My Theory of More - A Discussion for the D2DVD Film School

I rewritten five pages of THE SKULL this morning so I'm doing rather well considering I got a late start of it, and I've been skooting around the web for awhile, dropping a few grenades here and there. As I've been rewriting the script, an informal rule seem to be applying itself to the process. Everyone who reads this blog knows of my desire for simplicity in writing, design, characterization, etc... it all falls under the umbrella of "pulp."

But as I've been editing this morning, It's becoming apparent (to me) that it's not about less...
It's about more and how those two things go hand in hand when it comes to low budget filmmaking.

With many of these low budget films you have a (very) limited amount of time and resources (money, crew, cast, locations) to produce the movie. You have less and are expected to produce more. Production value is the term.

But that's wrong isn't it?

The problem with this line of thinking is that More doesn't always equal Better. If you try to pile on MORE but have too few resources to do the job properly, then it's like slapping a glossy coat of paint on a house infested with termites. The holes show through and are even amplified by the paint.

More will equal worse -- Martin Amis

The process then, from script through post, is not to get MORE, but to strengthen what you already have going for you - your core concept. In essence, you not only want the audience to feel satisfied by what they've been given, but to also bring something of themselves into the process. You give them LESS so they access it and are able to bring the MORE. It's very much like impressionism.

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Director Val Lewton is known for his film, CAT PEOPLE where there is not a killing that occurs onscreen. It's all done with mood and shadow, because if he were to actually show the creature then people wouldn't be half as frightened.

*** To learn more about Lewton, read about the new DVD collection here:

http://www.fangoria.com/ghastly_review.php ***

Film Noir lighting came about as a quick means to light sets, and to hide their deficiencies. Shadow became as important as light. Simple sets became places where evil men hide. Anything could happen in the dark, which ratchets up the tension level considerably.

Japanese manga is known for simple "moving" artwork (simple design indicating motion, limited backgrounds) featuring characters that deal with complex, adult issues.

Remember when you were a kid and your church or neighborhood had a potluck dinner? One or two families would set up the tables and get things organized, and everyone else brought their family's specialty dishes to the dinner - roast this, barbeque that, deep fried whatnot (I'm from the South. There's always a lot of deep-fried whatnot) . It allowed for a much richer, tastier experience then if you had laid out only what your family cooks. In fact, you couldn't have fed all those people yourself as it would have been too expensive.

In each of these examples, the audience fills in the blanks and brings their experience to the work, making it interactive. They bring the MORE to the equation.

Our job then, as D2DVD screenwriters is to make the characters and story accessible, show a little not a lot and allow the audience to bring the MORE. We can't afford to do it any other way.

A really good example of this is ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, John Carpenter's remake of RIO BRAVO set in an LA precinct overrun by gangs. That's a great concept isn't it?

A precinct overrun by gangs...

Except there were never that many gang members onscreen! You never saw more than four or five at a time, and yet you felt the characters inside the precinct were completely surrounded at all times. The audience brought the MORE. Carpenter crafted the movie so the audience would buy into the story and think there were dozens of bloodthirsty gang members out there.

In PSYCHO, everyone thinks they see Janet Leigh being stabbed while in the shower. If you look at it closely however, you see that at no time did a knife touch flesh. The audience fills in the blanks.

Something similar happened after SCARECROW. A kid emailed me saying he really liked the scene where the Scarecrow pulled the Sheriff's entrails out and danced around with them at the pool. I didn't have the heart to tell the kid that scene isn't in the movie. How do you break it to a kid there's no entrail dance when clearly he thinks there was one? (There was a sickle to the chest if I remember correctly)

The answer is you don't, because it may not have been in the movie we made, but it was in his movie. The movie he saw in his imagination. The movie that had plenty of MORE with it.

So by design, you can get the same effect in the audience's mind as if you had pulled out the Mac computer and went with full-on CGI. The problem with CGI is that it takes time, and the longer you dwell on it, the more artificial it becomes (not to mention it's expensive!).

Remember: Nothing beats an audience's imagination.

So that's the beginning of my Theory of More. Show (better yet, imply) just enough so that the audience brings their imagination to the table you've set, and then have a good potluck dinner.

After that, leave them wanting more. (which is a whole other post)

The smoking lamp is lit. Let's discuss it.