Well, that was a blast! In case you missed it, I launched Liquid Lunch last Friday with episodes 1 & 2.
It was very exciting to let it loose across the interwebs, and a bit stressful, too, as you never know how people are going to react. It's public, it's out there, and it's got your name on it, so it can feel a bit exposing and nerve-wracking. Luckily, the response seems to be extremely positive so far, and hopefully the audience will snowball into wider social networks.
As this blog is primarily a screenwriting site to share useful bits of information, here's the very first draft of episode 1. And here's the final shooting draft. Some of you might find it interesting to do a quick compare and contrast on what changed and (hopefully) improved. Also, if you're really keen, watch the finished video to see what I trimmed out of the edit. ** UPDATE: You can scroll through the 1st draft & the shooting draft at the bottom of this post **
And if you want even more behind the scenes action, then check out this quick vid of rehearsals for ep1. Might be interesting to see how it all started, and how rehearsals enable you to find the tone and character voices before reaching polished performance.
More behind the scenes breakdown:
How It All Started
Writing & Casting
Rehearsals
Production
The Shoot
Where to find us:
Visit the website!
Find us on Facebook!
Follow us on Twitter!
Watch the trailers!
Subscribe to the YouTube channel!
EPISODE 1, 1st draft
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Liquid Lunch: The Shoot!
Part 5: How I Made A Web Series
5am Get up and make bacon butties for the crew. Also make sure other goodies are packed and ready to go, not to mention double check vital equipment and props.
6.15am Pick up the actors who are staying at my mate Jeremy Lawson's place. Jeremy was a vital cog in the development wheel of Liquid Lunch (and a fairly handy screenwriter himself, he recently won Screenplay of the Month on Trigger Street) but, alas, he has a day job that he can't get out of, so he won't be able to join us for filming.
6.30am Arrive at the pub. Slightly worried that the landlord won't be there, or will have forgotten, but he's there, he's open and eager to let us get on with things. 'Right, I'm off back to bed, see you later', he says cheerily. I love this man. Johnny gets cracking with tea and coffee, and the bacon butties are sharply consumed.
6.30am-8am Andy and Chris set up and fuss over the shots like the ARTISTES that they are. Dan and Chris get into character. Emma wires them up for sound. I walk around with an important blue folder to make it look like I know what I'm doing.
8am Episode 1, take 1! It's a rehearsal take really, and it goes quite well. The actors know the material backwards. Andy's suggestion of using two cameras works a treat as we can get Dan and Chris's mid-shot coverage at the same time.
We do each episode two or three times, and do any necessary pick-ups, although the eps are short so sometimes it's just as easy (and useful) to do the whole take again.
1.30pm Time flies by. I was worried about running out of time before the pub officially opens at 4pm but we're ahead of the game and nearly done, give or take a few more, um, takes. We've shot about 15 minutes of script with a basic wide shot and mid-shot close ups. This was always my vision for the show; to make it clean and simple, and give it a look almost like an online comic strip, if you will.
2.30pm It's a wrap! We start to tidy up. The landlord reappears, having not bothered us for the entire shoot, and offers everyone a drink. I really do love this man. We enjoy a swift half and begin to disperse, showbiz hugs all round.
With the shoot in the can, I head home and load up the footage on my computer, where I spend the next four/five weeks getting to grips with Final Cut Pro and editing it all together. I create the website, start getting the word out there, and set a date for launch. And now it's here!
I'm so glad it's *something* now rather than just an idea or unmade scripts on my computer. The series launched on Friday 27th May 2011, with episodes 1 & 2, simultaneously on the blog, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the main Liquid Lunch website.
Everything is free to share for everyone, everywhere, so hopefully it can find an audience beyond my immediate social network. We had such a great time making it, and I hope you enjoy the show.
Coming soon: 'Tackling The Internet', the continuing saga of 'How I Made A Web Series'.
How I Made A Web Series links
How It All Started
Writing & Casting
Rehearsals
Production
Where to find us:
Visit the website!
