"Zero" - those first ten pages...

In follow-up to my previous post, I've been away and had a think, and such is the way when I find myself cornered by a situation (in relation to filmmaking and script writing), my mind clicks and presents a solution in immediate fashion.

First one idea, then another - both brief and merely okay - then a third idea, and it struck a chord. Considering the script, as it currently stands, begins with the male lead waking up, having a dream sequence that flags up/foreshadows (somewhat) a good portion of the over all plot and introduces the five protagonists is not only exactly what I need, but makes sense anyway.

He's having a dream (which fills in character introductions and plot elements within the first 10 pages) and so naturally he has to wake up. The script begins with him being woken up by a phone call, so there we are - a perfect fit.

It will also give me the opportunity to take a key element of the dream, and really run with it in a creative way. In a way that suits a dream world, but not the waking world, and will provide an interesting kick start to the entire script.

Naturally this will add a few more pages, and as such I'll be seeking to whittle out about five pages so I can try and keep myself at 120 pages or less. I currently sit at 118, and I have at most 7 pages in which to inject this new scene, which will really help set-up the entire script to try and grab the attention of whoever is reading it - specifically the aforementioned element that I can really get creative with - trying to visualise a feeling, in a dream state.

Interesting.

So yeah, the creative boiler has been stoked and, as is the way it often goes for me when I find myself presented with a suggestive ultimatum (in the case of "The End" for example - a 130 page zombie epic that came about because Gary Ugarek (the Deadlands guy) said "you know what you should do with this short script?"), or a creative challenge, my brain proves its worth.