What's my mantra again?

This evening I have, no laughing at the back, started an ideas diary. The trick is to be quick with your ideas and rambling - it can be surprising what you write. Ray Bradbury's mantra is WORK, RELAXATION, DON'T THINK! And then, theoretically, in a zen way, the work will want to write itself.

In a more pragmatic approach, screenwriting whiz and all round legend, William Goldman, suggests that you answer these questions about your project - ALWAYS...

- What is the story about?

- What's it really about?

- What time is it set in? (past, present, future, fast/slow)

- Who tells the story? (point of view)

- Where does the story take place?

- What about the characters?

- What must we cling to? (what's the emotional core)

And his offers a pithy quote for you dear reader -

"With screen writing, as with a gift, it's the thought that counts."

I also distilled my first story idea into a clean simple paragraph, following the instruction of someone wants something, he tries to get it, they succeed or fail. The second story idea is either set during the 1929 stock market crash or about a schizophrenic serial killer.

Goodnight and good luck.

And they're off...

And so, we are up and running, albeit with a slight false start if I may extend the racing metaphor. The UCLA Extension - Introduction to Screenwriting I started today, with the first week's course materials being posted by our guide and professor at large, Alan Shapiro. After a small discrepancy between the syllabus and the the lecture notes stated homework, and a brief exchange on the discussion board, we're now all on the same page. At least, Alan, Leslie from Florida, and Shannon from Northern California know what we're doing, no other class members turned up on the discussion board, though one presumes Alan knew all along...

So, now I have to write an autobiography and come up with three story ideas - the story ideas I think I have, the life story I may have to fabricate.

Now screaming...

Sorry dear reader, that should be titled, now screening. Or should it? I've just logged onto the UCLA blackboard and discovered my introduction to screenwriting course notes are now there so I can finally see what I've got myself into...bloody hell is what comes to mind, as this mind hasn't been educationally exercised in quite some time and now the mere mention of 'weekly assignments' fills me with dread! Not only writing assignments but reading ones too - the watching assignments on the other hand are most welcome!

Stay tuned...

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Golden Fleece

An awful nights sleep (due to late night peanut eating and general wimpering) led me to be reading the second Save the Cat book, which looks at movie genres and offers break-downs of a wide variety of films for each. The author, Blake Synder (a very nice bloke who amazingly, responded to my email about his workshops...and from his Apple iphone, so clearly a man of good taste and high thinking), has come up with more memorable, descriptive terms for genre's, rather than the established genre types, such as 'Dude with a problem, Monster in the House and Golden Fleece.

I watched the film, Air Force One last night, which falls into the category, 'Dude with a problem' - its a pretty by-the-numbers film, and a carbon copy of much superior film, Die Hard. I just checked and it made $172 million box office dollars (and cost $85 million to make). There is some spectacularly bad acting going on in places, though Harrison Ford does his thing well. I wonder if Obama would be all guns blazing this quickly?

Lack of asleep aside, I did discover that my story, my film story that is, is a 'Golden Fleece' story, which then falls into sub category of 'Caper Fleece', as its essentially a heist movie in old genre speak. The Golden Fleece is of course a reference to Jason and the Argonauts, where the story is really about the journey, not the prize of the golden fleece at the end of it.

UCLA screenwriter course starts this week...wonder if they've heard of this Golden Fleece theory?

1984

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8

Blonde woman running with a big hammer in skinny shorts with boobs a bouncin'.

Hmmm, wonder why I remembered that..?

An Apple a day

Happy birthday Apple computer - you're 25 today! Well, lets correct that before the nerds come out of the cyber woodwork. The Apple Macintosh computer is 25. Apple started beavering away in the 70's with other computers, like the Apple II, which was the first proper personal computer and sported a beautiful beige paint job. Why didn't they make them funky colours to begin with; it was the lurid 80's after all? An original Apple II computer lurks in the gloom of my parents loft, along with entire collections of VHS tapes, Star Wars toys and brown 70's furniture that's been chopped up so it could fit through the hatch in the loft. We witnessed it, even if we couldn't quite agree with the flawed logic. I was twelve and knew that sofa wasn't ever being glued back together.

I digressed... The Apple Mac was unleashed to the world in 1984, during the commercial break of american football's main event, the Superbowl - regarded as one of the prime, and most expensive advertising slots the world has ever known. And Ridley Scott directed it, who dear reader also directed wonderful things like Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator and rubbish things like, G.I. Jane. The advert is now considered a masterpiece (it was a loose interpretation on an Orwellian vision), though I only remember women throwing hammers - time for a nostalgia trip to YouTube! As far the computers go, I never owned one, as by the time I was in college and bought one (I can proudly say I've never owned anything other than a Mac), I got myself a shiny LC475, which is probably now not so shiny, but I bet you good money, its in my parent's loft.

Save the cat

I've just finished reading screenwriting book, Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, which claims to be the only book on screenwriting you'll ever need. Wish I'd known that before I waded through Robert McKee's book, Story. An excellent, if intimidating read, much like his seminars, which I've attended. The cat book tells it like it is, in a more commercial sense but also makes you feel like you're one of the guys, a screenwriter. Which gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, I admit.

