halfway

Today's page count: past halfway. Mood: cautious

bloggery

There are myriad things I don't blog about for various reasons - which probably creates a huge disparity between what appears here and what I (script)write about - which maybe some blog readers grasp and some don't - but who cares? I don't tend to blog about muti, black psyche/white psyche, AIDS, alcoholism, political shenanigans, bi-polarity or grimy crime - all of which however are intricately and intimately woven into the foreground of (my) life here.

Occasionally significant TV news seeps into the blog - such as the upheavals of the past week - and I start to wonder whether lurching from horoscopes and woolly sweaters to politics makes any sense at all - does it?

Anyhow last week's writing schedule became a little sidetracked (now behind by 10 pages - agh!) but other stuff cranks forward slowly.

Laters.

Recent page count: catching up. Mood: buoyant

SASFED statement on SABC crisis

Press Statement 8th May 2008.

In view of the present crisis within the SABC, the South African Screen Federation representing 17 professional bodies in the film and TV industry:

1/ Support the role of the SABC as a public broadcaster committed to quality local programming

2/ Believe political interference has undermined the original public service mandate of the SABC

3/ See the existing crisis as symptom of a long standing operational disfunctionality

4/ We independent filmmakers who make most of South Africa¹s TV programmes, experience daily the ineffective management which has undermined our capacity to produce quality and challenging programmes for the South African public.

We wish to see the SABC fully functioning for the entire public and all key stakeholders who make this possible.

Rehad Desai
Chairperson

growing clothes

My sister once bought a beautiful, grey wool sweater which she wore only once before casting it casually into the washing machine. When she took it out, it had shrunk to the size of a tea cosy. Thinking it might fit my daughter (who at the time was only two) she posted it here airmail - and it was exactly the right size!
The weird thing is over the years the jumper has actually grown with my daughter - so now that she is nearly six - it still fits - with room to spare.
Hmm - maybe I should send this in as a tip somewhere - how to use your children to grow shrunken clothes back to their original size..slowly....

Meltdown

The local broadcaster SABC appeared to be in meltdown today after the suspension of the CEO early this morning - following his earlier suspension of the Head of News.

The unfortunate timing coincides with Input2008 currently underway in Johannesburg and attended by a host of international TV commissioners and execs.


*******
Today's page count: 9. Mood: distracted

scriboscope

Yes these horoscopes for writers again - always good for encouragement.

Here's the link for May. Luckily mine (Aries) tells me:

Your best writing time this month falls between May 2-26, while Mercury is moving in direct motion. Between May 26 and June 19, it’s time to rewrite and revise.

Better crack on

Today's page count: 11. Mood: changeable.

pond

Spoilers: banal post ahead

Not a post about writing or progress but about the pond in the garden getting a bit overgrown. This is what it looked like yesterday morning.


The size of a plunge pool, don't know whether it ever had koi carp in it but I doubt it - it's a bit leaky and when the rains come (anytime soon) it can fill right up to the top. In fact once when it became a little too swampy, the neighbour at the back came round and accused us of breeding mosquitoes (as though anyone actually breeds mosquitoes - although perhaps Pandora did - after she opened the box) Same neighbour called in the environmental health whose advice was to pour in some paraffin - which didn't seem very eco-friendly, but perhaps it worked and anyway a couple of days later, the water all drained away.

So there you have it - a pond or rather a big stone-lined hole in the garden - that probably has imperfect feng shui. Mountain above water is that supposed to be a good hexagram? Wonder whether there's one for mountain above grassy pond...

