It’s nearly there though and I think we all feel it will be nice to move on to the next idea and putt a bit of distance between us and these characters for a little while.

More more more on this soon soon soon…

Most importantly – the end is close now, so close I can smell it. And it smells good!

My guess is that we have about two weeks editing left now, to sort out the bits of the story and get the individual sequences and parts in shape with all the new digitized “behind the scenes” material. Then we’ll have to start planning trips to Morocco and France to cover the interviews that we need with Tahir and other people that were involved in the production and had key parts at various crucial moments along the way.

Simultaneously to that we will start with the graphics – maps, and 3D illustrations etc. As a filmmaker I have to make sure that these diversions don’t mislead me and my attention. I have to keep focus on the bigger picture, the story and most of all the premise of what I’m trying to say with the film. However, the motion graphics lie very close to my heart and it’s hard not to try to use them to solve problems. We’ll see how much we have time with in the end, but there are some great ideas in the pipeline indeed.

While they say that tomorrow is a Bank holiday, we at Caravan Film solemnly agreed that we’re no bank and there fore we should maintain creativity and make sure to do some good work. I suggest everyone who feels the same (about not being a bank) do the same. You can always go out and protest.

goodnight

While walking and talking, sometimes at the same time – talking that is (in a sober state we’re usually both individually able to walk and talk at the same time, if you see what I mean… anyway, moving on), we had soon covered 4 markets in the East End, even before early afternoon; Columbia Rd Mkt, Brick Lane Mkt, Spitalfields and Petticoat Lane.

I live in this part of town, but rarely leave the flat during the day, even for just a stroll around the area (apart from going to the office). My excuse is that I need to work and any time walking around aimlessly is wasted time… no doubt I’m terribly wrong. There is nothing so inspiring as to be overwhelmed by all the people, stalls, shops and hidden away streets and corners, that one finds in East London. I know I’m not the first person to say this, but since I’ve actually just recently discovered this, this info can’t be completely superfluous. I do obviously venture out for a drink from time to time, but then it’s under the cloak of darkness and I admittedly usually don’t remember much when I, in the small hours, return to the flat.

Moving on… What I wanted to talk about in t his post is about how interesting and illuminating it is to discuss film script ideas with other writers and in this specific case, a person who is more used to the format of novels and books. In my opinion it takes much more effort to structure a story on 400 pages than one of 90 pages (90 very sparse pages comparatively), so I start this off feeling hugely intimidated by the prospect of speaking to someone who actually knows how to write and how to write a lot. The second hugely intimidating factor is sharing one’s ideas. I find myself twisting and bending parts of the story we’re supposed to work on together, to somehow disguise it and make it general so that it couldn’t be pinned down. This is ridiculous and I discover this myself after a while. Then I struggle with myself, hard, to let go and really tell the detailed plot I’m thinking of.. surprise(!), this is when my friend begins coming up with the really great and useful ideas and we start getting new inspiration going.

Anyway, after a few hours of juggling ideas about and some early afternoon beers, Jason and I agreed to start a collaboration on an idea that I’ve worked on myself for a while. The idea will need a lot of research and delving into quirky areas of English history – not to mention weaving together a few bits that might not necessarily be obviously connected to begin with. Isn’t that the case many times  in film though?

My morals (i have no hopes you’ll intend to follow them, but this is what i’ve come up with): Be open with our ideas, at least with friends you trust creatively and who do similar work as yourself. Put energy into telling them your ideas, what you’re doing and want to do. The feedback is always well worth the risk of loosing the grip of your precious idea. Second; Get inspiration. Get away from the desk. Don’t waste time, but don’t be afraid to go out and get some impressions. Every time I do it I suffer more thinking of the times I didn’t do it, rather than loosing a few hours desk-time right now.

There was some other point I wanted to mention, but I can’t remember it right now, so it’s going to have to wait… I’ve got some script writing to tend to now. See you later.

During the process so far we’ve managed well, to enhance what was there to begin with, but also adding new twists and drive in the story, mainly by turning up the heat a bit on the ingredients that Jan had already written.

We’ve agreed on a few main plot points though the story, while some parts in between are slightly more open and subject to how the story writes itself. We have also made a plan on how to conduct the work and in what portions Jan will show what he’s written so far, but also a few rules on how and what we’re allowed to change as we go, not to end up covering the same few pages over and over in some misdirected attempt to achieve perfection to early.

