Chris Jones's Blog, page 17
May 17, 2017
Christopher Vogler and The Hero’s Journey… The Outline, Archetypes and Mythical Memo
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Ahead of the masterclass by Christopher Vogler at LondonSWF this year, I thought I should share some detailed insight into the heros journey… plus the mythical memo he wrote while at Disney and the interview I did with him.
Download Chris Voglers original memo here.
The Mythical Memo
Chris+Vogler+memo.pdf
DOWNLOAD
As taken from Voglers site, more info here.
The Hero’s Journey is a pattern of narrative…
identified by the American scholar Joseph Campbell that appears in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and psychological development. It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization.
Its stages are:
1. THE ORDINARY WORLD. The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma. The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history. Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress.
2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE. Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must face the beginnings of change.
3. REFUSAL OF THE CALL. The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure, however briefly. Alternately, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead.
4. MEETING WITH THE MENTOR. The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey. Or the hero reaches within to a source of courage and wisdom.
5. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD. At the end of Act One, the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values.
6. TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES. The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the Special World.
7. APPROACH. The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the Special world.
8. THE ORDEAL. Near the middle of the story, the hero enters a central space in the Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear. Out of the moment of death comes a new life.
9. THE REWARD. The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death. There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again.
10. THE ROAD BACK. About three-fourths of the way through the story, the hero is driven to complete the adventure, leaving the Special World to be sure the treasure is brought home. Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the mission.
11. THE RESURRECTION. At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home. He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level. By the hero’s action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved.
12. RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR. The hero returns home or continues the journey, bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed.
The Archetypes
ARCHETYPES are recurring patterns of human behavior, symbolized by standard types of characters in movies and stories.
HEROES
Central figures in stories. Everyone is the hero of his or her own myth.
SHADOWS
Villains and enemies, perhaps the enemy within. The dark side of the Force, the repressed possibilities of the hero, his or her potential for evil. Can be other kinds of repression, such as repressed grief, anger, frustration or creativity that is dangerous if it doesn’t have an outlet.
MENTORS
The hero’s guide or guiding principles. Yoda, Merlin, a great coach or teacher.
HERALD
One who brings the Call to Adventure. Could be a person or an event.
THRESHOLD GUARDIANS
The forces that stand in the way at important turning points, including jealous enemies, professional gatekeepers, or your own fears and doubts.
SHAPESHIFTERS
In stories, creatures like vampires or werewolves who change shape. In life, the shapeshifter represents change. The way other people (or our perceptions of them) keep changing. The opposite sex, the way people can be two-faced.
TRICKSTERS
Clowns and mischief-makers, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy. Our own mischievous subconscious, urging us to change.
ALLIES
Characters who help the hero through the change. Sidekicks, buddies, girlfriends who advise the hero through the transitions of life.
Great stuff! You can get more info about the one day class HERE. See you there!
Onwards and upwards!
Chris Jones
My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com
My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker
My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix
Sign up to my mailing list for updates on events, books and free film making tools
Get The Whole Twisted 50 Family for £25 in our May Madness Promotion!
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[image error]We have TEN promotional packages of Twisted50 up for grabs in our May Madness promotion! CLICK HERE!
Amazon have been really promoting Twisted 50 on their site and narrowly missed getting into the top 1,000 books on Amazon, which is some amazing feat!
The May Madness bundles cost £25 (including UK delivery): In it you will get Twisted50 (first edition), Twisted’s Evil Little Sister (first edition) and the Twisted50 Audiobook on CD (with MP3 disk) and selected Evil Little Sister stories on CD. What a terrifying MONSTER package!
Buy it for yourself or as an extraordinary gift for lovers of horror. GET IT HERE.
[image error]Remember Twisted50 is a Create50 initiative and scribed by emerging writers like yourself.
Finally, Amazon is still running the special offer of Twisted50 as a Kindle edition for 99p. Grab yours HERE.
Onwards and upwards!
Chris Jones
My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com
My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker
My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix
Sign up to my mailing list for updates on events, books and free film making tools
May 15, 2017
Sound Mixing Seeing Him by Vanessa Bailey
One of the things I���ve most loved about making Seeing Him is that when you push yourself out of your comfort zone (as I have on a massive scale) you learn stuff. A lot of stuff.
