maddiestjohnscreenwriting

[maddiestjohnscreenwriting]

Finished!

After having done my presentation, I felt comfortable submitting my script via the x drive. Now, everything other than this blog is fully submitted and finished, and all I have left to do is compile my references and appendix for the blog, and then submit the link.

Overall, I’ve found this module quite good. It challenged me, but not to the extent where I felt completely out of my depth. I feel as though I’ve definitely grown as a writer and in general improved some skills that are useful to have as a student, especially presenting. I did struggle at some points in the module, such as when it come to the pre-viz and the presentation, and some smaller parts of the writing, but overall I definitely enjoyed it and learnt from it and look forward to using the skills I’ve made as I continue my academic career.

[maddiestjohnscreenwriting]

Presentation

After having a week to prepare, it was finally time for the presentation. One thing I definitely hated about it was the fact that I was second-last in the entire class, so I had to watch everyone else before it got to me, which just made me even more nervous to present. My nerves were definitely the worst part of the presentation, because I just over-think it and panic. The build-up though was worse than the actual presenting, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I thought I’d forget everything I had to say and mess up but I think it went alright, though I might’ve missed out on a couple of things.

One thing that was really frustrating about my presentation was that I’d made it on Keynote on my Mac, so even though I converted it to a powerpoint before putting it on my USB and checked the powerpoint, when I pulled it up on the screen to present, all of it was messed up and the fonts looked wrong and weren’t the right size. So, I’ve included a copy of the presentation in the appendix (see appendix 1) to demonstrate what the presentation should’ve looked like. This was especially annoying because I came so prepared with so many backup plans (printed copy of presentation, pre-viz, and speaker notes; copies of everything on my phone; copies of everything on my USB; copies of everything on both my university and personal email; copies of everything on my laptop). I couldn't have been more prepared for something to go wrong, except the one thing that did go wrong. At least, the slides weren’t hugely important because they didn’t have much information on, it was just visual prompts for the sake of the audience, but I think they were still legible enough to do their job, I hope.

Other than that, I think the presentation went fairly well and I got some interesting questions from the group about my piece, some that I hadn’t even considered. I was happy with this because the questions was definitely the bit I was least nervous about, and I was happy to talk about and answer questions about my project on the spot. Despite this, I’m still glad it’s over, and am definitely happy to not have to worry about it anymore.

[maddiestjohnscreenwriting]

Presentation Preparation

In our final lecture with John, we were shown a TED talk about presenting that was particularly interesting, and I think it’ll be very useful for not only this presentation, but any future public speaking I’d have to be doing. I also started to think a lot more seriously about the presentation. Only having done two presentations at university so far – neither of which were assessed – I didn’t know much of what to expect. I thought of it just as a PowerPoint of bullet points while you explain your idea, but now I understand a lot deeper into what’s expected of us and how I can make this presentation interesting and worthwhile.

I started with making the slides of what I wanted to say, then writing out the speaker notes and adding visuals to the slides as I went along, to make sure it was visually interesting, and the audience wouldn’t get bored. Overall, it didn’t take too long, but I did have to think more in depth about my script and the themes and important things the audience should know about it.

[maddiestjohnscreenwriting]

Pre-Visualisation

I started to look into pre-viz over the Easter holidays, to get an idea of what I wanted to do, but there wasn’t much I could do until we’d had our final lecture and been told properly what we actually had to do and how we could do it.

After the lecture, I started to look into pre-viz software. I looked into iClone, but it definitely looked too complex to figure out while working on other pieces and going into university at the same time. So, I looked into Sketch-Up and started playing around with it to get the hang of it a bit. I watched two videos ((Creating a 3D Storyboard in Google SketchUp for TV and Film and Google SketchUp Animation Tutorial) which both definitely helped me to understand how I can use sketch-up for my pre-viz and the different tools I have available to me. I also found it really interesting that you could set up cameras for different shots, etc. and definitely realised that there is a lot more to the program than I initially thought. As well, I was very happy to see the different styles/filters you could put over it. As an artist, I had wanted to physically or digitally draw storyboards or an animated pre-viz. However, I know that as a perfectionist I wouldn’t have enough time to make it to the standard that I’d want to have it at. So this is a good compromise, because sketch-up will be a lot easier and quicker to use, but I can still make it stylised and look the way I want it to.

