Doors Fan Documentary Thread..., artistic vision....share it here. Options

[Guest_TheWallsScreamedPoetry_*]

Why don't you guys give it ago, and draft a story board here, in a topic of your own, and brainstorm to see if you could make a documentary less than 10 hours long that you would be happy to see in the cinema, and show to your fwens? If you complete it it will be another documentary, but actually made on a Doors forum, just waiting to be filmed, until it sinks slowly further and further down the page til no one sees it....

I have no idea about writing a screenplay but certainly can outline how I see such a project moving along and developing.
This would be my idea of an opening sequence to a fan-based documentary, which I would envisage, having a title
'A Journey Of A Lifetime: The Doors ' and would be narrated by several Doors fans (celebrity or otherwise) in different locations with different perspectives but designed to give an overall feel for what was the 'essence' of The Doors story but explored in detail never seen before.
It would begin at the end of the journey and then move back in time to discover what exactly brought us to the spot that formed the opening sequence in the first place.

Opening sequence... 1st narrator standing next to a tree....looks at camera and says
'I remember when I was a kid a wise man had once said that 'If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite' and I never really understood what that meant without having to look it up, not being the philosophical type myself.
However another wise man once said 'Music inflames temperament' and I did instinctively understand this without having to resort to my local library.
From the days of 50s rock and roll to the modern day I like many have had a passion for music and it does indeed 'inflame temperament'. It is something that helps to form our character as we grow from tiny legs to teens to middle age and beyond. It defines us in ways we cannot ever really explain.
It's part of our heritage and indelibly ingrained into our psyche.
And for me one musical experience stands out more than any of the thousands of musical experiences I have discovered over the decades.
The love I have for a band collectively know as .....................'The Doors'.
Camera pans slowly right to reveal the grave of JDM.
Music starts softly at first then building.
"Who Scared You".
We linger on the grave for a while as the song comes to a conclusion.
Then as Pere Lachaise fades to become the rolling waves of Venice Beach we see a 2nd narrator sitting on the sand and the tale begins.

My first port of call would be before The Doors existed and the friends of Jim and Ray at UCLA to get a feel for what brought both of them to The Doors. The film, the drama, the poetry. Dennis Jakob would be a good place to start as he was there at the beginning of the conception of The Doors as he and Morrison discussed forming a rock duo called The Doors:Open & Closed which would feature just TWO songs 'I'm Hungry' and 'Want'.
The early days of Ray's UCLA Trio and later Rick & The Ravens......
I would not neglect John & Robby at this stage and would explore a similar storyline with thier friends to get a feel for what was going on in their lives, such as The Psychedelic Rangers, as Jim and Ray embarked on thier careers as budding UCLA film makers.

That is great, Mr Alex!
It is a nice personal narrative you create there, and good use of camera!
I think you should start an independent thread with that now, and see what other people can add to or around it, all with appropriate musical links. It can be This Forum's Doors Documentary thread, and a different angle on fanship expression perhaps, with a little artistry and personal touches all thrown in. What you may find is that different types of narrative voice emerge, and you can weave these together to arrive at your unifying voice....

OK mate you got it. It makes sense really rather than have it in the Tom doc thread. Good call.
Lets see if anyone here fancies adding to the narrative. You got an idea for a sequence, a new title, an idea to explore in the documentary or a whole documentary share it here.
Don't be shy....no ideas are silly they are just one persons viewpoint which is the whole point of the thing in the first place ....it's a bit of fun....and to be honest we could do with some of that here......get into the spirit of the thing.

[darkstar]

Good opening scene Alex.

I have an idea...We all know by now that when the band came together there was no contract per say between the 4 members and it stayed like that until a Partnership Agreement was written in January 1971. I'm thinking along of lines of trust, dependency on one another, a circle of trust, a friend ship bound by one idea to share and share alike. I'm trying to stray away from the old clique of Alexander Dumas, "All For One - One For All".

Just some reference to this bond between band members would be nice if it was intertwined within the story. Of course this idea falls apart due to greed in 1968 and of course that has to be placed somewhere as well. I find it very attractive to know that the band started as a whole enity with trust and respect. Just a small thread through the story that connects and binds the band together would be nice. Not like Stone showed in his movie when he had the actors do the acid in the desert scene.

We have the green song book from '65 how about incorporating some of the original poetry that evenutally became songs? Off the top of my head I can recall Soul Kitchen, Break On Through, and Moonlight Drive are all in there but the words are structured a little different but it would show the evolution to the final product.

