Where am I?

I'm in a state, that's where I am. It's a nice state, though. There's so much going on at the moment - which is obviously a good thing - but it just means I have lots of things to blog about, and no time to write the blog entries up.

I've just completed entries for the BBC Writer's Academy, and for the Script Factory 'Wireless and Boundless' scheme. Soon, I will publish the second installment on the process of creating a film for the 06/07 Digital Shorts programme. I've just been to a Screen South Information day, and to Raindance's open evening in London, and there's a bit of useful info to disseminate from both those events. Plus, I am working on a spec radio play. And making arrangements for going to the Screenwriter's Festival in Cheltenham in July, and submitting a feature screenplay to their ScriptMarket. And trying to listen to as many radio plays as I can, and watching every episode of all the four BBC continuing dramas.

There aren't enough hours in the day, I tells ya! Anyway, I hope everyone else is keeping busy too. Better get back to that radio play...

Interrogation, without the Bright Lights

'The Dark Art of Script Development'
[NB: Jason Arnopp has also summarised this event, and the page is linked to from his blog here.]

The Date:
Wednesday 9th May 2007

The Panellists:
Dan MacRae (DM) was formerly Deputy Head of the Development Fund at the UK Film Council and an Executive at Working Title; his credits include RED ROAD and the forthcoming ATONEMENT.

Sarah Golding (SG) is currently Head of Development for Potboiler Productions and was previously Head of Development for Skreba Films, Development Manager at Zenith Productions and Script Consultant for Yorkshire Television and Fair Game Films. Her credits include THE CONSTANT GARDENER, DEEP WATER, BROTHERS OF THE HEAD and the forthcoming THE BEST TIME OF OUR LIVES".

The venue:
Lighthouse in Brighton: very nice squishy leather sofas, and minimalist studio-style décor. The administration was efficient (though perhaps some handouts with the speakers’ biogs on wouldn’t have gone amiss), and the bottle bar was inexpensive by Brighton standards.

Value for money?
The Q&A went from 7:30 to 9:00pm, with informal networking before and after. Dan and Sarah made time for everyone who wanted to speak to them, and were very pleasant to chat to. It cost only a fiver, and was well worth it. Lighthouse has an event like this on every month, though sometimes with focus more on direction than writing, and I will definitely be looking to come along again.

Why was I there?
The process of script development is very important, and something that any serious scriptwriter should be aware of, but what I – and probably many others – were interested in was how to get our scripts and ideas into development in the first place. This was covered to some degree. Others in the audience wanted to talk about the difficulties inherent in the UK Film Industry, which did tend to get a bit repetitive (there’s no money, too many films are being made, not enough are being seen) but again, the panel were happy to share their thoughts.


The Questions and Answers:

What is this intangible thing called Script Development?
DM: Working with writers to generate an idea, or adaptation of an existing piece, and turn it into a script that will attract talent, funding, and ultimately an audience. The script editor works to translate the feelings of all the interested parties, like financiers or actors, to define the right vision, and achieve consistency for the project. To make some parts stronger, say, or more comedic, as required, without unbalancing the script as a whole.

SG: A different approach if you are a freelancer, rather than working for a big company. Script Development can be more like writer development, helping the writer to hone their skills, project by project and sell themselves as a writer. Helping production companies to accumulate a slate of projects.

What’s the difference between script development and script editing?
SG: To edit something it must exist
DM: Development takes something up to script; after that, editing takes over.

How can an editor ensure that the aims of the piece remain the writer’s rather than the editor’s?
SG: Ask them lots of questions before starting, make sure you’re on the same page; it's an interrogation, but without the bright lights.
DM: Sometimes it isn’t the writer’s aims that need protecting. In ‘Mr Bean’s Holiday’ Rowan Atkinson and Working Title had more input than the writer or director, but the people employed to do those jobs are picked accordingly and aware of this.

What’s the process of development?
DM: It varies every time. You have to identify ambition, identify audience, identify the budget required, and identify how that budget relates to the possibilities of the material. Gain the trust of the team, find a shared vocabulary, identify strengths and weakness and where to go next with a new draft: are you developing plot, or tone, or the world of the story? You’re finding out what the piece is about ultimately, and that is very satisfying.

Should writers or editors try to second-guess the wants of an audience?
SG: Your own taste should be your guide. If I respond well to this, there’s a good chance other people will too. But ‘analysis’ is a better term than ‘second-guessing’. You have to provide security for the money invested. What satisfaction does the audience expect of the genre?
DM: Audiences are well served by TV. What is your film doing that’s different? Bleak and downbeat stories don’t sell so well, so you must be aware of this when thinking about your budget.

Are table readings of scripts important?
DM: Yes, both the UK Film Council and Working title have arranged them. They are usually helpful for comedies, but not so much for dramas where there might be lots of stage directions to read out.

