Film Courage: Was there a certain structure you used or guidelines that you followed [for Andrew's first feature film COME INTO YOUR OWN] Andrew Guerrero, Writer/Director/Actor: Yes, the
basics the basic story arc structure you know first a first introduction of the
world by page 1011 there's an inciting incident that kind of offers the
character a new look at life in my film it's a MacGuffin it's a physical object
it's a cell phone by page 25 ish you know he's made the choice to enter into
this new journey this new world and by the mid point of the film a big
something happens and you know he gets to a point where he is at the point of
no return or he's gonna make this decision to go into this new way of life
or not and you know it when you when a character does that it's they're either
a hero or they're like the hero's journey or the tragic hero's journey and
at that point of no return and then by you know the last 15 minutes about 15
pages of the film you're entering back into the new of the old world forever
changed I mean it's classic formula it's classic storytelling arc you know three
three act structure with a midpoint and the the beat breakups in between each
act yeah it's classic and it works so do it
so you really you down to the pay 1% to the page it makes everything easyy its
color by number at that point it's got 90 pages 90 minutes first 10 pages
establish the world you know establish your character who your character is by
action what is he doing that tells the audience who they or he or she what are
they doing that tells the audience who they are
that'll then let the audience know who they have to become right and then and
then okay for the next 10 pages I have to kind of rustle some things up so that
this character learn something alright now we're into Act two
okay well act 2 I'm gonna throw some curveballs at him all right and when we
get to the midpoint alright let's let's have something big happened you're right
and then you go from there and it's you're just plugging ideas into these
spaces and it makes writing so much easier for me now there's a lot of
debate yeah well a lot of debate so sounds like
it worked for you or Besame and it'll for
ever work for me that way good to know what did you love about the story that
kept you writing or were there days where you're like you know what I'm
bored with this I need to change this around it was it was just the
progression of the story it was honestly the progression of finishing something
finishing a feature that was super motivating as far as the story I hadn't
I knew where the character was going to end up so I just knew I had to get there
and it was just I had my treatment I had it broken a beat by beat in 12 pages
right so basically page one of the treatment was the first ten pages of the
film page two of the treatment was the next ten pages of the film and just
checking those off crossing them out with a red marker every that was just
awesome I was like okay I got I got 18 more beats to go I got 17 more 16 more
and then so it was more logical the story was already set in my mind it
wasn't like I was writing to explore something it was just finishing it that
was exciting for me once you were finished did you start sending it out to
producers how did all that work I knew I was just going to make it so I sent it
out to producers who were I always say students of film rather than film
students I think there's a difference I think we're all students of film but I I
set out I sent it to a couple very independent producers who really know
and I think they're trying to get their start to I said are you interested in
making a feature film because if you are I have one it's gonna take a lot of work
but I have one that you can get under your belt because I knew where I was at
this is a first feature for me I knew I wasn't gonna you know get a major major
player in the game yet and I wanted to find someone who was at my level so that
they could have something on their belt too and a lot of them said I'm totally
interested and then I never heard back oh yeah until I decided fine I'm gonna
produce it and I started doing all the things that a
producer would do you know I started finding locations and finding other team
members to build it and started hunting for a whole team and found a team who
that connected us to the producer of the film and she is my rock she will be my
producer forever she's amazing and it's Kristin to Rena it's nice just great at
what she does yeah and how important was that that you to
clicked because it sounds like you guys are you have almost a friendship and it
yeah it sounds like it's very very important superport I think again one
side of my logical brain says it's just business so it doesn't mean you don't
have to click with a person but just get the business done but it's so much more
fun and works way better when you do click when you're friends and you're
going to work with people you love and and you're saying yeah let's let's throw
ideas back and forth most importantly you have to be that friend to you know
being the director order you have to be that person that you expected them to be
you have to treat them the way they want you want them to treat you you know you
have to be open for their ideas and and say yes and say no and and debate and
figure things out but yeah absolutely super important to be friends with them
I I think it's more fun that way you know it's way more fun also - there's
gonna be things that'll go wrong production and it'll be you'll be there
