Project Update Journal: Friday, August 31, 2018

Current Project: ‘Metamorphosis, Interrupted’
(Current Funds: $307.26 [+$30.00 Since Last Update])

Writing the first entry for the Project Update Journal was easy. But how do I write subsequent entries?

Project Funds

Project funds increased by a measly $30.00 this week. During the Summer I like to do yard work off Craigslist. It pays far better than minimum wage, even in Seattle where minimum wage is now at least $15 an hour. However, it’s getting close to the end of Summer and not many people are as eager to hire someone as they were earlier in the year. Sadly, this will probably be the rate until classes start near the end of September. But come September I will get financial aid. It’s always more than I need so I plan to put 10% of whatever is left over into this indie film budget. I also plan to start an internship at one of these tech places. I’m hoping they pay as well.

Deadline Deliverables

In Project Management, and other fields, a deliverable is a “thing” that is to be delivered, especially as a product of a development process. It’s not just the toy at the end of the assembly line, but design documents, project charters, fiscal outlooks, you get the idea.

Since it’s the end of the month the deliverables due are: 1) a final outline, 2) character arcs, and 3) scene-by-scene analysis. Having a deadline pressed me hard to finish the outline and character arcs. However, I was unable to get to the scene-by-scene analysis. I realize this was mainly due to putting myself to hard deadlines so close to the end of the month; if I had took the dive a couple of weeks ago I’m sure I would be done with it by now. Instead, I spent the week going over the outline multiple times to make sure it worked. I’m very proud of the outline and its associated characters arcs.

So for this coming week I will work on the scene-by-scene analysis. I will also consider for the future whether I should just put the analysis in the first week of the third month. In the past it took about a week to work on the analysis, anyway. And it might be good just to reserve all of month two to the final outline since I go over it so many times.

What is a Scene-by-Scene Analysis?

When I write a Final Outline, it is divided into four or five acts. Each act may consist between two and four sequences, with three on average. And each sequence may consist of two or more scenes, with five scenes on average. (No particular reason there is five; it just ends up that way on average.) Each scene is usually just a paragraph long.

When I get to the scene-by-scene analysis, I make a new document, then create a table. I put the paragraph of the respective scene in the Summary area, which takes up about half the page. I also add other sections to the table, such as scene name, scene number, thematic value, theme, characters, goals, perspective, and so on. Anything that I think will help the scene. I transform the paragraph into a beat-by-beat telling of what is supposed to happen in the scene, but only a description, not the actual scene. The beats you describe aren’t guaranteed to translate to the scene draft exactly, but it does make the process immensely easier.

A scene-by-scene analysis may seem like overkill. But if you are working with a crew, such as set designers, or if your actors are curious beyond the script, the analysis can make an excellent reference material.

Anything else?

After talking to a fellow Minds member about drone cameras, he convinced me to take out my drone this weekend and practice with it. I will probably take it to Gasworks Park in Seattle, since it is close by, and see what I can do with it. Unfortunately, the manual says the battery life doesn’t extend past five minutes. Cross my fingers I don’t accidentally fly it into the water.

#filmmaking #update #minds #blog #drone