How To Write A Movie

In the marketing and communications world we sometimes forget that when it comes to creating pieces of films we play second fiddle or even third fiddle to the movies and TV. The undisputed kings of creative are the movies. The mark they leave on culture is indelible and many ad directors have aspire to creating feature films.

If you’re one of these aspiring directors or just want to add a bit more to your 30″ commercial, the Guardian have asked Frank Cottrell Boyce who scripted 24 Hour Party People and A Cock and Bull Story for his top tips on writing a movie.

“Do a favourite bit

“No one leaves the cinema saying: I loved that character arc. They come out saying: I loved the swordfight, or the bit with the bloated cow, or whatever. The manuals emphasise the flow of a narrative, but it’s better to think of a film as a suite of sequences. That’s where the pleasure is. I’m working on an animated feature at the moment. Traditionally, these films had no script at all. Teams built up a series of set-pieces and sequences around the story and characters. This is a great way to think. If you look at the first Godfather film, it’s really an accumulation of anecdotes held together by the moral decline of Michael. Kes also works like this: the football match, the taming of the hawk, the careers officer and so on. Try breaking your script down into a series of chapters and giving them headings. If you want to see this not quite working, look at the Mission: Impossible films. Terrific action sequences marooned in quagmires of soggy exposition.”

Maybe we should think of ad campaigns like this. A collection of set pieces that have are held together by the brand.