So I'll send them Monsters and then when they say "what else have you got" I'll say "Well..."
That should do the trick.
I'm now halfway through the treatment for the first episode of Clones - I hate writing treatments, I want to do action and dialogue. I'm desperate to do my exciting* on-page editing - where I change scene dramatically between different bits of action. But in Clones we have only one hand-held camera (it's a little bit Cloverfield) in the first episode and I'm feeling all hemmed in.
Such is the writer's life.
* apparently
What's on the turntable? "Lunar Sea (live)" by Camel from the extended "Moonmadness" on Spotify
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Wouldn't you know it
Earlier this year I got distracted writing a spec US pilot - Unit X - which got a big thumbs down from the readers. Basically it needed a lot of work - far more than Tec currently needs.
Turns out this week (according to Inktip) a US production company is looking for high concept SF pilots. Do I send them something that really isn't in good condition (and hope they see the potential), or do I let the opportunity slip by? Would sending something unpolished damage my future opportunities, or does it give me more of chance if I do send it?
I've sort of decided, but I probably haven't thought of everything.
What do you think?
What's on the turntable? "Reeling in the years" by Steely Dan from "Can't by a Thrill"
Turns out this week (according to Inktip) a US production company is looking for high concept SF pilots. Do I send them something that really isn't in good condition (and hope they see the potential), or do I let the opportunity slip by? Would sending something unpolished damage my future opportunities, or does it give me more of chance if I do send it?
I've sort of decided, but I probably haven't thought of everything.
What do you think?
What's on the turntable? "Reeling in the years" by Steely Dan from "Can't by a Thrill"
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Flying hours: nil
Over on his blog Danny Stack references an interview with Kate Harwood (BBC Controller of Series and Serials) where she talks about there being no substitute for a writer seeing their work on screen: Flying hours.
Except that's a catch 22 in a professional sense, unless you do it yourself which Danny has (as well as his paid-for work), as have others in the scribosphere (like Lucy for example), and as I have now, with the scenes from Monsters.
I knew I needed to write something about this but I couldn't get a handle on what to write - until Danny's blog gave me some context. Though you have to bear in mind that we have no finished product as yet - though it will be ready for the Cheltenham Screenwriters Festival.
First things first: I did not direct, I just wrote it. I did not make last minute changes, the script is essentially the one I used for the Red Planet competition last year. I did not question or comment on any of the decisions the Director made, except when asked, either before or during the shoot. In fact I wasn't present for much of it - I was there but not in the room.
Danny said the question he most gets asked is "how has it turned out as opposed to how you imagined (or wrote) it?" Well, I got that too. For which I have no answer. Putting aside the fact it's not finished, I don't expect it to be the same - how could it be? Director, actors, DoP and the rest all put in their bit, their creativity. It's going to be different to how I imagined it.
But if it communicates the right ideas I will be happy.
During the shoot one actor added a line, I asked the director to ensure that they didn't do that because it sounded wrong. If he hadn't I wouldn't have argued, I'd made my point. But he agreed, the actor didn't say it again.
Later an actor changed the words of a speech in such a way that a sequence of words were repeated three times in 5 lines of dialogue. I didn't like it. But it was a speech full of passion and if I'd asked for it to be corrected the actor would have been concentrating on the words instead of the passion which would be worse. Plus it had been shot seven times from different angles with the wrong words already. Never mind.
There was one line where the emphasis was on the wrong word. It needed to be on the right one otherwise the line was pointless. So I asked the Director to mention it, he did, the actor changed it. I was happy.
I'm not precious about my words.
When it came to my own 15 minutes of fame, the flow of the dialogue that I had written did not work. I said my first line (changing it slightly to make it more cutting), then the other actor cut in over the top preventing me from saying the next bit.
But that worked so much better in the context of the scene as set up by the Director. I had not been explicit with my directions on the page, and the location we were using dictated how the scene had to be played.
That whole scene ended up quite different to the way I had written it - but it communicated the same thing. And that is the point.
