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June 08, 2005
The Spark… the first and most important step.
Whenever I tell someone that I’m a filmmaker, that I’m writing a script and what the script is about, the inevitable question of “How did you come up with that story?” follows. I like to say that story ideas are a dime a dozen… they come and go as they please and some stay longer than others. That’s also why whenever I’m in one of those conversations I also always get, “Hey, I’ve got a great idea for a movie too!”. What differentiates stories that I write into scripts and eventually want to make into films versus the ones that don’t is… the SPARK.
Since filmmaking is such a long and intense process, I have to know in my true heart of hearts that the story I’m about to write and eventually shoot has a big enough spark that I can always pinpoint and remember that feeling of excitement/passion. I make a specific point of always remembering when and how I first thought of the idea, the spark, so that when the struggle of writing the story eventually hits, and it always does, I have that memory to re-ignite my own fire for the story.
Sometimes I think that I’ve found the idea for the next story and it hangs around for a couple days or even a few weeks but eventually fades away… The true sparks, for me, never go away, are always there and can always lead me back to the keyboard to push through the struggles of getting the story on the page. Find your sparks and make sure they’re bright enough to pull you through your first draft, it’ll save you lots of heart aches and head aches in the end, promise. EB
Posted by ethan at June 8, 2005 12:09 PM
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