Urban Numina The Movie: Mel and Jenna - friendship and rivalry

Apologies for not updating the blog as of late. There has been a lot going on in the background, and it has kept me kind of busy.

The latest news is that I have been accepted into an emerging artists screenwriting workshop, and so I've been putting my efforts into getting prepared for that. I've also been working hard on the Make My Movie pitching to try and get more votes.

My most recent rewrites have been focused on fleshing out the relationship between Mel and Jenna. During the events of Devon's day out with Deus, Jenna returns to the flat and reveals to Mel that she might be able to provide insight into who Deus is.

Mel, who is looking for an excuse to skip completing her assignment decides to take advantage of the situation.

The key to the scenes that will follow is to show Mel and Jenna's relationship and why they are rivals. Mel actively and openly dislikes Jenna, but Jenna seems to refuse to give in on her attempts at friendship.

The trick of the scene is to avoid making either character unappealing. We have to like both Jenna and Mel, but also be drawn into their rivalry. It needs to be clear why Mel dislikes Jenna, but also see how Jenna could be seen to be a nice person.

It's a difficult balance to strike - and has been the focus of much work for me recently.

Here's hoping it continues to come together.

Make My Movie Tally

We are currently around 261 votes. Don't forget to keep spreading word about the film. :)

http://www.makemymovie.co.nz/entry/urban-numina

Urban Numina The Movie: Anima and The Nemesis

Fans of the webseries may remember that the final episode revealed some interesting things about Anima and mentioned the existence of "The Nemesis." This was a plotline that I had been developing since the inception of Urban Numina, but had been lost with the all juggling and rewrites during our first season run.

With the film having more of a focus on Andrea, Mel and Devon's relationships, the character of "The Nemesis" has been excised completely from the story. But there does need to be an antagonist still to keep the drama going. Someone who is going to prevent everyone from getting what they want. While Deus' arrival disrupts things, he is also going to help bring things together at the end of the story.

Which means that someone needs to step up to the "nemesis" role to drive the tension.

As you may be able to tell from the notes I've been writing so far, Anima is being set up as an antagonist at least in regards to Deus. But her role in the film is going to be a little different from the webseries. In the series her conflict was primarily with Urge. They were presented as two nemeses fighting to decide which side Deus belonged on - but never directly involving Deus in their plans.

This wasn't the original goal, and although Bex and Andrew really sold the two characters we never got to see the original plan which actually involved Deus. In the film things change. Urge is more of a free agent, and Anima is much more cautious.

There is still the conflict between the two key numina factions, the Rebels and those who support the Elders. But the nature of the Numina will be explored more through Anima and Urge's actions. The two's behaviours will reveal more about why the Numina/Gods stopped walking in plain sight, and what it is about Deus' love for Devon that disturbs Anima so much.

I am currently working on two such scenes. These were originally planned for the series, but I have rewritten them for the film script. Both involve Deus engaging in a battle of wills with Anima. In the first one, Deus is trying to figure out who Anima is. He is less interested in her attempts to get him involved in godly affairs and gives her reason to suspect that he is experiencing feelings for Devon. The second scene is at the end of the montage sequence with Devon. This time Anima is physically present and tries to convince Deus that being around Devon is dangerous for Deus' sense of self. There is a subtext that love can cause someone to lose themselves into the personality of another.

In this scene Urge intervenes, and manipulates his way into Devon and Deus' confidence. This sets up the latter part of act two where Anima will meet Andrea and Mel.

But it also lays the foundations of doubt for Deus just as Devon is beginning to warm to him.

A lot gets told in these two scenes, but most of it is in the subtext of the conversations and action. It is a challenge to write without being too hamfisted about it.

Make My Movie Tally
Currently we are at 256 votes. Still a long way to go, but managing to keep up.

Keep those votes coming in. Remember - go to http://www.makemymovie.co.nz/entry/urban-numina and select one of the three buttons at the right of the film synopsis. Like/Tweet/+1

And keep talking to your friends about this film. There really isn't anything quite like Urban Numina out there. Let's change that!

Thanks for the support so far!

Conan

Urban Numina The Movie: Make My Movie and Time

I have been living and breathing Make My Movie for the last few weeks. Obsessively following the number of votes the movie has been getting, working through the script and planning ahead.

Because time is going to be a bigger challenge than the budget for this film. In the event of Urban Numina winning the competition, we have effectively the months of February and March to make the film.

That is a *very* short time to make a movie in, and if you aren't prepared, it could go horribly wrong.

So as I'm rewriting the script I am also thinking about how I intend to shoot the scene.

Given the tight deadline, it will be important to be prepared early so that if we win, we can just leap straight into shot planning and locking down locations.

One of the key things to plan is how we will shoot the film. I'm hoping that once the script is complete I can schedule it into a 5-7 day shoot. This is an ambitious plan, and one I expect will change once I have completed the script. This is where an experienced producer will be invaluable, to help work out the schedules - I expect that once we have planned it out, we'll be looking at around two weeks with maybe two days break.

The thing to remember is that while this is a low budget project, cast and crew are going to need to be paid, and they are going to need reasonable shoot schedules.

Because Urban Numina will have some special effects, my plan is that the first shoots at each location will be FX shots. This allows us to then get those shots to the VFX team to work on while we continue to shoot the rest of the location shots.

Ideally by the time we have finished principle photography, the VFX team will be well underway with their work. Of course when I say "they" it is most likely that the VFX team will consist of one or two people.

After this round of rewrites I plan to go back through the script with more of a "producer's eye" where I'll be asking "do I need this extra character in this scene?" or "can I do this scene with using an elaborate special effect?" I'll also be making some basic shot notes about how I visualise the scene. Is there too much talking? Is it compelling enough? Are we learning any thing about the plot or characters? If not, is it funny enough?

Even though Urban Numina hasn't won the competition yet, it pays to be thinking about what to do if we win. So I'm planning and thinking about these things while touching up the script. The big benefit is that if we get into the top twelve, I'll be set to seek out a producer and start planning and the script will not only be complete, but have had two rewrites and be a much more polished script heading into the final round of the competition.

I'm quietly confident that Urban Numina has what it takes to make it all the way. And with this amount of planning, we will be ready to roll the minute the paperwork is filled out. ;)

Make My Movie Tally
As of today's post, the tally now sits at 245 votes! :)

Keep the votes rolling in! We're seriously gaining ground here. :D

http://www.makemymovie.co.nz/entry/urban-numina

Conan

Urban Numina The Movie: Visuals, Dialogue, Story

Currently I am working on two key scenes at the beginning of Act Two. Both are focused on Devon.

The first scene is where Mel and Devon are talking about his breakup with Rhys. This is a fairly dialogue heavy scene, and such scenes can be notoriously boring to watch. So the goal is to be mixing verbal and non verbal components to the scene.

Mel is explaining to Devon how valuable a rebound relationship is to recovering from a broken heart. Devon, clearly, isn't buying any of it.

So there needs to be a lot of visual humour showing us how the two characters are reacting to each other during the conversation, along with having Deus stirring trouble in the background while he is being ignored by the two flatmates.

This leads into the next sequence, which is a series of scenes in montage. This sequence will have no verbal component and instead be a purely visual series of jokes and scenes showing Devon and Deus getting to know each other.

This montage is a great opportunity for me to showcase Wellington, a city that I find to be visually interesting to show, as well as forward the plot without relying on verbal exposition. Telling the story in a film is more than characters telling us what is going on - and this sequence needs to set up that Devon is falling for Deus, that Deus is more than just a dim amnesiac entity, why Devon is attracted to Deus as a person, and what Urge is doing while all this is going on.

Not at all challenging, right? ;)

So it's off to work I go, getting these montage scenes down pat before I move on to Carey and Andrea in the library.

Make My Movie Tally Update

As of writing, the tally is now up to: 224 votes.

Still a way to go, but we're getting there. And as always - thanks to everyone who has voted. It's awesome to see the support! I won't let you down! :)

http://www.makemymovie.co.nz/entry/urban-numina

Thanks!

Conan

Urban Numina The Movie: Enough Dilly Dallying

Now that the characters have been firmly established, it's time to get the ball rolling.

I've reached the point in the script where Urge originally visits the flat. In the series this played out differently from the original plan.

Originally Urge shows up alone, seduces Mel while making Deus and Devon uncomfortable - and then agrees to go out with Mel while Deus and Devon debate the fallout of Urge's arrival.

This time around I want to tease things out a bit more without stalling the plot. I also want to give Andrea more to do.

So now Andrea and Carey head to the library to research Deus and the enigmatic Anima - although they don't know her name, only a vague description from Deus.

