Well, that took longer than expected.
Yup, it's Pisces, back for another round, playing another layer of the cake that is life. I would make an excuse for my taking so long to get round to posting, but it would be unnecessarily long and more than likely entirely true. I've been busy, blah, blah, blah, I have a life outside of the internet, blah, blah, blah. It's all lies, I tell you. LIES.
Much has happened over the many months since my last actual post. (Because, naturally, there are posts that I've made that don't count as 'actual' postings. Go figure.) Whjere to begin? Maybe I should start with ZFTSOI. 'Zombies for the Sake of It' rather went kaput, and shall not be making another appearance. We shot all of ten minutes' footage over the course of two widely spaced-out film shoots, after which the writers/producers/directors binned the whole thing. A waste of a good script, maybe, but it isn't like we had a brilliant camera anyway.
Things only end so that new things may begin, though. Currently, I'm embroiled in an ambitious and ridiculously large project adapting a manga/anime into a live action webseries, filming for which should begin in June. Presently, the scripts are being completed, props sourced and locations being scouted. Why, just today I was looking at a particular hill with a eyes green with jealousy. We will yet use that hump of rock and tree; yes, we shall. This in itself is coming along just fine, though we're yet to so much as determine which locations we will actually use and which are lost causes. Also on the agenda is to get storyboards done for the shots. Likely, this will be done closer to the time (knowing us, on the day).
As for other Dead Fish projects, 'Attack of the Killer Shoes' is being held in reserve until such time as I can pull myself together and get some work done. I've already got a location in mind for that one. There are also several other short films in the early stages of development, the main one just now being 'Therefore, Aliens', a collaboration between Matt and I. Keep an eye out for those.
That's what's keeping us busy just now, people. When YYH production begins, we'll set up a production journal - it's gonna be a long haul, and we need the record anyway, so that shall be that. As for the shorts, you can count on us for sporadic updates. In the meantime, keep checking back for news on our current projects.
Dead Fish is, for want of a better phrase, alive and kicking.
Saturday 26 January 2013
Sunday 2 September 2012
Adapting... Manga?
Well, I certainly never thought that I'd be here, now, making this particular admission. It's just so... strange. Why on Earth would I be working on this? What has possessed me that I should take up such a challenge with as much zeal as I am so doing?
I must say it: I am working on an adaptation for a manga.
The story is not exactly long, but I'll make it concise all the same. My friend Rinrei (see my other blog, the Kettle, for some of her stuff) likes manga and anime, and has decided to make a live-action series of 'Yu Yu Hakusho', or 'Ghost Case Files'. This basically means adapting the original manga and anime into scripts and filming them. Well, Rinrei's short on cast and crewmembers, which is how I come to find myself up for being one or other of the characters and also the director.
Yes, I am a director now. Feel my might as I threaten to shout at you for not doing everything exactly right. In addition to being director, I'm also co-writer, apparently. But this is Rinrei's show. She has final say: she is manager, head writer, etc. She really does everything except direct, and I help with the other stuff because I have a bit of experience in this field and can write pretty good stuff sometimes.
So, what is the actual deal with this? To reiterate: Rinrei adapts the scripts, then sends them to me so that they can be buffed up and made to look pretty and professional. I add little bits here and there, bettering some bits but keeping to the original stuff pretty closely. I then give some tips, she says something about the narrator actually being necessary and then I remember that she's the head of the everything department. Still, I'm the director and can change some things around on-set. Maybe.
That is literally it. At present, I am in conference with Rinrei while we figure out how we're going to get the money to buy props, where we'll find a boat oar, who shall act as who (still a big fat question mark) and exactly how we're going to get a toddler to say all his lines with a pacifier in his mouth. Basically, we have our plates full.
I shall now adapt some more stuff. I bid you good day, people. Hm... Yuk Yuk Hankie Show...
Regards,
Pisces
I must say it: I am working on an adaptation for a manga.
The story is not exactly long, but I'll make it concise all the same. My friend Rinrei (see my other blog, the Kettle, for some of her stuff) likes manga and anime, and has decided to make a live-action series of 'Yu Yu Hakusho', or 'Ghost Case Files'. This basically means adapting the original manga and anime into scripts and filming them. Well, Rinrei's short on cast and crewmembers, which is how I come to find myself up for being one or other of the characters and also the director.
Yes, I am a director now. Feel my might as I threaten to shout at you for not doing everything exactly right. In addition to being director, I'm also co-writer, apparently. But this is Rinrei's show. She has final say: she is manager, head writer, etc. She really does everything except direct, and I help with the other stuff because I have a bit of experience in this field and can write pretty good stuff sometimes.
So, what is the actual deal with this? To reiterate: Rinrei adapts the scripts, then sends them to me so that they can be buffed up and made to look pretty and professional. I add little bits here and there, bettering some bits but keeping to the original stuff pretty closely. I then give some tips, she says something about the narrator actually being necessary and then I remember that she's the head of the everything department. Still, I'm the director and can change some things around on-set. Maybe.
That is literally it. At present, I am in conference with Rinrei while we figure out how we're going to get the money to buy props, where we'll find a boat oar, who shall act as who (still a big fat question mark) and exactly how we're going to get a toddler to say all his lines with a pacifier in his mouth. Basically, we have our plates full.
I shall now adapt some more stuff. I bid you good day, people. Hm... Yuk Yuk Hankie Show...
