Yep the writer song meme tagged by the luminous Potdoll. I'm not digging too deep for this one: musicals, London 08 with Jimmy Cliff 'The Harder They come'
Maybe I feel it having worked on LU *snort*
Well the officers are trying to keep me down
Trying to drive me underground
And they think that they have got the battle won
I say forgive them Lord, they know not what they've done
CHORUS
ooh yeah oh yeah woh yeah ooooh
And I keep on fighting for the things I want
Though I know that when you're dead you can't
But I'd rather be a free man in my grave
Than living as a puppet or a slave
Plus I tag Elinor, Jennifer the occasional lurker, and WC Dixon - 'cause he has great musical taste (sometimes).
Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
Friday, September 26, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
mylittlemusicalmemething
OK so have been tagged by Lianne and Robin for 7 songs that are shaping my spring - actually its winter here now - so the vibe is probably a bit different - ha!
This week, the house is full of SA jazz mainly because of the imminent book rollout - so I'm listening to (but not necessarily playing) Abdullah Ibrahim and also The Blue Notes. That's two down.
Then Freshly Ground's 'Doo Be Doo' from last year - all light and a bit bubbly. Then there's iconic Brenda Fassie - something haunting like 'Istraight Lendaba' (or 'Yizo Yizo') Plus lately, I've been getting nostalgic - thinking of summers walking though Lewisham market with Alton Ellis' ska number 'You make me so very, very happy' pounding out of some tinny system - now there's a sound from my Leeds days. Then for some reason - there's also Jimmy Cliff's 'The Harder They Come' (ha ha ha ha!) running around my brain. And to round off - something I can't find anywhere on the net - but which I'd love to use in my film (the one written before this) Freddie Gwala's 'Ngiboshiwe' for an upbeat township vibe
Is that 7? Hope so.
So I'm an old person now innit...
This week, the house is full of SA jazz mainly because of the imminent book rollout - so I'm listening to (but not necessarily playing) Abdullah Ibrahim and also The Blue Notes. That's two down.
Then Freshly Ground's 'Doo Be Doo' from last year - all light and a bit bubbly. Then there's iconic Brenda Fassie - something haunting like 'Istraight Lendaba' (or 'Yizo Yizo') Plus lately, I've been getting nostalgic - thinking of summers walking though Lewisham market with Alton Ellis' ska number 'You make me so very, very happy' pounding out of some tinny system - now there's a sound from my Leeds days. Then for some reason - there's also Jimmy Cliff's 'The Harder They Come' (ha ha ha ha!) running around my brain. And to round off - something I can't find anywhere on the net - but which I'd love to use in my film (the one written before this) Freddie Gwala's 'Ngiboshiwe' for an upbeat township vibe
Is that 7? Hope so.
So I'm an old person now innit...
Sunday, May 25, 2008
revelations
Ok here's my take on Danny's scriptwriting revelations meme (via Kevin).
Not easy to try and pinpoint exactly 'what revelations you've had since taking up your writing career' and many of the things you learn are not to do with scriptwriting - plus Danny has covered most of the ground pretty well in his post.
I'd add that a scriptwriting career path is rarely linear. Although you may have this 5 year or 10 year goal plan mapped out in your head - life pays scant attention to it. Often opportunities come about from left of field - unexpected sources especially when you've not got much invested in them.
I spent several years making short films before I started writing scripts. Things happened easily. Then I wrote my first feature script treatment which broke all rules - it was only 6 pages long, I even drew a family tree on it (!) It came runner up in a newspaper scriptwriting contest, brought me shed loads of meetings, went on to attract in excess of 40K (UKP) in development finance and big producers on board. That script didn't get made. 4 years later I was working on the London Underground. Now I'm over here - mostly getting paid to write and making bits of TV. Still not where I want to be - until the feature(s) is/are made....but moving a bit closer each day. I don't regret any of it.