So the next stop for me in my on-the-job film school was being involved in the sound mix with director Chris and our sound engineer Nas. As an actor I���ve done ADR before but that���s been limited to being in the booth, never seeing how ADR is then shaped and manipulated to fit the film. This time Chris wanted to look at how we could deepen a couple of key moments in the film by re-recording the lines with a slightly altered emotional focus. Very subtle, but the impact was enormous.
The technical expertise that goes into a sound mix is phenomenal and Nas did an outstanding job of polishing, refining and enhancing our sound. I���ve always considered sound to be an additional score to the film. Like terrible music, you only really notice sound when it���s working against the film, rather than carrying it to the finish line. Now I could see first-hand just how much technical work goes into lifting sound to the best place it can be.
The other thing I always notice in post-production sessions like this is how people work together.�� All the best people, the ones that you know will go far, are able to collaborate. They���re strong visionaries but diplomatic, creative but respectful of another creative���s vision. They���re expert but humble. They���re skilled negotiators. They���re passionate but self-disciplined. And Nas was another such example as I watched him working with Chris to produce what he passionately wanted to be the very best sound mix he could.
There are many more things for me to learn about filmmaking. Making Seeing Him is a chalk-face, sleeves-rolled-up, no-holds-barred film school which I am so grateful to be on.
May 14, 2017
Behind The Scenes on my new film ‘Seeing Him’ with Vanessa Bailey
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Over the last half year or so I have been helping Vanessa Bailey complete her stunning short film, Seeing Him. The short story about how the film came into being is that I began work on it with Vanessa and then needed to step away as I had a baby, handing the reigns to Catherine Arton, who in due course (and after the main shoot) also had to step away and hand the reigns back! And we will be premiering this Summer ��� tickets are on sale now HERE. It would be great to see you there as there will be a fascinating and illuminating discussion about the film after the screening.
We have made a number of Behind The Scenes videos, edited and shot by Viktoria Tolidou. And you can watch them here.
More to come very soon.
Chris Jones
My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com
My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker
My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix
Sign up to my mailing list for updates on events, books and free film making tools
Robert McKee on Dialogue, Story and Being a Writer, Podcast
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Last week I sat for an hour with Robert McKee, discussing storytelling today, with a particular emphasis on long form screenwriting and the explosion in high quality television writing. The conversation was both illuminating and inspiring and you can listen here���
We are in full blown prep no for the London Screenwriters��� Festival and you can get more information about this years event on the site HERE. It���s a gamechanger. Promise.
Chris Jones
My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com
My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker
My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix
Sign up to my mailing list for updates on events, books and free film making tools
April 25, 2017
Recording the music for ‘Seeing Him’, a personal journey for screenwriter, actress and reluctant producer Vanessa Bailey
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When it comes to powerful voices in the storytelling process then music is one of the most powerful there is. Of all the narrative voices within a film music is arguably one of the most potent tools for enhancing their emotional connection to the “moments” which happen in your film.
I first met our composer William Goodchild twelve years ago when Matt and I were living in Bristol and our daughters were at school there. William was at that time involved in teaching music at the school and I was always incredibly impressed with the standard of music that he produced. After the girls left school we moved away from Bristol. I reconnected with William again following my involvement in a short film called Bubbles – I was struck by the young composers work and I think I sent the music to William to listen to. A dialogue ensued and after that we maintained connection via various social media platforms. Then when it came to the time when I was looking for someone to score my short I approached William and he said yes. He’s waited patiently for several years to score the final edit, for which I am indescribably grateful!
[image error]Being able to watch the process of recording the score was incredibly moving. As a musician myself I’ve always been fascinated by the process of bringing things “more” alive through the use of music and sound. Vicky (our behind the scenes ninja) and I travelled Bristol to The Department of Music at Bristol University to observe William and his team bring the music to life and shape the score. I love watching teams working together and William, Juliet McCarthy (cello) and Jonathan Scott (sound mix/master engineer) are experts in their field. I learned a huge amount simply through observing how they navigated the technical side of the recording process together.
