301media.com | A mixed media blog by David Baker

“We are the tools of our tools,” or so Henry David Thoreau famously said. It’s true. As a species, our single greatest flaw is our obsession with inanimate objects. How many folks died for the shiny yellow metal stuff? What about blood diamonds? How many newspapers did we deliver so we could buy that Red [...]

_So with the closing of several mini-majors this year, are indy films dying? Not according to Salon. _Another slate of comics-based films is announced. I’ve never been into comics, but I suppose I should be judging from the percentage of financing that goes into these projects. It’s a natural fit…they’re storyboards waiting to happen, and [...]

As of a few hours ago I received my first remuneration as a screenwriter. It consisted of a plane ticket, a motel room and a very nice meal (and a few beers) at a seafood restaurant in Santa Monica. Of course tomorrow we’ve got a full day of combing through one of my scripts line-by-line [...]

When you first start writing scripts, one of the great liberating experiences is the ability to start a scene with something like this: EXT. PARIS STREET – AFTERNOON Smith steps to the curb and hails a cab... And then, you can follow up with the next scene, with a quantum leap: EXT. SEASIDE CAFE, HAVANA [...]