Meanwhile Andrea leaves Mel and Devon to babysit Deus. Which Devon is not keen to do. I'm really making Deus work to charm Devon. In the film Devon is clearly seeing Deus as more of a chore than a potential partner at this stage. It's making for a more interesting tale. Mel is the one who is clearly getting the hots for Deus.

Feeling a bit rebellious, Devon leaves the flat - against Andrea's advice - and naturally Deus follows. Urge follows from afar and tries to work out what is going on. He also, strangely, recognises Devon. Rhys shows up and confusion reigns. Leading Deus to turn to Andrea for advice - and a hilarious scene at her workplace.

Mel, meanwhile, finds an unlikely ally in Jenna and soon finds herself also getting involved in uncovering the mystery of Deus and the pot - inevitably learning something unexpected about Jenna, and also heading down a path towards her own divine encounter with a mysterious character who never made it into the series.

By the time this segment is completed, we have learned more about the factions involved and the stage gets set for Deus to be forced to make a decision.

This is also the section of the story where we see how Deus' intervention changes the dynamics in the three core relationships. Devon sees Rhys for who he really is. Andrea sees Carey for who he actually is. Mel discovers that she has more in common with Jenna than she initially realises.

But things are about to get worse because this is also the segment where Anima makes her move and disrupts the situation more.

Make My Movie Tally Update
We are now at 219 votes.

Thanks to everyone who is voting. Keep them coming! :)

http://www.makemymovie.co.nz/entry/urban-numina

Thanks,
Conan

Urban Numina The Movie: The Story So Far...

With Act One's rewrites completed, it is time to look over a synopsis of what the film script to date to help pull everything together...

Devon is having issues with his boyfriend, Rhys, who is wanting to change the conditions of their relationship. Andrea is suffering from doubts about her own relationship as she is finding something about Carey is rubbing her up the wrong way. Mel is finding that she has to defend her dislike of neighbour, Jenna, despite catching Jenna red handed trying to steal her ideas.

After breaking an old pot that was given to him by a stranger, Devon releases the amnesiac Deus, who is claiming to be a deity. Meanwhile the enigmatic "Urge"contacts the equally mysterious Ziana and is sent to find Deus.

Carey endeavours to help Andrea, Mel and Devon work out what to do with Deus when Jenna comes into the flat. At the same time, Deus begins to hallucinate the presence of a woman who is watching him. Even when in bed. Much to Devon's consternation.

Andrea and Carey decide to do some digging, finding that they start getting closer as a result. Mel tries to educate Devon in the finer points of rebound relationships.

Obviously this is just a broad overview covering several scenes, but this does get you up to date with the synopsis - without giving too much away. :)

Make My Movie Current Tally - 210 votes

http://www.makemymovie.co.nz/entry/urban-numina

Urban Numina The Movie: Getting Personal

Moving on with the rewrites, I've reached the point where Deus and Devon have their first real personal conversation in the film.

In the original series this was a bit of  divisive scene. Many fans loved the intimacy of the scene between the two actors, while some felt it was a bit too intimate and verged on voyeuristic.

At this point in the rewrites, I feel that it moves too quickly. For a webseries, where you have about 8 minutes an episode, it made sense to have the scene move quickly to declarations of love. But in a film, we want to see there be a bit more conflict. Also I want to avoid having Devon and Deus taking the lion's share of screen time.

So it is important that this scene keeps the personal intimacy of Devon and Deus beginning to develop a relationship with each other, but also to explore the other relationships at play in the film.

To do this, the scene begins with Deus talking to Devon about his relationship with Rhys. We learn more about the fall out from the opening scene with Rhys, and Deus reveals more about his attraction to Devon.

Following this scene, we turn to Andrea and Carey discussing what is to be done about Deus' presence.  This is a lead into the next day when Andrea advises Devon that he needs to babysit Deus while she and Carey try to work out what is happening.

Finally, before that next morning scene, I explore what Urge is up to with his search for Deus. This is just a short scene to further develop Urge's character.

It is this focus on getting personal with the characters, and facing those intimate moments, that will help the audience develop an affection for them and care about whether they will succeed or not.

As of this writing, the tally is 205 votes. We are moving closer to the higher levels of the competition for the popular vote. Which is awesome! With your help, we will be shooting Urban Numina February next year. Keep spreading the word and convincing your friends to vote for us! :)

http://www.makemymovie.co.nz/entry/urban-numina