Inspiration Constipation

The remake of "A Nightmare on Elm Street". I saw it this evening. I haven't seen the original so I can't compare, but this movie just wasn't very good. Things were either overly explained, or didn't make any sense.

But, I was inspired.

The idea of dreams and how they can influence our "awake" life was a very interesting idea to me. As I was leaving Rave Motion Pictures and walking through an empty Town Square I could hear the distant noises of bars and lounges. The dim lights of closed stores. The emptiness of it all. I thought, "Hey, I can come up with a script about this."


Then I realized I couldn't. Or maybe I didn't want to put the effort into it.

For me, writing is the hardest part of the film making process because there is nothing to build on. It's blank paper. I talk to friends who say they are working on a few scripts at the same time. I work so hard on one, I can't imagine writing more at the same time. When I don't focus on one project I write "ideas" of another (i.e. during my most recent short I thought of an idea of a sexy woman saving an old man as from a group of teenagers in a parking garage...trust me, you don't have to say anything) But those ideas are ones that I can't think of ways to develop, and henceforth, can't become a real story.

What my ideas consist of are, what I consider "cool" visuals (see above?). Then, I try to fool myself into thinking, "That will be enough". When I know it's not. If I wanted to shoot pieces for a reel then I would shoot those ideas and not a complete short. But I want story cohesion, an arc. You can't get that from what I got.

Even though I can't cover that white page with a story. Once one is written, I know how to enhance it, fix it, change it, so that it can become a movie. Or I know how to listen to those around me to enhance it, fix it, change it.

So while I want to film a character walking around a desolate Town Square at night and contrasting that with the same shot only during the day and surrounded by people, and then cutting between the two - it's not a short. I can ask a writer to develop that with me, but that alone cannot a film make. (Yoda!)

I questioned what I wanted to do in the industry for awhile. But I know I want to be a Producer. The person who can bring those people together that you know can make a script you love come to life, and be better than you ever imagined. Honestly, who's to say where I'll be in ten years from now, or even a year from now. But I have a goal. It's when I have these visual inspirations that influence my film making I realize that I can't do it alone.

And that is amazing.

(In reading this over, I realized how much this sounded like damn narrative letter for grad school. Not my intent.)

MUSIC

Thought I could start sharing some music that I find inspirational-slash-cool.


First up is a track from "Angels in America" by Thomas Newman. (No, I haven't seen the mini-series, sorry.) It features Newman's warm tones and almost mimics the waves that hit the namesake of the cue. Ironically, if I wrote more, I would always use Newman as inspiration.

Second is from the composer of the "Nightmare" remake, Steve Jablonsky. It's from Gears of War 2 VG, and I just want to kick ass when I hear this track. I love that the cue switches from a march to a battle, all within 4 minutes.

And finally for our dance/electronica peeps (sorry) we have a song that I have been listening to pretty much everyday this week. It's from P. Diddy's new project Dirty Money . I first heard the song when I saw the awful Hype Williams directed video. I thought it was cool enough, then I found this fantastic remix.

It's Wednesday. Enjoy.

- Devon