Tài liệu Writing the short film 3th - Part 34 doc

PA RT I V NEW DIRECTIONS The short film is an apprentice story form in North America. In Europe it has for many years been accepted as an art form. But technological and creative changes, particularly over the last 10 years, suggest that we are on the cusp of considerable change. The purpose of this section of the book is to pose practical and speculative directions that change may take for the short film. Ch17.qxd 9/27/04 6:12 PM Page 221 Ch17.qxd 9/27/04 6:12 PM Page 222 17 THE OPPORTUNITY FOR RENEWAL Who would have thought that Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee, who began their careers as student filmmakers, would return to the short film mid- career? BMW hired each filmmaker to make a short film about his car that would be shown on its website. The films have been so successful that at least one has been released in select cinemas and the series is available for purchase on DVD. Scorsese had returned earlier to the short form to make the Michael Jackson music video “Bad” for the album ‘Thriller. Spike Lee, on an ongoing basis, makes commercials. Thus, short films continue to be an important ongoing element of the creative careers of both Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee. They are not alone in this movement between the feature film and the short film. A significant change has been brought about by advertisers, whether for products such as cars or music. They have redefined and broad- ened the kind of work they sponsor under the umbrella of advertising. In the same way, the nonlinear film in its forms and its approach to character and structure has stretched what is considered the entertainment or commercial feature film. In short, change is occurring in every form, from the commer- cial to the feature film. If we add the technological shift from film to digital video, we add yet another layer of change. The question that all this raises for us is this: What changes are viable for the short film, a form that, to date, has been most closely aligned with the short story and the poem? For the most part, filmmakers, like most people, resist change. Traditional genres and approaches to character, structure, and voice affirm the order of things, i.e., tradition. This is how one imagines choices in a stable, traditional world. But what is one to make of a rapidly changing world, where the growth industry is the change agent—that category of consultant whose 223 Ch17.qxd 9/27/04 6:12 PM Page 223 main purpose is to help the rest of us manage change? This is the state of things today. Change is everywhere—in globalization and its corollary, inter- dependence; in the economy; and in personal psychology. The gatekeepers of society, the religious establishment and the political establishment, have rarely faced greater challenges. And the media and the purveyors of goods within the media—the journalists, the videographers, and the filmmakers, are dizzy with the opportunities changes afford them. In filmmaking particularly, the outcome has been a pronounced search for novelty. In fact, I don’t think it’s an overstatement to characterize that search as a mania for novelty. To connect with the audience, filmmakers seek out a new slant on an old story, an unusual form, or an exaggerated voice in the telling of the tale. Whatever the strategy, novelty is the goal. Without the surprise novelty promises, the fear is that the audience will drift away. Today, feature filmmakers and short filmmakers share a fixa- tion on novelty to engage and sustain their relationship with the audience. This search for novelty affirms the pressure of ongoing changes within our society. In keeping with a time of change, filmmakers feel they need to reinvent themselves. Turning to the filmmakers I mentioned earlier, Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee, each has established a creative portfolio, principally of fea- ture films. In addition, each has made commercials and MTV videos. But the principle of reinvention has gone even further. Martin Scorcese has rein- vented himself as a filmmaker/scholar. He has created four 8-hour docu- mentaries devoted first to American film and more recently to Italian cinema. Spike Lee, on the other hand, has looked to the documentary film to reinvent and reinvigorate himself. First with his documentary, Four Little Girls, and more recently with Get on the Bus, Spike Lee has turned to critical moments in African-American history to expand upon his creative man- date—to be as much an educator as an entertainer in his films. Other filmmakers shift genres for renewal, still others shift roles—to that of producer, in the case of Jonathan Demme—all in pursuit of the notion of reinvention. No group has sought reinvention more vigorously than actors, a number of whom have successfully turned to directing. At the same time as filmmakers seek out novelty and reinvent themselves, the lines of separation between different media, as well as different forms— advertising and the feature film, for example—are blurring. At the industrial organization level, film studios are owned by a holding company that embraces television station ownership, publishing, music recording and in one case, electronics; in another, satellite cable stations; and in another, water utilities. This no doubt will shift over time, but in principle, it means that film production, television production, theater production, music production, and book production are in numerous cases owned by the same corporate struc- ture. One can imagine the synergistic as well as monopolistic possibilities. 