Regards,
Pisces
Wednesday 22 August 2012
Novels, Novellas, Movellas and Editing
Today marks the second-to-last week of Camp NaNoWriMo, and the first week of school for Pisces and I. (Just to clarify things: We don't go to the same school. However awesome and epic that might be, we don't, unfortunately.)
NaNo and Movellas
Now that that's all out of the way, let's get down to business (to defeat the huns). Pisces has recently been writing a novel titled Seeing Red for Camp NaNo. He'll probably pop in here some time and give you more details on it, so I won't spoil anything. He's also been posting chapters of it up on a relatively new site (well, new to us, at least): Movellas (http://www.movellas.com/). It's a website where writers can post their creative works, whether it be poetry, novels, diaries (although I don't know why someone would want to read a diary), and pretty much any other type of writing you can think of.
If you're just absolutely dying to read his novel, you can check it out here at the linkety-link: http://www.movellas.com/book/read/201208171809204187
I strongly suggest that every person reading this should go there and read what he's posted so far. I have nothing but praise for it. It's an excellent piece of work that really shows off his talent. He refuses to admit it, but Pisces is the best writer I've ever read. I'm not this supportive just because we're best friends (I assume, right?), but I'm incredibly blessed to have such an awesome friend, who happens to be a frikkin' awesome writer.
Pisces: A true author. I've been telling him that 'Seeing Red' is good enough to get published (or at least get an agent for). Again, I bid thee: read his novel at the link above if you haven't already.
I've also been posting some stuff on Movellas. It seems to be a good outlet for what I've written thus far and the users there are really open to reading and commenting on other people's creations. Hey, if you like to write, maybe you should head over there and post something too.
The process of posting something on Movellas is a lot more work that you'd think at first. Once you've written something, you then have to go back and edit it, making sure that there are no mistakes in it and that it can stand up to the entire world critisizing it. Once it's been drafted a few times, then you can post it. And if you have an entire novel consisting of, what- 30/40 chapters- that's a lot of work to get it out there.
The Classroom
Apart from Movellas (and I think I've said enough about it already), I have updates on The Classroom which, if you don't know, is a comedy TV series that Pisces and I have been collaborating on.
The Classroom has been coming along nicely. We have finished two half-hour episodes, and are in the middle of writing a third. However, with school starting up again, novels, and just life in general, the Classroom falls to the back burner and we can't get to it that often. I did, however, sit down and plan out the entire first season so we'll know where to go when we do pick up solid work on it again. We've brought in a lot of new characters, who are absolutely hilarious, and I can't wait to see what they'll come up with in further episodes.
As for my personal work... I haven't made any new videos lately. Reasons for this are: lack of a good camera, lack of actors, lack of ideas... the usual cop-outs that keep us all from doing what we want to do. For now it's looking like I won't be able to start doing any real work on videos until I can get a job and save up enough money for a camera.
I've got a lot of writing projects on the side, including both parts of my novel, various screenplays here and there, and a plethora of ideas that need to be written down. Speaking of which, Pisces jokingly told me over e-mail that for my birthday he was going to send me a box of full-sized spiral notepads... which I'm fine with...
Editing and Writing
Before I clocked out of this playa-place I thought it might be cool to tell you guys what my editing and writing process is when it comes to literary stuffs. So here we go.
For me, editing is a huge part of the "writing" process. I don't really consider copy-editing writing, but if you look at it generally I guess you could call it part of writing. After all, the only way to finish a novel is to write it, so yeah... it's kind of writing. But when I write something, I separate it into two major parts, and four subparts.
First there's the concept and planning, which is huge, huge, huge. Sometimes I will just start writing and see where it leads me, but this is rare. I only do this when I really feel a growth spurt coming on and I need to flush it out. But mostly, I plan like crazy when it comes to writing. I'm a sprint writer, which means I write things very quickly and can't dwell on them for too long.
If I do dwell on something for too long what happens is I lose the sense of understanding for it, not to mention the passion for it. This may seem contradictory to what I just said about planning the heck out of projects. Do let me clarify for you: the planning process is the first step in writing something, and I like to know exactly where I'm going so I can do it quickly. If I keep writing one thing for too long, it all starts to get blurred to me and I don't know what to call it/categorize it. It's kind of like music: when I first hear it, I can nail what genre it is perfectly and clearly. However, when I listen to that album or song for a long time, I'll start to lose the understanding of what genre it is. It's no longer one genre, it's an un-nameable genre.
Still contradictory? Alright. Forget it then.
In the planning process I flush out the bad ideas and lock down the plot, that way I go through as few drafts as possible. Whenever I just start writing and go with it, I end up going through ten drafts to get rid of all the plot holes. And one time I had to completely scrap a screenplay because I didn't pick out the plot hole in the beginning, then I found it 110 pages later and saw that it completely ruined the story.
Next, the second part, is writing. I try to do this as quickly as possible, but a lot of times I'm working on multiple projects, so it gets stretched out over a period of months. If I feel like a project is going too slowly and I want to get it finished, I'll just write blindly (what I call 'ad-lib writing'). It's sloppy, and leaves room for a lot of editing work, but it gets the first draft done, and that's what counts for me.
All along the way I'm looking for more plot holes and character holes. If I can catch those as early as possible it's good. If not, well... more work afterwards.
