| Designing the Story |
| Obviously, this is the root of your film. Without an immaculate story design and structure, the film is destined to not only fail in revenue, but more importantly, fail your audience and let them down. These are the key components found in almost all of the major epics in history, and should be followed to a tee if a director and his or her crew expect to turn this film into what is classified as an "epic." You can't simply walk onto the set and create these things. You can't sit down at your computer and hammer out a script overnight, expecting it to be rich and colourful and splendid. I would suggest watching a few epic motion pictures after you read this article and take notes... you'll find that these are very poignant rules of thumb when Hollywood rallies together an epic. (1) Historical Situation - As was previously noted, the story should take place during a time period of historical relevance. War always sets the perfect backdrop/ mood when filming an epic... Roman wars in particular, although people have tried creating World War II epics in the past with a small batch of successes (Patton, for example, is considered an epic). You may also locate an un-popular theme (or create a new one) that is buried deep inside a historical situation, and rather than showing that conflict in itself you could tell the tale of lives effected by and during said conflict. Biblical stories, as was also said before, always make for good epics. Films such as Ben Hur and the Ten Commandments are often times the first films to come to mind when talking about Epic motion pictures. (2) Potent Protagonist - The "hero" of this film defines the stature of the motion picture. Never has a film been labeled an "epic" when there was not a lead character who can rally up the spirit and make the spines in the viewing audience quiver with delight. Charleston Heston as Ben Hur, Mel Gibson as William Wallace, Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus... these are shining examples of ideal characters. The character should be powerful, yet flawed. Perhaps love is keeping him or her from conquering all that lies before them. Maybe they are not all that people make them out to be. Or maybe their own self image is too great, and they are battling their own egotistical drives moreso than they are battling the antagonistical force(s) in the film. This character must have feelings and at times seem as if he or she is on the brink of tears, as showing an individual who seems larger than life as only human will captivate the audience and allow them to fall in love with the character. (3) Love Interest and/ or Triangle - This is the classic box office draw; make a film with massive war scenes for the guys, and toss in a hoaky love story for the gals. Yes, that's what Hollywood's top execs think of the public, as sad an affair as that is. You'd think this method of drawing in record- breaking audiences would no longer work, especially nowadays, but unfortunately they are just as potent as they ever have been. Usually, the story's protagonist falls in love with a girl whom he cannot have, and all the while a girl much closer to him, whom he doesn't view in such a manner, is madly in love with him. In the end, of course, the hero goes for the girl who loves him rather than the girl he was superficially in love with. Death in the triangle, especially in or near the beginning of the story, is also a potent tool used for jerking tears and winning over the affection of the audience. If the hero loses his love interest near the beginning of the film, and is shown driving toward the victory of his goals fueled only by his agressiveness/ rage, the audience will in turn be riled up and will root for him all the way. (4) Political side-story - Filming a three-hour battle will inevitably bore even the crudest audience. Politics always effect a story, no matter what era the story takes place in. In war situations, show how political strife or desires effect the lead protagonist and/ or his or her group. This will constitute even more research, but it is always research well spent; the audience needs to be given a breather in between combat scenes and romantic scenes. Any form of political strife does the trick. Typically, an individual or group will be attempting to rise to power, and such a climb threatens the lead protagonist every step of the way. Coniving plays a fair backdrop to any epic film... the individual or organization is playing a political game of chess with the unsuspecting lead protagonist, leading him or her into misadventure (or at least attempting to) in order to gain some form of success. (5) 3+ Massive scenes - Epics always consist of at least three enormous scenes, with thousands of extras and a grand set, during which a pivitol portion of combatative action takes place. For example, watch the chariot race in Ben Hur or the many gladatorial battles in Gladiator. If done correctly (and well), the audience is either wowed by this cinematic spectacle which is displayed before them, wondering how it was created and performed, or they completely forget they are watching a film and become enthralled with the story at that point. Contrary to popular belief, these epic scenes should not be shown during the first few scenes of the film, as they can be overwhelming to an audience who is still in the process of adjusting their mental state to the time period/ era of the film. The most captivating "massive" scenes used in the past are usually battle scenes, although films set in the Grecco- Roman period often consist of grand celebrations, riots, and sporting events. (6) Comic relief - As epics deal with dramatic, historical topics they are often weighed heavily upon by a very serious, sometimes educational environment. Action, suspense, and romance are not enough to keep an audience truly observant of the film, and when dealing with such serious issues it's good to use comic relief to allow your audience the opportunity to laugh and enjoy a different sort of emotion. Comic relief must be used sparingly or it will drag the rest of the film away from it's more serious tones and make people believe you are making light of the situation at hand. Comic relief should be delivered with short dialogues or sub- scenes of antical- style comedy. A short barrage of shots involving supporting characters in which they are involved in a humorous situation is often a decent usage of comedy in a serious drama. Using scenes like this takes a special sort of timing... comedy follows battle scenes well but not romantic scenes, and must not be used during a portion of the film when the action, albeit romantic or combative, has slowed down too much. slight, semi- humorous dialogue may be used during political scenes, but typically, this should only be applied in the form of an insult, as you wouldn't want your audience laughing throughout the following, important dialogue. (7) Display of Era - It is important to tie the story into the time period as often as possible. This is best used by mentioning popular, relevant, historical keynotes during dialogue. For example, if your film were about a rebellious Roman Legionaire, you might make mention of cities such as Syracusae or Troy. You might also use discriptives of items popular for that time period, and pay particular attention to the slightest details. For the Legionaire story previously mentioned, you wouldn't want your Protagonist charging into battle with a Falchion or Katana, as those swords weren't used by the Roman army. The Gladius, however, is a fairly identifiable weapon, and history buffs will recognize the Roman sword and mentally congratulate the makers of the film for their research. Tie in the period to the plot and dialogue as often as possible, and never under-estimate the intelligence of your audience! |