Tell the world
What do you want to tell the world? It’s a good idea to have something you want to talk about or discuss with the world. This is not the frustration you get on the bus when you have to stand all the way again, and you really do want to tell someone something. That could make a reasonable item for a short comedy sketch, but it will not make a film or television programme. You may just want to tell the world that you can write really good entertainment.
You are going to spend a lot of time and an enormous amount of effort creating a film. Even a 5 minute film takes time to write, produce and edit. You expect a large number of people to sit and watch your film, either in the cinema or on television or on the Internet. You owe it to your audience to create something you care about and believe in. Most important of all, you will get a better film if you really care about the theme of the film.
TV writer Kieran Prendiville, talking about writing for the screen, said: ‘If you are going to write for television, don’t be cynical. You really have to believe in the world you’re creating.’
Theme
The theme is the area you want to work in, and is related to genre, but it is often what you really want to say about love, relationships, the world, living in the city, vampires – in other words, about life.
The dynamic French director Luc Besson made his first major film about his lifelong passion for deep-sea diving – The Big Blue. See the…