Finally, when the first draft is done, I take a break and work on something else. Then I come back to it with a fresh mind, so that I can still retain that fresh look on it. Like tasting ice cream for the first time, I want to have the freshest taste of my work that I can. So, I come back to it and start the third overall part of writing a manuscript.
Anyway... the third part is editing. It's not the hardest, despite what people tell you. I think it really depends on the kind of person you are. For me, it falls in just above the writing. If I had to be stuck with one thing to do for the rest of my life, the options being a) writing or b) editing, I would choose editing. Because in editing, you really polish your manuscript to get it ready for publishing. Sure, while you're writing, you can do some editing, and while you're editing, you can do some writing. Go ahead and leave a comment saying you disagree with me. I know you will.
However, that doesn't change the fact that I would rather edit than create. While I love both, I think editing would be a better outlet because I am driven towards the finished product. I love it when I can finally look at something with complete satisfaction. I love looking at something that's perfect and looks nice and spiffy.
Wow... That was a rabbit trail.
Editing. I go through it and rewrite sentences to get them looking neat. I change my word use, rearrange sentences, rewrite paragraphs, and add things that need to be added. I also take things away that need to be taken away. It's really professional stuff.
When I'm editing a script, I mainly look for dialogue to change, because action is easy to write the first time. In a novel, it's more complicated and takes more time and effort. The first round of editing means I focus on big stuff, and again, the plot holes. But once I go through the manuscript a second time and edit it, I take another break.
Finally, the second round of editing comes. This is when I change whatever needs to be changed. The final step of editing means I look for the smallest details and fill in the cracks. This tends to be the easiest. In a script I might even forgo this step if I feel that the first round of editing nailed it.
So there it is. That is a finished product that I can feel proud about.
And I think that wraps it all up, folks. Keep checking back for new posts. Times have been crazy lately but we'll try to stay in touch.
Danjo
NaNo and Movellas
Now that that's all out of the way, let's get down to business (to defeat the huns). Pisces has recently been writing a novel titled Seeing Red for Camp NaNo. He'll probably pop in here some time and give you more details on it, so I won't spoil anything. He's also been posting chapters of it up on a relatively new site (well, new to us, at least): Movellas (http://www.movellas.com/). It's a website where writers can post their creative works, whether it be poetry, novels, diaries (although I don't know why someone would want to read a diary), and pretty much any other type of writing you can think of.
If you're just absolutely dying to read his novel, you can check it out here at the linkety-link: http://www.movellas.com/book/read/201208171809204187
I strongly suggest that every person reading this should go there and read what he's posted so far. I have nothing but praise for it. It's an excellent piece of work that really shows off his talent. He refuses to admit it, but Pisces is the best writer I've ever read. I'm not this supportive just because we're best friends (I assume, right?), but I'm incredibly blessed to have such an awesome friend, who happens to be a frikkin' awesome writer.
Pisces: A true author. I've been telling him that 'Seeing Red' is good enough to get published (or at least get an agent for). Again, I bid thee: read his novel at the link above if you haven't already.
I've also been posting some stuff on Movellas. It seems to be a good outlet for what I've written thus far and the users there are really open to reading and commenting on other people's creations. Hey, if you like to write, maybe you should head over there and post something too.
The process of posting something on Movellas is a lot more work that you'd think at first. Once you've written something, you then have to go back and edit it, making sure that there are no mistakes in it and that it can stand up to the entire world critisizing it. Once it's been drafted a few times, then you can post it. And if you have an entire novel consisting of, what- 30/40 chapters- that's a lot of work to get it out there.
The Classroom
Apart from Movellas (and I think I've said enough about it already), I have updates on The Classroom which, if you don't know, is a comedy TV series that Pisces and I have been collaborating on.
The Classroom has been coming along nicely. We have finished two half-hour episodes, and are in the middle of writing a third. However, with school starting up again, novels, and just life in general, the Classroom falls to the back burner and we can't get to it that often. I did, however, sit down and plan out the entire first season so we'll know where to go when we do pick up solid work on it again. We've brought in a lot of new characters, who are absolutely hilarious, and I can't wait to see what they'll come up with in further episodes.
As for my personal work... I haven't made any new videos lately. Reasons for this are: lack of a good camera, lack of actors, lack of ideas... the usual cop-outs that keep us all from doing what we want to do. For now it's looking like I won't be able to start doing any real work on videos until I can get a job and save up enough money for a camera.
I've got a lot of writing projects on the side, including both parts of my novel, various screenplays here and there, and a plethora of ideas that need to be written down. Speaking of which, Pisces jokingly told me over e-mail that for my birthday he was going to send me a box of full-sized spiral notepads... which I'm fine with...
Editing and Writing
Before I clocked out of this playa-place I thought it might be cool to tell you guys what my editing and writing process is when it comes to literary stuffs. So here we go.
For me, editing is a huge part of the "writing" process. I don't really consider copy-editing writing, but if you look at it generally I guess you could call it part of writing. After all, the only way to finish a novel is to write it, so yeah... it's kind of writing. But when I write something, I separate it into two major parts, and four subparts.
First there's the concept and planning, which is huge, huge, huge. Sometimes I will just start writing and see where it leads me, but this is rare. I only do this when I really feel a growth spurt coming on and I need to flush it out. But mostly, I plan like crazy when it comes to writing. I'm a sprint writer, which means I write things very quickly and can't dwell on them for too long.
