How the f*&#k do I find a story to shoot.
Since Michael and I did our seminar on creating a public service announcement (PSA) at the excellent Helms Creative Workshop, I’ve been getting emails asking how to get started. There is certainly no lack of motivation for wanting to a create a PSA, the stumbling block is what to shoot. If you don’t have a proclivity for writing and story development, don’t panic. There is a vast field of content out there just waiting to be realized on the screen. And seeking some of it out will have the added bonus of getting you some advertising agency connections.
The core of any good filmic piece, including short narratives like PSAs, is the story. The first place to go looking for a story to shoot are writers. Screen writers typically have a better sense of production which will mean less work for you in the long run, but don’t totally discount journalists and prose writers, all are good sources for material – with journalists having an edge over novel writers.
The first, obvious choice to find writers is Universities. If the school has a filmmaking department, give them a call and ask them if there is a forum for bulletin board that you can utilize to connect with the burgeoning writers at the school. You can also do the same with the journalism schools. Also, what you can do with a phone call you can also do on the internet. Find out where up and coming screen writers and journalist hang out online and then make your pitch as a director looking for content to shoot.
When you start reviewing ideas from writers, go with your instinct. If the piece doesn’t feel right or the writer’s personality clashes with yours, then move on to the next until you find a good fit. Keep in mind that you’re investing time and money into the project so the material is yours to accept or reject. Your best work on screen will occur if you’re passionate about what your shooting. So hold out for a writer and an idea that resonate with you.
The second place to find fabulous material to shoot are the ad agencies. Copywriters and art directors develop a lot of commercials that never get made. Almost all these client-rejected commercials are storyboard ready and languishing in the corner of offices around the agency. See what you can do about getting access to these pieces. It will take some tenacity, but you’ll be blown away by some of the exquisite ideas. These people get paid to create in the most competitive arena on the planet. And the reason that a lot of commercials never see the light of day has nothing to do with the quality of the piece. It usually has to do with legal concerns, industry politics and other such nonsense that you are not bound by when you’re creating a spec. The huge bonus is that the ad agency people will want to see what you created with their idea. It’s like a guaranteed pitch meeting that you probably would have never gotten under normal circumstances.
When you speak to ad agency people about getting boards, be very, very clear about what you are looking for. These people don’t have a lot of time to engage in existentialist conversations about the artistic reality of your career. If they are kind of enough to entertain the notion of getting you some boards, make sure it’s something you want to shoot. Tell them you love shooting beauty ads, or lifestyle ads for insurance clients, or PSAs about cancer – whatever it is you like, communicate that.
There are two sacrosanct rules you must observe when seeking material to shoot from other people;
First, be respectful of peoples work and sensibilities. Don’t adopt an attitude like you’re an Oscar winning director that can make or break a writer’s career, you’re not. If you come upon a piece that’s not right for you; be polite when you pass on it.
Second, never, ever steal an idea as your own by altering a few details. If someone pitches you and idea about a talking whale that pops up out of the surf on a small Pacific island and you pass on the idea, and then make a film about a talking elephant on a small Pacific island, then you are a thief. Rather than rip off the writer, collaborate and articulate your ideas.
It’s a big world out there. If you’re not of a mind to create you’re own ideas then go find them. There are writers, and there are directors, and there are those that do both. No one is an greater than the other and the roles are constantly changing as your career evolves. But at the end of the day you need both people to create a filmic narrative.
This article is part of a chapter of a new HDSLR filmmaking that Michael and I are writing that will be released this christmas.
