tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post112724477978328529..comments2023-12-11T15:35:23.779-08:00Comments on Pulp 2.0: My Theory of More - A Discussion for the D2DVD Film SchoolCunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07137025404327426886noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-20611418768035346752008-01-21T11:44:00.000-08:002008-01-21T11:44:00.000-08:00I think the best example is Reservoir Dogs. We nev...I think the best example is Reservoir Dogs. We never see the ear cutting scene, we see a wall and we 'hear' the torture yet most people think they saw it because they saw the aftermath and their minds filled in the blanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-1127533881396571772005-09-23T20:51:00.000-07:002005-09-23T20:51:00.000-07:00Similarly, just because description of a monster q...<I>Similarly, just because description of a monster quickly reaches a point of diminishing returns, doesn't mean I leave the monsters skulking in the shadows. They're front-and-center from start-to-finish. My strategy for keeping them scary is to exceed readers' most horrible imaginings.</I><BR/><BR/>I can't do it on a budget of $10,000 and make it look incredible, so better to allude to the horror, make the viewer feel it, because at the end of the day, the effects I can muster won't do that at all. It'll drag them right out of the film. I think that's all Bill is saying.<BR/><BR/>In a book, go crazy man! That is what the imagination is for, and I think everyone agrees with you on that. You're speaking on different points is all.JDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09791973249141784771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-1127491093027462722005-09-23T08:58:00.000-07:002005-09-23T08:58:00.000-07:00No problem here, Curt. I asked for discussion and ...No problem here, Curt. I asked for discussion and I'm getting it.<BR/><BR/>I do think we have differing constraints on our respective media as:<BR/><BR/>1. Movies are about "show" not tell.<BR/><BR/>2. Books are about "showing by telling."<BR/><BR/>My theory of "More" was hatched when I came into the whole story v. budget conflict."How can I afford to tell this story and make it entertaining for the audience?"<BR/><BR/>(which is, of course, the sword of Damocles which hangs over every low budget filmmaker's head)<BR/><BR/>What I'm hoping is this theory will stimulate thought on thinking outside the box. That there is more than one way to skin a cat (actual 37 ways)or to really make a movie work for both the budget and the story.Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137025404327426886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-1127487992123803342005-09-23T08:06:00.000-07:002005-09-23T08:06:00.000-07:00I have a different take on this issue, Bill. I'll...I have a different take on this issue, Bill. I'll apologize in advance if it comes off sounding arrogant or confrontational, because that's not my intention. This is just my personal artistic philosophy as I write my horror novel. <BR/><BR/>The other caveat I'll mention is that my medium, writing, is quite different from movies, in that a certain amount of imagination is demanded of the audience by the very nature of the medium. They can't just look at a screen; they have to provide their own imagery, based on what I've written. Also, writing involves <I>no</I> budgetary considerations whatsoever, in the same sense that movies do.<BR/><BR/>Still, in prose as in film, you have a lot of people taking this "less is more" line, and arguing that implication is superior to writing out the details.<BR/><BR/>Well, I think my imagination is in a completely different league from most readers, and I don't think they could bring the "more" that I deliver. Sometimes potluck is fine, but a top-tier caterer is something else entirely, and that's how I see myself. <BR/><BR/>I do recognize that there are artistic limits to telling all, but as a matter of principle I try to go right up to those limits before I back off. For example, describing a fight scene blow-by-blow <I>quickly</I> reaches a point of drastically diminishing returns. So it is necessary to employ summary and let readers' imaginations take it from there. But I also provide every fight scene with two or three "signature" moments (equivalent in intensity to a Mortal Kombat fatality move) so that what readers fill in is far less conventionalized than it might otherwise have been.<BR/><BR/>Similarly, just because description of a monster quickly reaches a point of diminishing returns, doesn't mean I leave the monsters skulking in the shadows. They're front-and-center from start-to-finish. My strategy for keeping them scary is to exceed readers' most horrible imaginings.