If I do dwell on something for too long what happens is I lose the sense of understanding for it, not to mention the passion for it. This may seem contradictory to what I just said about planning the heck out of projects. Do let me clarify for you: the planning process is the first step in writing something, and I like to know exactly where I'm going so I can do it quickly. If I keep writing one thing for too long, it all starts to get blurred to me and I don't know what to call it/categorize it. It's kind of like music: when I first hear it, I can nail what genre it is perfectly and clearly. However, when I listen to that album or song for a long time, I'll start to lose the understanding of what genre it is. It's no longer one genre, it's an un-nameable genre.
Still contradictory? Alright. Forget it then.
In the planning process I flush out the bad ideas and lock down the plot, that way I go through as few drafts as possible. Whenever I just start writing and go with it, I end up going through ten drafts to get rid of all the plot holes. And one time I had to completely scrap a screenplay because I didn't pick out the plot hole in the beginning, then I found it 110 pages later and saw that it completely ruined the story.
Next, the second part, is writing. I try to do this as quickly as possible, but a lot of times I'm working on multiple projects, so it gets stretched out over a period of months. If I feel like a project is going too slowly and I want to get it finished, I'll just write blindly (what I call 'ad-lib writing'). It's sloppy, and leaves room for a lot of editing work, but it gets the first draft done, and that's what counts for me.
All along the way I'm looking for more plot holes and character holes. If I can catch those as early as possible it's good. If not, well... more work afterwards.
Finally, when the first draft is done, I take a break and work on something else. Then I come back to it with a fresh mind, so that I can still retain that fresh look on it. Like tasting ice cream for the first time, I want to have the freshest taste of my work that I can. So, I come back to it and start the third overall part of writing a manuscript.
Anyway... the third part is editing. It's not the hardest, despite what people tell you. I think it really depends on the kind of person you are. For me, it falls in just above the writing. If I had to be stuck with one thing to do for the rest of my life, the options being a) writing or b) editing, I would choose editing. Because in editing, you really polish your manuscript to get it ready for publishing. Sure, while you're writing, you can do some editing, and while you're editing, you can do some writing. Go ahead and leave a comment saying you disagree with me. I know you will.
However, that doesn't change the fact that I would rather edit than create. While I love both, I think editing would be a better outlet because I am driven towards the finished product. I love it when I can finally look at something with complete satisfaction. I love looking at something that's perfect and looks nice and spiffy.
Wow... That was a rabbit trail.
Editing. I go through it and rewrite sentences to get them looking neat. I change my word use, rearrange sentences, rewrite paragraphs, and add things that need to be added. I also take things away that need to be taken away. It's really professional stuff.
When I'm editing a script, I mainly look for dialogue to change, because action is easy to write the first time. In a novel, it's more complicated and takes more time and effort. The first round of editing means I focus on big stuff, and again, the plot holes. But once I go through the manuscript a second time and edit it, I take another break.
Finally, the second round of editing comes. This is when I change whatever needs to be changed. The final step of editing means I look for the smallest details and fill in the cracks. This tends to be the easiest. In a script I might even forgo this step if I feel that the first round of editing nailed it.
So there it is. That is a finished product that I can feel proud about.
And I think that wraps it all up, folks. Keep checking back for new posts. Times have been crazy lately but we'll try to stay in touch.
Danjo
Tuesday 7 August 2012
The Postman Cometh - Finished Product
Well, it's complete and has been edited and generally jazzed up. Here, ladies and gentlemen, is the first Dead Fish credited video!
May I present, in association with Dead Fish Productions and Wandering Skald Pictures... The Postman Cometh.
May I present, in association with Dead Fish Productions and Wandering Skald Pictures... The Postman Cometh.
I feel the need to add credits.
CAST
BBC Reporter - Professor Pisces
Sister - Pipistrelle
Alexander McCall - Skald
Mother - Skald's Mother
Postman - Skald's Father
Written by Skald
Directed by Skald & Professor Pisces
Edited by Skald
Cinematography by Pipistrelle
Monday 6 August 2012
The Postman Cometh - Filming & Production
Well, this is all very sudden, but Dead Fish now has its first credited production being produced! Good friend Skald has written a script and, with his sister Pipistrelle's (aka Bats) and my help, he's producing it as a short film. Cool.
So, I've been given the part of the BBC News Reporter who has to interview a student about to get his exam results. This student - a certain Alexander McCall, as he is named - doesn't feel great about the exams he sat and is getting very nervous indeed. All the while, the postman gets nearer...
I've made it more dramatic than it is. The film was shot yesterday in around three or four hours, including the break we took to watch the Olympics (Andy Murray gets GOLD!). We shot each scene three times just to be safe, and it works pretty well. Skald got his family to help out. Of course, Skald gets the most screentime whereas I get next to none. As a reporter, I actually remain offscreen for way too much time. But I'm there - the guy with the rugby-style shirt, microphone and wonderfully curly hair.
I'm quite pleased with it, not in the least because any discrepancies and errors in the script cannot be attributed to me. I'm also pleased that I got to get Skald to say that it was 'in association with Dead Fish Productions'. It's the first Dead Fish film to our name. Heheh. Plus, I got to act. I like to act.
I claim half the directing credit - I directed at least half the film, but not the camerawork.
Overall, it has been great fun to film and produce. The movie should appear on YouTube as soon as Skald's finished splicing the shots together. I'd like a look at it before it goes up, but in the end it's his film. I have little say in it. When it's online, it'll appear in a post - mark my words.
