"Wheelerguy" (wheelerguy)
08/28/2020 at 10:17 • Filed to: Musings, writing, gt3, Custom Race Tracks, Custom Race Track, Custom Race Circuit
0
6|
"Wheelerguy" (wheelerguy)
08/28/2020 at 10:17 • Filed to: Musings, writing, gt3, Custom Race Tracks, Custom Race Track, Custom Race Circuit | 0
| 6 |
I have no idea, really. And I feel like I’m about to make the same mistake Zack Snyder fundamentally makes: focusing on “moments”, not “scenes”.
OK, let me explain by vomiting the base idea in my head:
Length: 5980 meters.
That is Circuit of Perth: long, undulating, rolling along the artificial contours this layout is set on for a jaw-dropping 108m of elevation change. It’s the concluding round of the Australian GT Championship, and we are down to the final fifteen minutes of hard racing. In the battle for the lead, a Nissan GT-R GT3 is fighting a Ferrari 488 GT3, while 1.7 seconds back, a whole gaggle of cars go three-by-three: Audi R8 LMS, Mercedes-AMG GT3, Cadillac ATS-V.R, Bentley Continental GT3, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo, McLaren 720S GT3, Glickenhaus SCG004C, Honda NSX GT3 Evo and a Porsche 991.1 GT3 (the smiley one).
While I have the actual racing in my head now, my problem is finding a point to the story and how to write it. I could do a news report/recap-style story, but it’s dry and not worth a second look, though simple enough to build upon. The complexity comes in the character level. Who to focus, which group comprises the “A-plot” and which is the “B-plot”, and how will both of them come together. I can’t just be stuck machine-gun-typing down “moments” of a race: I need scenes that both flesh out character and advance the plot (someone’s gonna want to win).
Right now, I’m thinking the Nissan/Ferrari fight is for the race win, while the back nine is for championship points (teams and drivers). The two at the front constantly trade paint; the back nine keep trying to overtake each other. At the end, however, there will be a victor, a crash, some maneuvers laced with anime-like internal monologue, and equal measures of jubilant redemption and bitter concession. How do I best go about writing that , though?
Yes, this is now officially a writers’ room thread. Help me along as I do something that is technically part of my course but not actually coursework this week (they’re all done, don’t worry).
themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
> Wheelerguy
08/28/2020 at 10:43 |
|
You can always take the Initial D approach (at least in earlier seasons) - the “plot” during the race itself is the growth and awareness of the drivers. Takumi has a good driving instinct and good reactions, but he isn’t consciously growing or understanding his opponents at first. As the series goes on, he starts to do things like turn his headlights off mid-race to give him the element of surprise when coming up for a pass. Likewise, his opponents are often dealing with personal storylines that get resolved as they drive. It’s relatable from both angles - enthusiasts all want to have the opportunity to race and get better, but a lot of us also drive through our personal issues.
Hell, one of the best races in the series was between Keisuke and Kyoko because it told you everything you needed to know about the two of them by their thoughts during the race. Kyoko spent the entire race swooning over Keisuke and wanting to be seen by him as a potential girlfriend because of their shared interest in RX-7s and racing . Keisuke does, at first, but he spends most of the race trying to figure out why she can drive her RX-7 so well on the bumpy course and he’s struggling to just keep up. He eventually figures it out and passes her, much to her dismay. And while she struggles with the idea that he isn’t into her romantically, we as the audience saw it all right in front of us - the entire race, he barely gave a damn about her as a person outside of the car and only wanted to focus on the race while she didn’t care if she won or lost, she drove to be recognized as a love interest.
....Honestly, I just gave Initial D way more credit than I should as it’s not high art. It’s pure cheese. But every now and then, it’s some damn good cheese. And I think it provides a great template for how to tell a story through the lens of a race.
|
Wheelerguy
> themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
08/28/2020 at 11:04 |
|
I LOVE THIS TAKE!!! Thank you!
And weirdly enough, I got the point immediately after reading your comment slowly. It also helps that I finished that episode/race JUST yesterday.
Density, it seems to me, is the key. Having played the arcade games, I’ve surmised that the actual racing is short, but from what I have observed in my own time playing and others, there is a lot more going on internally as we turn the wheel, no matter if it’s qualifying or the race itself.
Plus, it got me reading back on some of my past output, too.
https://drivetribe.com/p/radwood-anthologies-shoney-emXH8h_JSLql2YF0M4qDqA
https://drivetribe.com/p/radwood-anthologies-jerry-a-car-UzG8Yaw5S4C-LxHVPh-UIQ
https://drivetribe.com/p/once-they-raced-a-car-week-special-akiNXJ9KT-6ZwPh9uYUdMQ
|
themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
> Wheelerguy
08/28/2020 at 11:16 |
|
Okay now I’m on an initial D kick and a “what to do vs. what not to do” example came to mind. If you haven’t seen it, the main character’s main schtick is that he drives an old AE86 trueno and beats up on RX-7s and Skyline GT-Rs. THe show uses this thread to introduce two characters who also drive AE86s. One in the second season, and one in the fifth season. The second season character is done infinitely better.