As with all these books, you read the list of films they've written and think...never heard of it, or, hmmm, a film for the Hallmark channel, impressive? You aspire to be Speilberg or the Coen brothers naturally, so what can I learn from these guys? Well, they know the business and the craft of writing a script and selling it - You know nothing, even if you think you're Shakespeare...

By the way, the save the cat law of screenwriting is simply that your hero has to do something when we meet him that makes us want him to win - like saving a cat...

I don't believe I have that in my script, which means I have a 'black hole' in my script. Here kitty kitty...

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Nice helicopter Mr President

Just a small note to mark the event where Mr Obama became President Obama. American politics being so much more interesting than ours, you can't help but be drawn to it. Our man in Number 10 was quick to utter the usual utterings about our relationship, though for once dropped the "special" nature of it. You get the feeling from Obama that he sees Europe as the relationship he has to forge, and the former coziness between the UK and US will be somehow be lost down the back of the sofa for a while, much like the current value of the pound...

I watched a documentary about JFK - a film made up of footage that had been filmed during his path to and time in the White house. You can see the parallels with Obama and in particular the vision and inspiration of his speeches. Obama hasn't got a missle crisis to deal with as yet (unless you count gaza) but he does have a few things in his in-tray tomorrow morning. Not least, what will be the presidential puppy?

Americans...God bless 'em!

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Bonus night

The more astute and observant among you may have noticed that I have recruited a follower, a disciple no less to follow me through the afore mentioned meagre ramblings that is the writer room blog.  I hope I am followed for a long time and that the bonus night, that friends inspired is remembered well, if indeed it was the last time. Friends then, again...

On the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration I was reading about the first presidents, which offered such insights, such as Washington's bad teeth, which is why he always has that pursed look on his mouth and that John Adams (his vice president) said of him, 'too illiterate, unread, unlearned for his status and reputation,' though John Adams, was often referred to by his nickname, 'His Rotundity' during his presidency.  Thomas Jefferson used to soak his feet in cold water every morning, opposed slavery, despite being one of America's biggest slave-owners and politically had a bad word for everyone. Martin Van Buren, nicknamed 'the sly fox' said of his presidency, 'the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it.' Good luck Barack, you'll need it...

Distractions

After my previous post forming a conclusion on screenwriting software, I immediately ignored my own logic and put my foot into the Movie Magic Screenwriter 6 camp. Final Draft is still too buggy and just plain offends my aesthetic inclinations - should that matter if it does the job? Well, like everything in life, some things just seem to fit better. After a good trial of Movie Magic, and I shamelessly admit, after reading the various "famous people" who recommend it, I felt it suited me better. It just felt better designed than Final Draft, and appears to be just as much an "industry standard," which FD always lays total claim too. Customizability (if such a word exists) was the key - yes, I'm a mere aspiring writer, and have no use of the excellent production features, but I want a piece of software I can grow into, not out of - so Montage, with all its many plus points is off the menu, though I may use it as a development and research tool. If my opinion matters dear reader, I recommend MM Screenwriter 6! (on a Mac of course...I don't recommend a PC to anyone!)

The UCLA Intro to Screenwriting course is looming large, as it begins soon. Not sure what to expect, as it's been a long while since I put pen to paper academically speaking, and even then I wasn't always keen on the homework - unless it involved technical drawing or building a bridge out of an A3 piece of paper and superglue. I trust once the course is up and running this blog will become more informative as to the life of a screenwriting student. But it's more for me than anyone else, whomever happens to stumble across these meagre ramblings.

Owner of a lonely heart?

So goes the song, and so goes my current state of being. This blog is currently part writing tool, as a way for me to flex my writing fingers again (RSI here we come again!) and part confessional relating to my newly acquired single status. And if I may mimic sex in the city with a question: can an ex really be just a friend..? Well, life is full of possibilities.

On a completely different topic, today as time meandered its way around the digital clock face I began researching screenwriting software. Turns out their are quite a few more than I thought that are hailed as 'industry standard'. Well, everyone knows, Final Draft is the standard, but precious few actually hail it. Similar situation in the design world if I might digress with Quark Xpress and InDesign; the former being the original kingpin, and the latter our current knight in shiny drop-shadowed armour. Complacency and just plain awful, I mean lousy customer support, almost killed Quark. Final Draft has the same issues - buggy, looks like it was designed by a ten year old with wax crayons and trying to authorize it requires codes to rival DaVinci's.

Movie Magic Screenwriter 6 I discovered today and is also hailed by a raft of successful writers, producers and directors. You can download a trial copy, but you only get 48 hours - gives me an idea for a movie about a cop and Hollywood writer, thrown together by fate, or a fat guy named Tony, I'm not sure, and they have 48 hours to write a buddy cop movie - or the world explodes..!

