the film. As i'm quite keen to develop the air element deity, I think she could maybe be trying to convince another diety (maybe the fire one, as they could have war connotations) that earth is a planet worth saving or something along those lines. I will brainstorm the idea more and try and plan this concept based on tutorials and feedback sessions.