Projector Films - new ideas for film makers

British films - sigh

2012-01-31T10:40:00.000Z

I really enjoyed this satirical trailer by Kevin Curtis.

It really took off online, in a viral way, amongst the people I know. Of course, the people I know are onboard with the message, they are all film makers trying to do different things so Kevin's 'trailer' fell on friendly ears.

It reminded me of my own, less successful, cheeky piece of satire. I sent in a proposal called "The Greatest Short Film Ever Made" to the UK Film Council, as it was then. It was a story featuring every short film cliche.Unsurprisingly they didn't fund it. But man did I laugh writing it! I only wish I could have pitched it in person.

I emailed Kevin as I enjoyed his trailer (I hope you do the same when you see things you like - you should) and he is indeed preparing for a feature - so let's hope he can deliver something fresh with it. All his work so far is self funded, which I admire and shows you can dig deep and make things.

On the topic of the subject of his original satire - I think audiences do have in their mind what a British film means. But I also think they like these conventions to be broken. You could say Britain could never have a 'superhero' film for example, that it isn't a British genre. But I think V for Vendetta could have been one, Misfits is a TV one and Chronicle (although I haven't seen it) strikes me as something that could have worked here.So we do put ourselves in too narrow a bracket sometimes.

British Film should be an approach and a sensibility - not a genre.

The opening monologue from "The Greatest Short Film Ever Made"

Young Jimmy Sprocket lives in a council estate, which these days is now called social housing. It could be North London. But it isn’t. It’s in Bournemouth. This, dear viewers, is due to complex funding considerations that we shouldn’t go into here. Jimmy’s mum, bless her, is a cleaner at the local school. One day her mop, which is symbolically linked to her dignity got mistaken for a piece of art. But that’s for another day. And his dad is a quite attractive transvestite recently returned from a tour of Iraq – but he ran away with the mute black dude who worked in a laundrette in the hope of getting whiter. Jimmy treasures his dad’s gold nose ring. But his dad left him just one other item. In a bottle, green of course so it shows up nicely on camera, under the stairs, sits an idea – it is, quite simply, the greatest idea for a short film that has ever been thought of.

Writing with no words

2012-01-21T11:50:00.001Z

In the recent podcast I talked about visual language, in relation to The Artist. I really liked this new silent film for two reasons. Firstly, because of the boldness of attempting such a thing. Secondly, because they do it so well. It isn't a gimmick, it has some wonderful shots and ideas in it. So I'm pleased it is doing well - at least with film fans!

I'm drawn to the era too and it has inspired my own work, such as 10 Seconds which is at the bottom of this post, or Mr Vista. Both of these projects have sound, but they are very much based on a Buster Keaton character and have the simple visual shots.

I was directing an advert this week, and like a lot of adverts and music videos, this also had no dialogue. So we need to get all the story and characters communicated to the audience via visual techniques alone.

So all of these things brought one thought to the front of my mind - I think that it is an art / skill that writers aren't trained in or practise enough - the art of visual writing. Soaps / standard TV drama is dialogue based because people watch them while they are eating their dinner or ironing. Therefore there has been maybe too much emphasis on training people to tell story through the spoken word.

We got an email from one podcast listener who agrees. Cheryl White has set herself a challenge to make 7 visual short films, called The Loss Series. Each has no dialogue and she is making one a year. The first one is featured above.

All writers should have a go at the 'no dialogue' challenge. You don't need to go as far as Cheryl has of course. But having a visual spec script in your file is a good idea. And the learning experience too will help with ALL your projects.

You can find my visual script effort from a few years ago here. It is one of my free scripts that has been released under a creative commons license.

Podcast 17 - Goals for 2012

2012-01-09T22:03:00.001Z

Mentioned in the podcast this month...

Red Planet Prize
Prequel to Cannes
BAFTA guru website

Our new(ish) facebook page - which you will find the extra goodies
Stephen Fry's interview (which you can also see below)
Richard Feynman
Sullivan's Travels by Preston Sturges (in fact from 1941, not the 50s)
Fleabag Monkeyface

Reviewed:
Midnight in Paris
Drive
Arthur Christmas
The Artist
Young Adult
The Descendants
New Girl
Community
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Borgen

The links are in the podcast too if you have a snazzy device that reads them.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T10:58:00.002Z

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

  Yes, it's time for this year's Christmas film - now a slight tradition of mine. I feel making a film is better than sending a card and more fun too.

This year, take away some of the musical befuddlement around the festive season with my handy guide to one verse of Fairytale of New York.

  I'm sure you will find it both useful and a comfort - that's right, you're not going deaf, he really is mumbling that much. Now you can finally join in with the whole feel-good Christmassy vibe of the song.  

You may need to watch it twice. And for extra help I added subtitles!

  (and for all you writers out there, let's remember who did the real work - the song is written by Jeremy Finer and Shane MacGowan)

Puttnam's career advice

2011-12-18T11:43:00.001Z

In a follow up to the last video, Lord Puttnam outlines 3 words that he feels sums up what is needed to get ahead in the film business.

Puttnam on Scriptwriters

2011-12-07T20:43:00.001Z

Hey writers - this will pep you up! I recently interviewed Lord Puttnam, producer of Chariots of Fire, The Mission, Killing Fields and Memphis Belle. I asked him his view of scriptwriters and what he wanted from them.

Google Street View animation

2011-12-03T15:05:00.001Z

As a lot of regular readers will know I am gearing up for a feature shoot set in the world of Google Earth style apps. So this caught my eye - and nicely done it is too.

Costs you nothing - raises money for a film

2011-12-02T19:46:00.001Z

If you haven't got your Christmas presents yet and are thinking of getting them from Amazon then you could help me out.

When you go to Amazon via the link above then I get a small percentage from the profit of whatever you buy. It costs you nothing. I've set up a new account so that all these small percentages go to one place - and maybe can help top up the budget for a new short film.

It may work, it may not. But it costs nothing to try.

If you don't use the link above then the extra profits just go into the Amazon coffers anyway and I think they have enough cash already!

Your film friend, Tim

Podcast episode 16

2011-12-02T18:45:00.001Z

Mirroring the Ricky Gervais podcast format this month's episode has Tim as Ricky, Danny as Stephen Merchant and guest star Johnny Griffith as Karl Pilkington. This month...

Danny gives an update on the Red Planet prize
We discuss why writers remain in the shadows
Practical tips to getting more work done

How to stand out in a crowded market

2011-11-28T10:01:00.001Z

A lot of writers fall into two camps...

Those that have a specialism (a certain genre perhaps) and do that repeatedly and are well known for it. But they perhaps worry that if circumstances change they will be left behind when the world moves on from that genre.

Then there are those who are 'jack of all trades', who do a bit of this and a bit of that. They worry that without a clearer proposition no one knows exactly what they do and why they should be employed.

I am currently making a video for Skillset and was interviewing Matt Locke from Storythings. He mentioned in passing the idea of having a "T shape" proposition.

With a T shape, you have the depth of a specialism combined with the breadth of a wider way of working. They aren't in conflict, they work together. This resonated with me a lot. Although I am a "writer for the Google generation" I also get involved in other projects - as far ranging as ideas such as the Reel Change. But it all comes back to writing, to characters, to storytelling.

Thinking about that in this T-shape way really helped so I put together the graphic above to help clarify my thinking so far.

Podcast 15: The London Screenwriters' Festival round up

2011-11-14T16:58:00.001Z

In this episode - myself and Danny Stack get our teeth into the Screenwriters' Festival. What and who stood out for us? In detail...

Red Planet Prize is back!
Wise words from Jack Thorne - and the full interview available here
Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright on doing your research
Being more visual - as I have covered in this blog already
Linda Aronson on new structures - I've ordered her book!
Hard work always wins

Danny also mentions a memo sent to writers of The Unit. Read it here.

And if you get a chance, a vote for us at the podcast awards will be appreciated.

Or find us on our Facebook page!

Best scriptwriting advice ever

2011-11-08T12:21:00.000Z

My recent posts have been about trying to reduce the amount of dialogue in a feature film script (as inspired by Alexander MacKendrick) combined with making sure that the dialogue really counts for something when you use it. This forms the basis of my current draft of Friend Request.

Chris Jones is of a like mind too it seems. On his blog he had some scans of the original Alexander MacKendrick cards. These are cards he used himself to teach his students.

I've joined them together in a funky PDF you can download and print easily, preferably A3 size.

Together I think they form some of the best advice for scriptwriters writing for the big screen. I also talked more about this and why I feel it works for writers moving from TV to cinema in the latest podcast with Danny Stack.

2011-11-05T15:50:00.000Z

This poster / download is a follow up to my recent post on the power of visual words.

This time it is focused on the original idea of speechmaking as outlined by the gang from Creativity Works - as opposed to my own interpretation of its use within dialogue. Who knows, I may do a dialogue version sometime soon.

Best business card for a scriptwriter - 2011

2011-11-04T07:00:00.000Z

Its almost a tradition now! This year, as last year (and many previous years now) I was on the look out for interesting business cards at the London Screenwriters Festival.

The big news is... LESS CARDS. I think a lot of people rely on the power of LinkedIn to connect up later. But I think this misses the point - half the time you can't remember the name of the other person to even look them up.

It does perhaps mean the job of a card has changed. It maybe doesn't need to carry all the different contact details it once used to - maybe your name and twitter (or linkedin account etc) is enough. So instead it should be about making sure you are remembered. Seems easy, but it isn't.

As such, the images below are mostly from the reverse of the card. The front, with contact details on, is mostly redudant as I mentioned above. The reverse is where it is at baby!

Here are some of my highlights...

Janice Day took the idea of 'blank space' and used it to her advantage. But she admitted she stole that idea from me.

Rosie Claverton's word cloud was striking. But this layout is perhaps becoming slightly over used - so don't go for this next year!

Liz wrote a little scene in courier font, which worked well.

But so did Andrew James Carter. Who probably did it better, but only because you read it later when you get home. And in fact Andrew was mentioned last year so is rapidly becoming king of the cards!

Images not words

2011-11-03T12:32:00.000Z

The London Screenwriter's Festival has only just finished. For me, one of the most important times is straight away afterwards. Now. What tips, techniques and lessons have you picked up that you can use immediately?

For me, it was an idea passed on by film historian Paul Cronin from his research into the work of Alexander MacKendrick, including The Ladykillers.

His advice was insanely simple. It was obvious. We all knew it. Yet we all forget it. Cinema is a visual way to tell stories. As such, a non-verbal shot should take precedence over dialogue.

In fact, he showed 3 minutes of the LadyKillers with the sound faded down to demonstrate that the dialogue isn't really needed in order to understand 80-90% of the story and characters. Now that is a great way to measure your script as you do a redraft.

With my own script (Friend Request) that I am currently redrafting I need to get the page count down from about 107 to more like 95. I'm partially funding this script myself so this isn't an empty exercise, cutting this time down will save money.

Already I have found places where whole portions of dialogue can be replaced by looks, by action and by the use of symbolic props. Fantastic. It's shorter and it's more cinematic.

Writing for a totally new format

2011-10-04T20:53:00.002+01:00

A few posts ago I talked about a film being made using a 360 degree camera. This, obviously, presents many production challenges. But does it also present narrative challenges? I asked Tory Mell, the co-producer and writer about his views on this. Here is what he said...

With the 360 degree format, the hardest thing came after I had finished the first draft of the script (which was done in the traditional manor). I then had to go back in and do a complete overhaul of the film with the knowledge that actors were going to be on camera 100% of the time. So even before the director got a hold of it, I had to make sure each actor had something to do because we will never know who (the viewing audience) will be focused on. Sure we had a "Star" of the film, but each character (Six in total) were equally as important because each had a purpose, each had their own demons to deal with, and it had to show at all times. Once we started rolling on the SA 360 there was no stopping until they got through the scene.

Writing with a 360 degree format in mind is crazy! The best way I am able to describe the experience is, I wrote this as filmed theatre. In film/tv you get multiple takes, but with the SA 360 much like theatre, you get one shot. But what separates it from theatre, is if you flub a line in theatre you press on, if you flub a line on the 360… You're back to one.

It's a completely fascinating way of writing, and it was truly a fun experience! But I'm glad my brain gets to go back to single/multi camera writing… 360 of writing is taxing on the old Melon.

You can check out the website:www.whiteroom02b3.com

Good luck with all of your future projects!

Double video stream - double story

2011-09-19T17:26:00.001+01:00

My Cannes friend Nicholas Fogliarini sent through a link to a new kind of online film.

It features a double screen - two interconnected stories - and you can swap between them at any time, with the stories merging every so often. In this film, for the French train company, it is a documentary style and a soap style story that are interconnected. But the range of different stories that could work with this interface is much wider. In fact, I think the interface is very slick and inspiring in the opportunities it could present.

Two characters points of view. A 'Timecode' style story. Or even a factual piece.

Watch it here - http://www.cotefenetrecotecouloir-sncf.com/en/#/movie/

A brand new writing technique (they don't happen often!)

2011-09-17T22:35:00.001+01:00

Hey writing fans. Yes, the title is correct. This is a new idea about writing. I picked it up the other day from communication experts Martin and Martha at Creativity Works.

It came out of research they collected and gathered from various sources that was initially focused on speeches and speechmaking - for example speeches by Winston Churchill and Gordon Brown. What works, what doesn't.

