EXERCISE – Generating Concepts
Experiment with the different ‘ways-in’ to ideas.
Can you think of a fantastic ‘what if’ to base a film on?
Idea First - what if a girl mechanic living in a pirates den fell in love with the cyborg she was mysteriously employed to repair?
what if a detective who is supposed to be cracking down on illegal street racing fell in love with it instead?
Can you think of a unique, odd or engrossing character?
Character First - my core heroes (Caton, Zahara, Moscow). Need idealistic protagonist with hurt past, he/she wants to make the world a better place/fight injustice/seek redemption for what was lost. Strong female core also important. And wiser, older "mentor" can also be a source of comedic relief and gives lesson of not taking life too seriously.
Can you think of a setting which hasn’t been used before, or one which is full of conflict?
Setting First - must be places I'm familiar with and can describe easily (Nevadan wasteland, Silicon Valley, Almaden, Davis, China)
Maybe beginning with a lighthearted adventure story that traverses fantasy world that mirrors these places? Settings can seem good or bad but heroes discover value in every place and culture they visit...after helping them solve crime/injustice/etc.!
Can you think of a theme which resonates with you – maybe even a social issue?
Topic, Theme or Emotion First - societal issues tugging at my heart
- class warfare: human greed, secularism creates fear and mistrust, people are suspicious, cruel and hateful because of fear, a tale of two cities, rich get richer poor left to fight for the scraps
- feminism: its not just gender inequality, its sexual violence and exploitation, its systemic. A generation of broken women and girls in the hands of society and non-present (or even abusive) fathers and male figures
- racism: again it all comes from fear and mistrust of what/who you don't know or understand. people assume and stereotype others, but its all just a shell to protect ourselves & defend our biases. It's systemic & terrible (eg. black woman arrested and sent to psych ward because racist police and drs could not believe a black woman could have a good banking job and pay for her own BMW)
Try to develop a short paragraph idea for a film from a different starting point. Don’t worry about how ‘good’ your ideas are at this stage – the aim is to be freely creative and explore your imagination and story possibilities.
Robotic limbs are not always necessary if you have all of your arms and legs, but as Silver Pete so wisely recommends, it's really up to you if you want to upgrade matey! Sometimes you get your leg chopped off in a sword fight and sometimes you don't. And it's all a very bloody, painful affair, he allows, but at least you're not stuck with a stinkin' peg for the rest of your life haha! Well at least not since Miss Silver came to Port Wale Blubber that is! She's a prosthetic mechanic you see and a damn good one. Well you know how pirates are...you don't really need to give them a reason to get MORE violent and rowdy than they are, but Miss Silver did just that and got a great laugh out of it too!
Now you see, nobody and I mean nobody makes them quite like her. If you got the gold dubloons for them expensive parts, she can attach anything you can dream of on that new titanium appendage of yours! People sure do stay away from Surly Curly after he replaced his rusty old hook with a 28-inch chainsaw... not that they didn't avoid him before, haha!
Now the story that I want to tell you is all about our little pirates cove christened Wale Blubber and how we really turned things around.