[MeagerFood521]

I have an idea. How about something on us, the Doors Fans, based loosely on our forum.
Why is it roughly 1500 members, who, other than their love for the Doors have just about nothing in common, (not even countries) yet, upon meeting here or someplace else forge a friendship that sometimes is life long?
What is it about a group that 'folded' roughly 40 years ago yet continues to draw new listeners who were not even born when the Doors were near or at the top?

[mewsical]

I have an idea. How about something on us, the Doors Fans, based loosely on our forum.
Why is it roughly 1500 members, who, other than their love for the Doors have just about nothing in common, (not even countries) yet, upon meeting here or someplace else forge a friendship that sometimes is life long?
What is it about a group that 'folded' roughly 40 years ago yet continues to draw new listeners who were not even born when the Doors were near or at the top?

Although there are 1500 registered members, the active base is about 40 as far as I can tell.

I think a blog would be good as opposed to putting it on a message board owned by one of the Doors - that way comments can be added without the distraction of having them interfere with the flow of narrative. You can also embed video clips, photos and so on. Just a thought.

Btw, Alex, you can buy software to create screenplay form. I've written a couple of screenplays. It's fun.

[MeagerFood521]

Although there are 1500 registered members, the active base is about 40 as far as I can tell.

I think a blog would be good as opposed to putting it on a message board owned by one of the Doors - that way comments can be added without the distraction of having them interfere with the flow of narrative. You can also embed video clips, photos and so on. Just a thought.

Btw, Alex, you can buy software to create screenplay form. I've written a couple of screenplays. It's fun.

Mewsical/ 40 active posters would be about right! Lot of good ideas here. Wonder where this will go?
Us being soooooooo creative!!!! j.

[Guest_TheWallsScreamedPoetry_*]

Good opening scene Alex.

I have an idea...We all know by now that when the band came together there was no contract per say between the 4 members and it stayed like that until a Partnership Agreement was written in January 1971. I'm thinking along of lines of trust, dependency on one another, a circle of trust, a friend ship bound by one idea to share and share alike. I'm trying to stray away from the old clique of Alexander Dumas, "All For One - One For All".

Just some reference to this bond between band members would be nice if it was intertwined within the story. Of course this idea falls apart due to greed in 1968 and of course that has to be placed somewhere as well. I find it very attractive to know that the band started as a whole enity with trust and respect. Just a small thread through the story that connects and binds the band together would be nice. Not like Stone showed in his movie when he had the actors do the acid in the desert scene.

We have the green song book from '65 how about incorporating some of the original poetry that evenutally became songs? Off the top of my head I can recall Soul Kitchen, Break On Through, and Moonlight Drive are all in there but the words are structured a little different but it would show the evolution to the final product.

Thats the reason I said to Mewsical that my documentary (not this one the hypothetical one in the Tom thread) would not involve any events after Tuesday July 25th 1967.
Apparently the day LMF hit #1.
I think the events prior to that can illustrate both points you make Sara. The bond between the 4 and the evolution of the songs and music. The club dates of 1966 especially would make a tremendous contribution toward understanding The Doors art especially those that happen before Jac turns up and offers them a deal as they are not sure they are going to make it and are even contemplating packing it in before they get The Whisky booking.
The hungry looking quartet Pete Johnson describes in his LA Times piece on thier Whisky show were facing uncertainty after the Columbia debacle and the struggle for gigs.
That must have formed a strong bond between the four to have the belief in what they were doing even though they were not exactly popular.
Having to do late night shows and soundtrack work like the Ford Motor Company promo helped pay the bills but with no sign of a record contract in sight it must have been hard to keep the faith.
We know John expressed a wish he had joined Love and I am sure that the other 3 had similar doubts but the feeling they must have had when Jac and Paul offered them a deal and within a week they were in a studio making an album must have been something really special for them.
A chance to commit thier art to vinyl for all time.
I think what you bring up Sara would have to be central to The Doors story.
The art and the bond between those making it.......it's the reason we are still talking about it after so long.

[mewsical]

You'd have to bring up the Columbia signing by Billy James, the fact Columbia more or less ignored them, and Billy then taking the whole kaboodle to Jac.

