Write, write, write

Small films are a great way to break into the business. As a writer, director, producer, you work your butt off, you save all your pennies, you write a "small" story and you're rolling ... or not. You're probably wasting every ounce of effort if you think "small". One film that managed to get it all just right was "Once".

A small film, a simple story

"Once" is a whimsical musical tale about a week in the lives of an Irish street musician and an immigrant girl, their passion for music ... and love trying to find a way. It's a simple story, shot with a tiny cast and practically no budget (about 150'000 US)... and it soars. Why is that? And why doesn't this kind of magic happen more often? Seriously, this is the one relatively possible way to go for young, unknown, struggling filmmakers. Everything else just gets exponentially harder to pull off. So why don't we see more "Once"-like films?

There's the saying "There are no small parts, only small actors." Same goes for the rest of us. If we think small, we are. If we think of "small" as unimportant, not worth aspiring to, then that's exactly what we end up with. All too often "small" and "simple" have a negative connotation. In fact, though, "simple" means, or should mean to all of us in the film business, "core".

"Core" isn't easy. Getting to the essence isn't easy. But once you've found the core, the simplicity of it will shine as much as it does in "Once". And that's the "simple" you want to look for - that's the "simple" that will allow you to make a "small" story that just might give you the break you've been looking for. Sure, "Once" had outstanding musicians and their original songs. Songs that just carried you from scene to scene and stayed with you. But if you have your core, your shining simplicity, your small story doesn't need any of that. It will stand on its own and it will touch your audience.
   
Like I said, it ain't easy - but "simple" is definitely worth aiming for. Man, I'm tempted to start looking for such a "simple" tale right now, dive in, explore. Alas, I have a serial killer novel to adapt - there goes simplicity!