Archives for category: Contests

100 pages

April 17, 10 //
0

Reached 100 pages on my newest writing project, Homeland. It’s a feature script set during Japanese American internment during WWII. Took me 17 days to reach 100 pages, which I did as part of the Script Frenzy event. I’ve probably got another 40 to go, which I hope to knock out in the balance of April.

It’s amazing how many folks, a lot of them young, who write recreationally as part of this program. I suppose there are plenty of screenwriters who would shrug this sort of activity off as amateurish, but I find it enjoyable. Plus it never hurts to have a deadline.Writing can be painful. It stings to use both sides of your brain in concert, struggling with a blank screen or the banality of a cliche-ridden draft you’re cranking out at warp speed.

But then storytelling is inherent in us as a species. We do it around meals, beer, cocktails, business lunches, on the phone or in 140 characters of SMS. Might as well capture in in Courier in feature film format.

The vast majority of the 20,000 people signed up to write a script in April won’t finish. Most of the finished scripts won’t be very good, mine included–at least until another dozen drafts of the material are completed.

Some of us might get lucky. Maybe I’ll option another screenplay or produce all or part of this on my own. None of that really matters, though, in the short term. Right now, I just have to finish this draft, stealing an hour here and there.

Screenwriters – make a short film this summer

May 23, 09 //
0

Have you sent your scripts off to the Nicholl Fellowships for the year? Are you working on your next feature project? Are you trying to learn how the business works from the outside?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you’re probably still in learning mode. Most screenwriting bloggers recommend moving to LA if you’re serious about a career so that you can immerse yourself in the industry and make connections. Some will heed that advice and others won’t, but either way it’s a long, hard road to get a feature script that you’ve written filmed and distributed. The odds are pretty much against you. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try. But it does mean that you should be doing everything you can to learn about filmmaking.

Ultimately, the best way for a writer to learn is to simply write and rewrite scripts. Words and story are your tools, and you have to know how to handle them better than anyone else on a project. But another way to to learn is to make a short film. Like writing, it can be done anywhere. If you do it yourself, it’ll cost you a couple thousand bucks, and it might not turn out very well, but it will provide an education.

I’m working on my first short film now, and it’s an education. I’ve got one feature script in development, and I’ve written several full-length scripts that have fared well, but a short film is another matter altogether. Our project is already up to a cast of 15 plus extras, and a crew of at least 10 (if we can find enough volunteers). You look at a script differently when you’re trying to meet a budget. Or when you have to rewrite to adapt to a location that is different from what you originally envisioned. You learn about things like gaff tape (and what it’s for), camera dollies, cranes, and how catering, snacks and coffee are at least as important as what camera you use.

This isn’t something you can do on your own as a screenwriter. But if you’re outside LA, you’d be surprised how easy it is to get the interest of volunteers. You’ll need experienced partners. And it’ll take months of your free time. But you’ll learn a few things about filmmaking and you’ll be able to talk intelligently about the myriad of issues that producers have to deal with, from working with a budget to casting to managing a large crew. And when you’re asked to rewrite to address any of these issues, you’ll do so with complete understanding and empathy.

I’ll blog this summer about the progress of our little project. Of course we’re entering with the typical hubristic notion of showing in film festivals, winning all sorts of awards and sending it off to Sundance. But even if it sucks, I’ve already learned a bunch about filmmaking that I didn’t know after years of writing and revising.

Screenwriting Lab at Sundance now taking apps

February 16, 09 //
0

The application for the Jan. 2010 Sundance Screenwriters Lab is now available online.

Valley Film Festival

October 27, 08 //
0

One of my scripts took “best screenplay” honors at the SF Valley International Film Festival last night. It was a nice cap to my first trip to LA. Writing isn’t exactly lonely work, as much as it is isolating. Even when you’re working in the coffee shops with other presumptuous writers (where I am right now) you are still required to climb into your own head. I can look around and see all of the same glazed looks. I understand where they are, of in their own lonely little spheres of existence in the second most populous city in the country.

Here I am making some kind of speech.

I don't recall exactly what I said, but I think it came out okay for a socially challenged writer-type.

So it’s very nice to receive validation in the form of nominations, and in this case, an actual prize. I received a trophy and a handshake. Swapped a few business cards. Ate a few cheese cubes and sat in the company of a room full of people who are pretty much in the same situation I am: devoting a portion of their lives to a creative pursuit for which they receive little remuneration.

It’s been a good trip. Without dropping names I had meetings with a small production company of which you’ve probably never heard (though I expect you will by the time their run is through) and a company you will certainly know if you’ve watched any of the best films produced during my lifetime.

And now its time to head back to the real world.

Spec season

October 11, 08 //
0

Regular as fireflies on the Fourth, October is the time of year that Nicholl inquiries begin to roll in. I’ve had the good fortune of placing spec scripts high in that contest two years in a row. Once they release the list of quarterfinalists and above, production companies and a few agencies will reach out the the writers and ask to read scripts that interest them.

I’m a little better prepared this year. I know the difference between an agent and a manager. I understand the concept of a “meet-and-greet.” I know that everyone loves your script desperately and would sacrifice a limb to see it made into a movie…right up to the point where they stop returning your calls.

But I also understand that the film business is charged with creative energy, interesting people and a boatload of talent. I’m still maintaining connections and possibilities from last year’s Nicholl run. Some have provided excellent feedback. I’m still rewriting last year’s script based on producer notes, and it’s getting better. I’m pushing it in new directions I never would have conceived before. Every phone call, email exchange and meeting I’ve had has improved my understanding of how the process works.

And the main thing that I’ve learned is that filmmaking takes time. A writer needs patience and persistence. And a writer also needs to focus on what’s most important: the next script. I’m wrapping up a first draft of next year’s Nicholl submission now. I’ll probably write a half dozen more drafts between now and the opening of the next contest. Then we’ll start the whole process over again.

Top screenplay contests

September 7, 08 //
0

A couple years ago when I finished my first script, I had no idea what to do next. Unlike fiction, you can’t just send queries to agents and expect any kind of response, even rejections.

Screenwriting contests and script competitions are one avenue to get industry attention. These are the best options based on my experience and research.

1. Nicholl Fellowships – This is the best one out there. You’ll get inquiries even if you’re a quarterfinalist (top 250 out of 5,000). As a semifinalist (top 100), you’ll get blasted with emails for a month, and they’ll continue to trickle in for up to a year.

2. Bluecat

3. American Zoetrope

4. Big Break

5. Scriptapalooza

6. Cinequest

There are hundreds of contests out there, and they mostly cost between thirty and fifty bucks to enter. Big Bear Lake International Film Festival is an example of a smaller competition that has seen winners go on to actual careers in the industry. You can find many other contests at Without a Box.

Are contests a scam? Are they a way just to raise money? I believe they’re largely legit. I’ve done the math, and script contests are not big profit centers. Something on the scale of the Nicholl certainly loses money. It’s the software companies and the expensive seminars and script doctors (and MFA programs) that feed on Hollywood dreams and make serious money from them.

Industry professionals are definitely interested in contest winners and finalists. This route has worked for me.  I’m still a working stiff writer and haven’t sold anything. But I’ve had a lot of good reads and I’m now rewriting one of my scripts for an indy company, so my one sliver of a chance has come directly from my experience with contests.