Tag: writers life

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 8.

Chasing The George

Hello, my fellow artists! I am recapping my weekly experiences of the writing course I’m taking at the Sundance Collab. These recaps are a cool insight into the creative process and personal journey of building something from scratch. In this case, a feature film treatment.

Recap: Week 8. The moment has finally arrived! The whole goal of this course was to take an idea for a feature film and create a fully-realized treatment for it. This was the week to start transitioning into this final phase! Wow! I expanded from an idea to an action summary to a beat sheet to an expanded beat sheet to an outline, and now, to the beginning of a treatment. This has been an amazing and crazy ride. Seeing my story expand over the last 8 weeks is a wonderful feeling and accomplishment. I’m so proud of myself. One more week to go! Keep reading below 🙂

A treatment is where you now infuse emotions into your scenes. If you remember from last week, an outline is an expanded breakdown of what is happening from one scene to the next. Now, in terms of a treatment, “what do the characters feel when these things are happening? The treatment is an emotional short story. From scene to scene, what is this scene about? And then fill it out emotionally.” Our goal in this course is to create a treatment that is 10 to 15 pages long. And the purpose and power of a treatment is that it is the source material for our eventual screenplay. The treatment will guide us in the actual writing of our feature film screenplay. It takes the guesswork out of our writing. Keep reading below 🙂

Armed with my course advisor’s notes from last week and the answers I came up with, I meticulously went through as many scenes as possible and asked myself, “what is this scene about?” and “what is this character(s) feeling?” “When and how will Luke’s assets and liabilities that I created in week two show up in these scenes?” “Is the theme of my movie, which I discovered in week one, present within this treatment? When does the theme come up and how often does it come up?” “Is Luke’s emotional drive clearly coming through in my scenes?” Some scenes were easier than others in terms of discovering what they were about and my ability to fill them out emotionally. However, I know that if I keep going back to those other scenes and ask the next question, the answers will present themselves. Or, I’ll realize that those scenes don’t work. In which case, I can get rid of them (and I’ve already gotten rid of a few scenes that didn’t fit within my story.) I made it to the beginning of act two and realized I was going to need more time to continue tackling the rest of my scenes LOL. LOL. LOL. Keep reading below 🙂

With one more week to go, I have a feeling that we will be able to continue tackling our treatment. See you all next week for the FINAL recap of my Sundance Collab writing course experience!

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 7.

Chasing The George

Hello, my fellow artists! I am recapping my weekly experiences of the writing course I’m taking at the Sundance Collab. These recaps are a cool insight into the creative process and personal journey of building something from scratch. In this case, a feature film treatment.

Recap: Week 7. We are almost nearing the end of the journey. Two more weeks to go! And once this course is over, I’ll be blogging about my acting endeavors, plus my 2nd & 3rd quarter wins! Keep reading below 🙂

Week 7 was all about taking our expanded beat sheet from last week and moving it towards an outline. An outline is where we start expanding upon the one-liner sentences from our beat sheet. We add details as we march towards the final goal of creating a feature film treatment. One way to add details is to think about the visuals of the film. Film is a visual medium. How can we utilize visuals to tell our story and reveal the emotional inner life of our characters? There’s that famous expression that goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” So that as you read my treatment, and eventually, my screenplay, you can SEE the movie in your mind. You can see and FEEL what’s happening from one page to the next. Keep reading below 🙂

It was great to comb through my expanded beat sheet and think about how to infuse visuals into my scenes. I used a blue font to add the visual components. And from using the blue font, I could see (pun intended) how my scenes expanded. Keep reading below 🙂

Once I added visuals, the next step was to go through the beat sheet again to continue adding more details about what is happening from scene to scene. This beat sheet, now called an outline, could be expanded up to 8 pages. I got to 7 1/2 pages and submitted it to my course advisor. Overall, she thinks I’m off to a great start and that I have a great idea for my feature film. She provided wonderful comments and questions throughout my outline to help me take my story to the next level. She asked the next question and came from a place of support. I let her feedback sit with me for a few days because I wanted to give myself time to let the answers come to me. And then, I received the weekly email from my Thursday scene study class that contained the inspirational quote of the week. That quote unlocked something within me! An “a-ha” moment! I sat down at my computer and answered all but two of her questions. Now, I have to implement these answers into my outline and keep carving them out. Keep reading below 🙂

Fun fact: I am writing a feature film with a friend and colleague of mine for our Professional Development Program 3.0 class, and I could see how week 7 immediately influenced the scenes I recently wrote. Keep reading below 🙂

Until next week!

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 6.

