Here's a quick post to inform those of you who aspire to one day be PAID screenwriters, Creative Screenwriting Magazine's Screenwriting Expo 6 is underway! Click the link to get more information.
Good news! They are accepting "short film" scripts this year! My project "JIMMY" which has been shelved for about 6 months will finally see the light of day again. JIMMY is a short I wrote and started production on, but experienced locational setback(s). Therefore, JIMMY will be one of my entries.
I also plan to submit my feature length script titled "Outlaw". It is completed and was entered last year into CS sponsored AAA Screenwriting Competition without much luck. Provided I can get the editing it needs finished, it will be entered as well.
HURRY, HURRY! Early bird deadline is July 1st but they will accept entries until August 14th. The Expo is in LA and the GOLD PASS is just under $300.
See you there!!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
What Are You Listening To?
I wanted to drop a quick note here to let you know what I'm listening to.
I've heard this movie did not do well/people didn't like it. I don't understand why; I have an idea, but still..."I, Robot" is a great movie. Okay, checked it out; I, Robot made only $52 mil on opening weekend. Not too shabby until you consider the budget of $120 mil. Latest earnings say $144 mil, so, technically you could say it did not do well "at the box office." I still love the movie!
Anyway, you can't watch I, Robot without also going back and watching "Independence Day" aka ID4. Which, in my opinion is another great sci-fi flic.
With that said, ID4's commentary by it's director(s) takes a backseat to I, Robot's writer and director commentary. However, it does gain points for also having a technical commentary track.
I won't go into great detail here, it's late, and I've only listened to them a couple of times. Starting with I, Robot, Akiva Goldsman was the final writer for this movie. He does more of the talking than, director, Alex Proyas which, for me being more of a writer (at this point), is just fine. And it is not until now that I realize (IMDB tab open) all the mega-movies he's responsible (in some part) for writing: Practical Magic, A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man, DaVinci Code just to name a few! (Side note: Looks like he's doing another Wil Smith movie called I Am Legend. Gonna have to research that one.)
Back to the commentary, Goldsman, like Mann on Collateral, gives you a lot of insite into the characters. This can be quite boring unless you're a writer. However, he is telling you things, as a writer, you should know about the character but won't necessarily show up in the script. Kinda like back story, but again, it's more for the writer to allow himself to create a fuller, more believable character. The reader (or movie patron) may never know nor need to know these things about a given character, yet will benefit from it nonetheless. They also talked a lot about their idea of what a "robot" movie should be and ways they worked around cliches.
Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to rip or even listen to the technical commentary for ID4, which I'm sure is more informational (learning-wise) than the regular commentary. This (and it is a director and writer) commentary was really one of those "although you can watch it on the screen yourself, I'm going to tell you what's happening anyway" and "here's a bit of trivia for you" kinda commentaries. These were fine back in the day, but for the enthusiastic "Flic Maker" like you and me, we'll pass on it! Great movie though.
If you've listened to any good commentaries lately, let me know. I'm sure I'll edit this one with a few more specifics.
Keep listening, keep writing!
I've heard this movie did not do well/people didn't like it. I don't understand why; I have an idea, but still..."I, Robot" is a great movie. Okay, checked it out; I, Robot made only $52 mil on opening weekend. Not too shabby until you consider the budget of $120 mil. Latest earnings say $144 mil, so, technically you could say it did not do well "at the box office." I still love the movie!
Anyway, you can't watch I, Robot without also going back and watching "Independence Day" aka ID4. Which, in my opinion is another great sci-fi flic.
With that said, ID4's commentary by it's director(s) takes a backseat to I, Robot's writer and director commentary. However, it does gain points for also having a technical commentary track.
I won't go into great detail here, it's late, and I've only listened to them a couple of times. Starting with I, Robot, Akiva Goldsman was the final writer for this movie. He does more of the talking than, director, Alex Proyas which, for me being more of a writer (at this point), is just fine. And it is not until now that I realize (IMDB tab open) all the mega-movies he's responsible (in some part) for writing: Practical Magic, A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man, DaVinci Code just to name a few! (Side note: Looks like he's doing another Wil Smith movie called I Am Legend. Gonna have to research that one.)
Back to the commentary, Goldsman, like Mann on Collateral, gives you a lot of insite into the characters. This can be quite boring unless you're a writer. However, he is telling you things, as a writer, you should know about the character but won't necessarily show up in the script. Kinda like back story, but again, it's more for the writer to allow himself to create a fuller, more believable character. The reader (or movie patron) may never know nor need to know these things about a given character, yet will benefit from it nonetheless. They also talked a lot about their idea of what a "robot" movie should be and ways they worked around cliches.
Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to rip or even listen to the technical commentary for ID4, which I'm sure is more informational (learning-wise) than the regular commentary. This (and it is a director and writer) commentary was really one of those "although you can watch it on the screen yourself, I'm going to tell you what's happening anyway" and "here's a bit of trivia for you" kinda commentaries. These were fine back in the day, but for the enthusiastic "Flic Maker" like you and me, we'll pass on it! Great movie though.
If you've listened to any good commentaries lately, let me know. I'm sure I'll edit this one with a few more specifics.
