We’ve Moved!

Hi everyone!

It’s been a good ride using WordPress, but I’ve recently decided to pay for my own URL!

This new webpage is a collection of the three blogs I have on this account, and will be a portfolio showcasing mainly design work. However, there will also be written work on the blog!

So thank you to all who have been following this blog, but it’s time for me to upgrade! I would appreciate if you all follow me over to my new website at:

www.btzhang.com

Thanks, and I hope to see you all over there!

Brian

Tiny Films

With graduation coming up, and me still not having a job, I’ve been thinking about how I can spend my summer wisely. I’ve come up with a four-day rotation that is as follows:

• Day 1: Update resumé and apply to jobs, or other career-related things
• Day 2: Write a script
• Day 3: Shoot film based off script
• Day 4: Edit film

What I want to focus on are the last two days. I realize now that two days is a very short amount of time to bring a short film from conception to creation. Instead, I have decided that, if I were to go about this plan effectively, I would be creating what I want to call “tiny films”, which as you might imagine, will be even shorter than the typical short film. I plan for these tiny films to be no more than trailer-length, capping out at a maximum of 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

There are, as with many things, pros and cons to this idea. The pro is that I would only be editing something that is 1 or 2 minutes long. The obvious con to this is that I only really have 1 to 2 minutes to tell a story. Is it possible to tell a good story with such a limit on time?

There is a story that says (paraphrased) a young Ernest Hemingway once told a story in six words: “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.” I don’t know if the story as a whole is true, but those six words nevertheless let a reader’s imagination run wild. While these six words in particular paint a very succinct picture, I think it’s definitely possible to do something similar with film. After all, that’s essentially what trailers are.

Anyway, so there’s that.

REDEFINE: Rewriting Myself

Hello, everyone. Long time no talk!

Today, I want to introduce a series of three (or maybe more) posts that will span across all three of my blogs. You can find the links to the other parts here:

• REDEFINE: Redesigning Myself
• REDEFINE: Rethinking Myself

Although all parts including this one are standalone, they are part of a bigger “series”, or idea, or whatever you want to call it; that I have dubbed “REDEFINE”. You might notice that all three titles have something in common: they are all about redefining myself in the sense that I am doing my best to not change myself, but to gain some clarity. Hopefully that clarity will come as I continue writing these three posts. So without further adieu, here is the first part: Rewriting Myself.

Since this blog in particular is a lot about written material, whether it be “nobody” or script writing, I thought it was appropriate to talk about what it would mean for me to rewrite myself. As I mentioned earlier, this isn’t so much a way for me to change anything significant about who I am, but rather a way to gain some clarity. As you may have noticed, I haven’t written or posted anything here since August/September. That was six months ago. The same six months ago that I said that I would do my best to post on a more consistent basis. Obviously, that didn’t work out too well. Why?

After some serious thinking awhile back, I came to the conclusion that I honestly don’t like finishing anything that I know the ending of, unless the ending is especially interesting. Yes, I’m one of those people that will eventually come to read the end of a book before I actually get there. To be honest, I think I like what I imagine happening in the middle too much to know what actually happens. Now, in the case of some really good movies, I will watch it even if I know what’s going to happen because it’s been long enough since its release that everyone around me has already told me what happens. For example, Disney’s Frozen. I know enough about it from other people that I probably never need to watch it. Usually, I would just Let It Go, but it piques my interest enough for me to see it anyway. But that’s beside the point. Kind of.

In any case, the way I operate is that, for the projects that I embark on, the ending must be unclear for me to remain interested and invested long enough to finish. This is why I am so much more proactive in team projects: I only know my other teammates so well, meaning anything could change at given moment because of their own respective personalities. This makes things interesting and therefore keeps me invested, so long as the project doesn’t go downhill. Similarly, when I start writing things, I love writing in stream of consciousness because a) I hate to plan or outline things in detail, and b) I never know where my mind is going to take me once I start on a topic. In the case of “nobody”, I’ve actually known how I wanted it to end a very long time ago. It occurred to me then, as it has now, that I no longer really care about what happens in between because I can let my imagination take care of the rest. Now, anybody else who is reading doesn’t know what happens in between, and doesn’t know what’s going to happen at the end. So I guess you’ve kind of lost there if it matters to you. I’m sorry…-ish.

What does it mean to rewrite myself?

First things first, it is a personal exploration to see what I can do when pursuing being more active in written word. It entails a lot of other things, but the main thing is script writing. Within the past few months, I have gathered a multitude of ideas for scripts that I hope to eventually turn into viewable media, such as short films. It has gotten me motivated enough to really go for these projects. Furthermore, I have enlisted the help of others, whether it’s asking them for script ideas, or help in writing the scripts themselves. This goes back to the team thing, where I work better when there are other people involved. As it stands, I think to rewrite myself essentially means to endeavor in this “writing” thing a bit longer.