Chasing The George

Hello, my fellow artists! I am recapping my weekly experiences of the writing course I’m taking at the Sundance Collab. These recaps are a cool insight into the creative process and personal journey of building something from scratch. In this case, a feature film treatment.

Recap: Week 6. This week, we were challenged to expand upon the beat sheet that we created last week. To help us expand our beat sheet, we were introduced to the “index card method.” This method was really cool because it reminded me of a method I use when I prepare for an audition. (For my fellow Richard Lawson Studios colleagues who have taken the Professional Development Program, you’ll figure it out as soon as I describe the index card method further.) Keep reading below 🙂

Take a stack of index cards and write down every scene from your beat sheet onto them. Once you are done, put them up on your wall in chronological order from left to right. (My fellow RLS peeps, does this ring a bell yet?) Once the index cards are up on your wall, read through what you have. This visual story on the wall helps you see what scenes you have and what scenes you don’t have. By seeing what scenes you have and don’t have, you can start filling in the blanks to expand your story. Having your story up on the wall helps you to see it in a clearer way versus seeing it on your computer. The story is out in front of you. Keep reading below 🙂

As I read the index cards each time through, a new scene occurred to me because I saw and understood my story a little bit more. Great! I wrote that new scene on a blank index card and placed it on the wall. (My RLS peeps, are you getting warmer?) Keep reading below 🙂

We were also encouraged to color code our scenes so that the main storyline was in one color and the B storyline in another. By utilizing colors, we can see how balanced our story is or how one note it is. For example, I realized that my B storyline was lacking in act 2. I also realized that act 2 needed more scenes in general! The other aspect of the index card method that I like is that you can move the cards around to make certain scenes track better, or take them out if they don’t work. Rearranging certain scenes or removing them helps to create clarity for your story. Seeing my index cards on the wall was so awesome, and I had fun reading through my story repeatedly and adding, moving, and removing scenes. Keep reading below 🙂

Okay, okay! My RLS community has to know by now what the index card method sounds like………………………THE SUBTEES PROCESS! The Subtees Process is a method we use in our audition preparation to discover the subtext of our character. Film acting is about subtext. It’s about what you don’t say. The first step of the Subtees Process is to write the entire audition scene on one stack of Super Sticky Post-it Notes before you transfer them to the wall, top to bottom, left to right. And through an extensive series of steps where you utilize different-colored Post-it Notes, you create and build a character from scratch, infusing them with history, light and dark subtext, the moment before, etc. And each time you go through the Subtees Process, you gain more clarity about your character and the scene. And the power of this process is that if I were to look at your wall and go through it, I could also perform the character. Why? Because the Subtees Process is a blueprint, an architectural design, that guides you on how to play this character. Once I expanded my story on the wall, I added those new scenes to the beat sheet on my computer. Keep reading below 🙂

The next step was to use the “sequence method” to continue expanding my beat sheet. I like the sequence method because it breaks down the three act structure into these smaller sections, or “manageable chunks”, that are like these mini stories. And each sequence serves a specific purpose or function to move the story forward. It’s a more gradient approach where I can tackle my story one sequence or chunk at a time. I can see what needs to happen in one sequence before I can transition into the next. I went back to my wall and rearranged my scenes into these sequences. The sequence method gave me more clarity. It helped me to see where the holes in my story were. For example, I realized I needed a little more set up in act 1 to propel my protagonist into act 2. I realized that the scene I thought was my act 2 climax was incorrect and that it was actually the one after it. I also had to make sure that not only did my scenes create a beginning, middle, and end within each sequence, they also had to fulfill the purpose of each particular sequence. So I ended up creating more scenes to add to my beat sheet. Keep reading below 🙂

See you all next week!

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 5.

Chasing The George

Hello, my fellow artists! I am recapping my weekly experiences of the writing course I’m taking at the Sundance Collab. These recaps are a cool insight into the creative process and personal journey of building something from scratch. In this case, a feature film treatment.

Recap: Week 5. Let’s jump right in! I haven’t experienced impostor syndrome yet, so that’s good! We’ve studied films like “You Can Count On Me” and “Sideways” in the last couple of weeks. I have also been thinking a lot about my story while in the shower, while on the toilet, and while trying to go to sleep. Keep reading below 🙂

This week, we focused on the three act structure and creating a beat sheet. Once again, I was glad I understood the three act structure and its components due to my previous work with “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story”. Last week, I submitted my action summary to my advisor for feedback. Now, it was time to take that action summary and extract sections that fulfilled the major components of the three act structure. So far, so good: My action summary contained the components of the three act structure, and I plugged them in (e.g. the inciting incident, the midpoint of act two, the act two climax, etc.) Keep reading below 🙂