But, as we know, the power of words is the same, if used in the real world for speeches or in dialogue for scripts. So this idea shouldn't be seen as something to only use in big speeches in films, but rather in all dialogue.

It falls into two parts.

ONE - paint simple pictures in the mind's eye

If a character is talking about experiences that have effected them, about memories, about ideas, about thoughts - then abstract is not the way to go. You may think this is obvious, but it isn't always. For some writers the thought process around this issue may go something like, if it is a very specific action I will show it on screen and then if it is a slightly more abstract idea, I will have a character talk about. This research shows that even in the abstract parts, we need personal detail. Hannibal Lector can't talk about the ironic quest for personal freedom, he must talk about eating the liver of a census taker. Sure, you could show the scene, but the power of VISUAL language is stronger.

Perhaps it is because we don't follow this idea that voice overs are hated so much. They are often abstract and up in the air. Not grounded in personal, visual language that connects to us, the audience.

TWO - simpler, earlier language is better for the hero.

If you look at the speeches of Winston Churchill for example he uses the simpler words (which happen to be the old English words) for talking about the British. These are childhood, easy words. Therefore, using these words takes us right back to early experiences - fight, beach, dog.

When he talks about the enemy he uses more complex words. Words like 'mechanised, machinery, invaders'. These are harder words for the brain to process. The brain prefers the 'hero words'.

Some examples may help... Imagine the opening to a movie. A voice over accompanies images from childhood.

A version that was too abstract would be "The range of human emotions is wide. Having pleasant experiences, happy times, in your childhood will enable you to develop into a fully rounded adult"

It is okay. But what it needs is some personal images. Things we can latch onto. It can still be philosophical in nature, but it connect more easily to the audience.

Better visual dialogue would be "When I was a boy I would smile as the sun hit my face and cry as my knee scraped the surface of the rough playground. Without these, without the smile, without the tears, I would not be the man I am today".

Not the best dialogue I know, but you get the idea I hope.

Now, clearly some characters may talk differently to others. But this research shows that the bottom line will impact on the audience more and be more memorable and easier to digest.

It is early days with this idea. But it seems powerful. And simple.

Using the triumvirate of characters - to make some cash

2011-09-12T17:05:00.001+01:00

Here's a rising trend with regards to what I'm being commissioned to create. I guess you could call them "fictional character profiles". These were created with Shaune from Chestnut Cow - for MartonHouse.

Crafting these is a good opportunity for writers, offering some interesting non broadcast work - and another good revenue stream.

The 'character profile' above is from a set showing 3 customer types. It is called the Red, Green, Blue model and is a simple way of getting a quick grasp on why you may need to tailor your business pitch to different types of people.

About the 3 characters in this example:
Red people - status driven, time short, have the courage to invest in their personal future.
Green people - detail conscience, like figures, logical, looking for a good deal here and now.
Blue people - these are people people, warm, reminiscence about things they've done with others in the past, big hearts.

The green and blue characters are at the bottom of this post.

Why are writers useful to create these kind of profiles?
These three clips were for training purposes. People watch them to think about how they would change their verbal and written business pitches in order to appeal to each person. The model itself is a bit dry. However, it is a abundant mine for a writer - it needed to be fleshed out. What would a character like that have in their home, what would they wear, how would they speak? Then there is a structure layered on top; what do they think about home, work and the third place? Where is the spirit of their life, in the past, present or future? The normal things we love getting into. Writer's gold.

PLUS - you can bring in elements from other stories that use the same triumvirate of human experience. For example our three characters are like the guys from Oz (courage, brain, heart) or the classic Star Trek combo of Kirk, Spock, McCoy. There's nought new, but as writers at least we know that and can use it.

Why direct too?
Personally, I like directing these videos as it means the visual style can be made to match the content. For example, ensuring the shots reflect the character. Green, for instance, is very head on, formal and logical.

What can we take back from this?
The flow of ideas must be two way of course. You can take some of this thinking into your own pitches for projects. How would you speak to each of these characters if you were seeking their investment in a new film? Do you alter your tone and vocabulary enough?

Budget for all 3 - in the region of £10k.

Blue Character:

Green Character:

Too old for this shit

2011-09-09T21:16:00.000+01:00

Name drop alert - you have been warned!

When I was starting out I was editing for David Yates. We were doing a community project together back in Swindon. It was while doing an online edit (3 machine Umatic, edit fans!) that he got the call that his first feature was being shown at Edinburgh. He said that that was about on target for a film career, as he was 35.

Well, I'm 38 now. So either that means I'm not as awesome as David Yates (which can't be true obv) or things have changed. Actually I don't mind so much, every career is different as you can tell by exploring any study of cinema. But I know some people do worry.

When I was in London recently I bumped into Duncan Kenworthy. I told him the story above. He said he didn't make his first feature until he was over 40. So I feel better. For a couple of years at least!

On a more serious note, this age-old question of age does come up at workshops and conferences. The fact that there is no single route into becoming successful as a writer / director / producer / actor should free us up. But only if we let it.

Podcast 13: Agents

2011-08-27T13:58:00.000+01:00

Along with the regular competition (courtesy of Industrial Scripts) and silly bits this podcast myself and Danny Stack focus on agents.

Do you need an agent?
What does an agent do for you?
How do you approach an agent?
Are you ready?

360 degree film

2011-08-21T09:20:00.001+01:00

While the official website of White Room 02B3 gives nothing away, the video above fills in the details.

The guys at Roddenberry Entertainment are moving ahead with a 360 degree narrative film. Obviously your current screen can't show a 360 degree image. But you can either watch it in a special location or on your computer where you move around the scenes with your mouse. An example of how that works is below.

As I'm working on a POV (aka first person) film I know how technical innovations are both exciting but also a challenge. With visual change comes storytelling change too. The cornerstones of good story always remain of course. But what I'm interested in are the small alterations that are needed to make a narrative flow along when using new technology. I'm talking about the level of alteration that is the difference between a play and a film.

This is rarely talked about, but I'll be keeping an eye on this project to see what happens.

In my own project, as just one example, I'm having to remember to work on the pacing extra hard. Because we can't cut away to another character and another scene it means that if the audience needs a quieter scene to contrast a hectic scene I actually have to move my main character to somewhere suitable.

The wisdom of being 6

2011-08-14T15:18:00.000+01:00

Amazing to think that this blog is now 6 years old.

Below is one of those lists - the lists that do the blog / twitter / facebook rounds. I would have said the MySpace rounds back in the early days of the blog - but things move on!

Anyway, this is purportedly from a teacher who asked some six year olds to complete some famous sayings. To me, I don't think it really matters if that is true or not, it is still in the spirit of what this blog and Projector Films is all about. That is; taking something and trying to add a twist of the new.

1. Don't change horses......................until they stop running.
2. Strike while the...................................bug is close.
3. It's always darkest before..................Daylight Saving Time.
4. Never underestimate the power of.....................termites.
5. You can lead a horse to water but......................how?
6. Don't bite the hand that.............................looks dirty.
7. No news is....................................impossible.
8. A miss is as good as a..................................Mr.
9. You can't teach an old dog new....................math.
10. If you lie down with dogs, you'll............stink in the morning.
11. Love all, trust........................................me.
12. The pen is mightier than the..........................pigs.
13. An idle mind is...........................the best way to relax.
14. Where there's smoke there's............................pollution.
15. Happy the bride who........................gets all the presents.
16. A penny saved is.......................................not much.
17. Two's company, three's.............................the Musketeers.
18. Don't put off till tomorrow what..........you put on to go to bed.
19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and.....you have to blow your nose.
20. There are none so blind as.........................Stevie Wonder.
21. Children should be seen and not..............spanked or grounded.
22. If at first you don't succeed..................get new batteries.
23. You get out of something only what you.......see in the picture on the box.
24. When the blind lead the blind.................get out of the way.
25. Better late than........................................pregnant.

Podcast: Episode 12 - writer's block

2011-07-29T17:38:00.000+01:00

In this episode myself and Danny discuss:

It is a one year anniversary for the podcast. What are the 3 big lessons?
Competition Time - courtesy of Industrial Scripts. Win a place on a course.
Writer's Block - is it real? If it is, what do you do about it?
Script Checklist - what to do before you send out the first draft
Contact Us - ukscriptwriters at hotmail.com

9 Ideas book - a bit off topic, but still cool.

2011-07-28T12:02:00.001+01:00

See the full size book at http://bit.ly/9newideas

I was asked recently to write a book for business leaders, based upon some the ideas I've developed here (Gravity for example) as well as some of the ideas developed by the guys at Marton House.

This is the result. It is a highly concentrated mini book that contains 9 ideas that leaders / managers can start using straight away - in any industry sector. It is short and punchy as it tends to be the case that these readers don't like longer, text based, material.

Check it out if you like - or send the link to anyone who you think would like it. It is suitable for beginners or old hands.

For me, this shows that our skill, as generators of ideas, carries real worth in the wider world.

You can download a pdf from www.9newideas.co.uk

Twitter Movie - advice if you want to do it.

2011-07-26T20:42:00.001+01:00

Recently, I helped out, in a minor advising kind of way, on a new idea - a twitter movie. That is, a story told by twitter, including images and video. Told over several weeks it has now finished its run. If you missed it, but are interested, you can find out more at www.karenbarley.co.uk or re-read the tweets here.

I think it came out well. Strangely for me perhaps I feel I almost preferred the text parts to the video parts. But have a quick look and see what you think.

With using new conduits for narratives there is always a lot to learn. That is the fun part, but also the frustrating part. Just when you think you have got the hang of using the new approach, the project has finished. So I asked the storyteller behind the project, Kristi Barnett, about her experiences so we could all learn from them.

How did you find the interactive element of the story? Did people get involved? Or were they passive?

It was great. I chose to make the interactivity simply people’s reactions to her tweets and their replies to her on twitter (and Facebook). I used my phone to reply back because I was normally away from my PC when the story was rolling out. I had females and males interacting and replying to her and loving the story. They were really getting into it and I could definitely see she had a core group of fans. What was interesting was that even when people knew she was a character and this was a story, they would still interact and try to warn her or ask her how she was feeling. I loved that people were “playing” along with it. You can see some of the reactions to the story and her character here. I also got the sense that people did want to have a say in what Karen did and how she reacted, so it would’ve been nice if I’d had more money and time to give them a chance to dictate the story more. I wanted to shoot alternative scenes with the actors and alternative endings. Then guide the audience into choosing what Karen and Darren should do via the tweets. Then based on the majority I would choose a scene. Like one of those “Pick a Path” books. I also thought about running another Twitter account from the perspective of Darren or even the Other Darren at the same time. My God, I don’t want to think how I would’ve made that happen, lol. Maybe someone else can have a go in their own project. Also interestingly but not surprisingly, her twitter audience was much more reactive and responsive than the people reading on Facebook. I could see Facebook was reading them because people were hitting “like” on some tweets but the amount of comments was very minor compared to the way people reacted on twitter. But that’s why I think twitter is a great way to release a story with a character because of its dynamic nature; its immediacy and reactivity and the proactive sensibility of the twitter users. Facebook is quite static in that sense but that’s mainly because of Facebook’s tendency to siphon out news and information from your friends. Basically, you won’t see everything a friend posts on their wall because there’s a setting in Facebook that stops that from happening and not everyone knows how to turn it off. I knew that but I feel that each transmedia project should try and incorporate every platform in the hope it will reach an audience.

How did you find it, as a writer, having to react to that interactivity?

I was excited when people started replying to Karen, especially when they said the videos creeped them out. It would’ve been a challenge to respond to people’s replies if I didn’t have my HTC phone on me all the time. In my breaks at work I would check her replies and reply back, but I did it in very generic ways so as not to give too much of the plot away. It was a small challenge to answer people’s questions especially when they wanted to know more which would’ve involved me releasing some of the plot to that individual. But I got around it by saying things like; “I don’t want to talk about it just yet, it’s embarrassing for me”. I felt an obligation to reply to everyone who responded because I thought that audience member would leave the story if I didn’t interact with them, but that just wasn’t possible unfortunately; unless I spent the 3 weeks tucked away with my phone and pc like a sad writer type ;) There were moments when I realised I’d created a plot hole for myself in that I didn’t take into account how people would react. For e.g. A video was tweeted while she was “asleep” by Darren who was acting very strange. I naively thought no one would say anything to her, that they’d just watch it and wait. But when she “woke up” a few hours later, people had tweeted to her asking if she saw that video and she should check out what Darren did. (In the script she was supposed to discover the video had been tweeted herself later on). I couldn’t ignore those reactions because people would start thinking Karen is really stupid. So I had to quickly think of how to respond in a realistic way without jeopardising the plot. Based on that I had to change the way she discovered Video 22 which was meant to have been tweeted by the Other Darren, but I knew then that people would tell Karen, so I didn’t let the audience discover that one until Karen did, in other words it was not tweeted it was just left on Darren’s phone for her to find and tweet herself. I think there was also a few cheeky audience members who were trying to catch me out plot wise by stating things that Karen should’ve been thinking about or by remarking on an aspect of her career; (she’s a museum assistant who has studied archaeology and world history). I was just asking for trouble on that one lol. Once again, keeping my replies as generic as possible helped.

