A lot of my film needs good music, and even if it's for the student viewing and not the film festival, I'm glad to have it.
I've been writing to Electric Six about using their song, "DANGER! High Voltage" for my film. I needed rights from both XL Recording and ATV/Sony London to use it for the student viewing. After much wait, ATV/Sony London finally responded with good news.
Now that this song is nailed to best introduce the worry dolls, I'm hoping to get another song to help close the film with the worry dolls.
My producer said she knows a friend who knows the Scissor Sisters. They are like an updated version of the Bee Gees and I think, are kooky enough for the Worry Dolls to sing their hit song, "Take Your Momma Out" when busking.
Here are both songs to get an idea of the music I'm going for in this film:
The sick and twisted music video of Danger! High Voltage:
And the funky Take Your Momma Out by the Scissor Sisters
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Monday, 22 November 2010
Auditions
Just finished auditions for Donnacha and Audrey. The actors for Cary couldn't make it for today but I'm hoping to interview one of them tomorrow.
The experience was wonderful. It was great to work with actors and bounce off ideas. Especially if the actor wasn't suited for the film, I can name three other things I'd use some of them for.
The idea was to talk to the actors for a bit, then have a monologue that they brought, then a scene from the movie, the a script excerpt from an episode of the US version of the Office.
I felt this covered every side of the actor nicely. They could come in give a personal touch by talking about themselves, then give what they think is their best acting skill in any genre, then see how they would do as a character from my film, then some fun at the end to see how well they improvise and their comedy timing.
Usually, the exciting warm up of wrestling (the scene from the Office) would be done near the beginning for everyone. I felt for the Audrey character it was important to see if should be do it to catch her playful side, but that it should come after the intense scenes with Will where their relationship is ending.
As for the actual auditions, I'm pretty confident we couldn't find a better Donnacha out of the process. He nailed it, and I wasn't even 100 percent what "it" was. He didn't even need a monologue because the feeling of who he was came off very friendly and calming. Also, one of the major things I was looking for, he understood the humor and the creative vision. The people that came in with ideas of films like Eternal Sunshine and Lars and the Real Girl definitely knew the pacing of the character. Hopefully he is 100% because he will definitely add what this film needs.
As for Audreys, overall all the auditions were very tough. There were a lot of good choices so I think we'll have to make some tough calls this week. The monologues were very important for this section, as one of the actresses captivated me by her bit. Also it was a nice balance of seriousness to then see them attempt the wrestling scene. That was Caitlin's idea as I had just wanted to have their monologue but it was very beneficial.
All in all a great experience and it definitely gets me excited for the film now. Seeing certain people just NAIL the role.
The experience was wonderful. It was great to work with actors and bounce off ideas. Especially if the actor wasn't suited for the film, I can name three other things I'd use some of them for.
The idea was to talk to the actors for a bit, then have a monologue that they brought, then a scene from the movie, the a script excerpt from an episode of the US version of the Office.
I felt this covered every side of the actor nicely. They could come in give a personal touch by talking about themselves, then give what they think is their best acting skill in any genre, then see how they would do as a character from my film, then some fun at the end to see how well they improvise and their comedy timing.
Usually, the exciting warm up of wrestling (the scene from the Office) would be done near the beginning for everyone. I felt for the Audrey character it was important to see if should be do it to catch her playful side, but that it should come after the intense scenes with Will where their relationship is ending.
As for the actual auditions, I'm pretty confident we couldn't find a better Donnacha out of the process. He nailed it, and I wasn't even 100 percent what "it" was. He didn't even need a monologue because the feeling of who he was came off very friendly and calming. Also, one of the major things I was looking for, he understood the humor and the creative vision. The people that came in with ideas of films like Eternal Sunshine and Lars and the Real Girl definitely knew the pacing of the character. Hopefully he is 100% because he will definitely add what this film needs.