Afghan Gold “Behind The Scenes” Feature Doc
In the meantime I’ve been hammering away on the script and Voice Over of our Afghan treasure hunt feature doc. It’s not as easy as it seems. While I have an abundance of ideas, thoughts and memories, they mostly tell stories that were never filmed, since they’re “behind the scenes”. Thus, what I write doesn’t always mirror the edited scenes we’ve got so far. There is a huge editing job waiting, but mainly the task at hand is to structure and find our angle in this feature of the film, which will differ hugely from the various TV versions of the same material; namely ZDF’s German Version (screening 1 May) and the FIVE UK one which screened previously.

Our main objective in this film so far is to tell the story of exactly how crazy it is for an independent film company of 3 people to head off to Afghanistan without insurances and security convoys, to shoot a documentary which demands crisscrossing the country unhampered by the current situation. This story strand will be mixed with a real story of Tahir Shah, visiting his magical homeland for the first time, after having waited his whole 39 year life for an opportunity to do so, a break in the weather, as he puts it.

Buddhist Cave Complex, Galleries carved deep inside the mountain.

But doing this, while looking for the treasure of the country’s first King Ahmad Shah Durrani, both brings him right inside the very foundations of the country’s underbelly, at the same time as it poses some very hard questions to answer.

Chained to the desk as they say… I keep writing.

work went well this evening. Script writing is a touch process. The further into the structure onge gest, one has compute more and more previous ideas, and the combinations increase drastically. It’s a little bit like a probability calcualtion, I think. I’ll stop there as I wouldn’t be able to hold my own for 30 secs when it comes to math. Anyway, I think the key point today has been themes. At one point all the obvious cool ideas for a story are out in the open and before one knows it they seem boring and yesterday’s news. You know you’re going to use them when you sit down and write, but at the moment they feel old and less attractive by each minute you think of them. The important thing I’ve been telling myself to remember is that it’s the various themes these core ideas are connected to that will carry and construct the second act of the script. Find the themes and you have endless fun of brainstorming new turnpoints ahead of you. A few solid ideas emerged, but I’d say we probably need one or two evenings work more, before we’ve nailed the whole thing. maybe three…

This is what we’ve come up with so far. Desire is the key word. Sorting out the 3 Desires for your protagonist will take care of deciding what Act 2 will cover and how Act 3 has to pay-off, and in what order. Of course there are other parameters in there, providing their fuel to the structure, but at the moment I’m finding great use for working with Desire.

1. Desire #1 – Primary Personal – What does the protagonist really want most of all when the film starts? i.e. if he/she got/achieved this now, this story wouldn’t need to be told.
   
2. Desire #2 – First minor TP – Intellectual/Logic – where the protagonist is compelled to pursue the part of the plot which will result in the first major TP where it will change the course of the story.

   ** TP 1 – Change of path

3. Desire #3 – Life, Death – The need for perseverance and survival is presented and will continue until this is resolved at the end of Act 2, only to be taken into second gear by TP2, where the protagonist has grown strong enough to deal with the need to resolve Desire #2 & #1.
   

   ** MP – Acknowledgment: Risks & Danger – Protagonist Takes first Step towards proactively solving Desire #3. Even if he/she hasn’t been passive until this point, the steps taken has merely been logical and necessary to maintain status quo of TP2. This slow progression results in a situation where the protagonist has to make a serious choice. This continues to progress in full conflict with antagonist forces until we reach…
   

   ** TP 2 – Near total disaster

4. Desire #3 – Pay-Off – TP1 – whatever the story was changed into here, this will be resolved and take a second turn – this time driven by the protagonist.
   
5. Desire #2 – Pay-Off – The first logic/intellectual question.
   
6. Desire #1 – Pay-Off – Acceptance – The protagonists initial desire is finally resolved, either fulfilled or rejected – either way he/she has got the answer to the question posed in the first 10 pages.
   

Ends. more soon…

I’m also very charged up about the current collaboration with Swedish scriptwriter Jan Adolfsson. Our work together started a few weeks ago in a very inspired mood – developing the ideas for a second draft of his Horror/Thriller (title will be disclosed later). We also recently met, in Stockholm, for the first time after several long phone conversations and brainstorms. We have now come to a continued agreement on how to continue the collaboration, and I dare to say that we’re both very inspired and excited about locking changes and new structure for the next draft and for Jan to sit down and start writing. More on this very soon to.
It’s snowing in the Alps. d