Coming Soon!

2012 is running on nitro it seems... Almost the end of February already!

After the 52 Week photo blog experiment I felt like I needed a little break from here and it's probably just as well since I have been extremely busy. It's time to re-organize, re-focus and re-jig things around here I think. This year I'll be taking a small step back from the photographer hobby and getting back to what I do professionally, namely writing, directing and story consulting.

I have lots to share in the next little while, much of it focused on the on-going projects I'm involved in such as:

- The webseries Libelle which I blogged about back in Week 18.

- The Death of Alec Gray which is the feature I will be directing.

- Writing for Capcom Games Vancouver (as soon as the game I am writing for is officially announced!)

- DSLR filmmaking.

DSLR filmmaking is of particular interest to me since it's a natural progression from exploring the stills side whilst bringing me back to my passion as a filmmaker. Initially I was hoping to shoot a short film every month for this year but work commitments have made this unattainable, at least for now.

However, I did manage to shoot some video on my trusty Canon DSLR and I'll be sharing the results of that soon. Here's a few screen grabs from the work-in-progress edit:

Like the short film from Week 2, there was no script and it started out as more of a "gear test" than a serious effort but I'm pretty happy with how things are shaping up with the piece. For the techno-geeks among you and for those of you wanting to know how you can turn you're DSLR into a filmmaking tool, I'll do a separate blog on some of the gear used, problems encountered and how I approached the Post Production.

Given my work commitments, my blog posting schedule will probably be less frequent than the weekly 2011 posts but I'll do my best to share content as often as I can. Stay tuned for the finished short film.

If you have any questions, requests or comments please do share them below!

Clarification...

To answer the few questions I've received about my offer of a free story consultation...

Yes, I am serious about giving a free story consultation!

Yes, I will say whose logline won.

No, I won't publish my feedback on your screenplay should you be the winner.

As for where to post your logline, just click on the link "Comments" beneath the blog titled "Free Story Consultation".

Simple as that!

PARTNERS IN CRIME

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, Lennon & McCartney, Martin & Lewis, Laurel & Hardy, Siegfried & Roy, Bush & Cheney (?!), Cheech & Chong… There are a myriad of partnerships throughout popular culture. Though I do not consider my writing partner, Chris and myself to be anywhere in the same league as the famous or infamous duos above, I am nonetheless one half of an ampersand.

A short while ago, in preparation for our latest writing assignment, we were asked by one of the producers how we function together as a writing team. In answering his question it made me realize that sometimes I take my professional situation for granted.

I had worked with many people before in different capacities with varying degrees of success but the idea of co-writing something had always kind of scared me. Part of my fear was grounded in hearing the horror stories of egos clashing like stags in the Spring. Mostly though (and I was too pompous to realize it at the time) it was because I was one of those self-absorbed fools that thought being a real writer meant toiling alone in a dingy apartment with nothing but my tortured artist’s soul and a bottle of JD to keep me company.

This was of course a load of B.S. and was an ego-driven instinct far more damaging to the creative process and it’s eventual results than the aforementioned pitched battle of antlered animals in heat!

Do Chris and I disagree on things? Absolutely! Do we lock horns and fight over ideas like our survival depended on it? Never, because it’s never about us as individuals, it’s about finding the best ideas and distilling them down to their core, examining them from different angles and ensuring they are the very best ideas for the context of the story. In short, the project always comes first.

When we begin a new project, regardless of it’s source, be it a crazy thought one of us has had, an idea brought to us by someone else or a fully realized property that is being adapted for the screen, we always begin in the same way. We get together and we talk about our gut reactions to the idea – how we feel about it, what it means to us, what we’d each like to see part of it. This invariably leads to an ever more excited geek-out session of “what if?” possibilities. Usually, these sessions involve us joking around, referencing favourite movies, remembering crazy shit that has happened to us in our lives and going off on wild tangents.

