back to basics – dogme95

or how some danish guys tried to concentrate on the story!

it doesn’t feel like more than 15 years ago, but that’s how long ago it was that thomas vinterberg and lars von trier, (joined soon after by søren kragh-jacobsen and kristian levring), got together to create the dogme95 manifesto.

the idea was pretty straightforward – in a world where filmmaking was becoming so expensive, they tried to redress the balance by making simpler films based on the more traditional values of story and theme. they drew up 10 “vows of chastity” (apparently in 45 minutes!), and these vows would have to be followed to get the dogme95 seal of approval.

1. Filming must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in. If a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found.
2. The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. Music must not be used unless it occurs within the scene being filmed, i.e., diegetic.
3. The camera must be a hand-held camera. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. The film must not take place where the camera is standing; filming must take place where the action takes place.
4. The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable (if there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.
6. The film must not contain superficial action (murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden (that is to say that the film takes place here and now).
8. Genre movies are not acceptable.
9. The film format must be Academy 35 mm.
10. The director must not be credited.

now, although the majority of films that received the seal of approval did bend or break a vow or two, simply by attempting to follow the rules and concentrate on the story, some terrific movies were made as a result.

my favourites are ‘festen (the celebration)’, ‘the idiots‘, the highly underseen and underrated ‘mifunes sidste sang (mifune or mifune’s last song)’ and ‘elsker dig for evigt (open hearts)’, but there have also been other notable films including harmony korine’s ‘julien donkey-boy‘ and ‘era outra vez (once upon another time)’ the first spanish dogme film.

with the advent of modern filmmaking technology, the arrival of high quality affordable cameras and home editing software and the general feeling at the present time that all you need to go out and make a movie now is a great story, it seemed a good time to revisit the dogme95 “vows of chastity” to see if they can be inspiring today.

if you were to take them as guidelines and not as hard and fast rules, then i think they could offer a way of concentrating your thoughts on story, character and theme, in other words the elements that get your audience emotionally involved in your story.

so try stripping out all the bells and whistles (you can always put them back in later), and take a look at your scripts with these ideas in mind. if you find they help in any way, drop me a line – i’d love to know if you think they are vows worth taking!

happy writing

phil

scriptguyphil.com

the writer’s 3-sided friend

its a well known fact in this industry that a producer will generally try to get as much work out of a writer as possible for as little money as possible – it is a business after all.

having been on both sides of the writer/producer negotiation, i know what a delicate dance it is when the subject of money comes up. i also know that it will usually be the producer that wins out.

hollywood mogul samuel goldwyn famously said, “in picture-making the writer is the most important cog in the wheel. it is our job to make sure they never find out.”

i think that sentiment has passed and many people in the industry know how important the writer is. however, it doesn’t mean they are being treated better or paid more!

unfortunately i can’t wave a magic wand and make everything right again, but the above diagram will hopefully help tip the balance a little bit more in the writer’s favour.

a producer will want a script to be good, cheap and quick. you can then tell them to pick two!

if they want the script good and cheap, its not going to be quick

if they want the script good and quick, its not going to be cheap

if they want the script cheap and quick, its not going to be good

i should add that this particular negotiation tactic works better the more experienced you are, but regardless of your standing in the industry, the ability to negotiate will earn you a certain amount of professional respect.

happy writing

phil

scriptguyphil.com