Should the editor research more than the writer?
DM: Yes, it’s very valuable to have explored the subject (but this if you’re working for a company and therefore getting paid for it).
SG: As a freelancer, I wouldn’t expect to do as much research as the writer. There’s not enough money to be a researcher as well as an editor.

What potential is there for new ideas in a world of franchises, adaptations, etc.?
DM: Financiers like to have something more tangible than just a pitch. And an existing property has a built-in audience, which provides them more comfort. So make it a very good idea.
SG: Or write a spec script.
DM: The great thing about being a writer is all you need to do is write.

How would you work with a writer-director that used improvisation? How would you get budget to do this without a script?
SG: Detailed treatments are required. Funding would be based on the reputation of the filmmakers involved. Get a track record in radio or stage plays. Trust equals money.
DM: Establish a structure. Again it comes down to budget.
SG: Or just go out and do it – but you’ll need to find the right actors.

How do you identify a good script?
DM: Something enjoyable, compelling, with characters you can care about. There’s no elitism or mystery, just a response to the material. Write a good script, not a perfect script – something to start a conversation.
SG: It’s not just about good writing, but finding work with a specific voice. This needs to be taken to the right sort of producer.

How important is a good writing style?
SG: Quite important- clumsy technique can put you off a script you’re reading.

How important is 3-act structure these days?
DM: It’s at the heart of genre cinema, but you don’t hear as much about it in the UK as you do in the US.

How would you give advice to a unique voice / auteur?
SG: They need funding from an arts body. Financiers don’t usually want this kind of work.
DM: Auteurs need money from across Europe. Script editing doesn’t exist in France, for example. But the UK is not an auteur country, it’s a genre country.
What genres?
DM: Comedy, Action, Rom-Com, Teen Movies, Family Movies…
SG: Or something with a bravura performance from a star.

But unknown writers don’t stand a chance, do they?
SG: Everyone’s an unknown at first.
DM: There’s no desire to shut out new writers.

And what about getting paid?
DM: You priority must be to work with producers that have money.
SG: Producers with a track record shouldn’t be asking you to work for no money. But if both you and the producer are at the start of your careers, you can take a risk on a project together.

What can you do when the writer/editor working relationship goes bad?
DM: Who’s running the show? If it’s the producer, they need to step in and resuce the project.
SG: Find a new script editor. Go back to a draft you were happy with, and work from there.

Have you ever wanted to be a writer yourself?
SG: Absolutely not! That's why I do the job I do - I don't want to take over from the writer, I'd rather work with them.


Final thoughts
Through the evening, there was also some sharing of script development horror stories from members of the audience, and from the panel. In all cases, it seems it is best to be clear about your intentions from the off, and not be afraid to revert to a previous draft.

My experience (working on 'Lent' ) was very positive, but when I first went in, I hadn't fully formed my aims for the piece and written them down. I would advise anyone in the same position to do this, even if you change your mind about the content later. Luckily, I had a development exec that helped me to understand the strengths of what I'd written - and pull those intentions out of my woolly subconscious and onto the page.

Script Development event, Lighthouse, Brighton

Attended this useful event last night. A full report will be up as soon as I can find a few moments to decipher my notes. I met the very talented Jason Arnopp there, who will also be writing it up, and I'm sure that between us we'll get everything of interest down.

That was the first time I've met someone who I'm already familiar with from their blog. Praise be to blogging, it makes networking so much easier when you know there's at least one friendly face in the crowd at an event. I hope to meet many more of you guys when I go to things. Talking of which:

A head's up. Raindance - who provide training, and run an independent film festival - are having an open day next Tuesday (15th) in London. Details on their website here. It looks very likely I shall be going, I'm just juggling meetings at the moment.

Digital Shorts - Part 1: Submission

A few kind folks have expressed an interest in my experiences on the UK Film Council / Screen South Digital Shorts scheme over the past year. I’ll have to post this in a few chunks, when I find time. But here’s the first bit:

June 2006: I receive Screen South’s mailshot announcing the Digital Shorts scheme is open for applications, deadline in mid-July. There are three strands: ‘Long Shots’ for five to nine minute shorts, ‘Close Ups’ for one minute live-action, and ‘One Minute Wonders’ for one minute animation.

I have seen the scheme advertised in previous years, but not felt I had the right quality of script to put forward. And I had it in my head – perhaps correctly – that the scheme was not intended for writers who didn’t have anyone else attached to their projects. But, I have a strong nine-minute comedy screenplay perfect for the ‘Long Shots’ strand, and – scouring the guidelines - I find nothing in there about needing to have anyone else attached. In fact, one of the reasons for the scheme is to hook up talent, so I hoped my script would be enough for Screen South to put me together with director and producer.