Coming up with creative gold is rarely the outcome here. In fact more often than not we come up with more ideas for completely new projects in these discussions. However, we always walk away understanding what the overall tone of the piece will be, what our individual goals are and what we each personally respond to on an emotional level with the project in question.

Sometimes one of us will go off and launch into the writing, sometimes we’ll immediately divide things up into manageable chunks. Usually there are sequences that we each have a clear idea of how to tackle and sometimes our unique strengths play more to certain sequences than others.

We both come from very different backgrounds and our personalities, to the outside observer would also seem wildly divergent. We both have very different writing habits but where we meet in the middle makes it all work: Our passion for storytelling and movies and our basic societal belief systems. Most of all though, we respect each other’s opinion and this is how our writing process is able to function.

When one of us has completed our agreed upon workload, we trade off and re-write each other. Thanks to our initial discussions regarding overall tone and emotional goal of the piece, we have a consistent map to work off of. Chris makes my writing better and I make his better and come the end it is usually tough for us to say who wrote what.

We have disagreements along the way on every single project but by maintaining a clear vision of what the end product should feel like, we are able to argue and dissect ideas without ever having to resort to ego-driven battles to protect our individual voices. Neither of us is too precious about our babies, and when we are, we make ourselves debate the pros and cons of the idea rather than the person presenting the idea it! Thankfully a satisfactory, not to mention amicable solution always presents itself.

There will always be “creative differences” when more than one person is involved with the act of crafting something. But when “creative differences” cause individuals to part ways (often scarred for life!), this has nothing to do with the craft and everything to do with ego and personal insecurity.

As with any relationship, be it professional or otherwise, know who you are walking alongside and most importantly, make sure you both have the same goal in mind and the same core values at heart. Be honest. Be respectful. Communicate with one another.

Though we both spend a lot of time doing the physical writing sitting alone in our apartments, at least we can pick-up a phone. At least we have a lifeline that doesn’t have Jack Daniels’ name on it!

Having someone else to bounce ideas off, give you a boost or pick up the slack when you’re suffering the invariable bouts of insecurity and droughts of creativity is invaluable. I’m proud to be an ampersand and consider myself very fortunate to be a partner in crime with Chris.

Until next time folks...

NORMAL SERVICE WILL RESUME SHORTLY...

Yeah, I know, I’ve gone off the grid the past weeks…

A new project that my writing partner and I have been involved with for some time is moving to the next stage, so apologies for not having had anything to say lately. My Fall looks like it is going to be very busy indeed but I will be endeavoring to get something up here once a week.

Something that might motivate me more in keeping going with this blog would be hearing more from you!

I’ve gotten a lot of emails from people expressing kudos for my free story consultation offer and many have said things like, “I might” or “I should put up my logline”. Others have said, “I would, but my idea sucks” or “I haven’t gotten around to writing a logline for my project yet”…

Come on people! What’s not to like about something that’s free?! Or is it me? Are you afraid I may not like your work? Remember, it’s not about seeking my validation or my approval – in the grand scale of things I’m not worth much but if I can help you improve your project, I will. It’s not about pleasing my tastes (which, you’d be surprised, are pretty diverse all things considered!).

So to those of you who have had the courage to share your loglines, thank you! And to those of you who have doubts about sharing, all I can say is, what have you got to lose?

For those of you who don’t have a logline to share or to those of you who aren’t even writers but who have a mild interest in the film and tv world, please send your comments and let me know what you like, what you’d like to see more of, etc. Any questions you may have I’d love to hear, there really is no such thing as a dumb question.

More to come soon… Until next time folks!