Along the way, friends, colleagues and people around grow with you and past you - so if you get on well, stay in touch. The actors you did readings with or the scripty types you hung with ten years ago - may end up award winners or Heads of funds.
As a writer - be yourself. Know yourself. If you're not really a fan of TV soaps then it's unlikely you'll ever find yourself writing for them. Find your own path.
As Phil says here you definitely need a life outside scriptwriting (unappealing as this may sound - ha!) - family and or partner support is pretty vital.
In business relationships - follow your instincts - about people. If that little voice says 'yes' - listen - it's always right.
Develop a thick skin and indefatigable self-belief. Take affirmation from your successes. Do your best. Be better. Keep going.
Not easy to try and pinpoint exactly 'what revelations you've had since taking up your writing career' and many of the things you learn are not to do with scriptwriting - plus Danny has covered most of the ground pretty well in his post.
I'd add that a scriptwriting career path is rarely linear. Although you may have this 5 year or 10 year goal plan mapped out in your head - life pays scant attention to it. Often opportunities come about from left of field - unexpected sources especially when you've not got much invested in them.
I spent several years making short films before I started writing scripts. Things happened easily. Then I wrote my first feature script treatment which broke all rules - it was only 6 pages long, I even drew a family tree on it (!) It came runner up in a newspaper scriptwriting contest, brought me shed loads of meetings, went on to attract in excess of 40K (UKP) in development finance and big producers on board. That script didn't get made. 4 years later I was working on the London Underground. Now I'm over here - mostly getting paid to write and making bits of TV. Still not where I want to be - until the feature(s) is/are made....but moving a bit closer each day. I don't regret any of it.
Along the way, friends, colleagues and people around grow with you and past you - so if you get on well, stay in touch. The actors you did readings with or the scripty types you hung with ten years ago - may end up award winners or Heads of funds.
As a writer - be yourself. Know yourself. If you're not really a fan of TV soaps then it's unlikely you'll ever find yourself writing for them. Find your own path.
As Phil says here you definitely need a life outside scriptwriting (unappealing as this may sound - ha!) - family and or partner support is pretty vital.
In business relationships - follow your instincts - about people. If that little voice says 'yes' - listen - it's always right.
Develop a thick skin and indefatigable self-belief. Take affirmation from your successes. Do your best. Be better. Keep going.
Monday, November 05, 2007
lame
Tagged by Elinor in the lame meme
1. I once went to a fancy dress party dressed as Florence from the Magic Roundabout and won.
2. I don't really see the point of memes but do them anyway.
3. At school, I learned to do fast, backwards, mirror handwriting. Worryingly, I can still do it.
4. I'm a magpie. In London I used to have a box full of odd gold and silver trinkets that I found on the pavement and on tube seats. I once found a thick gold bracelet lying right outside my front gate in Camberwell. I never wear anything gold. Every so often I'd go and take it to be melted down and then start all over again.
In this country, I've never found a thing - maybe because there's so many people looking
5. When I was a teen I used to go to the Orrell Legion disco in Wigan with two gold stripes painted in my hair. One time the bus driver asked if a motorbike had run over my head.
1. I once went to a fancy dress party dressed as Florence from the Magic Roundabout and won.
2. I don't really see the point of memes but do them anyway.
3. At school, I learned to do fast, backwards, mirror handwriting. Worryingly, I can still do it.
4. I'm a magpie. In London I used to have a box full of odd gold and silver trinkets that I found on the pavement and on tube seats. I once found a thick gold bracelet lying right outside my front gate in Camberwell. I never wear anything gold. Every so often I'd go and take it to be melted down and then start all over again.
In this country, I've never found a thing - maybe because there's so many people looking
5. When I was a teen I used to go to the Orrell Legion disco in Wigan with two gold stripes painted in my hair. One time the bus driver asked if a motorbike had run over my head.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
modus
Following Lianne's Arvon inspired lead, I'm answering twenty questions about writing methods.
1.Do you outline?
