Would using a star filter for cinematography be too weird?

[Josh Bass]

That was for Brian.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Originally Posted by Josh Bass

That was for Brian.

It’s alright. I mean were all on the same page. Basically Ryan doesn’t write believable characters but I think it goes beyond a lack of knowledge. I can see him turning a sensible thing such as research on it’s head and hamstring himself with a bunch of rules that in the end impede him.

I can already hear him saying “I was told...”

[Ryan Elder]

Oh well I just do the best I can and write the best story I can, and try to do the best job.

[Paul R Johnson]

Ha! I know exactly what Brian's talking about and spent quite a while with somebody who later on I discovered had a considerable 'history', in probably a similar location. I suspect an interview would have taught me nothing useful whatsoever.

Talking to people does not tell you how they think. Doing interviews can be interesting and totally distanced from reality. I knew someone very well for many years and discovered after maybe 10 years that what they actually did in their job was very different from the face they presented to the public, family and friends. I was totally shocked when they showed me some of the things they'd done. First thing you learn with actors, is that they can switch on their 'interview personality' instantly. Police officers are the same - they're very unlikely to immortalise the nitty gritty on camera.

What I don't understand is that Ryan seems to understand the restriction his budget puts onto projects, but still tries to do them - by getting the characters to talk uncharacteristically to tell the story in words - just like people don't talk in real life.

I thought I knew how prisoners were in jail - I'd seen the TV dramas, until I had to go into a jail for a job and found out my public view was nothing like reality. It scared the hell out of me!

[Brian Drysdale]

Originally Posted by Josh Bass

That was for Brian.

If you've shot TV programmer over the years you will have met players on both sides of the conflict here. I even was a DP on a short drama directed by a convicted IRA man, on a personal basis I found him friendly and we got on. However, there are others who you won't want to meet in a dark alley.

[Josh Bass]

cool,thanks

[Pete Cofrancesco]

What if Ryan hired real criminals and policemen? All he would need to do is yell “ACTION” and they would do whatever came natural. Then he could concentrate on getting the needed compression.

[Ryan Elder]

Well in terms of how the people I interviewed think, I am not using them in a movie, I am using fictional characters, so do the characters have to be that much like them therefore?

[Brian Drysdale]

In fiction characters are usually based on a mix of people you know in reality, they just don't pop out of thin air.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay, I'd say it's a mix of some of real people's characteristics, mixed with fictional characteristics. But if I base the characters completely on people I know, they would be boring and uninteresting, so I have add fictional elements as well.

[Brian Drysdale]

Why are you basing characters around people who are boring and uninteresting? It's not a great starting point.

[Ryan Elder]

No I was saying if I were to use ALL characteristics of real people it would be boring an interesting. For example, since my script has vigilante characters in, I don't know any real life ones personally. So I have to fictionalize that aspect of the characters and cannot base it on anyone I know personally.

[Brian Drysdale]

There must be something about the originals that would allow them to become vigilantes in certain circumstances.

[Ryan Elder]

Yes there is one person I know who is very angry for similar reasons to my villain and I did base the villains characteristics based on him. But I couldn't base the vigilante aspects on him of course though.

[Brian Drysdale]

I wasn't asking about him.