It took a couple of days to finish in the end, but I’m happy with the final product.  I used screen caps from google sketch-up and pieced them together to make a video. I’m fairly happy with how it’s turned out, because I wasn’t sure if I’d manage to make a full two minutes with what was doable on very simple, free software. But, I did manage in the end, however I am worried that I might have over-simplified it, as some of the visuals would’ve definitely been too complex to animate with google sketch-up. Hopefully the meaning will still be able to be expressed well enough when I present it in just over a week. I’ll test it out on some of my friends and housemates and see what they think, and if it’s too confusing or doesn’t make enough sense, then I can always add to my presentation script so that I talk through the pre-viz to ensure that the audience understands what’s going on in the video.

[maddiestjohnscreenwriting]

Final Redrafting

I did one final read-over of my script, and made some small adjustments and improvements using the feedback that Sue had given on the draft I’d sent her.  I had a few small details I needed to smooth out; unnecessary scenes, parts where more explanation or reaction is needed, etc. It didn’t take too long to work on and get finished, but the hardest part of it was getting back into the story after not working on it for a while, and having worked on my other story instead, as well as an essay. I had to get back into the flow of things and remember what I wanted to change about the story and do with the story.

The main thing I had to change with my script, though, was making it darker. It already has such a dark ending, I needed to set this up better throughout the script, so that it isn’t out of character or out of place to have the ending the way it is. I thought this would be difficult to do, and I’d be awkwardly cramming things in to force it, but it wasn’t as bad as I expected. The changes I made felt very natural and I feel as though they definitely improved the flow of my script as well as the way the plot develops.

I’m sure my script is pretty much ready for submission now. It feels as though it’s a waste of the time I still have left to work on it, and that I should be making the most of that time, but I can’t really think of much else I can do to it. I worked on it a lot already over the Easter break, so I feel as though there’s not really anything left that I need to do. If I try to keep forcing myself to work on it, I might just end up making it worse, so I don’t want to risk it. I won’t submit it until nearer the deadline, but it’s a relief to know that at least it’s done and out of the way.

[maddiestjohnscreenwriting]

Redrafting

I redrafted several times before sending the script to Sue. To start with, I printed out my script and read through it, making written notes on the side. I definitely find this easier than reading it on my laptop, because it’s in a different format so I notice any mistakes better, and I definitely find it a lot easier to make written notes rather than changing the script as I go along.

After this, I read through a useful chapter of Dancyger and Rush’s Alternative Scriptwriting: Beyond the Hollywood Formula, ‘The Subtleties and Implications of Screenplay Form’ (2013). I made notes off of this in my notebook (see below), so that I could work through my script and make improvements off of the main points in the chapter.

This redraft didn’t take too long, and mostly consisted of adding capitalisation to sound effects and props that I had missed out and changing some of the sentences.

Next, I checked the formatting with the help of the USC Film Screenplay Formatting Guide that had been given to us by Alison Peirse, in my other screenwriting module. I feel like I already have a fairly good understanding of formatting but going through a script I’ve written and comparing it to formatting rules has definitely helped me improve my working knowledge of it and I definitely know how to better put it use. I’ve read formatting guides before, but never with an actual script to compare it to. It definitely helps a lot more doing it this way around, as I have a more concrete idea of how it works.

Finally, before I sent the draft off to Sue, I used another resource from Alison. She’d given us a list of common mistakes that are made in screenwriting, especially by beginners.

I read through the script each time for each point, because I wanted to be able to have my full focus on the point, so that I didn’t miss out on anything important.

The point I spent the most time on is ‘thinking of scene description as a series of fragments. This I found particularly interesting, especially the associated link. It talks about scene description being more like poetry than prose, and doesn’t have to adhere to standard grammatical conventions, as long as it gets the meaning across in the best way possible. I spent a lot of time thinking about this while I read through my script, changing the majority of the scene action and description to better fit this. I feel like this has definitely improved my script. However, I know I need to read through it a bit more and probably makes some more adjustments to this to make sure it still makes sense and that some of the description isn’t too length or boring. Then, I can read it out loud to make sure that all the dialogue sounds realistic and natural, and then send it off to Sue.

