I was reading the Stone Key, and then pondered on how the movie would be filmed.
I really don't think it would practical to make the movie third person, as then it would be difficult to implement and account for Elspeth's thoughts/farseeking and such.
Therefore, I believe that perhaps they would film the movie in first person, seeing everything through Elspeth's eyes. However, not only would it be difficult to do - but I fear that this method would not be welcomed by people who have not read the books.
What do you think?
I thought about that too
i wonder how they would film her farseeking, they could film it as if she was inside her mind, if that makes sence and the person she is talking to would be there too. dunno though. I would be better as the first person
I think there's no avoiding filming in 3rd person - just to explain things.
In a script Luluchu and I wrote many, many years ago for the first book, we added some extra scenes; including one that occurs directly after Elspeth's first taken through the doors of Obernewtyn, where Rushton, Domick and Roland race into the courtyard, and are annoyed that Enoch's already gone. It was a way to introduce characters, it's a scene that would have most likely occurred anyway (regardless of whether Elspeth witnessed it) and it helps tie in that Rushton is more than he initially seems. Otherwise (well, we felt) it was left a bit too late.
In third person, also, you could not only manage Elspeth's mental abilities but the rest of the Obernewtyner's abilities. Think Xmen; we saw a range of talents used by different people, and it wasn't confusing at all what they were doing because of the way it was filmed :)
I agree, there are ways to film, and of course, all you need to explain it all is what IC does sometimes and have a character rant a little about their abilities...You'd just have to change somelines of thought from the books to speach in the movie. I always pictured Farseeking in a movie as (for example) Elspeth closes her eyes, and then the camera sweeps across the land, fast as it can so everythings sort of blurry, and maybe with little bits of peoples thoughts here and there till it came to the mind she was trying to reach, par example, Matthew, from a bird's eye view and then voice overs for their voices...it could work I recon.
I've thought about this heaps actually since reading the stone key because she uses her abilities so much. I think farseeking would be fairly easy to put across, you'd just have to be careful not to make it corny. In the movie version of Eragon the whole communication between his dragon and him came across that way. I think finding a way of showing coercion would be really hard, and finding a way of explaining each of the abilities in a fast moving way that wouldn't interrupt the narrative. It couldn't be like 'by the way beastspeaking is where..."
It would definitely be a difficult movie to translate to screen without it coming across really weird and lame. I bet Hayao Miyazaki could manage it though!! Wouldn't that be amazing to have him create one of his beautiful animations for our beloved series?
*gets sidetracked*
but yes! difficult to film indeed. |;)
Have thought of ways to do the talents; colours. Would have to see what it actually looked like...but was the only way I could think of to differentiate between similar talents. You wouldn't need to 'show' them every time, just once; then the actors reactions to the talents would be all you needed in the future.
Coercing, I've pictured as 'screen tints (blue/grey?) and camera does a 360° sweep around people involved. The screen goes to full ‘shadow’.' <- hard to describe. The person being coerced is passive + in slow-motion, while the coercer is regular pace. And either the person being coerced - or perhaps everything but the two people - is tinted grey/blue. Wow, that sounds confusing. I'll try do a photoshop rendition of what I mean some time :-/
Farseeking sounds a lot like you described Brownie. Or, something like the mental searching scene in Xmen?
Empathy would need to just involve some sort of glow.
Healing would be a more golden glow...
Teknoguilding - visibly - is just telekinesis so we'd just see the object/whatever moving.
etc...
I remember a little while back reading a scene from those scripts Min mentioned - it was Elspeth coercing Rosamunde to denounce her in the orphan home, and I really liked the way the act was portrayed. Since then, that's how I've imagined such a scene would go in a well-done movie: I see a sort of Matrix moment, where everytihng freezes or goes sluggish for a few seconds while the camera moves in. The only problem would be that every time someone used their talents (which happens just about every second paragraph, especially in the later books) you'd have to slow down, and that would interfere with the pace of the film.
But then, as Min said, you'd only have to show it once or twice to let the audience get what was going on, and then rely on the other actors' reactions afterwards.
I also feel Elspeth explaining in a voice-over might work. Although the movie itself would have to be shot third-person, I think it would be in keeping with the tone of the books if Elspeth was still narrating in first-person throughout. And if she's already narrating (not every minute, but in explanatory asides from time to time), why not also have her saying something like "I reached out my mind, and rifled through her memories", etc., while the camera focusses for a moment on her eyes and those of the person she's coercing, or something similar? Or do you think that might be too corny?
I also like the idea of zooming across country the way Brownie described. And I love the idea of colours to differentiate between talents.
[act]Sigh[/act] Obernewtyn would be such a challenging film to make, but if it was done right it could be really good. I want to work on it now. :P
Hey y'all.
It's been AGES since I've posted anything although I regularly pop back to read theories and opinions.
