I've been writing a screenplay that is based on a certain concept album. I was wondering where, how, and any other information that I would need to obtain permission to adapt the work.

-- Aaron

Standard advice applies here: If you’re basing your work on someone else’s work, then copyright probably applies, and you'll need to get their permission in writing at some point.

(I say copyright “probably” applies. If what you’re writing is clearly a parody, you may be able to slip through. For example, if your movie pokes fun at “We Are the World” celebrity sing-alongs, you would likely be safely in parody territory. You’d also be a decade or two too late, but so be it.)

The question of when you need to get permission is more difficult to answer. If you’re just writing this for the hell of it, keep typing. Don’t worry about getting anyone’s permission. But if you’re convinced this will be your magnum opus, then it’s a good idea to start the process of tracking down the copyright-holders. You'll want to see if they’re at all interested in working with you.

In the case of a concept album, copyright almost certainly rests with the songwriters, so start there. Figure out who they are, then try to find contact information. Start with Google (since you’re already on-line), searching for both the songwriter and the record label. If you don’t have any luck, my next stop would be to call ASCAP and BMI in Los Angeles (or Nashville, if it’s a country/western album), and try to find agency or other contact information.

If you strike out here, your next best bet is the record label that released the album. Ask for the legal department, and be as nice as humanly possible while they try to direct you to the proper people. Your final option would be to enlist the help of an experienced entertainment attorney, both to track down the copyright holders and to help you draft any agreements you need.

Do you think people are born with a creative ability such as the ability to direct? If you are "born" creative how do you know if you are creative?

I'm only 15 and considering a career in film, I would like to know if I should even try.

--Nathan

I would say that often people are born with a creative tendency, but that is not to say that creativity cannot spring from environment and/or life experience. What I have noticed, especially with very creative and innovative musicians, for example, is that even they are surprised and confused by their gift of creativity. With many like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, etc. their creative tendencies set them so far apart from the norm that they have a hard time coping with it.

However, since we are talking creativity with regard to directing, let’s examine that. Before I was a director, I was an editor and before that I made a meager living by making clothes. People were always amazed that I could cut a fabric without using a pattern and sew together a perfectly sized shirt or dress. I realize in retrospect that this required a certain mental ability which is coincidentally the same as shooting and editing a film. Before you wrap the shoot day, you must know that the pieces you have shot will all fit together perfectly. When I was directing The Little Rascals, the kids (some were only four years old) often could not deliver their lines in complete sentences, so I had to shoot little fragments with multiple cameras. (They could not match their action from take to take either.) When filming the youngest ones, I would often end up with a pile of short snippets. The head of the studio saw the dailies, freaked out, and insisted I cut some scenes together to prove the storytelling was even going to make sense. Even though the Directors Guild protects the director’s right to a ten week cut on a feature, I decided to show him a couple of edited scenes. I was confident I had every little piece I needed to cut it together, make it flow and tell the story. That is not to say that all seamstresses will make good directors, but indeed I believe that maybe we are born with certain mental abilities which are useful in the making of films.

As I may have said before, a first cousin of mine is Costa-Gavras, the world renown Greek/French director, which would makes me consider that there is something to the genetic aspects to the job description. However, equally influential, are the effects that environment and individual experiences incur. I was the eldest of four children and because of certain conditions I was placed in charge of all the younger ones. I was supervisor from age seven and was punished if I did not control and discipline the others. In essence, I was I learning how to operate the set and supervise the crew. Along those lines, I always ask potential First A. D.’s and Production Managers where they fall in the line of siblings. The eldest is quite often very skilled and comfortable with taking charge and supervising others. You’ve heard the phrase “creative urge”, right? Have you experienced that? In the big picture, the most crucial factor is our NEED to express ourselves creatively through film. If there is no other way for you to say what you have to say, no other way for you to make a difference in the world, then maybe this job is for you.

I'm currently doing a video project as a part of my film degree. The piece is based mainly upon a key sequence in which a fight takes place. Myself and the production crew have had loads of trouble covering the fight, and I was wondering if you had any handy tips or sites I could visit. (I've searched high and low!!!)

It needs to be gritty and dirty street fighting. So far we've mainly been using handheld shots, but unfortunately we're having big problems with making the punches look realistic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

-David

Unfortunately I’m sure you finished your fight scene a long time ago but here is some advice for anyone else doing the same thing.

The trick is to shoot angles that don’t show the relationship between the fist and the contact point: in other words don’t show that it missed! The hardest angle to achieve would be the classic profile shot where the person punching hits the other person in the face. The person being punched has to react at exactly the right time and person throwing the punch has to do it “very close”. This is why you have stunt men because they train for a long time to make this stuff look good and then advise you on angle to make it look good. When an actor in a film does a fight scene they take them away and practice a great deal until it looks authentic.

If you shoot behind the person being hit it is easier to disguise the fact they weren’t hit and the use of longer lenses also helps this by compressing the space. A realistic “hit” is always a combination of the actors timing it right and the angle of the lens: remember also that until the sound is added it will always look pathetic!

John August's screenwriting credits include Go, Big Fish, Titan A.E. and both Charlie's Angels movies. His current projects include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Tarzan, and Corpse Bride. He also maintains a screenwriting-oriented website at johnaugust.com.

Born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, John earned a degree in journalism from Drake University in Iowa, and an MFA in film production from the Peter Stark program at the University of Southern California. He lives in Los Angeles.

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