Monday, November 23, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
looking for the heart of saturday night
ARRRRGGGHHH!
Suffering from writer's block when you need to write promotional copy just sucks.
I'm trying to come up with that perfectly crafted single paragraph that encapsulates the film, and it is just eluding me. Totally. I come up with great descriptive words, hackneyed phrases, and incomplete sentences. This is like trying to take that perfectly-framed photograph when you just can't seem to get it in focus.
I've read and re-read the script, in English and Hindi, dozens of times now. I can practically recite it, if pressed. But I can't find the flowery, evocative prose that I need. For inspiration I look to Henry Miller, one of my favorite authors, who summed up writing as "laying bricks". You can't build a wall if you stand there thinking about it too long; you just need to start laying brick after brick. Lay bricks long enough and you might end up with that novel or screenplay or ad copy you were intending to build--or you might not, but at least you're working.
So I'm stuck, and that's all there is to it. I think I need to recharge myself with some serious reading before I try to commit something to paper again. Check out some of these inspirational links I've trolled if you're in the same boat:
Writers on Writing http://bit.ly/4t37cs
Internet Resources - Writers Resources - Writing Links & Writers Links for Writers - Word Stuff http://bit.ly/7gwHy9
The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. - By Paul Collins - Slate Magazine http://bit.ly/5JuctO
----------------
Now playing: Holly Cole - (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night
via FoxyTunes
Suffering from writer's block when you need to write promotional copy just sucks.
I'm trying to come up with that perfectly crafted single paragraph that encapsulates the film, and it is just eluding me. Totally. I come up with great descriptive words, hackneyed phrases, and incomplete sentences. This is like trying to take that perfectly-framed photograph when you just can't seem to get it in focus.
I've read and re-read the script, in English and Hindi, dozens of times now. I can practically recite it, if pressed. But I can't find the flowery, evocative prose that I need. For inspiration I look to Henry Miller, one of my favorite authors, who summed up writing as "laying bricks". You can't build a wall if you stand there thinking about it too long; you just need to start laying brick after brick. Lay bricks long enough and you might end up with that novel or screenplay or ad copy you were intending to build--or you might not, but at least you're working.
So I'm stuck, and that's all there is to it. I think I need to recharge myself with some serious reading before I try to commit something to paper again. Check out some of these inspirational links I've trolled if you're in the same boat:
Writers on Writing http://bit.ly/4t37cs
Internet Resources - Writers Resources - Writing Links & Writers Links for Writers - Word Stuff http://bit.ly/7gwHy9
The man who invented the Hollywood schlock machine. - By Paul Collins - Slate Magazine http://bit.ly/5JuctO
----------------
Now playing: Holly Cole - (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night
via FoxyTunes
Thursday, November 19, 2009
19 November
Loglines, loglines, loglines. It's all about the byte these days. The sound-byte that is; or the Twitter-byte, the FB byte, mashable, diggable, indexable and cross-referential. And really it all started with movie loglines. Not to be confused with sluglines, or master shot descriptions, e.g.,
INT - SID'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
(Interestingly and incidentally, the term "sluglines" has been co-opted for commuter-topia in Washington, D.C. We support citizens with initiative! It's also originally defined nautically:
log line
The line by which the log is trailed from a ship to determine its speed.)
I'm talking the original Tweet: the movie logline. As in,
A student and three nerdy CIA agents teach everyone a valuable lesson.
and my favorite:
Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets, then teams up with three complete strangers to kill again.
-- Log Line for The Wizard of Oz, attributed to Richard Polito of the Marin Independent Journal, who writes humorously sarcastic briefs for the paper's daily TV listings.
Have fun here and create your own movie loglines.
This practice started during the heyday of Hollywood studios, when they had vaults full of ready-to-go scripts and their own virtual tin-pan alley of screenwriters. The staff of readers would peruse each script and then write a one-liner on the cover and spine that stated what the movie was about. Then producers would sift through the vault looking for a next project, with stacks of scripts piled high like logs--thus the genesis of the term. It was a heartless, cold process, and one which many writers still instinctively recoil from. "How can you sum my epic-- the ultimate good versus evil, swords-and-sorcery journey, a tale of the disparate races in a world much like our own (or New Zealand) joining forces with strange and wonderful creatures, engaging in mammoth battles, gripping love stories, and hearty frolic, punctuated with moments of sheer wonder and telling political commentary, into one line?"