[maddiestjohnscreenwriting]

First Draft

Something I’ve always struggled with, both in creative and academic writing, is having the first draft not be perfect. I always want to make it perfect first time, which is impossible. I worry too much about how good it is when I’m writing it, and it definitely hinders my standard of work, and makes it take a lot longer than it should. Writing the first draft for this, I’ve tried to break out of that mindset, instead just focusing on making the script exist as a story first, then I can worry about making it actually good.

Another thing I’ve struggled with while writing the script is balancing my time between this script and my Screen Fiction script. During term time, I haven’t really had any problems with having the two scriptwriting modules, but now that it’s the holiday and I’m writing a script for both of them, it’s definitely harder. If I could go back and change my module choices, I still wouldn’t change it, because this is definitely good for me, though. I’ve definitely been more motivated to write my Screen Fiction script, because the deadline is closer, and I’ve had to go into a lot more depth for it because it’s a longer script. So, because of this, I’ve been waiting around for the inspiration to ‘kick in’ for this script. But I eventually decided that it’s just not a feasible way to work, because I could end up getting nothing done until a week before the deadline. Especially in an industry that requires deadlines (unless you’re writing a spec script or producing your own short), I need to work on the skill of writing without inspiration. I just have to set aside the time to write and write whether I want to or not. So, I did just that and managed to finish my first draft, finished at 10 pages. I know there’s a lot of improvements to still be made, but now at least I know where everything is going and I have something to work off of, rather than just thoughts in my head.

[maddiestjohnscreenwriting]

Plot and Character Development

After discussing my plot with Sue some more, I’ve developed it further to give more time to the set-up of the film to give an idea of the routine that Alfie has and the subsequent disruption to this when the new sibling arrives. This is because otherwise it won’t have as much of an impact and may not last as long as I need it to.

Before I can start writing, I need to develop my protagonist a bit further so that they’re fully fleshed-out and a believable character, and that the plot and their behaviour is in character. Using some questions that Sue had given us over multiple seminars, I explored Alfie’s character.

I found doing this quite helpful, as even though I already knew a fair bit about Alfie as my protagonist, this really solidified him as a character in my head and I think it’ll help me when it comes to figuring out how he behaves and guides the plot to the ending I want.

After doing this, I’ve been having more ideas on what to do with my plot, so I set aside some time to reconfigure my plot and get it completely ready to write my first draft.

When I started, I wasn’t entirely sure about the pacing or how I would space out the different plot points, but once I started writing it all flowed quite well and after I’d written one part, then the next step was obvious to me. I feel comfortable to start writing my first draft soon, meaning I’m on a good schedule at the moment. Sue told us that if we send her a first draft by 22ndApril, she can give us some feedback on it in our last seminar. So, I want to do at least a few drafts before then, so I can get it as perfect as I can, then use her feedback to improve it further. I think, over the course of the Easter break, I should have enough time for this.

[maddiestjohnscreenwriting]

Idea Development

I developed the main character first, hoping that I’d get a better idea of where I want to take the plot from this. To start with, I just made a vague character biography (see below).

After this, doing a scene-writing exercise from class really helped to prompt some ideas for my plot. It gave me the idea of Alfie feeding the monster under his bed, but I’ve still got lots of things to consider before I can start writing. This is an issue I tend to have when I’m writing; I get an idea fixed in my head, but it’s very vague and I’m often just fixated on a single concept, rather than a fully-fleshed out idea, so I tend to struggle to make it into something substantial. This is definitely something I need to work on, if I want to continue writing for my degree and professionally, so I have to make sure to persevere and not just stay stuck on the vague images I’ve got in my head. I also need to not get too fixed on ideas I’ve got in my head, and allow myself to change the idea if that’s where the development takes me, rather than trying to hold onto the initial idea.

I started to consider some questions about my plot, like:

When did the monster get there?

Why is it there?

Why is the story happening now, of all times?

As I considered these, and started to develop my plot into something substantial, I’ve definitely started to lean towards a darker storyline. Especially because I’ve been reading lots of Stephen King short stories lately, this really interested me. In his short stories, their structure is to full-length novels how short film structure is to full-length feature films. What I enjoy most about them is the build-up and ambiguity throughout the entire story, to end on something big, impactful, and normally disturbing, that leaves the reader with a sense of shock and discomfort. This is the kind of feeling I want to leave my audience with after reading/watching my script/film.

