Tim’s 2-Page Movie

Before the pandemic I was planning a silent movie based on the life of Hector Berlioz (1803-1864) a French, Romantic composer. Why? Because I had never written one before. The author of a book on screen play writing (incidentally that I got for $.25) recommended that readers start by writing a blurb, no more than 2 pages, no fewer than 2 pages, double-spaced. Straight text, no dialogue or no paragraphs, no nothing. I did, and it really crystallized for me how the movie would go. Then the pandemic hit and all bets went left the table, and I never wrote it.

 I’m at the start of a play about love in a transracial family during times of acute social and racial conflict. I had my dreams pretty well in my head, but every time I tried to write the script the thing petered out. I pulled back and wrote a 2-page movie. It’s a little more than 2 pages right now, so I have to prune it a bit, but it’s working for me. I just have to leave it sit a while before I pick it up.

I think the genius in the idea lies in the fact that you get to see your creation in its entirety, from beginning to end. You’re not wedded to it, but best to try refine it as much as you can. Now that I’ve done it, I can’t see me changing the play much, except to fill in the gaps and do some research about various aspects. But now I’m going to work on my novel.