Four midgets set out with eight others to destroy some jewelry, overcoming all odds to save the day for their fairy kingdom. (Lord of the Rings)
Or something like that. Please forgive me, J.R.R. But it can and has to be done. Here's a great post about why screenplay writers need to learn to love the logline.
This also speaks directly to the dichotomy created by the business: the term "high-concept" refers to a concise, readily marketable logline; often this means it's in reality a low-concept feature that will pander to the masses. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, to be perfectly honest--toil away in obscurity, you auteurs of letters too profound for the common man; we'll bring you back some popcorn from the cineplex.
So that's what I've been working on today--the logline, the one-paragraph synopsis, and general promotional copy. Luckily I have the distance of not being the writer on this project, but it's still a difficult and thankless task. Stay tuned for updates to see what I come up with...
----------------
Now playing: Paul Simon - Slip Sliding Away
via FoxyTunes
INT - SID'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
(Interestingly and incidentally, the term "sluglines" has been co-opted for commuter-topia in Washington, D.C. We support citizens with initiative! It's also originally defined nautically:
log line
–noun Navigation.
| the line by which a log or patent log is streamed. |
Origin:
n. Nautical1605–15
The line by which the log is trailed from a ship to determine its speed.)
I'm talking the original Tweet: the movie logline. As in,
Five strippers undergo cosmetic surgery in a small town.
and my favorite:
Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets, then teams up with three complete strangers to kill again.
-- Log Line for The Wizard of Oz, attributed to Richard Polito of the Marin Independent Journal, who writes humorously sarcastic briefs for the paper's daily TV listings.
Have fun here and create your own movie loglines.
This practice started during the heyday of Hollywood studios, when they had vaults full of ready-to-go scripts and their own virtual tin-pan alley of screenwriters. The staff of readers would peruse each script and then write a one-liner on the cover and spine that stated what the movie was about. Then producers would sift through the vault looking for a next project, with stacks of scripts piled high like logs--thus the genesis of the term. It was a heartless, cold process, and one which many writers still instinctively recoil from. "How can you sum my epic-- the ultimate good versus evil, swords-and-sorcery journey, a tale of the disparate races in a world much like our own (or New Zealand) joining forces with strange and wonderful creatures, engaging in mammoth battles, gripping love stories, and hearty frolic, punctuated with moments of sheer wonder and telling political commentary, into one line?"
Four midgets set out with eight others to destroy some jewelry, overcoming all odds to save the day for their fairy kingdom. (Lord of the Rings)
Or something like that. Please forgive me, J.R.R. But it can and has to be done. Here's a great post about why screenplay writers need to learn to love the logline.
This also speaks directly to the dichotomy created by the business: the term "high-concept" refers to a concise, readily marketable logline; often this means it's in reality a low-concept feature that will pander to the masses. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, to be perfectly honest--toil away in obscurity, you auteurs of letters too profound for the common man; we'll bring you back some popcorn from the cineplex.
So that's what I've been working on today--the logline, the one-paragraph synopsis, and general promotional copy. Luckily I have the distance of not being the writer on this project, but it's still a difficult and thankless task. Stay tuned for updates to see what I come up with...
----------------
Now playing: Paul Simon - Slip Sliding Away
via FoxyTunes
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
18 November
Spent the day sorting through the Excel salt mines. Kept banging my head against a wall with cell formatting: when I'd enter an email address in a cell, it then became a link that would automatically open my mail program. Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate an over-eager piece of software that tries to anticipate my needs; however in this instance it became a more-than irksome attempt to appease me, because every time I went *near* the cell my mail program would pop open, waiting with bated breath for me to send an urgent missive to the concerned party.
And I couldn't make it stop.
I cleared formatting. I added spaces. I deleted and re-wrote the sheet. I asked advice on forums and with fellow graphic designers. I mailed home. I sent a letter to Bill Gates direct (I hope it doesn't go in his spam box). All for naught. This program will anticipate my needs before I have them whether I like it or not, and that's just the way it is.
This is why artificial intelligence will undoubtedly take us down the same dark path as that depicted in Blade Runner. Will they dream, indeed.
------------------------------
And I couldn't make it stop.
I cleared formatting. I added spaces. I deleted and re-wrote the sheet. I asked advice on forums and with fellow graphic designers. I mailed home. I sent a letter to Bill Gates direct (I hope it doesn't go in his spam box). All for naught. This program will anticipate my needs before I have them whether I like it or not, and that's just the way it is.
