A Formula For Mystery.

And again, the updates spread apart. Possible overtime at work and other concerns have unfortunately put the film on the backburner of my priorities over the past week or so. I do miss these blogs, I really do...but sometimes it's hard after a long day in the sun to want to do ANYTHING that requires thought. Which "Our Story" definitely does.

However, I am feeling particularly musey tonight, so I think I'll continue in the same direction as last time: off a cliff. I mentioned in the previous entry how I feel like stories with ambiguity are the best ones, but that too MUCH ambiguity leads to pretension and a messy feel that ends up being unsatisfying.

Granted, leaving open ends doesn't always work for everything: for example, a swashbuckling adventure story, say...I dunno, a fantasy novel like "The Lies of Locke Lamora." Stories like this are not about ideas; they are about characters, places, and events. Their focus is on the immediate. I think it's easy to label stories like this as shallow...but this is completely wrong.

I personally feel a story can succeed on several different levels:

1. Immediacy. These are elements that do not necessarily require thought to recognize and enjoy, but do require thought to truly appreciate. Well-constructed plot twists, inventive settings, and memorable characters.
2. Sublevel. These are elements that are not immediately recognizable, but once you recognize them, fall into place with little effort. Symbols, primarily direct social commentary
3. Afterimage. This is the mood of the story, how it leaves you feeling, and images and ideas that it elicits that are not necessarily the intention of the author. I feel like these reflect common dreams and ideas between all people.

I think the beauty of storytelling as an artform comes to the surface when you realize that there is no magical concoction for any of these elements. There's no set way to get it right, there is no formula. Rather, these levels are by-products of the author writing from the heart. I feel like writing is less about technical skill and more about emotion (though of course, I suppose I shouldn't say that to some fanfic authors...)

I personally feel "Our Story" fits into the third level of "Afterimage." It is a film of ideas and of emotion, not of violent plot twists or rousing conflicts. The conflict is emotion that we are all familiar with, the violent plot twists are ones we probably see coming already. The idea for the movie came from the heart, but the script was purposefully constructed with the intent of having something for everyone to relate to.

A problem with basing a story primarily on that third level, that level of atmosphere and of ambiguity, is that you can easily lose your way until no one knows what on earth you're trying to say. This is why I had to be very careful when writing "Our Story" and hope I succeeded. It is not going to be a film where everything is always clear, and where all the blanks are filled in for you. In a way, they are not supposed to be. I want people to color them in themselves, with their own experiences, and their own memories.

However, the film also requires direction, and this is where things become very difficult. What can all people truly relate to in a story? Where will people fill in the gaps, and will the memories they use to patch the holes be beautiful or painful? These are all things I considered during the writing process. I kind of took inspiration from the theory of the monomyth, which states that there is a story exactly the same in every culture around the world, that somehow developed before these cultures interacted with others.

In "Our Story," there is a mono-idea of sorts, though obviously not on the scale of the monomyth. However, I hope that I did somehow manage to crack the shell of the universal human experiece. Maybe just scratch it. Just touch it.

Maybe even just catch a glimpse of it.

Hope I'm being clear,
-JD

Script: 100% since 2/09
Cast: 100%
Crew: 100%
Camera Supplies: 25%
Storyboards: 56%
Definitive Shooting Schedule: ~7%
Movement Rehearsals: 0%
Locations/Permissions: ~75%
Green Screen Construction: 0%