Winner Of The LOST Contest

Well, over brekkie this morning, The Hub and Boy read and argued over the handful of entries we had for the LOST contest and picked Nick H's as *the* way to get off the island:

"Construct jet engine from Dharma brand diet cola and mentos. Attach to island, turn island into cruise ship and party all the way home."

Nice one Nick - we'll look forward to hearing your write up on the session next week!

Commiserations to those who didn't win - thanks for entering though! I dare say there will be other opportunities in the near future to win stuff on here, so keep your eyes peeled. Thanks also to all those on Twitter who RT'd my tweets, making sure the contest got out to all n' sundry... Judging by the amount of DMs and Facebook msgs I got, Fri July 3rd was a bad date for many as well as myself! Let's hope future workshops will be at the weekend. Speaking of which, anyone going to Adrian Mead's class on Saturday (Jul 4), I'll see you there! : )

25 Words Or Less... LOST contest!

Hey, guess what... I have a place at the amazing SWF LOST workshop this Friday, Jul 3rd at BAFTA!! But bad news for me (I can't go!!) is GOOD news for you -- because this contest is for anyone who wants to take the ticket off my hands!!!!

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO BE IN WITH A CHANCE OF WINNING:

1. Compose a way of getting off the Lost island in 25 words or less. It can be as serious or as silly as you like.

2. Leave your idea/s in the comments section of THIS POST ON THIS BLOG. Not on your own blog. Not on Twitter. Not on Facebook or any other site. Don't email me. Leave it HERE. I'm afraid I'm too busy to go trawling all the sites, it has to be here or bust. (If you don't have a google account to leave a comment, get one, it's not difficult and doesn't take long -- honest! If I can do it, anyone can).

3. DON'T FORGET: Leave your email address with your comment so I can tell you if you've won (If you're worried about spammers, do it like this: Bang2write"at"aol"dot"com).

4. DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: Tmw (July 1st, midnight)

The winner will be contacted on Thursday, Jul 2nd by 10am and will be announced on the blog after this.

THE SMALL PRINT:

4. The winner MUST be able to go on Friday, Jul 3rd - if you're at work, obviously don't enter please.

5. Travel to and from the workshop is up to the winner.

6. Enter as many times as you like.

7. The winner agrees to take notes and send them to me so I can post them on the blog for everyone to read.

8. I'm afraid I can't email everyone if there's loads of entries. I know, I'm a cow. Sorry.

9. The contest is open to everyone who can go, including my mates, because I won't be judging the entries myself - the Hub and my Boy will be since they don't know you lot.

10. This is a UK-based contest, which means it's open to people who can be in the UK on Jul Fri 3rd. That doesn't mean I'm excluding anyone on purpose, it just probably doesn't make much sense to fly/boat in specially for a workshop in London. But if you're willing to do that, hey: knock yourself out. It's your time and cash! : )

Good luck!

SWF Scriptmarket: An Insider's View

I was a reader for the Screenwriters' Festival's Scriptmarket initiative this year. It was open to all those who purchased a four day ticket and thirty places were up for grabs. I was very happy to read for the SWF and for Kenny (who delivered everything he said he would, & on time - thanks!) and the scripts I read had some interesting ideas and even some excellent elements, including arena, character and dialogue above others.

For the thirty lucky participants, they received a free 5 page script report from a reader like myself (I didn't read all thirty!), plus they got to attend a Scriptmarket workshop on June 11th before the BAFTA launch; they will also be going to other meetings actually at the SWF in October. Not bad for an entry fee of £0!!

Here's what one of the participant scribes (who wishes to stay anonymous) had to say about the process:

"The script I sent in was written in 5 days .... Yep, read that again - 5 days!!! So I didn't think it would get anywhere in the comp, but hey-ho, it got chosen on its logline and synopsis ... Oh shit! Therefore, my meeting about it followed the Orange Ad, ie "You've written this, when it should be this/ Err no, that wasn't what the story was about, that wasn't what moved me to tell it ....." You know how the scene goes .... I found myself having *that* conversation: "You have to write for a long running series to get a job as a screenwriter in this country and the likelihood of this single drama getting taken up is pretty small..." They mentioned BBC Scotland for it, which was who I wrote it for in the first place, lol. My score for the script was dreadful (each script was scored out of 50 - L), but hell, what do you expect for 5 days' work? Once they knew about the 5 day thing the meeting was v. quickly concluded. I felt I was wasting their time and of course, I was.

