Developing Detention 101

The great thing about being an indie filmmaker is that you don’t need to worry about pleasing some committee of executives. Instead, you are free to create what you want. Of course, this leads some people into the void of “too many options” and “too many things I want to make” and “maybe I’ll just watch tv instead….”

I hear you. So when I was developing Detention 101, I decided to throw out all notions of outlines (I rarely use those anyway) and thinking the script through in advance (which I generally always do) and just start writing. I had an idea that I wanted to make a film like the Breakfast Club with unknown people being thrown together and quickly becoming best friends due to circumstance, unloading all their personal issues and failures. I wanted the open to be more mysterious though. I, not only wanted the characters to slowly reveal itself, but the film itself to do so as well.

And then I just started writing stream of consciousness from each characters point of view. Dealing with their confusing circumstance. Meeting new people. Starting to let their guards down.

I didn’t worry about plot points, instigating events or any screenwriting 101 nonsense (no offense to all my writing teachers)…I simply just wrote from the heart. What if I was this person? How would I react to being locked in? How would I treat others? What would I reveal about myself? What would it take to push me to reveal secrets about myself?

And it worked.

And then, I did something I didn’t plan on doing. While editing, I kept developing the script in a sense. I sat down and wrote with images. A series of images that were my reaction to my own characters. So the film began commenting on itself.

A film by a white person commenting on people in various