I'll be producing a feature-length movie about a single, middle-aged super hero with psychic powers [s]developed over decades through the hero's study of 'advanced quantum physics'[/s]. My priorities: story, acting, and budget.

At this point, all I have is the logline, so we have a very long way to go, but the funding is in place. I'll use this thread to keep you guys informed, [s]get some of my wild ideas critiqued, and attract potential collaborators. [/s]

So stay tuned!

I've finally decided on a name for the super hero. First name and surname. Her names are unique, easy to pronounce and spell, and the surname suggests 'strength', which is fitting.

I've also named the male sidekick and main antagonists - father, son, and daughter. The first names are from the bible while their surnames are based on colonial names. Simple, short, and universal.

I don't want to give them Nigerian names because I'll be self-distributing the movie internationally even if I can't get international distribution. I hope my actors' accents won't be a problem. Update: ( www.createspace.com )

Oh, and the name of the movie is based on a combination of the super hero's name (e.g. "Spiderman 1, 2, 3", and the current antagonist or his project (e.g. James Bond's "Goldfinger", "Moonraker). Something like this: 'Super Hero 1: The Antagonist'. A hero heroine is only as strong as the opponent or challenge she overcomes!

What makes me super heroine different from most is that she's not a fighter. She cannot fly, jump, or defeat giants with karate. She cannot dodge bullets and she's not bulletproof. She has just one offensive ability but its effects are 100% psychological. She can neither kill with her powers or do any lasting physical damage to anyone. Purely mental.

My former story consultant couldn't accept this. He felt her powers were lame and not cinematic. But that's not how I see the movie in my mind, and the 3 other people who have heard various versions of the story don't seem to have a problem with the hero's powers either, although one of them would like to see some stunts. There will be, but:

Why can't my hero fly or dodge bullets? (1) Budget. Psychic powers can be satisfactorily portrayed on a tight budget (2) I think we have too many 'action heroes' who think violence is the solution to every problem.

There are basically two ways to write a movie:
1) Write the script with your heart, until it's complete, then rewrite with your head (Stephen King).
2) Start with a log line, rewrite it, get an outline, rewrite it, write a script, then rewrite it (Hollywood).

Method (2) works pretty well, and I'm sort-of using it. Like most director-types, my power of visual imagination far exceeds my writing ability - but it's not as if I can't write! I've decided not to start writing the script until I can see the entire movie in my head. It's more of a dreaming process than a writing process.

As a fan of the super-hero genre, I can judge my story ideas mostly by myself; I don't need as much feedback as usual. If I can be patient with myself and allow the story to develop in my head, I won't even need a writer. (The parts of the movie I can see in my head are awesome. You must be dying to see it! Just kidding)

All good writers will tell you that writing is rewriting. Most successful writers rewrite their stories 3 to 7 times before attempting to sell or publish them. But rewriting is such a chore. Personally, I cannot rewrite an entire screenplay more than once. I think the solution is to start rewriting as early as possible!

Stage 1) I spent at a week trying to decide what my story would be about. I wrote several versions of the story and asked for ideas and feedback. Eventually, I got a satisfactory story idea (logline). Now imagine how much harder it would have been if I had to change what the story was about after writing the entire script of 90-120 pages? To change it at this early stage, I only needed to change a page of character notes and one paragraph representing what the entire story is about.

Stage 2) Right now I'm working on the treatment - the entire story in a few pages of prose. So far, it's the easiest 12 paragraphs I've ever written. At this stage, every scene in your complete script is represented by a mere paragraph of prose. I cannot easily change what the story is about at this stage, but I can add and remove scenes with ease. Instead of rewriting a two page scene, I would only have to rewrite a paragraph. I will not - must not - start writing the actual script until the entire story in prose form seems perfect.

Stage 3) After this, I'll start writing the screenplay using Celtx software. For each scene, I'll first write out just the heading (INT. HOUSE - DAY) and a one paragraph summary of what takes place in the scene, based on the treatment Let's call that "skeleton". I'll then start filling in the screenplay by replacing the summaries with the detailed dialog and actions I had initially imagined. This step would be a piece of cake (if my screen-writing books are to be believed).

After writing the script, I won't need to make any structural changes. I'll just be fixing typos, making the dialog snappy, correcting grammatical errors, etc. then we would start preproduction. Yahoo!

I've finished the first draft of the treatment. 20 paragraphs, 1000 words. It's better than I expected but not yet tight enough to use. I can't show it to anyone yet, but I can see its awesome potential!

