I've been reading a lot of game blogs lately. David Sirlin has a compelling post on Subtractive Design. The idea being to make a great game, cut out everything that isn't about the game dynamic. He praises some really simple games like PORTAL and BRAID, which are powerful even though they don't have huge GTA-style maps with lots of detail.
Live action movies are almost the opposite. They're in a real if fictional world, not in a game space. If you start removing things that don't have to do with the plot, the world stops being the real world and becomes some sort of theatrical space. It's fine to have two chairs and a table in the theater, but if it's in the movies you really need the carpet (white? stained? tapestry? IKEA?), the bookshelves, the posters, the shoes, the empty takeout cartons, etc. Everything that creates character. The more attention to things that aren't the plot, the more the movie feels real.
Indeed you always have to balance relevance and verisimilitude in a feature -- if every bit of dialog forwards the plot, the movie might seem plotty and thin. You might need to let the characters breathe a bit. They might derail the hero's interrogation to talk about the elephants in the circus. The way you square the circle is by having characters' personalities become obstacles for the hero. They're talking about what they want to talk about, not what the hero wants to talk about. They are resolutely in the middle of their stories; he has to get them back to his story ... which is the plot.
I'm not sure I agree 100% with Sirlin even on games. Doesn't the subtraction esthetic lead to game environments where everything you click on is useful, and you can only click on useful things? Do you really want to apply that to sandbox games? Oh, if only I could mouse over everything in my bedroom, and the cursor would change color when it was over my iPhone. There's a burlap sack. Is it useful? Well, is it live? If it's live -- you can pick it up -- it's useful, if it's not, it's set dressing. That spoils the immersive realism for me. I'd rather be allowed to put any kind of random junk in my knapsack; maybe you shouldn't know which until you run into the situation you need it for. (Maybe the game shouldn't helpfully tell you that you've picked up three out of five of the battery packs in the room.) There's an argument for having a certain amount of noise in a game, because life is like that.
UPDATE: A reader points out that the immersive quality of a sandbox game is a core mechanic that can't be subtractive. But that starts to seem tautological. I think Sirlin really does have an esthetic -- a sort of nouvelle cuisine, only three items on your plate but they're perfect. And I'm more of a big sauce kinda guy.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Ever Wondered What a Game Pitch Looks Like?
Here's the one for PLANESCAPE: TORMENT. Caution: massive hype.
P:T is a decade old, but videogame storytelling isn't advancing as fast as rendering engines, so a lot of it is still relevant.
Oh, and here's a design doc from GRIM FANDANGO.
P:T is a decade old, but videogame storytelling isn't advancing as fast as rendering engines, so a lot of it is still relevant.
Oh, and here's a design doc from GRIM FANDANGO.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Features Panel in Montreal
I went to a panel on Feature Writing in Montreal, organized by the irrepressible Anne-Marie Perrotta, and got to hear Mark Krupa (THE WILD HUNT), Doug Taylor (SPLICE), Steve Galluccio (FUNKYTOWN) and Jacob Tierney (THE TROTSKY) talk about their experiences writing in my fair city. We're in a peculiar situation here because, as English screenwriters, we are writing in a minority language.
It is extremely hard to make a living in English TV in Montreal; of the two shows that are shooting here, one has a primarily Toronto staff. But it is quite possible to write features here. It was fun to hear the four writers talk about their unique experiences. Mark wrote a feature that got made for almost no money and won the Audience Award at Slamdance. Jacob directed his film (his second of three now), starring Jay Baruchel, who is about to hit the big time with OUT OF MY LEAGUE. Doug writes movies that get produced all over the place -- London, Vancouver, LA. And Steve's movie is bilingual, and could only have been made here.
It was interesting to hear that there is actually more money in Montreal for certain kinds of movies. Québec takes culture seriously, even Anglo culture, and you can get more money from SODEC, the provincial funding agency, than you can from Telefilm, the federal funding agency. Other provincial agencies, like Ontario's OMDC, aren't doing so well.
Why Montreal? "Montreal feeds you," said Steve, "the way New York feeds you." I couldn't agree more. Doug's feeling is he's writing all over the world, so why not live where he wants to live? Mark and Jacob are both die-hard Montrealers, too. Mark's movie was only possible with the dedicated participation of the hundreds of medieval re-enactors of Bicolline. Jacob made the point that when he was in Toronto, he kept having to write for Montreal and transfer it to Toronto, so he decided, why not write and direct the movies in the place they're really set?
The writers all talked about notes -- particularly funding agency notes. Arts bureaucrats need to give notes -- it's their job. The danger is that too many notes can kill a script. The writer's job "becomes more about protecting it than changing it," said Jacob, who also confided that he's tempted to leave a few glitches in his scripts in order to "focus the criticism." -- why not give them something you know is wrong that you can easily remove?
THE WILD HUNT opens in Montreal on April 9th. THE TROTSKY opens across Canada May 14. SPLICE opens June 4. FUNKYTOWN opens December 17.
