Last night some friends and I went to see the new movie Daybreakers. Honestly, I’m a little sick of vampires, but I wanted to see what they did with it.
Daybreakers is the vision of the Spierig brothers. With the 1940s style costuming and vampire friendly environment you feel like you’re seeing something close to our world, but just a little different. I thought this was nicely done, even though in a few places it felt more like I was watching a music video than a film.
Honestly, this story almost made it for me. I think it’s greatest weakness was its hero. The main character fails to grab your interest, because even though he has an overriding concern, he never goes through any great transformation. He makes a physical transformation, but not a psychological or moral one, which leaves the audience with the feeling of, ‘What’s the point?’
He’s a victim hero and those guys are never any fun unless they’re out for hardcore, car-exploding, mob-bosses-dying-in-terrible-ways revenge. Our hero has no need to change, because he’s there to do exactly what the writer wanted him to do–show off the neat vampire world. Had more work been done to create a satisfying hero arch, you would have seen a completely different movie. A much better movie.
It’s good eye-candy though and there are a few cheesy lines that got a good laugh, but overall it falls short of being a satisfying film experience.
The Answer Man written and directed by John Hindman
Just some quick thoughts on ‘Answer Man’.
My take on the theme: If you want answers, you better be honest with yourself first.
A lot of this story is about the relationships of sons to their fathers. The sub plot with the alcoholic bookstore owner revolves around his issues with his alcoholic father. Arlan, the main character, is not dealing with his father’s death. Alex, the son of Arlan’s love interest is not dealing well with his father’s disappearance.
So we have feelings of anger and resentment toward the father, feelings of loss, and feelings of uncertainty. So growth comes from resolution with the father.
Atonement with the father is one of the steps in Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, or what I sometimes reference as the Monomyth.
This film is a good example of how a section of the Monomyth can serve as a story’s theme or centerpiece.
The following is a pretty good definition from Wikipedia:
“In this step the person must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life. In many myths and stories this is the father, or a father figure who has life and death power. This is the center point of the journey. All the previous steps have been moving in to this place, all that follow will move out from it. Although this step is most frequently symbolized by an encounter with a male entity, it does not have to be a male; just someone or something with incredible power”
Two of the fathers in this story are absent, but we do see one of these figures. They hardly seem like god-like, powerful beings, but this is one of the things I often like to point out about character: to the men and boy in this story, the fathers are just that. They are powerful.
Alren Faber’s dead father has the power to keep Arlen from “life”. He holds the power of life and death in his hands. Even though this is a father who is off screen we get a sense that this man was a huge influence in Arlen’s life. Enough that Arlen feels the need to preserve so much of his father’s memories [which is something the father in the story was losing to Alzheimer’s]. So here we see the Mythopotic power of a father who can put life on hold. When this story begins, this is how we find Arlen–attempting to connect with God [another father figure], but bitter at life for interrupting.
Kris’s father has gifted his son with a type of enslavement: alcoholism. This is a much more reflective relationship, in that the same issues the father faces the son faces. This comes out clearly in Kris’s questions to Arlen–is there such a thing as free will or are we predestined? In other words, “Am I destined the follow my father’s path? Is there no other way out? Or is this my life? Can I make my own choices and find my own rewards?” Kris’s issues with his father are the centerpoint of his journey. Unlike Alex or Arlen, Kris is dealing with his issues in the moment, and in a strange way looks to Arlen as an almost father figure. However, he finds disappointment in both fathers, until Arlen redeams himself in the end by doing a huge book signing at Kris’s store and probably saving Kris’s business.
Alex doesn’t get a lot of screen time, but his father is probably one of the most powerful. Alex’s father has managed to freeze time. Alex struggles to understand simple things like days of the week and months, because he’s not been told the truth about his absent father.
One could complain that a lot of these transformational threads aren’t resolved and could claim that they should have been in the film. However, Alex and Kris serve as support characters who do an accurate job of reflecting Arlen’s problems. Generally, in this type of story, it’s assumed that if the main character has resolved his issues, that the others will be resolved as well. Technically, not every character in the story needs a complete resolution. It’s perfectly acceptable that a reflection character continue to have their own problems, as long as they’ve helped the character going through the transformational arch actually transform.