I'm going to have to rewrite the treatment at least 2 times. During the first rewrite, I'm going to be adding any scenes that may be missing and correcting any plot holes I can find. During the second rewrite, I'll be looking at the overall structure of the story and comparing it to the standard Hollywood formula to see if there are things I can add to round up the story. After this, I'll be sharing my script with story critics I still respect. During the third pass, I'll be changing what I can in response to their feedback and suggestions.

This is the most fun project I've worked on since the first script I wrote 2 years ago. I love superheroes!

Take note, guys:

"International self-distribution" is not the same thing as "international distribution". The advertising plan for self-distribution involves using Google Adwords and websites I own, posting the trailer on youtube, showing the movie privately to bloggers and journalists and movie critics, etc. Those who want to watch the movie will be able to get it on Amazon.com. My quality control process is so tight that I cannot promote an inferior movie.

Thanks for your time!

My little super heroine has a problem. The idea of having 5 specific powers makes more sense if her abilities are magical. In a science fiction context, it's difficult to imagine why she would have 5 specific mind control powers instead of a general ability to influence people's minds freestyle. To fix this, I could:

A. Change her origin story so her psychic powers are spiritual/mysterious:
(Each ability would be a specific magical spell that she invokes verbally.)

B. Re-imagine her powers as the general ability to influence weak-minded people
(instead of 5 specific powers, her abilities will be limited to her imagination)

Approach A is much easier, but I think I'm going to attempt approach B first. Approach B might force me to change my story drastically, but at this stage I can afford to change my story - It's just 20 paragraphs long!

wow, seun u re da bomb. u gat enough skills to turn the industry around. are u even interested in nollywood?

Thanks, yicob and eddyiren. I appreciate your words of encouragement very much.

I'm about to complete the second draft of my story outline. The story has more twists and turns now, to the point where someone suggested that I might have to cut some parts. But it's still not flowing as smoothly as I know it can. I expect to have to rewrite it two or more times until I'm satisfied. I'm very happy with how easy it is to develop a story while it's still in outline form, but there's so much I still need to do before I can start with the script.

On the next draft, the psychic hero character will get development. Her sidekick is well fleshed out - the story is told from his point of view - but she remains a mystery. Why is she the way she is?

Also, I have to work on the emotional journey of each character. How do the events of the story transform them? What do they learn to make them better people? The arcs have to be well planned.

I also need to think about how important I want the fight scenes in this movie to be. Should it play like an action film or like a suspense thriller? We'll see.

I think the villian's current name sounds silly. I'll have to think of something more appropriate, and a more believable motivation for his evil ambition.

And that's all going to happen before I start writing the script! This process would be tiring if it wasn't so much fun!

are u even interested in nollywood?

I want to make movies for Nigerians who don't like current Nollywood movies.
(Nigerian Hollywood fans who want more carefully made and intelligent movies.)

I've been busy trying to get some feedback about the quality of my story. It's the most difficult aspect of my quest. One spends a lot of time waiting for people instead of marching forward. But at the same time, I'm not making the movie for myself only. What I have to do is find more efficient ways to obtain feedback about my work. We'll see. Cheers!

Behold the Super Hero!

Seun I am very thrilled at the whole concept, especially because of the character of your super hero. It is nice to know that she is a she, and she cant do all the other popular things heroes are known for. I believe Nigerians need to understand that the power of the mind, I think it is a good start. It will be nice if she conquers people and villains who can actually fly and lifts buildings. I am looking forward to its release.

Removed my post-not absolutely relevant!

@ledima: That's some very valuable feedback on what people expect. Thanks a million!
@beneli: Thanks. Can you tell me some of the psychology laws I may need to pay attention to?
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I don't think I achieved very much by asking writers on a popular Internet forums to comment on my logline. I was unable to satisfy them even after several rewriting attempts, because:
- Everything you can think of has already been done in Hollywood.
- Cultural differences: What interests a Nigerian may not impress an American.
- A logline is not enough to judge a story, unless the concept hasn't been done before.
- They are bad people and they don' want me to succeed!

So I'm going to continue writing the story for my own personal enjoyment. I hope to come up with a story that excites me from page 1 to page 90. If it excites me, maybe it will excite you. If not, at least I'll get to watch it over and over again on my PC.
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@all: I'm eager to read your comments. Your support is part of what gives this project momentum!

Since i don't know the kind of powers your heroine has, i can only offer some basics that may help.

Cognitive ( and indeed Behavioural) Psychology is founded on the premise that:

1. There is a direct multi-directional link between Thinking; Emotion and Behaviour. In other words what i am thinking influences my emotions and this in turn influences my behavioural responses.