Keep listening, keep writing!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Talk is Cheap
And so should making flics be. We just wrapped a two-day shoot on a short flic sequel. Yeah, it's a sequel. In fact, the project will be a trilogy once we're finished.
The project started last year when my buddy and I formed our production company (in name only, so far) and decided that "if we're going to make movies, then we'd better get out there and do it!" We both wrote scripts and actually got excited to do one I'd written. But due to location difficulties we went with one of his.
We had a script. All we needed was equipment, actors, locations, and time. Hmm, did you see money in there anywhere? Nope. In reality, the two shorts have so far cost us about $30 bucks. The expenses being, a couple of cafe mocha's ($8), four Sony DVC tapes ($17), and one parking space ($6.50). How much is that? Oh, $31.50! And, uh, stretch that over a year's time.
How'd we do it? Let's go down the list starting with equipment. Here's what we used: Canon XL2 digital camera, lights, boom mic, cables. $0 dollars. Remember in a previous blog I stated to check with your local broadcasting channel? Ours loans equipment for FREE. There is a catch (always). We have to let them BROADCAST what we film!--I suppose I should tell you how I arranged it. I had been listening to many podcasts on flic making, many commentaries, etc. Training myself, basically. When I went in to talk about the equipment, I (at the very least) sounded like I knew what I was doing. I talked the talk. Another thing. I'm an older guy, and care about my appearance somewhat. So my maturity level probably showed through a little. If your a young flic maker and you plan on talking to older, adults about that kind of stuff, be mature about it. You don't have to dress up, but don't go in there all dirty, draggin' your skateboard.
Second was actors. We used people we knew. It just so happened that these people all want to write or act or something in the industry...or maybe they just liked movies. When you decide who your actors are going to be, my only real suggestion is, make sure they can act (at least a little). Or if they can be "directed". That will help you out as well. Okay, and obviously, work for free. Let them know up front that there's no money in it. Let them know it's for fun but also you plan to enter it into a film festival or some contest. That, in turn, gives them incentive to do it and do it well.
Locations, tricky. Our first short was cut short due to location. But for our second, we actually filmed at a major airport. I'm not 100% sure how he did it but I think it was along the lines of just calling and asking the right person. Explaining what our plan was and how many would be involved. It may have been different if we'd planned a huge action sequence, or simply running through the airport. So use your judgement. You pretty much know what you can and can not get away with. Then we used a coffee shop I'd been going to awhile and had been friendly with. Oh, and I promised them a free commercial. It helps to have something to offer, especially a small business.
On this most recent shoot we were in a public place, a ferry terminal to be exact, outside. We have a minimal crew and one cam, not alot of setup. So no one bothered us. It also worked out if people were staring since the story involved a popular actor out in public. How else would people act?! And our final location was an empty parking garage (for the torture scene, no less). It's a comedy, so there wasn't real torture. But this is where we paid for one parking stall just in case we were going to get hassled by security. Well, we didn't. In fact, I can't believe how empty it stayed for the 4 hours we were there. Hm, pick a Sunday evening to shoot there! That's probably why.
Time was probably the hardest, especially for our lead actor who lived out of town. I had to call in sick. So, I suppose it cost me a days pay...ouch! But damn! How therapeutic!! I won't miss it.
And that's it, a two part movie for $30 bucks. As an idie using digital, your biggest expenses will be your tapes and time. So get out there and start making it happen. You'll be glad you did
Keep writing, keep fliccing!
The project started last year when my buddy and I formed our production company (in name only, so far) and decided that "if we're going to make movies, then we'd better get out there and do it!" We both wrote scripts and actually got excited to do one I'd written. But due to location difficulties we went with one of his.
We had a script. All we needed was equipment, actors, locations, and time. Hmm, did you see money in there anywhere? Nope. In reality, the two shorts have so far cost us about $30 bucks. The expenses being, a couple of cafe mocha's ($8), four Sony DVC tapes ($17), and one parking space ($6.50). How much is that? Oh, $31.50! And, uh, stretch that over a year's time.
How'd we do it? Let's go down the list starting with equipment. Here's what we used: Canon XL2 digital camera, lights, boom mic, cables. $0 dollars. Remember in a previous blog I stated to check with your local broadcasting channel? Ours loans equipment for FREE. There is a catch (always). We have to let them BROADCAST what we film!--I suppose I should tell you how I arranged it. I had been listening to many podcasts on flic making, many commentaries, etc. Training myself, basically. When I went in to talk about the equipment, I (at the very least) sounded like I knew what I was doing. I talked the talk. Another thing. I'm an older guy, and care about my appearance somewhat. So my maturity level probably showed through a little. If your a young flic maker and you plan on talking to older, adults about that kind of stuff, be mature about it. You don't have to dress up, but don't go in there all dirty, draggin' your skateboard.
Second was actors. We used people we knew. It just so happened that these people all want to write or act or something in the industry...or maybe they just liked movies. When you decide who your actors are going to be, my only real suggestion is, make sure they can act (at least a little). Or if they can be "directed". That will help you out as well. Okay, and obviously, work for free. Let them know up front that there's no money in it. Let them know it's for fun but also you plan to enter it into a film festival or some contest. That, in turn, gives them incentive to do it and do it well.
