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My POV
by Brian A. Wilson
LEARN TO WRITE A SCRIPT BY MAKING A MOVIE, part 3
Finished your short film script yet? Excellent! Found a director? Outstanding. Got a DP with a mini-DV? Gold star all the way.
And if you've already shot something, you may be big-time Hollywood material.
In any case, you'll soon be onto the final phase of production: post production, specifically, editing.
With luck, you'll be able to edit your piece yourself. Doing so allows you to see how your story changes, and how the core parts remain intact, throughout this vital third step of production.
If you've got a Mac, iMovie or iMovie2 is an easy program to learn. Its shallow learning curve allows you to get your project cut and finished, which is the main goal. If you want to delve deeper into editing, you can't miss with Final Cut Pro, either v1.2.5 or v2.0. This is indeed a professional-grade editing software, giving you control over every aspect of your project.
Whichever system you use, you'll spend a week or so cutting. Then, you can slap on some titles, output back to DV and you're ready to screen! You get to enjoy the filmmakers' nervous stomach, wondering whether people will laugh or cry or gasp when you hope they do.
Go out. Try this. Then write and tell me what lessons about writing you've learned.
It's a good reminder what we're all in this business to do. And it's not to level forests so we can just bang out courier type on white paper. It's to make movies, tell stories, and touch people's lives.
I'd say that's a noble ambition.
Making my two shorts has been the most professional fun I've had in the movie biz. Try it and see if the same holds true for you.
Happy shooting!
BW
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