On Collaboration: Less is not Always More
by Sherl Faber
From the time I was in the fourth grade on, I envisioned
myself the solitary writer. The idea of spending my days
alone in a garret surrounded by stacks and shelves of books as
my only friends was not all that unappealing. As Paul Simon
sang so eloquently in his famous hit I Am a Rock, I would
“have my books and my poetry to protect me.”
No personalities to deal with, no one to argue over content,
no other stamp of approval on the final product – perfect. “I
have no need for friendship, friendship causes pain” was my
motto for my writing life. And I liked it that way.
After joining the San Antonio Screenwriter’s Meet Up group a
year and a half ago, I was approached by Yolanda Ayala, owner
and producer of Picturesque Media here in San Antonio, Texas,
about working with two other screenwriters on a Latino family
saga, The Alvarez Story, that spanned the family’s early
years, the Vietnam War and beyond.
What did I know about Vietnam? And being of one hundred
percent Dutch heritage, what did I know about Latino families?
I had never even written a screenplay. But, truth be known,
my biggest concern was how was I going to be able to write
with two other people that I barely knew and wasn’t even sure
I liked very well?
It took us a full year of meeting every Monday night to write
that script, communicating back and forth during the week, and
revision after revision. During the course of this project, I
went from “what the hell was he thinking?” and “what planet
did this guy come from?” to “I wish I had thought of that” and
“where did he get that great idea?” It was an eye-opening
experience and I really enjoyed the camaraderie and friendly
arguments we constantly found ourselves involved in. The
three of us are still great friends and rely on each other for
support and advice to this day. Thank you so much, Patrick
Johnson and Joe Zen. And thank you, Yolanda, for making it
all possible.
After the Alvarez project, I retreated back into my solitary
life and actually managed to crank out two more feature length
screenplays of my own, one, The Other Mother, was immediately
snatched up again by Yolanda from Picturesque Media – it is
now in pre-production.
A chance meeting at a night club began a new partnership.
Richard Fernandez and I had exchanged phone numbers and a few
days later met at a bookstore. There we realized that we had
several things in common, including a passion for the arts, a
lot of dormant creativity and a desire to further ourselves.
He as an actor and myself as a screenwriter realized that a
partnership in the film industry could bring us both to where
we wanted to be. We began writing a short horror script,
meeting at local coffee shops, bookstores and restaurants a
few nights a week.
My usual doubts began to surface. I didn’t really want to
work with horror. I didn’t really want to work with another
person on a project. And Richard definitely knew how to push
my buttons and send my blood pressure through the ceiling.
Where was my peace, my quiet, my attic retreat? What was this
loud, domineering, pushy, but very handsome actor doing in my
calm, tranquil domain? After several episodes of just wanting
to choke him, I realized that maybe part (just part) of the
problem was probably me – oversensitive, set in my ways,
inflexible, and used to always, always being the boss.
After many false starts and stops, the project began to flow –
we finished the script and showed it to a few people. Cut out
the first five pages, said the first critic. We looked at
each other incredulously. No way. We felt like we wanted to
learn from our project and make any changes later after we saw
what worked and what didn’t. Another friend tried to re-write
parts of it but his final product just wasn’t us. In the end,
we didn’t change a thing. We went with our gut feelings and
decided that any changes would probably happen in the filming
and editing phases. We wanted to experience every phase of
making a film and if we made a mistake, we would know how to
handle the same situation the next time it happened.
Between his connections and my connections, things just
started to fall in place from seeking locations to casting
actors and finding props, another bonus of working with
another person. The actors were all truly professional,
showing up on time, working long hours with no real
expectation of compensation, and assisting in other capacities
such as local actress Liz Moise who, as a former photographer,
was a great help for us in lighting.
The filming is now complete and we are faced with the daunting
task of editing. We’ve come this far and we know that
together with our newly formed team, we can handle this too.
Watch for us – Help Wanted – coming soon.
Some basic rules to follow in collaborating with another
person are:
1) Don’t knock it until you try it. You will be pleasantly
surprised at how you’re your creative juices start flowing
when you start working with another creative person.
2) Remain flexible. Your way may not always be the best
way and you may have to suck it up and admit that the other
person’s idea is better than yours once in a while. Just
remember, it goes both ways – further down the road, it will
be your turn to be right.
3) Keep an open mind.
4) One or two people are ideal to work with – any more than
that is too much and will just drag your script down and take
more time.
And remember, one person can write a good script; two can make
it great. Sorry, Mr. Simon, no man is an island.
Copyright (c) 2010 Peter D. Marshall / All Rights Reserved
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