How important was the film / movie aspect. It seems to me that some of the most powerful elements were in the twitter text?

I think they were equally as important as transmedia should be visual as well as literary. The story was always meant to be a piece of my writing that you engage with via the tweets. There’s no way you could really understand truly what was going on or what the characters faults and issues were without reading the twitter text in between the videos. That was a risky thing for me to do because I had no way of knowing who would be bothered to scroll back or go to her landing page to catch up on the actual tweets. This was as much an experiment for me as anything else so I just tried my best to provide as many platforms as possible for people to be able to read those tweets; Facebook, YouTube web links back to twitter and an archive site: http://karenbarley.tripod.com/tweets I knew that some people would just be catching some of the tweets but hopefully I wrote the script in such a way that she kept back referencing a lot of things so information was constantly being rehashed; like the Metal Detector Nerds element; I kept tweeting what she was doing, what MDN’s stood for etc. I hoped it would seem like a soap in that you could kind of understand what was happening without too much effort. But at this stage I have no way of gauging if people really did read all the tweets or went back or not. So yes, for this particular format of a live twitter character, she had to tell her story via the tweets. But the thing that made it really different and very interesting as a piece of marketing and as something that had not been done before, was not only the live 3 weeks that it happened, but the media she used to supplement the story. There’s no way this would be as interesting to the audience if she didn’t have videos and photos etc as well. Those videos were absolutely essential to convey the creepiness and the surreal situation Karen was in. I don’t think I could’ve have got that just via text. It is a type of horror after all, so although horror can of course be conveyed via prose, because she was a real person using twitter for her emotional support, she chose to use tweets. The tweets themselves definitely portrayed a sense of impending doom and tension but the videos were the bits that (hopefully) scared the audience.

What is you one piece of advice for someone else who is thinking of doing something similar?

Really study how the platform you’re intending to release the story works. I studied a lot of phone twitter apps to see how they show the media within the phone because I wanted things to be as direct as possible without any navigation away from whatever twitter client they were using. So some twitter phone apps weren’t loading the photos quickly or just providing links (which is not good in my opinion). You want to use a video client that most platforms have inbuilt players for on mobiles and on the web. So at this moment YouTube is the most popular. Then test how the websites and their software works before you start. Make test accounts and send the tweets to see if they automatically go to other platforms like Facebook so you don’t have to manually repost your story elsewhere. Always have a landing page with your story where people can see the whole media if they don’t or can’t view it on the other platforms. Then expect all of that hard work, testing and studying the software and websites to go down the drain when they invariably fail at some point. (I was constantly uninstalling and reinstalling apps and authorising Karen’s account because they’d just stop performing). Also as a side note for your actual “story time”; YouTube shows upload dates not public dates, so if you upload your videos prior to story release and then make each video public later on, the date it was uploaded is shown.

If you can get as many people on your team as possible to handle certain aspects then do so to ease the pressure and let you concentrate on the fun of the story as it’s coming out. Also, publicity is the key with transmedia, because it’s not as in your face as movies and there’s so much content online; really hone in on a niche that you think your story will appeal to and start contacting blogs and online websites to tell them that you have a story in line with what they’re interested in. So I went for horror as that’s very popular and horror fans just love being scared in any capacity, (and I love horror); then I contacted horror websites etc. If there’s something really unique about what you’re doing, then contact your local newspapers and let them know; this may lead onto bigger news agencies picking up on it. And try and make a trailer of some kind using your media. This will encapsulate in a very visual and real way what you’re doing and I say real because people take you more seriously when they see you’re not just talking the talk; that you actually did make something!

As I mentioned Twitter is a great writer’s medium – more so than any other social networking site just because we are always writing our tweets. And we tend to add a bit of flourish to the tweets so whether intentional or not we are being creative on Twitter. I wanted to incorporate the multimedia aspect by using the video and photo uploading features as well as ability to post links. I think if you can find something to write about on Twitter that will capture people’s imagination then people will follow – even if it’s just a blog or diary. Why not make a documentary-style blog using Twitter? “Diarize” what’s happening to your character and post videos as well. Can you imagine Borat being a Twitter character first of all? I can. These are some of the ways that Twitter can work creatively. If you want to market and promote a 60min story that is just one video and you’re bypassing distributers to get your audience, you can do that too. It does take a lot of promotional work but as I said to the BBC, there is an audience online waiting to be entertained so why not use it.

The youtube page is - http://www.youtube.com/karenbarley

7 Uses of video in the corporate world

2011-07-20T17:37:00.000+01:00

Most companies use video for some part of their business; whether for training or promotional reasons. But in my professional life I have seen many companies use only a single style of video over and over.

For example, they were only creating polished motion graphics as a sales tool, instead of supplementing it with some testimonial style videos. This video shows them some other ideas to help kick off some conversations and future projects.

If you also work in the corporate field you may find this video useful too. I shows 7 different styles that I've done over the past couple of years. Which would work for your clients?

Feel free to share etc.

Writing doco

2011-07-07T10:55:00.001+01:00

Watch more free documentaries

If you are feeling the need for a bit of solidarity with other writers working on their spec scripts then maybe check of this feature documentary.

Its free to watch at - http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/dreams_on_spec/

A limp and an eye patch

2011-07-04T09:15:00.000+01:00

I don't quote many of the screenwriting books on here. The reason is two fold. One, you probably have read all those anyway. And two, a blog should be more about a personal journey and new ideas.

So in that good old-fashioned screenwriting traditional of breaking your old rules this post is about Blake Snyder's idea that he calls "A Limp and an Eye Patch".

This involves making sure all your characters have a way of speaking, a way of moving, a weird view of the world - anything - that makes them stand out from other characters. You know why that matters if you ever read a script and had to keep flicking back and forth through the pages because although you read that "Frank" now does something, you can't remember who Frank is because he sounds and acts like everyone else.

The reason for thinking about this technique is that some of my notes from the development day on Friend Request were that some characters are more magnetic and appealing than others. All of them do the right things, say good dialogue and have a bit of emotional depth etc. But some are just more memorable, they are interesting to read about, they simply have more of a... character!

The others need to be brought up to that level. They need that limp and an eye patch, a character hook you may call it.

BUT, how do you know if this technique is working. After all, you don't want a script populated by a bunch of weirdo freaks who talk funny for no reason. I link this back to a clip from Mr Plinkett; the Han Solo / Qui-Gon Jinn test. He does a test. Can you sum up the character quickly, without talking about their appearance, job or actions? Or not?

Han Solo you can. Qui-Gon Jinn, not really.

Using the Limp and Eye Patch, checked by the Han Solo / Qui-Gon Jinn test seems to work for me.

Podcast 11: Budgets and Creativity

2011-06-28T22:15:00.002+01:00

In this episode myself and Danny go through the mail bag and answer 3 questions. Don't forget you can mail us questions at ukscriptwriters@hotmail.com and find us on twitter @ukscriptwriters

Check out using withoutabox.com for your script competitions entries
Liquid Lunch
Hosting a script development day
Mail bag question 1: using real plays and real people featured in your script
Mail bag question 2: should you write to a budget?
Mail bag question 3: writing a pilot; the two ways
Reviews - a round up of the slick TV genre including the Shadow Line and Luther.
Competition Time - thanks to Industrial Scripts.

This film is so bad even my granny could do better, and she is dead.

2011-06-27T16:46:00.000+01:00

Danny Stack recently pointed me towards the The Plinkett Reviews. I loved them, so I'm sharing them with you!

They are a set of satirical reviews from the downbeat and disturbed fictional character, Mr Plinkett. He outlines how painful he finds it to watch films such as Star Wars Episode 1 or Star Trek Generations.

Now, you may be thinking this is some sort of geek off. But it is much more than that. Way more.

Mr P outlines why some films fail to engage at an emotional level with the audience while other keep us hooked. In some ways, these are masterclasses in character, plot and story. They may be from a 'how not to do it' perspective but they ten times more entertaining than a McKee lecture.

Check out the Phantom Menace reviews below to see if you agree. They are long. But actually more entertaining than the film itself.

If you are undecided here are just three points from the many he raises;
1 - this film has no central hero so the journey feels confused
2 - the characters perform actions well enough but we never know their rationale or opinion on anything so they end up just 'doing stuff'
3 - a film about trade routes and tax will probably be a bit dull for kids.

Enjoy...

Beckinfield too left field?

2011-06-22T22:17:00.000+01:00

Nick Clark shared this unusual project he came across. A kind of open source drama - that looks well set up and organised.

I can see the appeal as a new form of story telling. However, even as a fan of more unusual stories, this doesn't engage with me or appeal too much. I guess the reason for that, is that I would have concerns that the story would have a satisfying conclusion that feels neat.

This, I feel, is the greatest challenge of any evolving story. Will it come together, or drift apart

Development Day

2011-06-21T22:13:00.000+01:00

One valid (and under-used) method of developing your script is to have a development day. That is a full day of exploring all elements of the story and characters. I wanted to try this idea for myself and so got together a "team of awesomeness" to help me do just that. This group method appealed to me as it works at a radically different emotional pace to writing.

Scriptwriting is detailed, slow and methodical. A development day is lively, energetic and a social affair. Using both can only help your script. Or so I thought.

So what did I learn from actually trying this method?

One: Get Prepared. Make sure everyone has read the script beforehand. But they don't need to make a lot of notes before they come. The idea is to discuss things 'live'!

Two: Select a good mix of people. These need to be people who you feel understand the genre or themes and whose opinion you respect. You need to trust them. But also they must feel okay about challenging your work. I had Danny Stack and Sarah Olley as good development people, Chris Hill to bring some new ideas, and recent graduate Johnny Griffith as a kind of wild card. Loui Foster was there also, which brings me onto...

Three: Someone needs to take notes. A lot of elements will be debated over the course of a working day. Work out a way to capture all those gems. In our case it was good, old-fashioned note taking by Loui, who is a student scriptwriter. But you could also audio record the session or video it. But don't attempt to take notes yourself. It is too much to make notes and follow rule 4!

Four: Be open. You have the right people that you have chosen and you have a script worth discussing. So make sure you listen. I felt we struck a good balance. The team would challenge elements in the script. I would outline why things in the script were like they were. Sometimes they would take this on board. Other times it became clear that I didn't actually know the answer to the questions. This was obvious to me while I was actually replying. So I couldn't even defend the decisions at that point. For me personally, it was around the motivations of the central character combined with the premise.

Five: Because you must have some experience in knowing your own writing style, strengths and weaknesses I would say the development day technique is not suitable for total beginners, who would instead benefit from one-on-one mentoring or script reports.

Six: Don't be rigid in the structure of your day. Some loose themes that will hold the day together is enough. After all, you want the readers to bring the agenda with them. For example, we used about 70% of our time on talking about those issues around the main character and their motivations. This wasn't what I was expecting, but it was clearly what everyone else had focused on.

WAS IT WORTH IT?
I'd say it totally was. I have much more than a great set of notes to move forward with. I have a deeper understanding of what my audience has in their mind as they follow the story - and what questions are left in their minds that they feel are unanswered. Plus, I've been able to challenge those thoughts to ensure I really know the heart of the issue. If I had got the same feedback via script notes I could easily dismiss some of the points with "Yes, that is there already". On the development day I'm not let off the hook that easily.

So it helps you dig deeper on issues you want help with AND brings issues to light that you didn't know about - with a chance to explore every angle on a solution, not just the problem. All in a day.

A new way of doing script development

2011-06-13T21:19:00.000+01:00

For the next phase of development on my spec script Friend Request - I'm trying something new, well, new to me.

It is a development day.

The 'normal' way that most scripts are developed is that first, you write a draft (sitting on your own). Then send it to people for feedback. Wait. Get feedback, which contradicts one another mostly. Then try to write the next draft (sitting on your own again).

For me, it seems slow and not very much like fun. Fun isn't critical of course, but it is, well, fun :)

A development day uses all the same people as the slow way but gets them all in a room to kick the ideas about live. That way two things can happen. Firstly, if there are disagreements they can be discussed and a decision of the script made once and for all, done and dusted. Secondly, as people talk about ideas it always generates more thoughts in the "now you've said that, I makes it think this could be better" way. And there is a third benefit too, it sounds like more fun.

Whether it works or not - watch this space. But the goal is, to have one awesome day and have a really solid, decided, concrete notes for the next draft.

Cannes Vodcasts

2011-06-02T16:42:00.000+01:00

Here are some vodcasts I created (with the help of Suki Singh - check out his cool new showreel too) while in Cannes this year.

They cover; what to take, how to keep up with the biz, how to get your short film into the short film corner (SFC) and how to make it stand out, how to navigate the Cannes Market (the Marche du Film) and how the market differs from the festival.

Enjoy!

Podcast 10: Web Series

2011-05-26T22:05:00.000+01:00

In this month's podcast, myself and Danny Stack discuss...

A listener's question - does the '1 page per minute' rule always apply?
A listener's question - when you have a great short film should you go the film festival route or just get it online?
Cannes reflections - what did I learn from going this year?
Making a web series - what is our route to success? Danny talks about Liquid Lunch - more on his blog posts recently. I talk Mr Vista. And we are encouraged to find out what creepy things are happening to Karen Barley?
Reviews - the TV series, The Good Wife

Competition time - win Star Wars scripts and a place on a top course.

