I've got a notebook, a nice leathery non-moleskin notebook. It's been written in since May of this year and after three and a bit months, it is half full. It's strange, but I've found an evolution in my notemaking. It started with just film ideas, and has progressed to moments and lines.
Moments and lines that are not anchored by anything, no real relationship. Just minor events and dialogue. Sometimes ideas, stupid inventions. Such as a greenhouse in office space.
One of the things I like to do in my notebook is to pick one of my ideas and it's question and then I keep asking 'Why?' and I can expand a world, a code, regulations, characters, history in a matter of five minutes and onwards.
Wherever I go, I bring my notebook with me if possible. People might have one great idea, but they'd have more if they carried a notebook with them.
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Take me to the higher place
Just about time for another blog post.
Funny how my social life has slowed to a stop since Uni. The idea that my friends are all over the place and far away, is a bit odd.
I acheived a 2:1 for my course in Screenwriting. Expectations were met, acheiving a 1st was never going to happen, I had interests in writing scripts but not essays. My grade for my script was somewhat surprising, lower than I expected. The more I reflect on my script, the further I come to realising that I was focusing on writing 112 pages, rather than the substance of the story. That does not make me any less proud of my work, writing that much is fantastic to write, but I can do better and I will do better. I believe I was one of the few people in class when asked if we would send out our scripts to agencies and film companies following our grade didn't put their hands up.
The story was just something I had to get out and it would not be something I would like to be associated with. The story came from a set of events, not characters, not ideals and not emotion. The opposite of what really interests me. I also think that most films do this too much and much, much better than my screenplay.
I'm happy to leave John Fellini, Court Weissberg and the rest of them alone, despite loving Court Weissberg as a name. I don't know what it is but slightly off kilter names are more interesting than Dan Jones or Bill Smith. I almost feel that I wrote the anti-thesis of what I want to write, it was bad but I need to be bad so that I can improve.
It has still been four months since I have written anything creative, apart from jotting down ideas. The process was tough, I have about 35 stories I want to tell if not more. I need to prioritise, one of the first things will be a Sit-com pilot to get comedy out of my system. I am also planning out a novel that I think will be big, and I really mean big. But don't rush, I'm young and I have plenty of years to make failures before I start making the right choices and that is life pretty much.
Finally finished watching seasons 3,4 and 5 of The Wire. Now I've been badgering everyone about how good it is since I started watching it in 2007. Like the Rocky films and the Beverley Hill Cop duology (There is no third film) it will never get tiring. I don't think a television show will ever be bettered, in its little way it is social commentary on the working classes as well as crime and justice. there is a beautiful montage at the end of the finale where the characters roles are changing, all the big players if not dead are done and all the little ones have stepped up into their roles such as Michael becoming the new Omar, Dukie becoming the new Bubs, Carver becoming the new Daniels/Colvin and Sydnor becoming the new McNulty.
Now I'm onto watching seasons 1 of Taxi, Cheers and Seinfeld.
Funny how my social life has slowed to a stop since Uni. The idea that my friends are all over the place and far away, is a bit odd.
I acheived a 2:1 for my course in Screenwriting. Expectations were met, acheiving a 1st was never going to happen, I had interests in writing scripts but not essays. My grade for my script was somewhat surprising, lower than I expected. The more I reflect on my script, the further I come to realising that I was focusing on writing 112 pages, rather than the substance of the story. That does not make me any less proud of my work, writing that much is fantastic to write, but I can do better and I will do better. I believe I was one of the few people in class when asked if we would send out our scripts to agencies and film companies following our grade didn't put their hands up.
The story was just something I had to get out and it would not be something I would like to be associated with. The story came from a set of events, not characters, not ideals and not emotion. The opposite of what really interests me. I also think that most films do this too much and much, much better than my screenplay.
I'm happy to leave John Fellini, Court Weissberg and the rest of them alone, despite loving Court Weissberg as a name. I don't know what it is but slightly off kilter names are more interesting than Dan Jones or Bill Smith. I almost feel that I wrote the anti-thesis of what I want to write, it was bad but I need to be bad so that I can improve.
It has still been four months since I have written anything creative, apart from jotting down ideas. The process was tough, I have about 35 stories I want to tell if not more. I need to prioritise, one of the first things will be a Sit-com pilot to get comedy out of my system. I am also planning out a novel that I think will be big, and I really mean big. But don't rush, I'm young and I have plenty of years to make failures before I start making the right choices and that is life pretty much.