As for Audreys, overall all the auditions were very tough. There were a lot of good choices so I think we'll have to make some tough calls this week. The monologues were very important for this section, as one of the actresses captivated me by her bit. Also it was a nice balance of seriousness to then see them attempt the wrestling scene. That was Caitlin's idea as I had just wanted to have their monologue but it was very beneficial.
All in all a great experience and it definitely gets me excited for the film now. Seeing certain people just NAIL the role.
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Bake Sale 3 and Other Things
Third Bake Sale = EPIC FAIL.
We made about 20 pounds. I'm not sure if the novelty is wearing off or it was just the day of people. I'm wanting to come up with other ideas and I am going to push myself to put one of those "buy a producer credit for 10 pounds" things for my friends. I've been learning a lot about marketing from my flatmate's girlfriend. I told her I'm trying to find sponsorship money for a conservation trip to Australia I want to do and she gave me a bunch of ideas for that. She made it sound somewhat easy, so my goal is to take some of the tactics for money raising (like hosting events) and pushing it to my film budget. Also, I'm working all the time so I can cover a lot more costs.
Went to a bunch of charity shops to get an idea of clothing. Already I found multiple options so I'm less worried about the clothing. I'll wait until the actors are cast to buy any. I also did another draft of the script today. Audrey is more likeable as a gynecologist that doesn't see what's funny about her occupation. I thought I'd still make her lame, but in a funny way. She's so lame, it's endearing. She makes lame jokes and comes off a little less rigid then she's been before. Also I've added a ton of jokes back in. Mostly how Will gets a promotion from a simple idea and how the Worry Dolls are asked to leave after they stick a raisin up Will's nose.
So ya, that's an update for you. Plus tones of weird films like Big Fish and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.
We made about 20 pounds. I'm not sure if the novelty is wearing off or it was just the day of people. I'm wanting to come up with other ideas and I am going to push myself to put one of those "buy a producer credit for 10 pounds" things for my friends. I've been learning a lot about marketing from my flatmate's girlfriend. I told her I'm trying to find sponsorship money for a conservation trip to Australia I want to do and she gave me a bunch of ideas for that. She made it sound somewhat easy, so my goal is to take some of the tactics for money raising (like hosting events) and pushing it to my film budget. Also, I'm working all the time so I can cover a lot more costs.
Went to a bunch of charity shops to get an idea of clothing. Already I found multiple options so I'm less worried about the clothing. I'll wait until the actors are cast to buy any. I also did another draft of the script today. Audrey is more likeable as a gynecologist that doesn't see what's funny about her occupation. I thought I'd still make her lame, but in a funny way. She's so lame, it's endearing. She makes lame jokes and comes off a little less rigid then she's been before. Also I've added a ton of jokes back in. Mostly how Will gets a promotion from a simple idea and how the Worry Dolls are asked to leave after they stick a raisin up Will's nose.
So ya, that's an update for you. Plus tones of weird films like Big Fish and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Bake Sale 2
Another bake sale, slowly money towards my film. This time we made about 10 pounds less and twice the trouble. I have to think of other ways to make money pronto. As well as getting on kickstarter.com I'm going to try and talk to Chris from Calling the Shots about selling some of my HD content to him. Shorts International is always looking for HD content and if I did a short in HD I could sell it for 500-1,000 pounds and make extra money. It would also get my short onto Itunes. That's the newest I have in the mean time.
I've also fallen in love with the song, "Danger! High Voltage" from Electric Six. I think it would fit the mood of introducing the worry dolls tremendously well. I've written to the band and to the manager. The manager got right back to me and said to fill in forms from the publisher and recording company for rights. I filled in the one for the recording company, they give free access to film students but I have to pay 400 pounds if I want it to go into festivals.... I'm looking to find a way around this. Also just wrote to the publisher and waiting for a response. In good time, I think I'll be good to use the song. If I sell this film to Shorts International later, then I may be able to have the 400 pounds wavered.