Oh, and overall I really enjoyed this movie. I’d love to get a copy of the screenplay, but haven’t found it yet.
I couldn’t find the original script, but I did find a transcript. It at least gives you a flavor of the wonderful dialogue and character development Caroline put into the work.
I’ve noticed that most of my favorite films tend to have a speculative element. Edward Scissorhands is a kind of suburban fairytale and fantasy. I’m not sure if it’s a good one to use as a commercial model though, because honestly I don’t think something like this would have made it through the studio system at the time. Something like it might today though.
Edward is on my ‘watch 5 times’ list. I think it takes watching something about 5 times to truly grok its structure.
[It should be noted that most of this is derived from work done by Michael Hauge's Screenwriting for Hollywood]. The character types and goals are his, the patterns are something I derived. The patterns are flexible and shouldn’t be considered an exhaustive resource.
The following are the most common external goals:
EG.A) Hero’s goal is to win a competition.
EG.B) Hero’s goal is to win a love.
EG.C) Hero’s goal is stop a disaster.
EG.D) Hero’s goal is to retrieve an item.
EG.E) Hero’s goal is to escape a place.
EG.F) Hero’s goal is to escape a person.
The following are the most common internal goal endpoints:
IG.A) Hero stands up for her authentic self.
IG.B) Hero risks connection with another person.
IG.C) Hero stands up for a principle.
The following are the primary characters
Hero
Antagonist
Lover
Support
EG.A) In the story where the hero’s goal is to win a competition, the antagonist is often the hero’s competition. The lover often has a relation with both the hero and the antagonist, but is in support of the hero. The support character is often a mentor who is a veteran of the competition.
EG.B) In the story where the hero’s goal is to win the love of a person, the antagonist is often a rival for that love and is typically better suited to be the object of affection’s counterpart. The lover is promised to the antagonist in some way, but desire’s the hero’s true essence. The support is typically a friend or equal who encourages the hero to pursue the love interest.
EG.C) In the story where the hero’s goal is to stop a disaster, the antagonist is often behind the disaster or wants it to occur for her own goals. The lover’s interests’ are deeply rooted in the outcome of the disaster and she faces the greatest jeopardy. The support character could easily be a secondary hero in this structure or a mentor.
EG.D) In the story where the hero’s goal is to retrieve an item, the antagonist has the item or also wants to retrieve the item. The lover is deeply connected to the item. The support character often knows the ways to retrieve the item.
EG.E) In the story where the hero’s goal is to escape a place, the antagonist is the captor. The lover is the destination and person most longed for by the hero. The support character often knows means of escape.
EG.F) In the story where the hero’s goal is to escape a person, the antagonist is the captor. The love interest is the healer and often plays the duel role of support. The support is often a reflection to the hero, showing how life away from the captor should be.
IG.A) In the story where the ending theme is ‘standing up for your authentic self’, the hero typically feels inadequate for some reason. The antagonist typically sees this inadequacy and flaunts it. The lover loves the authentic self of the hero. The support pushes for the hero to be her authentic self.
IG.B) In the story where the ending theme is ‘Hero risks connection with another person’, the hero has often suffered some great loss. The antagonist will threaten greater loss and remind the character of his past. The lover will work to uncover the wound and heal the hero. The support represents the good that comes from connecting.
IG.C) In the story where the ending theme is ‘Hero stands up for principle’, the hero often has a strong belief they are unwilling to compromise. The antagonist tries to break that principle down. The lover tests that principle and likely discovers a change in herself. The support could likely be a betrayer and show the failed principle.
This is the start of a mind map I’m working on. Its purpose is to help me make sure I’ve covered all the things I feel are important to get a complete story covered. This is a little too verbose for something like a short story, but would be ideal for a shorter novel or screenplay.
It’s not finished yet. One of my goals is to build in the various relationships between one node and another. For example, how does the character’s force of antagonism interact with the character’s fatal flaw? Eventually, I should have a long list of questions to help get the ball rolling. The end goal would be to have some sort of report that resembles a story.
