Objects At Rest

explorations in audio and moving imagery

Author: Grant

  • Weekly Update

    • RT @gabrielshalom: @zefrank – probably my all-time favorite web video bloggers – is back! http://t.co/P1e0yO9C #hooray #
    • Day 15. I'm on page 52 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 15 Sample "CLOAKED FIGURE: The axe will speed you on your quest!" #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 16. I'm on page 54 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 16 Sample "As she walks off to head home we see the moonlit shadow of the gigantic beast against the church wall." #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 17. I'm on page 58 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 17 Sample "EDITOR: Interesting that you left out details of the deaths. REPORTER: Didn't really suit the story at hand." #scriptfrenzy #
    • I have a supernatural axe, a "dinosaur", and several characters have died so far…with terrible dialogue to boot! hehe! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 18. I'm on page 60 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 18 Sample "We see the black eye of another creature breathing deeply and slowly, clearly a VERY large beast!" #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 19. I'm on page 66 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 19 Sample "All of a sudden, the beast appears and rips through the brush toward them! CHARACTER: Not again!" #scriptfrenzy #
    • Von Trier's Melancholia is streaming on Netflix! I liked it. Probably will watch again. #larsvontrier #
    • Day 21. I'm on page 71 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 21 Sample "CUT TO: A smoky battlefield…warriors clad in primitive armor fight! The axe is swung up into view…" #scriptfrenzy #

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  • Script Frenzy: Week 2

    I made it past page 50 this week for Script Frenzy! I spent some time this weekend using MindMeister which helps since I dove right in on April 1st with no real character or plot outlines. So far, the combination of mind-mapping in MindMeister and writing the script in Celtx seems promising.

    The mind map for the film has the characters and relationships on the left and the film outline (acts, plot, structure) on the right. It was nice to be able to brainstorm things visually and freely move things around which should help with writing the next 50 pages. I’m still working non-linearly, writing blocks of scenes for the different acts at different times as more details come to mind.

    Writing a (good) feature is not easy! I’m typically work on short-form projects, so having to craft a story that can sustain and engage the audience over 100 pages is a big challenge. The exercise itself helps me appreciate the talent and skill that good screenwriters have! My script has so many issues right now, but I’m pressing on.

  • Weekly Update

    • Day 6. Day off from writing. #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 7. I'm on page 28 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 7 Sample "takes out the notebook and, with his finger, traces the geometric diagram he drew earlier" #scriptfrenzy #
    • RT @XanderBennett: Good post! http://t.co/YaPL4Vw5 This is relevant: http://t.co/5HRmlXZq #
    • Day 8. I'm on page 32 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 8 Sample "EXT. FOREST – NIGHT The lantern illuminates the beast as it snaps its toothy jaws…" #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 9. I'm on page 36 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 9 Sample "The cloaked figure turns and speaks in some foreign tongue." #scriptfrenzy #
    • http://t.co/M9bVxbnH Jack removes paper, then (at 2:44) paper is back in typewriter. Kubrick doesn't just make mistakes! #kubrick #shining #
    • Source for my previous post! Interesting read! http://t.co/ogXj2w0o #
    • Day 10. I'm on page 40 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 10 Sample [SPOILER ALERT] "…stands with the townsfolk at the funeral of the three children." #scriptfrenzy #
    • "WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE MEANING OF LYNCH MOVIES YOU'RE BASICALLY DIVING HEAD FIRST INTO THE FIELD OF SEMIOTICS" http://t.co/Jpux6z3k #
    • Thought of the day: I'm not really a fan of the final acts of most movies. The exception being Kubrick and Lynch films! #
    • Day 11. I'm on page 42 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 11 Sample "MMC: It was an accident. You couldn't have known they were in the cave." #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 13. I'm on page 46 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 13 Sample "…circling the ancient axe, are geometric and alchemical symbols that glow with an inner luminescence." #scriptfrenzy #
    • LINCOLN: Now playing for a limited time Apr. 14th – 26th. https://t.co/URJzJtBp #cgi #lincoln #animation #
    • RT @austinkleon: "Creativity is not a talent, it is a way of operating." I've watched this 3 times in the past week: http://t.co/BEharj17 #
    • Day 14. No screenwriting today. Instead, outlining plot and character arcs in MindMeister. #scriptfrenzy #mindmeister http://t.co/PwrbqCvn #

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  • Script Frenzy: Week 1

    Sometime on April 1st I learned about Script Frenzy via news feeds and tweets and looked into it further. For several years, I have had one idea for a feature length, live-action film so I decided to sign up for the frenzy to see what I could come up with. I usually storyboard my animation projects instead of formally scripting them, using basic outlines and visual sketches to guide the production. Hopefully, the process of doing Script Frenzy will be educational and may even produce ideas for some future feature.