2nd season - Takumi (main char.) lost a race when his engine blew. His dad put in a new engine and made some upgrades, but is struggling to understand the car. The driver he lost to won’t re-race him though until he has a “better” car, and Takumi struggles with what that means. Enter the second AE86 driver - almost a decade older than Takumi, and a guy who came to town because he heard about the rising star who is kicking everyone’s ass in a similar car. He tries to bond with Takumi over AE86s. Takumi’s ignorance comes off as arrogance and he also refuses to race Takumi... at first. Takumi eventually comes around to realize he hasn’t been growing in his mechanical knowledge of cars and reaches the decision that he has to learn more beause this has become important to him . He stops just passively going along with racing other drivers and makes the next step forward to be seen as a true equal and not just some punk with a bit of skill. When he does this, the other guy agrees to help him learn. They eventually do race and after a brutal endurance match, Takumi finally wins. This then leads to him getting his rematch and the other guy sort of joins the extended cast and pops by every now and then as a friend. In this part of the story, the race is symbolic of Takumi’s growth but it also helps establish a connection between the two drivers so it isn’t just a “Oh he won so now we’re done with other guy” situation.
5th season - a kid who’s not even legal to drive is introduced as the next super-awesome-godlike-legend driver who drives his mom’s AE86 coupe. Kid and Takumi only interact during their race. Kid loses because he panicked at the very last bit of the race and Takumi’s instincts kicked in . Woo. I think this was an attempt to go full circle and be like “An even YOUNGER Takumi in an even CRAPPIER AE86 is going to do it all again!” but it was... painful. There was so little setup outside of the race that the race has no real stakes or growth to it. It was a straight up “Hey this group of racers wants to beat Takumi in a race”. And they didn’t. The end.
So there’s the difference between good cheese and bad cheese in this show - By having the cars/racing be a way to explore character development and growth, you give the racing itself meaning. Winners/losers do mean something, but so does the build-up to the race and the moment to moment action of the race itself. WIth no setup or interaction between the drivers or teams before the race, then it is just a winner and loser scenario so the whole race is reduced to just being spectacle for spectacle’s sake. An d that’s awfully hard to do in text.
|
themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
> Wheelerguy
08/28/2020 at 11:29 |
|
Having ch ur ned this over the back of my mind now, for your story, here are a few ideas.
1st vs 2nd place - Nissan vs. Ferrari is a great way to define classism, haves/have-nots, prejudices, or nepotism. You cna have the storyline that the Ferrari driver got handed the drive and the Nissan driver had to work their ass off and fighting through lower series to land in the GT-R. Or that the Nissan team is in danger of being cut due to Nissan being broke and the Ferrari team is doing well. Even non car people understand that a nissan altima and a ferrari enzo are not the same. THey might not know that a GT-R is a supercar killer, nor do they know that Ferrari’s are balanced in GT3 racing, but the badges alone can tell a story.
Back 9 - Lots of room for personal tales here. Sponsorship money is a big factor for smaller teams. Maybe tell a story about how one team scored big on getting a cheap Porsche and needs to finish above 6th or something to get a sponsorship bonus to keep the season going. Maybe two of the drivers are old friends and this is their debut. Maybe one of the drivers is returning from an injury or a crash and they pull of a daring maneuver to show that they’re not being held back by the past.
|
Wheelerguy
> themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
08/28/2020 at 11:45 |
|
The first one was already a shape in my head, though I’m still happy that you got the idea on the board because I get to read it. The back 9 is more loaded, but I reckon there’s a way for me to sort of mirror the Top 2 in those nine runners, especially now that you gave me the Porsche angle (something I wasn’t thinking of before).
Having the Top 2 be the macro story and the Back 9 be the micro was always the plan, but you helped me cook it some more, with flavour . Thank you!
|
themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
> Wheelerguy
08/28/2020 at 12:06 |
|
Yeah, I think for a short story, a “Person vs. The Course” type of conflict works better since you don’t need to establish two or more characters in the conflict. If they just need to finish above a certain place or try and nurse a car to the end or something, then it doesn’t ma tter who is attempting to make a pass or who they need to pass or who wins the race overall.
Oh! Okay in the midfield, you have your focal point of the writing be about one plot point like a sponsorship bonus or a damaged car trying to be limped home. But have the other cars/drivers be the gallery and giving out details. Like, say the team with a Porsche is in 4th and needs to finish 6th or beter for that money, BUT they’ve already lost 2nd gear and if they shift too much, they might lose the whole transmission. When told from the Porsche driver’s perspective, it can be all about the sense of dread and fear as well as desparation.....but the reader doesn’t yet know why. Cut to the McLaren in 5th Realizing “He’s not exiting the chicane with much speed.....Wait...SOmething’s off. Sector 2 was much faster for him a few laps ago....” and then the McLaren driver and team work out the problems. Same with whoever is (at the moment) in 6th and 7th. They don’t feel that sense of dread and fear. Th ey just want to gain a position or two. Fo r the Porsche driver, these are the scariest moments of their career. For the rest of them, it was lap 47 or whatever.