So, with this in mind, I wrote out a more fleshed-out plot outline (see below).

This will most likely need some adjustments as I work through it more and start writing, but it’s definitely something to go off of and means I can progress more in my story.

[maddiestjohnscreenwriting]

New Idea

Although I already had two ideas to work with and choose from, over the last few days I’ve been thinking about a new idea that came to my head. I haven’t been getting much further with my previous ideas, and although I still like them, I don’t mind having something fresh that I can write passionately about. I took some advice that Sue had given us during our first seminar, to write in a genre that you enjoy watching. I enjoy lots of horror (movies, books and TV shows) so when the idea first came to me, I definitely wanted to explore it more.

I had been looking at a Tumblr account that shared bizarre tips and how-tos. One post was called “how to make friends with the monster under your bed”, and while none of the actual content interested me, the title really got my attention. This stuck with me for a few days, and I started thinking about a little boy trying to make friends with the monster under his bed, and although it isn’t much more developed than that yet, I really like the idea already.

[maddiestjohnscreenwriting]

Idea Formation

While coming up with a couple of ideas to consider for my script, I struggled to break free of the ‘student film feasibility’ mindset of trying to figure out how the film could be made on a non-existent budget and mostly access to only student-aged actor of a very limited skill level. This is something that I’ve had drilled into me, after mostly working on film production rather than scriptwriting so far for my degree. This is, without a doubt, a useful skill to have when working in the industry. Budget and feasibility are huge things to consider when it comes to pitching and writing an idea. So, I don’t want to lose this entirely, but for the moment I had to shut that off in my head, because this film wouldn’t be made, and these weren’t the kind of considerations I had to be making.

There were two ideas I came up with that I presented in the seminar:

1.     A young boy coping with the pressure of starting a new school by escaping into his imagination.

I came up with this while looking at short films on ‘Short of the Week’ (2019) and saw the thumbnail for a German film with a few grown men sat in a bathtub, one with a snorkel on (see below).

Without even watching the film, that image alone prompted the idea for a scene in my head; a boy wearing a snorkel in the bathtub and going underwater and imagining himself snorkelling in the sea, shown on the screen as him actually being in the ocean. I developed it from there by thinking about how and why this would come about; what would cause a kid to imagine and disappear into their imagination in such a vivid way? I really liked the idea of exploring this, particularly the visual aspect, and definitely wanted to try it for pre-visualisation.

2.     A new beekeeper desperately tries to catch her first swarm of bees, despite constantly being unsuccessful.

The came from when Sue mentioned the film ‘Wasp’ (2003). The title alone got me thinking about how interesting it would be to look at beekeepers in a short film, as I feel it could be fun to explore visually and is a relatively unexplored topic. I started doing some research to prompt more inspiration and found a few beekeeping blogs (Kearney, 2019) to see what kind of things you could derive a good plot from, e.g. the kind of issues beekeepers can face and which of these would be the most interesting to film.

I’m excited to explore both of these ideas and see where I can take them, and even though I can only choose one to use, I’ll keep both for reference for any future projects I might have.

[maddiestjohnscreenwriting]

Beginning Stages

Before even starting the Creative Practice module, I knew I wanted to do the scriptwriting strand. That’s what I’m most interested in, both in this course and to continue in my postgraduate studies and after my studies. I’m already taking another scriptwriting module (Screen Fiction, with Alison Peirse) because of my interest in screenwriting. I was initially worried that I’d be overwhelmed with work if the modules are two similar, but after doing some of the seminars for each of them, I could see the clear difference between them, and I felt more confident with doing them both side by side.

Creative Practice has, so far, focused more on short films, while Screen Fiction has been instead looking at feature films and TV shows. I feel as though this is giving me a more well-rounded understanding of scriptwriting and definitely improving my skills as a screenwriter in any area.

Unfortunately, because the first seminar wasn’t until the third week, it meant having the first three weeks of the semester not being able to make any progress or start on the module because we had nothing to do or no information given. At least, with the Screen Fiction module running alongside, I was already in the frame of mind for writing and coming up with ideas, so I got a bit of a start on it already.