Post by Huinesoron on Oct 4, 2007 9:33:41 GMT -5
Okay. I think my rough tension graph (seen here: silmfilm.proboards25.com/index.cgi?board=music&action=display&thread=1100799299&page=3#1190063590) shows that with a couple of exceptions, the pacing of the current FotN script -- the spacing between the most exciting scenes -- is about right. Too, those scenes correspond with the ones that should be most exciting. That's not a problem.
However, there is a problem of characters and characterisation. To take the latter first: I've so far written both the Eldar and the Valar (and everyone else, but they're not around much) very 'humanly'. It's an adaptation/translation conceit -- obviously they would be talking very formally (okay, they'd mostly be talking Quenya...), but there's no one around who doesn't, so if I lower most of them to common parlance, then the exceptions -- Manwe and his messengers, and Feanor at points -- stand out more. I think that's the way this story -- a story about elves from an elven perspective -- needed to be done. But am I alone on this? If so, we need to recast it into a more formal style.
Secondly, characters. Seeing as I was writing the script as I went along, I was pretty much throwing in characters as I needed them. This leads to problems, though -- the first appearence of several characters important through the rest of the film -- Finrod and Fingon spring to mind -- is about halfway through. In a similar vein, Galadriel doesn't show up much at all, despite being one of the few links back to the later mythos.
So the question is, which characters need to be emphasised throughout the script? Feanor and Melkor obviously, and Nerdanel and Finwe, but who else? Feanor dies long before the end, and whoever takes over as the main focus needs to be well-known to the audience by then.
It's also worth considering later films -- this is why I gave Finrod an expanded role in the script, because he's a main character in Leithian. That probably needs to apply to Turgon, too. Who else? Seeing as this project is, let's face it, purely for the enjoyment of fans, we probably should put everyone in somewhere, even if only in the background (and yes, this is why I keep insisting on canonical accuracy where possible -- the only people who are going to watch this are fans of the books), but who should be in the main cast?
However, there is a problem of characters and characterisation. To take the latter first: I've so far written both the Eldar and the Valar (and everyone else, but they're not around much) very 'humanly'. It's an adaptation/translation conceit -- obviously they would be talking very formally (okay, they'd mostly be talking Quenya...), but there's no one around who doesn't, so if I lower most of them to common parlance, then the exceptions -- Manwe and his messengers, and Feanor at points -- stand out more. I think that's the way this story -- a story about elves from an elven perspective -- needed to be done. But am I alone on this? If so, we need to recast it into a more formal style.
Secondly, characters. Seeing as I was writing the script as I went along, I was pretty much throwing in characters as I needed them. This leads to problems, though -- the first appearence of several characters important through the rest of the film -- Finrod and Fingon spring to mind -- is about halfway through. In a similar vein, Galadriel doesn't show up much at all, despite being one of the few links back to the later mythos.
So the question is, which characters need to be emphasised throughout the script? Feanor and Melkor obviously, and Nerdanel and Finwe, but who else? Feanor dies long before the end, and whoever takes over as the main focus needs to be well-known to the audience by then.
It's also worth considering later films -- this is why I gave Finrod an expanded role in the script, because he's a main character in Leithian. That probably needs to apply to Turgon, too. Who else? Seeing as this project is, let's face it, purely for the enjoyment of fans, we probably should put everyone in somewhere, even if only in the background (and yes, this is why I keep insisting on canonical accuracy where possible -- the only people who are going to watch this are fans of the books), but who should be in the main cast?