Running From The Dreaded Bubble…

I’m back! Is there anyone still listening? Was anyone here listening to begin with? Hard to tell given how reticent you all are in commenting… And yet, thanks to my StatCounter I know you’re out there! So for now at least I’ll keep writing and pretending that any of this has a point…

Writing can be a solitary existence at times. Especially if, like me, you are one of those writers who works best when distraction is eliminated. Maybe I’m just stubborn (or too old?!) to adapt to writing on a park bench or in a busy coffee shop or maybe I’m just too damn lazy – let’s face it, going out means taking a shower, dressing in socially acceptable attire and being forced to deal with people that appear busier, have more structured lives and make a more predictable income than I do. Are they happier because of this? The grass if always greener, you know, over there where the “happy” people are playing.

When I actually do find the courage to venture into the world and when I have one of those rare days when I feel I can hold my head high and proclaim, “I write for a living!” I often meet people who look at me with that certain look in their eyes… There’s that glazing over, that sad smile that says “Wow, your life must be so interesting…” There’s that subtle sigh that comes with it that says, “I wish I was able to ignore every bit of common sense my parents and society ever grilled into me about making sure I abandoned my dreams in favor of being a responsible adult…” Ah yes, the grass is always greener where the “happy” kids play.

I say, (usually quietly) “Um… I wrote an Uwe Boll movie…” then I look over my shoulder to make sure my secret is still safe. And it IS still safe! Because nobody is listening and that includes the person standing in front of me with the glazed expression and the sad smile. They’re too busy playing in that imaginary green land of possibility and dreams pursued, not abandoned, to pay any attention to my contribution to the sewers of the cinematic kind.

So it’s usually with a sense of relief that I return home, back to “the real world” of writing in my solitary bubble… I like my office at home. I like my tattered leather chair that I picked up in a garage sale for $10. I like the 18” Robocop figure looming over me from the shelf above - the thin layer of dust on him gives me comfort that little in this bubble-world has changed in awhile. Most of all, I like the peace of mind I get from knowing my bathroom is just a few short steps away, that it does not require a key on a giant stick and that, when nature calls, I can be assured a clean, comfortable and safe cathartic experience.

Safe + Quiet + Routine = Creativity!

Normally I cherish those words. They are what I need to do what I do. At least that’s what I’ve convinced myself they mean. Unpredictability? “Begone!” Noise and distraction? “I banish thee!”

But who the hell am I kidding?

This existence, though conducive to the actual writing process I am accustomed to now, does not alone bring about creativity. Well- it does… But it’s a kind of creativity that is mired in safeness and routine. It becomes boring. Anyone can bang words down onto a page in some kind of order (one only has to read this blog to know that!) but for it to be about something, for the words to connect in that special way that invokes an emotional reaction other than a yawn??? That takes a perspective. A perspective that comes from emotional experience and the unfettered desire and desperate need to delve deeper into that emotional experience and transform it into something else! And that kind of experience cannot be got living inside a bubble.

So today I am thankful for my recent time away from my tattered leather chair and 24/7 clean, comfortable and safe bathroom access… I’m grateful for the amazing places I got to visit between here and Edmonton in the last 10 days. I’m grateful for the super genuine and fascinating people along the way that I got to cross paths with. I’m especially grateful to my girlfriend for dragging me kicking and screaming into my first camping experience (Shock! Horror! I have to pee in those bushes? With no light? With mosquitoes, bears and god knows what else lurking around every corner?!). Among many things I discovered: That I have a massive allergic reaction to bug bites; that there are miraculous places in the world where you can swim right above a giant waterfall and NOT plunge to your death; that despite my hatred of the Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton, and the people who live there, really are quite pleasant; that A & W makes a damn tasty breakfast when you’re hungover and that you can never ever have too much ice for your cooler…!

Now that I am back in my homely little writing bubble, sitting in my tattered leather chair, my back is aching… I’m kind of sad to be here because the grass really IS greener and besides, this chair sucks! Robocop and his layer of dust gives me no comfort at all and I’m noticing for the first time ever that he’s holding a gun to my head…! (“Your move creep!”) And yeah, my bathroom is close by. And yeah it’s clean. But now that I think about it, I’ve seen some pretty hilarious bathroom wall graffiti over the years! (“Jesus lives!” then, scrawled beneath, “What about my Easter vacation?! Screw you Jesus you self-resurrecting sonofabitch!”).