So, my biggest piece of advice for the Scriptmarket is you must send in a script you have developed over a long period of time and got to a place where it will achieve a minimum of the 40+ score out of 50 in the reader's report because the meetings you get at Scriptmarket are based solely on that report - they do not read the script. So the commandment for the Scriptmarket goeth like this - 'if your reader's report is shite, so will thy meeting be.'

However, in saying this those that got the big scores got pretty tough meetings too in the sense of reality checks - a reflection of how our industry is. The 3 scripts that are most developed with me at the mo I couldn't send in: 2 didn't fit the criteria and 1 is with a Producer who is considering optioning it and asked me not to send it in .... So it was the 5 day script or nowt.

However, one area where Scriptmarket succeeded for me was in the talks from the industry bods in the afternoon. Great stuff. Some of it was so brutally honest it was beautiful. Paul Ashton - BBC - told us that they get 2 kinds of scripts into the beeb - those from the writers they know and work with (have been produced), and those from aspiring / new writers (the unproduced masses) and they read them in 2 totally different ways. The first group gets a read in the sense of 'will this work', the 2nd group gets a minute, detailed craft read - can they even write? Bish up on anything in the 2nd group and the script is immediately filed under b for 'bin'.

Ashton then went on to tell us about the first draft of Shameless from Paul Abbot - it was the worst script he had EVER read. All over the place, crap dialogue, no characterisation ..... BUT it was from Paul Abbot so they stuck with it, began to develop it. One of its saving graces was that Paul had done such a great job in pitching it to them (well before they got the script) that they hung onto that forever and ever ..... Paul's pitch for Shameless was 'The Waltons on acid' .... Eventually they gave it up cos it wasn't getting anywhere (after years of developing the script!) and C4 picked it up - changed it around - and bingo Shameless was born. Would we get anywhere near this process, even if our script is a corker ....??

One other MAJOR success of the Scriptmarket was the scoring system for the scripts. Bloody marvellous. You could see at a single stroke where the script was weak, what you needed to work on. As a writer I would LOVE all my feedback to be itemised this way, makes it so bloody easy!!"

Thanks for the honest account O Mysterious one! Bad luck on the meeting, but then I know only too well the sometime horrors of script meetings as I've mentioned before on this blog... Very enlightening stuff on the afternoon seshs, particularly interested to hear about Paul Ashton's thoughts on that original Shameless script. If you were there too, let us know what you thought.
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UPDATE: Thanks to another Scriptmarketer, who just emailed me this:

"I concur with 'mysterious'. Fortunately my script got a great report and I have high hopes of the meetings they're hoping to organise for me in Cheltenham.

Other points: on pitching, it was pointed out that in the UK this bears no resemblance to the Hollywood OTT pitch performances as parodied in 'The Player'. We were told it's much more like having a conversation - you get two sentences... "my script is about this character in this situation", hopefully enticing the listener to ask a question, you feed them a bit more with another hook, get another question and so on. "You have to get very good at TALKING about your story - too many writers are too close to it and can't verbalise the key elements clearly." So - pitch it to anyone who'll stand still. Bus queues if necessary. (No, no one is going to steal your idea.)

The other exercise I found very revealing was we had to pair up and pitch our film to our partner in two minutes, then swap, and then pitch THEIR script to the group. It soon became very apparent that no one can retain nitty gritty detail, you have to have very clear, broad strokes.

Also, the speaker from the distributors was very clear that you have to know your market or the film will never get made in the first place. Who is the audience? (NB cinema still mainly 15-25 year olds) How are they going to sell it? Does it have international appeal? Will it attract stars? Genre is King - where would it sit on the Blockbuster shelf?

