A 125-page transcript of original discussions for Raiders of the Lost Ark has found its way onto the internet. I’ve read some parts of it and found them fascinating. You get to have an utterly raw and unedited inside look that makes you feel like a fly on the wall.
Normally you’re only exposed to the end product of a long development process. Even director’s commentaries and interviews are fairly cleaned up and, of course, retrospective — so it’s rare to get a pure look at the actual creative process, especially when it’s one that led to such a popular, successful and iconic creation as Indiana Smith.
Oops, I mean Indiana “Jones”.
When I started learning about game design years ago, my admiration for certain games sometimes had a paralyzing effect. I recognized that some of my favorite games were these near-perfect polished elegant gems — and even though I rationally knew they were the result of a long creative process, in my mind I still sometimes pictured these games dropping perfectly formed out of a genius game designer’s brain like a wrapped candy bar from a vending machine.
It wasn’t until I got the occasional glance at a real design document, or when I was asked to do some focus testing or feedback on early designs, that I got exposed to the primitive stages of a project, and started to really understand how the creative process works. Knowing how the sausage gets made took a little bit of the magic away, but in an odd way it was also very comforting.
If you read through the Indiana Jones transcripts you’ll find a lot of primitive versions of what ultimately became classic scenes. Some ideas were, frankly, ridiculous or terrible. But any idea can lead naturally to other ideas. Spielberg, Lucas and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan gradually chip away at every aspect of the film until they find ideas that work. And you can tell that they’re having a lot of fun while doing so.
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“At one point Spielberg suggests that a particular scene needs a monkey saluting like a Nazi. Yes… that’s right. A Nazi monkey.”
You sound surprised. That was in the film.
Michel
March 17th, 2009
What the hell! I forgot that was actually in there. Disclaimer: it’s been a few years since I last (properly) saw the film.
Marek
March 17th, 2009