Possible Solutions to Moviemaking Problems
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:35 am
Hello, all.
I’m new to this particular site, but I’m not new to the Chronicles. I’ve been a fan of them for almost three years (it doesn’t sound like much, but I only got them four years ago). Very recently I discovered the second Chronicles, and the Last Chronicles.
My father, before he passed out of my life, gave his old copies of Lord Foul’s Bane, Illearth War, and Power that Preserves to me. That was in the 10th grade. I’m now a sophomore in college.
They’re old copies with the original covers—at least I think they’re the originals. LFB has the Wightwarren bridge, TIW has Caerroil Wildwood, and TPTP has the Colossus. Anyhow, yes, I’ve read the first Chronicles three times since then, each time coming to a deeper love and understanding for the text.
I’ve also read a few of the other threads around here about the problems with making the first Chronicles into a trilogy. I’ve applied a lot of thought to that myself, because, while I’m only familiar with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings in passing (I read it in the 6th grade—7 years ago), I do enjoy the movies very much, especially the extended Director’s cut editions that have some of the stranger, Del Toro-esque creatures, like the Mouth of Sauron.
The biggest problem that comes to mind when considering a Covenant movie is this: they’re very dramatic. Covenant, Mhoram, and even Hile Troy to a lesser extent, are very emotional men. Covenant is frequently brought to spitting curses, while Mhoram is on the verge of tears. How would you portray those intense emotions in the movie? It’s not an easy question. The nature of text allowed SRD to explore those emotions in ways the silver screen simply can’t. What to do about it?
Let it be. Let up on the intensity of their emotions, and strive to make others less wooden. I don’t mean to insult the other characters in the trilogy, but those not standing in the limelight tend to only make a few emotional inputs. In the visual realm, the characters won’t be merely standing there, and interaction of emotion will be easy and strengthen the atmosphere to a similar effect as having, say, Mhoram narrate to himself his terror at Satansfist’s horde sitting plumb right outside the gates of Revelstone. Instead of just Mhoram, you externalize some of that dialogue and get some of the others into the ‘discussion’ as it were.
It’s not a perfect solution, but it would allow for some of the intensity to be maintained—albeit in a different form—while still remaining true enough to the Chronicles.
Another problem I’ve read about is conveying the various ‘gifts’ of the Land; that is, being able to see the vitality of the Land and the people and places within it, seeing the leprosy be stricken back, and other problems. I’ve given them some thought, and found a few possible solutions.
In the case of the vitality-vision, there is a simple answer: adjust the colors. When the movie begins in our ‘Real World’, play with more neutral, grim colors. Browns, grays, muted basic colors; stay away as best you can from raw primary colors. When Covenant arrives in the Land, and up until Lena applies Hurtloam and he swoons, leave it that way. When he comes around, heighten the vibrancy—just a bit. Until he’s with Atarian in Andelain, only bring it up in small incriments. By then, with a bright, vivid color scheme, the Land will seem energetic and strong compared to the weak coloration of our own world.
Now, this has some downsides. Firstly, dark, muddled colors often make it hard to see. It can also convey the wrong message; grim colors might lead some people to pass the movie off as unnecessarily negative (rather, the Chronicles is about the exploration of responsibility to self and others, about morality and the nature of the duties of those with power, and redemption—I’d say positive subjects with a cynical sheen), or as kitsch, because playing with the color palate has become so popular (300, Sin City, the Spirit—coincidentally, I believe those are all Frank Miller movies, but there are more). However, it serves to bolster the text-to-film link, I think, so it might be worth it. The other con that I see is that the producers might let that coloration get too vibrant, and make it look gaudy. For an example: the 1937 Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn. The story is timeless, and the production is flawless, but the coloration is just a bit too strong for my tastes.
The fact that many parts of the movie will have to be rendered via computer imaging is a boon to this idea. It allows for more precise manipulation of colors. For example, ur-viles and other servants of the Despiser can be darker in color, whereas Dukkah Waynhim, if we push into TIW can be made in a different color. Dying and corrupt things can be portrayed with a different tone, a darker and more pallid tone than those healthy and vital. Imagine the contrast of the dying tree Covenant sees in LFB on the way to Andelain and the rest of the verd around it.