It is extremely hard to make a living in English TV in Montreal; of the two shows that are shooting here, one has a primarily Toronto staff. But it is quite possible to write features here. It was fun to hear the four writers talk about their unique experiences. Mark wrote a feature that got made for almost no money and won the Audience Award at Slamdance. Jacob directed his film (his second of three now), starring Jay Baruchel, who is about to hit the big time with OUT OF MY LEAGUE. Doug writes movies that get produced all over the place -- London, Vancouver, LA. And Steve's movie is bilingual, and could only have been made here.
It was interesting to hear that there is actually more money in Montreal for certain kinds of movies. Québec takes culture seriously, even Anglo culture, and you can get more money from SODEC, the provincial funding agency, than you can from Telefilm, the federal funding agency. Other provincial agencies, like Ontario's OMDC, aren't doing so well.
Why Montreal? "Montreal feeds you," said Steve, "the way New York feeds you." I couldn't agree more. Doug's feeling is he's writing all over the world, so why not live where he wants to live? Mark and Jacob are both die-hard Montrealers, too. Mark's movie was only possible with the dedicated participation of the hundreds of medieval re-enactors of Bicolline. Jacob made the point that when he was in Toronto, he kept having to write for Montreal and transfer it to Toronto, so he decided, why not write and direct the movies in the place they're really set?
The writers all talked about notes -- particularly funding agency notes. Arts bureaucrats need to give notes -- it's their job. The danger is that too many notes can kill a script. The writer's job "becomes more about protecting it than changing it," said Jacob, who also confided that he's tempted to leave a few glitches in his scripts in order to "focus the criticism." -- why not give them something you know is wrong that you can easily remove?
THE WILD HUNT opens in Montreal on April 9th. THE TROTSKY opens across Canada May 14. SPLICE opens June 4. FUNKYTOWN opens December 17.
Friday, March 26, 2010
CFC Workshops and Info Sessions
JOIN CFC’S CBC PRIME TIME TELEVISION PROGRAM FOR FREE WORKSHOPS AND INFORMATION SESSIONSThe CFC Prime Time Program is one of the best TV programs in North America. Not only do you get to work in a story room with a real showrunner, you get to meet a Who's Who of Canadian television -- producers, agents, writers, network execs. A ridiculously high percentage of people in Canadian TV have been through the program -- there's even a Facebook group for those of us who have not.
The CBC Prime Time Television Program is recognized within the industry as an essential source for trained writers and newly developed projects for the television marketplace. Join alumni Alan McCullough and Denis McGrath for free TV writing workshops, and stick around to learn about the CFC’s CBC Prime Time Television Program.
VANCOUVER – APRIL 10th, 2010:
WRITING FOR SCI-FI WORKSHOP & INFO SESSION:
TV writer, producer and CFC Alumnus Alan McCullough (Sanctuary, Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: Universe) will lead participants through the deconstruction of an episode of a sci-fi series and will offer a detailed look at the structure of a typical episode of this genre, and how it fits into the North American landscape of the genre. The process of developing a sci-fi series; creating the rules and world, beat sheets, outlines, scripts, writing to and working with a particular cast and implementing network notes will also be explored.
After the workshop, chat with CFC TV Director Kathryn Emslie and find out more about the CBC Prime Time Television Program.
TORONTO – APRIL 13th, 2010:
DRAMA SERIES STRUCTURE WORKSHOP & INFO SESSION:
TV writer and CFC Alumnus Denis McGrath (The Border, Across the River to Motor City, Blood Ties) will lead a workshop on the effective use of structure in writing for one-hour drama series. Elements include building the plot while revealing character; placement of act breaks; action vs. dialogue; and how to effectively use structural conventions to best showcase your pilot script and series.
After the workshop, learn about the benefits of the CFC’s CBC Prime Time Television Program – who’s involved, how it’s delivered, skills development, and how the program helps grads take the final step towards being a professional television writer.
The CBC Prime Time Television Program is currently accepting applications for the 2010/2011 program. The deadline to apply is May 12th, 2010. Please visit cfccreates.com/tv or contact Valentina Puvtoska at vpuvtoska@cfccreates.comfor more details and to sign up.
Sorry, Yanks -- you have to be a Canuck (or Canuck permanent resident) to apply.
Feature It Starts Early This Year
Feature It! is a program to support English-language films in Québec. The program gives mentoring and cash to produced Québec screenwriters, so they can write new scripts. Writers can submit either with a producer or on their own. This year, the deadline is April 27, so get on it!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
"Liz Lemoning"
One of the running themes of GLEE is that Rachel, played by Lea Michele, is talented, but annoying, badly dressed and physically unattractive. In other words, they Liz Lemon her.Because any 30 ROCK viewer has heard all those fat jokes directed at Tina Fey, who is a slim woman who also appears on the covers of glamour magazines. "If these women are ugly, what hope is there for the rest of us?"
Lisa defends 30 ROCK because Tina Fey supposedly used to be fat before SNL made her lose weight, but that's inside baseball.
Does it matter? Does it matter that "ugly" on TV = incredibly hot girl with glasses? Or is that just the nature of the medium?
Or, alternately, if America Ferrara can actually look dowdy on UGLY BETTY, with braces (even if offscreen she is smoking hot -- see pic above), why do we keep casting the hottest women and pretending they're not?
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
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