What are you working on?
How much progress have you made?
Question of the day: Do you have any writing rituals?
For instance, I have a playlist of songs for that contain the "mood" or "tone" of the project I'm currently working on, and listening to it helps me get back into the world of that script. Autistic, I know.
Other urls found in this thread:
drive.google.com
youtu.be
twitter.com
I'm working on a comedic short which will be filmed next year on a $10k budget. Beginning and ending are complete, but I have to work out how much of a middle it should have due to budget concerns. And while it's not much, it's better than nothing.
Also working on a short entry for a contest coming up in October.
thats not autistic at all. it is pretty normie. it is like 15 year old girl teir normie.
I have a question. lots of tv shows have different writers for different episodes, but have continuity from episode to episode. how is this acheived? my guess is the producers storyboard the major plot points way before the writing, the writers stick with that and the actors and directors improv stuff from last week's episode. is that pretty close?
Not at all
Depending on the show, most writers are actually part of the whole storyboarding process for the seasons/episodes and they collaborate on important plot points which must happen. Then when an individual is writing an episode, they only have a certain amount of freedom, and it keeps everyone in check.
Shows will also commonly have a story bible, which outlines things than can and can not happen in the story, etc.
Started reading Save The Cat last night (gotta know the rules to break 'em) and it feels like how Snyder breaks down scripts is specifically tailored to his scriptwriting worldview.
Where this stuck out to me the most was when he called John Travolta the main character of Pulp Fiction. That movie doesn't have a main character, that's the whole point. It's an interweaving of tales of several different characters. You could just as easily say Bruce Willis or Samuel L. Jackson was the main of that and have it be as valid.
Another thing: he completely disregards films like Slacker, or Dazed And Confused (both Linklater I know), slice of life films that don't necessarily break down into comfortable little beats.
I'm taking all his shit with a grain of salt, needless to say.
That's pretty great. Are you going to be participating in the process of making it beyond writing (directing, producing, acting etc.)? How'd you get involved and where'd the money come from?
>short
>$10k budget
nigga what
It should be kept in mind that STC doesn't necessarily advocate the best way to write a good story so much as the way to write a story that has strong potential commercial value.
It does include lots of great ways to help write a good story and develop some process for writing but it's more geared towards getting you to the most palatable commercial script. He also endlessly shits on movies like Memento. Take what he says for what it is and develop your own voice within it and keep in mind that his way is not the *only* way to write a script.
Currently working on a script I wrote basically as an extended To Be Continued gag, it's only one page but I need to fucking film something.
This is the most recent draft of that page, I feel like I made Jones' dialogue a little too softie for a guy that's forcing a guy to be his cabbie at gunpoint.
>he didn't get the memo
How did you go about getting the budget?
Also why would it cost so much to film a comedic short? What goes into it?
I really admire (good) filmmakers as from what I understand the amount of work needed just to make a half decent film is crazy. Especially if you are doing everything by yourself.
I'm not sure that I fully understand what you're going for. You're gonna build up a situation until it starts to get interesting and then do a freeze frame and stop exploring it?
Hell even in shit films you can tell that people poured their fucking heart and soul into it, which makes it all the more depressing when it's an awful movie (see: Suicide Squad).
Thanks for reminding me to get my ass back to work. Seriously tho, how do I get motivated to continue writing? Is it just that I'm blocked, I don't know what comes next?
Cause I'm writing an episode and I just got to the end of the first Act, and now I'm stuck on how it continues in Act 2.
Anything?
this is amazingly bad - amazingly bad. You could reverse all the decisions you make in this page and have a great story. What you've written is anti-narrative. It's actually quite an accomplishment.
>flickering lights
Oooh, foreshadowing. Actually, it just wastes people's time.
>Roundabout by Yes.
This is the point where the script reader sends a half paragraph email to their boss: script writer has no idea how movies work. You don't pick the fucking songs, kid. You have to pay for that shit, licence it. You could have looked less like an idiot if you said "a song similar to Roundabout by Yes"
>That dialogue
Woo boi, just listen to that verbose, unsure, weird "i never talked to another human before in my life" cadence. Not a bad first draft thou, gives good information.