Find us on Facebook!
Follow us on Twitter!
Watch the trailers!
Subscribe to the YouTube channel!
5am Get up and make bacon butties for the crew. Also make sure other goodies are packed and ready to go, not to mention double check vital equipment and props.
6.15am Pick up the actors who are staying at my mate Jeremy Lawson's place. Jeremy was a vital cog in the development wheel of Liquid Lunch (and a fairly handy screenwriter himself, he recently won Screenplay of the Month on Trigger Street) but, alas, he has a day job that he can't get out of, so he won't be able to join us for filming.
6.30am Arrive at the pub. Slightly worried that the landlord won't be there, or will have forgotten, but he's there, he's open and eager to let us get on with things. 'Right, I'm off back to bed, see you later', he says cheerily. I love this man. Johnny gets cracking with tea and coffee, and the bacon butties are sharply consumed.
6.30am-8am Andy and Chris set up and fuss over the shots like the ARTISTES that they are. Dan and Chris get into character. Emma wires them up for sound. I walk around with an important blue folder to make it look like I know what I'm doing.
8am Episode 1, take 1! It's a rehearsal take really, and it goes quite well. The actors know the material backwards. Andy's suggestion of using two cameras works a treat as we can get Dan and Chris's mid-shot coverage at the same time.
We do each episode two or three times, and do any necessary pick-ups, although the eps are short so sometimes it's just as easy (and useful) to do the whole take again.
1.30pm Time flies by. I was worried about running out of time before the pub officially opens at 4pm but we're ahead of the game and nearly done, give or take a few more, um, takes. We've shot about 15 minutes of script with a basic wide shot and mid-shot close ups. This was always my vision for the show; to make it clean and simple, and give it a look almost like an online comic strip, if you will.
2.30pm It's a wrap! We start to tidy up. The landlord reappears, having not bothered us for the entire shoot, and offers everyone a drink. I really do love this man. We enjoy a swift half and begin to disperse, showbiz hugs all round.
With the shoot in the can, I head home and load up the footage on my computer, where I spend the next four/five weeks getting to grips with Final Cut Pro and editing it all together. I create the website, start getting the word out there, and set a date for launch. And now it's here!
I'm so glad it's *something* now rather than just an idea or unmade scripts on my computer. The series launched on Friday 27th May 2011, with episodes 1 & 2, simultaneously on the blog, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the main Liquid Lunch website.
Everything is free to share for everyone, everywhere, so hopefully it can find an audience beyond my immediate social network. We had such a great time making it, and I hope you enjoy the show.
Coming soon: 'Tackling The Internet', the continuing saga of 'How I Made A Web Series'.
How I Made A Web Series links
How It All Started
Writing & Casting
Rehearsals
Production
Where to find us:
Visit the website!
Find us on Facebook!
Follow us on Twitter!
Watch the trailers!
Subscribe to the YouTube channel!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Liquid Lunch: Production
Part 4: How I Made A Web Series
The main issue with getting the shoot for Liquid Lunch together was whether the cast, crew, location and equipment would be available on the same day. You essentially turn into a secretary as you try to juggle people's diaries around a certain date and time. Even when you think everything's confirmed, someone or something can suddenly become unavailable, which sends you into a tailspin of phone calls, emails and overall worry.
My brain isn't entirely programmed as an efficient organising tool. I was a TV secretary for two years and I managed to get by, JUST. And if I didn't have the amazing Ben Greenacre on Origin, the whole thing would have collapsed before I got close to a clapper board. It was to my great relief, then, that the dates and details for Liquid Lunch started to come together relatively easily.
I needed a camera. My local frolleague Andy Marsh had a Canon 5D, and was up for the shoot (there's a TERRIFIC filmmaking community in Bournemouth/Poole, where I live). Andy's a cool dude and he's all, like, 'I know another camera guy and a sound person who'd probably be up for it, and if we could borrow Suki's 5D, then we'd have two cameras, which could save on time and performance'. ANDY MARSH IS A GENIUS.
