March Status Report Thread

One screenplay done. Working on another right now. I have three possible stories (each one taking the piss out of the superhero genre I hate so much -- fun!), and will write them all up to see which is best.
 
Kholi said:
Wilderworks would rather see a horrible comedy attempt than a horrible attempt at seriousness.
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But don't forget, I also said we wouldn't have to worry about either of those, because every single entry is gonna be spectacular. Though, yeah, I think pretentious is a good thing to steer clear of. :)
 
WilderWorks said:
But don't forget, I also said we wouldn't have to worry about either of those, because every single entry is gonna be spectacular. Though, yeah, I think pretentious is a good thing to steer clear of. :)
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Eh, to tell you the truth, pretentious is an opinion. I've heard people dub Crash pretentious. But you know what? I didn't mind it at all.

November? Listen to the writer speak on pretention in the commentary. It is what it is, but I don't think people should let their work being viewed as pretentious be something to negate a decent story.
 
My side kick and I (or am I the side kick?) have an idea we both like going. I am scrambling to finish building my 35mm adapter and steadicam rig first. Probably not a good idea... I think I can, I think I can.....
 
Kholi said:
I don't think people should let their work being viewed as pretentious be something to negate a decent story.
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I have to agree, and yet I don't think that happens too often. Usually, it's the reverse, since pretention is when an artist is pretending the story is something it's not. That usually means the good story it could have been is walled up behind all the nonsense it's pretending to be, which is usually "serious" nonsense. I have no problem with something like Crash, that's actually attempting to tackle important and enormous issues like racism. I have a problem with someone putting on that tone and that gravity to tell what should be good, pure entertainment. It's like giving Indiana Jones a deep, philosophical voice over about the nature of evil and god, and cutting the whip-snapping to fit it in. That would be pretentious.

Just let it be what it is.
 
wcs said:
I started replying to this, but then I realized you might not have been making a joke about one of their more... obviously superhero-related songs.
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No, I just really like the tone of one 3 Doors Down song. I just ask the clearance guys at NBC, and they print out the publisher contact for me. They told me I only have to contact one person, and they take it from there (publisher, artist, label). In other words, you don't have to contact the publisher and then contact the artist/label separately. It's easy enough--you could go to the BMI or ASCAP sites and find the info yourself. I tried to clear a song for my original Sci-fest script by The Veronicas, but of course, I didn't even get that far due to time constraints.

This would not be for a soundtrack bed or anything. I just like the sound of real pop songs for end title credits, and how that makes your movie "feel" as you fade to black on your final shot.
 
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Does anyone know when the deadline might be?

Also, since NBCSHOOTER is talking about music & licensing..if anyone wants/needs original music, let me know! I can convincingly provide just about any genre of music you might need for your flick (pop, rock, jazz, latin, 70's funk/disco, 80's new wave, 90's pop, grunge, 60's psychadelic rock, classic rock, hiphop, r&b, classical).

I can also create all the incidental source music you might need, like for music playing out of a tv or radio in the frame, the music in a restaurant office or elevator.. and you won't have to license music or use royalty-free stock tracks!


Check out my thread below for samples and more info:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=48382



C.R.
 
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Blaine said:
It depends on action to dialogue ratio. If you're heavy on dialogue, your pages will run fast, if you're heavy on action, it's just the opposite. You can use the 1 minute/page easier on a longer project because it will usually even itself out. But on a short you really need to take into account how much action you're packing into your pages. Three pages could easily output 6-7 minutes of movie if it's action driven.
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Just now trying to catch up on some of these threads. The above will really vary on the writer and the director. For instance, the writer may be VERY detailed in their action lines, which means the action could pace evenly or be even faster than what's on the page ... this was true for PANDORA, since we had a 12 page script that delivered an 7+ minute movie. The warehouse scene, for example, took nearly half the script with all the action I'd written out, yet only took about 1-2 minutes of film time.

Also, as far as dialogue goes, it depends on the scene & feel ... there could be dramatic pauses, opportunities for the talent to SHOW how they feel vs. just saying it, etc. ... things that really add to the clock.
 
Envision said:
Just now trying to catch up on some of these threads. The above will really vary on the writer and the director. For instance, the writer may be VERY detailed in their action lines, which means the action could pace evenly or be even faster than what's on the page ... this was true for PANDORA, since we had a 12 page script that delivered an 7+ minute movie. The warehouse scene, for example, took nearly half the script with all the action I'd written out, yet only took about 1-2 minutes of film time.

Also, as far as dialogue goes, it depends on the scene & feel ... there could be dramatic pauses, opportunities for the talent to SHOW how they feel vs. just saying it, etc. ... things that really add to the clock.
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Does that mean it depends on what VERSION of the script you're using? I'd think a SHOOTING SCRIPT would be a longer version of the original, that's if anyone actually uses a shooting script to go off of in these contests?

I'm not even plotting out the fight scenes in my entry... I just put "they fight" and then the outcome. =P


By the way, on my status (since this is a status report thread):

I'm still in conceptualizing and Tone lock down stages. LOL. I've put in a good seventy-two hours of straight thinking so far, though.
 
Envision said:
Just now trying to catch up on some of these threads. The above will really vary on the writer and the director. For instance, the writer may be VERY detailed in their action lines, which means the action could pace evenly or be even faster than what's on the page ... this was true for PANDORA, since we had a 12 page script that delivered an 7+ minute movie. The warehouse scene, for example, took nearly half the script with all the action I'd written out, yet only took about 1-2 minutes of film time.

Also, as far as dialogue goes, it depends on the scene & feel ... there could be dramatic pauses, opportunities for the talent to SHOW how they feel vs. just saying it, etc. ... things that really add to the clock.
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You can obviously do whatever works for yourself, which is clearly the case in this contest. However, if you keep your actions concise, and your spacing verticle, you can get a really accurate estimate from the screenplay. Pauses in dialogue broken by paranthetics or stage action, etc. And it would have the benefit of being formatted as preferred in spec scripts -- 90 pages for a 90 minute movie. But again, if you've got a system that works for you, go for it! But if you want a sense of what the length of the finished product *could* be like, following the format is surprisingly effective.
 
Just found out John Williams is busy on another project so I'm starting to write my own score
 
My outline of the script is done. The script itself should be done by Friday. This weekend I'm hopefully going to be meeting with my key players in the crew (Assistant Director, Director of Photography, Art Director, and Producer) and get a schedule going.

Tenatively shooting won't start until mid-April. Fortunately, I'll be able to start some of my post work long before we even start production. Yeah, I know that's a backwards way of doing it but it should work out well.

I'm very, very excited for the project. Nervous though...
 
I have my hero defined, now I need to come up with a story to use him in :) Hoping to get my script completed by the end of March (with revisions) and then start filming the first week of April.

My goal is to be done by May 15th ... because that is my birthday (hey if Jarred can set the deadline on his b-day, I can set my personal deadline on my b-day). Plus I am a procrastinator, so that gives my 15 days to slip :grin:
 
I have my story. It still needs some tweaking to make it more "heroic". I've been scouting locations this week. I've found some groovy places. I just hope I can muster the actors I'll need and make it all click in the end. Getting actors is the biggest hurdle for me so far. That, and a few props and outfits for my supporting characters.

:grin:
 
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