>Screaming?
Why? What? What's going on? Huh? Ok, whatever.
>CUT TO
Jesus Christ. You could skip all this shit and have a narrator say "One day, a guy held me up at gunpoint and forced me to drive him out of the state". Don't you see how anecdotal the premise is? It's an unusual thing to happen to someone but it doesn't add any real emotion or hooks to meaning at all. The rest of the film could be literally, anything from sci-fi to horror, to gay romance.
It's fascinating how close and yet far away you are to understanding the bare concept of storytelling. And how obvious it is with one page of script.
I've found it's sometimes good to talk through what might happen. Even different branches that the episode could go through. Aaron Sorkin speaks everything out loud because he says the human body has a natural feel and rhythm for how stories should be told and talking it out is a lot easier to tell with than just thinking it through or writing it down.
You can also post your basic outline and we can try and throw you some ideas too.
>Writing an episode without structuring it out
I'll try going slow on it.
>You can also post your basic outline and we can try and throw you some ideas too.
Eeeeh I'm not too sure.
Well, I didn't think it was a big deal. But I think from now on I should do structure.
There's no reason to be a total dick mate.
>This is the point where the script reader sends a half paragraph email to their boss: script writer has no idea how movies work. You don't pick the fucking songs, kid. You have to pay for that shit, licence it. You could have looked less like an idiot if you said "a song similar to Roundabout by Yes"
Based on what he was saying it seems like he's going to be the one filming this so he kind of does get to pick what the song is. Considering what happens later in the page it's very clear he picked that song because the beginning matches up with what he wanted to end the scene with. He wanted the soft music part to play during the opening shots of the car and during Jones dialogue and for the real beat and rise in volume to time up with when the character starts screaming.
Not necessarily genius but not nearly as incompetent as you're trying to portray.
>Why? What? What's going on? Huh? Ok, whatever.
He's screaming because he got scared when a guy put a gun to his head. Again, not necessarily the best way he could've written it but it's far from an egregious affront to screenwriting.
Beyond all this you should learn to constructively criticize instead of just being a massive dick. Especially when your reading comprehension isn't what you think it is.
Nobody is gonna steal your idea mate. New writers are always horrified of this for some reason. They always think their pilot is always some Scorsese-esque masterpiece that everyone is gonna take and make before you. But really, even if they have your whole script it'll probably never be stolen.
With an outline they wouldn't wind up with the same dialogue or character types as you anyway.
Not the guy you quoted and I have no idea about storytelling or scriptwriting so I have quite a few questions. What do you mean by anti narrative? What's wrong with it being anecdotal? Also why is it a problem that it isn't clear what the genre of the film is at this point?
>I just read a book about screenwriting and now think I know shit: the post
Like I said a lot of this was just to set up a To Be Continued gag (hence Roundabout). I wrote it as a joke but I started thinking about what I could do with it.
>foreshadowing
Well, shit. I'm trying to draw attention to the fact that Jones is the one causing the lights to flicker. I fucked up there, I guess.
>you don't pick the songs
Well-fucking-aware of that, friendo. See above, it's literally set up for a gag. I know in a professional setting I'd have to do some paperwork but this is all just theory, idealizing.
>dialogue
You got me there, it's never been my strong suit. Note how there's no other dialogue on the page.
>You could skip all this shit and have a narrator say
Lemme stop you right now: 90% of the time, narration is fucking shit and useless. It's a cheap cop-out for people who can't tell a story visually. I learned that the hard way.
>It's fascinating how close and yet far away you are to understanding the bare concept of storytelling. And how obvious it is with one page of script.
You wanna see like a 10-page testament to how spot-on that is? I've posted it a couple times before, this is what killed my faith in narration.
drive.google.com
I'm not even arguing with you, everything you said is legitimate.
How does the music licensing work anyway? Doesn't it cost hundreds of thousands to use songs?
Well I'm not afraid anyone would steal it, I don't give a shit. It's a real show, this is just a spec script and a meme episode idea desu that I'm doing (it will be 5 episodes) for an exercise since I'm new to writing, I just want to test the waters before writing big original movies and stuff like that.