As ever, thanks to Moviescope for sponsoring the bandwidth. And thanks to IndustrialScripts.co.uk for the prizes. Sign up to their newsletter to hear about the other cool things they have coming up.

Reflections on Cannes 2011

2011-05-25T16:51:00.000+01:00

In my last podcast with Danny Stack I talked about the two sides of Cannes; the festival and the market.

My time in Cannes is spent mostly in the market, meeting people and talking about possible projects. With about 25 meetings in 5 days I rarely get to see as many festival films as I would like, if any!

Here are my three specific thoughts on the film business following my visit to Cannes.

One: Comedy is in demand.
There were the normal thrillers seeking distribution of course. But the people I spoke to were on the look out for really good comedy. Funny isn't easy of course. However, the demand is there, according to the completely random business people I spoke to, so time to push that comedy script.

Two: Remember your offline work.
Using online methods to spread the word and gain attention for your film is great. But don't forget the old 'real world' methods too. Only a few years ago you would see people in Cannes dressing up, doing gimmicks, handing out fliers - anything to draw people in. This year, I didn't see anyone. So the time is ripe to bring this kind of showmanship back. After all, it will easy to stand out if with no competition.

Three: Tax changes - but does it matter?
You don't need to know the details, and certainly I can't cover the new rules here, but recent changes to the EIS scheme mean this is a good time for private investors to put their money into film. Because the investment is written off against tax it means that even if the film is a total flop then the investor doesn't lose all their money, only the part after income tax.
However, sometimes this isn't always the great news it seems. Some investors will be offshore and so this benefit probably won't apply. However, as one producer said to me "Even with no tax help at all, the most anyone can lose is all their investment. The most they can gain is infinite"

Why people will invest in your film.

2011-05-05T10:29:00.000+01:00

This blog post is about crowd sourcing. Which, in the past, was called "having a whip round". There are a lot of producers trying to raise money in this way for their films, but I see two trends that are working above all others. Below are just two examples from the many out there.

With each example I have tried to outline what the investor gets back - at an emotional level. All films offer things such as "a signed copy if you invest $50". But the real, emotional, reason to invest is often different.

Type One: Super gloss for nerds

These films tend to be about the showmanship of cinema, they give you a chance to fund a spectacle. This taps into two emotions. The first is the 'being part of something bigger' feeling. This is the same emotional need that made rich patrons invest in large gladiator fights in Rome. You want to be part of something you could never do yourself.

The second feeling is harder to define. I can only call it 'a boasting of knowledge'. This is because you can follow the development of the film. Show it to people. And then tell them lots of details about it only you know. It is like the ultimate collectors edition. In a word, you can show off.

I think Linh Mai has done the right thing with his trailer for The Last Cause in not really focusing on the story and / or calibre of acting. Neither of the two emotions I mentioned above are gained from the story. It just has to look super cool.

Perhaps one thing missing for people who want to be part of something bigger and / or who like to get into the detail early is any pay off if and when the feature happens.

Type Two: A cause

These films aren't asking you to invest in a film, so much as you are being asked to invest in a cause. They are about an issue, a philosophy or approach to life.

Georgia's film is about Alopecia. As such, the people who invest are more likely to be investing out of an interest in the disease, rather than an interest in documentary films in general.

Here the emotional reason for investing is clear - it is about doing something. It is about getting a film out there on an issue, when perhaps there seems little else pro-active that can be done.

Your film...

Whatever approach your film takes, I think it is wise to consider the emotional reasons why people would invest. What are the deep reasons why they would help you to make your film? Are you giving them the right things back to meet those emotional needs?

Are you giving the investors access to bragging rights, to cool stuff?

Or are you giving them a feeling of moving forward in a cause?

This is what they have really invested in. The film is just the method.

Podcast 9: Going to Cannes

2011-04-29T21:06:00.000+01:00

This month of the podcast, myself and Danny Stack discuss...

News on BBC Writers Academy
How do get yourself established?
Is it worth going to Cannes?
Review of Dr Who
Tim goes along a Picasso tangent looking at Las Meninas.
Competition time - win goodies.

Adventures in producing

2011-04-12T20:50:00.001+01:00

I was at a great workshop recently with Ted Hope and Christine Vachon.

These are two legendary American producers. Between them they have produced well over 100 films. Some of the most exciting and relevant films of the past 20 years.

There was loads of great advice.

But for me, the one thing I'd take away was something Ted said. This was an idea to make sure projects were always moving forward and didn't end up in development hell or worse still, in the bottom of a script pile.

It was to "make sure your film feels inevitable"

Make sure it appears like a dead cert, like a project that is happening, like one that is a real goer, not one that will fade away. This builds an emotion of people wanting to get on board. Or perhaps a fear of missing out. Either way, it stops the 'wait and see approach'

Good advice. And not just for films too.

Making your effort visible

2011-04-07T21:12:00.000+01:00

I took part in a corporate event this week, with guest speaker Gary Rhodes. Now Gary didn't rate my chocolates. But I will let him off because he did tell a story about that night's dinner from which I learnt an important lesson.

Showing the effort behind your work enhances it, rather than diminishing it.

If you are like me you sometimes think that it is better to keep quiet about the working process. To suddenly reveal a finished masterpiece as if to say 'look at what I did with no effort'.

Gary however talks through his menu, highlighting the steps involved. Painting vivid pictures of every ingredient, articulating the various cooking methods. And, you know what, it made it taste better. Or at least made you think it tasted better. Which is the point.

By talking about this process it made us all appreciate it more. I am aware this advice flies in the face of convention. But I feel there is something to it.

So be proud of your drafts. Be proud of your changes and rewrites. Be proud of your inspirations. And share them.

Just get on with it

2011-04-03T17:39:00.000+01:00

At the recent Southern Scriptwriters Festival myself and Danny did a talk on Writing for Online.

This caused a slight worry for us - as there isn't really much to say about the actual writing of online material. All the classic elements of writing remain the same. Just focus a bit more on high concept ideas and keeping it short. If you were already a comedy sketch writer for TV and were going to move across into online then the differences would be minimal. The only major difference I could think of was that the character and concept is much more important than any single film.

But what does change, when you are a writer, is something else. It isn't the script. Instead it is your role as a writer. Because the ideas are more high concept generally, it means that technical prowess and acting skills can be reduced. Now you can get more involved with the shooting and the realisation of your stories rather than handing the script over to a large crew. It is totally proactive.

To demonstrate how that can be true we knocked out a quick viral short in the lecture itself. It is, "If Cracker taught scriptwriting". The opening scene to Cracker is often used in writing lectures, so Danny felt it was ripe for a bit of satire. You can see the original scene here.

It is not a great viral. It took 10 minutes. I borrowed a jacket of Dan Pringle. It was shot on DV. Edited in 30 minutes. But it is out there and not on a page. That's the main thing.

Circumference; the documentary

2011-03-24T20:52:00.000Z

A few long-time blog readers will remember a feature proposal of mine called Circumference. It was a narrative film, where the protagonist was a salesman. The interesting new business model that went with it was that as the main character he would step out of the story and perform some adverts.

I liked the transparency of this idea, and the humour within it.

I see that Morgan Spurlock had the same idea, but for his new documentary called The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. I can't wait to see how his adventure compared to mine.

With Circumference we said that as the advertisers had already paid for the film then you, as the audience, shouldn't have to! I wonder if Morgan will do likewise?

POV quick test

2011-03-22T10:03:00.000Z

As you may have noticed over the past, I always strive to try new ways of working as much as possible. 'Try' as opposed to 'think about'.

When my action-orientated friend James lent me his GoPro camera I was thinking of making a 'proper' short film with it. But that takes a lot of planning and time. Instead, I just got out there and improvised something.

My thinking was, "Let's explore what the big issues are quickly and cheaply, before spending any money".

I think a lot of other film makers could do the same. 80% of the questions can be answered with only 20% of the time. This then frees you up to make sure the next stage is much more targeted.

For example, I think this particular camera just isn't up to the job of drama at all and I will be exploring the 'DSLR on the head' method next.

POV / first person films

2011-03-14T21:42:00.000Z

I've been exploring the idea of rewriting Friend Request as a first person story. In other words, we see the story from the protagonist's point of view (POV). More of the definition of this, here.

There have been a few films shot in this manner. Recently, The Diving Bell And The Butterfly did it - and I remember as a young lad being inspired by the opening to Dr Jekyll. Fellow film fans have also pointed me in the direction of Lady in the Lake from 1942.

None of these however seemed to capture the mood I was after. Plus, they left questions in my mind about how far the technique can go, especially around using modern equipment, post techniques and visual language.

How do you compress time when you can't cut away? How much can the audience take? Can you move about it time?

A search online found the rather excellent - Last Day Dream.

Last Day Dream from Chris Milk.

So, as this super-short shows, jumping around in time is obviously not a problem, provided you add temporal context. I emailed the director, Chris Milk, for his opinion on the POV technique now he has done it. In his reply he wondered if the technique has more to give or if it is a quick gimmick. But he did point me towards another great example, a longer music video...

Cinnamon Chasers - Luv Deluxe (Music Video) from Saman Keshavarz.

So it seems that more complex ideas of moving around in time will work, again with strong visual signposts to act as hooks.

What was also strange about seeing that film (which was sent by pure chance by Chris Milk) was that I knew the girl in it.

Darcy did some artwork for some of my films proposals a few years back as she is an art student who admired the Circumference trailer. This is one of hers...

I'm not a believer in fate. But I am a believer that if your talented friends are also interested in something - then there must be something in it.

More on POV as this work progresses. Particularly around how I find the rewriting process for this style of story, plus why I feel it will work for this film.

Big Society, Short Films

2011-03-10T21:07:00.000Z

Recently, while looking at the BAFTA shorts, I was reflecting on the perceived prevalence of 'worthy films' in the short film arena.

These are films that feature a social issue, normally one that isn't very contentious or in need of further debate (e.g. human rights, who is going to argue against them!!!). Whether there is an abundance of these kinds of short films being produced, or whether they really do get selected for awards more readily than other films is hard to actually tell. But if you speak to a lot of short film festival goers they seem to feel so.

So I was extra pleased to see the above film. It is by a few people I know and features Jonathan Rhodes - aka Mr Vista.

Obviously, as they are film making friends, I was ready and willing to hate their film and deride their efforts so as to make myself feel better. Unfortunately for me - it is a great film. It is a kind of antidote to those worthy short films. Yes, it tackles a social issue. But it is a social issue that actually needs debate. Yes, it has a heart. But it shows it off in an entertaining manner that provokes and forces internal questions.

So my one bit of job news is... at least they have no chance of winning any awards. The poor fools have made a film that is too good!

SlickFlick

2011-03-09T17:34:00.000Z

I was pointed towards a new webtool that is on line now. It is called SlickFlick and it helps you create an interactive storyboard for sharing with others. It could be a great way of making your existing storyboard material come to life.

The opposite of Ye Olde Scriptwriter's Code

2011-03-03T09:52:00.000Z

William Shatner disagrees with the code / oath idea and instead decides to focus on the all the things that he is against!

Ye Olde Scriptwriter's Code

2011-03-02T09:51:00.000Z

The Pirate Code

I was asked to look into the Pirate Code for a forthcoming corporate gig. The thinking behind this idea is "even the lawless pirates had a code of behaviour that meant they had a set of rules, so what's yours?"

Now, it's just a bit of fun in order to make a point and to make people think about what they stand for. For instance, as you won't be able to see on the little image above unless you click to embiggen, number 9 is "No man to talk of breaking up their way of living, till each had shared one thousand pounds. If in order to this, any man should lose a limb, or become a cripple in their service, he was to have eight hundred dollars, out of the public stock."

This really was a spirit of "all in it together", plus they had health insurance! Perhaps a better known code is the hippocratic oath. This is the living and evolving set of philospohies for doctors. Doctors no longer automatically take the oath but here is a version that is used at one college in the U.S.

Hippocratic Oath

You get the idea. This isn't about a set of targets or a set of standards as the NHS would use the term. It isn't about activity and what you do day to day, as in the Scriptwriter's Life. It is deeper than that.

What would be the scriptwriter's code then? What is it that we believe beneath all else?

I'll end with a clip that William Gallagher sent me, illustrating the pirate code!

Podcast 8: Practical Advice

2011-02-27T15:33:00.000Z

In the new podcast myself and Danny Stack discuss:

Dear Podcast - two emails from listeners; one on Gnomeo and Juliet, the other on "do you need to do research, if so, what kind?" This second question was inspired by the technical details within The Social Network.
Joss Whedon's 10 rules, part 1. Discussing rules 1-5.
Reviews - online drama Persona and the game trailer for Dead Island.
Competition - an easy question, with faintly racist overtones!

Here is the trailer we discussed...

Plus one about Limbo.

You don't know all the names of the BAFTA nominated writers this year.

2011-02-17T09:00:00.000Z

You don't know all the names of the BAFTA nominated writers this year. And maybe you never will.

The reason for that is, that some of the people in the "Best Story" category are not listed. See if you can spot what I mean...