Cheers, folks!
Pisces
So, I've been given the part of the BBC News Reporter who has to interview a student about to get his exam results. This student - a certain Alexander McCall, as he is named - doesn't feel great about the exams he sat and is getting very nervous indeed. All the while, the postman gets nearer...
I've made it more dramatic than it is. The film was shot yesterday in around three or four hours, including the break we took to watch the Olympics (Andy Murray gets GOLD!). We shot each scene three times just to be safe, and it works pretty well. Skald got his family to help out. Of course, Skald gets the most screentime whereas I get next to none. As a reporter, I actually remain offscreen for way too much time. But I'm there - the guy with the rugby-style shirt, microphone and wonderfully curly hair.
I'm quite pleased with it, not in the least because any discrepancies and errors in the script cannot be attributed to me. I'm also pleased that I got to get Skald to say that it was 'in association with Dead Fish Productions'. It's the first Dead Fish film to our name. Heheh. Plus, I got to act. I like to act.
I claim half the directing credit - I directed at least half the film, but not the camerawork.
Overall, it has been great fun to film and produce. The movie should appear on YouTube as soon as Skald's finished splicing the shots together. I'd like a look at it before it goes up, but in the end it's his film. I have little say in it. When it's online, it'll appear in a post - mark my words.
Cheers, folks!
Pisces
Monday 16 July 2012
Killer Shoes, Classroom Laughs, and General Insanity
Danjo here on behalf of Dead Fishin'. This week shall go down in Dead Fish history as one of the most productive weeks ever.
Fact.
This week Professor Pisces and I have been collaborating (as I'm sure you've already heard) over Gmail to write our own TV series, called 'The Classroom'. It's been tons of fun. Pisces throws ideas around, writes some scenes, sends them to me; I do the main bulk of writing, editing and BAM! another episode done.
I've been wanting to talk about this for a while, and while I should probably be blogging elsewhere right now (blogging adultery, indeed) I wanted to say something here.
We've been wanting to collaborate for a while now but we hadn't got around to it. First it started out with Pisces sending me his work, which I critiqued and vice versa. The thought of collaborating on something original had always been in the back of our minds (mine at least) and had been bugging me until I finally had the perfect idea.
When you're just independent writers (or directors, actors, whatever) who are writing from home and can only dream of getting a job as thatparticular person, you really have to choose your projects carefully. For example, I'm a filmmaker, however I haven't made all that many films. In fact, I think the total number of short films I've actually finished and put up on YouTube (shameless self-promotion: click here!) are about ten. I've shot a lot of stuff and edited it but never really felt like it was good enough to put out for the world.
Independent artists (a general term) don't have budgets, they don't have spare time to do their projects and (quite frankly) it's a pain in the butt when we have to rely on other people to help us. That's really why I've never made anything with more than one or two people for cast and crew, because everyone has their own lives and side projects (or 'hobbies' as my parents and friends call them)and they fall to... well, the side.
It really makes me mad that I can't put together a huge production and actually spend time on something that's more than just a two minute short film. I really want to do a feature film and spend months on it, getting everything right. The truth is, a film is never finished: it escapes. We all have deadlines and budgets to attend to, which obviously means something or other in our project is going to suffer.
There are a lot of things that hold independent filmmakers (and even writers) from reaching their goal. For most it's money and time. If I had money I'd put down my 240p cellphone and buy a RED Epic (wouldn't we all?). If I had money I'd pay production companies to produce my screenplays. I'd pay for my novels to be published. If my actors and myself had an abundance of time I could do anything. Unfortunately, being independent means that everything falls to the side and you make do with what you have.
Back to the point: choosing projects carefully. Like I said, my time is valuable, and so are my resources. If I'm going to write something huge and epic I want to make sure the project has potential and make sure that I can do it. If not, I pass it on to someone else who can do it justice. When filming shorts in my neighbourhood, I only have at most one hour to get everyone down there, set up, get all the shots and wrap up production. And given that both my main actors have full-time jobs and girlfriends it's really hard to snag their free time for something like this.
Writing is kind of the same way. If you're going to write something that you want to produce yourself you have to tailor it to meet your immediate props (locations, actors, time frame, etc). And that's where choosing the right projects comes in. In all honesty you can't tailor your life to meet your project; you have to tailor you project to meet your life.
When the collaboration became a definite possibility, Pisces and I needed to create a project that fit these criteria:
So, that's it, my lovely lady-lumps and non-lady-lumps (ie. men). I shall return to Celtx and write away.
Danjo the banjo
The first season should only have about six or seven episodes, just to be safe. We don't want the production company to think it's too much of a risk and not produce it. So we're going to write the first season and pitch that to our company of choice. Hopefully that will show them that this show has potential and that we're committed to making it happen.
I really didn't want that update to be another novel of a post, but it really turned out to be one. What can I say? I like to talk.
Later fools,
Danjo the Banjo
Fact.
This week Professor Pisces and I have been collaborating (as I'm sure you've already heard) over Gmail to write our own TV series, called 'The Classroom'. It's been tons of fun. Pisces throws ideas around, writes some scenes, sends them to me; I do the main bulk of writing, editing and BAM! another episode done.
I've been wanting to talk about this for a while, and while I should probably be blogging elsewhere right now (blogging adultery, indeed) I wanted to say something here.
