Tone & Premise

Still from “Mountain Cult – Doctor with the Red Houseware”

As I set out to write my next project, one writing element comes to mind as the dominating cornerstone – tone.

Its importance is oftentimes understated, but I believe it plays an enormous factor in the viewability of a story. We enjoy watching films that satisfy a certain longing. It is the same reason we may return to a barbershop with sub-par barbers – if the music is “cool”, the workers are “chill”, and the “vibe” is right, we may still have an enjoyable experience. We can learn from real life experience that people are drawn to power and certain moods. It is the reason why radio stations play garbage disposals on repeat instead of music.

The second major element I intend to exploit is premise. This contains the basic idea behind the story – and what most viewers are considering when they search a film to watch. Think “Aliens land on earth to impregnate cows and form a competing intelligent species.” Within the premise you may find a motivation for watching.

I have some early ideas and routes I would like to go down, but nothing is cemented yet. I will take my first crack at a short draft on Monday. I’m hoping to produce a short film that contains the essence of a feature length story. From there I will solicit funding and distribution. It’s a long, treacherous road ahead, but the well paved roads are too boring to skate down anyway.