I've also fallen in love with the song, "Danger! High Voltage" from Electric Six. I think it would fit the mood of introducing the worry dolls tremendously well. I've written to the band and to the manager. The manager got right back to me and said to fill in forms from the publisher and recording company for rights. I filled in the one for the recording company, they give free access to film students but I have to pay 400 pounds if I want it to go into festivals.... I'm looking to find a way around this. Also just wrote to the publisher and waiting for a response. In good time, I think I'll be good to use the song. If I sell this film to Shorts International later, then I may be able to have the 400 pounds wavered.
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
Phew, another draft done.
Another draft and a loss of hair.
This has been by far the most stressful/ complicated script I've ever written. Much like the press release I wrote at Shorts International, I'm realizing more and more how to make every word count. Also how to say what I'm thinking visually. There's a whole new mindset from how I usually work when writing and I think that's why I had a mini aneurism. I feel like I've learned a lot already though. I had to re-watch films that were like my film and the two I chose both helped in different ways.
Watching Kickass was useful, because when I dove into the context, it was very similar to my script. Kickass is mostly about a boy who's passionate about being a superhero and how he reacts when it turns out superheroes are real. Then from there it's a breakdown of his character. It's very inspiring in the way I think, "Gee, I wish I made that film."
The second film was Drop Dead Fred. I don't really like this movie. I think it's all too over the top and then I realized that everything I didn't want my film to be compared to was this film. I want to show the difference of the worry dolls to imaginary friends. I don't want the worry dolls to be magical when they come in the world, it's an adjustment for them as well as Will. Also the humor is too over the top and so is Rik Mayall. I want the worry dolls to be quite human, they are almost a magical hired help. There should also be a slight ambiguity to whether people can see the worry dolls and how human are they. Drop Dead Fred makes it very clear what he is.
So the mixture of those two films with a WHOLE new way of thinking made this script easier, and I'm sure I can be more useful with a feature script if I keep thinking like this. It makes the characters more intriguing and you can see what they would do if they were real. This is unlike a lot of other stuff I've written where the characters aren't developed enough to make strong decisions.
This has been by far the most stressful/ complicated script I've ever written. Much like the press release I wrote at Shorts International, I'm realizing more and more how to make every word count. Also how to say what I'm thinking visually. There's a whole new mindset from how I usually work when writing and I think that's why I had a mini aneurism. I feel like I've learned a lot already though. I had to re-watch films that were like my film and the two I chose both helped in different ways.
Watching Kickass was useful, because when I dove into the context, it was very similar to my script. Kickass is mostly about a boy who's passionate about being a superhero and how he reacts when it turns out superheroes are real. Then from there it's a breakdown of his character. It's very inspiring in the way I think, "Gee, I wish I made that film."
The second film was Drop Dead Fred. I don't really like this movie. I think it's all too over the top and then I realized that everything I didn't want my film to be compared to was this film. I want to show the difference of the worry dolls to imaginary friends. I don't want the worry dolls to be magical when they come in the world, it's an adjustment for them as well as Will. Also the humor is too over the top and so is Rik Mayall. I want the worry dolls to be quite human, they are almost a magical hired help. There should also be a slight ambiguity to whether people can see the worry dolls and how human are they. Drop Dead Fred makes it very clear what he is.
So the mixture of those two films with a WHOLE new way of thinking made this script easier, and I'm sure I can be more useful with a feature script if I keep thinking like this. It makes the characters more intriguing and you can see what they would do if they were real. This is unlike a lot of other stuff I've written where the characters aren't developed enough to make strong decisions.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Getting Things Off the Ground
Today is ground control day. The day when I start putting everything together and seeing where the end of this semester is. I've been typing up all my notes as I want everything to come off professional. I have an idea to wrap my whole presentation up like a present (PRESENTation) and then show that I have put the effort into the binder by printing everything, and then maybe drawing on pages and having cartoons and sweets around the whole thing to have a playful, child-like feel to the whole thing. We'll see if I have time for that at the end of the research section.