This from Hitchcock by Francois Truffaut [originally found this on Mystery Man on Film's old blog]
“In many of the films now being made, there is very little cinema: they are mostly what I call ‘photographs of people talking.’ When we tell a story in cinema, we should resort to dialog only when it’s impossible to do otherwise. I always try to tell a story in the cinematic way, through a succession of shots and bits of film in between.
“It seems unfortunate, that with the arrival of sound, the motion picture, overnight, assumed a theatrical form. The mobility of the camera doesn’t alter this fact. Even though the camera may move along the sidewalk, it’s still theatre.
“One result of this is the loss of cinematic style, and another is the loss of fantasy. In writing a screenplay, it is essential to separate clearly the dialog from the visual elements and, whenever possible, to rely more on the visual than on the dialog. Whichever way you choose to stage the action, your main concern is to hold the audience’s fullest attention.
“Summing it up, one might say that the screen rectangle must be charged with emotion.”
I had a great weekend at the David Farland workshop. I learned a lot about the publishing industry that I didn’t know or understand before. I now feel armed with a few more tools.
This is not a class for beginners. We went over the process of writing, a little, but most of the material we covered had to do with making yourself a marketable writer. I have a few changes in mind for War Dogs of Mars. However, I managed to hit most of the high points David talked about. I have one big change to make, but otherwise, it’s good to go.
I’m doing the final redraft of my “Dream Singer” story. I’m cutting down by at least 20%. That should put it in the right range for the first place I want to send it. I’m really proud of this story. I feel like this is the first one that has actually managed to meet my expectations. Basically, this is the kind of story I like to read.
I’m excited about this weekend. I’m spending it in the company of best-selling author David Farland. I’m attending one of his workshops. This one is called “Write that Novel!” which seems pretty much perfect for me. I have totally stalled on War Dogs of Mars’ progress.
This looks like a comprehensive course. I’m going in with my ears open and ready to learn.
I do feel the need to talk about something that relates to my writing and my personal journey as a person. First, I need to say that my personal journey as a human has been greatly enriched by writing. I’ve learned more and experienced more than I think I ever would have had I not made this attempt. Writing has made me more the person I want to be. I’m not complete yet, but I feel like I’m getting there.
Second, I feel like I’ve made some fantastic progress lately. Coming up with new material and putting in a form that actually reads like a story is working. The focus on the Transformational Character Arc has allowed me to write the type of stories I want.
Third, I’ve embraced a sort of writer’s faith. This is a trust you have to build in your process. I wrote a short story recently in one sitting without an outline. Admittedly, the story is a tad cliché, but the fact that I was able to crank out something 5k long without planning is a plus for me.
Fourth, I have come to love the revision process. I faced my fear of grammar and discovered it was a foolish one. Even now I am looking back on the path where that fear passed me by and I realize it was silly and unfounded. So now I dive into my line edits with a completely new attitude. I no longer fear the later stage line edits. In fact, they’ve been a joy.
So I should have “Dream Singer” revised soon and going out the door. Maybe this will be a professional sale? We’ll see.
Last night I spent the evening completing a short story that has turned into a novelette. I know I’ll have a problem marketing a novelette. I don’t believe I’ll need to redraft this story, but I might need to go through and attempt some serious cuts. However, even if I cut 10-20% of the story, there’s no chance I can get it down to 7.5k.
10-12k is a common story length for me. I’m not sure why most of my stories end up at this length. I also find I’ve been writing my novel in chunks like this as well. I marathon for a while and get about that much done and then have to walk away and do something else for a while. However, I don’t have much trouble composing a flash story.
One of the problems I have probably has to do with the fact that I don’t read a lot of short stories, but a lot of novelettes. Most of my favorite stories run long. The only way I know to fix this is with practice. I need to continue to write more short stories and I need to try to keep them as short as possible.
It feels good to finish a phase of the drafting process though. The second draft is often the hardest for me. Now I have something I can snip and cut away at. I have something I can look at on a line-by-line basis and make choices about. I feel better about the story structure in this one. The transformational character arc has helped to clear up my usually incoherent endings.
I’m starting my next story there. At the arc. At least my planning of the story. What is the one event that could hurt this character the most? What is the one event that will best illustrate to them that their survival system isn’t working? Because I think if I can write my story about one important character and that one important event, I think then I can get the story length down to 4-6k where I want it to be.