This is also supported, I’d argue, by the text itself; Donaldson plays a lot with his usage of color. The trees in Morinmoss Forest come to mind immediately, as does the Sanguine (and later Emerald) Moon.
In response to the healing of Covenant’s leprosy by Hurtloam and the sheer vitality of the Land, I give this simple explanation: a good actor who understands the text. I was reading an interview with the creative team behind Disney’s recent ‘UP!’, and they said that the old man in the movie moves stiffly at the beginning of the book, but loosens up and moves deftly by the end, as a kind of semblance of his sojourn and redemption. I was intrigued by this—this is more or less what happens with Covenant during the first two books. Using the shots of the ‘Real World’ where Covenant goes about his life, trekking into town and drinking at the night club, we would see him stiff and unyielding to the fluidity of natural movement. Like the muddy color palate, this would be juxtaposed to a looser movement post-Hurtloam where he begins to grip things, moves easier and quicker, and uses his hands more. I noticed that he stomps around a lot in LFB, but by the end, the entire Quest sprints through the Wightwarrens, and only Covenant’s general unhealthiness slows him, not his leprosy.
To be perfectly honest, I’m on the fence about whether or not a movie should be made. If one is made, I think it needs a producer and director as devoted (insert obsessed if you so choose) as Peter Jackson was with the Tolkien books.
I respect Tolkien, and from time to time return to him (specifically the stories contained in the Books of Lost Tales), but Donaldson is my absolute favorite. The difference, I often tell people I recommend the Chronicles to, is that “Donaldson paints portraits and Tolkien draws diagrams”.
I understand that there are far more ways to screw these movies up than there are to make them correctly, but like all of you, I secretly want to hear Saltheart Foamfollower laugh, to see Trell Atarian-mate struggle, and to feel the intensity of Mhoram’s gold-flecked stare. Oh, and to experience Covenant’s grieving rage.
Black Asgard
I’m new to this particular site, but I’m not new to the Chronicles. I’ve been a fan of them for almost three years (it doesn’t sound like much, but I only got them four years ago). Very recently I discovered the second Chronicles, and the Last Chronicles.
My father, before he passed out of my life, gave his old copies of Lord Foul’s Bane, Illearth War, and Power that Preserves to me. That was in the 10th grade. I’m now a sophomore in college.
They’re old copies with the original covers—at least I think they’re the originals. LFB has the Wightwarren bridge, TIW has Caerroil Wildwood, and TPTP has the Colossus. Anyhow, yes, I’ve read the first Chronicles three times since then, each time coming to a deeper love and understanding for the text.
I’ve also read a few of the other threads around here about the problems with making the first Chronicles into a trilogy. I’ve applied a lot of thought to that myself, because, while I’m only familiar with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings in passing (I read it in the 6th grade—7 years ago), I do enjoy the movies very much, especially the extended Director’s cut editions that have some of the stranger, Del Toro-esque creatures, like the Mouth of Sauron.
The biggest problem that comes to mind when considering a Covenant movie is this: they’re very dramatic. Covenant, Mhoram, and even Hile Troy to a lesser extent, are very emotional men. Covenant is frequently brought to spitting curses, while Mhoram is on the verge of tears. How would you portray those intense emotions in the movie? It’s not an easy question. The nature of text allowed SRD to explore those emotions in ways the silver screen simply can’t. What to do about it?
Let it be. Let up on the intensity of their emotions, and strive to make others less wooden. I don’t mean to insult the other characters in the trilogy, but those not standing in the limelight tend to only make a few emotional inputs. In the visual realm, the characters won’t be merely standing there, and interaction of emotion will be easy and strengthen the atmosphere to a similar effect as having, say, Mhoram narrate to himself his terror at Satansfist’s horde sitting plumb right outside the gates of Revelstone. Instead of just Mhoram, you externalize some of that dialogue and get some of the others into the ‘discussion’ as it were.