I don't want to post an outline because I simply don't know what the entire story will be at this point and posting something so rough would be embarrassing to see.
Yep, you gotta pay royalties to the bands and most of the time they're not gonna give it up cheaply.
Post what happens in the first act and we'll give you options for what can happen in the second act. This is an anonymous board, it's not like anyone will be able to associate it with you. I post a lot of my ideas here first and see which ones get shit on and which don't and pursue the not shit ones with a bit more fervor.
Nobody will ever be able to associate it with me even after I've made it and posted it with my real name.
I'm writing and co-producing. I'd love to try my hand at directing and the more technical side of things, but I'm mostly going to trust in the people who are there to fill those roles. The funds are a sort-of charitable investment based on an early version of the story, which is to be returned through proceeds (if any) of the final product. Which is pretty incredible.
Getting involved was a matter of finding the right people, which really happened by chance, but is probably much easier if you live near a major film city (Vancouver here).
There's a small amount of SFX work involved in the concept, plus location rental, paying the actors/crew, etc., and it all adds up. And what you don't spend on making it, you have to spend on festivals/distribution/advertising, just to get it seen.
Can I just make a cover of the song and use that? Serious question.
This may be more of a /fmg/ question, but since I'm writing it now, I'll ask here.
I'm working on a psychedelic dark comedy short that I'm going to post on YouTube.
A brand name is going to be (somewhat) prominently featured (a character starts obsessing over it towards the end). Unfortunately, the name is a registered trademark.
Am I going to run into trouble here?
Pic is perfect reaction for this
The guy he quoted here.
Best I can see he's talking about how I haven't set up anything for anyone, I have no stakes, it's basically a story you tell at a party to fill a void in conversation. It's a narrative, true, but it doesn't have any sort of a point.
Steve Martin has a great bit on this in Planes, Trains, And Automobiles, see pic related.
You won't have any problems with it on YouTube, and so long as your not selling it directly for profit then you're probably fine all the way around.
Not sure but i know if a band tries to sell a cover song they have to pay the original artist so probably
I see. It makes sense. Thanks.
Depends on if it's just something dumb you're making for shits and giggles or if it's a legit production you hope to make money off of.
Take this short I made a while ago, I like posting it and I'll probably never actually finish it. As such the audio's awful, camerawork is pretty crappy, basically this is a beginner's attempt and it shows.
youtu.be
Now, in this I drop explicit references to Ziploc and Walgreens, the music is stolen from Grim Fandango, and I even directly steal the multiple ending gag from Clue. You don't see lawyers knocking at my door, do ya?
Not without paying the music label for a performance (or reproduction, or something along those lines) contract. Cheaper, but you still owe them money because they do own the rights to the lyrics/music.
It's not like classical, where the notes are public domain and so anyone can perform and use their performance for commercial purposes.
Well I do know what I'll make happen in the 2nd and 3rd acts (roughly, the big ideas, etc). But if you really insist...
Oh boy, where do we even start. Like I said, this is a meme, so please don't take this seriously. It's X-Files meets American Psycho and takes place some months after S1E2 and before S1E3. So here's where I am...
Patrick Bateman is trying to stop murdering people (keep in mind, as we all know, he was never caught). One night though, he sees a dead man in his apartment building. The man seemingly wrote "Tanaj" (Esperanto for Tanakh) on the wall.
So naturally, Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate. They briefly discuss why the murder/suicide/whatever makes no sense before going in to see Bateman.
So they talk, but Bateman has nothing important to say. Mulder begins to suspect that Bateman thinks he thinks he killed the people who went missing in American Psycho, but Mulder is also convinced that he is innocent. However, Bateman doesn't know this detail.
So Mulder and Scully decide to regroup at the hotel and to read over the autopsy report on the murder victim and study up on Jewish religious texts and how that relates to murder/cult sacrifice as well as Esperanto (you can probably already guess where it goes from there).