Story

Alan Wake
Development Team
Microsoft Games Studios/Remedy

BioShock 2
Jordan Thomas, Zak McClendon
2K Games/2K Marin

Call of Duty: Black Ops
Adam Rosas, Scott Bean, Dom Drozdz
Activision Blizzard UK Ltd/Treyarch

Fallout: New Vegas
John Gonzalez, Eric Fenstermaker, Travis Stout
Bethesda Softworks/Obsidian Entertainment

Heavy Rain
David Cage, Guillaume de Fondaumiere, Scott Johnson
Sony Computer Entertainment/Quantic Dream & XDev Studio Europe

Mass Effect 2
Development Team
Electronic Arts/BioWare

So Mass Effect 2 and Alan Wake were, it seems, written by everybody. There are two ways to think about this. Firstly, that yes, it is true, everyone does kind of steer the story. That is true in films and TV. But someone is usually in charge of the story. You may as well give that person or that team a shout out.

The second way of thinking may be slightly more of a challenge to us if we are writers from film and TV.

That second way is to take on more of an ensemble feel to your projects. I am very rarely the exclusive writer on a project and very rarely do I focus only the writing part of the creative project. I do other things and other people help me.

In many ways is it not better to say that "we all made it" rather than trying to put certain names into boxes that don't quite fit?

Also good to see Fallout: New Vegas on the list too - and now I know the names of 3 people to complain to about not writing enough lines for Veronica*!

2011-02-13T13:35:00.000Z

It's the last ever Mr Vista. Here's a recap on the stats:

30 Episodes
A couple of clip episodes
1 episode that we shot that didn't work at all in the edit.
About 2 million views according to the stats.
I'd estimate that that is in fact only about 1 million 'real' views of people actually watching it.
Core fans (who actually email and comment more than once) is about 50.

And the key news is that the project did kind of break even overall. This is only if you count me not taking any money. Any future income will therefore be shared with all those involved.

It was shot in HD to give it future-proofing. Storage space needed for the whole thing is 250Gb - which is worth mentioning as storage is a start up cost.

I was made to reflect upon the whole web series ideas as there are a few interesting ones kicking off now. Just a quick round up:

There is Persona starting this week (paid subscription model)
Some local chums have their comedy MugBop coming soon.
I've also been asked for advice on a twitter series that is in development.
And I know of two other web series that people are working on soon - but aren't public yet.

So it seems like a good time to reflect back on the big question; is it worth it?

The short answer is; what does 'worth' mean? Which I say not to be glib. But rather to say that you need to be clear on the reasons why you should invest time and effort in a web series.

If it is cashflow then it is probably not worth it. Income sources include licensing of the films via mDistribute and ad revenue from YouTube etc - if you can become an official partner. Becoming an official partner is really just a case of having enough subscribers and views. You do hear of people having break out hits that earn a lot of money. These I still see as exceptions rather than the rule. You can't rely on this at all and should take it out of your business model.

If you want views and people to see your work - then yes, it can be done. But you need to work on it. If, indeed, this is your primary motivation then you should be spending more time on online publicity, twittering, creating fun downloads and other techniques to drive online traffic to your site than on the films themselves. Obviously the films are important. But good films by themselves aren't enough always. So be prepared to spend more time away from the films than on them! I found the spin off activities from Mr Vista (downloads, graphics, special MSN emoticons) were very popular.

If you want to learn and have fun - then you probably have the best outlook. Making something and getting it out there beats sitting around waiting for something to happen. And all you have to lose is your time and sanity. Awesome.

If you want to do a series as a pilot for TV or to get an agent then this is more tricky. It is hard to know if that will work. And certainly I feel focusing on getting the viewing figures up will be key. Without that it is just another youtube clip. It also needs to have room for growth. For example could Mr Vista be a half hour TV show or not?

Overall there are 3 trends that seem to make the series be successful:

One: Keep the premise very simple so people pick it up instantly.

Two: Have your series follow a philosophy, way of looking at the world, a certain structure, joke style or maybe a unique visual treatment. This way people can say "Hey, its in the style of..."

Three: Do loads. 30 short episodes are better than 10 longer ones. Heck, it is probably even better than 10 better ones. It gives the audience more chances to get in on the series.

Lastly, if I had my time over again I would probably have invested some money into Google Ads and actually been pro-active in that manner of drawing an audience in. It really is a numbers game.

Podcast 7: Building a Career

2011-02-03T19:43:00.000Z

It can be hard to give the podcasts their titles as they tend to be a bit organic in nature and also bind together a few different themes. In this month for instance myself and Danny Stack look at building up your career. In detail, that splits down into:

BAFTA nominations - and how they affect us - following up my recent BAFTA short film posts about what it takes to get nominated and what is the competition like.
When should you give up writing? Rejection is one thing. But are you flogging a dead horse?
Chris Ware - the comic book guy is finally reviewed. His influence on my work.
Being Human v True Blood. Danny does a comparison.
Competition Time - thanks to the guys at MovieScope mag for sponsoring.

Also, if you check out this month's MovieScope then you can read an article based upon my recent discussions around writing for computer games. If this is your thing then check it out.

If you have ideas or issues you want to see discussed, get in touch.

I mentioned in the podcast that it can be best to listen via iTunes. Here is the link.

BAFTA shorts films conclusion

2011-01-31T10:32:00.000Z

Over the past 5 days I've been looking at this year's BAFTA nominated films and exploring why these films were selected from the 100 or so entered.

The five films are:
One: Connect
Two: Lin
Three: Rite
Four: Turning
Five: Until the River Runs Red

What I was pleased to see was such a range of narrative styles and visual treatments across the films.

I think there is a general perception amongst up and coming film makers that awards go to worthy, gritty films that contain social comment and a social / political issue. And as writers all we have to do is to choose our issue; working class struggles, immigration, some sort of equality.

What is great to see with these five films is that it defies that perception. In fact, I say that these films prove the opposite to be true. There is more range in storytelling methods, more daring in the visuals and more good old-fashioned dramatic intrigue than there are in many of the feature films.

Perhaps the only 'rule' that seems to be reinforced by this selection is to feature the stories of children. 3 out of the 5 do that. As did my own film many years ago. I'm not sure why that is. But I think it is because coming-of-age is the short film's normal genre and this often occurs at that younger age.

I can't say here which I will be voting for, but keep an eye out to see who wins on the big night. Not that you will see that on the TV as they always cut the short film bit out - rats!

How to get a BAFTA nomination for your short film - part 5

2011-01-30T22:38:00.000Z

The last film to be nominated for the Best Short Film BAFTA is Paul Wright's "Until The River Runs Red"

The longest film, at near half an hour, it is also the only film that I felt could have been slightly trimmed in the edit.

The NFTS describe it thusly...

Chloe believes she is the only daughter of God. Her parents (the solemn Jack, and the caring Kate) love her but hide her away from the world. Memories from Chloe’s upbringing piece together another story and unveil a quest for a red river, which she must find so that she may transcend to heaven.

The look, in parts, was slightly reminiscent of a Japanese horror film, or the game Fatal Frame, if you know of that. Scratchy flashbacks full of religious imagery.

The central idea is intriguing enough, however at nearly half an hour I am not sure if the ideas could be covered more quickly, while still maintaining the same pace. The performances are all great and technically this is another fine film.

I suspect however that this is the lowest budget of the 5, certainly the lowest per final minute.

Making a BAFTA nominated film - part 4 of 5

2011-01-29T23:05:00.001Z

"Turning" by Karni & Saul is the fourth film in this year's BAFTA nomination list. Luckily, this is a film that you can see online via BBC Film Network. I say luckily because this film, more than the others, relies on visual techniques, art direction and style. All things that would be hard to convey without lengthy descriptions.

The film is a part animated / part live action fantastical drama showing a child's view of visiting relatives.

This is how the film makers describe it:

On his sixth birthday, Robert receives three beautiful old ladies in his mother's sitting room. Through his eyes, we visit the memory of this afternoon, visualized with the free spirited imagination of childhood, naive yet wonderfully dark. Ladies appear like birds, a gift scuttles across the floor, blue icing is nibbled from a magical cake, tea is sipped, lacy slips shifted, and between knobbly knees strange visions appear. The ladies weave an extraordinary tale of an emperor with no skin, and the boy himself, older and wiser, adds the finale... with a tail.

It reminded me of both "The Fall" and "Where the Wild Things Are". I would suggest that this film has been included in the nominations because of its unique style and look as well as its visual slickness and captivating grotesque characters. Despite being well made this is the film I struggle with seeing leading to longer form work. But, quite rightly, that shouldn't be a consideration here. Of course, with this film, you can judge for yourself.

What makes a short film worthy of a BAFTA? Part 3

2011-01-28T20:55:00.000Z

The third film in the BAFTA nomination list is "Rite".

The film's creators describe it thusly...

"Mick takes his estranged son out for his birthday; a man desperate to prove he's changed. But drink and the simmering violence of match day in London brings out the worst in him over a long, difficult afternoon for father and son."

I would describe it as a coming-of-age film, with the 'twist' being that it is the father that must grow and develop at the end, and does so in a delicate and poignant fashion.

It was excellently shot, acted and edited and the sound mix with minimal music lifted the whole piece up into 'cinema' and away from 'TV'.

This film features a standard, linear narrative, is set in an urban environment, hasslightly gritty issues, features a son who turns out to be gay (complete non-spoiler I'm sure) with a working class dad. It would be easy therefore to dismiss this short as coming out of the stock Film Council / Film London factory. In many ways it conforms to that formula.

For me, however, it was the fact the film ended with a conclusion that went against the grain that broke it away from that mould. For this to have worked shows that the writing of the characters was insightful and the plot well crafted. Well done to Michael Pearce in pulling it off.

I would say that this film has been nominated because it takes the standard "British Short Film", gives it a twist and does so excellently.

How do you get a BAFTA short film nomination - part 2

2011-01-27T18:09:00.000Z

Today's short film from the BAFTA nomination list is LIN by Hector Films.

This is the film makers' synopsis:
A woman arrives at a port town in an unknown country as dawn turns to day. Her recounted stories begin to contradict themselves as she travels across the landscape. She is searching for something, a shape or a structure, which we are not even sure exists. Along the road she is eventually forced into initiating the process of self-reckoning. As her artifice begins to fall away she finds herself continuing her journey but now with a sense of resolution.

If I am honest I would have to admit that after the first couple of minutes I was ready to dislike this film. I was prepared to write it off as being a 'worthy' film, one that has almost been designed from the ground up in order to tick a set of boxes to get into festivals. Perhaps a film that was trying too hard.

As the film progressed I found this to be untrue.

Admittedly the film does not use a traditional structure for its plot. It focuses much more on mood and doesn't concern itself with explaining the reason for the journey or character motives.

But I can see why this has been nominated. It tries to do something different - and manages it successfully. Now there is a lot of luck needed if you try to pull off this approach. If you experiment with form and mood then you can't expect to be on the money everytime. If you are a film maker who wants to be successful every time then you need to play it safe and start to follow formulas. These film makers have not done that. They took a chance - and it worked.

It was shot on the RED camera in some amazing locations that looked hard to find. Not an easy production, I would imagine, and certainly not cheap.

This nomination is deserved for having guts and sticking to a vision that must have looking unpopular on paper. You don't get a film like this if the director has another agenda of trying to themselves some TV work! You get a film like this if you love film.

BAFTA nominated short films 2010 - an overview

2011-01-26T18:47:00.000Z

It can be hard to actually get to see the shorts that are nominated for awards. I was lucky, Eight did have a limited cinema release. However, most shorts are much harder to see outside of a festival. And usually producers hold off of on-line distribution as they are seeking a better deal from elsewhere. The result - a low audience.

Luckily I am viewing the BAFTA nominated shorts for voting purposes. Here I will be looking at why (perhaps) these shorts were selected from the many that were entered.

First up is Connect made my a guy I met a few years ago, Sam Abrahams. And personally it brought a smile to my face to see Alex Lang in it, as I worked with him a few years back.

"A bittersweet, elongated moment of romance on a bus, interspersed with a deliciously dark sense of humour." - The Guardian

Connect is a dialogue-free film, set on a busy bus, full of close up details and captured moments. It also has some larger fantasy set pieces that unfold as the girl with the headphone (in the poster) listens to music and looks at her fellow passengers.

I have to say that personally the combination of those two elements (large movements and small intimate moments) didn't quite work for me. Both were well done, very well done in fact. But perhaps both in a short film is too much.

So why would it be included?

1 - Technically it was excellent - looked great, good sound mix, you could trust these guys to produce something bigger budget or longer with no worries.

2 - Great performances with people who hold your attention through their delicate performances. Good casting.

3 - Editing - never confusing (unlike a lot of shorts) and everything flowed at that 'just right' pace which shows edit prowess.

4 - It is feel good. You can smile with this film. If you are at a film festival and just sat through five depressing shorts about grim lives then this film would be the tonic.

If you, as a film maker, are coming from a promo or music video background and are wanting to get into drama then you must see this short. It is a perfect example of the bridge you need.

A simple idea, done well, that doesn't outstay the core idea - the running time is 5 minutes.

I would call this - the quirky but professional looking short that has a feel-good vibe.

My message to Creative England

2011-01-22T11:51:00.000Z

If you go to the new website for Creative England you will see these two fella-me-lads sitting around in the background.

For me, the problem with any film / media / creative body is that this is exactly what most people feel is happening there, people are just sitting around.