Yesterday's page count:9 (including title page)

10²

Ok today's the day I get started on a ten page a day x ten (working) day scriptwriting blitz to complete the new script. The final treatment came in at 17 pages after being tweaked and de-pedestrianised (I removed all the zebra crossings) So now the fun starts.
I'm thinking of asking for an increase in my fee - cheeky I know - and a bit late - since I've been paid - but producers like to move the goal posts and often under-estimate the amount of time and work involved in writing and re-writing.
In contracts here I now stipulate the number of drafts and also script revisions I do (usually 2) for the fee as well as page counts for documents like treatments - otherwise it can keep going back and forth. I'll ask anyway - if only to put the wind up them. Just read in several horoscopes that today is a good day (new moon) to ask for money so it would be a shame to waste these astral benefits huh?
Later

peaks and troughs

Woo - had my first ever hits spike over the last couple of days - what with the survey (below) and results etc. But now thankfully everything's back to normal

Have been revising the current treatment as the first quarter was proclaimed too 'pedestrian'. In fact there've been some extremely heated email exchanges about what can work. At least both sides are now being extremely honest and opinionated about what is required - which I like - rather than vague, squirmy and roundabout - which I hate. After all, isn't that what expletives are for?

Onwards.

scriptwriter blog survey results

click on scans to go large:

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts,

I am at the end of my tether. Please advise. Lately my husband of 8 years has been receiving facebook messages from a man in Israel. I am not normally the jealous type and his desk top correspondence does not generally concern me. However, he has been inundated with hugs from this man who appears to be at least 20 years his senior in age. Apparently they met on the West Bank in a war zone several years ago.

Last night he received 14 hugs with big 'X' kisses from this man. I have considered that perhaps his admirer is someone who is not yet fully versed in the ways of facebook or that he possibly may be insane.

However my heart is full of gloom in anticipation

Please advise me urgently as I do not know where to turn...

Yours in torment.

Far Away

thin week

A barely there, size zero of a week this one - with only Tuesday and Wednesday that are not holidays here. I was planning to do a 10 pgs a day x 10 day blitz to produce a first draft of the current script in 2 working weeks - but the week's thinness is pushing me towards starting the week after.

The survey below had me skipping all over the scribosphere - trying to chivvy responses - so if you haven't done it yet - please do. I'll leave it up for another week (or so) while I try and work out a way of posting up the responses. UPDATE: There are 52 responses so far including 6 incomplete ones - would be good to round off the total at 50. Results to be posted on 29th. Anyone with an interest in scriptwriting blogs can answer - newbies, old hands, writers and non-writers. And it is global - so all US, Canadian bloggers - drop by for 1 minute. So far the UK is well represented, SA less so and there've even been responses from New Zealand and Zimbabwe…

Laters

the script blog survey is here!

but I can't put it inside a blog post aggh! Anyway please take the survey by going over there on your right - at the top of the sidebar and click on "view survey" under the pink square.

Any problems, leave a comment. Ta.

SURVEY NOW CLOSED

punchy

Feedback finally arrived and it's all very do-able. I'm on the right track - just have to punch up the emotional drama even more. So back to work and..

punch up, punch up
punch up...
(c'mon you know you want to join in..)

I had a blogwave in the middle of the night and thought why not do a visitor poll? All writers like filling out forms and answering questions about themselves don't they? - so yes! I'll have a fiddle with blogger over the next while and see... Of course you all must answer it - all eight of you - but it will be totally anonymous...

punch up punch up

blogface

Interesting week - had my half-brother pay a lengthy visit to the blog - which was kind of unnerving - especially since I've not actually met him in real life yet - only on facebook and email. Anyway hello! and glad you dropped by..

Been a bit slack on the blog. I could blame these power cuts (now time-tabled at 2 hours twice a week) but that'd be a lie, since they're fairly easy to work around. While awaiting my treatment feedback (which still hasn't come) thought I'd try and knock out a brand new one. But after 3 days, the story just wasn't happening and clearly needed to ferment some more - so didn't meet that deadline.

What else? After reading this story in the Sunday Times a couple of weeks back, I thought hmm - since I have some bits by the same artist - maybe I should go and get them valued at Christies. Anyhow they were in touch very quickly to say that my 23 year old letter and unsigned A5 pencil sketch on a piece of torn notepad were 'interesting' and could go to auction with a conservative reserve of £2500 - £3000 but may fetch 2 or 3 times that. Not bad huh? I'm tempted.