Finally finished watching seasons 3,4 and 5 of The Wire. Now I've been badgering everyone about how good it is since I started watching it in 2007. Like the Rocky films and the Beverley Hill Cop duology (There is no third film) it will never get tiring. I don't think a television show will ever be bettered, in its little way it is social commentary on the working classes as well as crime and justice. there is a beautiful montage at the end of the finale where the characters roles are changing, all the big players if not dead are done and all the little ones have stepped up into their roles such as Michael becoming the new Omar, Dukie becoming the new Bubs, Carver becoming the new Daniels/Colvin and Sydnor becoming the new McNulty.
Now I'm onto watching seasons 1 of Taxi, Cheers and Seinfeld.
Monday, 11 July 2011
It's just another blogspot
I feel I should do another post, I have numerous other things I should be doing. In my time at home, it's been alright. Reading quite a few books, particularly the second and third books in the Song of Ice and Fire series (I think I'll write and post a scripted version of a chapter from the third book, as an exercise), not going out and every once in a while going out.
Dylan Moran for example, saw him in the city doing some stand-up. All the conventions I thought would stand for comedy didn't. I should point out this was my first time at a stand-up gig. Don't get me wrong, it was alright, but... people we're laughing just to laugh, not because the jokes were funny (some were) but because there was a fear of being left out, as if you are intellectually inferior because everyone else got it. One source of annoyance was that guy to my right, he laughed after everyone else laughed at a joke, as if he is the punchdrunk version of a pothead, a delayed reaction because the cogs in his head are rusty and crap. I think I could do stand-up, I have some material that could be performed for ten-fifteen minutes.
Also saw Foo Fighter, Biffy Clyro and Jimmy Eat World at MILTON KEYNES, MILTON KEYNES. The 65,000 fans of the Foos entered the National Bowl, this was an unplanned thing for me, I was asked to go by my cousin the week before as his mate dropped out. It was interesting, as my cousin referred to it as a mini fest, I don't think I could handle an actual festival, due to hygenie, crap food and all that. The music was great, they opened with two of the guys from Supergrass doing songs from Elvis Costello, The Cure and The Doors, nice opening. Jimmy Eat World was awesome, I've been listening to them ever since, Biffy was more eh to me. As the Foo Fighters came on stage I was feeling crap, dehydrated and all that, I swear I could feel my kidneys hurting. The music was great, and most importantly the best jam between Seasick Steve, John Paul Jones and Grohl on drums.
As for writing, haven't written anything for a while, not for two months. Good thing? Bad thing? I'm jotting down ideas and being excited about old and new ideas, not quite figuring out what I want to write first. I need to pick one thing, devote my writing to it and then move onto the next thing. But mentally, I am unprepared, I need some other challenge as well. Hopefully back to running and more importantly getting a job.
Best spend some time getting a job, money is an important thing at the moment, since I am considering making short films, but we'll see what's what.
Dylan Moran for example, saw him in the city doing some stand-up. All the conventions I thought would stand for comedy didn't. I should point out this was my first time at a stand-up gig. Don't get me wrong, it was alright, but... people we're laughing just to laugh, not because the jokes were funny (some were) but because there was a fear of being left out, as if you are intellectually inferior because everyone else got it. One source of annoyance was that guy to my right, he laughed after everyone else laughed at a joke, as if he is the punchdrunk version of a pothead, a delayed reaction because the cogs in his head are rusty and crap. I think I could do stand-up, I have some material that could be performed for ten-fifteen minutes.
Also saw Foo Fighter, Biffy Clyro and Jimmy Eat World at MILTON KEYNES, MILTON KEYNES. The 65,000 fans of the Foos entered the National Bowl, this was an unplanned thing for me, I was asked to go by my cousin the week before as his mate dropped out. It was interesting, as my cousin referred to it as a mini fest, I don't think I could handle an actual festival, due to hygenie, crap food and all that. The music was great, they opened with two of the guys from Supergrass doing songs from Elvis Costello, The Cure and The Doors, nice opening. Jimmy Eat World was awesome, I've been listening to them ever since, Biffy was more eh to me. As the Foo Fighters came on stage I was feeling crap, dehydrated and all that, I swear I could feel my kidneys hurting. The music was great, and most importantly the best jam between Seasick Steve, John Paul Jones and Grohl on drums.
