Movies You Made: “The Kill”
March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of independent filmmakers. Today: The Kill.
This is a special selection as the screenwriter on this short film project is Désirée Nordlund, who has been following Go Into The Story almost from the very beginning of the site’s existence. The Kill is the culmination of an interesting journey which I thought readers would find interesting, so I asked Désirée to share some thoughts about her experience.
In November last year a friend asked if I could give him feedback on a short script he was about to send to a contest. It was for GoKinema’s Open Set sessions, for which they had announced a contest for the first time. I read the rules and was inspired to write a contribution of my own. There is something about limitations that trigs me. Maximum four pages, three characters and one location. And open to interpretation, which is kind of a fuzzy demand. I had a scene I had fiddled with before with an assassin and his victim, which I thought would be perfect for this, but though I liked the characters it lacked conflict so I began to work with that. Deadline was close by, but I tried to take time to make sure the grammar and language was flawless, as well as getting the most of the scene both in visuals and dialog. Finally I sent in “The Kill” (see script here.)
GoKinema is an annual event in Gothenburg, Sweden, arranged by Gothenburg Studios (http://gothenburgstudios.se/) at the same time as the International Gothenburg Film Festival is held. It is about how movies are made, showing off a lot of new technical stuff and prop-making, seminars and Open Set, which is very popular. Open Set is film making by established professionals in front of an audience, which will get a chance to see what really happens on a movie set. I’m told that the technical equipment are the latest high-end, delivered by the sponsors. The idea is that a team has a day to film what’s needed, and the next day another team enters the set. They have the same script, set and some of the crew. Director and Cinematographer are the last to enter the team, instead of the other way around which is more common.
In early December I got an e-mail telling me I had won, but was asked to keep it off social media until the official announcement in January. The time until January was long. Then it was announced and shortly after the filming started. The 23 th and the 24th I sat as glued on my seat in the audience. I had a badge with “Open Set Crew” on, but otherwise I was more or less asked to keep a low profile. I can’t blame them, because a writer has no natural place on a set and they could not afford the risk that I would be sand in the well-oiled machinery which a movie set constitute. A very impressive machinery by the way. Being invisible was okay for me. I watched and learned.
On the first day Ninja Thyberg directed with Dewald Aukema as DoP, both award winning within their professions. With some surprise I saw that my story with a man and a woman now was two men, and the sexual undertones raised a notch or two. Two cool and masculine assassins being gay was quite uplifting. They were played by Leif Edlund and Ardalan Hakimi Fard.
The actors, DoP and director had microphones and the audience could follow what happened with headphones. There was also a big screen where you could see the image from the camera, or from a handheld. A moderator guided the audience through the day and interviewed different members of the crew and actors between takes. I was interviewed this day as well.
I remember the concerned look the moderator sent me when it was obvious that one of my characters had been through a sex-change, like checking if I was going berserk or not. I had seen the films made on Open Set previous year and was pretty much prepared that anything could happen. And besides, if I didn’t like what I saw it was not a good idea to jump up and make a scene about it. It was the first time they had a script from an unestablished writer, so I can understand the hint of worry. Not that I in any way intended to interfere, but it felt a bit strange to be outside of the process. Most of the times when one of my short scripts has been turned into a film, I’ve been working with the director, often turning the director’s own idea into a script. I had never been in a situation where I write a script “on spec” and then jump into a situation where I hear the actors and the director discussing what a line refers to through headphones. That felt surreal.
One the second day the director was Cecilia Torquato with Oscar Nominee Dick Pope as DoP. Watching and listen to Dick Pope was something special. He knew how he wanted his images and he did not yield until he got what was needed. He worked very much with the light and the actors had to get to the right poses to form the image he was looking for. Today Leif Edlund acted with Karin de Frumerie, with Niclas Fransson in a by the director added character.
Though they were short on time, everyone, especially the cinematographers were very eager to show and explain to the audience how things worked when there was time between takes.
I was amazed about the weapons. I thought that the bangs were something you added afterwards, but no. In every take that did not require the gun to fire they used dummies, unable to shoot with. But when they needed to fire the weapon coordinator stood by the actor with a real gun and after the clap he put a blank in the gun, declared “loaded weapon on set”, handed the gun to the actor(s) and left the set. After “cut” he bounced back in and took care of the gun. Everyone also used hearing protection, visible or invisible depending on if you were in front of the camera or not.
The two films were shot on Friday and Saturday. On Monday was the premier on a small cinema. I’ve so many times been frustrated because it takes so very long from filming to the final film (some even never get finalized). This was so fast that it was hard to believe it was doable, but it was.
During the wait for the films to get uploaded on Vimeo I realized that I as the screenwriter was one of those gaining the most of the event professionally. I was the unknown, unestablished one. I’m sure they all had valuable experiences from the days, but I was the one needing the films to really show people that award winners and Oscar Nominees had been filming a script of mine. If it hadn’t been for the sudden rise in visitors on my English blog I wouldn’t have thought about it that way. But enough people had seen my name and Googled on it (just as I Googled names in the credit list) to make a clear uprising trend.
Many have asked me which version I like best. I can’t see it that way. To have a script made in two versions by two professional crews is an enormous privilege. Both kept to my script’s spirit I think, in their own ways. I’m also very grateful that they didn’t follow my script to the letter, because when I saw the filming and the result, I realized that the moving image would have been too static, which is something I take with me to the next project.
Another interesting thing from a screenwriter’s point of view is how well things worked without much description of the environment and the characters. How many times have I not gained feedback telling me I need to state how old a person is, that it is a huge difference if the character is twenty or fifty or ninety and that info is needed in the script. In this case the script was supposed to be open to interpretation, so I cut even more than I usually do. There is not a word describing the man or the woman, more than what they do and what they say. No ages, no clothes, nothing. The same with the room; It is just stated as a living room. I think it is worth noting not only that this approach resulted in a win, but also that the results were better than it would have been if I had had it my way. My task as a writer is to create a moving image in the readers head. This does not mean that it has to be my image. Probably the director, cinematographer and actors have far better ideas for this than me. I write the story, they do the movie.
/Désirée Nordlund
Here is the 4 minute drama thriller The Kill:
The other version of The Kill is going out to festivals and thus, not viewable at this time.
Drop by Comments to give some feedback on The Kill.
Congratulations, Désirée!
Désirée’s blog: Me, a writer of scripts.
Tomorrow: Another Movie You Made.
If you have been involved in the creation of a film and want to participate, please email me with details. Note: Need an embeddable trailer or movie.
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