[WTD]

I have no idea about writing a screenplay but certainly can outline how I see such a project moving along and developing.
This would be my idea of an opening sequence to a fan-based documentary, which I would envisage, having a title
'A Journey Of A Lifetime: The Doors ' and would be narrated by several Doors fans (celebrity or otherwise) in different locations with different perspectives but designed to give an overall feel for what was the 'essence' of The Doors story but explored in detail never seen before.
It would begin at the end of the journey and then move back in time to discover what exactly brought us to the spot that formed the opening sequence in the first place.

Opening sequence... 1st narrator standing next to a tree....looks at camera and says
'I remember when I was a kid a wise man had once said that 'If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite' and I never really understood what that meant without having to look it up, not being the philosophical type myself.
However another wise man once said 'Music inflames temperament' and I did instinctively understand this without having to resort to my local library.
From the days of 50s rock and roll to the modern day I like many have had a passion for music and it does indeed 'inflame temperament'. It is something that helps to form our character as we grow from tiny legs to teens to middle age and beyond. It defines us in ways we cannot ever really explain.
It's part of our heritage and indelibly ingrained into our psyche.
And for me one musical experience stands out more than any of the thousands of musical experiences I have discovered over the decades.
The love I have for a band collectively know as .....................'The Doors'.
Camera pans slowly right to reveal the grave of JDM.
Music starts softly at first then building.
"Who Scared You".
We linger on the grave for a while as the song comes to a conclusion.
Then as Pere Lachaise fades to become the rolling waves of Venice Beach we see a 2nd narrator sitting on the sand and the tale begins.

My first port of call would be before The Doors existed and the friends of Jim and Ray at UCLA to get a feel for what brought both of them to The Doors. The film, the drama, the poetry. Dennis Jakob would be a good place to start as he was there at the beginning of the conception of The Doors as he and Morrison discussed forming a rock duo called The Doors:Open & Closed which would feature just TWO songs 'I'm Hungry' and 'Want'.
The early days of Ray's UCLA Trio and later Rick & The Ravens......
I would not neglect John & Robby at this stage and would explore a similar storyline with thier friends to get a feel for what was going on in their lives, such as The Psychedelic Rangers, as Jim and Ray embarked on thier careers as budding UCLA film makers.


OK mate you got it. It makes sense really rather than have it in the Tom doc thread. Good call.
Lets see if anyone here fancies adding to the narrative. You got an idea for a sequence, a new title, an idea to explore in the documentary or a whole documentary share it here.
Don't be shy....no ideas are silly they are just one persons viewpoint which is the whole point of the thing in the first place ....it's a bit of fun....and to be honest we could do with some of that here......get into the spirit of the thing.

I got some ideas. I love your opening, that totally works. I like the whole starting at the end and going back time line approach. Since this would be low buck project and probably no one is going to give us a real on the camera interview I was thinking of a work around. What we do have is books and all those Door's shows(interviews, TV Shows, Radio Shows) where people made statements. We could have someone read the quotes from the books or magazine articles and record them or cut and splice a quote from a interview if we can find ones that will work in the scene were trying to convey. In the video background we could have a picture of the person talking (example Bill Siddons) and then at the same time playing the audio quote. So you pick an event in Door's history, give some basic background(history) on the event (video background could have pictures of the place, any video we could find, then start popping quotes from the various people that were there. Now this would be part of the presentation of whatever else you envision.

I play around with video so I could put it all together, we just need to figure out what we want to do.

So I think we need to put down important time line events in Door's history. And then go from each event and think about things we would want to say, quotes we could use, and dig up the background info to make it work. This would provide us some framework to organize our thoughts and maybe spur on new ideas.

[WTD]

Good opening scene Alex.

I have an idea...We all know by now that when the band came together there was no contract per say between the 4 members and it stayed like that until a Partnership Agreement was written in January 1971. I'm thinking along of lines of trust, dependency on one another, a circle of trust, a friend ship bound by one idea to share and share alike. I'm trying to stray away from the old clique of Alexander Dumas, "All For One - One For All".

Just some reference to this bond between band members would be nice if it was intertwined within the story. Of course this idea falls apart due to greed in 1968 and of course that has to be placed somewhere as well. I find it very attractive to know that the band started as a whole enity with trust and respect. Just a small thread through the story that connects and binds the band together would be nice. Not like Stone showed in his movie when he had the actors do the acid in the desert scene.

We have the green song book from '65 how about incorporating some of the original poetry that evenutally became songs? Off the top of my head I can recall Soul Kitchen, Break On Through, and Moonlight Drive are all in there but the words are structured a little different but it would show the evolution to the final product.

