Epic-ness
I got a great question from James Smith via e-mail and thought it would be worth posting on the blog: “How do you make a six minute short so epic? Is it just the script?”
I’m in the process of working on another script that needs to have that “epic” quality to it, so this is something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. As always, it does indeed start with the script. I think the common mistake is that people think epic means huge. Obviously that’s a part of it, but there’s an equally critical factor: a small hero.
What makes an epic feel huge is the contrast between the small hero and the huge world/scope of events they are caught up in. BTW, the “small hero” doesn’t necessarily mean physically small, although if that happens too, more power to you. Take the hobbits in Lord of the Rings. Trusting the fate of the world to a 3-foot hobbit who’s never left his hometown is about as big of a contrast as you can get. Another one is Gone With the Wind. Its set in the civil war, but doesn’t follow a soldier. Instead it follows a stuck up rich girl on the edge of the fighting: a perfect example of a heroine with little power over her situation. That leads perfectly to the next quality of an epic…
If you’ve ever been surfing or boogie boarding, you know the “washing machine” sensation you get when you’re pulled under a big wave and knocked about a bit. If you’ve never been, just trust me… no matter how good of a swimmer you are, that wave has you and there’s nothing you can do about it. Just let it pass and try to figure out which way is up. That’s the next quality of an epic: the hero is swept up by the events of the story and BARELY in control of their situation. They’re teetering on the edge of oblivion and holding on by their fingertips. Its all about putting the character in a precarious situation, then allowing them a small victory before knocking them back down to an even worse place. In fact, most of the time, the hero takes quite a few beatings (physical and emotional) at the hand of whatever the larger than life opponent is.
So those are the two crucial story components to an epic. Make the opponent bigger, the hero smaller, and then beat up on them until the little guy finally pulls off a desperate, last chance effort to save the day. The next part of an epic is in the execution. Obviously music is a key factor. Its not about volume, its about scale. An 80 piece orchestra sounds bigger than even the coolest piece of techno-trance you can come up with. Its also important to remember the big opponent vs. small hero from a visual standpoint.
Try to keep the camera on the ground because things look larger and more ominous from the hero’s perspective. However, if you do want to pull the camera up and let it breathe, nothing says “epic” like showing how small your character is compared to the colossal forces he’s faced against.
This is big:
This is epic:
