Dan In Real Life.

By Pierce Gardener.

Revisions by Peter Hedges.

This is another one of those: 'I wanted to read awhile ago and has taken awhile to get around to' screenplays and I'm glad that I have now finally read it.

I remember seeing a brief trailer some time ago and the instant feeling I got was that 'this is one for me.' It belongs in the wide genre of indie type films that centre around family, a longing from the norm and feature a great blend of humour and drama. So I was eager to know if it would hold up to its initial impact and deliver. And the verdict is: it does.

The story is about a widowed father and newspaper advice columnist who has his hands full with raising his three daughters and being practical to let go and enjoy something in life. But then the family head off on vacation and his rational and in control side is put to the test when he falls for a woman.

The screenplay is a heartfelt and feel good read. It embodies a strong driving force via realistic characters and the humour and drama that they bring. It has a unique blend of humour, familial conflict and emotional upheaval that makes for a warming and layered read. It has a great balance and rhythm to its scene and content that keeps it pacey and interesting. However, there are one or two potentially cheesy and questionable moments, which are to be expected within this type of story.

The screenplay is ultimately about family and personal happiness, what that is, how it should be approached and how the two can exist in harmony. It's about finding a balance with the mundane rational side and zest for the irrational and unpredictable side in order to live in real life now and again.

I can't wait to see the film and I hope it holds up to my now high hopes and expectations.

That Television Calling Card Script.

So I’ve been out of university for awhile and still feel overwhelmed at the amount of screenwriting and industry advice/information available; the monumental task ahead of me in all its stages and phases; the route possibilities and pathways; all compiled with all the other things I want to do like living, writing and stuff. However, one decision has made its way to the forefront and is such an obvious one: to write something. But not just anything.

I'm on the back of a serious two year relationship with WWII Drama and recently have been engaging in many flirts and not committing to anything. But the good news is I'm done playing the field and ready to step into something serious again.

But it would be foolish of me to just write whatever I liked because at this point in my life everything I'm doing is working towards an ultimate goal. So like in a script every line of dialogue and action needs to be leading somewhere; it needs to have a point and a purpose within the bigger picture. So everything that I do and write now needs to have that same point and purpose and be leading somewhere.

It may appear obvious, although not everyone realises that what they write for television needs to be relevant in today's world, suitable for the small screen and is what is wanted by the industry. So this has become my new romance or rather, an old flame I patched things up with.

So the television calling card script is my next target, challenge and focal point for the next six months or so. If all goes to plan it will also form as my entry to the Emmy script competition for 2010.

With this script I'm aiming to demonstrate that I can write effectively within the world of television and write the type of script that people are looking for. Ultimately, it will be used to sell myself as a writer and only time will tell if it's the best possible script to do that.

So there are some basic questions to ask myself before proceeding into the project to make sure I stand the best chance possible in writing a great, relevant and suitable script:

Have I picked the right story that will drive me through the next six months and not leave me having to carry it through or give up on?

Does it move me? Am I passionate enough about it? Do I care about the characters? Is it uplifting, tragic or inspiring?

Is it suitable for television?

Is it a contemporary drama or sitcom? Will it have a realistic budget? Few characters and a general location?

Is it relevant and dramatic enough for television?

Is it relevant to recent national events/issues? Is the issue/event explored in terms of character action and change? Is it emotionally engaging?

Is it relevant and suitable in relation to what's on television now or has been in the past? To what's in demand?

Does it fit into a specific television slot and style of programming? Has it been done or explored before?

Will it be visually appealing?

Is it set in a visually interesting location? Is the location symbolic in any way to the characters and the story? Will it take place as much outdoors as it does indoors?

-- End to the line of questioning --

I am equally excited and anxious at writing this story but feel it's the right time to do so. So with all these initial factors and questions answered in my head, it’s time to get on and commit to this.

However, the usual last minute worry and concern remains:

That it might not fit the sixty minutes, be realistic enough, or even work as a television drama.

That's what rewriting is for. So it's nothing to worry about until there's a first draft. A television calling card script can be up to 90mins for a contemporary drama (30mins for a sitcom). But for now, it's important to just get something written down and then go from there.

Now onto an exciting and intimidating set of words:

FADE IN:

This is it, well for Graduation.

Last Friday was the graduation ceremony for the Media School at Bournemouth University and naturally my own graduation into its alumni, which I'd like to believe is what the Illuminati goes by nowadays.

Anyway, Friday was an intense start at 5am for the coastal drive across to Bournemouth, as I didn't get any shut eye the night before. So I had to rely on adrenaline and anxiety for the ceremony to keep me awake and alert.

The ceremony was great and has set the record for continuous hand clapping for a prolonged amount of time. After awhile I just knew I couldn't keep up so I opted for a consistent and strong; clap every other person and saw myself outlast everyone around me. I clapped for what seemed like hundreds of people that day and deservedly so.

The step up onto the stage felt like a Michael Jackson 'This is it' moment with the culmination of my time at the University. The stage walk is a blur but the proud feelings of graduating and moving onto the next stage in my life has remained.

Afterwards there was a little shindig in the Purbeck Hall for a natter and a drink accompanied by a cool band in the background. Here is where I spoke to the scriptwriting lecturer who marked my major screenplay aka my beloved WWII Drama. It's also where the quality of the BU lecturers continued to shine through in offering advice and encouragement. I felt even better about achieving my feature script and was opened up to the prospect of it making a great radio play. This is something that makes sense because it would be a realistic achievement compared to a feature film and it's more likely that people will get to experience it. I would love to hear it myself and will consider it in the near future. I did hesitate going to the mini shindig at first but I'm glad I did and it was one of those moments that just felt like another fate encounter.

It was an extremely refreshing and exciting moment to leave graduation and the world of university behind. However, I will always look back on writing at Bournemouth University with fond memories and gratitude for its teaching staff.

As for the future, I don't believe there's any rush and especially when there's so much to learn and discover. It's a new world and so naturally I need to learn how to crawl before I can walk and walk before I can run. So I'm just going to take it easy and enjoy the journey, and ultimately, aspire to live in the vain of Rudyard Kipling's poem IF.

The Lovely Bones, The Visitor, Last Chance Harvey. - [Notes on Last Screenplays Read]

Yesterday I read three screenplays and so I thought I'd have a collective round up of thoughts and offer up an Award for the Best Screenplay of the Day. (Note: There are no spoilers).

Firstly, The Lovely Bones, written by the team behind The Lord of the Rings and based on the best selling book of the same name. It was an interesting read simply because it was different from any script I have read or film I have seen.

Going in I was aware it was the story of a murdered young girl who narrates her story from heaven, which is known from the outset. But instead of entering a potentially dark drama about the loss of a child, I was swept up and surprised with its often light-hearted nature at times and from within her viewpoint of death from heaven. It offers such an interesting contrast to the events and emotions on the ground and a very brave way of approaching such poignant and horrific subject matter.

It is a heartbreaking and tragic story but those emotions aren't solely relied upon and enforced to carry you through, as that's not so much the angle of the story being told. It's achieved in an often light-hearted way with dramatic and suspenseful moments. It's interesting that as an audience you're so angry at the crime but find yourself forgetting about it at moments and being amused at some of the things the girl says or a moment or two within the family as we pass through the years; offering some much needed relief from the unapproachable and quite frankly inconceivable thing that's happened.

However, it wasn't an incredible read, (although the more i think about it, it kind of is) but it was different, structured in a way i hadn't seen or read before, naturally powerful due its nature and subject matter, but handled in such a unique and sheltered way. I did want it to go to those high emotional and dramatic places, which the characters didn't as such, but then again, I suppose that has been done many times before and like i said, this was different to anything I've read or seen. I applaud them for adapting/making it and just hope that the film turns out really well because it deserves to.

Second is, The Visitor. It was an interesting read for one major reason and that it didn't appear to be good enough to be made.

At first, I expected a horror or thriller of some kind as I went blindly into it, which is the way I like to go into screenplays. But I was surprised with a drama essentially about illegal immigrants from the view point of a lost and lonesome college professor.

At the end, I was aware that although it was naturally a powerful story, it just had something missing, some personality and real drama. It didn't go to the emotional places i wanted it to and generally thought as a film, it would go to. I was unsure to whether it was the real deal and wondered if it had been made. I thought the potential was avoided and was left with a sour thought of 'How can that be it?' I wanted more. The script was so basic in its detail and personality or lacking rather that it didn't feel like a professional screenplay. It was a competent read but just not what I thought would be enough.

Bare with me...

Anyway, so i hopped over to Apple Trailers and found its trailer. It was nominated for an Oscar and has won many, many awards! And the trailer, is awesome! The performances looked great and the cast spot on. It looked like it held together really well on such simple and basic drama. It was a little shock and nice surprise because the script was so basic in every detail and i thought missed out on its potential in drama and character bonding. It glided lightly over the surface, I thought.

That then told me two things, the actors and actresses on the film did an incredible job because i didn't feel or read much emotion in the script, everybody was constantly coming and going and hardly stayed for long, and two, there can be scripts that are so subtle, simple and only briefly touch on the drama potential, and that is enough itself. I am aware of that last one, but the script was such a surprisingly sparse and lacking read that I did wonder if it would be enough.

The director also wrote it, which is a factor and one where I can imagine specifically allowed the freedom for the actors and actresses to portray the roles and had confidence in himself as a director to achieve the performances, and so didn't feel the need to write them into the script as such.

But I have more respect for it now as a whole and it was a great lesson to fully realise with a proven and successful example.

The Third was, Last Chance Harvey. It was an interesting read for many reasons. The first is due to the fact I had seen the trailer awhile back, and thought, 'A funny stiff-upper-lip scene,' but hasn't all this awkward romance meeting stuff been done before? It was intriguing nonetheless. But the main factor was that I was aware of the actor and actress who played the two lead roles. So they were obviously coming along for the journey as well.

So going in with decidedly low expectations and hoping to be proved wrong - I was and pleasantly so. I found a moving and often amusing story of an estranged father who arrives in London for his daughter's wedding and subsequently meets a woman, suffering from the pressures of being single and reaching forty. They get off on the wrong foot and in a situation that would see most guys would walk embarrassingly away from and with some dignity. But not Harvey.

It was a delight to read and I didn't want it to end. It had such a great blend of subtle humour and drama that made it a really pleasant and mature read. It's a testament to the writer because I feel like I know these characters and that they are people I have met and spent time with. And ultimately, I think that's the goal of a good screenplay to achieve such a personal connection with the audience and this one had it. I really loved it. Kudos.

And so without further ado and all that malarkey...

The Award for Best Screenplay of the Day goes to:

LAST CHANCE HARVEY.

The Award for Special Jury Prize of the Day goes to:

THE LOVELY BONES.

Till next time.

Trailer Watch: Up In The Air.

One of the best teaser trailer's I've seen in awhile:



It's released in the UK on January 15th 2010.

The Book of Eli.

By Gary Whitta.

I've been wanting to read this for over a year and finally got around to it yesterday. Everything in the universe felt correctly aligned and so I went for it.

Since knowing what the screenplay was about, I was intrigued mostly to see if it would hold up as another post-apocalyptic yarn. And the verdict is: it does.

The story is about a lone man who's been travelling a long time on the word of God and is determined to reach his destination. This means keeping himself to himself and not entering into situations or conversations with people because they're not important to his journey. No matter what, he must keep on moving west.

The screenplay is well written, naturally and in such incredible detail from the outset it had me reading with awe. How such simple and mundane things were described with such elegance and purpose to it. The characters were vivid and carried interesting traits and stories and were handled nicely within the confines of such a world. The standout element was how it played with our (my) expectations of such a desolate world and its pre-set conventions. It offered up new ways of doing things or unexpected events and characters. It's nicely paced and works so well in creating effective intrigue/suspense and the slow delivery of the main character and his meeting with the opposition that you know is out in the wasteland.

The screenplay is more than the sum of its part and ultimately is about faith, what is it and what it means to a person, which can mean a different thing to another. It's about following your path and doing what you feel is right even if there's no proof or guarantee of success.

I'm looking forward to seeing the film and how well it transferred.

The Pedlar of Swaffham. Update.

I had a surreal trip back up to Bournemouth and the University on Friday to meet the animators (BACVA) and talk about the script.

And the good news is it's happening and the script will be made, which is great and I'm really pleased!

The animated short will be thirty seconds long and in what was descibed by the course leader as quality over quantity. This has got me intrigued to how it will turn out and most especially the view of Old London Bridge with its mish-mash of structures.



The final script deadline is in two weeks and will be discussed and finalised with the four animators. The group will then spend the year creating the animation, which I assume will be completed in the summer term around June/July next year.

It's incredible being back in a collaboration as there's nothing like it. I'm really looking forward to getting the script finalised and then on seeing the progress and offering any character/story advice and details I can.

It's nice to be on the road to having a sole written animation produced and has been one of my ambitions for awhile.

Just awesome.

The Pedlar of Swaffham.

I've recently completed an unexpected short animation script entitled 'The Pedlar of Swaffham,' which I'm really proud of.

I had initial doubts in achieving the script as by nature it was different to my other animation shorts and was my first adapted piece.

The Pedlar of Swaffham is an english short story that derives from the legend and myth of said Pedlar who came into a fortune due to a dream.

The project came about through Bournemouth University and the new wave of first year animators there. Five short stories were available for adaptation and the best ones will be created into animations by a team over the next year.

This was an opportunity I thought was too good to be true and there was no way i was going to pass on it. I love animations and writing them and have been trying to get 'Book' and 'Vampire' made for awhile. And, here was the chance to potentially get a written credit on a short animation! Too good to be true, and yet it is. :)

So I got reading the short stories, found mine and got to work, and with a one-week deadline. It may have only been six or seven pages long but the story's essence had to be compressed to a mere 2-3 pages of screen time, which was rather difficult as there was a major section of dialogue at a crucial point, had a lot of beats in the story and was historical. And I had picked the easiest one to adapt!

But the more I cut certain beats out on the fly and under pressure, I realised that the audience could deduce for itself what was missing and I soon found out the story could work with its bare bones. It's fascinating now, how quick I am to cut my favourite things as from experience they're often the weakest link, and with this I went straight to them and with only a slight hesitation. The characters and story always comes first, not me.

One of the most fascinating parts of it was the research, and finding out about the Old London Bridge (which the Pedlar visits) and that there used to be shop buildings on there, which people also lived in. The pictures and info I found were incredible and took me off on a tangent for awhile. It was a really great discovery as I love finding out about these kinds of historical gems.

Only in London folks:



It was such an incredible project and exercise and went so fast that I really miss it. I hope it gets picked so I can return to it and improve on it and hopefully see it for real.

It has also proved once again and only in the words of George Mcfly:

'If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.'

WWII Drama Screenplay - [Brief Reflection]

To be bold and ambitious or rather, naive and foolish, would all collectively summarise my decision to write the screenplay for WWII Drama one evening in February 2008.

Although, fingers to keys for the first scene wouldn't happen for at least a year and a half later and confined to evenings during a work placement. (To note: it's not an action war film).

As previously noted, it was a daunting prospect to be writing a drama set during the Second World War, although, it wasn't a decision made with my head but my heart. I had a burning desire to write this story and it just took over any rational thought. Plus I knew it had elements that had never been done before, other relevant positive factors and featured a knock-out title.

So I would have been a fool not to follow it, right?

I also knew nothing about the two world wars and had no real clue to the amount of research that lay in front me, as I had never written a script that required any large amount of research before. I hadn't even written a feature screenplay.

At a Danny Boyle talk last year (BFI Oct 08), he mentioned something along the lines of: In order to stay fresh, challenged and to lose your ego, he attempts a film in a different genre. This would account for his special array of films and is a great piece of advice because going in 'you know very little' and have to learn a whole new lot of everything.

In hindsight, the process of writing in a new genre is the greatest challenge there is and becomes a liberating and extremely grounding experience. I have always had ambitions to venture into different genres but this has made me even more determined but also aware of the ground work involved.

I did underestimate initially how much research was involved and soon learnt how it never ends, and that I wish I had a basic level of WWII and 1940s knowledge before I started. This lack of previous knowledge meeting the real deal soon started to chip away at my original treatment and reveal the various cliches it contained. But as the research and feedback continued the central story became more focused and its emotional journey enhanced. I became fascinated with what I was reading and it fed into my script and affected me emotionally unlike anything I've ever experienced.

The screenplay itself didn't end up as polished as I wanted due to the limited time I had to write it. But I am extremely proud and surprised at where it ended up and will trust my ability even more in the future. It did break my heart handing it in at what I consider an unfinished state, but thankfully it all worked out.

The process was unlike anything I've experienced and has become my own war story to tell or at least, to hold up against any further projects. The strangest thing is that I hardly remember the experience and question whether it was really me that wrote it.

In the end, it turned out to be an extremely challenging, rewarding and enlightening experience. It was as profound as they come and for a first feature screenplay it has certainly set the bar. It has also made me realise that I have so much to learn about character, writing and the world.

Although, I must say, I can't take full credit for the development of WWII Drama and hand over a good portion of that to my tutor for the project, Rosie Cullen. I don't think I could ever thank her enough for her advice, support and encouragement.

I look forward to polishing the current draft of WWII Drama for colleague feedback and then returning to it after one or two projects are complete. I aim to use it as a calling card script and look forward to the reunion and its next stage.

WWII Drama is the pinnacle of my writing achievements and is one I would go crazy over seeing in the cinema, and I think many others would also.

It... would... be... INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that is why I write.

The BU Verdict.

2:1 = Proud and made up.

I got my 2:1 grade on Friday and my assignment percentages today, and I'm made up. After handing in my last assignments, I had convinced myself that I would get a 2:2 due to being really ambitious with my screenplay (major project) and running out of time to re-read and polish the slugger.

In the aftermath, I did focus a lot on what was wrong with my work and if I had the time what I would have improved, which clearly didn't help. But in the end, the screenplay was my highest grade - 2% off a first and definitely something to learn from.

The grade has created a solid foundation for my confidence and future, which is what I needed.

Attending this course was once a distant dream for me and thought impossible, but after a lot of hard work and patience, I got accepted, then decided to defer...

Then it all gets fuzzy.

But it is great and surreal to say that 'I have achieved a major dream of mine' and many small ones along the way.

However, this next one is gonna be a humdinga!

The Learning Curve

'I find myself back here again but this time everything feels different.'

My three years at university have come to an end, which in hindsight is the greatest thing and was rather overdue. The experience was a true character building and learning experience twenty-four-seven and completely worth it. Although, a few tens of thousands of pounds (that I would have liked to have seen) and three years of stress and sleep disorder is a strange way to instil some confidence into an originally 100% insecure mind.

The person I was arriving on my first day is a million miles away from the guy who just handed in his last assignment a week ago. (Admittedly on an extension, although all that really means is you don't have more time overall, just more pressure and nagging voices against you). But what's strange now is that I even feel different from that 'guy' last week. I just hope my physical aging isn't as fast as my mind!

Although, ending university has enhanced that great and immense pressure to do and achieve something fast in order to be a success. But I’m just going to relax the heart rate a bit, get some scripts under my belt, build on my learning and contacts, and work my own way through in my own time.

I've learnt a lot over the last three years about scriptwriting, the industry, myself and people in general, however the biggest thing learnt, is the fact I have sooooooooooooo much to learn!

Abducted by Aliens, Possessed or Other?

It's been far too long since my last post and I don't quite know what happened. I had solid plans to keep posting, updating and keeping track of progress but then one of the above happened.

In a rather large nutshell; I remember completing ZZZZZ and writing a TV Major project in Jan, completing my minor project in early Feb, moving back home late Feb, and then back to uni three days later: found a comfortable place to live and work, donated some money to Danny Stack's Origins, did the impossible and completed my dissertation, wrote the final narration for The Unsucksessful Vampire (AIB), got the dvd for TV Major and was very pleased, left uni and the lifestyle for good in May, and I'm now in my second week of a placement in London with Blake Friedmann. Plus, essentially cool to note, living in the street Black Books used to be!

And what have I learnt?

That it may be worth...

...having self-respect to avoid wasting time and energy in the future.

...having self-belief, again to avoid wasting time and energy, to make the process and experience a lot better and a large step to future achievements.

...accepting that horrendous feeling, insecurities and worry of failure as a necessary route to achieving the impossible and to success.

...applying butt to chair whatever the weather as some progress and the zone potentially is only a few words away.

...in order to stay healthy and alive to not eat Iceland pancakes and egg fried rice and chips for three months.

There may be more but it's been a long day.

However, the answer to the above, apart from my dissertation period undoubtedly possessed, is: Other.

Confidence aka The Holy Grail?

It's that time of the year again. A new term and with it a major slump in confidence. It happens every time, right after a break during which I've managed to gain some confidence and as soon as I'm back it all shatters.

But I've realised its not ability-related as I do believe in myself and the work that I do is good. But its the social and societal aspect that just drains me and in turn depletes what self-confidence I do have to be able to overcome these low periods.

And during these low periods socialising (even in its simplest form) becomes even more of an uphill struggle and I tend to hideaway. But then that's not as easy as it sounds and just becomes another obstacle and worry that gets in the way of being able to focus on and do work.

And so in that struggle of complete self-awareness and selflessness, I'm compromising my creativity, drive and ultimately, my work and future.

However on a different note:

"What an incredible painting..."



But then again, the best work I've done (at uni) has been in extreme circumstances and never when I've been 'happy'. However, on those occasions I was able to hideaway like a hermit and had the freedom to reach a creative peak.

'Everyone suffers for their art.'

And so, I've come to realise or in my amateurish nature, that I can only do 'my best work' when I'm depressed and up against it and just as important, when I'm able to getaway and have the freedom to work in a comfortable place.

But what's changed now is I'm unable to just hideaway and get on with it and that's the problem. I don't have a comfort zone where I am now or the freedom to create one.

Nevertheless, I do think I should be embracing this low period, as somethings got to give and I really do need to gather some heat to be able to write and get through my feature. Not to mention the rest of the term and graduate.

'No one said it was going to be easy.'

Naturally, but one thing remains:

'Is there a way to capture confidence and bottle it, so when I get it, I can never lose it.'

Although, it may partly be a case of: 'What you want isn't what you need.'

Ps: Was the painting at all an obvious ploy to see you through the post?

The Coming Year & Previous in Review.

The year ahead, for me (and like many other people) is going to be the biggest challenge I've had to face so far. It will comprise of not only managing to complete my university work and graduating but also maintaining confidence in myself and work, and momentum in my career ambitions after returning home.

I've never particularly liked being at university (aside from the course) and so the prospect of returning home to begin 'year one' is an exciting one. I can't deny that the experience has helped me to develop as a writer and a person. But at 23 I went to uni later than the average age and so didn't benefit socially like the majority. But the way I saw it, is that at 17-19 you go and have a great social experience and maybe figure out what you want to do and make some great friends. At 23, I was already set on what I wanted to do and obviously wanted to enjoy myself, but soon realised that I didn't fit into it because I had grown out of that mentality and striving to be accepted. I will miss certain aspects of university life especially since the beginning of the third year;

1. The creative environment and having a small group to hang out and share work with.

2.Being involved collectively in something fresh and exciting, and helping each other to develop.

3. The opportunities for collaborating with students from other courses and neighbouring Arts Institute.

The past year has been a roller coaster for me and would be rather difficult to summarise. Overall it ended on a high note with many positive achievements and developments to look back on and feel proud of.

1. Year 2. May. The one big achievement and development has been completing 'Requiem', the one hour drama assignment. I reached a new level of writing and aftermath bliss with that script and its out of uni rewrite became something of a revelation. The script process and story has helped develop and change me more than any other, and I look back on it with extremely fond and proud memories. It was written during a difficult and miserable time at uni and it helped me get through that period in a way that I don't think any person could have done.

2. Year 3. Term 1. Moving house once again proved to be the right move, as it has opened me up to what I term 'the real uni experience' that i had missed in the first two years. So it's nice now to experience the benefits of the social side entwined with the working side and for the first time being able to enjoy being at university.

3. Year 3. Oct. Work Experience, with Zig Zag Productions in London. An incredible two weeks. It was my first time in London and combined with the life as a runner, changed my life and helped to put things into perspective. The position at Zig Zag helped me to identify the major weakness in myself (confidence) and what I need to do to maintain a confident and happy lifestyle wherever I work.

Some other notable achievements and developments;

1. Overcoming nerves and fear to deliver two effective presentations.
2. Writing my Episode Drama (after switching episodes) in six days and recieving a grade first for it.
3. Working with an MA Animation student on 'Book' and others. (An effective beginning in the art of animation writing).
4. Realising that 'Story and Character come first. Not me.'
5. Building on professional practice with colleagues.
6. Writing a BATV3 minor project without meeting the person.
7. Overcoming fear and lack of confidence in sharing ideas.
8. Writing a second BATV3 minor project that wasn't used (but became a personal and professional revelation).
9. Beginning collaboration on BAIMP3 major project.

I'd like to use this post as an opportunity to address the upcoming tasks, milestones and ideal things I'd like to accomplish in the coming year: (some by definition have begun)

-ZZZZZ: An Interactive Website - (BA IMP3 Collaboration)
-Have 'Vampire' or 'Book' produced by MA Animation students
-Minor Project Feature Film Pitch/Presentation - (Uni)
-The Unsuckessful Vampire - [Write the narration] - (AIB)
-WWII Drama Feature Screenplay - (Uni)
-Dissertation - (Uni)
-Carry out four weeks work experience with Big Wave Productions - (Uni)
-Successfully graduate with a 2/2 at least - (Uni)
-Get a full time job back home - (July)
-Write 'A&A' Television Drama Script -(June/July)
-Write 'N' or 'H' Television Pilot - (Summer)
-Continue fictional blog 'Black Sands'
-Write Television Proposal for 'BM' and send to S9 producer
-Write 'Undecided Project' or rewrite 'WWII Drama' - (Oct 09 to March 10)
-Maintain professional working relationships with colleagues
-Set up a few weeks work experience with a television company for 2010
-Have Credit Cards paid off by Christmas

The biggest challenge that has me worried is the Dissertation. Academic writing has never been my strong point and so I know I'm going to struggle with doing well on that. It's the reason I'll be happy with at least a 2/2 grade from the course because I know this assignment will bring my whole grade down. Alternatively, a 1st or 2/1 on my feature will take away any disappointment from an overall 3rd. As doing well in the feature script is more important to me than doing well in the dissertation, and in the long run.

I may not be able to achieve everything on the list and it may be a little ambitious, but as long as I graduate from uni then that's the biggest one out of the way and then the others will eventually fall into place.

Rock on 2009...

A Little Certain 'Vampire' and 'Book'.

I was going to start by quoting the first line from the song Gravity by Embrace but I've changed my mind. I'll just listen to it instead. However it still applies without the opening word 'honey' of course.

'Vampire' and 'Book' are two short animation scripts that were begun on Dec 2007 and June 2007 respectively, and yesterday were extremely close to being once and for all, finished. The first, I think is as good as it's ever going to be, and the second extremely close and depends on further feedback and time.

What's interesting is that both scripts on every revision and rewrite over the last year were considered final. At the start they both were initially eight pages, which I soon found out was far too long for an animated short. But with some more time away, time to review and feedback from others, another rewrite always came about; improvements were made, precious page time was reduced and the story was tighter. They are both now four pages long, which still may be too long for some shorts but I think is the right length for these stories.

The final polish was unplanned and was a spur of the moment thing while I was about to email them to someone. As I read the attachment labels, I thought 'I'll give them a read to see how they're doing' and then found after one improvement, others came and the email was held up for awhile.

With 'Vampire' it was the vampire himself who's character and development was improved and ultimately, nailed. I never realised before that his actions and reactions weren't in character, they were just typical generic reactions. But now they follow a process of development, which for an animated character may sound strange, but is needed and it works so much better. Before, his first reaction in the script was a big one. And then they were smaller and returned to being big. There was no gradual development into the big reaction and change in the character. So it was nice after all this time to realise that I had been playing some of his reactions the wrong way. They were all there but just not in the right order. The weird thing is it stood out like a sore thumb whereas before it seemed perfect. The vampire feels like a real person now and feels like the icing on the cake.

Anyway..

'Book' had the most dramatic change to it and had almost a page wiped out from it. This was a large portion of the opening; that I knew beforehand and an animator had said to me, was a weak area and if it didn't contribute to the overall story, then it should go. But i just couldn't bare to lose it as I loved it too much. It did add to the story as it added to the persona of the mysterious owner of the house/estate, but it was more small jokes/set ups, that really didn't advance things to much, they just made the reveal more fancy and developed. But it survived intact without those. And so I killed that little gem opening page and reworked the essential scene from all that, that leads into the predicament of the story.

It's strange that a four page animation, admittedly casually, has taken a year to get to a comfortable point of completion. The last rewrites six months ago, for me were complete and done, and i was happy. But this time 'Vampire' in particular feels like it has reached its peak destination and I couldn't be happier.

I noted in an earlier post, that a lecturer, Jan Weddup suggested before that I should offer to write for the BU animators. He gave me the nudge to start thinking in terms of short animations for possible producing. It took six months for it to work its way to action, but ended up kicking off an exciting and unexplored territory, that at first, I didn't think existed in my capacity and I wasn't worthy to tread.

The main thing I've learnt on writing animations; is the importance of screen time and detail, and the extreme compression of the two in order to deliver a satisfying pace and enriched story. That has certainly informed my writing in general as well as that learnt on character and other areas.

It's something I recommend that everyone should try because, if nothing else, it's great fun and a great way to escape.

Cheers Jan for the nudge.

ZZZZZ - The World Of Deep Sleep.

Over the last month I’ve been working with a third year Interactive Media Production student on his major project; an 'interactive first-person game narrative website'. The story is that Colour has been stolen from Deep Sleep and your goal is to return it to its former glory through varied game play and narrative sections.

The collaboration came about through an email sent out to the scriptwriters 'looking for a scriptwriter to write the scripts to an already set story'. So I initially thought that it would be a) a quick job b) a challenge for myself to distill his vision into script form and c) I would be helping this guy out. Plus d) since the summer project in the first year, I wanted to be involved on another interactive website. So I replied and heard back from him pretty soon.

The initial meeting went well and I heard the concept for the website and was intrigued and interested. The great thing was that it was a leftfield concept that I’d like to create and would want to play. From our chat I realised that the overall story was there but in step-by-step script/story detail it wasn’t as set as I thought. And so I discovered that there was room for my own ideas to feature within the project at various sections and he was happy to give me the freedom to carry that out. I was really happy because I got to be creative not only on a narrative level but on a gameplay level also. So it was the best outcome for me.

He’d had a few replies from second year scriptwriters but I was the only third year that replied to him. And upon that basis I was offered the task of writing the scripts for the project, which I happily accepted. The others though were held as standbys in case I wasn’t available to complete all the sections.

An appropriate note; would be that after the meeting I was elated on a creative level but also extremely worried because I’d never written an interactive first person game script before. I was worried that my work would fall short and I‘d let him down. But I approached it on the basis that I’m only going to write what I would enjoy playing and as my expectations are sky high, I knew that on some level I would achieve my objective.

The next meeting we spoke about one of the in-game rooms and the first script I would write. The story for the room had a character who was an obstacle and gave you riddles, in which you had to answer to receive a key. There was no specifics on the room, or the character but a generic type or anything that existed in the room that had to feature. It was just those three specific things; a character, riddles and a key. So I was able to come up with the story, dialogue, enhanced character and scenario that complimented the world of Deep Sleep; and plotting and direction that enhanced the experience from a first person point of view.

Something that's worth noting is that before when working on something that I'm unsure with or ideas in general, I would be too scared to show them to anybody in fear of embarrassment or rejection. But as I've now built up good working relationships with two scriptwriting colleagues and trust their judgement, it has given me the confidence to show them work (and now others) without much fear but the desire to find the missing elements to make it work. And I somewhat anxiously showed this 'room script' to a close colleague and he approved and said he liked it, which helped to ease my insecurities with it. Over the last six months sharing ideas and scripts has become second nature and my view is simply; 'you win some, you lose some' and try not to take any feedback, however harsh and founded to heart and take everything into consideration to make it better.

Upon meeting for the reviewing of the script I was still a little nervous and anxious that it wouldn’t be good enough and I‘d have to change parts. But I was completely ecstatic and happy with the script from my point of view as a player. But my nerves were short lived as he loved the script and said it was perfect. He said it was exactly what he wanted. He said 'he wanted it to carry a story within the room' and so was really pleased with it.

I was extremely happy and looking forward to writing the next room, which had the same three obstacle/goal elements as the previous; a) three characters, b) puzzles and c) collect a parchment. And it was up to me to create the story scenario, dialogue and interaction within the room and narrative. The review meeting for this script was a good one also as he was happy with it which was reassuring as I wasn’t a hundred percent happy with it, unlike the previous. I was about ninety percent happy with it. He shared the same reservations about the gameplay and wasn’t satisfied that the puzzles and lead into them was the best it could be. But he said as that was his area he would figure that out.

Recently I’ve completed an intro to the first chapter and an outro, which consist of meeting a character and receiving your task; and returning to the character to return what he asked you to get. They total two pages in length and follow the premise and conclusion of the story for that chapter. He was really happy with those and didn’t need any changes to be made.

I’ve also completed the third room script for the first chapter of which the previous two room scripts are a part of. The room was more involved on the gameplay and less on dialogue and character action, and so was the shorter and less free creatively than the other two. But enjoyable nonetheless. Again, he was happy with the script apart from one line of dialogue which needs to be changed.

At the moment Chapter Two requires a few small video and dialogue sections to be written. The entire chapter is based around a specific interactive format with set stories and so only requires character dialogue. I hope to have that completed within a day or two. Then work on Chapter Three will begin. I have a rough idea of what’s required but I‘m awaiting the overview. There is a fourth and final conclusive chapter of which I have no info about as I don‘t think it‘s been decided yet. So I don’t know what to expect there. But it must include a closing video to round up the main characters story and the experience.

Overall things are going well with this although time is pressing as the shoot is schedule for the 5th of Jan. But looking back I did hesitate about this advertisement and job because I had no experience or confidence in carrying it out effectively. But somehow, I just thought that it can't hurt to see what it's all about and so 'nothing ventured nothing gained.'

An important note and testament is that as much as I like the scripts I wrote (with room one being my favourite) I’m not possessive of them. I’m happy if anything is changed because I’ve done my part and I respect that it‘s somebody else‘s project and that I was just there to help provide the best scripts I could.

Overall, the project has been a really challenging and highly rewarding experience, even at the half-way stage. It’s been a nice experience and I hope that ZZZZZ can be realised to its full potential.

And I can’t wait to play it.

Synecdoche, New York.

By Charlie Kaufman.

It's the first Kaufman screenplay I've read and I'm in complete awe and respect of the man. I was already aware of his reputation and unique way of story telling so I knew what I had let myself in for. But I was pleasently surprised and pleasently not confused. The verdict is: 'Wow.' I really loved this and wish I could go back and read it again for the first time.

It's an epic at 157 pages long and spans at least tweny years in the life of Caden Cotard as he attempts to put together his next play (which calls for a large set of New York City) and his relationships with a number of women.

The script went by in what seemed like two seconds and I loved both of them. As a whole it reminded me of the play 'Death of a Salesman' and I've found myself adopting the same fondness for it. Caden, the main character is the embodiment of Willie Lowman and his quest for self-fullfilment and happiness. The story offers a sad and moving view on aging and the desperate quest for love and finding a home for oneself. We move through life at such a pace making brief connections with people and by the time you realise what or who you want; your whole life has passed you by.

The screenplay is incredible in every way and portrays realistic characters who jump off the page and come to life. The story carries a great blend of black humour and drama and one that carries tragic undertones. It was a truly unique experience and really inspiring. Its made a big impact on me and I'm sure like 'Death of a Salesman' it will follow me around for the rest of my life.

Charlie Kaufman is also directing the film, which will be his first. So I'm confident that the film will do justice to the version in my head.

I just can't wait to see it.

Lars And The Real Girl.

By Nancy Oliver.

Every time I read a professional screenplay, more than often I'm amazed and naturally inspired. But in the case of Lars And The Real Girl, the word is: 'Stunned.'

I've never read a more tragic, moving, funny and original screenplay in my life, and I can't imagine one ever coming close.

I don't think I could distil its essence or summarise its greatness in anyway, so I won't try to. But what I love about it, is - its simplicity and subtlety.

It's such a welcome to have a screenplay that when it begins, doesn't reply on masses of dialogue, description or action, and doesn't try to go out of its way to hit you in the face and hook you in with natural and obvious 'set ups' of characters and events.

The genius of the opening of Lars is in its subtlety and intrigue. Mystery may be more appropriate. It kept you wanting to know more about the main character and his situation, and ultimately, what the story is all about. It was nice that it isn't heavy on dialogue either (or action for that matter) and is the better for it. The characters were vivid and believable and you really felt like you were in the story with them. It's hard to explain its greatness, but moving on...

The story, is potentially kind of strange, but like the characters in the story they play along with the situation, ultimately to help Lars and in return we as the reader also take on that responsibility by reading on.

There are good people out there...

...and we're reminded of that. It's really nice to see and on however we viewed the story, we are potentially, a good person and we're reminded of that too.

I don't know anything about the author, Nancy Oliver at the moment, or if this is her first screenplay or not. At a guess i'd say it is. But only because the screenplay appears to have been written on a typewriter (or some free script-ware) and strays a little from the conventional professional screenplay format. But somehow it works to its advantage and adds to its charm, which I think is remarkable.

The opening section is one of the most amazing I've read and partly because of the moment the author chose to enter on in the story. We weren't given the 'usual' and 'obvious' characters that were simply set up as their function in the story and a major 'event' or 'indication' to the story. It felt like we were mid-way into something and therefore were a little out of sync. This made it all the more realistic and intriging because you want to catch up and know what's going on. But once you get the smallest indication or info on the situation and Lars, you just know that 'this is it.' There's no putting this thing down and it's going to be unlike a journey you've ever had. And by the end, you won't be the same person as when you first picked up the screenplay.

That's how it felt to me, anyway. And you can't ask for a better experience than that.

A few comments on format: (And note: I'm not mocking it.)

In some instances, the rule 'show don't tell' - was broken quite a few times. But it actually read better and I can't imagine the screenplay without them now. The experience just wouldn't be the same.

I won't ruin any of the story, but some of my favoures of format simplicity and potential errors, are: in the opening when establishing a house and a garage. The house or garage wasn't described at all and the word 'Establishing' was in place of the description, on both consecutive occasions. At first I thought, 'What? Can you do that?' I guess it wasn't a specific type of house or anything. Just what you saw.

Not knowing Lars' age first of when he's introduced was an unconventional moment and for me, I became a little frustrated because I wanted to be able to visualise him. I had a rough idea of his age and it soon became apparent. But while I was wondering and partly frustrated at not knowing his age- I was still reading on and was even more intrigued. Then when I got it I was thankful, which was a nice device, if intended.

Another format favourite, is later on with another slug line of a house later and in the description one word sat in front of a line of white space: 'Rain.'

But I've got nothing bad to say about this screenplay and I'm in complete awe and admiration for its writer. I can't wait to read the follow-up and hope that it's as every bit as different and incredible as Lars And The Real Girl.

But first things first; I have to see the film!

Life After Requiem.

Its been a few weeks now since I sent Requiem off to the Emmy script competition... and I did accidentally but completely compulsively read my script back... and I found a few typos, a word missing from the dialogue, and an extra word in an action line. Yeah rather annoying as I was really pleased with it and syked up about sending it in. Plus i put the date on the front cover, which i recently found out you're not supposed to do.

So, ok.

I also know that Requiem may not be completely what they're looking for. But like it was for the assignment, it was a complete gamble and looking back, with some shocking errors in that version, I still received a very good grade. So I'm not taking the competition to to heart. Not anymore.

But overall, it just makes me want to do better and be as close to perfect next time. So I'm not bothered about it all now, not even dreaming on the off chance they'll overlook the mistakes. But the most important thing is that i've got my script to the best point possible at the moment, and so the future is with the script and not the competition.

Although that's not completely true... the statement is right but not together. The script is the future but the competition with a different script, is also the future.

As I'm already thinking to next year's entry and writing a script that's more catered to their criteria and centred around what they're looking for and what I think would impress them. And I didn't have to look far, as its a script I already have planned out.

Its a story I came up with after ditching Requiem last August. I worked on a new one hour drama for a month and managed to write a scene breakdown. It actually topped Requiem in terms of character drama and tragic circumstance. The Requiem at the time that is - but even now it still has the potential to rocket past it. But the main thing is that it's more commercial and I'm sure what the Emmy panel are looking for and will be impressed by. But the story also goes beyond that and hopefully will deliver more than expected. I think it may just be the perfect formula, it may be the wrong way to think about it but its certainly a great contender for next year.

So other than my university assignments and developing two awesome tv shows, that will be the main script i'll be working on. It doesn't actually give me much time but i'm going to give it some time this summer and see how far I get with it. There's also about a month or so before I finish university next year and the competition deadline. So that time may prove very useful.

'You have to believe that life is more than the sum of its parts kiddo.'

-The Untited States Of Leland

That Novice Feeling...

If it’s true that it takes an average ten years to carve out a career in screenwriting then next June when I graduate from university, will officially mark the beginning of year one.

A scary! and exciting thought!

I think I’m going go and lie down for a bit...

(cue tumble weed)












Time passing...
















Ok I’m back.

Hopefully the following are some familiar feelings with some of you and are just a part of developing and things I’ll grow out of:

‘Time is running out.’

‘I’m taking on too much and looking for that overnight success.’

‘I’m trying too hard to succeed and then being disheartened even though my goals were unrealistic in the first place.’

‘I’m constantly worried that a similar idea will be released and kill my babies. So everything needs to be written straight away!’

‘I pile on loads of unnecessary pressure and as a result question my ability and staying power.’

‘I constantly put myself down by others apparent confidence because of my lack of.’

What I should be thinking is:

‘I’m not superman and need to relax!! It’s for the long term and so enjoy it.’

‘I need to do more writing than worrying.’

‘Being negative will get me nowhere.’

I’m hungry for this and often worry I won’t be tough enough in the long run. So I feel like if it doesn’t happen soon then it won’t happen. So I’m trying to do everything.

Being at university adds to that pressure and the desire is transformed into a sudden need to succeed and quick!! The course from the outside is seen as a quick way into the industry and being a great writer. But for most they’re forgetting the all important journey of learning and how high those expectations of you really are. And for me being around that denial and negative attitude slowly had me thinking the same thing and not truly understanding how hard it really is to succeed and how good you really have to be.

I just need to chill out about it all and find some solid ground to sit down on and build those steps one by one.

Oh that novice feeling…

Knowing when to stop talking :) and saying goodbye to that quick solution and secret door in. Amongst other things...

It’s going to be a long ride and I’m in.

Requiem. The Sir Peter Ustinov Rewrite.

I've just finished a very successful rewrite of Requiem and I'm buzzing a little bit. I received a disappointing 65% for the assignment a few days ago and despite not having my feedback i embarked on a rewrite. I knew why i received a lower than expected grade and what needed to be improved so I wasn't going into it blindly. The reason for the rewrite was to enter it into this year's Emmy script competition. The Peter Ustinov Award to be precised.

The deadline was yesterday and I only knew my mark four days ago. So the pressure was on and without a doubt it helped.

The entire rewriting process was incredible and especially for a script that I thought was near-enough locked down. I was surprised that it wasn't as tight and finalised as I thought. So it was a pleasure to be able to not only fully realise my vision to the page but to even go beyond that. Links and opportunities that I never considered before came out of nowhere. Clarity of action and descriptions improved four-fold. The most heartbreaking but subsequently rewarding part was in getting scenes to flow page by page and that's getting them to end at the end of a page or half-way through and not have little bits hanging over. A few scenes were extended due to this and ended up becoming real gems and adding to the overall script in ways that I couldn't have imagined. It's incredible. I can't wait for future rewrites if this is anything to go by.

The Emmy Competition;

I'm not completely sure if Requiem is suitable enough for the 'family audience' criteria or even what they're looking for. It's no run-of-the-mill script and I've even surprised myself with it so I'm not entering it half-heartily. At first I was excited at the script being entered and still am. But I thought the odds are stacked against me so I shouldn't get my hopes up. But the most important thing is that no matter what I'm proud as hell of my script and I'm looking forward to other people reading it and telling me what they thought and how the experience was for them.

'It's these scripts, characters and stories that give life to us...not the other way around.'

- Robert Yates (Giving Life. Post)

I'm Writing A Play.

What the hell?

About a month back I came up with this modern day fairy tale which in an insane world somehow hasn't been done before. It has to exist and I'm sure it does (although I hope it doesn't) but I've never seen anything like it. So I'm going to write it.

The idea at the time was seen as either a one-off television drama; reality-based with this magical element or an illustrated children's book, which would be perfect also. But after speaking to a colleague he helped to reinforce the story's themes and essence and we came to the conclusion that a play would be the best and most suitable way to tell the story.

I've never written a play before and have read only a few (Death of a Salesman, This Is Our Youth, Hedda Gabler and The Importance Of Being Ernest) and have always thought 'it would be cool to write one someday' but without really wanting to or being able to.

For a long time my passion for film was insanely high and so interest or ambition in anything else never stood a chance. But over the last few years I've begun to branch out into territories I never thought I'd be equally interested in or even have anything original or appropriate for. Like television, which is now my main market; then short animations; comics and children's books, which like plays are in the background and are just waiting for their big bang.

I think what also has to do with branching out is down to me being realistic with my film ambitions as the television market is much larger in terms of opportunity and likelihood than UK film. And I know I can forget TV and film in America. However, anything is possible. But first thing's first.

The play. Not literally. It's on the board and will developed as usual. But I don't want to rush it as there's no need.

My ambition for this is to send it to local theatre groups to get some professional feedback and hopefully interest. I will also send it to John Foster, a lecturer at university who has relevant skill and experience in the area. There's also a colleague on my year who has an interest and background in plays and theatre.

All I need to do now is to just keep making progress with it and hopefully it's the start of something good.

Disclaimer.

I always feel weird when doing these blog entries because with some posts I feel that no one really cares what I'm doing or what it may seem like I'm bragging about. But I figure blogs are an online diary so it's more like talking to yourself than anyone specific or wanting attention or gratification. So for any readers keep the latter point in mind.

For instance, If I say a recent idea I have is incredible, unique, genius or the best thing since a knife that toasts as it slices (which I'll invent one day), its being said to myself. Its thinking and reflecting out loud so its always going to sound different to other people.

You've probably guessed by now that I have a complex with being misunderstood or misinterpreted - hence the disclaimer. So excuse the post. Although I'm sure no ones reading my blog as its a little remote so it does render this post useless. And yes there's another complex there.

:)

Writing Short Animations. Pt3.

It's strange looking back to before starting on these because at the time my attitude was 'it's never gonna happen' and 'I'm never gonna think of any good ideas lets alone write them.' But I feel like the creative door is most definitely open and I'm constantly thinking and seeing things in terms of animations and possibilities in everything. It's surreal because it feels natural and like its always been that way.

George Mcfly said it right: 'If you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything.'

Where I'm at now is in rewrites of Book, Salesman, Vampire and Deadline. The two with the most potential and are in the best shape at the moment are Book and Vampire. Book's potential is with a company like Ardman who are a little leftfield and would appreciate the story's twisted irony. Vampire has big potential within a short or feature animation with a company who produce Pixar/Blue Sky-esque animations.

An animation lecturer at the university read Vampire and recommended it as a good and achievable short for the first year animators. I was surprised with his response and will definitely follow it up. That would be the internal monologue version as I think characters talking/lip syncing would be too advanced at that stage. Plus I've yet to replace the internal monologue with real time dialogue. So that's something to aim and look forward to.

Otherwise, the future is in getting those current four scripts written to their best and developing the new batch. Not to mention thinking more in terms of smaller and simpler situations for future ideas.

Back Home. The Summer. Pt.1

I've been home for two weeks now and things aren't progressing as well as I thought they would. I have lots to do and can't wait to do it all. But i'm in a weird limbo due to still not having the full six weeks for the placement.

Plus we still don't have our last assignment results and I'm waiting for four assignment marks. Two, I know are going to be pretty low (worringly low), which are essays and the the other two I think will be high, which are my one hour drama and professional studies. The one hour drama mark is the only one really i'm waiting for. It's the best script i've written and whatever the mark is destined to have a big impact.

I'm still applying to companies for placements. It's insane how many companies there actually are especially the smaller and obscure ones that you can only find on certain searches. Some of them are very impressive for their quality and output and some of them are about thirty-minutes from where i live. Most of them are factual production companies but work experience is work experience and i'd be happy to work there. So fingers are crossed for one of those.

I have about ten different covering letters which include general, script reading, runner, animation studios, factual and company specific ones and i'm beginning to lose track of them. It's also annoying how every time after I send a CV and Covering Letter out I get an idea on how to improve it.

I also need to sort out some system of getting a hold on motivation and getting things done throughout the summer and to regular deadlines. The plan, workwise for the summer is to make progress with the third year work. But mainly completing WWII Drama and Dark Comedy treatments. Continuing with the production log for WWII Drama plus research for it going to the location and all that. I aim to have a good draft of Steph's minor project also. Plus other scripts and animations that were started awhile ago.

I think the main thing is to try and not to do too much like last summer. I planned to do a whole lot at the beginning and it all seemed like it was going to happen. But like i mentioned before; mood, lack of motivation and external factors got in the way. Although, a nice pilot script was written so some good did come out of it. But hopefully this summer i can keep the momentum and confidence going through to the new term so I can get everything done.

The Looking Glass.

At some point in the first year, I realised I needed to let go of those big dreams of feature films and Hollywood and be realistic. So they went. Even television is ridiculously difficult to break into and has a lot more to do with luck than talent. It's a much closer dreamland and more possible than film. But something that concerns me is that i don't know if i'm being realistic enough. After all, part of being a writer is being a dreamer.

Through this year I've tried to be as realistic as possible and by the last term felt like my feet where on the ground. But even now i don't think they really are. Clearly it helps to have that dream horizon in your minds eye but how much is it really clouding my vision? That's what worries me. It is a extremely competitive industry and is 'survival of the fittest.' I'm not optimistic by nature, so this is a new thing for me and I know adapting isn't going to be easy.

I see two areas where my near future lies within television; realistically and where I want to be. They are still a giant leap to a very, very far away place but it does help to look at it in a different way and by breaking it down into achievable steps. The best thing I can do now and aim for, is the next step from my current position.

The two areas of interest and where my near future (and hopefully future will contain) lies in: (order)

Television; soaps, one-off dramas, high-concept genre series, and Animation; shorts and serial.

The second is more competitive and difficult to get into. Its a very specific market and therefore is more closed off to newcomers. So that will naturally take a backseat.

The third interest, independent UK feature films is a much larger step and one that will be more achievable after being established in the industry and supporting various credits and contacts.

The mode of approach is to target the main area; television and the sub-areas (companies/genres) within that:

Checklist>

1. Find out who is producing what, what have they done, companies and producers attitudes and ethics, how they commission projects, what they're looking to make, who has the power, who to approach etc.

2. Find out the history/conventions of your chosen subjects/genre and know them inside out.

3. Find potential ways into the market i.e Graduate schemes, BBC Talent and C4 Talent etc. Shows open to submissions i.e Doctors. Voluntary/low paid work i.e. runner.

4. Keep writing and regularly as possible (with strict personal deadlines).

5. Keep watching television - analyze shows and past/current trends. Looking for and spotting an unexplored niche or new way of doing something.

5. Enter scriptwriting competitions and gain recognition for your writing.

6. Keep in touch with television student contacts and offer your services for any potential short student films they may make.

It does seems simple and straightforward when spelt out. But at times it'll be akin to hell i'm sure and that's when the so-called virtues will come into play.

Placement. Update.

There's still no word on the placements from Goodfilms or Carnival Figures. I've rang them and left messages. Alex at Carnival Figures has said he will get back to me but is still really busy.

I asked our a contact our group used for professional studies about possible script reading work experience and he said he'd get back to me, which his cool.

And another hope.

Non-Linear Narratives Essay. A Postscript.

This essay was different to my previous ones as I took the proper approach and started reading and gathering quotes before starting the essay, instead looking for quotes to fit what I‘ve written.

Another good thing, is that whilst researching I think I’ve found my dissertation topic and question, which is really cool. I did far more reading than I‘ve done before, which is an improvement from last year. I also gathered more quotes than needed for the actual essay, which will form as material for my the dissertation. I gathered thirty pages of quotes and used about two for my essay, which I'm really pleased with.

But now I'm thinking maybe it wasn't such a great idea as the main problem with the essay, was that I didn’t actually start it until close to the deadline. So there wasn’t any time for revisions and I'm sure it will affect my mark. It's a shame because I put so much into the research and gathered great material for a well structured argument.

But part of the skill of writing essays is finding that balance between research and writing. So that's something I need to work on in the future.

The Post-Uni Book?

This may just be another dream or something that I've yet to realise isn't a good idea or won't work. But at the moment, I'm liking it.

I have this concept idea for a humorous self-help book, which could potentially lead into a tangent series. I've checked the market and it hasn't already been done, which is a good sign and encouraging. I've yet to check what's on the way in terms of the genre, if there's a way to do that.

I hope to start writing and researching as soon as possible and keep it in the background like a diary. So hopefully when I finish university, I'll have enough to sort out the beginnings of and put together some kind of book.

Its catered for a specific type of reader and most definitely not for all. A sense of humour would help but a slanted one would be even better. I'm not even sure what a slanted sense of humour means!! Just not your cliched generic type. Its a 'glass is half-empty, laugh-at-ourselves-at-an-attempt-to-make-it-half-full' kind of book.

Its pretty exciting because its something I never thought i'd be interested in doing and I think its a great opportunity. But to be truthful, it's going to take awhile to pluck up the courage to actually tell anyone about it. :)

So in the meantime, I'll keep praying that my sense of humour isn't so unique that its truly one-of-a-kind.

I know someone up there is watching me. I just hope its the big man and not paranoia.

Professional Studies. Presentation.

The presentation went really well, apart from the clips not loading. But everyone did a good job and I think we set a good marker being the first.

The real achievement, for me, like in the summer project last year, was managing to overcome my nerves and insecurities to put forward a 'hypothetical pitch,' which was chosen. And also, like in the Mulholland Drive presentation months before, to not pass out during the presentation and effectively communicate material to the class.

I don’t know how I presented the pitch in the presentation, but somehow I did and it wasn’t as difficult as I thought. I'm beginning to learn that the fear of something is far greater than actually doing it. Part of the reason was also because I believed it was a good series and wanted people to hear it. So that took some of the worry away, which helped. I also rehearsed the speech quite a bit, unlike the Mulholland Drive presentation, which went well, but I was writing it up until the actual presentation. I’m really impressed with the other guys who did a great job on the day.

However, working in a group; I’d be the first to say that 'tolerance' is one of the greatest under-practiced words in human history. But there is a line to be drawn. Sometimes you do have to be cruel to be kind and even when working with friends. Normally I’d be happy to just stay quiet and get along to please everyone. But I’ve grown tired of doing that. But even though i was working with friends it still seemed to come easier than I thought. Things were going really well and one member was negative about it all and inadvertly insulting our work. So I spoke out about it and made it clear its the wrong attitude and its getting to me. In the end it didn’t have much of an effect but at least I spoke my mind, so it’s a start.

Nevertheless, everything came together in the end and, overall it was a great experience.

Thank You Douglas Adams.

First and foremost.

For the best piece of advice in history.

'Don't panic.'

In the six days before the deadline (two prep and four writing) I managed to write my episode drama and recieved a grade first for it. Instinctively, I knew it was the best script I'd written so it's nice to have that pay off. I had been thinking about it for about a week before starting and just let the script naturally form in my head. But the main thing was although i was running out of time, I didn't actually want to rush it. It came in its own way, as I believe it was meant to.

However, a brief note:

The reason the script was started that close to the hand in was due to problems with writing my original episode. But through advice, the way forward was to make a decision and that decision turned out to be to scrap the current script. It wasn't a case of it being left to the last minute. The original episode was in fact my personal favourite, and was overloaded with serial elements; some contradictory, which got in the way and I was trying so hard to make it all work.

Part of the 'Don't Panic' mantra was also down to trusting and having confidence in myself, which at the time I knew I was putting to the test. It was very close and could have gone horribly wrong. I had told myself from the start that 'I am going to write the best episode possible.' And I loved the characters and grew to love free-running as our sport, so that helped.

One of the strong points of the script and my favourite was in subverting the Jackson character, who from the series bible was penned as an antagonist (in the pilot) and formed as a negative journalist. Instead of him being the typical bad guy of the episode he begins as a good guy and is torn between work and his family. But he ultimately compromises due to being faced with losing both.

The inspiration for his character/story to feature as the joint main story came after watching Zodiac - and i got pretty obsessed with wanting to tell a story from a journalists point of view. So when the chance came up I knew I wasn't going to play it straight or in a cliched way. It was going to be an original and moving exploration of what made this guy eventually turn into a bad guy. Ultimately, it was the love and obligation he had for his family - and as the marking lecturer stated in her analysis - 'It confronted us with the complexities of his situation and human nature; life is not straightforward, black and white.' Which was a nice way to put it.

It was the greatest experience and most fun i've had writing a script and it came with the greatest reward. I couldn't ask for more than that. One of the most amazing things was that the characters pretty much wrote themselves, which is a testament to our group who collectively created them.

I think when you miss characters who feel like real people and a world that you felt apart of - it tells you individually and as a group that you did a good job.

Collaborating With Scriptwriters.

There was a time when I was all for collaborating (outside uni work) with other writers and it was something that I was extremely interested in and couldn't wait to do.

In the end I did get my chance and at the time it went really well and was the greatest thing. But without sounding cruel, the problem wasn't the story or its execution, it was actually really good and had a lot of potential, but the mistake was jumping into a partnership with someone I didn't really know. I don't say that in a regretful or backstabbing way; I mean generally we didn't actually know each other, and due to that a few months later the project pretty much collapsed without really knowing why it did.

In a collaboration you look for that quick story; you feed off each other and things get moving pretty quickly, and the work is essentially divided. However, both feel like they're not providing enough and are holding all the worry, which is probably where many partnerships breakdown due to a lack of communication. And to be honest, I had actually provided little early on, to the concept and characters, and didn't feel too great about it - and often thought if I was actually needed. And so I wanted to make up for it and in the end I think I did. It worked for me as I felt as I had contributed enough but overall it didn't do things any good.

I learnt a great deal overall on the project and actually learnt more about writing than in my whole first year at university (aided with Genesis; the Heroes pilot script), so i have no regrets at all about it. Its just the way it goes sometimes.

So I guess, the best advice when looking or embarking on co-writing something, is to know the person beforehand, know where you and the project stand, maybe even state it outright and agree on working terms, if all should go well.

Also, pick something that has the potential to be sold in this country within a targeted area, unless you're happy with writing for fun and just further experience at writing.

For now, I'm dubious about working with other people and won't rush into anything without further consideration. But as a writer, I think I should first develop my own skills, work ethics and portfolio and just see what comes along.

The best things are the unexpected, so who knows.

Placement. Update.

I’ve done the dreaded deed of ringing up the companies and the list has now shrunk to two companies; Goodfilms and Carnival Figures. Alex Dawson at Carnival Figures said he’d read my script and get back to me. Goodfilms who I’m hoping for a runner position said they’d get back to me.

It’s progress.

Placement. Too Little Too Late?

I put aside today to get started on finding a placement. I just hope its not too late. I’ve been looking for companies specifically in London and who are from three different potential backgrounds and what I’d like to do.

I created three different CV’s to cover the different specialist areas; general, animation and script reading. I’ve emailed them with cover letters and relevant sample work. I plan to follow up with the dreaded phone calls in about a week‘s time.

The list are;

Avalon Television, Runner/Assistant/Technical
Avalon Motion Picture, Runner/Assistant/Technical
Blake Friedman, Assistant/Reports
Carnival Figures, Animation Studios
Contender Entertainment Group, Assistant
Goodfilms, Runner/Technical
Linda Selfert Management, Script Reading/Assistant
London Script Consultancy, Script Reading
Pinewood Studios, Runner
The Script Factory, Script Reading
Universal Pictures, Runner
Weeble Films, Runner/Technical

In hindsight, I wished I’d done this a lot earlier. It’s cutting it too fine but things happen the way they do and nothing can be done about it. So hopefully having partially left it this late something good will come out of it.

I hope.

The First And Last Priority.

We had a workshop today for our one hour dramas. In my case Requiem. I planned not to bring anything in because I didn’t have any completed pages. But I desperately wanted to so I worked all night till about two in the morning to fill in the holes in the first fifteen pages. (I always leave interior descriptions till last because I think it’s best to put your energy into the actual scenes; action and dialogue instead of wasting it on describing rooms.) The first five pages were read out and I received two major suggestions that has helped to change the course and overall quality of Requiem, which I’m really pleased about. This just makes me want to present stuff to people more often because sometimes there will be some good feedback and in this case its ripple effect has made Requiem a much more credible and together story.

The story of Requiem and it’s main storylines have been set for a long time as I’ve stated before. And at first with the comments I did think that two major flaws have been uncovered and now the script’s ruined. There was a little panic for about an hour or so. But I just found a way to adapt what was said and let my protective guard down and compromise. I did happen to lose a lot of my favourite things from the new changes. I know it’s ‘the way of a script’ but I had already lost a lot of what I thought were my ‘favourite’ things in order to improve the script. But for a moment I thought these current favourite things were the foundations of the script. They were and they weren’t. It’s just that I didn’t have the right balance of things and looking back it doesn‘t work. So I adapted and worked the feedback into the script to create a much better introduction/brief glimpse into the main character’s life/mind and overall creditability to the story.

One of the comments was with Logan being an artist. He plays piano also and is gifted at that. But the suggestion was that being a gifted pianist instead of a painter has more credibility; pressure-wise within the family and society. It also creates an interesting mix with his painting as it shows his inner feelings and piano his outer so-called ‘act’ persona.

But the main thing I learnt was about getting too personal and allowing it hold a script back. From the beginning, I always knew that this script was different and I was prepared to be a little stubborn in some cases to keep certain things in and as a result receive a lower mark. But that’s all now changed of course. It’s the first time I’ve had that kind of attitude with a script as this story was different (personally) but its now become the last. I'm glad I realized it in time and a few alterations were made, which overall made the script a lot better. Less is always more and everything doesn't always need spelling out; that's what subtext is for.

The story and characters are always first. Not me.

‘The happy people are failures because they are on such good terms with themselves they don’t give a damn.’

-Agatha Christie

Espresso. Update.

I pitched the idea with a treatment. She said she liked some bits and wasn't so keen on others - which was in fact more than i had hoped for. I i sent it on the off chance she'd have time to read it and maybe like it or for it to spark off a separate idea.

So the story, has one major element missing now, which in fact is all the better for it and i'm glad she was honest about what she didn't like. I was also upfront about her honesty and made it clear i wouldn't take it personally. I just said 'I want you to pick out what you like and then we can adapt it to what you want.' After all, it is her film and ultimately i'm just working towards helping her to achieve it and in the best possible way.

What's gone is the 'case of mistaken identity' part, which is more suitable for a longer film. Its more simpler now and works a lot better for this type of story and its length.

Originally, I liked the idea of it being filmed in the French language, as its what inspired it. So it was a nice coincidence when it was suggested about filming it in a foreign language. In the end, Spanish was agreed as the most suitable, as it fits the characters and the story better. Overall, its much sexier than French or any other language.

The producer/director is looking for outside funding as her ambition is to shoot it in abroad, which would give the film a real authenticity and be pretty amazing.

I'm really happy that i'm getting to write this and that the gamble paid off - it's going to be really cool and its a big challenge as romance in cafes isn't my usual gig; in both senses of the word.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds.

I researched many role models for my Media Theory Essay but one has stuck with me ever since and especially one piece of advice a fan wrote about him. The person in question is Captain Malcolm Reynolds from television series Firefly. Subconsciously he’s always been a role model to me. But I didn’t realise how much until I started reading what fans were saying about him. And one in particular got to me and I don’t think I’ll ever shake the influence:

‘Mal’s real strength is emotional, not physical … You keep going, and you don’t let the horrendous, soul-crushing things of the past get to you.’

The same can be said for Zoe Washbourne. I never consciously thought how much of a female role model she really is. Its insane. The same goes for all Joss Whedon’s characters.

Something that I realised even more from another fan message was that people like characters with flaws. They like characters with good and bad attributes. This then forces them to identify the positive and negative in characters and adapt the positive to their own lives.

So from now on every character I create with have at least one obvious flaw and setback to their personality.

Mulholland Drive. Presentation. A Reflection.

The presentation went very well and the project as a whole resulted in a major change in my development and confidence. It goes back to the summer project last year where nerves and fear almost got the better of me when pitching an idea. The idea then turned out to be our project and it got made. And again, I overcame that fear of pitching through confidence and a passion in what I’m talking about. My idea and brief campaign to use Mulholland Drive paid off, and somehow I also got over my phobia of presentations and didn’t do a bad job. The fact that we were presenting something new (an explanation of what some say is an indecipherable narrative) that people hadn’t figured out or fully understood, helped to give me confidence because I knew people would be interested.

At first I was really anxious about bringing Mulholland Drive up as at the time I didn’t have a clear grasp on the story and what it was actually about. But it was a challenged and so I was determined to deliver what we had set out to do; and that was to explain the narratives that run through the film and essentially explain what the story actually is. And so I watched the film twice before the presentation; once the evening of pitching MD and again the next morning. And it started to become clear. I did a little research on the Internet to see what people were saying about the film and what it meant to them. I wrote down a narratives timeline as they run through the film and a chronological order of events, as I saw them. I then watched the film the night before the presentation just to clarify my conclusion and to spot any missed information.

Overall, I’m really chuffed with how it happened and somehow managing to keep it together during the presentation, which even now feels surreal that its happened and went well. It just goes to show that anything is possible and that the fear of something is far greater than actually doing it.

Resh Samauroo's Workshops.

I’ve been meaning to attend these workshops for awhile but have been occupied with work every time they are on. But I have managed to go to the last two, and I actually wish I attended right from the start. They are great sessions and far better than what I had expected.

An element of the workshop is for people to present an idea or script, that they are currently having problems with and through Resh’s personal advice and the group environment the aim is to help the person overcome it. And if they don’t within the session they certainly have enough to think about afterwards to potentially achieve it.

Through the workshops and post-workshop chats Resh has helped build my confidence as a writer and as a person. A few of the areas that hold equal importance are; communicating a pitch effectively, overcoming shyness and insecurities to put your self out there, and learning to sell yourself through your strengths.

This reality check of industry standards has made me re-evaluate my own attitude and approach to being a writer and being confident in all the aspects that that entails.

The sessions success and Resh’s own, offer an inspirational and productive environment in which everyone goes away more wiser and confident than when they walked in, and you can’t ask for more than that.

Media And Identity. Role Models Essay. [A Reflection]

The research was begun early, which is unusual for me and resulted in some great quotes and a nicely structure argument. I had an idea of the structure of the argument and its conclusion, early on, which helped me to write a rough template draft. I gave myself a few days break from that point and just let the research/quotes form in my head. And when it was time to start collating it, the essay and what I was going to use was pretty much formed by itself.

However, all this sounds like it was a success but its actually the opposite. Due to picking a question, which in my mind had extremely limited theory coverage in books, and so I almost solely quoted from websites. But that wasn’t the problem; Wikipedia was. I thought using it to identify television show descriptions and clarify a few facts would be ok, but it wasn’t and my mark reflected that.

I learnt my lesson there.

‘Wikipedia no longer exists.’

Mark: Worst Mark Ever.

Glowfrog Studios.

After a few weeks writing and perfecting my CV and specific company cover letter, I've sent my first one out. Its to Glowfrog Studios. They're an animation studio who make shorts, commercials, various cgi for documentaries and have recently branched out into feature animations. I sent a sample short animation script 'The Day I Met A Vampire' in the hope of further convincing them to take me on. It's a long shot but would be incredible.

The 'Not' Bournemouth Writers Circle.

Recently I’ve been attending the Bournemouth university writers group. I’ve been to the last two and have found them very useful. It’s a great session and I highly recommend it. It replies on participation, to state the obvious but is really rewarding whether offering material or giving feedback.

The sessions have made me realise a few things and have given me a much needed confidence boost. But not only in some ideas/scripts, but in communicating effectively to a group and individually. Its helped me over come a once major fear and potential embarrassment of opening up about my ideas and secondly, the fear of talking in front of a group. I don’t have the clearest voice and often talk fast and it probably sounds like mumbling. But I’ve become more comfortable offering up ideas/scripts and feedback in front of a group, which is a major step for me.

I do plan to attend as often as I can and to bring something each time. It would also be nice to carry on the group next year as its organizer will have graduated.

Next week I plan to have an outline or treatment for WWII Drama, my feature script for the third year, if I have time.

Giving Life.

A strange thing occurred the other day. I’ve been slightly aware of it before but its never been as strong as this.

A writer creates characters (to an extent) and creates or portrayals the world they live in. So we give life essentially. But I’ve never had the realisation that its actually the other way around. Its these scripts, characters and stories that give life to us. It may sound strange but its true.

It's down to my upcoming war drama feature script for my major in the third year.

It feels good to say that because I know its true and that’s part of my theory. The script is set during the Second World War and is further from anything I’ve ever written or would attempt to think of writing. But somehow I am. It demands an amount of research that I don’t even want to think about. But at the same time I’m excited about it because it’s a challenge.

I’ve never had this kind of feeling with a script before. I’ve had big feelings but this is the strongest and its hard to explain. It just feels more right than anything. My instincts tell me that this story is something special and the challenge I’ve set myself up for is without a doubt worth it.

This script has given me more confidence than anything and it seems to be sticking, which is good. For the first time in awhile I’m actually happy to be at university and all the things I worried about before and that got me down have just disappeared. I’m now thinking forwards and about making progress instead of the opposite, which is rather cool.

'The writer who possesses the creative gift owns something of which he is not always master- something that at time strangely wills and works for itself.'

-Charlotte Bronte

Espresso.

The other day I asked a friend on television production whether or not she had an idea for her major production yet. I’ve asked a few this same question because the bottom line is ‘I want to write it.’ So I asked and she didn’t have an idea yet. She then joked ‘Write me something and I’ll see.’ I said ‘Ok. I have something already in mind.’

I had been working on an idea for awhile with the specific intention (and hope) it would become somebody’s major production. There’s no saying that she’ll like it but at least she’ll read it, or possibly recommend it to someone else or even ask for something more specific.

It’s called Espresso and is essentially:

‘A case of mistaken identity leads to a romantic meeting.’

The short film was inspired by all the charm and romance of those French films that have scenes in cafes where two people meet and instantly fall in love. And even so I originally wanted it to be filmed like a foreign language film and have English subtitles. I knew from the beginning that if i got it right it would make a great short film. But at the time I didn’t have a clue or thought that I’d be able to pull it off. But now the story is looking good and I’ve got even more drive to complete it. So I’m pretty chuffed that its going to be finished and even if its not suitable then I can just keep passing it around.

‘The universe is made of stories, not of atoms’

-Muriel Reskner

A World War II Drama.

The genre of a feature script contender for my third year. Its further from anything I’ve written or thought I’d ever be interested in writing. The only reason being, I don’t think I’m good enough.

At first I was intimidated at writing a war piece because I didn’t think I’d be able to achieve it. It would take a lot of research and the quality and level of detail would need to be perfect. But then I thought the backdrop of the war does bring a nice contrast and unusual twist to this type of story. Not to mention the story itself, which is really moving and hopefully an original side to the war.

I’ve had the title and a story idea for years. But it was an idea that I knew would have its time 'much later' when i actually had a career rather than 'much sooner' when i don't.

Initially it was a novel idea with a brief description but a year or two later it turned into a film. That story idea was only a page which consisted of a few characters and the main character's story development. That still stands but the setting has been shifted from the present day to the past and actually during the war.

This idea is a significant development in my writing and attitude as a writer and has opened my mind to many possibilities in terms of genre and setting. Before I limited myself to a few specific genres and was mainly interesting in contemporary dramas about people. They were the scripts I would be comfortable with writing and didn't look in the direction of the others because they were far from what I thought I wanted to tell or could tell. But at the core the same always remains; people and their dramas. So it doesn't matter where its set or under what context. Its still about people and what its like to be human. But the challenge in a script shouldn't just be in the emotional story but also in its arena and setting and how that's used to enhance the story and its characters.

Overall, this script has taught me to avoid what’s repetitive and easy in a story and go for the challenge and originality in every script.

Media & Identity- Online Assignment 2

What kind of media did you like as a child? In what ways do you think these media shaped your gendered self?

The main things I used to be into were Football, Wrestling, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Thunder Cats and Karate Kid. Other things I liked were Street Hawk, A-Team, Knight Rider and He-Man. But I’m not really a product of that media and nor are my views. Its more an indirect influence on my identity today. As I’ll try to explain:

When I was younger my behaviour and attitude to a degree did reflect those shows I watched. For example; Wrestling and the macho nature of Knight Rider, A-Team, Football, etc and the inferior one dimensional representation of women. But I think the media formed more off an outlet and a way to express myself, however right or wrong that was.

But looking back I wasn’t conscious of how I saw things, I just acted. But from the way I acted I clearly grew up thinking that men were strong and macho and women were passive and weak. Men were the heroes and women were the sexy sidekicks or romance interests, who would distract the hero from his duty. But that’s the media influence. However my home situation was led by a single mother. So I clearly had proof that women certainly weren’t weak or just sidekicks to some macho guy. And so through adolescence and being able to think for myself I realised that it’s the stereotypical view of gender and therefore a change occurred.

I like to consider myself a good person and I view everyone as equal. That may be to a degree a product of some of the media I consumed but its more my upbringing and self-development in countering my childhood prejudices and views on gender to reach an opposite and more balanced view.

The Sound of My 'Voice'.

Not my actual voice. But the one that exists in my scripts. The one that script readers and executives are dying to hear. Well read.

‘If a professional writer doesn’t have a voice. Then he doesn’t have a profession.’

I’ve read about writers finding their own voice and the need to do so. But I never knew what mine was. I was aware before that I used to imitate my favourite writers/directors, which informed my voice then. But I overcame that, which was great and all. But I still didn’t know what my voice was or when I’d find it.

‘I’ve found my voice’.

But it wasn’t a simple case of ‘finding it’. But just noticing that its been with me all the time. I realise now that its just an expression of my real self and the more I realised who I am and what I like and dislike etc the more this informed my ‘voice’ and has enabled it to shine through.

So now I’m at the stage where I’m aware of ‘my voice’ and I don’t need to worry about imitating other writers or just being a collection of clichés and conventions.

I actually feel like a writer now, which is great and i thought i'd share it with everyone.

If anyone's actually out there.

Good Luck.

For a long time I hated the saying, Good luck.

‘Good luck’.

What does it mean?

I’m not able enough to succeed so I need luck on my side?

My trouble with the term started when I was introduced to Holden Caulfield. He pointed out the stupidity of it all and it made sense. Good luck is as phoney as it gets.

So I adopted the term; All the best.

‘All the best.’

That sounded more genuine and caring - as that’s what I am so it would be nice to put it out there.

But my problem was that I didn’t understand the term, ‘Good luck.’ So now that I do I won’t be so critical and judging of those who say it to me.