Oh come on Sara, I like the acid scene in the desert I like the idea of using Jim's poetry in showing the evolution of songs, that works.

[darkstar]

Oh come on Sara, I like the acid scene in the desert I like the idea of using Jim's poetry in showing the evolution of songs, that works.

I hated that scene in the movie. All it did was put fuel to the fire for Ray to carry on with "do acid, man" rants for decades afterwards. And Manzarek claims he hates Oliver Stone.

[darkstar]

So I think we need to put down important time line events in Door's history. And then go from each event and think about things we would want to say, quotes we could use, and dig up the background info to make it work. This would provide us some framework to organize our thoughts and maybe spur on new ideas.

Excellent Idea. Unfortunately, the time line I put together a few years begins in 1968 and ended with Jim's death. I could certainly work on another time line for the early years.

[jym]

Btw, Alex, you can buy software to create screenplay form. I've written a couple of screenplays. It's fun.

Waste of money, a screenplay is all format and fairly easy to set up hence software. & if it's software that prompts for scene description or character but should you really be writing if you don't know how to use those tools???

[Guest_TheWallsScreamedPoetry_*]

I would envisage any documentary being split into segments dealing with a particular time period an example is the one I used in a poll to compare the albums on my old forum.
Acid
Indecision
The Blues
In The Shadows

Acid would deal with the period before The Doors got together and the period 1965 to September 1967 when Strange Days was released.
Indecision would deal with the period up to November 69 when they began Morrison Hotel and would focus on the band trying to follow up the success of the first two LPs and struggling to find a new direction.
WFTS and the failure to record the poetry of COTL, the problems recording TSP and the Miami incident as well as the reasons behind it. Also would be a worthwhile moment to explore the Morrison poetry session.
The Blues would deal with the period up to the recording of LAW and the death of Morrison in Paris and focus on how strong the band must have been to survive the Indecision period to produce two of the most powerful albums of the 70s as well as explore fragile state of the relationship between the 4 Doors including the rumours of the band trying to replace Jim Morrison whilst he was still alive.
In The Shadows would take a look at the Doors 3 piece that produced two albums and had 4 tours including a European one. The search for a new singer and the inevitable break up of one of the most iconic bands in rock history and the directions taken during the 70s up to the American Prayer LP.

Some good ideas coming and the thread is not a day old.

[jym]

I would envisage any documentary being split into segments dealing with a particular time period an example is the one I used in a poll to compare the albums on my old forum.
Acid
Indecision
The Blues
In The Shadows

Acid would deal with the period before The Doors got together and the period 1965 to September 1967 when Strange Days was released.
Indecision would deal with the period up to November 69 when they began Morrison Hotel and would focus on the band trying to follow up the success of the first two LPs and struggling to find a new direction.
WFTS and the failure to record the poetry of COTL, the problems recording TSP and the Miami incident as well as the reasons behind it. Also would be a worthwhile moment to explore the Morrison poetry session.
The Blues would deal with the period up to the recording of LAW and the death of Morrison in Paris and focus on how strong the band must have been to survive the Indecision period to produce two of the most powerful albums of the 70s as well as explore fragile state of the relationship between the 4 Doors including the rumours of the band trying to replace Jim Morrison whilst he was still alive.
In The Shadows would take a look at the Doors 3 piece that produced two albums and had 4 tours including a European one. The search for a new singer and the inevitable break up of one of the most iconic bands in rock history and the directions taken during the 70s up to the American Prayer LP.

Some good ideas coming and the thread is not a day old.

Yes, YEs, YES! I always loved those designations & it would also show this is something different from usual fare.

[darkstar]

I would envisage any documentary being split into segments dealing with a particular time period an example is the one I used in a poll to compare the albums on my old forum.
Acid
Indecision
The Blues
In The Shadows

Acid would deal with the period before The Doors got together and the period 1965 to September 1967 when Strange Days was released.

Excellent ideas, Alex. I have a question: In the "Acid" segment you mentioned "before The Doors got together", how far back would be relevent in terms of research? For example when Jim was at FSU he took a class called, Philosophies of Protest and Psychology of Crowds, he wrote a research paper on the imagery of heaven and hell in the paintings of Heteronymous Bosch and also was a part of the theatre arts departments as well as appearing in the 1964 commercial for the college. Jim was going to the coffee houses where the beats made their mark. Alot of his experiences at FSU he used later on in his life during performances with the band. I'm just not sure how far you want to go back in time.

