I love it. I think it looks really good. Loved how you somehow caught the beauty of Akron and I could feel the atmosphere like I was back in Akron. All the traveling I’ve done I’ve never met any people cut from the same cloth as those from Akron.
Man I love the way you write dialogue! It's so amazing! This film with the previous two - 'Schism' and 'Distant'. All of them have great dialogue! Again, Brilliantly written and directed. Love how you make this a love letter to the city. And also there's so much subtext and different themes explored. This is a really great example of what iceberg storytelling can be. Great job Andrew! 👏👏👏💯 Also, I love how you get very authentic performances from your actors. How much the script is altered or changed when you are on location (with actors improvising the lines and ad libing)? Or do you stick to it no matter what?
Thank you Ajinkya! I put a lot of hard work into this short film so I'm very happy you enjoyed it so much. As for your question about dialogue/script here's what we did. I wrote a full 5 page script for these two non-actors, sat down with them and talked about their characters for a week or two, we followed that up with a table read. Then once we got on location, I carried the script around in my back pocket, we'd read through it once, but after that I gave them the direction and they said whatever felt natural. I tried my best to give them the outline, the true meaning behind the scene. They had some difficulty memorizing lines so I just let them loose. Most of the best lines and jokes aren't in the script at all, it was all improv. You might be asking how we got the transitions from locations and shots to flow so well with something as inconstant and loose as improv. Well, we did many reshoots and during those reshoots I was already editing, so I knew which shot would come after the other. I no longer carried the script around and instead just a few notecards with key-lines that needed to be spoken in order to transition smoothly. THAT was how we got it to feel natural whenever we were cutting or transitioning to the next scene. I've never worked like this before in the past. With my other films like 'Schism' and 'Distant' we 100% stuck to the script and I encouraged 0 improv. But after this experience on 'Good Years Gone' I don't know that I ever want to go back to the old way haha. Hopefully that answers your questions!
@@KovacIndustries • Wow! That's really interesting! I asked that question particularly because exactly what you said, it's how you transition from one scene to the next. And also when I am directing, one of the fears is, I don't want to go too far from the emotional core of the scene and loose sight of the theme in the process of improv. Editing it simultaneously while reshooting the scene as you did on this project and keeping notecards with you really seem like great ideas. This is a wonderful film and thank you so much for this insight into the process and these great tips/advice. I think it's time I should also try this method now hahaha. Lol. 😁 Cheers man! ✌️
As long as your characters motivations reflect the theme in some way AND your actors know what those motivations are, you'll be solid! But I hope you don't think we achieved it in one take haha, no it took us at least 10 - 15 takes for EACH scene (you can watch all the outtakes in the Behind The Scenes video). If you end up using this technique on a short film, send it over I'd love to watch it!
Your shorts are awesome. I like your spirit of experimentation. I have an small question. What is your process of writing characters? Do you have some archetype, build on them and later set them free on the page? I'm curious, thanks.
Building characters is typically the hardest part of the entire writing process for me. I'm actually trying to lock down some characters for a new short I'm writing. But it's difficult because I try to make them as real as possible (doesn't always happen but 'm learning). I hate going into an idea/story where I know the plot but not the characters. That doesn't help me at all. The way I love to write is this: Find, develop, and listen to the characters. Place them in a world. Watch what they do and how they interact with others. It's a bizarre thing, I know when I started out that didn't make any sense to me, but if you try it a few times, you'll understand. I don't typically have rule set or archetype that I have to have, but I am a person, and I'm usually writing from some sort of experience, so if there's commonality between characters from my other films, that's why. Hopefully that helps!
@@KovacIndustries I have the same problem as you, its dificult to write characters 😅. But thank's. It's seem to me that you have an active imagination, that is very good. I will do as you say, find them, tweak them but set them free on my mind. I'm waiting for your feature film.
Andrew, this is so awesome, you did an incredible job. In this city sometimes it’s hard to see what it has to offer, but I think the more time you spend here focusing on finding it you realize that it’s better than people give it credit for. I think Akron needs the sort of positivity you have for it. Can’t wait to see all the work you produce out in California.
I'm really happy that it's obvious that I love Akron! I was worried about making a film that's "hating on Akron" and then getting hate for it. The city definitely grows on you as you get older, especially with it being near so many other great spots. Hopefully they give ya some murals though!