To hell with safe! Bring on unpredictability! Am I scared? Terrified. But you know what? For awhile at least, I’m okay with that.

Until next time folks… Keep running from that bubble!

Projects: The Legend of Silk Boy

I received the above image this week. Close to being a final render, it is a screenshot from the upcoming animated feature The Legend of Silk Boy. Pretty nice huh? I particularly like the shafts of sunlight cutting through the clouds of Victorian smog over St. Paul's Cathedral.

I’ve been fortunate enough to write two animated features to date, both for the same producer, David, who is based in China and who has a legion of amazingly talented artists working for him. The first one, The Road To Honey tells the story of a young boy who accidentally gets turned into a honeybee and ends up saving a beehive from a power-crazed hornet. Of course, along the way he learns such wholesome things as how to fly in a straight line and the value of friendship...

Sadly, The Road to Honey is currently in “development hell” but it was a fun writing assignment for my writing partner, Chris, and I and it led to us being hired again by David to pen the above mentioned The Legend of Silk Boy. Initially it was a really daunting project and didn’t come together nearly as smoothly as Honey because there were certain elements that needed to be incorporated at the behest of the Chinese executive producers. The inspiration for the story came from one of the investors in the film whose great grandfather, Xu Rongcun, was a skilled silk maker. China is extremely proud of it’s legacy of silk making and Xu Rongcun is something of a national hero having been the first Chinaman to win gold and silver medals at the World’s Fair in London in 1851. With Shanghai due to host the next World’s Fair/Expo in 2010 the decision was made to tell a story that would honor the art of silk making whilst at the same time remaining accessible to an international family audience.

We knew that our protagonist was going to be a young boy who was a descendent of Xu Rongcun. We knew that there were to be several bizarre fantasy characters in the story such as a Bat Girl, Mushroom Guards and Ginseng Warriors. However, there was no antagonist and the idea of constructing a crowd-pleasing adventure story around silk making was, quite frankly, terrifying!

This is where many hours of tireless research helps the writing process immensely. Specifically, finding something- anything- that could help us discover the underpinnings of a good story. We read-up on the history of the Silk Road trade routes, the process of silk making, the life cycle of the silkworm but nothing immediately sparked our imagination. That is, until we stumbled upon what we guessed was a pretty obscure ancient folk tale concerning Leizu, the wife of The Yellow Emperor… Leizu, also known as The Mother of Silk or The Goddess of Silk, is generally credited as being the person who discovered silk when a cocoon fell from a mulberry bush into the tea she was drinking. In The Legend of Silk Boy, Leizu became our Wizard and the magical world inside a silk painting that our hero is sucked into became our Oz. As for our Wicked Witch of the West, we created a mustache-curling, completely bonkers, vengeful villain in the form of Lord Filthington The Fourth!

Silk Boy had a pretty tight deadline for delivery but once we’d locked in the basic structure it was thankfully quick to write. Most of our time ended up being spent tightening up the insane action of the final Act which saw our main characters coming back into our world and tearing up Shanghai. Following this we had a few days left to polish up and add a multitude of sight gags and one-liners before sending the first draft to David in China.

The waiting for feedback period never gets any easier despite having gone through it many times. In my heart I felt pretty proud of what we had come up with for Silk Boy but neither Chris nor I had any clue as to how David and his team would respond. We knew that we were contracted because they wanted a film that would be accessible to a western audience (both The Road To Honey and The Legend of Silk Boy were conceived as English language films for the international family market). Having already worked with the Chinese producers on The Road To Honey we had encountered a few interesting cultural differences in taste that needed to be explained. We were pretty sure Silk Boy would be the same. In fact, we were more than a little anxious, particularly concerning the Ginseng Warrior characters who were kinda “out there” to say the least! And what about our interpretation of Leizu? What if our research was completely off the mark?