Then, I roped in Johnny Griffith (a uni screenwriting student I was mentoring) as production assistant, confirmed Chris Ferguson as main camera and Emma Worgan as sound recordist, and boom, I had my crew.
So, cast: check. Crew: check. Date: set. Tip: set your date before you contact cast, crew or location. Tell them when it's happening and things will either fall into place around the date, or it will become clear you'll have to change the date accordingly. Now, location: not set. I was slightly worried about this. I wanted a real pub (instead of a set) but wanted the privacy to film rather than shoot during opening hours. Plus, I always had one particular pub in mind when I was writing it, so I was nervous about asking and working out the details.
Again, luckily, the pub location came together relatively easily. I went into the pub, asked the landlord if I could shoot during the day when he wasn't open (and get in reeaaaally early, too), and he immediately said 'yes, no problem, whatever you need'. Just like that. It really is true what they say: you just have to ask! Everything was now set: scripts, cast, crew, equipment and location.
Next up: the shoot!
L-R: Andy Marsh, Dan Doolan, Me, Johnny Griffith, Chris Billingham, Emma Worgan, Chris Ferguson (special location thanks to John Tomlinson in Bankes Pub, Poole)
Don't know what I'm talking about? Completely new to 'How I Made A Web Series'? Then you've missed:
How It All Started
Writing & Casting
Rehearsals
Want more?
Visit the website!
Find us on Facebook!
Follow us on Twitter!
Watch the trailers!
Subscribe to the YouTube channel!
The main issue with getting the shoot for Liquid Lunch together was whether the cast, crew, location and equipment would be available on the same day. You essentially turn into a secretary as you try to juggle people's diaries around a certain date and time. Even when you think everything's confirmed, someone or something can suddenly become unavailable, which sends you into a tailspin of phone calls, emails and overall worry.
My brain isn't entirely programmed as an efficient organising tool. I was a TV secretary for two years and I managed to get by, JUST. And if I didn't have the amazing Ben Greenacre on Origin, the whole thing would have collapsed before I got close to a clapper board. It was to my great relief, then, that the dates and details for Liquid Lunch started to come together relatively easily.
I needed a camera. My local frolleague Andy Marsh had a Canon 5D, and was up for the shoot (there's a TERRIFIC filmmaking community in Bournemouth/Poole, where I live). Andy's a cool dude and he's all, like, 'I know another camera guy and a sound person who'd probably be up for it, and if we could borrow Suki's 5D, then we'd have two cameras, which could save on time and performance'. ANDY MARSH IS A GENIUS.
Then, I roped in Johnny Griffith (a uni screenwriting student I was mentoring) as production assistant, confirmed Chris Ferguson as main camera and Emma Worgan as sound recordist, and boom, I had my crew.
So, cast: check. Crew: check. Date: set. Tip: set your date before you contact cast, crew or location. Tell them when it's happening and things will either fall into place around the date, or it will become clear you'll have to change the date accordingly. Now, location: not set. I was slightly worried about this. I wanted a real pub (instead of a set) but wanted the privacy to film rather than shoot during opening hours. Plus, I always had one particular pub in mind when I was writing it, so I was nervous about asking and working out the details.
Again, luckily, the pub location came together relatively easily. I went into the pub, asked the landlord if I could shoot during the day when he wasn't open (and get in reeaaaally early, too), and he immediately said 'yes, no problem, whatever you need'. Just like that. It really is true what they say: you just have to ask! Everything was now set: scripts, cast, crew, equipment and location.
Next up: the shoot!
L-R: Andy Marsh, Dan Doolan, Me, Johnny Griffith, Chris Billingham, Emma Worgan, Chris Ferguson (special location thanks to John Tomlinson in Bankes Pub, Poole)
Don't know what I'm talking about? Completely new to 'How I Made A Web Series'? Then you've missed:
How It All Started
Writing & Casting
Rehearsals
Want more?
Visit the website!
Find us on Facebook!
Follow us on Twitter!
Watch the trailers!