My understanding came when I was watching a program on television and a man said what he thought ‘Good Luck’ meant to him. He said ‘its where preparation meets opportunity.’ I thought that’s genius and completely true.

So that got me thinking.

Say we’re three years from now. I’m in the high street looking through a window to the biz and a smart man in a suit approaches me. He asks ‘If I’m here just to look or do I want to enter.’ He points to the door. It has a BBC plaque on it. Or it could be C4. I say ‘Yeah I want to enter. More than anything.’

So he says to me ‘What do you do? What’s your stock and trade?’

I say ‘Writer. I’m a scriptwriter.’

I sense interest under his intimidating appearance. He must be a producer or a top exec.

He asks me ‘What do you write?’

I say ‘Mainly drama. There’s nothing better.’

He then says ‘What are you working on now?’

I get nervous and tell him ‘Nothing at the moment.’ and then bend the truth ‘I’m in between projects.’

He then says ‘Tell me about the last script you wrote.’

I hesitate and then say ‘I haven’t actually completed a script yet.’

Do I need to say anymore?

Nope. You did yourself proud.

The man bids me a good day and goes through the door. I catch a brief glimpse inside but couldn’t make anything out. The door then shuts.

I think most writer starts out by being in the writers bubble and don’t write much or anything. Its the dreamland. The fantasy of doing without the actual doing.

‘I’m a dreamer. I want to write films and television.’

Its how we became to write but now we have to venture out into the world and take it seriously.

So this idea of preparation meets opportunity got to me and made me think that if I’m to benefit from this ‘Good luck’ then I should be prepared for when it happens. I've realised that I should stop dreaming about this career and accept that its a reality and start working towards it.

A good piece of advice from Stephen King, as he points out in 'On Writing' - is:

‘Writing shouldn’t feel like a chore.’

Rewrite. Rewrite. Rewrite.

That’s scriptwriting. We all know.

But is it natural to rewrite everything in life?

Essays. Letters.

Of course.

Emails, blogs and even texts messages? Does it matter that they’re not the polished pieces of art you want them to be?

Yes.

I spend hours refining emails. Not the short ones. Although it does take a while to get it right. Does it sound right? Do I sound like an arse? Did I get my point across. Etc. But does it really matter? Emails aren’t meant to be like essays. They’re not being marked. And if i offend someone it wasn't my intention. But as long as we stay emailing then that’s a good sign.

Blogs?

I spend hours perfecting the perfect blog entry, which goes against the whole point. Blogs are meant to be natural and spontaneous. Nope. Not my blog. For a day or so after I’ll keep re-reading a particular entry to make sure its exactly what I wanted to say and if I say it right. Fair enough. I think. I don’t want people to get the wrong message and I certainly don’t want to sound like a patronising arse.

But then that leads into going over another, then another and then the whole lot. This is a problem. So I apologise to subscribers, if any if you have hundreds of emails about my blog updates when in truths there’s probably only two new entries.

But texts messages?

Is this whole rewrite business getting a little out of hand?

Yes.

I will spend quite an unnatural amount of time perfecting the perfect and most suitable response to a text message. ‘Is it too much?’, ‘Too little?’, ‘No that doesn’t sound right’, ‘I don’t think he’ll get the joke.’ etc.

So that explains my delayed reply. Even a day or so after.

Also with email and text message replies; I have to feel like its time to reply. It needs to feel right to me. Its weird. And a little compulsive. You can’t force these masterpieces.

With art it should be natural.

Has this entry got out of hand yet? Yes. And much earlier. But I think the thing I’m trying to say is ‘Don’t censor yourself.’ In your writing, scripts, emails, blogs or whatever. If you do then your really living out a persona and hiding your real self.

A nice piece of advice, I forget who said it. But it goes something like this:

‘Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.’ -Cyril Connolly

This wasn’t the one I was thinking of but it pretty much says the same thing. And I’m sure you can draw the difference between personal replies and scripts.

As the saying goes.

‘An idea doesn’t exist unless its in more than one place.’

A good point and true. But when I first heard it I didn’t take much notice. Well I had no reason to at that stage. Its only when I came close to losing everything (a third time) I realised how important it was.

If there are ideas that you just couldn’t bare to part with or it would literally be the end of the world if you lost everything. Then backing it up in one form just isn’t enough.

I’m sure that this applies to those ideas that are floating around in your head and forming in their own time.

‘It’s all up here in my head.’

That’s all well and good. But really what good is it there? It may be forming but there’s still nothing to show. No back up for amnesia. It could happen.

Just play it safe and write everything down. Back everything up. Not once or twice. But go to the extreme. Store it on a memory stick, a data cd, online file storage, hard copy. Etc. And regularly.

If you believe in your ideas its not worth the risk.

I can’t be bothered to write. None of its good anyway.

I don’t know if anyone is completely confident with what they write or are motivated twenty-four-seven to write. If you are then congratulations, if not I think its something that will improve but won't ever go away.

I do think that most aspiring writers suffer the same problems with confidence and motivation. For me personally it boils down to most of the time I have no confidence in writing and on short occasions I have a lot.

In the times of no confidence I just try to forget everything and everyone and just write for myself. The moment you start thinking what other people will make of it and comparing it to greater works - its ruined. Just go with your instincts and shut out everything else.

I’d like to think I have high standards when it comes to stories and being critical. So if I can make myself happy then that’s the first obstacle out the way and for me the most important.

An example of a clash between high and low confidence was with a short drama script called Brother Sleep - began with the best of intentions this summer. Its about a ten year old boy who feels the victim of some injustice in the world but doesn’t know any better.

At the beginning of the summer I returned to the initial idea and it felt great and I felt confident about it. It would be like another Narratives. So I had a blitz on that but then it stopped. I’d gave everything in the idea and then had nothing more to give. Also the story and what happened had been devalued the more I thought about it and worked on it. So instinctively I blamed the idea for not being good enough and keeping my interest. So the confidence plummeted and I left it.

This I’ve found happens with a lot of ideas - I give it my all, leave it, feel bad about it and then return to it a later date. But this time I felt like I could write it all in one go. I felt that confident. So weeks past and I felt pretty sad that I’d done a one eighty on the project.

‘You always kill the things you love.’

That’s I what I thought I did. But a month later a new thought on it sparked off another train of ideas that lead to that return in confidence and motivation. I’m still on that high with it even though I’m on a break from it, which is great. The scene breakdown awaits adapting.

What I gathered from this was that in most cases having low confidence in yourself and your writing boils partly down to all these great ideas that stay for awhile and then go. Or those great ideas that go nowhere. Its bound to knock your confidence each time. But its not your ability that needs questioning.

‘Every idea has a time.’

Tarantino said it best - in relation to his written opening scene of Kill Bill (he’d left for four years) - 'it was left in a draw and has been building up ever since.' And when he went back to it - it had built up so much, it was all there in his mind and was ready to be written.

In no literal comparrison - this is true for all those projects i was so confident and determined to write at the beginning of the summer. Some have returned and others are waiting for their time.

Now for the salesman in me.

‘Psychology for Screenwriters - by William Indick.’

I think this book should be on every serious screenwriters bookshelf. It’s the first of its kind and is worth it. I'm only on the third chapter. So it must be good eh?

This book made me realise i didn’t know much about my characters and what really drives them. It opens up a whole new world of thought not to mention literally the minds of my characters.

At the heart of any story is the characters and to know their psychology and what drives them in its basic terms is an invaluable tool. Its the most vital elements of a script. Structure, story, dialogue can be re-worked later, characters can‘t without heavily compromising the journey and whole reason of your script.

As an example;
The Neurotic complex; the id, ego and the superego; all exist within ourselves and are in constant conflict - but due to the difficulty of conveying a character’s inner conflict the three types are displayed visually - in different characters; the id and natural impulse is represented by the villain. The ego, the protagonist and the superego, his father. So the inner battle of our hero becomes a visual one.

This isn’t just a book on psychology. Its tied into films and scriptwriting and gives you ways in which to further build on conflict in your script. It’s a pretty incredible book and revelation for the budding screenwriter.

'You will buy this book.' - as his hand slightly motions past your face.

Heroes. Pilot. Script.

For the last few weeks I’ve been working on an U.S. pilot script. Its a joint project and has been going about three months. But the reason its what I’m working on now is down to the pilot script of Heroes; Genesis. (Not why it exists but why I’ve returned to work on it.)

Heroes is one of these shows that (as a writer) makes you feel many different emotions all at once; firstly awe, at the fact that its such an exciting and original show, then jealously, because it is such a great show and you wish you had written it and then comes, self-doubt and worthlessness, because you’ll never be able to write anything that good. Also add possible heartbreak, when a major element/reason of the show mirrors one of your own ideas. But I’ve managed to suppress the negative and i'm in complete awe of the show. Above all else its inspiring and that's what took me back to my script.

I printed the Heroes script out around February I think - with the intention of reading it as soon as possible. I always knew that I wanted to read it before I saw it. But it never felt like the right time to read it. I had flicked through and caught the opening picture of the eclipse and then at its various stages with multiplying cockroaches and saw the end picture- the last image of the pilot episode. Some people had already seen the show or were currently watching it. But I couldn’t bare to watch it online or downloaded to DVD- to me it just goes against the whole point of a good show. I always knew I wanted to experience the Heroes universe in my own time.

The right time came five months later and the night before the episode is about to air on BB2.

I’m no expert on reading scripts or reviewing them but a few things come to mind with the Genesis script; above all - its quality. Its well written and thought out. Its visually perfect, dramatic, suspenseful, has amazing intrigue, its complex but is presented in a simple way and has a variety of distinct characters who have clear goals. Overall it was an amazing read and experience.

One of the reasons for reading the script before I saw the episode was to see how it translated and how much of it did.

A very interesting and rightful cut was with Issac - he had handcuffed himself to the radiator in a bid to kick his habit. But ended up doing a 'saw' and cut off his hand to free himself for a fix. I don't know how this original conclusion came about as surely Issac would be needed to paint more images of the future.

They also cut a whole character and his story out of the pilot. This character is D.L and he now turns up in a later episode. But its easy to see why he was cut because he wasn't completely necessary and didn't advance the story at all.

Another noticeable cut was with Claire, the cheerleader and having dinner with her family. This was a great scene and a favourite of mine mainly because - in reply of her mother asking what she did today she said 'I jumped off a cliff and didn't die'. Her mother then tried to identify with her and said she'd had many metaphorical jumps herself. But really didn't understand what she meant.

Also in this scene her father wasn't said to be the mysterious villain guy with the glasses, which was odd. Her father in the scene was called Kent. So it seems they decided afterwards to combine him and the father character for better effect or he planned to take his place during the series and they brought it forward. One of the great things with the script - was that this villian character was only known as Horn Rimmed Glasses.

An odd change was the names of Peter Petrelli and his (flying) brother. They originally were Ethan and Harrison Cambell.

Although I loved watching the episode it did seem to run past me pretty quickly. Its being able to read at your own pace, the enhanced level of detail and being open to interpretation and free of boundaries, is why I prefered reading the script over watching it.

The fact that the script was so visual and entertaining it inspired me to return to a project that was similar in its market and target audience. Its something I’d left for awhile and didn't seem as keen on. But it wasn’t that the idea was boring or had no life it was the fact that I had done all I could on it so far and just needed some new inspiration and perspective. And there was no greater inspiration (and reality check) than Heroes.

I think we need a break.

Something that i've known for a while but not fully appreciated until recently - is the the value of 'time away' from an idea and continued 'experiencing' of other stories - to keep your mind still going and open to inspiration. Its through being inspired that we want to create and only through experience can we be creative.

The above is a probable theory for overcoming a block or disinterest in an idea. Sometimes you can overdo it and put everything into an story/script for a relentless period of time - and then nothing. You've wrote down all you feel, everything associated with the idea - and now you're at a standstill.

This is good.

It either means you need to go away and research your arena or characters more - or its time to go away and recharge your batteries - take in other creative forms and return with new energy, inspiration, perspective and ideas for your story and characters.

At the other end it could mean you didn't get a quick enough grip on the story and characters in the first place and you let them get away. So you need to put the time in to get to know them.

Angels & Ashes.

For the last two weeks i've been working on a new idea for the one hour drama and have managed to create something just as dramatic and moving as Requiem. Oddly enough it was one of the ideas that came out not going with that.

For next term we need to have two outlines for this. So for my second I have two ideas in mind and they also came out of leaving Requiem:

1. A social/political sci-fi drama about a future who favour politcial honour over family.
2. A family drama about the effect of a high school shooting on the killer's family.

I still want to complete a first draft of this for next term. Although at the moment i think i should be concentrating the two outlines.

Free your mind.

Something to note.

With Requiem I pigeon holed it as the one hour drama from the beginning. Limiting its possiblilies to exist in any other length. I then reached a level where the one hour requirements were filled and then realised that for this to really be something special and truthful - the characters needed more development and execution. There were a few doubts along the way but i continued not wanting to accept them. But then the inevitable decision was made.

But every story should be approached with an open mind. Unless you feel instinctively that its a certain length or medium. But otherwise just stay open to the possibility it might not conform to what you think. Just trust your instincts, which should also include a critical eye. If its not what you originally thought and becomes something else then it doesn't matter; it shows you that your instincts are correct and opens the possibility for even better ideas to come.

This is also true for all elements within a story; characters, scenes, your favourite moments etc. Its not about keeping and losing ideas its about finding the right place for them and at the right time.

Returning Home. Pt. 2.

It's been a month since i've been back and all i've done - hang on this sounds familar! Yeah I still haven't got a job, which is getting worrying. Some agencies avoid students now and others have too many registered. I'm healthy and have two kidneys. I just hope i don't have to lose one.

Anyway, things have changed drastically on the one hour drama front and pretty much writing in general. Requiem wasn't meant to be. But there are a few possible ideas, which in actual barrels of drama surpass it. But none of them have a decent title, which is a problem.

Animation-wise i've given in to my lack of self-confidance and have abandoned them. I hope for now. Also short drama, Brother Sleep - the right mood for its gone. I just need a new idea to re-ignite it.

Television-wise things haven't been better. I now have a new series, which is one of the best i've come up with. Bet you didn't think i was going to say that! But at the moment i'm just trying to decide on its target audience and finding a new title as the one i had was ruined by an already existing show.

The sports drama series is moving slowly. A few posts have appeared on the forum and five of us are now registered. I think we've pretty much got our arena, which isn't just the sport its also in a specific location. A location that brings varied characters and constant drama. We're still open to other arena ideas so everyone can have their say. But time is passing. I think i need to start researching the two arenas because at this stage its more important than characters and stories.

Requiem.

Requiem is no more. As the one hour drama anyway.

For awhile the thought about losing this story to the university had crossed my mind. But i thought if i think that about everything then i'll never be able to finish anything. So i just carried on. Everything about the idea and its characters just seemed to get better and better. I could see the film complete from beginning to end, from scene to scene, from motive to motive, how it would be filmed and acted, everything. So i decided it was time to start writing a scene breakdown. I only completed the first act.. At forty-something development pages and a month of ecstasy with it. I knew that this wasn't my one hour drama.