Laters.

Input 2008: Africa

Input 2008 (Africa) takes place in Johannesburg from 4th- 10th May. This year's conference includes various special sessions.

Made in Africa is an international training opportunity for new and emerging documentary filmmakers from across Africa and takes place on May 3rd and 4th.

Ousmane Sembene: Inside and Out explores the work and cinematic influence of Ousmane Sembene. This event on May 5th is moderated by Pedro Pimenta.

The Story Tree explores myths and perceptions of Africa (past and present) and the ways the continent is being re-imagined through African filmmaking. This discussion event takes place on May 6th and is moderated by Kethiwe Ncgobo and Jean Pierre Bekolo.

Input will also see the launch of The Human Bondage Project with Harry Belafonte as keynote speaker. The HBP is a global joint venture between the SABC, UNESCO and other international organisations and filmmakers. The aim is to produce - a drama series, a documentary series and various feature films on slavery within the next 5 years.

Full details of the Input event, registration, participation, Input blog and facebook group are available on the website - click here.

forecast

Last day of the school holidays today - yeehaaa! Managed to get my treatment in only one day late and since now have to wait for feedback until end of next week, maybe there's time to look at some of those deadlines...

The story I've been working on is a commission and rather a departure for me - being a real rollercoaster, gut wrenching, family drama. Although I am enjoying the writing - the peaks / troughs and emotional 'button pushing' is not something I tend to be drawn to when writing my own specs. I prefer to be more subtly subversive and peel away layers - which maybe doesn't always work in the right way. Perhaps the script will end up needing both.

Writing someone else's story can give you a perspective on the stories you like telling and why you enjoy telling them.

This one is again based on a true story (maybe I'm getting a bit typecast here). After reading the original script (which was all over the place and definitely did not work) and the various news reports etc, I found that I had little sympathy towards one main character - so the biggest battle was warming to her. I found that giving her an affinity for Pinot Grigio helped.

Being holiday time, daughter and hub are around quite a bit so inevitably I've ended up testing bits of the story on them. Hub had tears in his eyes at one point (ha!) and now my daughter keeps asking me to tell her 'the plane bit again'. Someone told me once that if a musician is composing a song - and other people around (usually children) pick up on the tune quickly and start humming it - then bingo - it 'works'. Going by my domestic barometer - maybe I have a result.

Until feedback indicates otherwise (ha!)

Laters.

deadlines..

Yes today I had a deadline to meet - finish writing and submit my 10 page feature treatment. So did I do it? No I didn't. Very unusual for me but, after 3 days of school holidays, Crusty Custard Mumple on a loop and an afternoon of extreme bungee trampolining with my daughter, I'd come to the conclusion that writing a treatment in 7 days was probably not possible. Instead I emailed off copious amounts of fascinating, distracting and thought-provoking (ahem) notes to sidetrack the producers along with a suggestion for a new date - which happily has been accommodated. [Lesson for producers - if writers have to meet a deadline - pay them afterwards not beforehand.]

As an aside - there seem to be so many other deadlines around this month - things to go in for, submit, write up bits for.. Don't you think? I wonder if its possible to meet all of them....

in love with a rabbit

I don't often get excited by these gadgety things - and it was actually my daughter who started jumping up and down today when an ad for this popped on to the screen - nabaztag - the wifi rabbit.

Now I don't think I can live without one. Has anyone tried it?

Script Camp Lite

Nice little opportunity here to GET PAID to write your South African spec screenplay - while staying at home. Almost too good to be true - isn't it?

This opportunity was specially created for those writers who work or do other stuff and are/were unable to devote three months of their life to the (previously advertised) residential 3 month script camp.

Deadline is April 18th 2008 and full details are available - click here.