Subscribe to the YouTube channel!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Liquid Lunch: Rehearsals
Part 3: How I Made A Web Series
At this stage in the process, I decided that Liquid Lunch would be 6 x 2 min episodes. Initially, I was thinking of 5 eps but the way the story was shaping up, I knew I needed an extra ep to round things up properly. We had four scripts in 3rd draft shape, so we set up a small rehearsal space in Dan's flat, and got to work.
(screen grab from DV Cam footage)
The scripts are entirely dialogue driven. In this case, the page per minute rule doesn't apply, especially for the quick delivery that I had in mind. Each script was running at about 4 or 5 pages. I used a DV Cam to record Dan and Chris go through their dialogue and see how everything was panning out.
We did each ep a few times, and discussed the lines that didn't exactly work or needed a bit of revision, or to keep the story on track. That's an important note: to keep the story on track. Although it's dialogue and gag driven, I was keen to keep the comedy focused on the characters instead of just cramming in jokes and asides for the sake of it (very easy trap!). I didn't want to do amusing sketches, I wanted to tell a story.
At the end of the first rehearsal, we knew we didn't have certain things nailed (the right tone for performance etc) but we felt a bit more confident about what we had to do to revise the existing scripts. I assembled a rough edit of the rehearsals, and this gave us some decent perspective on how to get the project into better shape.
We met again for another rehearsal a few weeks after eps 5 & 6 were written. I didn't film the guys this time. We just went through the material from start to finish, and chatted about what felt right and what could be revised further, or binned. We were all happy with the general flow and direction of the scripts, and agreed to just tweak and fine-tune from here on in. So, with the scripts almost locked, I set about getting the production together.
Next up: location, crew, production!
New to 'How I Made A Web Series'? You've missed:
How It All Started
Writing & Casting
Want more?
Visit the website!
Find us on Facebook!
Follow us on Twitter!
Watch the trailers!
Subscribe to the YouTube channel!
At this stage in the process, I decided that Liquid Lunch would be 6 x 2 min episodes. Initially, I was thinking of 5 eps but the way the story was shaping up, I knew I needed an extra ep to round things up properly. We had four scripts in 3rd draft shape, so we set up a small rehearsal space in Dan's flat, and got to work.
(screen grab from DV Cam footage)The scripts are entirely dialogue driven. In this case, the page per minute rule doesn't apply, especially for the quick delivery that I had in mind. Each script was running at about 4 or 5 pages. I used a DV Cam to record Dan and Chris go through their dialogue and see how everything was panning out.
We did each ep a few times, and discussed the lines that didn't exactly work or needed a bit of revision, or to keep the story on track. That's an important note: to keep the story on track. Although it's dialogue and gag driven, I was keen to keep the comedy focused on the characters instead of just cramming in jokes and asides for the sake of it (very easy trap!). I didn't want to do amusing sketches, I wanted to tell a story.
At the end of the first rehearsal, we knew we didn't have certain things nailed (the right tone for performance etc) but we felt a bit more confident about what we had to do to revise the existing scripts. I assembled a rough edit of the rehearsals, and this gave us some decent perspective on how to get the project into better shape.
We met again for another rehearsal a few weeks after eps 5 & 6 were written. I didn't film the guys this time. We just went through the material from start to finish, and chatted about what felt right and what could be revised further, or binned. We were all happy with the general flow and direction of the scripts, and agreed to just tweak and fine-tune from here on in. So, with the scripts almost locked, I set about getting the production together.
Next up: location, crew, production!
New to 'How I Made A Web Series'? You've missed:
How It All Started
Writing & Casting
Want more?
Visit the website!
Find us on Facebook!
Follow us on Twitter!
Watch the trailers!
Subscribe to the YouTube channel!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Liquid Lunch: Writing
Part 2: How I Made A Web Series
Liquid Lunch is about two guys who regularly meet in the pub to break up the monotony of their working day but when they realise life is passing them by, they decide to do something about it.