We've been wanting to collaborate for a while now but we hadn't got around to it. First it started out with Pisces sending me his work, which I critiqued and vice versa. The thought of collaborating on something original had always been in the back of our minds (mine at least) and had been bugging me until I finally had the perfect idea.
When you're just independent writers (or directors, actors, whatever) who are writing from home and can only dream of getting a job as thatparticular person, you really have to choose your projects carefully. For example, I'm a filmmaker, however I haven't made all that many films. In fact, I think the total number of short films I've actually finished and put up on YouTube (shameless self-promotion: click here!) are about ten. I've shot a lot of stuff and edited it but never really felt like it was good enough to put out for the world.
Independent artists (a general term) don't have budgets, they don't have spare time to do their projects and (quite frankly) it's a pain in the butt when we have to rely on other people to help us. That's really why I've never made anything with more than one or two people for cast and crew, because everyone has their own lives and side projects (or 'hobbies' as my parents and friends call them)and they fall to... well, the side.
It really makes me mad that I can't put together a huge production and actually spend time on something that's more than just a two minute short film. I really want to do a feature film and spend months on it, getting everything right. The truth is, a film is never finished: it escapes. We all have deadlines and budgets to attend to, which obviously means something or other in our project is going to suffer.
There are a lot of things that hold independent filmmakers (and even writers) from reaching their goal. For most it's money and time. If I had money I'd put down my 240p cellphone and buy a RED Epic (wouldn't we all?). If I had money I'd pay production companies to produce my screenplays. I'd pay for my novels to be published. If my actors and myself had an abundance of time I could do anything. Unfortunately, being independent means that everything falls to the side and you make do with what you have.
Back to the point: choosing projects carefully. Like I said, my time is valuable, and so are my resources. If I'm going to write something huge and epic I want to make sure the project has potential and make sure that I can do it. If not, I pass it on to someone else who can do it justice. When filming shorts in my neighbourhood, I only have at most one hour to get everyone down there, set up, get all the shots and wrap up production. And given that both my main actors have full-time jobs and girlfriends it's really hard to snag their free time for something like this.
Writing is kind of the same way. If you're going to write something that you want to produce yourself you have to tailor it to meet your immediate props (locations, actors, time frame, etc). And that's where choosing the right projects comes in. In all honesty you can't tailor your life to meet your project; you have to tailor you project to meet your life.
When the collaboration became a definite possibility, Pisces and I needed to create a project that fit these criteria:
- We both wanted to do it.
- We knew enough about it to make it real.
- We had enough ideas for to keep it running.
- We could actually do it over the Internet.
*
So, that's it, my lovely lady-lumps and non-lady-lumps (ie. men). I shall return to Celtx and write away.
Danjo the banjo
*
Update: I forgot to talk about pitching 'The Classroom' to production companies. I doubt you have the patience to read through a whole other post, so I'll keep this short. We haven't really thought about pitching 'The Classroom' yet. It's not something we can really produce ourselves so we (wisely) passed this one up and voted just to write it. However, it is going to be made, whether that's ten years from now or one year from now. We have ideas for about four episodes out, and no doubt our hyperactive brains will continue to come up with more. What we're working on write now (ha, did you catch that? Yeah, me neither) is finishing the episodes and making them as funny as they can be. Adding comedy is a lot harder than you might think. The first season should only have about six or seven episodes, just to be safe. We don't want the production company to think it's too much of a risk and not produce it. So we're going to write the first season and pitch that to our company of choice. Hopefully that will show them that this show has potential and that we're committed to making it happen.
I really didn't want that update to be another novel of a post, but it really turned out to be one. What can I say? I like to talk.
Later fools,
Danjo the Banjo
Saturday 14 July 2012
The Classroom - Collaborative Comedy
Collaborating on something has always been something that I've wanted to do, and now I'm doing it. Here at Dead Fish, our scriptwriting team is wonderfully small. (That means that we either need to recruit more people or write really fast. Personally, I'm fine with just writing fast. Heheh.) And because there are only two of us, that makes collaborating pretty easy.
Danjo, as we call him, recently put forth an idea for a mockumentary series and asked for my opinions. My current embroilment in it is now as part of the writing team for it. Yup, that's right - we're collaborating on a comedy TV series.
The series, called 'The Classroom', is a mockumentary about a particular class in an American high school. The sophomore year are basically a bunch of really, really awkward students and they get up to all kinds of mischief. We currently plan to place a sedated crocodile in a biology classroom. Those American High Schools; they're crazy. (I jest, of course - I have nothing against America, except that it's distorted the perfectly reasonable 'maths' into 'math', which is just wrong.) So far though we have 14 pages of the pilot followed by a string of ideas for stuff later on. It's just a matter of volleying ideas across the Internet to each other. Distance doesn't matter; Gmail kills all boundaries. Heheh.
I'm sure that Dan and myself shall tell you all about it through the next few weeks and stuff. I'm not entirely sure where it's going though - we're very unlikely to actually produce it ourselves. More likely we'll sell it on to something like ITV or something else equally rich yet in desperate need of laughs. Time shall tell. Maybe you'll see our names on a credits list sometime within the next year or two - who can tell? All we can say is that we're hopeful.