So my message to Creative England, as they launch with a fresh start, is to actively reach out to us all. The important word there is actively.

Actively means getting in touch with us and asking what we want and need in order to be successful. You know, like a business may reach out to its loyal customers. So this is hardly a controversial idea.

My question to all blog readers out there is, when did anyone from the body that is there to support you actually phone you up and see how are you? Never is the standard answer.

And yet if one single person was employed to phone 4 people a day, for a year, then they could get through 1000 people annually. The result: at least 1000 writers, directors, producers, have had someone phone up to say "hey, how's your projects coming along? Oh, I see, well you should speak to person x who can help you more"

Just imagine what impact that would have on morale and making us feel like a joined up industry. And that just involves employing one person to do it.

One person to connect 1000. So please - invest in cheap yet effective ideas like that - that is my message to Creative England.

Writing and directing learning videos

2011-01-08T15:14:00.000Z

Every now and again I like to do a post about some of the more 'bread and butter' pieces of work that comes the way of writers and directors. Fitting new ideas into a spec script is great, but can you do it with the day to day work? The kind that pays the bills! You can.

As we all know, even the biggest writers and directors often do paid gigs. It is a chance to fund personal projects and experimental ideas. Yet the skills we need for this kind of work is not very often discussed.

For the past few years I have created many pieces of video based learning, interactive videos and e-learning, for large companies across the UK.

There are so many formats you can use for these ideas - drama clips, interviews, talking heads, flash-based activities etc etc. So the one rule I use when thinking about delivering to the brief is this...

Your production should mirror how the audience would use the learning in real life.

But what does that mean? The photo at the top is from a shoot this week. The learning is around staying safe during international business travel; avoiding using dodgy taxis, not getting pick pocketed, staying away from scams.

So one way to do this would be have a presenter telling you all about it. Fine, the content would be covered. But that approach doesn't really mirror the event as the viewer would experience it in real life.

So for this project we shot a 2 minute POV scene - walking out of a hotel, encountering a number of characters. You, as the audience, have to rate them on screen (using hi-tech giggery pokery) how risky you feel the situation is.

This way, you have kind of lived the experience as you learn. That way, if you face a similar situation in the future you know what to do. You have already lived it once before.

I feel this idea works because all audiences, everyone, remember things through association. Just go back to your old school, or get out a childhood toy to prove that is true. The whole idea of branding relies upon this. So use it.

(photo by Chris Ferguson)

$500k to make a feature

2011-01-03T19:39:00.000Z

One of my classic (ie a bit old now) shorts is in for the running at the Open Film competition. $500l up for grabs to fund a feature. Hope you can help out.

Vote here - cheers.

The Christmas Film

2010-12-24T16:38:00.000Z

YES!

It is the event you have all been dreading, along with getting the roast dinner sweats and having to pick up stray peanuts.

Of course, I mean the Christmas film - my own get-out clause for not sending cards. This year, it is coming to you LIVE on the link below, a world's first.

I hope you have a great break and that 2011 is ACTUALLY news-worthy for you. You'll see what I mean!

Podcast 6: Can you be taught to be a writer?

2010-12-22T22:29:00.000Z

In this, the sixth podcast myself and script guru Danny Stack look at the subject of writing qualifications. Are formal courses worth doing? What qualifications do you need to be a writer? The full line up is...

NEWS - lots of new opportunities at the moment. Including those at the BBC Writers Room and Lottery funding. Creative England, will it work? Find out about the Southern Student Screenwriters Weekend.
DISCUSSION - what should you study in order to be a writer?
COMPETITION - Congrats to Liz Holliday who wins goodies, plus this month's question.
REVIEWS - The Illusionist and Rare Exports

You can get a DVD of the Rare Exports short Danny mentioned on this DVD or watch them here.
Thanks to MovieScope.

Scriptwriters Desktop

2010-12-07T20:19:00.001Z

Here is a nice little tool I knocked up.

Have it as your computer desktop / wallpaper. Put your icons in the relevant boxes and your writing projects will be much better organised.

Just remember to turn off any auto-sorting option that you may have that means your icons stay in alphabetical order.

The space at the left and right should mean it works fine on all the different operating systems too.

It was created at 1920x1200. So it should be able to be shrunk down to fit almost everyone's monitor - or indeed scaled up. Blogger shrinks the image above - even if you click on it.

The full size version is here - and you can get different sizes here too.

Mr Vista - final series - and lessons learnt.

2010-12-05T19:17:00.000Z

I've been creating a downbeat comedy webseries for geeks for a few years, called Mr Vista. It is now on series 3, the final series. Style wise, it is in the Jacques Tati / Mr Bean mould - and it is designed to appeal to nerds with it's computer based gags. However, it seems most people get the jokes these days due to the widespread use of blogs, PCs, iPads etc.

The project just about breaks even financially (thank goodness!) and has been watched nearly 2 million times, across the 20 or so episodes. It has also done well in some online competitions and is a youtube partner. However it's real success has been on Dailymotion, Yobi and others that have supported it and featured it.

Our secret to success has been to have a tight shooting schedule, shooting 6 episodes a day. The current series will be the last as we feel we have pretty much done what we can with this character in the current format and budget range.

Next up (possibly) are the adventures of a girl who can change camera angles at will - it is a visually fun idea that plays with perspectives and angles. But that will take more work than Mr Vista - so it will need more input and support from others.

Coming to the end of a project like this is a good time for reflection. So the key things that I have learned about creating a web series are:

One: you need multiple episodes to really make things work as a business. Only when you reach 10 episodes does it start to work artistically and financially.
Two: chumming up to the gatekeepers at the web portals is a good idea - the people I call the spotlighters. And keeping track of all the web portals is key too.
Three: doing other media and materials (downloads, photos, posters) really helps. Some people prefer these to the episodes.
Four: get a character, get a location and then shoot as much as you can. Using the filming methods of short films will probably make your web series way too expensive PLUS the audience seems to like contained and tight ideas.

Be here now

2010-12-01T09:33:00.001Z

Large scale ARG (Alternate Reality Games) like the one above would seem to me to be forever capped by the number of people that can effectively take part.

You have to go to certain locations, in the real world, at certain times. This ethos is completely different to every other new form of distribution. The general trend there is much more in the direction of 'watch any story, whenever you want, wherever you are'.

That must be a big part of the appeal of the ARG of course. That it flies in the face of the trend. It is a live gig rather than mp3 download - if you follow the analogy. But it probably goes beyond that, it is more like following a whole tour, rather than going to one gig.

The time isn't so much the issue. I'm 80 hours into playing the PS3 game Final Fantasy XIII. And lots of people happily watch 24 episodes in a box set. However, these fit around other commitments and activities. We chip away at those big stories. The specific time frame that is enforced in an ARG must surely limit the people who can enjoy it.

What would a time-shiftable, real world, ARG look like? Is it feasible?

I found out about this via the Transmedia Storyteller forum - check it out if this kind of thing interests you.

More podcast fun

2010-11-26T19:55:00.001Z

This podcast uses a slightly different technique. At the recent London Screenwriters Festival I asked fellow delegates what they had learnt so far. Myself and Danny then used these as a jumping off point for the discussion. We cover:

How should we feel about attending festivals?
Is genre a good thing?
Should you plan out your script before you start work?
Does the biz really want 'good' scripts?

PLUS we talk about "Alice in Wonderland", "A Town called Panic, Misfits and "Walking Dead".

AND FINALLY there is a chance for you to win Movie Magic software, DVDs and Moviescope subscriptions in our new competition.

What makes a great business card? 2010 edition.

2010-11-11T22:36:00.001Z

Last year I looked at some of the best business cards from the Screenwriters Festival. People seemed to like it, so it is back this year. And with all new networkers.

What makes a great card. To me it is a card that helped you remember the person and who they were.

A test for your card is: If someone else could take your card, add their name instead and then use it - then the card has failed. It isn't personal enough. Here are my three winners.

Winner One: Andrew James Carter

Andrew is also an astrophysicist. But I didn't need to tell you that, the card has already filled in that information. Great to see a prize mentioned on there too. And one prize is all a card can take.

Winner Two: Simon Lord

Simon has an interesting double-sided card. The hand written look by itself wouldn't be so unique. But having a range of line drawn images on the other side means that as he hands them out we each get a different card.

Winner Three: Julie Gribble

Julie also has a two sided card - and they also have variety. They all featured a word cloud from one of her scripts. A great jumping off point into talking about the work. It almost begs to have a pitch heard!

Special Mention: Andy Walsh

This card from Andrew is on a type of shiny plastic that glints in the light. It is worth a mention as different materials can make an impact.

5 ideas from the London Screenwriters Festival

2010-11-04T21:03:00.000Z

Behind the scenes on the opening day of the inaugural London Screenwriters' Festival 2010 at Regents College. Made by Oli Lewington.

It was great to see this video as it gave me a reminder of the excitement of the festival and a chance to blog about the top 5 things I took away. 5 thoughts / ideas that resonated with me.

One
A stage play may cost about the same to put on as the making of a short film. But it can be more effective in getting your story out into the world.

Two
I liked Tim Bevan's story about being honest. He had some royalties come in for the Tall Guy and knew that most people involved would have forgotten about the film. But he sent a cut to the writer Richard Curtis - who then just happened to mention that he had a script he was working on called Four Weddings And A Funeral. The rest is history.

Three
From Tony Jordan. If you go to Wembley and you have 90,000 people cheering at once the feeling is overwhelming. Now think that you can make 20 million people do something at the same time. That's television.

Four
From Michael Bassett. Always be pleased if someone cared enough to rip you off.

Five
Lastly, from delegate Leonardo Rizzi. A writer is to the story what the sculptor is to the human body. Trying to find it hidden in something else.

PLUS!

Check the new Channel 4 writing scheme out which pays you a small amount to write a 60 minute script.

Podcast 4: A sideways look

2010-10-26T20:55:00.001+01:00

This is a special 'pro-active' show looking at what writers can do - that is more than just writing scripts and sending them out.

How to be proactive and control your own career.
Is making a short film a good idea?
How much do shorts cost?
Reviewing "The Event" and "Social Network"
See you at the London Screenwriters Festival.

As you will hear, this podcast really builds on my recent post about how writers can use their skills and talents in other areas.

Where did you steal that idea from?

2010-10-24T13:48:00.000+01:00

I was asked to talk to the creative writing group at Chichester University recently. The photo above is a small glimpse into the tutor's office. I was pleased to see it fulfilled every single one of my cliché visions of such a room.

For me, the most interesting part of our 2 hour talk was around using other people's ideas in our work. Another way to phrase it could be; is it okay to borrow elements that you see elsewhere?

We hit upon an interesting analogy. And that is that ideas are like the atoms in our bodies. They do not belong to us. They were all made elsewhere. And afterwards they will become something else. We are only the temporary custodians.

And thus it is with ideas. They are only resting with us. And we must accept that they will be taken on by others afterwards.

Less is more (work)

2010-10-22T09:39:00.000+01:00

I was at a talk recently given by TED curator Chris Anderson - and held by Creative Bath.

I'm a big fan of TED, as should everyone who has an open-mind. But I was really interested in the fact that the talks are so short and punchy. I'd already featured this idea in the corporate video early in the year - and repeated above. As a short film maker I live a lot in the 'one reel' world.

So I asked him about it and he said in fact the speakers are asked to do 18 minutes. If you ask for 15, you get 20. But if you ask for 18, you probably get 18 - as it seems so precise!

BUT, the key learning point that we can all relate to is...

It is harder to do a shorter piece of communication than a longer one. As a writer of shorts I recognise that statement to be true. As with all things to do with changing people's minds, their hearts and their outlook the only tip can be: really know what you are trying to say and get everything else out of the way.

The value of a writer; aka - other ways of earning a living

2010-10-20T22:34:00.000+01:00

I just finished editing two videos as paid gigs. The one above is for the annual Speechwriters' Guild Conference. It features 16 great pieces of advice from some of the World's best speech writers. Included are the speechwriter for Reagan, for Kofi Annan and the Chairman of BA - all imparting their wisdom. As an aside - I wonder if there is a scriptwriting equivalent video. And if not, surely that's the kind of thing that should come out of festivals and writing workshops.

As you will see, a theme running through all this advice is the power of storytelling, of understanding the audience, of having a structure. All the same great ideas we use.

As scriptwriters (or any form of storyteller) we need to remember that our skills are really useful out there in the 'real world'. They are useful to people who run entire countries and massive corporations. They have a currency IF we choose to spend it.

Nerd stuff:
Edited in Final Cut Pro 7
Graphics done in Motion
The Motion template was adapted from a free download available here.

Moving scenes

2010-10-15T21:00:00.000+01:00

I've been checking out a demo of Heavy Rain - the special edition that uses the new Move
controller.

Non-geeks read this: "Move" is an add-on piece of kit for the Playstation games console. You wave the special device around as you play the game and the Playstation can 'see' it and so can change what happens on screen. You use it instead of a mouse or keyboard. When using it, you look a bit like Tom Cruise in Minority Report, but less cool. The Wii is a bit the same, if you know that.

As you can see from the video, this game tries to put you in the action by, well, making you do actions. Probably like you, when I saw the video I nearly laughed out loud. But that could be because everyone in the video looks like a right chump.