It was a good set of scenes from the first act of the story, which utilised a surprisingly wide range of locations: packed classroom, almost empty classroom, external industrial, in-car, school lockers, and back into the classroom. The emotional structure flows well too, I think. As well as comprising the main expositional sections (filled with character).
If those things are communicated I will be very happy indeed.
So, will this affect how I write? How could it not?
Other questions I've been asked: Who paid for it? Me. How much did it cost? Less than £500. Didn't you want to direct? No.
What's on the turntable? "A Coral Room" by Kate Bush from "Aerial" (on Spotify but I do own this)
Except that's a catch 22 in a professional sense, unless you do it yourself which Danny has (as well as his paid-for work), as have others in the scribosphere (like Lucy for example), and as I have now, with the scenes from Monsters.
I knew I needed to write something about this but I couldn't get a handle on what to write - until Danny's blog gave me some context. Though you have to bear in mind that we have no finished product as yet - though it will be ready for the Cheltenham Screenwriters Festival.
First things first: I did not direct, I just wrote it. I did not make last minute changes, the script is essentially the one I used for the Red Planet competition last year. I did not question or comment on any of the decisions the Director made, except when asked, either before or during the shoot. In fact I wasn't present for much of it - I was there but not in the room.
Danny said the question he most gets asked is "how has it turned out as opposed to how you imagined (or wrote) it?" Well, I got that too. For which I have no answer. Putting aside the fact it's not finished, I don't expect it to be the same - how could it be? Director, actors, DoP and the rest all put in their bit, their creativity. It's going to be different to how I imagined it.
But if it communicates the right ideas I will be happy.
During the shoot one actor added a line, I asked the director to ensure that they didn't do that because it sounded wrong. If he hadn't I wouldn't have argued, I'd made my point. But he agreed, the actor didn't say it again.
Later an actor changed the words of a speech in such a way that a sequence of words were repeated three times in 5 lines of dialogue. I didn't like it. But it was a speech full of passion and if I'd asked for it to be corrected the actor would have been concentrating on the words instead of the passion which would be worse. Plus it had been shot seven times from different angles with the wrong words already. Never mind.
There was one line where the emphasis was on the wrong word. It needed to be on the right one otherwise the line was pointless. So I asked the Director to mention it, he did, the actor changed it. I was happy.
I'm not precious about my words.
When it came to my own 15 minutes of fame, the flow of the dialogue that I had written did not work. I said my first line (changing it slightly to make it more cutting), then the other actor cut in over the top preventing me from saying the next bit.
But that worked so much better in the context of the scene as set up by the Director. I had not been explicit with my directions on the page, and the location we were using dictated how the scene had to be played.
That whole scene ended up quite different to the way I had written it - but it communicated the same thing. And that is the point.
It was a good set of scenes from the first act of the story, which utilised a surprisingly wide range of locations: packed classroom, almost empty classroom, external industrial, in-car, school lockers, and back into the classroom. The emotional structure flows well too, I think. As well as comprising the main expositional sections (filled with character).
If those things are communicated I will be very happy indeed.
So, will this affect how I write? How could it not?
Other questions I've been asked: Who paid for it? Me. How much did it cost? Less than £500. Didn't you want to direct? No.
What's on the turntable? "A Coral Room" by Kate Bush from "Aerial" (on Spotify but I do own this)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Something about writing
I thought I'd say something about writing since, at least theoretically, this is a screenwriting blog.
The TV-related project Traitor required me to write eight story ideas, a paragraph on each, which I have now done.
I compiled them into a single sheet - made a point of using the same font that the company used for their briefing sheet - adjusted the font size so that it was nicely readable but all fitted on to one page and off it went.
So that's another job complete. Nothing may come of it but that's the way things work in the writing world.
Next comes the proper treatment for Clones.
What's on the turntable? "Oye como va" by Santana from "Viva Santana" (which is a huge compilation of Santana tracks)
The TV-related project Traitor required me to write eight story ideas, a paragraph on each, which I have now done.
I compiled them into a single sheet - made a point of using the same font that the company used for their briefing sheet - adjusted the font size so that it was nicely readable but all fitted on to one page and off it went.
So that's another job complete. Nothing may come of it but that's the way things work in the writing world.