Re sending in work which isn't really up to scratch - be really careful about this. I met someone recently who's judged lots of competitions and he said if you send in substandard work people will remember your name and it's a small world out there."

Fantastic stuff -- especially the "no one is going to steal your idea": I am so bored of that conversation - "I can't tell you", blah blah blah. Fair enough if you're NDA'd because it's in development and/or you've signed contracts or even if you're superstitious and believe it's "tempting fate" putting it on blogs etc (guilty of that myself), etc but if you REALLY THINK you have to keep it to yourself *just in case* of theft?? It's just amateur IMHO, since it basically sends the signal you're suspicious of others' motives. What's more, I have never heard a credible case of this happening, even after all these years of script reading. Really good advice too about telling your story in "broad strokes" so others retain it. Excellent.

Anyone else?

UPDATE: Here we go...

"I was also lucky enough to have a very good reader's report, so when it came to my meeting there was zero chat about improving the script - it was all about getting it sold. Give it another quick pass and get it out there, was the message from my two interviewers. They both had very useful contacts that they were more than willing to offer up, we've stayed in touch and it looks like doors will be opened as a result of my participation.

A couple of observations: I was stunned at how few people put in for this. Just 45! Where was everyone? I know entry was restricted to four-day ticket holders - but there were 30 places up for grabs. That's thirty writers 'winning' industry meetings tailor-made to progressing their work. Meanwhile, script calls from Red Planet and the BBC attract hundreds of entrants.

I also agree with the previous comments about submitting work that's been through the wringer a few times. My script had been worked on for a good eighteen months, and I think the clue is in the title of this initiative: it's about getting work market-ready. Be honest with yourself - if your script needs another twelve months graft you could well be wasting your time."

Hopeless New Screenwriters

The Scribefather aka Adrian Mead has asked me to post this on the blog about his latest class on July 4th... I'll be there! Will you? Let us know in the comments, via Twitter or email me.
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Okay, here's a confession. I'm busy putting the final touches to the class I'm teaching next week and incredibly excited about sharing all this new material for the first time. However, I'm certain that for some of you this will be a day of uncomfortable truths... as I intend to crush any hope you have of a career in the film and TV industry.

Why? Because I've set myself the challenge of taking a room full of aspiring screenwriters and filmmakers and presenting them with a blueprint for achieving success, in one of the world's most competitive industries and in the midst of a recession.

At the end of the class I can guarantee at least one or more of you will come up to me and say, "Thank you Adrian, I'm certain now that I don't want to be a screenwriter or filmmaker". (I know you're thinking, "this is one weird sales pitch", but stick with me.)

I'll be really pleased to hear this. It means I've shared exactly what it takes to make it as a professional screenwriter or filmmaker. You have decided you are either not ready or willing to do the work involved. I have saved you from ending up miserable and frustrated - not due to a lack of talent, but because your career strategy would have fallen far short of what is required.

Often that moment of realisation comes when I start talking about what I consider to be the most obscene four letter word in the English language.

That word is HOPE.

It’s a word that sits deep in the psyche of many people and poisons their potential.

Ask yourself, just how much of your future is actually based on hope?

You hope someone will introduce you to a fairy godmother that will take you under their wing, magically open doors to your new career.

You hope NEXT YEAR things will somehow be different.

You hope that sending out yet another script or manuscript around the same small circle of contacts will do it.

If the truth is that hope plays a major part in your plans, then next week I'm going to crush hope, make it a dirty and destructive secret that you are no longer willing to have in your life, and replace it with the tools you need to build the career you want.

Here's what some of De Montfort's MA students had to say about just a few of the new career building strategies we are going to explore.

Adrian's class was the last of our MA in Television Scriptwriting at Demontfort (May 2009) and it couldn’t have been more perfect.
Clair Chapwell

The session was fantastically motivational, and the techniques make a whole lot of sense - it's been easily the most useful day of the course so far.
Michael Davies

Adrian is a true inspiration. The morning after his course I got up at 6am and contacted 4 production companies. Two of which had replied by 9.30 requesting sample scripts.
Ruth Symes

... Having attended one of Adrian’s talks, I realised that no matter how on top of things you feel you are, there is always room for improvement and it’s not always necessarily about working harder... just smarter.
Sinead Fagan

These are exciting times for those of you who are ready and motivated. If you want to throw out hope and take control of your future join me for a whole day dedicated to creating the simple and highly effective career strategy you need in order to succeed right now. Learn how to access opportunities that most people don't even know exist and hear straight talk from industry professionals about what your next step should be. There are only a few places left so book now. Details below.

