Perfect first draft?

“This script involves a brilliant first 35 pages…Though this would be something of a Terminator ripoff, it’s what is set up with the beginning, and expected by the reader as a result…But it doesn’t happen; the bizarre, spiritual, artsy, imagery-oriented script that follows from page 35 is what does. There are so many confusing points that go unanswered…Therefore, it’s very difficult to recommend this script. If it were available for a low price, perhaps we could pick it up and develop it, but it would take total rewriting job, and seems as though it has those difficulties in it that would doom it to box office bomb status. As a total script, it is a pass; the first 35 pages are very good, good enough for us to consider the merits of developing this project.”

This was part of the script coverage for Matrix back in 1994. Good screenplay takes iterations; there’s no perfect first draft.

Film study vs. Studying the filmmaker

Film study is absolutely essential to any visual storyteller, but we must understand the purpose behind these exercises. In another word, what are you trying to get out of it? Is it the composition? The editing? Perhaps the writing and the character development? Yes, you can learn all the above by studying film and you should watch as many films as you can. But if we only replicating the finish product without understanding the thought process behind it, we are destined to fail. I often have seen students drawn pages of film study, yet their own work remains mediocre. Film study is more than copying beautiful visual image. It’s about developing your own sensibility. More importantly, it’s about developing your own voice. 

Someone once asked which Kurosawa film should he studies. I’d say all of them, or none of them. It’s up to you to find out what Kurosawa films means to you. The journey of discovery is a learning process itself. My first Kurosawa experience was Seven Samurai(1954).  After watching a couple more of his films, I learnt Kurosawa attempted suicide after he finished Dodesukaden (1970), which led me to his autobiography. As I learnt more about the master’s life, I read more books from his collaborators, such as his writer, Shinobu Hashimoto and Teruyo Nogami, Kurosawa’s production manager for 40 years.  

Through this process, I was able to examine Kurosawa’s film from different angles. Not only I studied Kurosawa’s precise blocking or stunning composition like everyone else; I also learnt what influenced him, what was his aspiration and most importantly, what mistakes he made. Who knows, maybe what I learnt was nothing but furthest from the truth,  but at least it was my interpretation of Kurosawa’s style.  As I moved on to other filmmakers such as Kubrick, Wong Kar Wai or Michael Bay, this repeated process builds my taste, which leads to becoming my sensibility, and ultimately, defines my point of view. 

This is just my process. Just like anything else in life, what works for me might not necessary works for you. Great film is more than just beautiful shots. Perhaps next time when you see something interesting, dig a little deeper. 

(Notes from StoryBoardArt Mentorship Class - 12/03/2021)