[image error]Creating a score requires a shedload of time, a shedload of emotional listening and hearing, a shedload of hard graft both musical and technical and a shedload of passion and commitment. And a sense of humour. One of the joys of the (very long ) day was the dry humour which manifested itself every now and again, punctuating the emotional musical rollercoaster happening around us!
Sitting in a room listening to the heart of your characters communicating to the audience through music is a profoundly moving experience. I do slightly get sick to the back teeth of people using the phrase “it was very humbling” but honestly, on this occasion, that is exactly how it felt. Humbling and magical. As I listened to the score for piano and cello being fitted together through the various layers of composition and sound mixing it took me again through the beats of my story, this time with William’s own connection to the characters built into the music. Magical is not too strong a word. That alchemy of diverse creative hearts and minds uniquely shaping a single story together is what makes filmmaking so very, very exciting.
[image error]It still floors me when I remember how many incredible artists have trusted in the story of Seeing Him enough to want to add their own voice to it. I can’t wait to share the complete story, and its many voices, with you on the big screen!
You can find out more about William here: https://www.williamgoodchild.com
Follow him on Twitter: @WGoodchildMusic
Vanessa Bailey
www.SeeingHimFilm.com
PS – Join us for the premiere of the film on June 17th 2017 in London. More at www.SeeingHimFilm.com/premiere
April 19, 2017
The Impact50 formally Launches Today, Watch the Trailer Here
[image error]We officially launch the filmmaking leg of The Impact50 feature film today.
Calling all filmmakers from around the world, can you make a short film from a two page script? Join hundreds of other filmmaking teams as we collectively produce an extraordinary feature film to be released in 2018.
What do you do?
Select a script, option it from us and make it. Then submit your film and get peer feedback before doing re-edits etc (if you want to).
What we do
At the end, we select the best films and material submitted and we make a feature film. Last time we entered the Guinness Book of Records for most screenwriters on a film. This time we are aiming at the most directors on a film!
Read scripts HERE
Watch submitted films HERE
Read the guidance notes HERE
This is our chance to come together and make a world class film, get traction for our careers and make the kind of film Hollywood could NEVER produce.
We look forward to seeing your films!
Chris Jones
Filmmaker
www.ChrisJonesBlog.com
The Impact50 Formerly Launches Today, Watch the Trailer Here
[image error]We officially launch the filmmaking leg of The Impact50 feature film today.
Calling all filmmakers from around the world, can you make a short film from a two page script? Join hundreds of other filmmaking teams as we collectively produce an extraordinary feature film to be released in 2018.
What do you do?
Select a script, option it from us and make it. Then submit your film and get peer feedback before doing re-edits etc (if you want to).
What we do
At the end, we select the best films and material submitted and we make a feature film. Last time we entered the Guinness Book of Records for most screenwriters on a film. This time we are aiming at the most directors on a film!
Read scripts HERE
Watch submitted films HERE
Read the guidance notes HERE
This is our chance to come together and make a world class film, get traction for our careers and make the kind of film Hollywood could NEVER produce.
We look forward to seeing your films!
Chris Jones
Filmmaker
www.ChrisJonesBlog.com
April 18, 2017
Celebrate with us at the London premiere of ‘Seeing Him’
[image error]Hosted at London’s iconic Prince Charles Cinema, we’re going all out to bring you a night to remember for an exceptional film that you won’t forget!
Walk the red carpet
Get your photo taken with the cast and your friends on the red carpet
Be the first on the planet to see the film and celebrate
Hear from the cast and crew about their journey making it
Join the team for exclusive after party networking at an exclusive central London venue
When: Saturday 17th June 2017
Time: 6pm – 8pm
Where: Prince Charles Cinema, 7 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BY
Tickets: £8.00
[image error]Festivities will commence with the premiere screening of ‘Seeing Him’ followed by an in-depth Q&A session with the cast and key crew, all of them ready and excited to answer your questions personally.
Then it’s straight over to the Phoenix Artist Club for the exclusive After Party where you can mix and mingle with the ‘Seeing Him’ team and have your picture taken on the red carpet with the cast.