224 Writing the Short Film Ch17.qxd 9/27/04 6:12 PM Page 224 On another level, however, the changes are more subtle, more migratory, and more interactive. Stage productions have long been influenced by film produc- tions, but today it is not uncommon to see highly theatrical films as often as highly filmic theatrical productions. In television, the hour-long series has often been presented as an unresolved story—in short, a serial. From Dallas to ER to West Wing, the macro-storyline—as well as the story of the week, the micro- story—has altered the look and story shape of the hour-long TV film. More recently, the 30-and 60-second commercial have begun to take on the shape of the serial or ongoing story. Consequently, more character and an incomplete dramatic arc are increasingly forming the shape of the commercial. How many feature films have you seen that look increasingly like an episode (Spiderman, The Mummy)? What we are suggesting is that the shape of the B-movie serial has drifted into television, the commercial, and the feature film. Following this principle, the music video has influenced commercials and the feature film. The commercial has influenced the action-adventure film, and the TV situation comedy has become a standard in the feature film, both in the action-adventure genre and in the romantic comedy feature film. Even the police story has dipped into the TV sitcom genre. My point here is to note the transmigration of form across genres, across distribution systems. Media presentations have morphed and blurred the lines between media presenta- tion and distribution systems. A lot has changed. This has enormous impli- cations for the short film. Today, digital video, digital sound, the computer, and the availability of high-level delivery systems have democratized the means of production— the camera, the microphone, the editing system (a computer)—‘it’s all digi- tal information. And it ‘doesn’t require high-level skills or knowledge to operate. The implications of this situation for the short film are simply stag- gering. Anything is possible. You have only to do it. Of course, this situation has implications for education, or to put it another way, the knowledge industry. The acquisition of knowledge should be and can be shorter in the time it takes and less expensive in cost. This book is part of that knowledge industry, as are the classes the writers of this book teach. So the technology has changed, the industry structure has changed, rein- vention is in the air, and novelty may be our goal. All of the above invites— no, demands—that the maker of short films embraces change and explores the forms that will make his or her short film new and novel to the rest of us. THE CURRENT SITUATION In North America, the short film continues to be an apprenticeship form. This means that it is predominantly viewed as a portfolio piece. Although festivals, cable television sales, and increasingly commercially sponsored The Opportunity for Renewal 225 Ch17.qxd 9/27/04 6:12 PM Page 225 competitions offer the young short filmmaker the opportunity to recoup some of his or her costs. Purely from an economic viewpoint, the short film is best viewed as an investment in the ‘filmmaker’s professional develop- ment. The lack of commercial potential remains the greatest limiter to the horizon for the short film in North America. There is, however, a phenomenon worth mentioning, which is the move to the production of shorter films. Earlier in this book, we defined the short film by time as less than 30 minutes. By shorter, we mean 10 minutes or less. This too may be a byproduct of economic/financial limitations. On the other hand, its distance from the ultimate goal of many filmmakers, the feature film provides ample opportunity for differentiation. In essence, the shorter film requires a level of compression of character and plot that often strength- ens the uniqueness of the premise. Looking at three examples from our own school will make the point. Jeremy Boxer’s Last Supper is a comic look at a serious life issue—always wanting what you don’t have. In this case, a thirtysomething husband is bor- ing his wife with his insatiable fixation on winning the lottery. Every Thursday they get together with a few other couples for dinner. That’s lot- tery night, too. She decides to play a cruel trick on him. She gives the waiter a set of lottery numbers and asks that after the draw (10 o’clock) he come in with this set of “winning” numbers. The