Best wishes,
Adrian Mead

THE SCREENWRITER'S CAREER GUIDE

When and Where?
Saturday 4th July from 10am - 5pm in Central London

For more info and bookings please visit Initialize Films
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Don't forget Adrian encourages networking at his classes - what are you waiting for? DO IT NOW and see you there!

How To Write Great Characters

The ledge that is The Unknown Screenwriter posted this fabulous link about great character profiles to Twitter recently (follow him here) and many, many thanks to the brilliant Filmmaker IQ for providing us with the post).

Great characterisation is a tough one. When I read specs, I often find one of two things happen: a spec might have a great character, but they're kind of aimless or maybe they have an incomprehensible plot to follow. If that doesn't happen, then a script might have a fab plot or tight structure, yet I don't give a toss about the characters and what happens to them. Getting the balance between the two *just so* is a toughie for everyone it seems.

I'm writing a script at the moment that is one of those a-load-of-people-in-one-room-and-everybody-dies horrors. It's pretty much a subgenre in itself within horror, much like the everyone-goes-down-to-the-woods-and-gets-slaughtered one (hey, I come up with catchy names, alright?!). Anyway: as a horror fan, I haven't found the structure of it *that* hard: I know what I want to do with the film, I know what the director wants - it's a question of delievering enough thrills and spills in the right places. Having watched literally hundreds of hours of horror in this vein, I think I have a fairly good idea of how to do that - and certainly feedback for the most part has been positive about the structure, anyway.

What I'm struggling with then is the characterisation of this script. There's a certain element of judgement and supposition attached to the characters in the situation regarding the entire premise of the film, so it's rather hard not to make them a bunch of losers and haters. In fact, at the moment, I pretty much hate all of them (though I have a certain grudging respect for at least one, since she says and does whatever she likes, whenever she likes. How much do I wish I could do that?!?). Also, it's hard to pour all your efforts into characters who you know are there to die. You end up thinking more about how to despatch them than how to create them and make them whole (or at least I do).

So, how do you write a great character, especially one whom may be deemed *unlikable*? I threw this question open to my Twitter legion, here's a rough round up of what was tweeted, DM'd and emailed back to me:

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You don't have to sympathise with the unlikable, just identify with their situation.

Find the good things they can find out about themselves, or make them conflicted/vulnerable.

No one thinks they are bad.

Great characters are those characters who stir an emotional reaction in the viewer - and that *can* be hate. Just make sure it's not your characters' default setting and/or can be applied to ALL of them.

In the antagonist's view, they are not the antagonist - the protagonist is; else they end up the comic book villain.

There is no such thing as the "unlikable" person: just the person we don't understand. Ask yourself why you don't understand him/her: is it because they have different experiences, values, understanding of the world?

It's all in the details - broad strokes provide stereotypes and 2D characterisation, not great characters.

Understand your character, why they do what they do - even if you hate them.

See it from their perspective, walk in their shoes - have them believe what they're doing is the right thing, even if it's the wrong thing... And make the audience see that.

Have them believe one thing, but contradict themselves with their actions.

Great characters are complex and full of contradictions.

The great character is the universal character: the man/woman on screen who makes the man/woman in the audience say, "I know him/her: s/he is ME."

They might have a hard shell... But a gooey centre.

Great characters like Ripley and John Book stay with us because they feel real - they have real emotions, real responses and make a real change in how they understand the world they find themselves in. They make us believe in them and why they are doing what they're doing - even if they do terrible things.

"Ask" characters questions; through what you learn about them, you understand their history, how it informs their thinking in day to day life.

However unlikable they are, they need one tiny virtue - or a terrible pain for us to excuse them/or feel they are redeemed.
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Brilliant stuff, thanks guys.