I love stories. When I talk to people, I love to hear stories from them more than anything else. I can talk to you about sports. I can talk to you about politics. I can talk to you about religion, science, philosophy, entertainment, etc. But what I love to do most is to trade stories. Stories from your past, your present, your future, your dreams, aspirations, goals… And I will do the same for you. However it is only when the timing is right do these kinds of conversations even bother showing themselves. So for me to rewrite myself is in some ways telling more stories through the medium of prose. Whether it will be scripts, short stories, lyrics; whatever it is, I will enjoy telling you the story. I will rewrite myself into someone who tells these stories in the most fascinating ways possible. Hopefully.

How does rewriting myself help me REDEFINE myself?

Honestly, I couldn’t tell you for sure how this is going to happen. It’s more of a process than anything else, though, so I’m not worried. I hope that, as I write these stories and share them with the [online] world, that there will come a time when I can sit down, take a look at myself, and really consider what has changed about me. College is a transformative experience, but I’m not quite done transforming yet.

So that’s a brief look into what I hope becomes a lifetime of new experiences. I also hope this means I will post content on this blog on a more consistent basis than I have been with the other two. Toodles.

Writing Scripts is Different

I have dropped off the face of the Earth recently for reasons mentioned in my previous post. Since then, nothing much has happened that was outside of the ordinary.

Well… while that statement isn’t completely false, it’s not entirely true, either. Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in AT&T and ISATv’s Take Your Shot contest, and even had the pleasure of winning the grand prize. I know I don’t sound that excited, but I am. Kind of.

While all of this is unexpected, to say the least (the ideas I presented were half-baked and developed as I wrote or spoke of them.. stream of consciousness in the flesh), one thing that I should have seen coming was the fact that I would eventually have to write a script if I happened to win. Which I did. Which means now I have to write a script.

Now, I’m no stranger to the concept, and while I’m not “experienced” in the art, per se, I am familiar with the idea. A year ago, I helped write a script for a friend that he would then go on to shoot (you can see the finished piece here), and it was the first time that I attempted to write a script with all the stage directions, some lighting directions, and other elements. It was so raw and bare that I felt like I was being drilled for facts, not details. I am currently revisiting this emotion as I attempt to write this script that I will actually be able to be part of the production process. As it is a stark contrast to the writing that is usually posted on this blog, I’ve decided to point out a few things that, to me, make the experience entirely different.

A script is like a skeleton, but a novel is like the flesh. What do I mean by this? When I am writing parts of chapters for “nobody.”, I rely on my words to provide that immersion into the story. Everything that I want to be presented must be presented with words. Otherwise, readers are lost in the story and find it hard to place themselves in it. All the emotion, all the conflict, MUST be presented with words, because there are no other mediums that can create the same effect within the book or novel itself. Alternatively, a script to me is similar to writing a novel in that the words are used to portray certain things, but the crux of the matter is that so much is left to the visualization of the script that words just can’t provide. Emotion can show through the eyes of an actor or actress that you just can’t write down on paper.

In some ways, I suppose a novel or book is also a script. However, I feel that the reason why I compare it to flesh is that it is so much more filled out that the skeleton, the bare bones, of a script.

It’s much easier to present complicated scenes. I will say that this point is only because a script is meant to be visualized onto the screen. However, to use my own experience as an example again, when I want to convey complicated scenes into a novel, it’s difficult because I would have to describe two different settings simultaneously (for example). To me, to leave a scene before I completely describe it leaves much to be desired. On the other hand, on a script, two, three, or even more scenes can be depicted simultaneously because the viewer will see them simultaneously. Basically, in a novel, even if things happen concurrently, the reader will still have to read linearly, thus placing a restriction on the concept of simultaneous events.

And finally, a script requires you to be unnecessarily specific. Perhaps this is only true of the several scripts that I have read and reviewed, but one thing that, for me, takes the magic out of the story from a script is just how specific it calls you to be. Every object must be referred to specifically if sponsored (with model number, etc.). Tones and atmospheres must be noted. Scenery needs to be descriptive. In a novel, I can get away with writing that characters are sitting at a small table at a café, talking about serious things. In a script, my impression is that I have to say not only that they are in a café, but also how many other people are present, what are they doing, what is their volume level, are they leaving or entering, etc. I know that’s a little overboard and may ultimately be untrue, but for an inexperienced writer like me, the thought of it is both daunting and a little suffocating.

When that’s all said and done, though, I do relish the privilege to be able to finish this script and be able to fly out to Los Angeles to see it go from pre-production, to production, to post. It’s something that I honestly didn’t see coming, and accept the opportunity much more openly because of it. It’s a bit odd to think that I originally tried my hand at the contest because I saw the opportunity to miss a little bit of school (no joke), but ended up winning the whole thing and now being a bit confused as to whether or not this is really something I should be skipping a week of school for.

But I’m graduating this year (hopefully), and I guess a part of me is just trying to squeeze every last bit of this lifestyle out before the real world hits me in the head with a ton of bricks.