However, I feel there is something there. The problem with this early game is that it is trying to make the device fit - rather awkwardly maybe. In the same way that early 3D films had things wooshing out at you.

But the reason it could work is to do with the kinetic feeling. As a player you have to focus more on the movement and action, so you generally pay more attention. You are NOT slumped on the sofa. Your mind is more alert, so you pick up on narrative details faster.

It would be interesting to see if this is slowly related to gameplay and / or to the writing. I feel it would mean less dialogue and more visual clues as it is the eyes that are working harder.

What I don't feel it does is actually make you feel 'in' the game / story. In fact it is very 'fourth wall' but you are reaching into the fake world.

Super 8, HDR video and other techniques - for a writer!

2010-10-09T11:03:00.000+01:00

I was on holiday for a week in Santorini and saw that I had just missed the Super 8 festival in the small village of Oia.

Oia is a great location for a bit of Super 8 filming in itself, being perched as it is on the cliff tops. And I'm sure that an outdoor screening would be a big hit in that location.

View Larger Map

However, the rationale for this post is to focus on the ever increasing interest in different filming methods and formats. Some of these, like Super 8, are from the past. Others, such as shooting using a beam splitter to create a HDR video, are new.

As writers, we may feel that these things don't matter to the story. The story comes first, then the shooting format is picked later. And this is mostly true. HOWEVER, exploring new visual ideas is a great method of inspiration - just as any visual resource is. It is all good storydust.

Even better is to explore playing with these ideas yourself, if you can. Sometimes writers worry too much about making a full-on short. Experimenting with techniques and visual looks can sometimes be even better as way of learning.

Then, when a great writer creates material that matches an exciting look - that is a foundation for a fantastic, fully-realised, project.

Podcast 3 - collaborating and characters

2010-09-22T18:17:00.001+01:00

Yes! It is podcast time again. Listen below or catch up with it on PodOmatic or on iTunes.

This month we look at what myself and Danny will be doing at the London Screenwriters Festival, Dom's guide to the fest PLUS we also discuss...

The latest script competitions, including the Big Idea from Shine and the "Inspired by Science" Treatment Award. And don't forget you still have time to enter the Berlinale Talent Campus.
Guest spot with Jack Thorne, co-writer of This Is England '86 which you can see on 4OD if you are in the UK.
This leads to a discussion: writers collaborating with other writers.
Our craft section is on creating great characters.

One photo we nearly used was of Gobbles the rabbit getting in on the act but his contribution was minimal.

Best free advice on scriptwriting

2010-09-19T22:19:00.000+01:00

Danny Stack has gone and done it!

Check out his new portal to loads of great advice and insights on all elements of scriptwriting. Free downloads and a wealth of info. But EVERYTHING you need. This, to me, is the equivalent to a 'read me' file on a CD. Read it before you do anything else.

12 angry writers

2010-09-09T21:19:00.000+01:00

I put together some material for a recent workshop / training day for HSBC. My colleague Brian is a big fan of '12 Angry Men' and how you can use it to analyse team behaviour. How does Henry Fonda's character influence the others, changing his techniques appropriately? It is linked in with a leadership model called "The Managerial Grid" - but that isn't key to this post.

What strikes me is that you can work this idea the other way around. When you are putting together a group of characters, an ensemble piece of work, you could use any group dynamic theory or idea to underpin it.

It doesn't almost matter too much what you use - all the theories look at people at the extremes of behaviour. This helps explain and use the model / theory. But it helps us as extremes are more explosive with regards to drama.

Podcast

2010-08-26T18:00:00.000+01:00

The second episode of the podcast is up and running.

There was a great response to the first episode, nearly a thousand downloads so far. It has been great to get so much feedback too. Thanks for everyone who emailed in. Personally, I've only had a chance to reply to about half of the emails so far, sorry for any delay.

We name check a few people in the podcast - and I decided to pick 'new' people rather than regular blog readers. So please don't feel shunned by that, it was purely to keep the 'gravity web' expanding yet further.

In this episode myself and Danny look at:

The London Screenwriters' Festival
The never-discussed issue of - can you actually make a living? In essence we look at what has now grown into the dark blue part of the Scriptwriters Life. Do you go for all or nothing? Or get by and make small bits of fun like Mr Vista? I bring up the point of; do you know what your "one slogan" is? This is the process I needed to go through when creating my animated resumé.
What makes a great first 10 pages of a script? Danny talks about moving beyond the set up and lessons learnt from reading entries to the Red Planet competition.
And in the reviews section I discuss a late 90s film called "The Eighth Day" while Danny goes crazy for two US TV shows "Southland" and "Breaking Bad".

As ever, the podcast will be featured here, on the podcast homepage and on Danny's blog. Or subscribe via iTunes so you don't miss out!

A writer's job in 5 years time

2010-08-19T21:38:00.000+01:00

What will your job, as a writer and moving image story teller, be like in a few years time?

One key change we could all see would be the detaching of format and story. By that I mean that you stop being a writer for a single mediumg. There won't be a TV writer, a radio writer and a film writer - not to the same extent there is now at least. Instead, you would have writers of franchises and certain genres and they work across all formats.

Why do I say that? Because the number of outlets and media types is increasing all the time. Having a different writer for comics, TV, web, webisodes, events, film, spin offs etc etc seems to make less and less financial sense PLUS seems worse for continuity AND for artistic vision. You are the writer, you write it all.

Can writers do this? I don't see why not. An actor can move between film, stage and radio plays and we don't feel that is odd. In fact, we celebrate it.

One glimpse into this future is a new site that indie film maker Rob Pratten has pulled together - Transmedia Storyteller. This helps story tellers tell stories across all media outlets. Send text messages from your characters, send emails, organise fictional blogs - all from this one place. A long overdue idea I feel.

This idea of bringing characters into the real world isn't new of course. But doing it all from one place, so writers can do it, so we can concentrate on the story and not the technology - that is new.

Check it out if you want a glimpse into one possible future for writers.

If you are thinking of running a workshop or lecture - watch this.

2010-08-11T20:26:00.001+01:00

I've been running and helping to organise a lot of workshops and educational events recently, including one for the MyOneWord competition.

Like me, I expect you have gone to many different workshops, courses, seminars, lectures, festivals - and any other name that I have forgotten.

A lot of them soon descend into a series of dull monologues (even though everyone involved is great) and you wish you could sneak off after lunch. The reason; writing is a 'doing job' and listening to people talking about, thinking about, doing it isn't really all that helpful.

Another reason is that they normally consist of hour long talks. As writers, we should know that this isn't engaging. Ever written a hour long scene - or even a sequence of scenes? Me neither.

With that in mind, I made this. If you are thinking of running a workshop or lecture - watch it.

(note: this looks at using the idea in business meetings - but it applies just the same)

The future after the UK Film Council - a podcast

2010-07-28T10:00:00.003+01:00

Everyone is talking about what the future will be like without the UK Film Council - which has been suspended this week.

Whatever happens next, the big thing I want to see is an increase in communication, support and mentoring. To illustrate my point I will simply ask you this; when was the last time anyone phoned you from one the official film bodies to ask how you were getting on?

I know the admin around that is enormous, but also simple. And what an effect it would have. Joining people up and kick starting new projects. Just by talking. It isn't always about a lot of money. But it is about seeing your role as not being an admin department, but a supporter of every film maker.*

These are big thoughts and big questions. So it seemed like a good idea to get together with fellow writer Danny Stack to discuss it all. And if we are doing that; why not podcast it anyway? This was Danny's idea as he felt there was a hole where an intermediate-level scriptwriters podcast should be. And I think he is right.

So check it out below.

Also in this episode: why I want to move into origami and why Danny wins the name-dropper prize.

We are thinking of doing more of these, but as with all things on-line, it is very much on a 'suck it and see' approach. Or in this case 'speak it and see'. To hear it click on the play button below.

Any future issues will be posted here and on Danny's blog. Or subscribe via iTunes so you don't miss out!

*I realise this wasn't the role of the UKFC, this is instead about starting to think about doing things differently in the future.

Scriptwriters development day

2010-07-26T13:07:00.000+01:00

I was helping to run the "My One Word" Development Day over the weekend. 10 finalists, getting together to learn from each other and gain new insights into their 3-minute scripts.

I've been on quite a few of these things myself over the years. They range a lot in terms of quality and output. I feel that many prodcuers / competition organisers see a development day as a prize in itself. But of course, in what other industry would a day's work be seen as a prize?

However, if done right, a workshop day can be really useful. The reason is - writer's generally want to share their work, to get better and to discuss ideas. And yet too many of these days fight that natural good will. Instead, they have a series of one-way talks / lectures that go on all day. This, to me, seems so counter-intuative. This doesn't replicate at all the thinking process that a writer must go through while in development. PLUS, it doesn't reflect the fact that everyone there must be good writers already, due to the fact they are in the final.

Writing is about doing it. A development day should be about doing it too. And we tried to follow the spirit of that idea. Lots of activity, lots of sharing idea, lots of challenges.

Here are just three of the things that I picked up from the day.

Talking about / pitching your film must be more than simply; this happens, then this, then this. Practice with another writer, pitching back and forth, to find out what really counts in your story.
Film makers and writers watch a lot of films. Thousands in fact. As Gary Young said, "If I'm not writing films, I'm watching films"
A technique for learning structure - rewrite your favourite film, with a new angle. A great way to see how they put it together.

And a bonus quote; "Scriptwriting is like going to toilet; you just have to sit down and do it"

An animated CV - showing, not telling.

2010-07-12T10:22:00.000+01:00

A while ago I was admiring how designer's can make some awesome CVs / resumés. The reason they can create such interesting documents is that, for them, their CV is presented as piece of design. So it impresses straight away, it shows rather than tells. An example is at the bottom of this blog post.

And, obviously, as film makers and creative people we should be able to do something similar too. What I had in mind was more than simply a showreel, a showreel shows only the final work. What was required was the content of a CV (style, interests, approach, successes, awards, work) in a moving image form.

My first effort is above. I've called it an animated resumé (it is designed for international viewers who don't use the term CV) which seemed to be a good name for what I was trying to achieve.

Check it out. If you do one too, or have one already, let me know.

I've put it on its own webpage - www.timclague.com - which I coded myself. It's not as slick as ones that film website experts like Steve Andrews put together, but it's enough for this pilot.

Making $1000 from my old short films.

2010-07-10T14:01:00.000+01:00

I was initially sceptical of mDistribute. They are a distributor for short film content. Others have done this before of course, following a business model similar to how feature film distributors work.

mDistribute is different, in that it is much more of web2.0 business model. The buyers aren't the public. They are people like mobile phone companies who need, for example, 1000 comedy short films for their portal.

It's easy - you upload your films and set your own price. An interesting exercise in itself; how much is your short worth? They take 25% of the sales, which isn't too bad. Nothing to pay upfront obviously. There is a simple verification process that takes a few days, so that the site doesn't fill up with rubbish.

A lot of these kind of sites don't take off. But so far I've earned about $1000, which isn't to be sniffed at. This is mainly from Mr Vista clips - which travel well and are nice and short. A big seller, that I haven't tapped into yet, is to make really short (and loud) clips that can be used as video ringtones.

If you are interested then click on the logo at the top.

Get a stone in your shoe

2010-06-29T14:06:00.003+01:00

I heard a great quote today from a satirical poet. He said that he doesn't write anything until he really feels an idea has become like a stone in his shoe.

I love that very visual, yet also tactile, analogy. If you can carry on walking, you should do. But when an idea really gnaws at you and you can ignore it no longer - then, and only then, should you start to write.

Cartoon from here.

When is a writer not a writer?

2010-06-19T22:28:00.002+01:00

Answer: When there is no dialogue!

Obviously this answer isn't true. But it can seem that way.

As I mentioned before, I am thinking about doing a silent film, as in no dialogue. I've done these before at the low budget end - for example the Mr Vista films. With Mr Vista scripting doesn't matter, we improv it anyway. And for higher budgets, in my heart of hearts, I honestly believe that it is better to jump straight to a storyboard, if you can. But you don't always have that option.

We all know that description-based scripts, with no dialogue, are frowned upon. My current writing task is getting 'Teddy and the Moon' expanded and ready for the Red Planet comp - and there are some long no-dialogue sequences in there. This is of concern to me. The only thing I have found to really work is to space out the description and action by beats - with plenty of spaces.

John enters the room.

A crash. What's that?

A mouse runs over his foot.

John shrieks. A hand covers his mouth. His eyes bulge.

Blackness.

It almost becomes like dialogue then.

If you yourself fancy dipping your toe in this arena then you could do much worse than checking out the My One Word competition which closes July 6th. As the name suggests, you can only use the one word of dialogue. It is supported by C4 and 4 films will be made. 3 minutes each - so an easy write - or a great way to use up a stray idea. Free to enter too.

So no excuse not to bung in 3 pages and get your film made and a free bit of mentoring too.

I'm running the workshop day for the final 12. As a writer myself I'm really aiming to put together a great day. NOT the same old crap you get elsewhere where you start to think that the development day is a punishment rather than a prize. I know it's radical, an actually useful development day. Will wonders never cease?