It’s not a perfect solution, but it would allow for some of the intensity to be maintained—albeit in a different form—while still remaining true enough to the Chronicles.
Another problem I’ve read about is conveying the various ‘gifts’ of the Land; that is, being able to see the vitality of the Land and the people and places within it, seeing the leprosy be stricken back, and other problems. I’ve given them some thought, and found a few possible solutions.
In the case of the vitality-vision, there is a simple answer: adjust the colors. When the movie begins in our ‘Real World’, play with more neutral, grim colors. Browns, grays, muted basic colors; stay away as best you can from raw primary colors. When Covenant arrives in the Land, and up until Lena applies Hurtloam and he swoons, leave it that way. When he comes around, heighten the vibrancy—just a bit. Until he’s with Atarian in Andelain, only bring it up in small incriments. By then, with a bright, vivid color scheme, the Land will seem energetic and strong compared to the weak coloration of our own world.
Now, this has some downsides. Firstly, dark, muddled colors often make it hard to see. It can also convey the wrong message; grim colors might lead some people to pass the movie off as unnecessarily negative (rather, the Chronicles is about the exploration of responsibility to self and others, about morality and the nature of the duties of those with power, and redemption—I’d say positive subjects with a cynical sheen), or as kitsch, because playing with the color palate has become so popular (300, Sin City, the Spirit—coincidentally, I believe those are all Frank Miller movies, but there are more). However, it serves to bolster the text-to-film link, I think, so it might be worth it. The other con that I see is that the producers might let that coloration get too vibrant, and make it look gaudy. For an example: the 1937 Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn. The story is timeless, and the production is flawless, but the coloration is just a bit too strong for my tastes.
The fact that many parts of the movie will have to be rendered via computer imaging is a boon to this idea. It allows for more precise manipulation of colors. For example, ur-viles and other servants of the Despiser can be darker in color, whereas Dukkah Waynhim, if we push into TIW can be made in a different color. Dying and corrupt things can be portrayed with a different tone, a darker and more pallid tone than those healthy and vital. Imagine the contrast of the dying tree Covenant sees in LFB on the way to Andelain and the rest of the verd around it.
This is also supported, I’d argue, by the text itself; Donaldson plays a lot with his usage of color. The trees in Morinmoss Forest come to mind immediately, as does the Sanguine (and later Emerald) Moon.
In response to the healing of Covenant’s leprosy by Hurtloam and the sheer vitality of the Land, I give this simple explanation: a good actor who understands the text. I was reading an interview with the creative team behind Disney’s recent ‘UP!’, and they said that the old man in the movie moves stiffly at the beginning of the book, but loosens up and moves deftly by the end, as a kind of semblance of his sojourn and redemption. I was intrigued by this—this is more or less what happens with Covenant during the first two books. Using the shots of the ‘Real World’ where Covenant goes about his life, trekking into town and drinking at the night club, we would see him stiff and unyielding to the fluidity of natural movement. Like the muddy color palate, this would be juxtaposed to a looser movement post-Hurtloam where he begins to grip things, moves easier and quicker, and uses his hands more. I noticed that he stomps around a lot in LFB, but by the end, the entire Quest sprints through the Wightwarrens, and only Covenant’s general unhealthiness slows him, not his leprosy.
To be perfectly honest, I’m on the fence about whether or not a movie should be made. If one is made, I think it needs a producer and director as devoted (insert obsessed if you so choose) as Peter Jackson was with the Tolkien books.
I respect Tolkien, and from time to time return to him (specifically the stories contained in the Books of Lost Tales), but Donaldson is my absolute favorite. The difference, I often tell people I recommend the Chronicles to, is that “Donaldson paints portraits and Tolkien draws diagrams”.
I understand that there are far more ways to screw these movies up than there are to make them correctly, but like all of you, I secretly want to hear Saltheart Foamfollower laugh, to see Trell Atarian-mate struggle, and to feel the intensity of Mhoram’s gold-flecked stare. Oh, and to experience Covenant’s grieving rage.
Black Asgard
) as there was with LOTR.