When I started writing it, I only had the first half of the premise. Two guys chatting in a pub. A bit of jokey banter, and that was it. Of course, that's when I was trying to do it as a 5 min short film but the problem with that approach was that it wasn't about anything. There wasn't any real story. But then, the exact nature of liquid lunches and excitable pub talk sprung into mind, and I had myself the second half of the premise. The story.
I was keen to keep things simple. Two guys. One location. Chat, banter and jokes, but to keep it focused on a story over 5 or 6 webisodes. I wrote webisodes 1 and 2, and thought they were OK. A decent start. But the key to comedy is collaborating. I started to think about my two lead actors, and perhaps utilising some improvisation into the scripts.
My mind immediately cast Dan Doolan in one of the roles. Dan's a screenwriting graduate from Bournemouth University. I had met him last year over a coffee to chat about writing and 'what to do next'. He mentioned that he and his mates had performed a comedy sketch show at the Edinburgh Festival, and I was well impressed. That takes balls. This snippet of info always stuck in my mind, and I was fairly confident he would be perfect for one of the roles. I Twitter'd him (I had lost his email, thank you the internet!) and gave him the lowdown. He was very keen to be involved and knew someone from his sketch group who would be suitable for the other role (Chris Billingham).
I met them on London's South Bank for a liquid lunch (hey, I'm METHOD), and to see if Dan & Chris were indeed a good fit. Luckily, they're really good mates, and they easily slotted in to the roles I had in mind. Dan naturally assuming he would play Ollie and Chris more suited to play Alex (left to right, below). Banzai! They flattered me with their enthusiasm, and I encouraged them to improvise and 'make the characters their own' as much as possible. They spent a whole weekend doing this, bouncing the material back and forth, eventually rounding up all their improvisation into excellent 2nd draft scripts of eps 1 & 2. I was on to a winner with these two (screenwriters & actors, a powerful combo!).
From their 2nd drafts, I did a 3rd draft, a neat mesh of all the best stuff we had done so far. If we all lived locally, we would have created a writers' room scenario but because we all lived in separate locations, we went with the procedure of me doing 1st draft, keeping an eye on character & story, the guys doing an improv 2nd draft, and then combining the best of the two. We got up to webisode 4 with this approach, and it was time to do some rehearsals to see what worked and what didn't.
Next up: rehearsals!
Don't know what I'm blabbing on about? Never heard of Liquid Lunch? It's a new six-part comedy web series. Find us on every social network known to man! Well, Twitter, Facebook and the main website!
Liquid Lunch is about two guys who regularly meet in the pub to break up the monotony of their working day but when they realise life is passing them by, they decide to do something about it.
When I started writing it, I only had the first half of the premise. Two guys chatting in a pub. A bit of jokey banter, and that was it. Of course, that's when I was trying to do it as a 5 min short film but the problem with that approach was that it wasn't about anything. There wasn't any real story. But then, the exact nature of liquid lunches and excitable pub talk sprung into mind, and I had myself the second half of the premise. The story.
I was keen to keep things simple. Two guys. One location. Chat, banter and jokes, but to keep it focused on a story over 5 or 6 webisodes. I wrote webisodes 1 and 2, and thought they were OK. A decent start. But the key to comedy is collaborating. I started to think about my two lead actors, and perhaps utilising some improvisation into the scripts.
My mind immediately cast Dan Doolan in one of the roles. Dan's a screenwriting graduate from Bournemouth University. I had met him last year over a coffee to chat about writing and 'what to do next'. He mentioned that he and his mates had performed a comedy sketch show at the Edinburgh Festival, and I was well impressed. That takes balls. This snippet of info always stuck in my mind, and I was fairly confident he would be perfect for one of the roles. I Twitter'd him (I had lost his email, thank you the internet!) and gave him the lowdown. He was very keen to be involved and knew someone from his sketch group who would be suitable for the other role (Chris Billingham).