Yes - I never like to start without an outline - the more detailed the better
2. Do you write straight through a script, or do you sometimes tackle the scenes out of order?
Usually straight through, though I might skip a difficult bit and come back later
3. Do you prefer writing with a pen or using a computer?
PC of course - though I started out always writing with a pen in big notebooks
4. Do you prefer writing in first person or third?
Third. Though 1st is useful sometimes (eg recent monologue)
5. Do you listen to music while you write?
No.
6. How do you come up with the perfect names for your characters?
Sometimes names are there from the word go. If I'm basing a character on someone, I tend to keep their real name (and change it at a later date). In several scripts, my female lead character's name begins with a B - for some reason
7. When you’re writing, do you ever imagine your script as a book/short story?
Yes sometimes.
8. Have you ever had a character insist on doing something you really didn’t want him/her to do?
Characters should surprise. Recently a character convinced me that, although he'd bludgeoned someone to death, it wasn't murder.
9. Do you know how a script is going to end when you start it?
Sometimes not always - as I said on this blog before - I tend to travel hopefully..
10. Where do you write?
At home at my desk
11. What do you do when you get writer’s block?
I don't believe in it so I don't get it. If I don't want to write, I don't write. Anyway we all write crap sometimes.
12. What size increments do you write in?
Depends. I like to write a lot fast, say at least 10 pages a day then rewrite much slower
13. How many different drafts did you write for your last project?
My last I'm still working on. I'd say it'll have gone through about 5 major revisions before going out.
14. Have you ever changed a character’s name midway through a draft?
Yes in the last draft - a black character became white and his name changed too
15. Do you let anyone read your script while you’re working on it, or do you wait until you’ve completed a draft before letting someone else see it?
I wait until I've finished - although I do like to have feedback or input on outlines or whatever before I get started.
16. What do you do to celebrate when you've finished a draft?
Have a glass of Pinot Grigio
17. One project at a time, or multiple projects at once?
Although I tend to have several on the go, there's usually only one that I'm truly focussed on.
18. Do your scripts grow or shrink in revision?
Shrink.
19. Do you have any writing or critique partners?
Yes I have one long-standing critic who I've known for years and some others.
Have had mixed involvements in collaboration - once developing a series - which was fantastic until the money ran out. I also brainstormed a sitcom here once but wasn't enamoured with the process or the project - so I left.
20. Do you prefer drafting or revising?
Revising. I think but I like finishing a first draft too
1.Do you outline?
Yes - I never like to start without an outline - the more detailed the better
2. Do you write straight through a script, or do you sometimes tackle the scenes out of order?
Usually straight through, though I might skip a difficult bit and come back later
3. Do you prefer writing with a pen or using a computer?
PC of course - though I started out always writing with a pen in big notebooks
4. Do you prefer writing in first person or third?
Third. Though 1st is useful sometimes (eg recent monologue)
5. Do you listen to music while you write?
No.
6. How do you come up with the perfect names for your characters?
Sometimes names are there from the word go. If I'm basing a character on someone, I tend to keep their real name (and change it at a later date). In several scripts, my female lead character's name begins with a B - for some reason
7. When you’re writing, do you ever imagine your script as a book/short story?
Yes sometimes.
8. Have you ever had a character insist on doing something you really didn’t want him/her to do?
Characters should surprise. Recently a character convinced me that, although he'd bludgeoned someone to death, it wasn't murder.
9. Do you know how a script is going to end when you start it?
Sometimes not always - as I said on this blog before - I tend to travel hopefully..
10. Where do you write?
At home at my desk
11. What do you do when you get writer’s block?
I don't believe in it so I don't get it. If I don't want to write, I don't write. Anyway we all write crap sometimes.
12. What size increments do you write in?
Depends. I like to write a lot fast, say at least 10 pages a day then rewrite much slower
13. How many different drafts did you write for your last project?
My last I'm still working on. I'd say it'll have gone through about 5 major revisions before going out.