Locations, tricky. Our first short was cut short due to location. But for our second, we actually filmed at a major airport. I'm not 100% sure how he did it but I think it was along the lines of just calling and asking the right person. Explaining what our plan was and how many would be involved. It may have been different if we'd planned a huge action sequence, or simply running through the airport. So use your judgement. You pretty much know what you can and can not get away with. Then we used a coffee shop I'd been going to awhile and had been friendly with. Oh, and I promised them a free commercial. It helps to have something to offer, especially a small business.
On this most recent shoot we were in a public place, a ferry terminal to be exact, outside. We have a minimal crew and one cam, not alot of setup. So no one bothered us. It also worked out if people were staring since the story involved a popular actor out in public. How else would people act?! And our final location was an empty parking garage (for the torture scene, no less). It's a comedy, so there wasn't real torture. But this is where we paid for one parking stall just in case we were going to get hassled by security. Well, we didn't. In fact, I can't believe how empty it stayed for the 4 hours we were there. Hm, pick a Sunday evening to shoot there! That's probably why.
Time was probably the hardest, especially for our lead actor who lived out of town. I had to call in sick. So, I suppose it cost me a days pay...ouch! But damn! How therapeutic!! I won't miss it.
And that's it, a two part movie for $30 bucks. As an idie using digital, your biggest expenses will be your tapes and time. So get out there and start making it happen. You'll be glad you did
Keep writing, keep fliccing!
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Neither Gone nor Forgotten
Ahh, it's good to be back! The only thing I can say is any life changing event can and will slow your productivity to a crawl. So weigh them carefully!
In the works: "No Whip 2: Whip Harder" is going to be filmed on Father's day weekend. Check out "No Whip" on Tom's MySpace page. I began filming a music video for a friend. It was a spur of the moment thing so I'm having the artist(s) re-cut the song to have a clean audio track to sync to the video. I've yet to hear from him, so we'll see how much further I get on that. Creative Screenwriting Magazine has a screenwriting contest every year. The current one deadline's on July 15, so polish up your scripts and get them in. I entered my feature "Outlaw" last year with less than positive results. I am in the process of editing it and (might) enter it again. My new project is a Sci-Fi script about a female "tracker" staged in the future. I'm pretty excited about it. I've worked out a few action scenes and developed some of the story.
A note on that. I haven't had any good ideas for a story in a while. I haven't even had any good ideas for stories already in progress. Out of the blue, this new one hit me. But I want to make a point about keeping a new story idea alive.
I've found that I'll immerse myself in what I call the "nuts and bolts" of flic making. I love to learn things. From how to write a script, to how to light a scene, to visual effects in After FX. I can't get enough of that stuff. I can listen to Rodriguez's El Mariachi commentary over and over and over... But guess, what - it's not productive. You gotta learn it, yeah. But you gotta put it into action. (I'm going off on a tangent) My point to all this is give yourself a break from that stuff. Listen to some music; actually WATCH a movie; play a sport. That will be when your mind opens up, puts all that stuff you've been "studying" to good use, and you come up with your story idea! I usually can hear the soundtrack, too. So, to keep it alive (back on track,now), I put that music on and start visualizing the scenes of my future movie, and start writing.
I know that was a bit scattered but read it more than once to fully absorb the message(s) ;-)
In the works: "No Whip 2: Whip Harder" is going to be filmed on Father's day weekend. Check out "No Whip" on Tom's MySpace page. I began filming a music video for a friend. It was a spur of the moment thing so I'm having the artist(s) re-cut the song to have a clean audio track to sync to the video. I've yet to hear from him, so we'll see how much further I get on that. Creative Screenwriting Magazine has a screenwriting contest every year. The current one deadline's on July 15, so polish up your scripts and get them in. I entered my feature "Outlaw" last year with less than positive results. I am in the process of editing it and (might) enter it again. My new project is a Sci-Fi script about a female "tracker" staged in the future. I'm pretty excited about it. I've worked out a few action scenes and developed some of the story.
A note on that. I haven't had any good ideas for a story in a while. I haven't even had any good ideas for stories already in progress. Out of the blue, this new one hit me. But I want to make a point about keeping a new story idea alive.
I've found that I'll immerse myself in what I call the "nuts and bolts" of flic making. I love to learn things. From how to write a script, to how to light a scene, to visual effects in After FX. I can't get enough of that stuff. I can listen to Rodriguez's El Mariachi commentary over and over and over... But guess, what - it's not productive. You gotta learn it, yeah. But you gotta put it into action. (I'm going off on a tangent) My point to all this is give yourself a break from that stuff. Listen to some music; actually WATCH a movie; play a sport. That will be when your mind opens up, puts all that stuff you've been "studying" to good use, and you come up with your story idea! I usually can hear the soundtrack, too. So, to keep it alive (back on track,now), I put that music on and start visualizing the scenes of my future movie, and start writing.
I know that was a bit scattered but read it more than once to fully absorb the message(s) ;-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