I came to the point where two things clicked at the same time. One, this story was a feature film and it would be an injustice to cut it short and Two, i don't want to give this up to the university. So after having the greatest feeling about a story and love for its characters i immediately stopped and closed down the file. A weird sudden-divorce. All i wanted to do was get a head start on the project to free up some time next term. I was way ahead but now felt like I had wasted a month and was behind. After the initial panic and self-doubt (I'm not going to top this!) I got down to business and followed my instincts. Even at the sudden departure i felt excited about finding a new idea because it was a challenge.

Many ideas came and felt great in terms of human drama and originality. But the more I developed these ideas the more they appeared larger than sixty minutes or didn't feel as good as Requiem. What was depressing is that in some cases they were more dramatic. But that wasn't the problem. I then got a bit paranoid because i knew that if i didn't top Requiem - then i'd never find an idea. But i thought that wouldn't happen. Not right away anyway. All i needed was time away as it was still fresh. So it was like a sudden divorce. I needed healing time, which is crazy if you think about it. It is only a script. And i might be taking it too seriously.

But its through this process that i believe (as corny as it sounds) that everything happens for a reason. If i didn't have that moment of realisation then I would have missed the opportunity of coming across some of my best ideas yet.

I've got a new indie comedy-drama feature, which i feel great about and within a few hours was fully formed. At one stage this was going to be my one hour drama but then got too good and i realised also that it was a feature story.

Also as a result i've got a great drama premise, which is too specific to post, but is very close to becoming my one hour drama. It's sad as hell and surpasses Requiem and anything i've written. All that's stopping it - is its title. I could have everything i want in a story but if the title isn't right then it won't happen. Its crucial.

One of the problems of getting the right idea for this is its end climax - it has to be explosive in its final moments of absolute drama. My last two scripts; for Narratives and Audiences had this element and its something i feel i need to top for this. If i don't feel that high octane/dramatic peak of everything coming together for the story's climax - then i won't bother with an idea. No matter how good it is.

I know its not a good idea to put unecessary pressure on yourself but in this case it seemed to work. For me personally i work better under pressure and having to overcome the next challenge - although to have time with an idea to fully explore and develop it is something else.

'Follow your instincts' is something that continues to amaze me. I don't know if its true for everyone but i know it works for me. But even with the bad choices or even losing notes on an idea something better ends up surfacing. What will be - will be. Shit happens. Damn i thought Requiem was the one!!

Returning Home.

Since I’ve been back I’ve done nothing but write - it’s been about two weeks and I now feel the urge to make an appearance into the outside world. Actually I think it’ll be my third. But I’ve been making the most of my free time and i know when i get back to uni there won't be any. Due to that I’ve also been developing and working on next terms projects; the one hour drama and the sports drama series. But what I really need to do is get a job whilst there won’t be no next term.

I’ve continued to work on Requiem, which I hope will turn out as I picture it. If so it will be pretty amazing. If not, a big shame. I’ve got 30 pages of development on that, which overall I think is about a third. Plus the sports drama series. I’ve had some good ideas for that. But I’m putting all ideas on that on hold for now and just focusing on research.

Outside uni-wise I’ve been working on a number of things. One of the best things is a thirty-minute short film, called Brother Sleep. It was the first idea I had for Narratives (from an old one) but passed on it because it was a bit thin. But I always knew I’d expand on it and write it someday so I didn‘t mind leaving it. And now’s seems like the right time.

I’m also working on some television pilots and hope to have one written and the other two planned by the end of the summer. I also plan to have a few short animations completed for next term to offer to the second and third year animators.

Since I’ve been back I’ve also looked at the last years unit guide at all the assignments given in the second year. That was a big shock and made me realise that the first year in terms of work load and limited free time was nothing. But the second year from what I see is ten times harder. There’s so much more development work, the assignments are bigger and we have to balance many projects at once.

Next year is going to take some serious self-discipline and effective time management to pull off. It's pretty worrying stuff. That’s why I'm trying to get as far ahead as I can with the one hour drama and the sports drama. I don’t want to go into next term unprepared. I'm now attempting to have a first draft of Requiem for next term.

Writing Short Animations.

Jan Weddup, (scriptwriting lecturer) has often said that I should offer to write for the animators in the third-year -- because it’s a good way to get your name attached to a high-quality animated piece and make a contact.

I’ve always been interested in animation and writing for it. But when it comes to animated shorts (ha ha) I didn’t have a clue on how to write one and always thought that its something that a) I don’t have the comic-ability for and 2) the skill to write such a piece. The thought and prospect laid at the back of my mind for a good five months and then one day I began thinking about ideas.

BU animation-wise I knew what could be done by what I’ve seen and I knew what I liked story and character-wise. But when it came down to it I didn’t know where to start. So I started looking at a few animated feature ideas I have (which I know will only ever be dreams) and taking their concepts and seeing if I could condense their essence into an animated short. But that was just the beginning.

As I began to think in terms of animation it was only time until new ideas started coming. And i didn't have to wait long. An idea came out of nowhere and I ended up finishing a first draft pretty quickly. It’s four minutes and I see it as being animated in a pretty basic way. Basic is probably an insult but it doesn’t need to be photo realistic or anything.

Its the story of a mischievous fox who gets his last lesson in the ‘Book of Life‘. It can work on a basic animated level or in fine detail. Its features are; trees/garden scenery, inside two rooms of a house, two animal and one human character and object interaction.

It’s in typical animation comedy form - although subtle; I don’t like to consciously think about writing comedy because in my opinion (and perfectionist/mildly paranoid mind state) it ends up ruining it. It almost did for this although its more irony than actual purposeful laugh out loud jokes.

Although one stupid joke (that isn’t funny) still makes me laugh. But it needs to be there because what its based around is a link to the persona of the mysterious villain-hunter character. It’s the first joke (attempt) in the script and I think of it as what Dewy in Scream 2 refers to as ‘lowering peoples expectations to effectively manoeuvre within any given situation’. I’m a geek I know. It works visually that’s why I still laugh when I think about it. It’s the only stupid joke though.

The rest all felt natural to do so i didn't have to over think them. The main thing with writing it is obviously what I find funny but also bearing in mind other peoples expectations. But Book of Life is something that I would want to see and would enjoy. And that’s why we write.

After the Book of Life my short animated receptors (ha ha) were pretty much turned off but more ideas started flowing. At the closure of what I thought was a freak accident of a good idea wasn‘t so. I’ve now got four solid ideas that I will complete before the summer is up and more in the works. Its seems that a once closed door has now been opened as I can’t stop seeing short animations in everything. All the ideas are completely different in terms of high/low concept and content and I’m not really sure if any are good or appropriate. But I’ll be happy if at least one is liked.

I was worried about not fitting enough in to make the reveals and end sting in the tale work and I knew I only had a few minutes of screen time. This is where time apart really helped. Coming back with a fresh mind helped to add certain details and takeout what wasn’t advancing the story and only dragged it down. And that’s the main thing with writing just go with your instincts and your learn by your mistakes. I actually took some of my favourite things out but I’m always prepared to do that because in the end; its about writing the most effective story for the audience. Not for you. Another thing that I’ve learnt with writing animation is that its good fun. So I think everyone should try it and your probably surprise yourself. I did.

Tips I’ve learnt. (I know I’m no expert. But they might help.)

-Initially, keep it small and simple. That way you have room to manoeuvre and add depth and detail to make it appear more bigger than it is.

-The best comedic shorts are based around a situation, moment or moral tale.

-Keep in mind audience (and your own) expectations at every turn and try to beat/raise them.

-Character expressions. It’s what animators want when reading a script and its what the story’s all about. So make the main character stand-out and likeable. (At first I didn‘t have any reaction or personality with the fox in Book of Life- he was just a mischievous fox in his first appearance. But now his thick black eyebrows are his trademark. I should think of some more.)

-The character(s) is everything. At the heart of the story is the oddball main character/hero. So think about how vulnerable/likable and original he can be.

-Watch short animations to get a feel for what you can do and where you can go.

Sports Drama Series. Second Post.

The forum‘s now set up, which is good. So hopefully we can start making some progress on research and even story-wise.

When thinking about ideas for this its hard to not go off on a tangent and completely explore the story and other characters and their stories. So what started off as one character is now effectively the main set of characters for the series and all their interrelationships and back stories. But I know that I can’t present that as a whole because we’re meant to be creating this together and its probably too early to have the main characters. So I’ll just split them up in their single characters and story and just use them and their connections as possibilities.

I’ve approached ideas for this in a different way than before. I started by looking at lists of the most popular sport films. I then underlined from a review- what makes each one special and what’s original about it. I then started to work these essential ideas and ways into possible characters and storylines for the series. For example; with A League Of Their Own, which is a great film. I’ve used the male (Tom Hanks) as the fish out of water in an all girl baseball team and turned it into a female, who has recently brought the (sport) club and has to earn respect from the all-male team and including the hard-nosed coach, her ex-husband. Other strong characters that stood out and were begging for representation were Maggie from Million Dollar Baby; her sheer determination for self-respect, which in a way is combined with the above character. Also the underdog that is Rocky Balboa, who’s father coaches the team and is often ridiculed by him because he has no interest in sport. But when they’re short of players he’s asked by his mother (new owner-from above) to fill in. So he does and although they lose he gains a moral victory and gains some much needed respect. This then changes the everyman into some what of a hero and creates a much needed role-reversal between his father (coach) and himself.

When you look at the series as a whole and start thinking about the certain people who’d live in the area it becomes easy to see who’d live there and how they’d all relate and bounce off each other. But my problem is I get carried away and write it before we’ve had the chance to sit down and actually write it. So I think its good to come up with characters and stories and cast designs early on. But also to keep in mind the likelihood of them sticking is slim. But overall it can’t be bad having too many ideas because they can be used for other things.

There are seven other people in the group so all will have their own characters/stories and self-satisfying agendas. So the trick then (for your own ideas) is to take a little bit of what everyone wants and put that within your main ideas. So they’re more likely to accept them. Compromise without compromising. Finding out what people want and doing it before it’s a conscious thing on everyone’s mind. The last thing I want is someone to be unhappy about something or feel left out. So I’ll try and include everyone’s own interests in each of my ideas.

It’s still to early to be thinking about characters and ideas in a time where research is the main thing at this stage. So I think I need to return to kind of research that‘s needed and will be presented in the series bible.

An invaluable source for this was the example series bible and assignment brief from last year on Media 2. This gave me a greater insight into what‘s needed and I now feel confident in how to go about achieving that.

Feature. Early Thoughts.

Probably way too soon to be thinking about it. But I have been. I’ve been thinking about the types of things I could do for it. Its a big undertaking and will need a lot; story and character-wise to carry the weight of ninety-minutes.

Initially, like I thought with the one hour drama, I’d do something different. Sinking (Narratives) and Marlow Road (Audiences) are in the family-drama arena (from the parents point of view) and I thought I’d challenge myself for sixty-minutes and do something in a different genre. But that didn’t happen - although the main focus in Requiem (One Hour Drama) is a teenager and only child. So something did change.

So now I’m thinking that for my feature I’ll do something different. But now I know I won’t.

Initially I thought: A feature. Cool, I’ll do one of my sci-fi films. I had one in mind, which is essentially a futuristic cop conspiracy/thriller but with a twist and is pretty straightforward. But then I thought: Sci-fi?

I know I want to write sci-fi someday but my main passion and one of the big things I want to write is the offbeat family drama or Indie drama as it may be better known as. The dysfunctional family is my calling. There's something quite remarkable about these films, which are essentially dramas but offer so much more about life and what it is to be human. Its often presented in black comedic form and that's the beauty of it.

Its the comic relief from life that keeps us alive (mentally & physically) and no other film highlight that importance. Similar examples to my own aspirations are cult films like; The United States Of Leland, The Squid And The Whale, Imaginary Heroes, Igby Goes Down, Thumbsucker, Storytelling, American Beauty, etc. Although they're not exactly what i want to do they are the closest examples. (Its this type of storytelling that's missing from the small screen. Hello Mr. T.V Executive!)

Anyway, getting back to the point- I thought it would be more useful writing something in the vain of what I wanted to write feature-wise (after I left uni) than something that‘s limited to something that I want to try someday. So that got me thinking and a few existing coming of age-like features came to mind. There’s a main bunch that I’ve been developing over the years and I‘ll probably choose one of those. But by having to pick one (if it works out) I feel that I’m choosing ‘to lose it’ - because I know if I write it for the university then there’s no chance of it existing outside - not to say that its amazing and will be sold. But its nice to know that every idea you have has a chance.

But the way I’m looking at it is that a) it can be used as a spec-script and b) it will give me experience of not only writing a feature but one in the vain of some of the serious projects that I want to write in the future. So I hope it will give me enough experience and knowledge and push me to write the others. On the other hand I may not even choose an existing idea I might even create something afresh, which would be pretty cool. But I think it is worth considering testing and fully exploring one of them.

Soundtrack your script.

Something that I've done for my past three scripts - was create a soundtrack for it. A playlist of songs that immediately brings me into the overall or main emotions of the script; and that features specific songs to get me into a certain frame of mind for a character or mood for a certain scene. It gets me closer to how my characters are feeling and in the position where I am them. Then I can make choices.

But music isn't always the way to go. There are times when its a distraction. But overall its helped me. Mainly through pre-writing and the first draft.

Sports Drama Series. First Post.

I’ve started researching and have found some possible interesting sections of sport; i.e. Marketing and Sponsorship. I’ve also got an idea that would be set during the build up to the 2012 Olympics and would show the different sides and dramas of the people involved in its mammoth preparation. Each episode would be a countdown to the big day and show a different section of the preparation.

I made the choice not to work with friends on this because I didn’t want to play it safe. I wanted to be dropped into a new situation and have the challenge of getting to know new people (or people I vaguely knew, better) and work with them in an industry like environment.

The thing with this and what I’ve heard from people is everyone wants to pick their favourite sport, which I think is wrong and in a group of eight is never going to work. The way I see this and for me personally is: as long as we can create interesting characters and exciting stories then I’m not worried about what sport we choose. It can be anything. It’s all about the characters anyway and there’s no saying on how much the sport has to feature. People should be thinking of a place where there’s a number of distinct and different characters who are caught up with each other and clash on a regular basis. The sport can either be in the background or in direct relation to their jobs and everyday activity. I think the best way for the series to work would be to have the sport in the background and the characters and their lives (within the area) however connected in the foreground.

We had our first meeting today, which was good. The ball is now rolling. I presented my Oylmpic idea but we decided that a small and simple idea is the best way to go and what we feel the tutors want. Everybody presented different possible storylines and arenas so we have something to work from. We ended up with an (almost) final idea for the sport and its setting. But I still want to keep the door open on other possibilities for awhile and especially as two people didn’t turn up. So they’ve still got a chance to have input on the arena and we’ve got time if something better turns up.

We set ourselves a deadline to decide what sport/arena to go with, which is Sunday 15th July. I will set up a forum online for communication and idea posting over the summer.

Personally I think the sport/arena we have is the one we’ll end up going with. I’m not a fan of the sport and think there’s nothing to it. But the job now is to act on what I said earlier about creating interesting characters and pretty much turning the sport/arena’s ‘boring’ stereotype on its head.

Summer Project Unit [A Reflection]

Overview: To create a cross-platform media package that somehow relates to the three words; End Of Empire

The groups were made up of students from Scriptwriting, Television Production and Interactive Media. The purpose was to get us working in an industry-like practice to produce a product using our specific skills.