Hoping for some laughs,
Pisces
Danjo, as we call him, recently put forth an idea for a mockumentary series and asked for my opinions. My current embroilment in it is now as part of the writing team for it. Yup, that's right - we're collaborating on a comedy TV series.
The series, called 'The Classroom', is a mockumentary about a particular class in an American high school. The sophomore year are basically a bunch of really, really awkward students and they get up to all kinds of mischief. We currently plan to place a sedated crocodile in a biology classroom. Those American High Schools; they're crazy. (I jest, of course - I have nothing against America, except that it's distorted the perfectly reasonable 'maths' into 'math', which is just wrong.) So far though we have 14 pages of the pilot followed by a string of ideas for stuff later on. It's just a matter of volleying ideas across the Internet to each other. Distance doesn't matter; Gmail kills all boundaries. Heheh.
I'm sure that Dan and myself shall tell you all about it through the next few weeks and stuff. I'm not entirely sure where it's going though - we're very unlikely to actually produce it ourselves. More likely we'll sell it on to something like ITV or something else equally rich yet in desperate need of laughs. Time shall tell. Maybe you'll see our names on a credits list sometime within the next year or two - who can tell? All we can say is that we're hopeful.
Hoping for some laughs,
Pisces
Wednesday 11 July 2012
Senseless Violence? Food Fight!
OK, so I'm writing a scene filled with senseless and cliched violence in the name of entertainment. There are pros and cons to merely thinking about doing this. Firstly, it means I get to think about beating people up with baguettes and not have to feel guilty about it. Second, for what I'm planning, it means I actually will get to film people beat one another up systematically with a variety of different foods. The downside is that I'll have an awkward time at the ER when someone gets stabbed with a breakfast bar. Ell-oh-ell, I believe.
It may clear things up if I actually tell you what I'm planning. What I'm experimenting with at this point in time is writing an action scene, namely one in which a proper food fight breaks out and people get shot with bananas, beaten with sticks of French bread and are generally owned by assorted snacks. (Spoiler: The guy with the granola bar doesn't survive very long.) This is the basic premise, idea, notion and motivation behind writing this particular collection of scenes. What can I say? I like a good action romp.
The plot is nonexistent - it doesn't need one. It's just a string of events that leads to a group of teenagers fashing weapons out of savoury items. What's to plot? Who needs a story when you're going for gory, eh?
The main problem here is writing a script which can actually be acted out by those actors that I have to hand, namely myself, Matt, Bod and, uh, that's it. Basically I need more actors, unless we want to try some really difficult camera stuff and double people up. I doubt Matt would be pleased with being cast as two different girls though. I dunno; he could be an ugly woman. I could get hold of balloons... Wait. Did I just type that?
So none of us actually have action training, though Matt's sister does some sort of super-duper martial arts thing that could be put into use somehow. And Bod tends to use dart guns anyway, so perhaps we could hand him a banana and let him loose on a tree or a muffin or something. The fact is that I have to write something producable, if that makes sense. And right now I believe I may be being a little over-ambitious. But hey! We'll see. I'll write the script, do the casting and then do a rewrite of the action so that it suits abilities. And that should work.
I should talk more about this later, but I may never get around to it. If not, then at least this made for a post. (Note that I don't even presume that it was interesting, nor good. Just saying.)
Until the next time I have something mindlessly simple to blabber on about,
Professor Pisces
It may clear things up if I actually tell you what I'm planning. What I'm experimenting with at this point in time is writing an action scene, namely one in which a proper food fight breaks out and people get shot with bananas, beaten with sticks of French bread and are generally owned by assorted snacks. (Spoiler: The guy with the granola bar doesn't survive very long.) This is the basic premise, idea, notion and motivation behind writing this particular collection of scenes. What can I say? I like a good action romp.
The plot is nonexistent - it doesn't need one. It's just a string of events that leads to a group of teenagers fashing weapons out of savoury items. What's to plot? Who needs a story when you're going for gory, eh?
The main problem here is writing a script which can actually be acted out by those actors that I have to hand, namely myself, Matt, Bod and, uh, that's it. Basically I need more actors, unless we want to try some really difficult camera stuff and double people up. I doubt Matt would be pleased with being cast as two different girls though. I dunno; he could be an ugly woman. I could get hold of balloons... Wait. Did I just type that?
So none of us actually have action training, though Matt's sister does some sort of super-duper martial arts thing that could be put into use somehow. And Bod tends to use dart guns anyway, so perhaps we could hand him a banana and let him loose on a tree or a muffin or something. The fact is that I have to write something producable, if that makes sense. And right now I believe I may be being a little over-ambitious. But hey! We'll see. I'll write the script, do the casting and then do a rewrite of the action so that it suits abilities. And that should work.
I should talk more about this later, but I may never get around to it. If not, then at least this made for a post. (Note that I don't even presume that it was interesting, nor good. Just saying.)
Until the next time I have something mindlessly simple to blabber on about,
Professor Pisces
Wednesday 4 July 2012
ZFTSOI: The Plot, Pretty Much
I've decided to go with Pipistrelle's idea and write a synopsis of the plot for 'Zombies For The Sake Of It' (ZFTSOI). Unfortunately for me, I'm not terribly in love with the plot and everyone knows it. Still, I cannot simply insult Zombies. That would be terrible; an evil thing that would probably earn me a rap on the knuckles with a several mile long ruler. It would have to be fairly large; I'm not where I should be, and that is something that they know.