As I compile work there's an obvious gap of budget and business stuff. This is because of working with Caitlin and having a producer which is a new and wonderful experience. I really appreciate having someone devoted to my script and film to try and find funding and do work I don't have to worry about. She's been helping with the script, just having feedback and stuff like that. She's definitely above and beyond to help.
As for the script, I talked to Jeremy Routeledge from Calling the Shots and he loves the idea of the film and wants me to keep most of it, just tweak things so there's less narration and more character development for Will. I agree with this and will hear back from Izzie (the woman writing feature length scripts) before I make changes.
As I compile work there's an obvious gap of budget and business stuff. This is because of working with Caitlin and having a producer which is a new and wonderful experience. I really appreciate having someone devoted to my script and film to try and find funding and do work I don't have to worry about. She's been helping with the script, just having feedback and stuff like that. She's definitely above and beyond to help.
As for the script, I talked to Jeremy Routeledge from Calling the Shots and he loves the idea of the film and wants me to keep most of it, just tweak things so there's less narration and more character development for Will. I agree with this and will hear back from Izzie (the woman writing feature length scripts) before I make changes.
Friday, 15 October 2010
First Meeting with Abigail
Dun Dun Dun.....
Back to university after my two weeks internship and now it was time to catch up on what I was missing. It was an hour and a half conversation which got very personal and resulted in Abigail not seeing my vision for the script. She mostly said there was too much dialogue and that Will didn't grow enough. Then the heart dropping news that I "should rewrite the whole thing".
This was the first time I had to take a step back and see what's best for me. I've spent all summer on it, which could be why I think it's at least on the right track to something good and maybe I'm too close to it now. But in this summer, I've also had multiple people from Bristol-based companies mention only little problems in the script. It seems other people see my vision, or at least the way it's headed so I'm concerned that I need to get more advice from other people then my tutor to see if maybe Abigail just needs more explanation. I'm sending it to a woman who life work is in scriptwriting and writes work that gets big audiences. Izaskun Arandia-Richards is someone I met at a paella party while on my internship in London. I met her through Chris, who got me the internship in the first place and we really hit it off. I've sent the script to her and will wait to hear back before giving up on my script.
If anyone knows what to do with my work, I trust her the most as she's like-minded and could understand it more. I hope it is usable and that Abigail and I can work together even though we have different opinions on the script. It's a scary/odd feeling sticking up for my work so much. I usually thrive off criticism but to throw out the whole thing I strongly disagree with and I feel scared that it could be my mind just being too attached to it, and also passionate that this film can be something much more then Abigail realizes.
Back to university after my two weeks internship and now it was time to catch up on what I was missing. It was an hour and a half conversation which got very personal and resulted in Abigail not seeing my vision for the script. She mostly said there was too much dialogue and that Will didn't grow enough. Then the heart dropping news that I "should rewrite the whole thing".
This was the first time I had to take a step back and see what's best for me. I've spent all summer on it, which could be why I think it's at least on the right track to something good and maybe I'm too close to it now. But in this summer, I've also had multiple people from Bristol-based companies mention only little problems in the script. It seems other people see my vision, or at least the way it's headed so I'm concerned that I need to get more advice from other people then my tutor to see if maybe Abigail just needs more explanation. I'm sending it to a woman who life work is in scriptwriting and writes work that gets big audiences. Izaskun Arandia-Richards is someone I met at a paella party while on my internship in London. I met her through Chris, who got me the internship in the first place and we really hit it off. I've sent the script to her and will wait to hear back before giving up on my script.
If anyone knows what to do with my work, I trust her the most as she's like-minded and could understand it more. I hope it is usable and that Abigail and I can work together even though we have different opinions on the script. It's a scary/odd feeling sticking up for my work so much. I usually thrive off criticism but to throw out the whole thing I strongly disagree with and I feel scared that it could be my mind just being too attached to it, and also passionate that this film can be something much more then Abigail realizes.
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