    I plan to use the frenzy to bang out a first draft no matter how terrible it turns out. As of page 32, there are a lot of problems with the script, but it is also a lot of fun and my hope is that after 100 pages maybe 1/3 of it will be interesting enough to warrant future drafts or other directions.

    On April 1st I used my white board to outline the format of the 100 page script and listed the main characters. I didn’t spend a lot of time outline but just jumped in with the milestones in mind for page 10, 25, 75, 85, and 100 and started writing. The film, in my mind’s eye, is comprised of a few key scenes and concepts and I’m writing around visuals at this point. The dialog is flat and some things are derivative but, and I believe this is the fun part, I keep pushing forward in spite of those weaknesses.

    In order to keep moving I will literally have my characters comment on things like bad dialog or meandering action. They will exclaim that what they are discussing doesn’t make sense and simply walk away followed by a transition or a cut to a different scene altogether. I find that helps me to break out of scenes that don’t seem to be working and get back to the action quickly. I’m also taking notes as I go and during this first week have come up with different directions that characters and the overall script will take. I’m outlining as I go and sprinkling description and dialog that comes to mind along the way. I switch between linear and non-linear writing by writing chronologically but when an idea strikes I’ll add in scenes in Act 2 or 3 quickly and then move back to the chronological order. I have rough place holders already for the milestones throughout the script and have started to flesh them out and rearrange scenes.

    I don’t know if this is how other people write or not but it is how I’m approaching things right now. Ultimately, I am viewing this whole exercise as process over product. The frenzy rules are loose enough to allow for creativity and bad first drafts. The idea is to get a complete first draft done in a short amount of time!

    As for the story? The script I am writing is hard to define since I am letting it emerge during the writing process. At this point I’ll say it’s speculative horror and it is definitely subject to change. This week it’s Jurassic Park and Tom Sawyer meets the Andromeda Strain!

     

     

     

  • Weekly Update

    • The Series Development Bible (v2) – Journal – mikejones.tv http://t.co/iEFpW8w6 via @mikejonesnet #
    • RT @celtx: 30 days. 100 pages. Script Frenzy. Are you in? http://t.co/w2KtpxY6 #
    • RT @neiltyson: Tyson vs Cameron vs Titanic. One of the few times in life when it's just fine to be a "son of a bitch": http://t.co/7K3Hdc4F #
    • I'm on page 10 of my script! Woot! #scriptfrenzy #
    • DAY 2 SAMPLE – What do you think they will find here? Trees, bugs…(laughing)…a big lizard monster that eats things! #scriptfrenzy #
    • RT @Sven: True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country. ~Kurt Vonnegut #
    • Day 3. I'm on page 16 of my script. Kind of meandered with some dialogue today but looks like the action may be back on track. #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 3 Sample "EXT. FOREST – NIGHT The group picks up their things and head into the murky darkness of the forest." #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 4. I'm on page 21 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 4 Sample "the thick scaly foot of the beast steps into view" #scriptfrenzy #
    • @Sven LOL. Hmm…A time travel story about a scriptfrenzy writer! Back to the Future meets The Player! #
    • @Sven State and Main meets Timecop! #
    • @Sven Adaptation meets The Terminator! #
    • @Sven 😎 Clear potential for a time-traveling screenwriter franchise. Hollywood should greenlight this premise! Get JJ Abrams on the phone! #
    • Day 5. I'm on page 25 of my script! #scriptfrenzy #
    • Day 5 Sample "EXT. CAVE – NIGHT Trees and brush move wildly with wind and sonic fury…" #scriptfrenzy #
    • RT @Occoris: RT @actionscribe: "Don't get it right, get it written." ~Art Arthur #ScriptFrenzy #
    • @Occoris Thanks! #
    • Cool News! RT @nobledesign: NYTimes has requested an interview regarding 1/2L… #

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