FSU 1964 Commerical
http://www.floridamemory.com/PhotographicC...ideo.cfm?VID=22

For UCLA we have Richard Blackburns' "Gypsy Wagon" site
http://www.tft.ucla.edu/profiles/scholarsh...hard-blackburn/

Then there is the connection between Wallace Fowlie and Morrison - Morrison wrote Fowlie a letter in 1968 thanking him for providing the complete translation from French to English of Rimbaud's work.

[jym]

Excellent ideas, Alex. I have a question: In the "Acid" segment you mentioned "before The Doors got together", how far back would be relevent in terms of research? For example when Jim was at FSU he took a class called, Philosophies of Protest and Psychology of Crowds, he wrote a research paper on the imagery of heaven and hell in the paintings of Heteronymous Bosch and also was a part of the theatre arts departments as well as appearing in the 1964 commercial for the college. Jim was going to the coffee houses where the beats made their mark. Alot of his experiences at FSU he used later on in his life during performances with the band. I'm just not sure how far you want to go back in time.

FSU 1964 Commerical
http://www.floridamemory.com/PhotographicC...ideo.cfm?VID=22

For UCLA we have Richard Blackburns' "Gypsy Wagon" site
http://www.tft.ucla.edu/profiles/scholarsh...hard-blackburn/

Then there is the connection between Wallace Fowlie and Morrison - Morrison wrote Fowlie a letter in 1968 thanking him for providing the complete translation from French to English of Rimbaud's work.

I know you addressed this to Alex, but I could see something like Philosophies of Protest... being relevant but not necessarily Fowlie (although Rimbaud is) but Wallace Fowlie's book on Morrison and Rimbaud while insightful into Rimbaud into Morrison it's not a very deep look, I don't think he had too much to work with on Morrison while he had a lifetime of insight into Rimbaud.

[Guest_TheWallsScreamedPoetry_*]

I would not go back too far and would probably start in UCLA early 1965 but you make a very good point Sara and it would be worth making a mention of some of the background as to why the people involved got to where they ended up. Similarly it would be worth mentioning that Ray was involved in live music long before his band with his brothers as we do have the excellent audio document of his UCLA Trio.
It's a difficult call as getting bogged down in all the stuff that leads us to Venice Beach might dilute the story we are trying to tell unless a clearly defined starting point is adhered to.
Not easy this shit is it?

[darkstar]

I know you addressed this to Alex, but I could see something like Philosophies of Protest... being relevant but not necessarily Fowlie (although Rimbaud is) but Wallace Fowlie's book on Morrison and Rimbaud while insightful into Rimbaud into Morrison it's not a very deep look, I don't think he had too much to work with on Morrison while he had a lifetime of insight into Rimbaud.

I apologize, Jim for being so vague in the explaination of the Fowlie book. I used this book as a reference while compiling my first timeline. For example - the following passage on page 87 Fowlie gave me ideas in which to draw from:

False friends, jealous musicians, and lawmen used Jim as a scapegoat, as a blatant example of immorality. It would be more justified to explain his behavior as a misuse of power. Politics and personal shame had combined with other elements to bring about the chaos which characterized Miami and what followed.

Page 87
Rimbaud & Jim Morrison The Rebel As Poet, A Memoir
By: Wallace Fowlie

There are a few other passages of interest that compare to what Morrison did on the stage and the influences that he had from the books he had read. It's not a great deal of information but it does give a somewhat different perspective.

[darkstar]

I would not go back too far and would probably start in UCLA early 1965 but you make a very good point Sara and it would be worth making a mention of some of the background as to why the people involved got to where they ended up. Similarly it would be worth mentioning that Ray was involved in live music long before his band with his brothers as we do have the excellent audio document of his UCLA Trio.
It's a difficult call as getting bogged down in all the stuff that leads us to Venice Beach might dilute the story we are trying to tell unless a clearly defined starting point is adhered to.
Not easy this shit is it?

It isn't easy, that's a fact. And you know me I like a challenge if the results produce something new. This is the reason why I asked how far back to go with the research because there are bits and pieces of the early history that carry forward all the way through Jim's short life and of which influenced him.

[mewsical]

Yes, YEs, YES! I always loved those designations & it would also show this is something different from usual fare.

I like that. Good, Alex.