Deep Focus: The Go Into The Movies Project — The Evolution of Filmmaking
In order to be a good screenwriter, you have to do more than learn about screenwriting. Indeed you must immerse yourself in the world of cinema. There are several reasons for this:
* It is important to know at least something of the history of filmmaking in order to have a context in which you can write our own stories.
* You gain inspiration from seeing, studying, and analyzing movies and screenplays.
* Every time you see a movie, analyze a screenplay, read a book about film, you learn something about the craft.
* There is a Gestalt understanding of the screenwriting craft you gain from our lifetime experience of cinema.
* If you expect to work in Hollywood, it’s critical you have a broad exposure to movies in order to be able to traffic in the countless film references people in the industry use every day.
I’m sure you can add other reasons to this list. Suffice to say to have any realistic chance of becoming a working screenwriter, you need to immerse yourself in the world of movies.
And so this: “Deep Focus: The Go Into The Movies Project.” Consider this a very poor man’s / woman’s version of film school, cobbling together titles, links, and resources you can use to go into the movies. There are five subject areas:
* Movies
* Scripts and Screenwriting
* Film Analysis and Criticism
* Filmmakers
* The Evolution of Filmmaking
The concept is this: I will create a post each day this week for each subject area. Included in each post is a list of resources. You may add suggestions in comments. I will update the original post as need be. Then I will create a link under List for Deep Focus: The Go Into The Movies Project where you can access these five pages. Occasionally I will re-post them for additional suggestions and update the lists.
No, this is not the equivalent of an MFA from NYU or USC. But it reflects what I believe to be true as articulated in this mantra:
Read scripts.
Watch movies.
Write pages.
If you do that, if you immerse yourself in the world of movies and practice the craft of writing on a daily basis, you will exponentially increase your chances of success as a screenwriter.
SUBJECT AREA V: THE EVOLUTION OF FILMMAKING
Books
“The Major Film Theories: An Introduction,” J. Dudley Andrew
“Final Cut: Art, Money, and Ego in the Making of Heaven’s Gate, the Film That Sank United Artists,” Stephen Bach
“Down and Dirty Pictures, “Peter Biskind
“Easy Rider, Raging Bulls,” Peter Biskind
“Film History: An Introduction,” David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson
“A History of Narrative Film,” David Cook
“An Empire of Their Own,” Neal Gabler
“Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting,” William Goldman
“Writers in Hollywood, 1915–1951,” Ian Hamilton
“Cinema: Year by Year, 1894–2000,” Robyn Karney
“The Comic Mind: Comedy and the Movies,” Gerald Mast
“What Happens Next,” Marc Norman
“Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies,” Robert Sklar
“Making Waves: New Cinemas of the 1960s,” Geoffrey Nowell-Smith
“The Oxford History of World Cinema,” Geoffrey Nowell-Smith
“To Infinity and Beyond!: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios,” Karen Paik
“A New History of Japanese Cinema: A Century of Narrative Film,” Isolde Standish
“The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood,” David Thomson
“American Independent Cinema: An Introduction,” Yannis Tzioumakis
DVD
“A Decade Under the Influence”
“Fog City Mavericks”
“Martin Scorsese’s Personal Journey Through American Cinema”
Websites
Digital History: The History of American Film
FilmSite: Film History by Decade
If you have any recommendations or suggestions for additional resources in terms of the evolution of filmmaking, please post in comments, and I will add to the OP as warranted.
I will create a link to all five pages in this project and post on Monday.
[Originally posted May 20, 2012]
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