I met them on London's South Bank for a liquid lunch (hey, I'm METHOD), and to see if Dan & Chris were indeed a good fit. Luckily, they're really good mates, and they easily slotted in to the roles I had in mind. Dan naturally assuming he would play Ollie and Chris more suited to play Alex (left to right, below). Banzai! They flattered me with their enthusiasm, and I encouraged them to improvise and 'make the characters their own' as much as possible. They spent a whole weekend doing this, bouncing the material back and forth, eventually rounding up all their improvisation into excellent 2nd draft scripts of eps 1 & 2. I was on to a winner with these two (screenwriters & actors, a powerful combo!).
From their 2nd drafts, I did a 3rd draft, a neat mesh of all the best stuff we had done so far. If we all lived locally, we would have created a writers' room scenario but because we all lived in separate locations, we went with the procedure of me doing 1st draft, keeping an eye on character & story, the guys doing an improv 2nd draft, and then combining the best of the two. We got up to webisode 4 with this approach, and it was time to do some rehearsals to see what worked and what didn't.
Next up: rehearsals!
Don't know what I'm blabbing on about? Never heard of Liquid Lunch? It's a new six-part comedy web series. Find us on every social network known to man! Well, Twitter, Facebook and the main website!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Liquid Lunch: How I Made A Web Series
Here's the first post on how I made Liquid Lunch, my 6-part webcom. It's not a definitive guide on how to make a web series, more how I made a web series. Still, there should be some useful bits of info if you're considering making a web show, and the same basic principles apply if you're thinking of making a short film.
1. THE IDEA
So, like, dude, where did it all begin? Good question. As with a lot of my projects, it begins with a title. I've always liked the title Liquid Lunch. It's catchy and punchy. Yes, it's a commonly used phrase but I was surprised that no TV show or film or whatever had nabbed it to spin a story. At least, none that I had heard of.
After spending a squillion pounds making Origin, I was itchy to (a) direct again but (b) didn't want to burn as much money. And then, over a vodka or three at the London Screenwriters' Festival, Piers Beckley challenged EVERYONE* to make a short film with these simple rules: it must last between 3-5 minutes, not including credits; it must have no more than 5 actors in it (counted as anyone with a line, onscreen or off); deadline for completion is St. Patrick's Day (17th March 2011); you need to either write or direct the film, or both. It was October at this stage, so EVERYONE* (in their drunken euphoria) thought it was a cinch, and agreed to the challenge.
Liquid Lunch seemed like the ideal short film to me and yet, when I started writing it, I couldn't make the story work within a 5 minute duration. But the bet had spurred me on to actually commit something to paper about the idea, and the characters and theme that emerged really struck a chord with me ('don't just talk about what you're going to do, get out there and do it'). I didn't want to give up on it. In the end, I lost the bet because I didn't make the short within the agreed timeframe (kudos to Tim and Piers for that achievement). Instead, I set about developing Liquid Lunch into a comedy web series.
Next up: the writing and casting process.
* Me, Tim, Piers, Brendan and Andy, although I think Brendan and Andy might have been amused by our enthusiasm for the bet rather than agreeing to do it.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Liquid Lunch, website & trailer!
The website and trailer for Liquid Lunch, my new comedy web series, is now live. You can check out both by going direct to the site, or watch the trailer below.
There's also updates and news on the Facebook page, and, of course, Twitter. The webisodes (6 of 'em) will go live at the end of the month.
I've been editing the webisodes myself on Final Cut Pro. Never done that before. I've always been good sitting beside an editor, and assembling stuff, but doing it yourself is a completely different skill altogether. I've really enjoyed learning FCP though, and am grateful for some wizard tips from my sister Berni (a propah professional editor) and my Bournemouth (tor)mentors Tim and Suki.
Speaking of trailers, have you seen the teaser for Stormhouse, the new British horror film written by Jason Arnopp and directed by Dan Turner? Very excited by this one. The guys just went out and did it - an attitude I heartily endorse (see Liquid Lunch, above) - and it looks like it just might keep you up at night. It's also going to have its world premiere at this year's Edinburgh Film Festival. This is quite a feat. Kudos, fellas!
