The day to day of running a production company can be great, but it often means long hours staring at a computer screen or marathon conference calls.
When Anthony can’t handle it anymore, he explodes from his chair, a grip of papers in his fist, and bellows, “Ah ha!” We all run to see what’s the matter, but he just stuffs a page in each of our hands and says, “Let’s get physical. And creative. It’s creative exercise time.”
I’ve only been here long enough to witness one of these rare birds, but it was probably one of the craziest hours I’ve spent at Windsong. Here’s our most recent one, hand tailored by Anthony Taylor.
1. First, split up into groups (4 works best). If you can’t, don’t try. You’ll pull something.
2. Next, each group writes a log line for a movie they’ve always wanted to see made. Don’t know what a log line is? Here are some examples:
Bad Log Lines
Star Wars: A science-fiction fantasy about a naive but ambitious farm boy from a backwater desert who discovers powers he never knew he had when he teams up with a feisty princess, a mercenary space pilot and an old wizard warrior to lead a ragtag rebellion against the sinister forces of the evil Galactic Empire.
The Graduate: A college graduate, home for the summer, has an affair with the wife of his father’s business partner, then falls in love with her daughter.
Good Log Lines
Romeo and Juliet: In medieval Italy a young man falls in love with the daughter of a sworn enemy. They elope with tragic consequences.
Rushmore: A precocious private high school student whose life revolves around his school competes with its most famous and successful alumnus for the affection of a first grade teacher.
The Hunt for Red October: A Soviet submarine captain uses Russia’s ultimate underwater weapon as a means to defect to the west.
3. Next, pass your log line to a different group, who will complete the next step for you. Scary, right?
4. With the previous group’s log line in hand, tell the beginning, middle and end of their movie in a couple of paragraphs. Pass what you have to the next group.
5. Give the movie a title. Pass it to the next group.
6. Cast the movie. Use whomever you like, famous/non-famous/infamous. Pass what you have back to the original group who created the log line.
7. Your group now must pitch the finished product to everyone else as if they are investors. Good luck.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that you have to do all of this in an hour?
I think good taste is a requirement for working at Windsong Productions, because every one of our final pitches could probably be found at the bottom of the $3 movie bin at your local drugstore. Which is why we’ve copyrighted all of our pitches and will be contacting all the Direct To Video companies. So unfortunately, we can’t share them here. Intellectual property and all that.
But hey, The Germ 06 is in two months. Now’s your time to get started by using this handy exercise to create your own story. You have no excuse. You will be Germinated.
– Evan Wade, Production Assistant