So... What do you think? Agree/disagree with any of those? Do you have any to add? Over to you...

Virgin Media Shorts: Ask Last Year's Winners A Question!!

Matt from Virgin Media Shorts has been in touch with the blog and asks if any Bang2writers out there have questions for the winners of last year's contest, Phil Sansom and Olly Williams, who won with their short The Black Hole.

So: if you’re interested in what winning a competition like Virgin Media Shorts can do, then Matt would be delighted to pass on any questions you might have about how they spent their money (all £30k of it!) , what help and opportunities the UK Film Council have provided them, or maybe even what approach they take to scripting? Below is a note written by Phil and Olly giving an overview of what their year has entailed... Thanks guys!
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Since winning last year's Virgin Media Shorts Competition, we have been busy working on our next film. Supported by the UK Film Council and Virgin Media we have been developing numerous ideas and discussing the best type of film to try and achieve second time round. The Black Hole was pretty much a silent movie so this time we really wanted to tackle some dialogue.

Initially we spent some time just thinking about what kind of films we actually enjoy and the kind of movies we would eventually want to make as features. Its harder than you think to try and decipher all the influences, themes and interests that inform the work you do, but eventually we knew it would have to involve something surreal and dark that allows deeper character / relationship exploration with a slightly twisted sense of humour in it.

After preliminarily drafting seven different ideas as short, single paragraph synopses, we slimmed the list down to three that everyone liked and from there spent a few more weeks in a coffee shop hammering out the finer points, eventually settling on one. It’s hard to develop several ideas at once, as you become deeply involved in every detail of the plot and characters in order to keep the action believable and the story watertight.

We found we naturally began to gravitate towards one film in particular and have let that become the focus of our attention over the last couple of weeks. We have written the first draft of our script and will be picking through it with the Film Council and Virgin over the next week or so. Getting other people's point of view is an important part of the process, especially as we have never written dialogue before.

Although £30k is a lot of money, we still need to have a tight rein on the purse strings as crew, cast and location costs can mount up pretty quickly and we need to be clever about maximising the production value... One location, only a couple of characters, that kind of thing – we find that setting limits on what you are working with often forces you to focus more on the quality of what’s on screen as opposed to how much.

We never really imagined The Black Hole would do so well, or notch up quite so many hits on youtube - it was our first ever film attempt and it was all done so quickly. It’s great this time to know we have time and money sorted, so the focus is really on the writing. It’s a great opportunity so thank you to all of you who voted for us, we hope you’ll enjoy our next offering.
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Watch The Black Hole here

Thanks Matt - if you have a question for Phil and Olly, please leave it in the comments section, tweet me on @Bang2write or email it to me on Bang2write"at"aol.com.

C-C-Check 'Em Out

It's filmmaking-tastic in the Blogosphere right now, probably accounting for the slowdown in posts here and elsewhere... But c'mon: let's not just talk about it, LET'S DO IT.

First off, check out the lovely Lara's entry for the Virgin Media Shorts contest, Hostile. It's all about those people who walk the line between creative genius and madness - so, writers then! : ) You can watch it here.

Secondly, the marvellous (and prolific) Phill Barron's new film, Just For The Record, has a trailer out. All about how NOT to produce a feature film for £50K, Just For The Record is a mockumentary which boasts an amazing cast including my personal fave Sean Pertwee (though he appears not to get eaten/BBQ'd alive in this one! Phill - FAIL! ; ) Watch the trailer (below) and/or join the Facebook group here.

Whilst we're on the subject, thanks so much to everyone and their generosity regarding the Slash Fund and our call for donations. A super-quick update: we're hoping to film in August (it's a nightmare getting mine and Schu's schedules to match!) and crew/cast calls will go out very soon. As far as SAFE goes, that's going through the Withoutabox system this very day and has already been submitted to SW Screen's open call for content for the Glastonbury Festival's big screens, though we're yet to hear. In addition, we've been brainstorming feature ideas and I've starting writing a treatment - watch this space! Don't forget you can join Safe Films, my Facebook group too.