Films and Words
Why is it so
hard to say why you want to do something? I want to study film and literature
because I love both on different levels. They both forms of storytelling, but
not the same at all. Film is the visual
with spoken dialogue, whilst books are all words (unless graphic) where the
characters should speak for themselves. The things that work in TV and Film
wouldn’t necessary work in written form as it wouldn’t be enough to just describe
a visual gag and some book should never ever be even attempted into film, where
they are most of the point is lost.
The spirit
of the book should fly on to the scene. You hardly ever see that, instead you
get mutilated characters that you don’t recognised until their name is spoken
and you still dumbfound. The plot is scraped down too much and the executives have
won because they trick into buying a ticket. So more films are “inspired” by
books that probably should never been even attempted to be compressed into 90
minutes on the scene. Even an hour more isn’t enough and then the film is too
long to comfortably sit.
As for a
film being adapted into a book; whoever picks up the novelisation, knowing it
based off the film without already having seen the film?
Sometimes
the film does capture the book. It will catch people and bring new listener to
the story that they would have walked pasted the book. That it actually does
justice. While missing the detail of character thought and depth that film just
doesn’t have the time to swim to, you leave filled that a story has been told
and told well.
Both should
leave you thinking and really great ones leave impacted that you stumbled on in
years to come and still connect with that story. It formed you in a way.
I like criticising
things. I jump to the critical and maybe
that’s why writing about my passion for these forms of storytelling has been so
hard. Because writing a personal
statement is like adapting yourself for the screen; only you know that you have
leave the bad parts out, trying to get approved for a G. Being told that you shouldn’t try and explain
yourself. That for the marketing team to do, or in this case your
reference. But that’s not fair, as
marketing weren’t there as that path was chosen so they don’t know what factors
lead you down it. They only know what you are by surface level and don’t have
time to dig. So you end having blind faith or you tell them and then what was
point?
I want to
make films because I want to tell stories that don’t get told, or if they do
get told they get told wrong by those never learned to tell them right. When I
was first started writing I was only interested in fantasy and horror but now I
want to sneak those stories into my writing. Good characters are themselves
stories.