2. Behaviour modification therapies targets either the cognitive processes i.e: the automatic thoughts the individula has about themselves, about their environment and about their future. Once that is achieved it is easy to modify a person's emotions and consequently their behaviour.

3. Or they can also target Behaviour i.e work from outside in. Here, they make a person to respond with a type of behaviour over a period of time in the hope that they will be able to induce a certain emotional response and consequently influence the cognitive processes.

4. In some Psychotic states there is blurring of the boundaries between the self and the environment. In such situations, the person attributes their thoughts, emotions and consequently their behviour to external forces.

5. Experiences that one may consider unnatural are still believed to be functions of our cognitive processes. Things like visions, awareness of ghosts, hearing voices, 'near death experiences and even some religious experiences are seen to be functions of particular parts of the brain (the fronto-temporal regions-and sometimes the parietal regions-to be exact).

So somebody who can influences the cognitive processes of others would be a real 'superhero(oine)'.

I hope tha's useful.

PS: I deleted my post because, i wrote it after i had taken a few glasses of wine and i felt that it may have come across a bit patronising! But thanks for appreciating it.

Thanks, beneli. The principles you listed could help me make my heroines powers more believable.

I also like what you said here:

So somebody who can influences the cognitive processes of others would be a real 'superhero(oine)'.

Exactly! My first story consultant didn't seem to realize how badass and effective such powers could be.
So powerful, in fact, that I have to invent significant limitations to her powers to give the bad guys a chance.

As a result of my screen-writing forum experience, I've realized something my various loglines and synopses so far have lacked. Magic! An ironic hook. Something that makes the movie a must-see.

Actually, my movie has a hook of sorts. It's a Nigerian super hero story. How many times have you watched a Nigerian super hero story? Wouldn't you just want to see what a Nigerian super hero looks like? Heck, even an Indian super hero movie would interest me. It doesn't have to be great, it just has to be a basically entertaining super-hero movie in an authentic Nigerian setting.

But I can do better than that.

I can create a story with such a strong hook that it would attract to people who may neither be Nigerians nor eager fans of the super hero genre. That's what I'm working on at the moment. I'm going back to square one. Re-imagining everything. This isn't too hard because I'm throwing away just two synopses and a dozen or so loglines. No knowledge is lost, they say, so it's no loss really.

According to one of my screenwriting books, a super-hero story is not really about saving the world, but about the super-hero's struggle to cope with the average people all around him. The gifted soul who is misunderstood by everybody (I can identify with that). And when I think about all the super hero stories I've loved, apart from saving the world, the super heroes had to struggle with problems caused by the people's reaction to their unique abilities. Xmen vs mutant registration, the cure. Spiderman versus the hostile press. The Incredibles versus malpractice lawsuits.

I'm convinced.

My super hero won't just be struggling to make the world a better place. She will also be struggling to cope. This is not to suggest that saving the world isn't important. It is what makes them heroes, not whiners.

He or she. Or they. So stay tuned. And wish me luck!

I have a new story. It's about a convict seeking to be recognized as a super-hero. Corrupted by bad company but strongly influenced and inspired to change by his mother's love. The opening scene takes place in the gloomiest ward of a Nigerian prison. It's a redemption tale.

I'm not going to post the logline publicly this time, but I'm going to share it with African movie lovers to see what questions they ask and how they respond to the tale. The two people I've shared it with seem to think it's pretty cute.

I'll develop the new outline later this week. One paragraph for each important scene. It will be great.

As before, I won't write anything I can't clearly see in my mind. I'm not a writer; I'm a filmmaker. I don't concoct words; I create moving images. What I write is just to remind me of what I've seen, so I can recreate it in my movie for all to enjoy. Yeah!

I've made some further improvements to my super-hero movie concept. I've introduced elements of religious fantasy. Will keep you updated.

I took some time off to shoot and edit an event video. I can't believe how time-consuming the editing process it; You literally have to watch every second of the footage several times to know what to cut and what to include in the final footage. I have gained a new level of respect for those who do this for a living; their job is probably harder than movie editing because there's no script to guide them, less time to edit, and less money involved.

It's been almost a week and I'm still trying to make sense of the 4.5 hours of footage I got. After two bad attempts, I have finally compressed the main ceremony into a 36 minute video. I'm going to create a second video showing arrivals, departures and stolen shots that didn't make it into the main video. When that's over, I'll have more time for film-making. Meanwhile, I've learned new things about my camcorder, DVD production, editing, etc.

Good luck Seun and remember to enjoy yourself, would love to see the outcome 

Thanks ibkaye. I thoroughly appreciate every little bit of encouragement I get. Please, more .

