Dateline 2-16-2017

I think I've gotten enough distance from working on movies to finally rekindle my relationship with film and scripted television. I used to love any moving pictures on any sized screen which is what lead me to want to work in the industry. This is why I chose stagecraft over sports in high school despite the fact that I was naturally the size of an NFL lineman. 

I remember a trip to Universal Studios when I was picked to be a crew member for their latest Star Trek show, which was filled with audience interaction. Now when I say crew member I mean stage crew and not one of the background characters pushing space buttons. I was so proud of that moment to go out on the stage while completely avoiding the spotlight.

 Another aspect of my young life that I think affected my relationship to entertain is that my first true love was stand-up comedy. I feel this is why I was more drawn to the storytelling side of cinema over the adrenaline boosting meaningless action that seemed to be popular amongst my peers. This is probably why I stepped up from wanting to be a simple stagehand, just to be involved, to trying to write a screenplay.

This is a fact that I often forget but I made a couple attempts to write scripts in high school but then age 18 hit and I was out on my own too busy adulting to keep up with this hobby. I often think that it wasn't until I was 22 that I started to take an interest in screenwriting. I think that's because I bought Final Draft and the proper formatting is what makes me feel this was my first legitimate effort.

During my first decade of screenwriting attempts, I was able to have a dual relationship between the writing and watching of movies. It wasn't until I started to take screenwriting serious enough to sign up for classes that established conventions and strictness to story structure started to drive a wedge in my relationship.

Yeah, I always know that this structure was there but it was heartbreaking to see how mandatory it is that I could help but start to see the framework to everything that I saw which was the first shot fired at freedom of fantasy. That said, I still enjoyed films but everything became so predictable, not in a bad writing way but predictable by design once you have the key.

Then I started to actually work in film and that when the magic was murdered. No conversation seems natural to me because I know the reality of each sentence being shot pretty much one at a time and the actors are likely talking to a stand-in or no one at all than the person in the scene who's either off to the side or hanging out, waiting for their turn in craft services.

Anytime a movie cuts back and forth, all I see is the crew swapping the setups. Every time I see a crowd on film I find myself searching for crew members and no I don't mean the ones that accidentally got in the shot but the ones that were recruited on the day because of no-shows from the extras.

See how the magic can die when you can see beyond the smoke and mirrors?

It's now been a little over three years since I stepped on a set and about a year since I wrote my last screenplay. As sad as it is that I'm giving up on that dream, I'm finding that I can sit through scripted content with the renewed ability to suspend disbelief and just let the magic happen.

The rekindled relationship with film is still new to me but I'm pretty happy to have this back in my life because now that I'm writing way less fiction, I need an outlet to escape into a world of fantasy.

Now I kind of feel like I have to watch a film, maybe I'll do that after I fit a nap in. I'll let you know what I come up with to watch when I check in to say hi tomorrow.

Cheers,

The Wicker Breaker