July 2006: I polish the script, and put together the large amount of material required (this is certainly something that would be easier when applying as part of a team). Five copies each of the screenplay, my CV, a synopsis, a director’s statement of intent (I wrote this as guidelines for any director that became attached). Even though I didn’t have to submit any visual material, it was listed as an optional requirement: so, I drew up some storyboards, again as guidelines for future crew. I found out at my interview that the panel was impressed with the storyboards (though perhaps not with my stick-man art), so I’m glad I made the effort.

Mid-July: days before the deadline, I get the crazy idea that I should apply for the ‘Close-up’ one-minute strand as well. I’d had an idea rattling around my head for months that I was planning to write as a three-minute short, but it will be good practice to tell it in a disciplined way. It also might attract attention as it is a drama, and one-minuters are usually comedic. I have a day off work, write the script and prepare the materials, including more storyboards (five copies of everything). I put everything in the post, thinking that the long one is a definite contender, but that maybe it wasn’t worth rushing the short one, as it doesn’t stand much of a chance.

Mid-August: I get a call from Screen South. I’ve made it to the long shortlist. Hooray! But only for one of my projects: my one-minute drama “Out of the Frying Pan” is going through to the next stage of selection. The other one isn’t. Show’s what I know…

Radio, Radio

Two quickies about radio drama.

As mentioned in the comments of this post, I have been investigating radio drama development executives. They most definitely exist for every region, but they cannot be submitted to directly (except in BBC Radio Scotland - see the writers' room site here ). Radio drama submissions in all other regions should go to the writers' room, or to a producer (BBC or independent).

The best thing to do would be to keep an eye out for any events where these development producers speak, and network there; but, I haven't heard of any such events, and nor can I find a current list of development producers working at the BBC. If I find anything out, I'll be sure to post here.

Secondly, I wondered if people had seen this scheme advertised: Wireless and Boundless. It sounds very interesting to me, and I'll be entering. Deadline is May 24th.

Screen South & UKFC Digital Shorts - Class of 2007

Wednesday night was the Cast and Crew Screening for the 2006/2007 Screen South Digital Shorts. It wasn’t much of a slog for me to get there, as it was held at the Cineworld on Brighton Marina. I used to be a regular patron of this cinema in my popcorn-munching youth, and it was fantastic to see a whole screen occupied, for one night only, with a programme of shorts including one what I wrote.

Alas there was no ‘Lent’ legend and poster alongside those for ‘Spiderman 3’ and ‘Mr. Bean’s Holiday’, but I did get a schedule with my name on it as writer (woo-hoo!) as well as Lent’s synopsis and enigmatic promo pic (a plate of pancakes). Queuing to go in, I bumped into people I’d met at the first interview session last Summer, and found out they’d been selected too. Which was nice.

Thirteen shorts made up the 90-minute programme. Our film was the second one shown, and so my expectation and nerves didn’t have to last long. Seeing the work on the big screen added so much (I know that should’ve been obvious, but it still came as a wonderful revelation). After that, the time whizzed by, so good were all the shorts shown. I was proud that our film was one of such a high-quality crop. Some good ten-minute dramas, two beautiful short documentaries, and some great one-minute comedies in there. I’m far too close to the production to have an unbiased opinion of ‘Lent’; I hope people like it. It got many favourable comments afterwards, so here’s hopin’.

The party that followed the screening was more of a celebration than a networking opportunity, but I tried my best. [I was – and still am - looking for a producer that might want to work on a comedy short this year. My e-mail is in my profile, if you’re interested]. Everyone is now bracing themselves for the long tail of marketing and distribution – there’s at least another two years of work (!) involved in getting the work out there.

And it’s been nearly a year since I embarked on this journey. As there’s been some interest, I’m going to post in the next few days about my experiences on the scheme. Watch this space…

Coming soon (fingers crossed) to a festival near you: UK Film Council and Screen South present ‘Lent’ by Stuart Perry; directed by James Twyford, produced by Ricci-Lee Berry. “Every Shrove Tuesday, Diane makes pancakes for her husband. And every year, she tries to give up something bad for her. This year she’s using a new recipe. And she’s going to have to give up something big for Lent.”

My name in lights (ish)

I arrived home this afternoon, after a long weekend away at a friend’s wedding, and found that interesting packages had arrived in the post while I was away. As well as two script books I won in Danny Stack's competition, there was also a DVD of the final cut of my short film ‘Lent’.

This is the first time I’ve seen it with the final mix, music and credits, and – look! – there’s my name floating up the screen ‘Writer: Stuart Perry’. Hooray! I exist. Next stop the imdb…

…actually, next stop is the Cast and Crew screening this week, when I’ll see it on the big screen for the first time. I’ll be sure to report back on how it goes.