Several weeks went by before we got feedback in a conference call with David who informed us that when the execs in China first read the screenplay they hated it and were completely confused by it… GULP! This wasn’t looking too positive… He went on to tell us that they then went through TEN translations of the script (David was the only member of the team who spoke English) and now that they knew what we were actually saying everyone absolutely loved it! As for our inclusion of Leizu, it turns out that in China she is one of the most venerated cultural icons… Funny how Google, Wikipedia et al neglected to mention that! By far the best compliment we received was that several of the execs were stunned that a couple of Caucasian dudes in Vancouver could have written a story so faithful to Chinese folklore.

The Legend of Silk Boy is currently in production in China and is due for release some time in 2010 to coincide with the Shanghai Expo. Voice talent includes Jackie Chan and a multitude of wonderful actors from Vancouver. As added local bonus, an original score is currently being composed by talented Vancouverite, Alain Mayrand (you can follow Alain’s progress on his blog here).

If The Legend of Silk Boy is successful enough there is a very good chance that The Road To Honey will be the next animated film to go into production so finger’s crossed… I'll keep you posted on all things Silk Boy related, entice you with tasty morsels as we get closer to release and, at some point, get a column or two out about the challenges of writing an animated screenplay as opposed to live action.

'Til next time folks!

Working with... A Story Consultant

This is the first in a semi-regular series of “working with” posts I’ll explore in the next little while. Important word here is WITH – film is a collaborative process and when you find a professional relationship that works, nurture, appreciate and protect it with your life! They’re worth their weight in gold.

“So what’s a Story Consultant and why do I need one?”

A Story Consultant is essentially the same thing as a Story Editor but as a writer and a Story Consultant myself, I never liked the Story Editor moniker – it conjures up images of someone looming over the screenplay I’ve labored on for months (years?) slicing and dicing with a blunt pair of scissors or, in really severe cases, a rusty machete and a hockey mask… I can’t speak for others but this isn’t what I do when I’ve been hired as a Story Consultant – I don’t even own a machete or a hockey mask. What I do have is a critical eye, an understanding of story, a passion to help do whatever it takes to make that story as good as possible and the courage to be brutally honest with who I am working with.

If you’re a writer, you need a Story Consultant because no matter how good you are at working your craft there comes a time when outside eyes prove invaluable in the ongoing development of both your project and your own personal growth. If you’re a producer or a director working with a writer, a Story Consultant can be useful because after several drafts even you can be too close to the project to see possible problems. In addition, when you do identify issues with the project, you may be at a loss as to how to solve them. Regardless of your involvement in the project, be it as the writer, director or producer, bringing in a Story Consultant means opening the door to someone who is not invested in the story in the same way that you may be.

“But- I want them to be invested! I NEED them to be invested!”

A good Story Consultant will still care about your story in all the ways that matter. What I’m really talking about here is ego, as in: Leave your ego at the door… This is the most important step in bringing in those critical outside eyes. The reality is that whether the Story Consultant is good or bad, there’s a very good chance that they will tell you things you don’t particularly want to hear. Things that are the equivalent of “You’re a pitiful waste of skin” or “Your baby is ugly and retarded”… You get the idea. However, just because a pill is difficult to swallow doesn’t mean that it isn’t good for you…

It’s all about credentials. Just as you wouldn’t ask the guy at the car dealership to give you an eye exam you shouldn’t be getting critical feedback on your screenplay from your mother, girlfriend or guy across the hall that kinda digs movies. You may have a friend or colleague who is also a screenwriter and whether they are at the same level as you or not, being a writer doesn’t necessarily mean they can also be a Story Consultant. Being able to identify a story problem is one thing, being able to see potential solutions and communicate them in a way the writer can understand is something else entirely. Some writers can do this, some can’t. Many professional Story Consultants are also writers (myself included) and some rarely write themselves and yet are geniuses when it comes to wading through others’ creative mud and navigating narrative to the promised land.

