THE INTENT AND THE INTENDED

THE INTENT AND THE INTENDED - Part 1

There was a time when making a film was looked down upon or it was not thought highly of. Recently due to the digital technology, filmmaking has become one of the hottest careers to go into. It has somehow “democratize” once an expensive venture. There lies the pros and cons to the technology. Everybody can claim themselves to be a DIRECTOR now.

Making a film be it short or a feature takes a lot out of a person. All of these require stamina. To make a feature film requires so much out of you that your unwavering focus should be put to the test. Even a short film, stamina is required but on a shorter duration of time. The stamina is needed from the moment the seed is sowed on the idea of the story that one wants to make. The mental stamina of pushing oneself to get that fetal of an idea to grow into a recognizable structural form which is a screenplay is that first hurdle one has to face.

Now, you might have to face the blank page or like me, I collaborate with a writer which is usually my wife. I do write my own materials at times but I find my method takes up too much time and forever to complete. Of course, there will always be the good and the bad side of the particular process but on the good side, there is a synergy that runs deep when I have a collaborator that knows me as both of us become mirror to one another and one also pushes the other to make the story works even stronger. Arguments are always good for me as it always remind me that there is still communication between the collaborator and I, there is that honesty to stamp out my bad ideas at times. Definitely, in the beginning I will defend my ideas but I will eventually realize that my wife is right and another better idea will eventually always emerge to strengthen the bad one.

What is the story all about? What is the intent? Those questions will always linger in my head as that becomes the compass in making certain that the story and its intent do not deviate.

To be continued...