This is the 'plotting phase', the bit where ideas are strung together and fleshed out. It's the long-anticipated sequel to the ideas phase. Expect both of those terms to crop up in the tags section at the bottom of certain posts; click on them to check out the other ideas that are stuck in development. (Technically ZFTSOI is past ideas and plotting, but it all needs to be said anyway. It's even past casting; but then again, each character was tailor made for a specific actor anyway. Soon we'll be into production.)
Without further ado, a paragraph or two on the plot of ZFTSOI, written expressly to attract more attention than is strictly required.
When the zombie apocalypse arrives a little sooner than is expected, a group of camping teens find themselves to be the target of the undead hordes. But when you're armed with perpetual motion guns rather conveniently gifted to you by the future you, you tend to be fairly prepared for all eventualities. Well, almost.
When zombies, guns and a fairly predictable romance collide, who shall survive when the apocalypse occurs... for the sake of it?
(Pipistrelle, you have the rights to this film. Do feel free to tell me whether anything should be changed. This particular clause of our agreement only applies to the above synopsis rather than any of my expressed opinions. Just so you know.)
The script contained some rather classic instances of deus ex machina. If you who know Latin or a bit of English theory, you'll ken my meaning. If you don't then you should look it up. It tends to crop up in a lot of things. It's not necessarily bad, but it's a little convenient. It betrays a lack of background, methinks. This is, of course, why it happens in my tales all the time. The fact that the character happens to knock over a chemistry set containing a weird set of chemicals that creates life in shoes... When a character travels back in time despite an apparent lack of the necessary technology in order to hand off some guns that never run out of ammo, therefore destroying the axiom of zombie films and endorsing a renowned paradox, and then skips off into the woods to disappear. It's all the same.
Well, ranting aside, it should make for an interesting short film. Now you know the plot. I'll talk about casting at some other point.
This is the 'plotting phase', the bit where ideas are strung together and fleshed out. It's the long-anticipated sequel to the ideas phase. Expect both of those terms to crop up in the tags section at the bottom of certain posts; click on them to check out the other ideas that are stuck in development. (Technically ZFTSOI is past ideas and plotting, but it all needs to be said anyway. It's even past casting; but then again, each character was tailor made for a specific actor anyway. Soon we'll be into production.)
Without further ado, a paragraph or two on the plot of ZFTSOI, written expressly to attract more attention than is strictly required.
When the zombie apocalypse arrives a little sooner than is expected, a group of camping teens find themselves to be the target of the undead hordes. But when you're armed with perpetual motion guns rather conveniently gifted to you by the future you, you tend to be fairly prepared for all eventualities. Well, almost.
When zombies, guns and a fairly predictable romance collide, who shall survive when the apocalypse occurs... for the sake of it?
(Pipistrelle, you have the rights to this film. Do feel free to tell me whether anything should be changed. This particular clause of our agreement only applies to the above synopsis rather than any of my expressed opinions. Just so you know.)
The script contained some rather classic instances of deus ex machina. If you who know Latin or a bit of English theory, you'll ken my meaning. If you don't then you should look it up. It tends to crop up in a lot of things. It's not necessarily bad, but it's a little convenient. It betrays a lack of background, methinks. This is, of course, why it happens in my tales all the time. The fact that the character happens to knock over a chemistry set containing a weird set of chemicals that creates life in shoes... When a character travels back in time despite an apparent lack of the necessary technology in order to hand off some guns that never run out of ammo, therefore destroying the axiom of zombie films and endorsing a renowned paradox, and then skips off into the woods to disappear. It's all the same.
Well, ranting aside, it should make for an interesting short film. Now you know the plot. I'll talk about casting at some other point.
Tuesday 3 July 2012
Attack of the Killer Shoes: Organising Ideas
'Attack of the Killer Shoes' continues to take shape, I'm glad to say. I even have a pretty complete plot for it, though the plot isn't terribly complex. Then again, considering what sort of film this shall be, it doesn't really have to be.
I can now reveal a short plot synopsis for 'Attack of the Killer Shoes'.
When David's older sister Anna buys new shoes, the consequences are severe. A stabbing, a chemistry set and an elbow all conspire to bring about an unusual evil: a living shoe, hungry for revenge. As the shoe amasses an army of footwear, they find themselves trapped inside their home. Can they survive the attack of the killer shoes?
That pretty much sums it up for you. So far, the production requires a cast of three (two males, one female). I have ideas for filming it, and casting can be expected to go ahead within a week or two. I have not, unlike with ZFTSOI, tailor-made each character for a specific actor. But I'm sure that I'll speak of the specifics for Zombies later on. You can be all but sure of it.
Regards - for now.
Professor Pisces
I can now reveal a short plot synopsis for 'Attack of the Killer Shoes'.
When David's older sister Anna buys new shoes, the consequences are severe. A stabbing, a chemistry set and an elbow all conspire to bring about an unusual evil: a living shoe, hungry for revenge. As the shoe amasses an army of footwear, they find themselves trapped inside their home. Can they survive the attack of the killer shoes?
That pretty much sums it up for you. So far, the production requires a cast of three (two males, one female). I have ideas for filming it, and casting can be expected to go ahead within a week or two. I have not, unlike with ZFTSOI, tailor-made each character for a specific actor. But I'm sure that I'll speak of the specifics for Zombies later on. You can be all but sure of it.
Regards - for now.
Professor Pisces
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