Chapter 2: Concepts

Over the past two years that this story has taken shape - and even longer in some crude, primordial form - there are images incredible and powerful and simple and they must fall into their own places. Recently, when I had to make some order of this journey and begin to shape the development of these characters through each Chapter I fell upon a technique I seem to use in a pinch and used so on previous screenplays - which equals to scribbling down all unshakable scenes, obstacles, or exchanges on the nearest scrap of paper, then scribbling down all characters and assigning each a letter. Further on down the page I would line up these key scenes or exchanges, obstacles, images, etc. in order to a character's letter in an attempt to develop character, shuffling along the way what brought important ideas or development or mysticism to the surface, and discarding what wouldn't. Finally, I would renumber the scenes as needed.

It looks somewhat like this:

* Note: these moments are independent of this particular film
[but I'd love to see them as structure for a future short]

In this final shuffling people get dropped in and out of scenes, other scenes get combined, a key exchange gets bumped to another scene to allow a series of events to emphasize external (or internal conflicts) that force our characters to make decisions and so forth. I am speaking in generalities here - to not reveal too much of the storyline. But know that images that come from deep recesses in the mind are often shifted over between practical story points, some would use the word "plot" here - and these important images and exchanges I cant shake them. They are key in mood and that is among the most important elements of the film. They can be squeezed out of existence due to circumstance and they can take on new meanings when moved.

As you can see the point in which two people are "staring, unsure, alone" could highlight all sorts of different relationship dynamics if say it was third in order or even first and even repeated again in accordance with other characters.

If anything, I can sense these important unexplained mystical images coming together - fulfilling new meaning - when I just scatter them on the page then arrange them. And it helps to know when things are getting too organized and I need to chop it back up a bit.