This is why artificial intelligence will undoubtedly take us down the same dark path as that depicted in Blade Runner. Will they dream, indeed.
------------------------------
Sunday, November 15, 2009
a month later...
15 November 2009
Easy how a month will pass on you in Bombay. Remember though, the mantra is: "Hurry Up And Wait".
We interviewed a couple more lead actors, all of whom were very...actorly...and get very cagey about being asked to work for free. Don't get me wrong, I'm the #1 proponent of being paid to work, but this is the situation of a typically underbudgeted short film, working for prestige alone. So our first-choice actor at some point sorted out his schedule, agreed to an early December shoot, and plans were adjusted. And of course, after a couple weeks, something came up and he couldn't do it again. So, back to square one.
Add to that the excitement of hiring the remainder of our principles--director of photography, sound designer, music producer, et cetera, again asking them to work for free or minimum. The caveat here though is that no matter the budget, no matter the film, you have to face this onslaught and navigate it well enough to keep the vision of the film intact. That's the real lesson to be learned with the constant meetings, narrations, negotiations, phone calls, face time, and pestering contacts.
For example: the sound designer. Being very cognizant of the importance of good sound; no, great sound, in a film, especially after seeing the recent Austrian flick Revanche, we want to really excel in this area, and so speak to a friend eminently qualified. Now as a director / assistant combo this is where we learn that you can't really let your jaw drop when you're told that to get the sound design you're looking for--not the music score, just the sound of the film--you need to spend a full quarter of your entire budget. Mind you, this is not a feature with a big studio behind it where you have the luxury of separate departments for above-the-line / below-the-line delineations--what we got is pretty much what we're looking at. Best thing to do at this juncture: serious face, consideration, then Plan B.
There always has to be a Plan B.
Now repeat the same basic scenario as above, with countless re-tellings of the script narration, coffees and cigarettes, wringing hands, and off-color jokes, ad nauseum. This is the movie business, baby. Have a cigar, you're gonna go far.
So, in summation: the schedule has been pushed back a month, we should be starting up in Delhi in a few days' time, shooting second week December, and (gods willing) will have a product by year end.
----------------
Now playing: M.I.A. - Sunshowers (Acapella)
via FoxyTunes
----------------
Now playing: Mitwa
via FoxyTunes
Easy how a month will pass on you in Bombay. Remember though, the mantra is: "Hurry Up And Wait".
We interviewed a couple more lead actors, all of whom were very...actorly...and get very cagey about being asked to work for free. Don't get me wrong, I'm the #1 proponent of being paid to work, but this is the situation of a typically underbudgeted short film, working for prestige alone. So our first-choice actor at some point sorted out his schedule, agreed to an early December shoot, and plans were adjusted. And of course, after a couple weeks, something came up and he couldn't do it again. So, back to square one.
Add to that the excitement of hiring the remainder of our principles--director of photography, sound designer, music producer, et cetera, again asking them to work for free or minimum. The caveat here though is that no matter the budget, no matter the film, you have to face this onslaught and navigate it well enough to keep the vision of the film intact. That's the real lesson to be learned with the constant meetings, narrations, negotiations, phone calls, face time, and pestering contacts.
For example: the sound designer. Being very cognizant of the importance of good sound; no, great sound, in a film, especially after seeing the recent Austrian flick Revanche, we want to really excel in this area, and so speak to a friend eminently qualified. Now as a director / assistant combo this is where we learn that you can't really let your jaw drop when you're told that to get the sound design you're looking for--not the music score, just the sound of the film--you need to spend a full quarter of your entire budget. Mind you, this is not a feature with a big studio behind it where you have the luxury of separate departments for above-the-line / below-the-line delineations--what we got is pretty much what we're looking at. Best thing to do at this juncture: serious face, consideration, then Plan B.
There always has to be a Plan B.
Now repeat the same basic scenario as above, with countless re-tellings of the script narration, coffees and cigarettes, wringing hands, and off-color jokes, ad nauseum. This is the movie business, baby. Have a cigar, you're gonna go far.
So, in summation: the schedule has been pushed back a month, we should be starting up in Delhi in a few days' time, shooting second week December, and (gods willing) will have a product by year end.
----------------
Now playing: M.I.A. - Sunshowers (Acapella)
via FoxyTunes
----------------
Now playing: Mitwa
via FoxyTunes
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