There's also updates and news on the Facebook page, and, of course, Twitter. The webisodes (6 of 'em) will go live at the end of the month.
I've been editing the webisodes myself on Final Cut Pro. Never done that before. I've always been good sitting beside an editor, and assembling stuff, but doing it yourself is a completely different skill altogether. I've really enjoyed learning FCP though, and am grateful for some wizard tips from my sister Berni (a propah professional editor) and my Bournemouth (tor)mentors Tim and Suki.
Speaking of trailers, have you seen the teaser for Stormhouse, the new British horror film written by Jason Arnopp and directed by Dan Turner? Very excited by this one. The guys just went out and did it - an attitude I heartily endorse (see Liquid Lunch, above) - and it looks like it just might keep you up at night. It's also going to have its world premiere at this year's Edinburgh Film Festival. This is quite a feat. Kudos, fellas!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Cannes Vodcasts
Bienvenue à Cannes, avec Monsieur Tim Clague!
Which is French for: head on over to the UK Scriptwriters' Facebook page for Tim's video diary of this year's Cannes Film Festival. Can't embed them here for some reason.
Bon, allez!
Or, in the latest UK Scriptwriters podcast, we discuss the Oui's and Non's of going to Cannes: should you go? how much does it cost? how do you register? what do you have to do, etc?
Monday, May 09, 2011
Screenwriting Bullet #11
What does 'execution dependent' mean?
Development executives will sometimes, nay regularly, hear pitches where the premise and/or story might sound OK but the idea won't entirely convince that it's something people will want to see. In this regard, they say that the idea is 'execution dependent', as it relies entirely on how well the screenwriter can spin the story.
If the pitch is coming from a new, unknown writer, then a mention of 'execution dependent' means a polite rejection. If it's from a more reliable scribe, then the exec will feel more confident in handing over some development dosh.
Other refs:
John August on Execution Dependent
Development executives will sometimes, nay regularly, hear pitches where the premise and/or story might sound OK but the idea won't entirely convince that it's something people will want to see. In this regard, they say that the idea is 'execution dependent', as it relies entirely on how well the screenwriter can spin the story.
If the pitch is coming from a new, unknown writer, then a mention of 'execution dependent' means a polite rejection. If it's from a more reliable scribe, then the exec will feel more confident in handing over some development dosh.
Other refs:
John August on Execution Dependent
Monday, May 02, 2011
UK Scriptwriters Podcast: Episode 9!
The latest episode of the UK Scriptwriters podcast, hosted by myself and Tim Clague, went live before the long weekend but you might have missed it due to wedding, barbeque, socialising, bank holiday shenanigans.
In this month's edition, we round up the latest news, discuss the Oui's and Non's of going to Cannes, review Dr Who and Tim talks Picasso! Plus there's our regular movieScope competition with Screenwriter DVD, mag subscriptions and Movie Magic Software up for grabs. It's free! Full deets on the pod, yo.
Of course, if you're a subscriber, you'll automatically get updated on all the insider scriptwriting chat but it you're NOT (why do you hurt me so?), then you can listen to the podcast via the embedded player, below (and catch up on any you might have missed).
As ever, have a listen and tell us what you think, spread the word, or make suggestions, or just say hello. We're on Facebook and Twitter or email us directly at ukscriptwriters @hotmail.com. Thanks!
In this month's edition, we round up the latest news, discuss the Oui's and Non's of going to Cannes, review Dr Who and Tim talks Picasso! Plus there's our regular movieScope competition with Screenwriter DVD, mag subscriptions and Movie Magic Software up for grabs. It's free! Full deets on the pod, yo.
Of course, if you're a subscriber, you'll automatically get updated on all the insider scriptwriting chat but it you're NOT (why do you hurt me so?), then you can listen to the podcast via the embedded player, below (and catch up on any you might have missed).
As ever, have a listen and tell us what you think, spread the word, or make suggestions, or just say hello. We're on Facebook and Twitter or email us directly at ukscriptwriters @hotmail.com. Thanks!
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