My Story As A Film Maker

Bullitt Car Chase GoogleMapped
Photo by Podknox

(Story by Jon Young)

My name is Jon Young, and I am an aspiring filmmaker. I have produced six feature-length indie films and directed one film. However, I spend most of my time in the writing stage. Unfortunately, not all of my scripts have been turned into films. There are many reasons why a screenplay may not get produced.

The most common reason is simply that the script is not good. They say you need to write three scripts before you have something worthy of filming. I have collaborated with many

My personal goal is to get a film into Sundance. That’s on my bucket list. I’m going to search for another writer to start working on a different story, something that can be filmed on a small budget for the movie festival circuit. Perhaps I’ll continue with this guy and finish the film for Hollywood. The moral of this story is to avoid concepts like sci-fi, space stations, or anything that could potentially require a big budget if you want to make a film for yourself. partners over the years, and often our ideas seem great while we’re working on them, but they don’t come together effectively in the finished project. Sometimes our ideas may seem exciting individually, but when combined, they just don’t work. With the feature film I actually filmed, I realized what went wrong with the script after I finished editing the rough cut. The best advice I can give is to do plenty of rewrites, especially during the treatment stage. Once you’re done, have people read it and provide feedback.

Today, I met with one of my two new writing partners. He came up with a lot of great ideas since our last meeting. As we went through them, I realized that our story is no longer low budget. The concepts are really good, reminiscent of The Matrix, but they require a lot of money to film. Our original plan was to create something that could be done entirely on a green screen. My idea was to set the story on a space station. However, it has evolved into a much bigger project with guns, chase scenes, and multiple locations. He even added a dog. I assume next week he’ll introduce a child as one of the characters, and we’re straying into all the things you shouldn’t do for a low-budget film.

It was a struggle today because I wanted to go through the four-page treatment he emailed me last night, but he wanted to talk about movies and other fun stuff. I know he already knew what was in those four pages, but I wanted to go through them with him and give him feedback. I also wanted to incorporate my ideas into the story and see what he thought of them. He put together a very interesting first half of the story with plenty of conflict, tension, and mystery. We ended the meeting debating whether it would be interesting to set the movie in the 70s. He thought it would be unique. I agreed, and I also thought the Matrix elements were unique. I suggested he start going to thrift stores to find suits and props, and I’ll cast actors who fit into that era. Then I counted the number of characters we have in the 70s portion and came up with 15. This is just in the first half of the film, before we even get to the space station. When we add up the characters on the space station, we are way over the limit for a low-budget film. And classic sets are another no-no for low budget because of the hairstyles, clothing, and props.

So, my dilemma tonight is how to handle this situation. I do like the script. It’s not what I initially envisioned, but it’s an intriguing script. Can I convince this guy that we should write the story and then try to sell it? I would be happy to sell it to a studio for a six-figure sum. I know the reality is that it would be like winning the lottery. The original goal was to create something low budget that would be festival-worthy and submit it to the Sundance Film Festival. Honestly, this is more of a commercial story that may not play well at film festivals. It’s a story that probably also requires a star or two to make it work.

Manuel Marino

Manuel Marino is a seasoned Senior Producer, Music Composer, and Artist with over a decade of experience. He specializes in branded entertainment across various mediums, including video games, films, and advertising campaigns. With 20+ years as a game music composer, Manuel has worked on numerous platforms, creating diverse orchestral soundtracks. HIRE ME