self

from an email with a friend taking screenwriting in london

i don't like syd field much. read him and then forget
about him. it's important theory to know and use at
first but it's too pedantic. i've skimmed the robert
mckee book story that every one talks about...i think
it's a bit better, but similar in its all knowing
tone. joseph campbell the hero with a thousand faces
is good. myth structure, hero's journey, etc..
our "text" for much of the course is alexander
mckendrick's book on filmmaking. pretty good. for film
theory, film art by david bordwell and kristen
thompson has been one of the best i have seen. i wish
i had more time to do more than skim through these
books myself.

Some Writing Stuff.

It's been a while, but I don't want Th' Conversations to die, or me for that matter. I got restricted Internet right now, but here's a few I head for when I'm online:

http://johnaugust.com

Screenwriter of Big Fish, Willy Wonka, Go, etc etc... could be a Hollywood hack, but he's a fine blogger and has a lot of nice stuff about real indie film, biz stuff, writing exercises, not fooling yourself, etc etc, though the Friday faux-gossip-column I can live without.

Also, I've got a couple more scripts on the way after I finish writing this one: I'm finding that I can only finish things when I pare them down to base elements and no more, that that's the way I figure out what something is. That said, who's up for shooting in April, first week? I am.

"C.I." 9 pages, two locations, 16mm and video, soon

I managed to finish that script, though it's 9 tight pages instead of 5. I suppose I should thank Dolly Parton. Um.

I did a first draft that was shorter, but also looser, oddly enough. I trashed the second half and threw out the opening shot. The rewrite put both the characters into the first shot, and from there it seemed to flow much more smoothly, with an ending that rhymed with the beginning. Much tighter.

I have this thing where I have to let stuff percolate in my head for a while before I put it on paper, even if I know exactly how it's going to read once it gets on the page. So i walk around with it, knowing, but not doing anything for a few days. It probably reflects how I've lived my life or something. But this, no one can read:


It's at Yale. Even the Yalies can't read it.

from filmmakermagazine.com

I WANT MY HDV

Notes on low-cost HD.

BY D.W. LEITNER

HIGH DEFINITION, OR HD, FOR THE MASSES.

Compact and affordable, like Mini DV 10 years ago. Still feels like a pipe dream.

Or maybe a fever dream. Discussing the new HDV format stirs confusion because there are two flavors, three manufacturers and four camcorders. A major player, JVC, launched a popular 24p version of HDV that a year later none of the major nonlinear editing systems can readily capture. Plus there’s Panasonic’s compact P2 camcorder, the HVX200. It’s not HDV — as Panasonic reminds us at every turn — but belongs to this discussion because of its Handycam dimensions and autofocus zoom lens.

One thing is certain, however. Don’t let anyone tell you that HDV isn’t true HD. While both of Sony’s HDV camcorders are professional versions of consumer products, each camcorder mentioned below is capable of superb 720p or 1080i images. I’ve shot documentary projects with all four HDV camcorders: Sony’s Z1 and A1, JVC’s HD100 and Canon’s XL H1. I’ve test-driven Panasonic’s newly arrived HVX200. I’m not talking out of my hat.

to read the full thing go to:

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/spring2006/line_items/my_hdv.php

Dark Beauty was a straight to video movie from 1999.

Plot Outline: This "Harmony Collections" video features eight African-American models securely tied and tightly gagged.

i know this wont help you out but its amusing nonetheless

dark beauty

So today is a rather weird day. "Dark Beauty" keeps crossing through my mind, not sure why or what, but it's there and not leavng anytime soon. So I thought I would try out the blog and see if this brought any ideas to someone or sparks any kind of idea.

-Tyler

"On Wednesdays, We Make Movies"

So I ran across this site, by a self-publishing author who left HarperCollins. Good stuff.

But inside, it's got THIS, which is even better.

Has some great stories about forced-filmmaking by a bunch of pals. Usable? Adaptable? I dunno. But it sounds better than trying to finish this script I'm still trying to finish. I have a notion, but.

Best quote:

Nine out of ten movies that exist on the face of the planet are plain awful, and there’s no reason one shouldn’t muscle in on the excitement. The time to make movies is now. While poor quality and sloppiness are not a desirable end product, there is no reason the end product should always be pampered like a spoiled child in the first place.

Teahousing

J@y Pee, it's good to have you back, I guess, if you're not a camelboy in Morocco still. I hope you'll consider practicing of late not your inner camelboy but cowboy because you're gonna need him right-on soon. Trust me on this one; I've got a script on the burner and it needs you in fine HYAH! form. And pretty soon. Do you have boots?

Problem is I don't have much of a regular schedule here, since I'm too exhausted come school's end to do much but pass out and worry about my homework and tests. So I don't write. Also, I'm stalled a little on the end of this HYAH! script. If anyone has any dambreaking suggestions, I'm game. I have a notion of what to do with it, I mean it's only five pages, but I can't seem to touch the keyboard. Jumpstart me, plz.

If I had one of THESE, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Go in the morning, sit down with the whatnot, write all day. Fifty cents. Nowadays cafe rent's up to what, five, ten bucks? Just a couple hours before the next caffiends come in? How to write? Needs me a good cup of pu-erh, yessir, and some pita bread. People on the street eat pita bread.