tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post4516145191742623650..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: The Notes MeetingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-85026848544823764912010-06-02T12:58:50.374-05:002010-06-02T12:58:50.374-05:00If a flashback is needed, I'm fond of one char...If a flashback is needed, I'm fond of one character telling another character what happened. In a novel, that omits the need for a bunch of prose. In movies, however, you can do all sorts of cool visual things so I go with flashbacks over narration.Scott D. Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293540073601809197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-74704623113594306972010-06-02T10:04:40.008-05:002010-06-02T10:04:40.008-05:00I like both in novels-but I don't like voice o...I like both in novels-but I don't like voice over narration in movies or on TV. Flashbacks can work though--if they are brief and limited in number.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-5384546039984198132010-06-02T08:45:39.486-05:002010-06-02T08:45:39.486-05:00Good comments, thanks. I have to admit, I've n...Good comments, thanks. I have to admit, I've never read the novel, <i>Fight Club</i>, I wonder how close it is to the movie?<br /><br />Now, every time I hear someone say, "Flashbacks," I think of the great Jim Mora <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3-eavMSBnk" rel="nofollow">playoffs!?!?</a> speech.<br /><br />I like the idea of a prologue. Part of the issue is when to show the character's "secret" past. A prologue that doesn't give too much away would set up a secret past.John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-63379140329317193362010-06-02T08:32:16.673-05:002010-06-02T08:32:16.673-05:00The Road to Perdition used narration well. I can&#...The Road to Perdition used narration well. I can't think of a good flash back usage at the moment, but I imagine it is good if done well. Just as long as the flash back doesn't take viewer out of the movie, disrupt the flow.<br /><br />Look forward to seeing what comes of your book. Sounds pretty cool.Ron Earl Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12170233782050167504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-6947343822173719872010-06-02T08:23:20.826-05:002010-06-02T08:23:20.826-05:00First, congratulations on how well things are goin...First, congratulations on how well things are going with the movie so far. I know you still have a ways to go to get it on the screen, but this sounds very encouraging.<br /><br />Something key you've pointed out here is how different books and movies are as storytelling media, and why things have to be changed to make a good book into a good movie. The trick is to be true to the spirit and intent of the original, not so much a word for word reproduction. When done well, it can be GET SHORTY; not so well, and you wind up with BE COOL.<br /><br />For me, the gold standard for flashbacks and narration is SUNSET BOULEVARD. The narration allows the film to keep from becoming flabby, while still letting the characters unfold. Flashback? hell, the whole movie's a flashback.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-20318050937358562222010-06-02T07:38:19.657-05:002010-06-02T07:38:19.657-05:00Wow, interesting problem.
I think the screenwri...Wow, interesting problem. <br /><br />I think the screenwriting books have some good points about flashbacks because they can cause abrupt and awkward breaks in the flow of the action. When I watch a movie, I’m not a big fan of seeing too many flashbacks. Maybe some very specific & precise dialogue that gives some important back story, I think, can work well. <br /><br />Or perhaps a prologue to the film? A scene set in the past, shown just before the opening credits. Maybe the most important part of the past that still shapes the present.<br /><br />Some of my favorite exceptions to my unease at seeing flashbacks would be Quentin Tarantino films, though. “Pulp Fiction” and “Reservoir Dogs,” of course. I was not a huge fan of the “Kill Bill” films, but the flashbacks still work structurally. I also love a film called “Frailty” where much of the story is told by a narrator and almost all of the film is one big flashback. But as the film goes along, the whole point of the story becomes the question of how reliable the narrator might be and what sort of a role he might have played in the serial killings.<br /><br />For the best example of all the most horrible offenses one can commit in adapting a good book into a misbegotten mess of a film I usually think of David Lynch’s “Dune.” It should be a teaching tool on how to make every conceivable mistake when dealing with exposition and back story in a film.Barna W. Donovanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18071400970008078931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-82117740422104636772010-06-02T05:37:02.763-05:002010-06-02T05:37:02.763-05:00Flashbacks, yes. Narration, yes. Any damn thing th...Flashbacks, yes. Narration, yes. Any damn thing that makes it work, yes. <br /><br />Fight Club is a pretty good example - flashbacks, narration, all sorts of narrative trickery. And a damn fine film to boot ...<br /><br />Cheers, DecDeclan Burkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14322645323239292406noreply@blogger.com