Why I Wrote "More Than Just a Brick in the Wall"

It’s always been my vision to use film and music to create art. Sight and sound are obvious compliments to each other. Music and film go hand-in-hand. They both serve to create larger-than-life characters and scenarios, unearth emotions, and elicit drama deprived from everyday life. They do this in their own respective way, with film using the eyes, and music, the ears. Even as a little kid, writing and recording with my imaginary band, I made “movies” to go along with my songs. So when I began songwriting as an adult, it was natural for me to write screenplays to go along with the music.

Nearly all music artists these days have music videos. It only seems obvious to expand those short videos into full-length motion pictures. The Beatles were pioneers of this concept, and they pulled it off well in A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Yellow Submarine, and to a lesser extent, Magical Mystery Tour. And though the Beatles did not claim to be good actors, they had a very good supporting cast of directors, writers, producers, and actors, which is what made their films successful. It’s surprising that no one since then has successfully connected film and music in a stylistic and classy way. Alas, this is the Beatle Effect: Everyone tries to emulate them, and few, if any, are good at it, which goes to show just how great the Beatles really were.

It’s an understatement to say the Beatle’s body of work is outstanding, and will continue to transcend the restrains of time. But it isn’t enough to merely emulate artists like the Beatles. Today’s aspiring young artists should look at them as a foundation on which to build. It is important to be in touch with the current generation, and relevant to the time. A Hard Day’s Night, for example, is one of my favorite movies, but it would be dreadful to remake it. Instead, the idea is to add fresh, and original, ingredients to the elements of those who have come before, expanding and building upon their work, the same way Einstein built upon Newton, who built upon Galileo, who built upon Copernicus.

When I was putting together my first album, I wanted a ballad, something that would be played at dances. Sitting at my piano, I pounded out a chord progression. It was simple, but it was the sound I was looking for. I wanted a name for it, and thought, “I think I’ll fall in love with you… before the night is through!” I had none of the other parts done yet, but this, in my mind, was already a song. I immediately envisioned it as a scene from a movie, in a pivotal moment when the main characters are falling in love. Why settle for just a music video? It’s the big screen that engraves memories.

Songs tell stories. A good music video helps people appreciate the song in a way that may not have been realized by listening to the song alone. And yet, many music videos don’t accomplish this very well. Likewise, many motion pictures don’t realize their full potential, and are underwhelming. People tend to not treat music videos and film as art. It isn’t enough to have a singer do a full-length feature film of them performing at concerts, and it isn’t enough to tack on a cheesy storyline with generic characters.

So what are the elements of a good screenplay? And what is the proper way to transition that screenplay onto the big screen? That is a topic for another time!

Related Blogs:

More Than Just a Brick in the Wall - Sample Scene
How I Got Started in Music

“Before the Night is Through”
© 2007, 2008 Rob Kajiwara.
Kaji Music, BMI, 2008.
All Rights Reserved.

“More Than Just a Brick in the Wall”
© 2007, 2008 Rob Kajiwara.
Kaji Music, BMI, 2008.
All Rights Reserved.