December 31, 2015
The New Year is just hours away. You would think that by this time we would have finished the script. Well, we just might have. I’ve refrained from working the the script for most of the Christmas Break, mostly because I wanted to enjoy myself, but also because I hit a rut with the script. It seemed that the main problem of the story was character motivation for Monty and why he made the Vocelyne in the first place. The twist at the end for making it for Maddox was too jarring according the the reviewers. However, I was afraid that if we developed this side for Monty, the story would become unwieldy and hard to do with our resources. I wanted there to be a way we could draw more from what we had.
Over the past two days, I’ve got back to the script. I knew there had to be a way to streamline the story without making it confusing. I consulted my mom about it. I find that when I talk to her, my gears get turning. She read the script and I explained my dilemma. She said that I had kind of a theme going on about being “revolutionary.” She said that Monty tried to change the world with achievements and things while Maddox does it through people (aka, Romaine.) I thought it was a good idea and I started rolling with it that way. Then I came upon my greater challenge, the climax and resolution. I had no idea how the story was going to end and I was trying to avoid a major spectacle.
Long story short, I revised it today and by revise, I came up with nearly a completely different version. I even changed the name of Vocelyne to Liquid Lightning (I thought it rolled off the tongue better.) The unexpected Draft 4 may solve a good bit of my fears. It minimizes the visuals, gives Monty a initiate reason for his actions, has bit of a sibling dynamic, and the climax has been simplified. Unfortunately, Romaine’s prominence in the story has decreased, but it may be for the greater good. I think our problem is we keep on forgetting that it’s a short film and not a feature jammed into a short time.
I texted Jack about it and he read it. He said he liked it. This may be the version we’re rolling with (finally!). I haven’t read his comments yet. I’m a bit afraid to. We’re meeting tomorrow, to discuss. (This meeting has been postponed three times now.)
I can’t wait until we start. We may have overcome our major rut. Now we have to go fast to catch up to what we originally planned. We are supposed to be ready to shoot by now and we don’t have any confirmed people or locations!
At least we are moving.