As for writing, haven't written anything for a while, not for two months. Good thing? Bad thing? I'm jotting down ideas and being excited about old and new ideas, not quite figuring out what I want to write first. I need to pick one thing, devote my writing to it and then move onto the next thing. But mentally, I am unprepared, I need some other challenge as well. Hopefully back to running and more importantly getting a job.
Best spend some time getting a job, money is an important thing at the moment, since I am considering making short films, but we'll see what's what.
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Untitled - Revenge of the Working Title
Still alive, still aimless. Moved back home less than two weeks ago. Home comforts make me a lazy person, but I'm slowly winding up to prepare for continuing my writing. Jotting the odd idea in the notebook every now and then. Reading as much as I can. I take away more from books than I do any other medium.
I've started thinking about writing some novellas, I'd never thought I would be interested in it. We shall see how it goes, I have a certain sylisation that I am willing to try.
I've stopped exercising, I've let my facial hair grow. I've noticed a lot of my sentences started with the letter 'I'. Not honing a vocabulary, rather a husk of such a thing. I talk about my aspirations, never really set foot towards meeting them, interesting that.
I'll spend some time enjoying home comforts, I feel like Hoffman in the Graduate lazing around after finishing Uni. To be honest, I have done a lot of DIY. I still have a short film to write for sometime, I only remembered an hour ago. I'd best get to writing that short film, it seems simple enough, a talking heads piece. Could be considered a strength of mine.
Signing off.
I've started thinking about writing some novellas, I'd never thought I would be interested in it. We shall see how it goes, I have a certain sylisation that I am willing to try.
I've stopped exercising, I've let my facial hair grow. I've noticed a lot of my sentences started with the letter 'I'. Not honing a vocabulary, rather a husk of such a thing. I talk about my aspirations, never really set foot towards meeting them, interesting that.
I'll spend some time enjoying home comforts, I feel like Hoffman in the Graduate lazing around after finishing Uni. To be honest, I have done a lot of DIY. I still have a short film to write for sometime, I only remembered an hour ago. I'd best get to writing that short film, it seems simple enough, a talking heads piece. Could be considered a strength of mine.
Signing off.
Monday, 16 May 2011
One Step Beyond!
A kid was bit by an adder in the new forest the other week. I feel inclined to go to the new forest and bite an adder now.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted and there is good reason for that. I finally finished Uni, it was alright. We celebrated and all that, had a good final day, I honestly don’t think it could have been better. But now, after a week, I m fed up. I’m aimless; I’ve got nothing to do. I’ve jotted down some things I want to do before I leave Southampton for good. What gives me meaning? My writing. What do I like to talk about? Ideas. I try to challenge myself.
If I think of myself in stages, and for some strange reason, I kind of do. I am at the pinnacle of myself, there is no greater challenge than yourself and besting your past efforts. I could destroy my past iterations. I think of what I’ve done, having the most boring year out, travelling two hours a day, five times a week to go to college. University is more of a lesson for life than it is degrees, and that’s lucky because by degree won’t get me a job. I’ve learnt how to look after myself. I am smarter, faster, stronger, overall more rounded person.
I’m currently in a limbo, between different steps of life. The next one is familiar and at the same time not, I’ll be back in my old surroundings, but at the same time I cannot go and enjoy all the comforts, because I have to get somewhere. I owe it to myself. I can’t be like people I went to school with, they went through what I’ve been through and now they’ve hit a plateau in life. These are people who are smarter than me, one step ahead, and they just stop and get a job. That’s pretty much it. Why give up? Why now? You have to keep pushing forward to get what you want. That thing between the people who you look up to and the person you are, it’s a barrier, and that is you. I won’t give up.
Three years didn’t end on a whimper. But with a powerful explanation point, for my friends, and the many, many people I feel indifferent about, cheers. You can’t ape the experience.
Monday, 25 April 2011
Nostalgia
Currently, I have got the nostalgia of Uni in my mind, it always comes just as things are about to end
I always think of a song. Take it Easy by The Eagles particularly this part:
I always think of a song. Take it Easy by The Eagles particularly this part:
'We may lose and we may win,
though we will never be here again'
And then onto the next part of my life, but not after a scenic sunset and a JD & Coke in my hand.
You know what they say. Red sky at night, shepard's house burning.
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