like you know having people need to pull Evan out you know and yeah just stressed
out and then totally to have it be smooth I would call her and say I need
him I need to emotional event you know becoming can I have her number
yeah absolutely love it okay but it got to that point where I was like I'm just
gonna give you all my baggage and the the production baggage and the emotional
baggage and everything and she graciously took it and just manned it
and hand it handled business and she did such a great job because I got hooked
where I was struggling I had two producers on the film actually and the
other was in Maggie again go into her and saying I need you to get this done
now she would just do it they were very very good at that and because I
respected them and loved them as people it made it so much easier yeah
but if you don't if you don't have someone you totally agree with just
remember that it is a business and you can work with people you don't like to
achieve a goal as long as you all can keep your egos in check you may not like
each other fine but remember you're going to work to tell a story to make a
movie and that's more important than anything else well a scenario that was
brought up in a comment over the weekend was great and forgive me I don't have
their YouTube name here but I can put a screenshot in the video and they just
brought up the fact that be aware that sometimes if the director has not enough
of their own sort of camp not enough their own friends or allies on sin that
the production could be kind of almost like steered away from them and I
thought that was a really interesting point I've never experienced that I've
never directed a film like that but I was just wondering what your thoughts
are yeah I've yet to be on a big big major production where there's lots and
lots of hands involved so I I don't know if I can speak to that yet because I
just know from the experience I've had I'm sure that does happen for sure I I
hope it happens less I hope people are more collaborative than they when
they're not I hope people are like yeah let's all work together to make this
happen that's the dream obviously but I'm sure that does happen and I wouldn't
I don't know I've been in that experience yes I don't know how to speak
to it you know how to give advice appropriately how to handle a situation
like that yeah I guess he was just saying that you know just make sure that
you have some of your own people it's almost like a CEO being ousted from
their company because too many board members or shareholders whatever say you
know what let's get rid of them and they have their own idea and so and that has
happened where people have these agendas and so take it boil it down to an indie
film set and you're trying to make your day you're you're you want to get people
to lunch or dinner whatever and it their stress and then you have these other
agendas around and I was really intrigued by that well
I guess I'll say this beasts like I read this quote the other day I forget who
said it but be so good they can't get rid of you
I felt that it yeah it'd be so good they can't you know and and be so be so fun
and happy that they don't want to that is true that is true you know I but I
don't know I thought that's a scary situation I would I don't like thinking
about it's just seems so not fun yeah but I think well life isn't always like
it doesn't happen I I just hope that it doesn't you know sure sure and then I
agree with what you're saying I think that's great when you're with people
that you've met that you mesh with yeah and that you know okay they trust you
you trust them and yes maybe I'll say this as a young filmmaker establish your
tribe early oh ok establish a tribe early like these be like the people I
worked with on this film they will always be the first to have the option
to shoot this or not you know if they're busy on another project we'll find
something else but they'll always get it first because they're amazing people and
I know the system and I truly think that financed ears don't want to lose money
right and so if they can hire a team that does mesh all the better you know
because they want to avoid those pitfalls they want to avoid losing money
on a project because the crew wasn't getting along so if established your
tribe early say I have a producer I have a writer I have actors I have I have
this I have these people if you want to look at others fine you know we can talk
but just know that you'll get a great quality project from this team so work
now to establish a tribe so that you don't get ousted later and if and if
you're a director for hire and whatever and they bring you aboard
you know earn your stripes or in your place and say you know this be be so be
such a great person they don't want to get rid of you surely know because
that's that scary yeah it was it was not so much getting rid of it was on taking
a group sort of by consensus taking the production over and steering it in a
certain way because there were too many people on the same
that had the same agenda I think that's what these comment was and I was like
wow that is really interesting I mean you hear about famous CEOs that same
thing happened right - and yeah and honestly the only thing I can I can put
myself in that position in my imagination and at that point I would I
would look at my myself if the the masses are saying we're gonna we're
gonna take control then there might be something that I'm doing I would look at
my side look at myself and say maybe a maybe I need to look at this differently
yeah
you