However, before they can do this, a newscast comes on talking about the Arecibo satellite (see S2E1 "Little Green Men") and Mulder is still butthurt that Scully is too naive about what they saw in Idaho (see S1E2 "Deep Throat") and they have a minor falling out, leaving the research to be done the next day.
Meanwhile, it's revealed that Bateman is actually killing people again when he puts a body bag in his closet.
That's where Act 1 ends.
> Mulder
> Scully
> Bateman
Why not make something original?
I already explained that. Everything else I'm doing is original, don't worry.
having trouble getting in the zone lately. I find that I write best when I have limited time (ex getting home late and only having a few hours as opposed to having a full day free to write). What do you cucks do to get motivated/in the mood
here's the cold open to my cliche as hell action/thriller.
If you can't motivate yourself to write, then outline. Outlining I find I can do whether or not I'm motivated, and once I get into it I want to work on the actual writing much more. Plus, it benefits your story either way.
I'd read more. Despite the waking-up cliche I find stories about murder games fascinating.
That's basically what I've been doing for the past 2 months.
I'm at the point right now where were I to outline in more detail I'd basically be writing it anyways.
I guess i just have trouble when it comes to specifics like actually writing out all the dialogue and action?
Ayo hol up.
I wouldn't know much about the clock stuff but I do have some other things to say.
First of all, here's how I'd write these things like:
INT. SARAH'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
SARAH (20's), [very simple, brief description] sleeps in her bed. Books litter the bed. The rest is clean.
Sarah knocks a book over. She picks it up, and puts it on her desk. She closes the door.
----
I am not totally sure about the whole Webcam thing but I'm pretty sure that's up to other people to decide on, not the writer. The writer's only job is to simply tell the story.
Have you read any screenplays? Ever?
Naw man.
I think the way he wrote it was fine save for not having hit the enter key enough.
Simplicity is a virtue, but you gotta actually paint a picture. Somethings you gotta worry about whether or not what you're doing would be considered a directorial decision (stay away from adverbs.
tl;dr read more scripts.
You could trim some fat in the writing but I like it so far. For example,
"SARAH (early 20s) sleeps peacefully despite leaving the lights on. Open note and textbooks surround her thin body on her bed. Her breaths too soft to even overpower the electric hum of the alarm clock. It's 1:05."
I added my voice to it, and it may have changed the story a bit since I don't know your plot. A good rule of screenwriting or writing in general is to show rather than tell. As you write more drafts, your text will naturally evolve. Try to cut as many words as you can without losing meaning, or at least add more story with the same number of words.
You and other user may not agree with my choices but I'll explain them:
>No need to say "SARAH'S FACE" because as you capitalize a character's name, traditionally people think of a Close Up
> "It seems that...
This is good enough for an outline or first draft, but it's clunky writing that needs refinement. You readers/audience are smart. You give them enough clues, they will figure out that she "seems to have fallen asleep." For instance, she's already sleeping, and there are opened books next to her implies that.
>"the lights still on." Some writers choose to write like this for a shooting script so it's more like a shot by shot plan, but it's wordy for a "story" or spec draft, so I tried to incorporate this story beat into a full sentence. The reader can easily break the full sentence into "shots" in his/her mind.
>"It's quiet." Sounds a little uninspired and cliche. This is when you can throw in metaphors or similes to describe "how" quiet in order to spice it up and give the reader more information. If it's not important, then you can even cut this.
>"1:05 A.M." Your slug line already mentioned it's night time. The "AM" is excessive.
Writing and editing is an never ending process. I roughly put this together to share and get some feedback. I'm sure another user can improve upon it. Pls no bully.
A couple of things. First, there's a showrunner. He's usually the head writer, often creator, and is credited as an executive producer. The showrunner will have a certain vision for the show that everyone must try to work toward. The analogy is movies are a director's medium while TV is a showrunner's.
Now, in TV because so many episodes are being produced they need a lot of writers. They get together and plot out the season and each episode. During this process one writer will be handed an episode to write, though mostly everything will have already been outlined. This is called the writer's room by the way.
Also, visual consistency is kept even though TV shows have multiple director through what's known as tone meetings. This is where the showrunner meets with the director/dp and goes through the show to ensure it's visually consistent.