14. Have you ever changed a character’s name midway through a draft?
Yes in the last draft - a black character became white and his name changed too
15. Do you let anyone read your script while you’re working on it, or do you wait until you’ve completed a draft before letting someone else see it?
I wait until I've finished - although I do like to have feedback or input on outlines or whatever before I get started.
16. What do you do to celebrate when you've finished a draft?
Have a glass of Pinot Grigio
17. One project at a time, or multiple projects at once?
Although I tend to have several on the go, there's usually only one that I'm truly focussed on.
18. Do your scripts grow or shrink in revision?
Shrink.
19. Do you have any writing or critique partners?
Yes I have one long-standing critic who I've known for years and some others.
Have had mixed involvements in collaboration - once developing a series - which was fantastic until the money ran out. I also brainstormed a sitcom here once but wasn't enamoured with the process or the project - so I left.
20. Do you prefer drafting or revising?
Revising. I think but I like finishing a first draft too
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Five things..
Ok taking a cue from this guy - here's five things you didn't know about me - only one is false - but which one?
I'm narrowing it down to places I've lived..
1. I once lived in a council house and went to a private [fee-paying] school at the same time.
2. I once lived in a squat that was a former embassy.
3. I once lived in a house with servants.
4. I once lived in a house where you couldn't go into the front room because the floor had caved in.
5. I once lived in a caravan and didn't go to school because it was too far.
I'm narrowing it down to places I've lived..
1. I once lived in a council house and went to a private [fee-paying] school at the same time.
2. I once lived in a squat that was a former embassy.
3. I once lived in a house with servants.
4. I once lived in a house where you couldn't go into the front room because the floor had caved in.
5. I once lived in a caravan and didn't go to school because it was too far.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
The First Time
I picked up Danny's meme (just to remind myself)
The First Time
Do you remember the time……you became aware of scriptwriting?
Mmmm I became aware of the 'power' of the script probably through watching - something like Harold & Maude at Wigan Cinema Club, in some chilly hall in my teens.
you made the decision to give it a go?
My first sort of proper 'short' script was my BFI New Director's entry in 1990. I found out the day after my birthday that I was short-listed.
…you bought your first scriptwriting ‘How To’ book?
It was Viki King's 'How to write a movie in 21 days' and I bought it just prior to going on a 3 week holiday in South Africa (where I now live) in 1995. I took lots of exercise books and in 3 weeks I churned out my first feature length screenplay. I've been recommending Viki King ever since. My original copy is now in Jamaica; my second copy was borrowed by a scriptwriter friend in Ireland (but eventually returned). My 3rd stays on my shelf.
…you wrote your first script?
Well my first 'real' script that got a fair amount of attention (rather than the really first one) was around 1995/6 and wait for it, I was funded to write it from a 6 page treatment -unprecedented - and has not happened again since...
…you gave up the day job?
I never had a day job of any real note. Having been to art school and done the whole schlep thing for a fair amount of time, it was a shock to my system when Restart forced me into full time work - on the London Underground in the early 2000s - as Station Assistant - iron filings and all. I survived 18 months before taking 3 months sick leave in which I took stock of my life, wrote a script (which was later commended by BBC Writer's Room) and plotted my escape from the grey.…
you became a script reader?
I avoid reading other people's scripts if I can help it. I know they say it's a great way to learn but I prefer to see them on screen. I don't have the sensitivity or the temperament to be a script reader.
…you did your first proper rewrite?
It was when I received development finance for '**'. The first lot of finance came from Europe and no one was really 'driving' the development in any significant way. Then Producers came on board and suddenly it was all these intricate script development methodologies - writing stories from each of the character's POV'S - re-structuring in terms of fairly conventional linear narrative arcs. Then when feedback started to come in from interested parties, the development kind of blew any which way with the wind.
…you got paid for it?
First an indy producer gave me 600 squids to write their draft of a script hmmm. Then I got some development money from the European Script Fund around1995/6 to take a treatment into a first draft. 5000 euros was a mega amount then. I was thrilled, plus I knew jack shit about script writing which probably worked in my favour. Then got more and more money for the same script. Needless to say it didn't improve the script at all....
