First things first: I’ve hit page 55 of my first draft. Depending on who you talk to, I’m either halfway or almost halfway. I’m hoping to finish before my August 1st deadline. Any thoughts on what I should do to celebrate?
Secondly, while watching David Fincher’s The Game the other night, I was reminded of all [...]
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Filmmaking Manifesto
On My Reading List
This is what my bedside table looks like. I have not read each of these cover to cover, but I’m slowly working my way through them. The Route 66 books on the bottom? Research. (I heart you Tulsa County Library) And I thought about wedging War and Peace in there to make myself look all [...]
Procrastination Enabler of the Week - Bioshock
In my free time I should be working on my script. Or on the other projects I’m editing. Or reading up on screenwriting. Or watching pertinent genre films and studying their structure.
But sometimes I procrastinate. And when I do, I’ll tell you about it. Because, more likey than not, whatever is sucking away at my [...]
Watching Bad Movies on Purpose
Previously I had written that when tackling a screenplay, you should absorb as many of the great films in your chosen genre as possible. But over the weekend I learned that watching bad genre examples is equally important, if not more so.
Frantic, Roman Polanski’s 1988 “dread filled thriller” (to quote the marketing blurb), is about [...]
Screenwriting Technique - Which Way is Best?
There are a lot of different screenwriting ‘rules,’ but the key idea is to write in such a way that you paint a vivid picture of the film in the reader’s mind. That doesn’t mean describing all of the camera angles verbatim (a big no-no, actually), but using enough descriptive language that the director/producer/potential investor [...]
Researching Genre - And I Need Suggestions
In writing a film, it is crucial to have an excellent grasp of the genre you’re working in. How could you hope to write an effective romantic comedy if you’ve never seen Annie Hall or You’ve Got Mail? And how weak would your supernatural horror script be if you’d never seen The Exorcist or The [...]
The 1st Draft - Halfway There
Well, not quite. Today is June 15th, the halfway point between when I set the deadline for my first draft and when it’s actually due (August 1st). I should have at least 60 of the 120 pages done. I don’t. Not quite. But i’m not discouraged, as I’ve been solving plotting issues left and right [...]
Success! (and the writing process)
Early this morning I broke the story for Project Echo. I’d been writing scenes without an outline or an endgame in place, so it’s nice to finally have a destination in sight.
For some of you it might seem crazy to write without an outline. How do you know what the story is? How do you [...]
Greyscale
My good friend Ryan Dunlap just completed the first trailer for his feature length film, “Greyscale,” and I thought I would share. Ryan has been quite the inspiration to me because, you know, he’s actually made a movie. No small feat.
Before he began production, I was able to offer some helpful suggestions, and he was [...]
I’m on TV tonight!
Well, not really, but a show that I’ve worked on for the past few months is. It’s called 360 Life and it airs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network at 7:30 PM Eastern and 6:30 PM Central. Now, while I normally would not reccomend Christian programming to you (I certainly don’t watch it), this show is [...]