MY ONE WORD RULES
» Have a final running time of 3 minutes
» Be of any genre from comedy to horror
» Have locations based within England
» Must not contain any violence, explicit language or include any explicit sexual content

Silent with sound

2010-06-05T13:02:00.000+01:00

I've recently been looking at some Chaplin's early films.

My reason for doing so; Chaplin understood that single story elements couldn't progess beyond about a reel of film (10-15 mins depending upon projection speed). So longer films, such as a the two reeler The Immigrant, are in fact two separate sequences, one for each reel. In reel one, The Little Tramp comes to America. In reel two he goes to a restaurant. His romancing of The Girl binds the two together.

The work this is building towards is a manager's conference. I want to stress to managers that having a big meeting, concerning one thing, for a whole hour isn't very useful. And what's more, Chaplin knew this 100 years ago. So stop doing it. Instead have some 'reel changes' in there.

However, for me, it has been a great opportunity to be reminded, YET AGAIN, of how simple the story telling is. And by that I mean how powerfully simple it is.

It has inspired me to think about creating a new silent-style story. Perhaps two people who don't speak each other's language who meet in a foreign city. Add a few laughs and a bit of pathos and jobs a good un.

The perception filter

2010-05-24T08:09:00.000+01:00

I've been thinking about a new technique for the moving image. It is based around using a point of view (POV) shot and the idea came out of a discussion with games designer Stephen Hardie.

A POV shot is normally used sparingly in TV and films. A notable exception being Peep Show, which used it exclusively.

Peep Show

In games, the first person view is much more prevalent. It adds to the excitement if you are placed in the hot seat. Plus, playing a game is much more akin to you 'playing acting' in the role of the central character rather than observing their actions. To successfully play act - you need to see what they see.

Mirror's Edge

However, with all these examples, you see what the the character's eyes would see. You don't see what they would see, as a fully realised character.

What do I mean by that? An example of one scene that does show it is when Jimmy Stewart is hanging from the clock tower in Vertigo and looks down - then you see what he sees! His own sense of vertigo adds a filter to the scene, distorting reality.

Although not shot in a POV style, Shutter Island (itself a Hitchcock homage) plays with this idea also. We see the Island as the main character would.

Shutter Island

What I'm proposing as an interesting visual experiment is to combine this ideas and bring the 'perception filter' look to the fore.

Presenting the world as each character sees it, with all their quirks, neuroses and blindspots presented to us.

Whilst this seems like an idea best suited to animation I feel doing it live action is more eye catching and exciting - but does place a strain on the art direction and post-production budget.

I may try to follow this up. But what story would best suit the perception filter style?

Every child a scriptwriter

2010-05-09T21:10:00.002+01:00

I've been asked to create a video on a scheme that is happening right now across England called "Every Child A Talker".

It is about ensuring that children have good communication skills by the time they go to primary schools - so it is aimed at 0-5 year olds. Obviously, it is actually aimed at the parents and the adults involved in working with this age group. The reason for setting up this large project is to cure a large problem. The problem that over 50% of children are behind in their communication skills when they start school - meaning that not much actual teaching can occur.

But what is interesting is the use of story telling and art direction in this scheme.

With storytelling - the nursery staff shouldn't read from books. They should tell the story themselves. Everytime it can be different and the children can change the direction of the story as they want - all very story 2.0!

With art direction - the key is to remove clutter from behind the storyteller (no posters, pictures etc) and to have a neutral wall (off-white, no colours) so that the focus is on the storyteller.

All very advanced stuff and good to see storytelling being put at the heart of everything, from the moment children are born.

Take the high road

2010-05-04T21:03:00.011+01:00

Last week I had a wonderful journey back through Scotland. I'd finished my work on APB in Dundee and was heading back to Bournemouth. But why head straight back? I'm keen to always look around and explore. So should anyone involved in the creative arts. Dashing about should be for other people, not us. That's why I've always defended the red circle part of the Scriptwriter's Life diagram so vehemently, the part on growing your character.

All I can say is - art isn't about getting from A to B in the quickest time.

Scriptwriters Life - print it big!

2010-04-20T13:18:00.000+01:00

Scriptwriter's Life Mousemat

A lot of feedback around the Scriptwriter's Life diagram is about printing it out. People like the idea of having it around, but perhaps their printer doesn't do it justice. Of course there is always the low-ink version I created. But why settle for that?

So I've uploaded the very highest, full on, quality version to Zazzle. There you can print it out as a poster if you like. Right up to supersized poster that's as big as me!

The mouse mat and T-shirt were just for a bit of fun while I was there. But they make a good treat to yourself or your writer chum.

Scriptwriter's Life: The T-shirt

I didn't get it...

2010-04-18T09:31:00.000+01:00

My time working on APB (updated website, check it out) is coming to an end as it gets ready for release.

One of the things that I take away is the power of understanding the user experience (sometimes called UX). The main man, Stanley, sits a few seats away and is an advocate of the whole idea, sending around links and so on. UX is where the player's experience of the game is explored.

What didn't they get? What confused them? What did they find exciting?

This feedback can be gathered in a variety of forms that falls into 3 main categories.

Letting people play the game and then asking afterwards, via discussion and perhaps a questionnaire.
Live conversation, where players talk through their experience as they play - great, but slightly unnatural.
High tech solutions that record where the player's eyes are on the screen along side their actions and link this to the gameplay.

As you probably know many film distributors use something similar to the first category when they are releasing a film. This usually takes the form of 'did you enjoy the film?' and 'would you recommend it'. In short, it is more about the marketing of the film than the artistic qualities.

As film makers however we don't apply this same rigour. But we could. It could help us make our film better and ensure that the cool ideas and nuanced emotions we want the audience to take away are really being picked up.

If we do show our film - it is usually in an unfocused manner. 'Did you like it?' Instead, we could really apply a more targeted approach. We could ask people about what parts they didn't get. Phrasing is the most important element to get right. No audience member should 'like' it when the hero dies. But did they find it 'moving'?

Beyond that - why not even use the second category - stopping and starting the film to dip in and out of audience views.

And remember, all this could apply to scriptwriters too.

Why do we think that just sending someone a script and waiting for feedback is enough. Read it with them. Ask them questions. Or have sample audience members at a script read through and use them constructively.

As a bonus, here is my favourite interview about APB. Well worth a watch. It is conducted by HipHopGamer and is culture-clash-tastic. However, both HHG and APB's Exec Producer Joshua have a kind of side-culture of gaming that ensures they have common ground.

New version of Scriptwriter's Life

2010-04-11T21:13:00.006+01:00

The Scriptwriter's Life diagram has been updated. It may take a little while to ripple through various caches etc.

Many writers felt that the three separate circles of the old version didn't actually represent the holistic nature of their working life. So this version seeks to address that.

As you can see, Gravity, has become the heart of the diagram. Everything works towards it and that kind of makes sense. Without a good reputation nothing else matters - and the reverse is true, everything influences your reputation.

Check it out in more detail at www.scriptwriterslife.com

If you have the old version embedded in your blog then the new version will magically appear there instead. If you want to add it to your blog then add this code...

<div align="center"> <a href="http://scriptwriterslife.com"> <img src="http://www.projectorfilms.webspace.virginmedia.com/swlife-0_2_1-picturethumb.jpg" width="150" height="212" border="1"> </a> </div>

Nerdy stuff:
The diagram was created in Photoshop. 3 coloured circles were overlapped to create the secondary colours using the blending options. The hard part was positioning the circle centres to ensure an exactly equal overlap off all three. This had to be done with trigonometry in the end. Each element was then slightly grad shaded and soft bevelled downwards. The metal outlining has a slight glow on the highlights. Font is Century Gothic.

Just out of reach

2010-04-04T20:45:00.004+01:00

Do you know the feeling; the feeling that something is just out of your intellectual reach?

You know something in your work is not correct, that it is not as good as it could be, that it is tired and dull. This - you know. But what can you do about it, what is the answer? Well - heck - you kind of know that too. But it is out of reach. You know it is there, but you can't see it - kind of like the door in Doctor Who the other day. Or perhaps like the character in my own Hope.

You say to yourself - if only I was 10% more clever I could join these damn things up. But, somehow, you aren't. You just can't see far enough.

1 - Do you know that feeling?
2 - What is it called?

It feels like a dead neural connection. It was once there linking up two parts of the brain but has since perished.*

* old age is not the answer before any of you cheeky people jump in with that!

Picture: Detour by Darcy Ripley.

A new pitching and brainstorming tool

2010-03-26T13:09:00.000Z

Template: Reveal a new perspective on Prezi

At a recent lecture I gave at OCR everyone was talking about a new way to present ideas. It is online and called Prezi.

What excited me about this idea was how it combined elements of mind mapping (as used in something like Mindmeister) with a Powerpoint style presentation tool.

It may not suit every project or person but definitely one to be aware of. The flow of the graphics sits better with a flow of a story. The problem with any form of card pitching (which is how I currently work) is that you often descend into "then this happens, then this, then this".

It is free to use - but you can upgrade for extra features. The free version would be more than suitable for most of us.

New thoughts on 'rules'

2010-03-13T15:38:00.003Z

A lot of talk in games creation goes on deciding the gameplay rules - what are the rules of the game? Seems obvious, but even I am surprised at how this is gone over again and again. What exactly is needed to earn the big gun etc etc.

But the reason for all this hard work is - it is really hard to change later. You can't say things work one way and then later on say they work another way when you update the game. Players would go crazy!

This 'going crazy' vision made me think about stories and scripts. I think perhaps we don't consider 'the rules' of our worlds enough. They tend to be made up as we go. Get it wrong and your audience will be as pissed off as those angry games players. Some of things you may hear / have heard / have shouted yourself would be...

Hang on, I thought superherodude couldn't do that, and now he can!
Where the hell did that come from?
She would never have said that.
I thought an alien was hard to kill and now there are 100s of them and they are being killed easily.

You get the idea. This kind of overlaps with the 'contract with the audience'. But the 'contract' is more about the emotional experience / money for a cinema ticket trade. Complaints around that are more of the...

I've watched 26 episodes of this stupid show and it hasn't even tied up the loose ends properly

...nature.

So 'world rules' are definitely worth thinking about at a conscience level.

I would say that it is worth getting right at the start, but we all know development doesn't work like that. But it is certainly worth doing a script pass on though and considering fully.

Creative Gravity - new version

2010-03-09T10:26:00.006Z

I finally got around to creating a special version of the Gravity animation just for writers and creative people.

This brings the project full circle. The Gravity idea was created as a part of a set of training materials for people involved in sales, especially financial sales. However, I used the ideas I had seen successful freelance writers use as the basis.

But the media / creative markets are very different from the financial sales market. Financial sales has the pressure of making repeat sales day in, day out - which can lead to a kind of short-termism. Writers on the other hand are always concerned with their good repuatation and throwing their net wide. The Gravity animation was a way of showing the benefits of this longer term approach in a graphical way.

Now I've reworked it back to the creative industries in this new version. Check it out. But also remember that we could learn a lot from the financial guys about actually remembering to ask for the work and being a bit more pushy.

What the video doesn't cover is HOW to raise your gravity because this is unique to each person. Here is an ideas list to kick you off.

Put yourself forward to help out anyone with their projects
Be a volunteer
Be a script judge
Be online - blogs / twitter etc
Share what works - be open, that's what draws people to you
Don't be afraid to network - set a target of meeting 5 new people at every event
Give something practical away when you meet people so they keep it and remember you*
Be a mentor
Be a mentee
Give talks / conferences
Keep in touch with people actively - use a diary, don't just think about doing it
Think about the one thing you do differently - what sets you apart from other writers?
Make sure you can explain the one thing easily - in a film poster manner!
Do it often.

I know you may not like all this talk about Creative Gravity and reputation, which then strays into marketing and branding. However, it is crucial to realise - you already have a reputation - you already have Gravity - so it makes sense if you try to steer it and guide it.

* I often hand out copies of the Scriptwriter's Life diagram.
Music by Titas Petrikas.

2010-03-01T20:50:00.003Z

Listen!

AudioBoo is a online service which is kind of an audio version of twitter; a quick way to upload and share your audio messages.

Steve Keevil has taken it and turned it into a platform for super short-radio plays in a series he calls 'iPhone monologues'.

He asked me to take part - and I did. Here is the result. It has a kind of lo-fi quality due to being recorded via an iPhone but that is part of the experience. In fact, in the future, I think this could go further by doing the recording on location somewhere suitable.

Here is the script, for reference.

This is fun - isn’t it. I know you think so too because I can hear you screaming wildly. Screaming through pure enjoyment. At least I think it is that kind of screaming. It is hard to hear you properly when you are in that car boot.

‘Thou Shalt Not Kidnap’ isn’t one of the Ten Commandments. So does that mean God thinks it is okay then? I think, on balance, that the Almighty would come out against it.

Indeed. It is wrong to kidnap people. That is why I had to escape from you and put you in the boot. You have face justice for what you did to me. I am bringing you in.

But then was it kidnapping seeing as how you are the police? I guess you would call it ‘arresting me’. Damn. This good and evil thing isn’t as clear cut as the bible would have me believe.

Maybe I’ll just crash, kill us and let God sought it out. You okay with that? Takes it out of our hands altogether.

But I changed my mind. And I watch the car burn and I think two things. One, that watching a fire is just as fun as driving fast. And two, I wish I believed in God.