So, I got a story that some people abroad said was interesting, but it involved elements of the divine, which is always hard to work into a story if you're not making a religious movie, so I came up with another story that I thought was much more interesting in my opinion. This one is more traditional rather than religious. I've been told that it is interesting and my current collaborator agrees that removing the religious elements was the right thing to do. I'm thinking of setting it in a remote village rather than a regular town or city for various reasons.

Writing a good movie involves sitting down and 'playing' the movie in your head until it is perfect.

The movies you make, will you be uploading some of them online?

ibkaye: The movies you make, will you be uploading some of them online?

I will post trailers and short snippets on all video sharing sites, and you will be able to buy the DVD online.

don't listen to all this propaganda that tells you that a writer "dreams". . . no, a writer WRITES.

Thanks combrazor. I don't think your views are different from mine at all: just complementary and cautionary. I do write, but not as much as a 'real' writer, and always for personal use.

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So I completed the first draft of the outline for my latest story this afternoon. I can't believe it; so simple!

Instead of a paragraph outline, it's more of a line by line outline. Just 51 lines. Looks like this:
- Xxxx X xxxx Bleep xx, Xxxxxx Bleep xx xxxx x. (51 times)

Here are some random facts about the movie as it exists in my mind today:
- It is set in a remote African village far far away a pretty long time ago.
- Lots of violence, even deaths, but it's all bloodless - just like Star Wars.
- There is an evil king, there is an outcast, lots of mystical healing.
- Where relevant, musical lyrics will be used in place of voice-over narration.

The next step is to find out whether the outline is any good, and fix the inevitable mistakes.
Then I can break it down into specific scenes that I'm going to flesh out in the script. Yipee!

Seun:

I will post trailers and short snippets on all video sharing sites, and you will be able to buy the DVD online.

Hmm, ok then, so on average, how much do you think these online DVD's will be selling for? Sorry, I am asking many questions

just curious: how does one depict "bloodless violence"?

They'll be using a weapon so poisonous that it causes severe damage without actually cutting the body.

the other thing i would ask: musical lyrics taking the place of narration. are you a composer/lyricist?

I've written songs for church before; it's basically poetry + a melody. I'll just pay an acapella group to perform them.

on average, how much do you think these online DVD's will be selling for? Sorry, I am asking many questions

I intend to meet the prices that Nigerian movies currently sell for, both abroad and within the country.
It's really tricky to go the DVD route when the standard is VCD. Perhaps not even advisable. We'll see.

Seun:

I intend to meet the prices that Nigerian movies currently sell for, both abroad and within the country.
It's really tricky to go the DVD route when the standard is VCD. Perhaps not even advisable. We'll see.

Very very true.

But anyway, like i said, goodluck with your work, bare in mind that ibkaye is eager to see the outcome because she loves nigerian movies

Hi guys, I believe that a nigerianized version of foreign movies need not be casted after foreign ones but we need only look inwards into our own history and pick out our own folklores that have been for decades similar to them troy, clash of the titans, e.t.c. A huge boomer would surely be the 'Ogboju ode ninu Igbo Irunmole' (forest of a thousand demons). Think of it like this: The main character, scenes, creatures and monsters like the sirens, ghouls, bush babies, strange lands and peolpe. Before you know it we would be having a movie that would beat the rumblings of Sango and others and have the whole world 'peeping' into the system for more stories for 'there must be more where that came from'. What 'dya'll think?

@ibkaye: thanks!

Hi guys, I believe that a Nigerianized version of foreign movies need not be casted after foreign ones but we need only look inwards into our own history and pick out our own folklores that have been for decades similar to them troy, clash of the titans, e.t.c. A huge boomer would surely be the 'Ogboju ode ninu Igbo Irunmole' (forest of a thousand demons). Think of it like this: The main character, scenes, creatures and monsters like the sirens, ghouls, bush babies, strange lands and peolpe. Before you know it we would be having a movie that would beat the rumblings of Sango and others and have the whole world 'peeping' into the system for more stories for 'there must be more where that came from'. What 'dya'll think?

@teemy: it's not a bad idea at all. If you can do it, go for it. Before one can write a Yoruba tale, one will have to read lots of Yoruba history textbooks. One challenge is that some of these stories are copyrighted, so you have to buy the rights. Another is that by picking one culture you're excluding others.

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I've been told the story I outlined is pretty good. I'm glad because I know it can only get better from here.

Hi Seun, it has already been translated into english by prof Wole Soyinka. 'the forest of a thousand daemons'. http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-213515/The-Forest-of-a-Thousand-Daemons