I've also just finished re-reading the stone key and I have to say I found it infuriating trying to think how to adapt this book to a film. We all know my dearest hope is to see an Oberchron series of films in my lifetyime. Preferably starring me as Ariel but THAT'S neither here nor there. With every book so far I've mentally progressed its potential as a film and with every book so far I've had a fairly successful job of it. tSK however was a logistical nightmare for me namely because SO MUCH happens and SO LITTLE of it is expendable. Things like the trip to Herder Isle and all the complications they encounter taking over would be hell on wheels for a movie because it all happens before the halfway point and because everything goes wrong before anything is resolved I fear it would emotionally sap everyone watching before the main part of the plot could begin to develop.
That and the fact that there are a ridiculous amount of new characters (Rolfe, Kevrik, Cinda, Lark, Elkar...) many returning characters who have previously only had backround roles but now are greatly developed (Iriny, Jak, Seely, Merret, Blyss, Zarak, Harwood, Bruna, Dardelan, Gwynedd...) and many of the series leading characters either don't appear at all or only have brief cameos (Dameon, Matthew, Ariel, Daffyd, Swallow, Maryon, Miryum, Kella, Dragon, Louis Larkin...) I fear it would make a film version a complete mess.
There are a few ideas I've had that might help it along. For example, the character Rolfe seems to be expendable. The script could be re-worked to include Daffyd instead however not having read the sending we can't say for sure. Other things like allowing Kella to arrive with the rebels and Rushton at the beforetime ruins to witness Domick's final moments would give her more screen time as well as give her a satisfactory arc. I don't think it's a good idea to show the film in first person. Perhaps largely concentrate on Elspeth but occasionally cut away to Rushton, Dameon and the rebels, particularly to show Dragon's disappearance, Maryon's arrival in Sutrium and the seige of the Cloister on Norseland.
I think Matthew scenes should remain as dreams rather than ever seeing anything from his perspective. Better to keep a degree of mystery about him.
This book also see's Ariel's smallest role since the Farseekers and while I've managed to justify several scenes including Ariel in a Farseekers film, on this one I think it should be left more or less as is, much as it pains me. I think Ariel should never be shown through his own eyes more to capitalise on his menace and sense of mystique.
There's more but I'll post it later.
I haven't read all the posts, but I read through the first few. I think, for farseeking.... you can flash from one character to the next. For example, if Eslpeth is contacting Matthew. You could first show her concentrating her farseeking talent across obernewtyn sort of like a fast-forward-type thing and then show Matthew pausing for a second to recieve Elspeth's communication....
For coercing you could have Elspeth concentrating her thoughts to a soldierguard (for exmaple) and then sort of a make him vibrate (I know it sounds wierd)....let me put this clearer....maybe he could shake....uh....you know when you have that sudden moment of realisation and you go "I Got It!" that look, only without the realisation and the finger....if you use it :P
First person/third person.....I'd say first person and have her talking to herself sort of like....Clueless or Twilight (or at least the start of it where Bella tells herself: I've never wondered how I would die, but I thought that dying in the place of someone I loved would be the right way to go....(I don't think that was correct, but oh well))...
I doubt anyone will be bothered reading through that but oh well...
I think the reference to Twilight would make sense. Elspeth thinks a lot, so she could just narrate things. And when we meet a merson, she could say who they are and what their talent is. I like the colour idea, though. People could have aura type things, and the ones who dont either have no talent or Elspeth doesn't know it.
with farseeking, i reckon they could show a misty kind of probe emanating out from Elf's brain to another person, and have a really close zoom up of the probe as it reaches out to other minds. It's described in such detail in the book, that I don't see any reason why the movie shouldn't (at least for the first few times) show the same level of detail in mind probing.
with coercing, it could be a more solid mist emanating from the coercer's mind, and kind of be a clobber shaped probe that surges into the other persons mind in a more forceful way, sort of like tackling the recipient's brain.
with beastspeaking, well that would be obvious, just have it as it is in the books.
empathy would be more of an image/sound kind of thing, where the mist reaching out with the mind encounters sounds of anguish/laughter/whatever emotion comes out.
healing would be like a mist going through and searching through another person's nerves/veins/bodies to reach the source of the wound, and healing it as if it was blood cells doing their job.
teknoguilding is just mad scientists who can make objects move so that's obviously focusing on the eyes of the teknowiz and following the physical object moving.
rushton's huge brain capacity would be like a huge cavern.
those mind merge conduits could be like physicially travelling through beacons of light which is one person's mind directed at another mind.
gyspsies talents will have different coloured and patterns of auras shining around the person as they speak, and it fluctuates.
futuretelling is easily shown, as are the dreamtrails. for the in depth mind thing, it would be like sinking into elspeth's brain - actually showing the mindstream and all the bubbles and all the memories and voices and babble that goes on.
all of these will require great visual effects though.
I think third person would be good, and sometimes go to first person. For farseeking, it could focus on the person farseeking and you can hear their voice and the person they are farseeking's voice. As long as each voice is easy to recognise it would work. Or maybe send a probe that is visible, but hard to see. Then you see who it goes to and then hear the voices.
When i was reading the books i thought a lot about the making of a movie. But does anyone think they would be as good as the books?The colour idea is good :)