Stuff

Good job no-one reads this blurg so I don't have to apologise for not posting for a whole month, except to myself.
'Soz, but I'm a lazy bastard.'
'That's OK, I know, I know.'

Short film continues apace, more auditions tomorrow. Had some auditions two weeks ago, the main parts are for two fifteen year old girls - we got a load of them - it was like pop idol! Celebrity culture eh? I felt like Simon Cowell, however I kept what I really thought to myself.


Doing a filmed interview next week for itvlocal.com as I've got two short films showing on their site. Oh my God! How much of a twat of yourself is it possible to make? We'll see.

Pitch and Foot

Went to Phil Parker's short film class in M/cr last week. Oh hang on, it was the week before - time flies when you're a lazy sod. Details in a follow-up post - if I get round to it.

In between, the film scheme I'm on just got interesting. I was chosen to be one of the five directors, and then the ten writers had to pitch to us directors to select five scripts we wanted to make.

So - I was really looking forward to the boot being on the other foot and listening to writers pitch to ME! And I think I learnt more from being pitched to than anything else I've heard or read. I've been on this film scheme for seven weeks now with a great bunch of Lancashire folk and we've all got to know each other and get on really well together, so although it was a serious pitch, I was surprised how nervous some people were. As the person being pitched to I found it strange - they were here to talk about their script, they were amongst friends - what was there to be nervous about? And thinking about my own pitching - I have been nervous every time - why?

Also, despite my feelings of goodwill, I got bored really quickly. I know it's stating the obvious, but the shortest pitches were the best. One stood out - a short punchy rhetorical question, with a couple of sentences about the film - then she asked if there were any questions - and that was it. Of course I had loads of questions.
Another good one was by a thickly accented Spanish guy - it was so short and quick I didn't grasp a word of what he said, but again I had a load of questions.
Most of the others though, either read a written pitch (No no no) or gave a nice short pitch then rambled on and on trying to second guess any questions I might have so that by the time they'd finished I'd forgotten their pitch, had nothing to ask them and their time was up (everyone had ten mins).

I have done pitches before as a writer - with wildy varying results as I still haven't learnt to love it - which is the key I reckon. Who doesn't love talking about their favourite movie? I think the trick is to transfer that passion to your movie. I'm actually looking forward to my next pitch.

Anyway, we had to make a shortlist of five scripts in order of preference, with the guarantee that we would get to make one of our top three - and of course as directors we all chose the same five scripts - so I got my third choice.

I'm quite happy really - the script at the moment is a bit of a mess, but there are good ideas in it - it's non-linear which gives me something to get my directing teeth into. I'm just about resisting the temptation to completely re-write it myself - as a writer I would hate it if a director tried to do that to me and we have a script editor to work with, but I can't help these new feelings of total control freakery.

Phil Parker - 'Writing Award Winning Short Films'

Ok, here are my notes from the Phil Parker class 'Writing Award Winning Short Films'. Phil is yer real genuine screenwriting guru - long blonde hair, long blonde/greyish beard and glasses - he looked like he'd come straight from a Californian life coaching class.

Phil's book is 'The Art & Science of Scriptwriting' I've just got it out of the library and not started reading it yet, but it looks interesting. Actually, although I've got a couple of scriptwriting books, I've never read one cover to cover, I just dip into them for advice if I'm stuck or something - doubt if I'll read Phil's either, but I will take a dip.

> There are approx. 300 shorts made per year in UK with public funds - and 300 privately funded.

> What are awarders looking for? There are 2000 festivals with awards in the world – find the right festival for your film.

> Define terms with producer/writer/director so all singing from same hymn sheet.

> Phil’s terms:

Narrative: The totality of a work – every single part of it. Everything has a narrative – all have common elements (doc’s ad’s etc.) Sound can be a narrative element – all combine to form whole.

Story: Nothing to do with plot. You don’t have to find a story – stories are already out there (CG Jung) your character and conflict makes your story stand out in a distinctive way. Understand your story – story not an original element.
There are ten main stories (see Phil’s book)

Plot: Is about how you tell ‘the story’ people aren’t interested in story, but in plot – how you solve character problems and take them through it. Plot is not story, but arrangement of story ideas.

Theme: ‘What is it about?’ is the subject, not story or plot, and applies to pitch/concept. Theme is more than this – it’s about emotion. ‘Everyone has been treated unfairly at some point in their lives’. Emotionally you want injustice addressed, or you feel unresolved. We can as humans relate to other characters injustice. Don’t have to be human to suffer (Blade Runner) but empathy is about being human. ‘Undeserved Misfortune’ is a theme – audience instinctively identify with that character ). Form the story or stories around the theme. Right stories for right plot – dramatic unity. Theme underpins story – don’t waver from the theme. Just have one theme for a powerful narrative , it might have several stories – unite them with theme.
There are Eight main themes (see book). ‘Desire For Validation’ – most powerful contemporary theme.

We also watched and talked about in depth, some award winning short films from the UK.

The films were:

'Is It The Design On The Wrapper' (1997 - only UK short film to ever win Palm d/Or) writer/director Tessa Sheridan.