In the first tutorial I came with a treatment for a short film and its tie in website. Initially I wasn’t going to pitch it because I wasn’t confident enough and didn’t think I’d be able to get it all across. But at the last moment I went ahead with it and must have pitched it well because everyone got it and liked it. I wasn’t completely in love with it but we ended up making it anyway. But from that pitch it made me think that if I’m passionate and confident about an idea then I shouldn’t worry. People will stick with me if I’m initially nervous because I believe in what I’m talking about.

With the script: the clear problem was that there was a lot to get across. But I believe I did the best job I could (in my input) and managed to help put across the right/necessary information. This was a new experience for me; having to work with someone to write a script that would be shortly made and presented to a large audience. I valued my experience and learnt how to compromise more. I also feel that I was able to draw on my previous directing/editing experience when writing this script. I believe it helped me to visualise it more and get down its essence to what’s needed and in terms of what can be shot.

Main flaw: the best short films are the simplest. Ours in comparison was a little complicated. But in our project’s defence the complete experience and understanding is through the entire package and not just in the film. Our story is told over the 360 degree platform.

Before this project I had certain technical and group work experience. Also this year I had helped produce a 6 minute film, which refreshed on my experience and taught me a few new things. I brought this to the table for this project. But I soon learnt that this group/project was far more professional and advanced than what I’d previously been involved with.

In our subsequent meetings and during production/post I was being asked questions about the script and had to deliver a quick answer. I soon got used to this and became confident at offering ideas and answers.

In post production I was able to expand on my editing skills and worked closely with the director and editor on the final edit of the film. This collaboration was extremely gratifying and proved to be a good thing. The quality of the complete product was to a standard that I didn’t think was achievable. Its made me re-focus on the quality of my own work and professional attitude if I’m to stand a chance in the industry.

Awaiting Mark.

Godspeed.

We have our new assignment. The one hour drama. We only have to have two outlines by the new term. But i want to take full advantage of the time we have and get started straight away.

Initially I thought about breaking away from the family drama of my previous uni scripts and try something new and challenging. Also I knew that I couldn’t top the tragic pain of Christine and her final actions in Sinking (Narratives) or the paralysing guilt and mourning felt by Jason in Marlow Road (Audiences). But it’s a genre I’m drawn to and feel strongly about so I decided to proceed into the new challenge.

The initial title was Godspeed and is based on a one situation-short story I wrote. The character of Logan and the situation will form the basis and opening for my one hour drama.

I’ve begun initial development on the characters and certain revealing scenes: human affection, revealing hidden emotion, universal messages on being human etc. - They are what a character in ‘Waking Life’ refers to as ‘the holy moments’ in a film. They are what I see first in a story or a particular character from initial conception and then I create everything around it that precedes and follows. A script/film is all about those moments. About being alive and knowing it.

After initial development on Logan and his story, I began to think about his parents. Once I knew where they were both coming from and where they’d end up I had a problem; because now they are competing for centre stage. All three characters stories and character arcs are just as powerful as each others. This then led me to rethink the title and change it to something that not only reflected the state of Logan but all of the main characters.

That’s when Requiem was born. This then inspired me to create a premise for each main character in relation to the title. What I found was that the three of them are each dying from something different. And it’s within this combined tragedy that I hope to create something far more dramatic and unlike anything I’ve ever written.

The amount of time we have before we officially get this assignment is too good to waste. So I hope to have a scene by scene breakdown (at least) by the start of the new term and a first draft by Christmas. This will leave enough time for a second maybe third re-write and final draft revisions before the deadline in April/May 2008.

Something that I didn’t really do on my previous scripts and that I will do for this is research. At the same time as developing the story and characters I will do as much research into their world and themselves as I can. My arena for Marlow Road wasn’t very strong and for a story of this length I think that arena and equally character research is just as important as what happens.

Audiences Unit [A Reflection]

Overview: To write a 40 minute script based in the real world that shows evidence of set up, development and resolution featuring a subplot.

The reason for the assignment was to develop on what we’ve learnt in narratives and to produce the script untutored, relying solely on other students feedback.

My script, (Marlow Road) is about a father who accidentally kills his own daughter in a hit and run.

This idea was actually one of the ones I came up with for Narratives. At the time I knew I couldn’t write it and didn’t have a clue how to write it. But for this it felt right and I began work on it immediately.

Pre-Writing: I followed the same pattern of development I first used for Narratives. I wanted to know everything and have a complete scene breakdown before I started the script. With the narratives development I was trying something new. So with this script I tended to skip large chucks of development because my mind was aware of certain ways of fast tracking through ideas.

Outline & Treatment: Also with this assignment we had to provide development material. A first and final outline, a treatment and first draft.

First Draft: was very similar to the final draft. It was delivered later than I liked but I didn’t want to compromise the development by starting it too early.

Final Draft: I had enough time to go over the final draft, which was down to my effective time management, which proved to be extremely valuable.

Weaknesses Feedback; Failed to properly introduce one or two minor characters. Also my arena wasn‘t very strong and need a more vivid and evocative portrayal.

Script Development Overview: Quicker development-78pages. More effective time management. First Draft. Final Draft and Review time.

Overview: looking back I think I could have possibly scrapped the secondary character of Psychiatrist Kelvin and used best friend/police officer Brian to get the necessary info and plot point across to Jason (main character). The script was packed and there wasn’t enough room for manoeuvre. Cutting Kelvin would free up some valuable space. I haven’t really thought about it but that seems like the obvious weakness/improvement.

Mark: 67%

Essay:

This was the first time I got a large selection of books out and early on. So I had time to read through my research and select and understand certain quotes and theory. I also broke the question down to understand what was needed and pinned it to my noticed board.

Mark: 60%

I feel that my academic progress has been slow but noticeable. From my first essay (Images) I have gained a five percent increase, which puts my essay level from a 3-1 up to a 2-1. This is a slight but further improvement on my previous essay. I hope to continue at this pace of development into the second year and by the third will be at a level worthy of a decent grade for my dissertation.

Images Unit: Production [A Reflection]

Overview: In groups to film one of the chosen six minute Images scripts.

I’ve had experience at college with group production work and was able to bring my knowledge and skill into this project. I furthered my experience with directing/camerawork and working in a team to achieve the best possible shots. I was not only able to build on my creative input but also the basic editing skills I learnt at college.

It wasn’t an overly vital part of the unit hence the percentage but it was important in terms of working in a group. However, I learnt that in the future I will be more vocal in my points of view and have confidence in my ability.

Mark: 68%

Narratives Unit [A Reflection]

Overview: to write a 30 minute script based in the real world. It should feature a subplot and be resolved.

The reason for the unit was for us to think in terms of a complete narrative with a main plot and supporting subplot that interweaved, fed and influenced each other. Also to set up, develop and resolve a story and characters from the beginning that went through change and made a choice at the end.

From the initial brief and feedback from the lectures I got the impression that they wanted a family orientated drama. It was easy for me to think within that arena because it’s something I’m extremely interested in. From the start I wanted something that I felt strongly about and something that would carry a certain level of quality and professionalism. In the development of my idea there were a number of influences that helped me to define what was needed to create a good 30 minute script. The following advice I received from a seminar on the short film Lady Luck:

Kick your story off fast and open with an attention grabber.
The complexities a character can contain.
Power in relationships.
Designing your cast for difference.

This changed the whole way I looked at and approached my own 30 minute script. Another film that was highly influential was The Deadness Of Dead.

Tutorial [The Pitch]:
It’s about single parent, Mike who has three children; Tasha, sixteen Scott, fourteen and Graham whose eight. Their household is a noisy one and has its far share of fights. But it’s one where they’re loved although they don’t quite know it yet. Mike longs for the mornings when he can go to work and get a break from what he sometimes calls a “living hell”.

But this to them is soon seen as happiness because tomorrow their mum will turn up on the door step. After a heartfelt plea and guilt trip he agrees for her to see them tomorrow after school. She then pushes him further to agree on a trip to a caravan park where they can get away for a few days and catch up on lost time.

During which Scott begins to connect with his mum but only shows it when his dad isn’t around. Tasha hasn’t got any time for her mum and gets closer to her dad. Graham is taken by this new person named “Auntie Christine” because he has someone he can waffle on to who won‘t get annoyed or tell him to shut up. Mike on the other hand feels himself splitting down the middle and soon wonders if he‘s made the second biggest mistake of his life.

Feedback: Its more like a feature film story and needs to be simplified and narrowed down to its essence.

Initially I was worried about pitching the idea but as soon as I started to receive encouraging feedback I realised it wasn’t the idea that the problem is was my lack of confidence. The feedback from my tutor was valuable and spot on. It was easy to accept the changes need but it was hard at first letting go of certain things. But I trusted my instincts and soon the essence of the story made itself clear and I knew what had to be done. The timeline of the story had to be shortened and the number of characters. So sister Tasha went and so did the Caravan Park holiday. In came Scott’s birthday and his birthday meal, the same day of Christine’s return. Something I learnt early on is that you have to be prepared to cut your favourite things; that happened with losing Tasha (an essential part of the family dynamic) and therefore her ‘Sinking’ speech, which connected to the title and revealed her deep hidden feelings about her absent mum. In retrospect my initial pitch was far too long and could have been cut down a lot. It needed to state the main character, his goal and direct opposition.

Pre-writing; From the go I knew that I would approach this script with more planning and preparation. I knew 30 minutes was going to be a challenge but also enjoyable because there’s time to develop the characters. We received our assignment in the last week before Christmas and I stayed for an extra week to concentrate and plan as much as I could of the story. By the end of the week I had 38 pages of story and character development and a clear idea of what would happen in the script.

My script, (Sinking) was about a mother who returned to her husband and two boys after six years.

I found it very useful to talk to other people about my idea. It’s something that I’m very reluctant to do. But if you find the right person and have a certain confidence in your idea then it will more than pay off. If it doesn’t lead to anything new then it will help to further clarify the story within yourself. In this case a such talk changed my mind about the suicide of Scott (finale) and made me realise that it wasn’t his story. The story is his father’s and therefore Scott would be stealing the finale from him, which is a golden rule in scriptwriting: Never take the finale out of the main character’s hands. So gone was Scott’s suicide and in came a highly charge argument between Mike and Christine, in which she reveals her secret. From that moment Scott never became more than a secondary character and one half of the subplot. Having pitched a few times to the tutors and regularly to colleagues I now feel more confident at pitching and hope to be more open to it in the future.

First Draft Comments: For my original draft the subplot featured a couple who were friends with the main character. Their story reflected his own and with his wife returning reflected what they used to be. The script was a few pages over the limit and their story made the script too crowded. It wasn’t clear who we should be following as both stories featured equally. I made the decision to cut the subplot and replace it with the two boys, which I should have done from the beginning. But at first I wasn’t quite clear on the definition of a subplot and how much it should feature. But having done it this way made me define the main character and his story more.

Final Draft: I felt it got down to the essence and the heart of the story. But through lack of time management and setting myself deadlines I didn’t have time to go over the final draft.

The last minute re-write of the opening scene resulted in a scene that was quite redundant and dialogue heavy. It featured the main character at work but didn’t advance or foreshadow the story in any way.

Main things learnt:

Dialogue has two purposes; to reveal character or push the story forward.

I now know I should be fighting every single idea; character, scene or line of dialogue, sub plot etc and find reasons to throw any of it out. And it's when I can't find reasons to get rid of something that's when it should stay and belongs in my script. Everything on the page should have a reason for being there.

Script Development Overview:

Looking back I think I spent maybe too much time developing as it ended up being 157 pages from initial concept to the final draft. Having spent so much time developing I didn’t have any time to go over the final draft before I handed it in. This proved to be a problem because as I’ve said the opening scene was redundant and there were a number of typos and a few melodramatic moments. I also ran out of time to read over and consider any new ideas.

Mark: 68%

Essay:

When it came to the essay I left it till the last few days. I didn’t manage to get out the books I wanted because all the good ones had been taken. So I had to settle for what I could get. Before the end of the year I attended a workshop on essay writing, which was useful. It helped me to think in terms of what is needed from the question and break it down into an argument and into for and against sections. The recent lesson and handout on essay structure from my Pal session also helped to clarify approach, research and discussion.

Mark: 58%

Even though I left it to the last minute my essay mark was an improvement on the previous one.

Images Unit [A Reflection]

Overview: To write a six-minute visual script.

The whole reason for this unit is to make us aware that film is a visual medium and not all about dialogue. To get us to think visually instead of what people say or do. Set the scene.

The main thing I learnt from the Images Unit was to keep things simple. Short films work because they're simple and don't have any complications or major twists in the story. I made the mistake of changing the ending at the last minute, which resulted in a twist that was hard to accept because - a) it wasn't set up and - b) it just didn't fit the length/style of this type of script. My script 'Evening-Up' began as a simple idea of a guy who had OCD and just couldn't get around to leaving his flat because he had to clean here and move things there. But then I took the story and turned it on its head, which by the end resulted in a criminal who was under surveillance and his OCD was a cover-up to search for bugs and pin cameras. My tutor was right in saying that these kinds of twists work in feature films but not in short films.

What also became clear was for a twist to work it needs to be set up. It seems obvious but the best twists are set up in such a way that you don't know they're being set up. I thought that keeping the detective character unknown until his reveal and the twist revelation, would be a good thing. But I realise now that if I had introduced him in the beginning the audience would be wondering how and if these two characters relate and then when the twist comes it would seem more believable.

I also know that an idea that seems great at the time isn't always the best to include in your current script. For example my twist ending idea; it was the excitement and urge to explore this new idea that made me think its right for this particular piece. It may be the case sometimes but often it just needs to be explored on its own individual way. So now when I get a new idea I will look at how it will fit into the script in terms of characters, arena, theme etc and not include it because I really like it at the time. I will see how it fits into the bigger picture and if I doesn't then I'll put it aside for something else.

To say that the main thing I learnt from this unit was to keep things simple in relation to short scripts is really a lie. The main thing I did realise was that disicipline is extremely important. But more important is breaking down the process; the way an idea is explored and it's different stages within the timeframe you have. Starting straight away and putting a lot of time in at the beginning stage will pay off later. Due to poor disicipline and planning (a 6hr or all night writing stint isn't disicipline) I didn't have time to re-read my final draft, which I'm sure cost me because afterwards I found a few typos. So by setting deadlines for a treatment, first draft etc you can afford time to go through and check your work before you hand it in.

I was clearly too ambitious with this script and it cost me marks. It was our first assignment so I could see that the excitement of writing a six-minute script took over and I didn't take into account what makes a good short script; what the rules and conventions are. But looking back I've learnt things that only come with making mistakes so I'm happy to come away knowing a bit more about writing.

I've learn a lot during and looking back on the Images Unit, which I hope to use and then build upon in my next unit; Narratives.

Mark: 58%

Essay;

When it came to the essay I left it quite late before I started it. I didn’t do enough background reading to provide enough quotes to link into my own script. Another weakness was my failure to back up the quotes I used by explaining its meaning in my own words or linking it to an example. I also got in a bit of a muddle when talking about meaning in theory and in my own script. For example; the deeper meaning of Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and the connections to my own script and foreshadowing of character. I don’t think it was necessary to include all that.

Mark: 55%