I've decided which film I want to be my first real feature length endeavor. It is, in my opinion, my greatest failure in terms of attempts to make a good film.
I tried to make it in 2011, but the script was horrendous, and I had no understanding of the technical side of filmmaking. The plotting was bad, the acting was worse, and it is a true example of kids playing filmmaker.
I tried again in 2012, but I still had no understand of how to make a film, and you can only do so much to improve a bad script. The script had 3 storylines for one character, but none of them meshed. The acting was horrendous, the camera work was shoddy, we had no lighting, and the audio was useless. Disgusted by what I had made, I abandoned the idea of filmmaking for some time.
As a challenge, I decided to completely rewrite the screenplay. Start from square one, and eliminate the issues that existed. And looking at it now, I've decided the 2014 version of "13 Steps" (Wasted Youth Part I: 13 Steps) WILL be my first real attempt at feature filmmaking.
It will be as dark as any Trier film, focusing on poor relationships between characters, and the dangers of a past trauma, yet it will ultimately be my story, and my way of telling it.
It will feature the traditional technical filmmaking, like that of Stanley Kubrick, but feature what has become my style.
This may be a long process, and it may be a difficult process, but I'm finally proud of this script, and I will not fail it again.