'Small Deaths' (1996 - Cannes Jury Prize) writer/director Lynne Ramsay.


'Brown Paper Bag' (2003 - BAFTA winner) writer Geoff Thomson director Micahel Baig-Clifford


'Skin Deep' (2001 Jury Award Brest Euro. Short Film Fest. BAFTA nominated) writer/director Yousaf Ali-Khan.

'Moth' (2004) director Simon Corris writer Clifton Stewart.

'The Pearce Sisters' (2007 - animation) director Luis Cook adapted from a short story by Mick Jackson.


'Benjamin's Struggle' (2005) writer/director James Bresse.

Red Planet

Just sent my Red Planet entry off (I always leave everything to the last minute) I think it's a good story, and I'm pretty chuffed with the opening scene, but I've done a lot of background work on some characters, and not so much on some others and I think maybe that shows. Oh yeah, and I've only written fifteen pages and not the whole thing, although it is all worked out. Not sure when I'm going to get the time to finish it, mind. Part of me says just leave it - like a sort of dare - wait and see if you've got on the short list, then finish it in a few days of amphetamine frenzy, chances are pretty slim after all.

Met the director today and he really gave me something to think about, well a lot of things. He has really hacked at the script, and taken the prospective scene headings we did last week and fashioned them into a kind of template which he wants to stick to. I wasn't too sure, well actually I was a bit stunned, but I listened to what he had to say - there were some iffy things, but no bad ideas, and (keep it to yourself) some bloody brilliant ones.

I came away feeling a bit deflated though, and I think it was because I'd just listened for 90 mins to someone telling ME about MY play! But you just can't be like that, and none of it was forced on me - now it's my turn to take those ideas and come up with my own version.

Like I say, he's given me a lot to think about.

Theatre Of Death

Going to meet the director again at the Playhouse tomorrow to see if we can work out how to re-organise the play. I've spent the last week cutting it into different narrative strands. Because it's a docudrama it's hard to know what to leave out, so in the first draft I left everything in.

Last week, in the empty twilight of the Courtyard Theatre (the only room we could get) we agreed narrative headings, then started having a sort of paper fight as we tried to take bits of the play out and put them in the new headings. But no matter how fast we were throwing bits of paper at each other, the paper mountain play didn't seem to be getting any smaller. "Fuck this," said Al, "let's do it on computer."

It was then I noticed that nearly all the upturned seats had names on 'In memory of ... ' etc. Like rows and rows of tombstones. Never noticed that before, well you wouldn't would you? Unless it was your Jack you were sitting on, so to speak - talk about dying on stage.

Blackburn In The Rain

Started a film scheme last Saturday in Blackburn, finaced by NW Vision (I am from Liverpool). I've only been to Blackburn twice (the first time was for the interview) and it's pissed it down on both occasions. It all added to the L S Lowry look of the place but I hope it's not a trend as the films have to be shot in the city.

I was taken on as a writer/director, but learnt that it would be either/or and no-one would be both. There are fifteen of us, but only five films will be made. Writing workshops take place in the morning and directing workshops in the afternoon, so some of us are writers only, and the rest are writer/directors (there are no director/directors) and depending on how we do, five will be writers, five directors, and the other five, script editors, or 1st AD's on the other movies - I think. Competitive huh? And complicated.

I am the only one who has come any distance as all the rest are Lancashire locals, but they all seem sound, and a good mix, we are all going to be helping with each others films so we will have to get on, but we really gelled together with the directing set-ups we had to do, and that was just the first day so I don't think it will be a problem.

I've made three short films in the past year and two of those were with film schemes, I know eventually if I'm serious about directing I'm going to have to get into finding a producer and financing and all that, but regional film schemes are a good way of finding your way into it as they provide a lot of support, with equipment, actors, mentoring etc.

Anyway, my back is slowly improving. The prescribed painkillers completely knocked me out at first, but I don't even them notice now, which probably means that I'm completely hooked - for ever. Although at least I can have a piss and wipe me bum without it hurting (too much)

Ah the simple pleasures of life!

Oh no - not another scriptwriting blog!

I've been meaning to start this blog for ages, but as I haven't got a computer of my own and have to go to the library, computer time is precious. But now having sold my first play, I should have the dosh to buy a comp and also have something worthwhile to blog about.

Also - I've gone and done me bloody back in! Two weeks ago, I was at home, getting ready to go out, when twang! The wind-up elastic band in me back (not sure of the medical term) just snapped. Agony? You know that bit in 'The Devils' where Olly Reed has his knees smashed in ...? Nowt. Compared to this.

Getting better now - I can actually walk, and even stand up (for short periods) Thankfully, the library is only a five minute walk from my house, although, this being Leeds, it is at the top of a bastard steep hill - funnily enough (Ha! Ow!) it's much worse on the old broken lassy going downhill.

It is something we need to be aware of though. I thought I was doing everything right, sturdy chair with back support - James Moran posted about his back problems, and the way he wrote sounded like a US army prisoner stress position - but the end result is the same. So er, be careful out there, in your armchair.

Shit - I really didn't want to start this blog with a moan.