Next comes the proper treatment for Clones.
What's on the turntable? "Oye como va" by Santana from "Viva Santana" (which is a huge compilation of Santana tracks)
Nothing important
Yesterday was my birthday (thinks: I shall have to update the profile).
I have a cousin who is exactly three days older than me (I also have a friend who's exactly 1 day older but that's not important here) and when I was younger it seemed the important parties were always hers. She lived nearer to the majority of our relatives so our birthdays were combined and took place at the familial epicentre.
This probably isn't actually true but that was the perception.
We had a joint 18th birthday but it was family and her friends mostly - then again I didn't really have a lot of close friends. (See I'm trying to be fair.)
When it came to my 21st I did have a group of friends and we partied away the evening in a large Victorian mansion somewhere in London which was also a recording studio and I spent the evening spinning the discs in a back room. On my own.
Tragic.
Then again I'm not one for big parties. My 30th passed unnoted, we were amused by my 40th, last year my 50th was pretty quiet and for various reasons I was unable to go my cousin's 50th.
The Teacher has a birthday a little over a week before me (she's younger and I'm not giving away the details) but the kids and I managed to make that one quite successful. Best organised one for years. She loves the Biederbecke trilogy and I got it on DVD for her (it's an Alan Plater masterpiece).
So yesterday was my 51st. To be honest we had decided that since we were both running around madly over the weekend (me shooting Monsters and she with the Boy at the BBC) we would defer even our meagre celebrations until next week - I'm to have an official birthday next Saturday.
Honestly I don't know what happened yesterday but it was one of the worst days that I and the Teacher have had in years.
Not on a personal level between ourselves, though it's true we were both tired, but the kids!
We have two of the best kids anyone could possibly want, not only can we take them to places, we can take them back and not to apologise. They are both decent and thoughtful. We almost never have to raise our voices, they never have tantrums (really), they like us and we like them.
But not yesterday.
I'm not going into detail but yesterday they turned into satanic abominations. The Daughter needed kid gloves and the boy needed the Riot Act.
Must be something in the water.
What's on the turntable? "I am the Law" by The Human League from "Dare" - not that I'm a massive Human League fan, but when it's free on Spotify...
I have a cousin who is exactly three days older than me (I also have a friend who's exactly 1 day older but that's not important here) and when I was younger it seemed the important parties were always hers. She lived nearer to the majority of our relatives so our birthdays were combined and took place at the familial epicentre.
This probably isn't actually true but that was the perception.
We had a joint 18th birthday but it was family and her friends mostly - then again I didn't really have a lot of close friends. (See I'm trying to be fair.)
When it came to my 21st I did have a group of friends and we partied away the evening in a large Victorian mansion somewhere in London which was also a recording studio and I spent the evening spinning the discs in a back room. On my own.
Tragic.
Then again I'm not one for big parties. My 30th passed unnoted, we were amused by my 40th, last year my 50th was pretty quiet and for various reasons I was unable to go my cousin's 50th.
The Teacher has a birthday a little over a week before me (she's younger and I'm not giving away the details) but the kids and I managed to make that one quite successful. Best organised one for years. She loves the Biederbecke trilogy and I got it on DVD for her (it's an Alan Plater masterpiece).
So yesterday was my 51st. To be honest we had decided that since we were both running around madly over the weekend (me shooting Monsters and she with the Boy at the BBC) we would defer even our meagre celebrations until next week - I'm to have an official birthday next Saturday.
Honestly I don't know what happened yesterday but it was one of the worst days that I and the Teacher have had in years.
Not on a personal level between ourselves, though it's true we were both tired, but the kids!
We have two of the best kids anyone could possibly want, not only can we take them to places, we can take them back and not to apologise. They are both decent and thoughtful. We almost never have to raise our voices, they never have tantrums (really), they like us and we like them.
But not yesterday.
I'm not going into detail but yesterday they turned into satanic abominations. The Daughter needed kid gloves and the boy needed the Riot Act.
Must be something in the water.
What's on the turntable? "I am the Law" by The Human League from "Dare" - not that I'm a massive Human League fan, but when it's free on Spotify...
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