We promise you this is going to be an unforgettable night full of all the bright lights, ritzy glitz and sexy chic you could wish for on a Saturday night. Come along and join us as we knock this puppy straight out of the filmmaking park!
See you there!
Dress code: Dress to impress
Full site at www.SeeingHimFilm.com
Onwards and upwards!
Chris Jones
My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com
My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker
My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix
Sign up to my mailing list for updates on
events, books and free film making tools
Shooting my first film on an iPhone ��� what we Iearned
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[image error]By Dana Pierre
For a writer, getting a script produced can be a major hurdle.�� In my early writing days I completed my first feature script and armed with naivety, I attended a networking event in London in the hope of collaborating with a filmmaker and ��� well��� hoping��� for good things to happen to my script.
I soon learnt that perhaps I should have written a few low budget short scripts and networked with those projects first.
So, a few short low budget scripts later, I found it still wasn���t easy to get those produced. Many filmmakers I met were filming their own scripts and simply didn���t have the time to film someone else���s script. ���You should film it yourself������ I was advised over and over.
[image error]Later, I heard about ���Tangerine’, the low budget feature film shot fully with an iPhone 5s. That planted a seed. My own personal phone was an iPhone 5s. I mulled over the idea of shooting a short film myself.
With that idea on the back burner, I attended ���The Breaking into Script Reading��� two day course taught by Lucy V Hay.�� The last thing I expected was to come away from it with a commitment to make a film with two ladies I sat between on the first day of the course. This was the first time I met Kate Nowakowski and G Rockk.
The final push of making that commitment was fueled by Chris Jones, filmmaker and author of the Guerilla Filmmakers Handbook. He gave a motivational inspiring speech, on harnessing the inner Wonder Woman from within ourselves, pushing our boundaries and making that film.
Feeling empowered and together with our combined determination, myself, Kate and G, brainstormed the initial ideas for the script during the networking drinks later that day. We decided we would shoot on my iPhone. We felt the iPhone was suitable as it would enhance the close and personal tone we sought for the narrative we had in mind.
Within six weeks we had a story, a low budget script, auditioned for a cast, prepared a shot list and did a recce. The day before the shoot we recruited a small crew at the Guerilla Filmmakers Masterclass. It was a gamble that paid off as we shot the film over the next 3 days.
[image error]Five things I learned shooting a film on an iPhone 5s
1. Its inexpensive
It cost just a few ��s to download the Filmic Pro app on my phone. I borrowed a smartphone 360 degree adapter to mount the iphone onto a borrowed tripod (that networking DID pay off). I soon discovered the wonders of using a gorillapod, which was very useful for close to the ground shots.
2. Great quality footage, surprisingly!
The Filmic Pro app works great. It offered us various options to enhance the shots suitable for cinema screen experience. Filmic Pro settings include film resolutions, frame rates, aspect ratio, ability to set and lock focus, exposure and white balance as well as many other features. Of course I recommend using separate audio equipment.
3. It’s inconspicuous
Due to it being, well a phone, an iPhone works well for guerrilla filmmaking! Just film and go.
4. Getting close and personal
For close ups and extreme closeups, don’t use the zoom feature! Physically get up close and personal (and keep that resolution). Great if your actor is fine with it as it can get a bit intense. We got great quality close ups ��� and this intimacy WILL create a different and often more intense performance.
5. Storage space and battery power
As we only had the one iphone 16GB, we had to download the footage regularly while charging the phone. So I recommend having more than one iphone or one with a lots of storage space. Plan your shots well! And a carry a portable charger!
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We are now in post production and looking for a composer ��� if you are interested, drop me a line. I hope these tips from a writer turned filmmaker has helped. The whole experience has been empowering and I fully recommend you consider your phone as a tool to get your film produced now.
Thanks Dana – if you want to chat about composing music for her film drop me a line and mail@livingspirit.com and I will forward your message to her.
Onwards and upwards!
Chris Jones
My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com
My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker
My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix
Sign up to my mailing list for updates on
events, books and free film making tools