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, that's just my perspective on this issue. ;-)Curt Purcellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12580782572650471362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-1127437245990611782005-09-22T18:00:00.000-07:002005-09-22T18:00:00.000-07:00Halloween is such a good example...the killings ar...Halloween is such a good example...the killings are fairly tame, and yet the total atmosphere of the film..namely the score,the camera work, and the lighting, makes it feel a whole lot more tense than it would be with more violence on screen.JDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09791973249141784771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-1127417645273707352005-09-22T12:34:00.000-07:002005-09-22T12:34:00.000-07:00Bill, I don't need to school you on the tease. Ev...Bill, I don't need to school you on the tease. Every girl who's made you drool has already done it.<BR/><BR/><I><BR/>That little half smile as she walks out of sight.<BR/><BR/>The way her skirt casually brushes against her thighs.<BR/><BR/>The wink that is so quick you're not sure if it was really there or not.<BR/><BR/>That ever so subtle brush against you as she passes you.<BR/><BR/>The faint scent of her perfume.<BR/><BR/>The eye contact that bashfully breaks but somehow always winds up back with you.<BR/><BR/></I><BR/><BR/>Oh, I could go on and on.<BR/><BR/>Now, there are some who are absolute MASTERS at this... and some who will never get it down no matter HOW hard they try.<BR/><BR/>You just have to figure out how to master this skill in movies.writergurlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04280715417926374080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-1127408513506089872005-09-22T10:01:00.000-07:002005-09-22T10:01:00.000-07:00So it should be called the "Theory of Tease?"So, w...So it should be called the "Theory of Tease?"<BR/><BR/>So, writergurl, school us in the art of the tease, and I ain't talkin' movies either...<BR/><BR/>;)Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137025404327426886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-1127407356421961502005-09-22T09:42:00.000-07:002005-09-22T09:42:00.000-07:00I think the Blair Witch Project definitely qualifi...I think the Blair Witch Project definitely qualifies. It's amazing how little was actually shown in that film, but it was still very effective for what it was.<BR/><BR/>And of course the famous Jaws story, where the malfunctioning shark led to less shark, which turned out to work a lot better than more shark would have.Scott the Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14560177524646531880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-1127407043809425762005-09-22T09:37:00.000-07:002005-09-22T09:37:00.000-07:00Aw, guys, com'on! All girls know this... it's cal...Aw, guys, com'on! All girls know this... it's called a "tease". Let them think they're getting more than they actually are. (Especially on the first few dates...)<BR/><BR/>Of course when we're yakking about it as a teenager, we're not thinking of movies. Usually. ;)writergurlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04280715417926374080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-1127399811979422132005-09-22T07:36:00.000-07:002005-09-22T07:36:00.000-07:00Good observation, and yes, you would have to be ca...Good observation, and yes, you would have to be careful not to cheat the audience. However, instead of showing the battle, how about showing the AFTERMATH of the battle with sound effects over the scene? Instead of staging a huge battle (for a low budget picture) with many scenes and cutaways, you stage it as one scene described as above? Same effect, lower cost.<BR/><BR/>There is a fine line to be aware of in this. This is a good discussion and needs to be done to shake out any flaws in my theory.Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137025404327426886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-1127360640555149702005-09-21T20:44:00.000-07:002005-09-21T20:44:00.000-07:00I think HALLOWEEN also qualifies though there may ...I think HALLOWEEN also qualifies though there may be some debate on that. It isn't as gory as its contemporaries of the period, yet it still delivers.<BR/><BR/>I think EL MARIACHI also qualifies. Many of the scenes are simply staged and given greater impact through editing, making it seem like a bigger picture (though it isn't). <BR/><BR/>NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD uses inserts on the tv to show that the world is experiencing the same horror as the people trapped in the house. But, the focus is always on the characters trapped in the house, which makes it more personal and thus more horrific.Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137025404327426886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-1127358608835084152005-09-21T20:10:00.000-07:002005-09-21T20:10:00.000-07:00Cool idea about the audience bringing the More. S...Cool idea about the audience bringing the More. Seems like a lot of movies these days go in exactly the opposite direction; show every gory detail. What are some other good examples of the Theory of More?JimMillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04104758845030660061noreply@blogger.com