…you got your agent?
I have had various agents attached at various stages of my development - ha! (Sounds like a line from a Dov S Simens course!) But it's true.
…you got your first TV gig?
My first TV gig has been over here - in a country faraway f- where the whole business of writing for TV is a completely different ball game.....
That said it is still riddled with controversy and oddity.…
you saw your first on-screen credit?
As an art school-trained independent filmmaker, I had my first screen credit via an Arts Council scheme long before I had aspirations of a serious scriptwriting career. 1990. One minute TV.…
you made your first short film?
See above. My entry into this industry was via a small video training initiative. I went on to make a number of shorts...
…you got your first cinema release?
My BFI New Directors' Film went to festivals around the world.
My feature? I'm still working on that....
The First Time
Do you remember the time……you became aware of scriptwriting?
Mmmm I became aware of the 'power' of the script probably through watching - something like Harold & Maude at Wigan Cinema Club, in some chilly hall in my teens.
you made the decision to give it a go?
My first sort of proper 'short' script was my BFI New Director's entry in 1990. I found out the day after my birthday that I was short-listed.
…you bought your first scriptwriting ‘How To’ book?
It was Viki King's 'How to write a movie in 21 days' and I bought it just prior to going on a 3 week holiday in South Africa (where I now live) in 1995. I took lots of exercise books and in 3 weeks I churned out my first feature length screenplay. I've been recommending Viki King ever since. My original copy is now in Jamaica; my second copy was borrowed by a scriptwriter friend in Ireland (but eventually returned). My 3rd stays on my shelf.
…you wrote your first script?
Well my first 'real' script that got a fair amount of attention (rather than the really first one) was around 1995/6 and wait for it, I was funded to write it from a 6 page treatment -unprecedented - and has not happened again since...
…you gave up the day job?
I never had a day job of any real note. Having been to art school and done the whole schlep thing for a fair amount of time, it was a shock to my system when Restart forced me into full time work - on the London Underground in the early 2000s - as Station Assistant - iron filings and all. I survived 18 months before taking 3 months sick leave in which I took stock of my life, wrote a script (which was later commended by BBC Writer's Room) and plotted my escape from the grey.…
you became a script reader?
I avoid reading other people's scripts if I can help it. I know they say it's a great way to learn but I prefer to see them on screen. I don't have the sensitivity or the temperament to be a script reader.
…you did your first proper rewrite?
It was when I received development finance for '**'. The first lot of finance came from Europe and no one was really 'driving' the development in any significant way. Then Producers came on board and suddenly it was all these intricate script development methodologies - writing stories from each of the character's POV'S - re-structuring in terms of fairly conventional linear narrative arcs. Then when feedback started to come in from interested parties, the development kind of blew any which way with the wind.
…you got paid for it?
First an indy producer gave me 600 squids to write their draft of a script hmmm. Then I got some development money from the European Script Fund around1995/6 to take a treatment into a first draft. 5000 euros was a mega amount then. I was thrilled, plus I knew jack shit about script writing which probably worked in my favour. Then got more and more money for the same script. Needless to say it didn't improve the script at all....
…you got your agent?
I have had various agents attached at various stages of my development - ha! (Sounds like a line from a Dov S Simens course!) But it's true.
…you got your first TV gig?
My first TV gig has been over here - in a country faraway f- where the whole business of writing for TV is a completely different ball game.....
That said it is still riddled with controversy and oddity.…
you saw your first on-screen credit?
As an art school-trained independent filmmaker, I had my first screen credit via an Arts Council scheme long before I had aspirations of a serious scriptwriting career. 1990. One minute TV.…
you made your first short film?
See above. My entry into this industry was via a small video training initiative. I went on to make a number of shorts...
…you got your first cinema release?
My BFI New Directors' Film went to festivals around the world.
My feature? I'm still working on that....
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