evening proceeds. At the appointed time he brings in the numbers for the husband. The husband looks—they are his numbers. He has won! He checks with the waiter. Are these truly the numbers? They are. At that point, the husband throws a set of keys on the table and tells his wife, “I’ve been having an affair with your sister for six months. I’m leaving you. You can have the car.” And he leaves. The film ends, with our knowing that this result is not what his wife expected. We are not certain how he will adjust once he discovers the truth about the lottery. But a lie (the lottery numbers) has unmasked the truth (his infidelity). A second short, Michael Slavens and Matthew E. Goldenberg’s Sob Story (see Appendix A), has an equally realistic intention and as in the case of the previous example, it is the premise that keeps us guessing as to how far the writers are willing to go to see their main character fulfill his goal. Here too, desire, fantasy, and real life mix. The film opens in the apartment of the main character on a first date that isn’t going well. The young woman looks for anything of interest but finds only albums of baseball cards—clearly impor- tant to him but a reminder to her of how young he is. Just as the young woman decides to leave, having had enough, the young man receives a call from his mother. His grandmother has died. He feigns a dramatic response and he notes that the young woman is very responsive. In fact, the more upset he becomes, the more committed she is to him. She will take care of him in his moment of trial. As far as he’s concerned, he’s found the key to the relationship: keep brimming with grief. He tells her he will have to speak 226 Writing the Short Film Ch17.qxd 9/27/04 6:12 PM Page 226 at the grandmother’s funeral. How will he be able to cope with the respon- sibility? The young woman’s commitment grows. To gain expertise at grieving, the young man attends a stranger’s funeral. He notes the words spoken as the man is overwhelmed with tears of grief. He practices at home, trying to bring on his own tears. He’s not succeeding and he’s worried, but he has a plan. At this grandmother’s funeral, his moment arrives. The young woman sits with his parents. She’s his, if only . . . He begins his speech. As he speaks, he begins to tear up his prize baseball cards. He is overwhelmed with grief. And he’s a success as a griever and a would-be boyfriend. His goal, to get the girl, is achieved. His singularly selfish action, however, points to his dis- regard for the moment—his grandmother’s funeral. The irony is punctuated by the loss of material goods (the baseball cards) while the personal loss (his grandmother) remains unregistered. The third example is Jonathan Liebesman’s Genesis and Catastrophe. The entire film takes place in a maternity ward. The time is the late 19th century; the place, middle Europe. A woman is in the last stage of a difficult labor. With considerable effort, she gives birth with the doctor’s aid. The baby is very small. He may not live out the night. This is not a new experience for her. She has lost more than one baby before. This infant will probably also die. She is despondent. Her husband arrives. He sees the child is too small and decides it will not live. He is older, bursting with authority. Rather than comforting his wife, he slaps her. She has failed again. He leaves. She is determined that the baby will live. She will name him Adolph. The film ends chillingly on this note—the entry into the world of Adolph Hitler. This film, unlike the others, is atmospheric, brimming with period detail. The paradox of death in life and abuse in a relationship gives the film tremendous power. In Europe, short films are considered an art form and consequently receive exhibition at festivals and financial support from local, state, and federal cul- tural organizations. There, the phenomenon of shorter films is equally of interest. For example, the film chosen as the Best European Short of 2002 is only 4 minutes long. We will now look at this film as well. Gert Embrechts’s Vincent (see Appendix A) is the story of a young boy who is born different. Because he was born with only one ear, his mother has him constantly wearing a hat. But there is enormous prejudice against people who wear hats. And so Vincent is trying to meet the world—hatted, as it were. Can he survive in a world where people don’t like people who wear hats? This is the question in Vincent. This fable has a happy ending but it poses the question of difference in society. Can we tolerate people who are different? Notable in Vincent is the Belgian filmmaker’s ambition, and his distance from a realistic approach to The Opportunity for Renewal 227 Ch17.qxd 9/27/04 6:12 PM Page 227 . as the story of the week, the micro- story—has altered the look and story shape of the hour-long TV film. More recently, the 30-and 60-second commercial. media the journalists, the videographers, and the filmmakers, are dizzy with the opportunities changes afford them. In filmmaking particularly, the outcome