Then there's Mariner Montage, Scrivener, and Celtx (Free). Montage is promising, as it looks great on a mac, with good features, though it can't yet match the more mature programs of FD and MM...or so the internet wisdom goes - version 2 is due out sometime this year and I can personally recommend the forum for a good discussion (as mentioned in an earlier post). I like the idea of using an industry standard application. Just because you're an aspiring writer, why use something that doesn't aspire to be anything better than a hobbyist? I want options people. I've also bought into Contour, and theoretically, if not yet practically, it works directly with Montage, so it gives me a reason to stick with Montage for the moment, though I do admit its simplicity is slightly unnerving...

I might get a cat (and damn the rent agreement about pets!). What do you think? This is almost certainly a rhetorical question, as I have no followers. The blog is a sad and lonely place - which is precisely the need for a cat. A tabby cat to be specific.

The Antagonist

Briefly following on from the previous annoyance, you'll be aware that I had commenced battle with the tax office. One phone call to an actual tax advisor and she confirmed the entire system was flawed and I would not owe the government the debt of a small country, as it foolishly suggested. Death and taxes - they certainly are related, if only by causing stress induced heart attacks!

On a screenwriting front, I began to tackle the weighty issues of the four key questions. 1. Who is the protagonist? 2. What are they trying to acheive? 3. Who is trying to stop them? 4. What happens if they fail? I got stuck on question one... Who is my protagonist, my hero? Marshall or Elizabeth? It would be more unusual to have a female lead character, but maybe less commercial. Not me dear reader saying that, its just statistics and screenwriting books with cats of the cover. Though it's a crime or caper story as genres go, so probably not that commercially popular anyway.

Must get myself a theme too...

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

The Last Word

No, no, not my last blog, as the title suggests, but rather a brief muttering on the official nature of the split from my girlfriend. Many tears and cold cups of tea led us a final sigh, hint of teary smiles and then cottage pie, the near perfect comfort food. Friends then...

So today, a little lost with a sore head and few obligatory sighs, I recycled the Christmas tree, window shopped for a kettle for no real reason other than distraction and attempted to file my tax return. Attempted is the key phrase, because although it advertises the use of the back button, it does actually support such a grand feature and continued to throw repetitive instructions at me, which didn't work either. So I stormed out, bought two pints of milk and vowed to try again tomorrow, when these palpitations subside.

Good night, and good luck...

Tete-a-Tete

In a previous illuminating post I said I had just started a discussion with a man called, Jeff Schechter, regarding the possible restrictions of a screenwriting program, called Contour. It deals purely with story structure and sticks to a very strict formula. Some films do not fit into this strict formula, which initially he didn't want to admit, but I persisted. I suspect he's the kind of man who always likes to have the last word - I thought I'd had the last word, but no, he's just replied again. He's even advertised our "tete-a-tete" on his blog. It's all good marketing for his program of course and I don't begrudge the use of my witty banter for a second. You too, dear reader (if I ever have any), can view our exchange, through the link on his blog. Go to, http://totallywrite.wordpress.com

If you don't see a header, 'FORUM: Is Contour Too Restrictive?' and a small but amusing image of a man in a straight jacket, my fifteen minutes of web fame will have evaporated into the constantly changing stream of ones and zeros. 

Don't worry, I'll pick another fight with him soon enough...

Stephen Fry said what?

I've been listening to blues music today as it felt right to do so - the music did fill me with a little more sadness than usual, but I'm trying to stay positive in the light of my girlfriends departure. She hasn't technically left as yet, as there is a week of 'thinking time' in progress, but I think it's more of a buffer zone to reduce the tearage on my part...

As regard to writing, I've spent the day (other than diligently working at my desk) reading Stephen Fry's blog, to see if I can pick up on any tips on how to write one - I need followers apparently; he has thousands, tens of thousands even, but then he is Stephen Fry. I'll wager a good percentage of them of technophiles, or applephiles, or some other group that worships a good solid firewire connection. He was momentarily talking, or 'twittering' about Vista on a Sony laptop, before he threw it out of a hotel window into the wasteland of New Zealand or jungles of the Amazon or wherever he is this week.

I've also been looking at screenwriting structure software, Contour, from Mariner software, which was recently released into the wild. I've considered the theory, posed a thoughtful question regarding the restrictive nature of the software on the Mariner forum, and have just read the reply from the man who came up with the concept, Jeff Schechter. It was a long response, which basically said I was fool to right an original, imaginative and challenging script, until I was successful enough to stamp my foot like a child when someone doesn't bring me a frothy latte. He's almost certainly right, but I'm planning a riposte, as he was so flattering about my good question.

And to misquote Stephen Fry...iphone's are beautiful chunks of splendidness.

One small step...

It's just turned midnight and this will be my first ever blog posting. Strange that, for someone who has all the mac toys and is often considered an IT geek - by normal people that is. Real IT geeks would smirk at my level of DNS network ignorance, whatever that means? But, I'm slightly off topic. I've just enrolled in the UCLA Extension Screenwriting certificate course...and just broken up with my girlfriend (well, she broke up with me and I mostly fell apart). So, I guess now I'll have the time to actually do it, with no excuses. The previous line still hurts, so you'll have to bare with me. Who reads these things anyway? Well, the idea was to document the start of a new challenge, get used to writing again, even if it's just ramblings on a blog - I'll let you know how I get on.