“So how do I find myself my very own super-wizard story saver extraordinaire?”

Well, you could hire me- Oops, I just forgot about that whole leave your ego at the door business… Failing that you could hire someone not me as long as they have a proven track record (be it produced credits, glowing recommendations from other legitimate writers, etc.) and are someone who you feel you can trust. This is where asking the friend who is also a writer can be problematic – no matter how good friends you are, sometimes pesky little things like jealousy, selfishness and good old fashioned competitiveness can rear their ugly heads. Be sure that they’re helping you for the right reasons.

If you are getting the assistance of a professional who you don’t have a previous history with then feel them out as much as you can first before embarking on what often ends up being a journey of several months and several drafts. The getting to know you dance does not have to be complicated, in fact it should be as simple as possible especially if the individual you are expecting feedback from is a working professional since time is a valuable commodity. Recently, I was approached to story consult on a feature and the producer wanted me to read the screenplay and write a sample report – in effect they were asking me to audition. I flatly said no and told the producer that if anyone agreed to do what they were asking, they clearly were not a professional Story Consultant and as a result the producer was taking a huge gamble as to the quality and usefulness of the ultimate feedback they were hoping to receive. Personally, I suspect this producer was tendering out “story auditions” in order to get several perspectives free of charge.

Anyway, back to the getting to know you dance. Firstly, ask to see the Story Consultant’s resume. If your script is a horror film then you may not want someone giving you feedback that has worked exclusively on comedy or animation. If they don’t seem to have credits that reflect the genre of your story then ask them what the last good horror film they saw was. Presumably (one hopes!), if you are writing a horror film then you have some degree of knowledge of the genre so you’ll soon be able to tell if your prospective story savior is well versed in things that go bump, splat and “EEK!” in the night.

Secondly, make sure everyone is on the same page as to what is expected. Is there something in particular in your screenplay that you are unsure about? What form is the feedback to take – full written report? Brief notes? 1on 1 chat over coffee? What’s the schedule – when can you expect to receive your feedback? Whether it is a colleague that is providing you feedback out of the goodness of their heart or whether you are paying for someone’s services, these are all reasonable questions to ask. Again, a professional’s time is valuable so this can all be covered in a five minute phone conversation.

“So I’ve found someone whose opinions I know I will respect, we’ve dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s – now what?”

Throw yourself off into the abyss! Seriously, go for it. Make the most of the time you have and most importantly, listen to what they have to say and take notes. I’ve been in situations in the past where a writer I’m working with is so nervous and wound up at the prospect of finally hearing something- anything at all concerning the story they’re trying to tell that they just want to talk about all the amazing scenes they’ve written and all the amazing ideas they’ve had since we last communicated. Try to ignore the fact that you are feeling completely vulnerable (maybe even foolish?) and be open to the criticism. Ignore the voices in your head telling you that you suck, that your story sucks, that the person giving you feedback sucks and try really hard to resist the urge to slam your fist into their face. Remember that you chose to share your work with someone and invited their honest opinion. Remember that if you can’t take one individual maybe not understanding or appreciating the depth of your genius then it’s going to get a helluva lot harder if/when the screenplay makes it to the screen with your name on it. If/when that happens there may be, potentially, millions of people giving their two cents-worth.

As writers, whether we like it or not, we are forced to create in a void. We begin inside our head, with a blank page, often laboring in complete isolation. If you ever want your words to reach others, to move them and inspire then sooner or later you have to step out into the light. Working with a Story Consultant gives you someone to navigate the void with and show you alternative ways of reaching the destination in mind. Best of all, when you survive the process you have a thicker skin and a little more courage for the next time you leap into the fires of creative hell...

Until next time, keep on pushing that rock uphill folks!