Once I did that, it was now time to tackle the beat sheet. And you might be asking yourself: What’s the difference between the three act structure and the beat sheet? The way I look at it is that the three act structure is like the major overview of your story. Kind of like the skeleton of your story. This structure contains these major moments you need to have and hit in your story, whereas the beat sheet is the beginning of the scene by scene breakdown of your story. This is where you start filling in scenes across the three acts. Keep reading below 🙂

So, I went from this major overview of my story to the scene by scene breakdown of it. And like my instructor said, “the beat sheet isn’t pretty. It’s an outline of an outline. But each short scene description should march you through the basic building blocks of those three acts.” The beat sheet can be rough and crude. All I need to do right now is write one-liner scenes that take my story from beginning to end. For example, I wrote, “Luke runs down the streets of Brooklyn with a bag of chips in his hands.” “Luke goes home and interacts with his mother and brother.” “Luke flies to LA to start training.” “They kiss.” That’s it LOL. There were some scenes where I added more details, but I loved and enjoyed the freedom of these one-liners. It took the pressure off of feeling like 1) I needed to know every single scene that occurs in my movie (which I don’t!) and 2) that I had to describe every single scene in detail (which I can’t…yet!) I know more scenes will come to me as I keep looking at my story, and I’m pretty sure we will get to the details in a future class LOL. Keep reading below 🙂

My story is growing and taking shape! Until next week!

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 4.

Chasing The George

Hello, my fellow artists! I am recapping my weekly experiences of the writing course I’m taking at the Sundance Collab. These recaps are a cool insight into the creative process and personal journey of building something from scratch. In this case, a feature film treatment.

Recap: Week 4. Last week, I shared how my causative routine was going, plus the creation and exploration of the other characters in my feature film. This week’s class was exciting because it focused on the overall arc of our story. What’s our story about from beginning to end? Also, how do the characters drive the story forward? Our homework was to write a one-to-two page summary of our story. The basic beginning, middle, and end. Keep reading below 🙂

Woo hoo! Here was an opportunity to tell my story from beginning to end. Here was an opportunity to see if my idea could go the distance from fade in to fade out. Let’s do this! The homework also confirmed what I learned in class: Each new generation consumes more and more stories via film, television, and streaming, and so most people today inherently have a strong sense of storytelling. I share that because I was pleasantly surprised at how much story poured out of me when I sat down to type. I understood the overall framework and arc of my story. I knew where it started and where it ended. When I finished, I had written several pages worth of my summary LOL. Good problem to have because I can always edit it down. I can always cut the cloth shorter. Keep reading below 🙂

While editing, I kept telling myself to focus on the main points. Describe more succinctly. Don’t be precious with every word. Get it down to one to two pages. I finally did and sent it over to my advisor for feedback. I felt accomplished. I felt like I did my best. She said I did a great job and that she loves a sports story. She also asked me a couple of questions regarding my story and to make sure that the emotional drive for my character is coming through. Her feedback and questions were helpful and they inspired me to continue looking at my story and ask more questions. Keep reading below 🙂

See you all next week when I recap week five! (Oh yeah, ever since this course began, I’ve also been doing extra research outside of class that will help me out when I eventually write my feature film script.)

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 3.

Chasing The George

Hello, my fellow artists! I am recapping my weekly experiences of the writing course I’m taking at the Sundance Collab. These recaps are a cool insight into the creative process and personal journey of building something from scratch. In this case, a feature film treatment.

Recap: Week 3. First, my causative routine is going great. The schedule that I have created has set me up for success with this course. This week was about the creation and exploration of the antagonist and other supporting characters in my protagonist’s world. Just like I did last week with my protagonist, I had to fill out the same character questionnaire for at least two more characters in my story. I chose the antagonist and the love interest. Keep reading below 🙂

In addition to filling out the character questionnaires, I also had to identify character qualities for my antagonist and love interest to create conflict and opposition with the protagonist. In other words, their assets and liabilities (like I also did last week for my protagonist.) There were certain qualities I was able to identify quickly, while others became placeholders. To get more clarity on these placeholders, I looked them up in different online dictionaries. I also looked at my protagonist’s qualities and asked myself, “What’s the opposite of these?” So if Luke (the working name of my protagonist…remember, I jokingly lamented last week that I’m bad with creating character names LOL) is reserved and shy, then Adam (the working name of my antagonist) is loud and cocky. Now I have Abbott and Costello. I have the beginnings of conflict. Keep reading below 🙂

I want to keep carving out my antagonist to make sure they are not bad just for the sake of being bad. In their mind, they are doing the right thing. They don’t think their actions are wrong. Keep reading below 🙂

I also wanted to share that I had to be willing to turn off “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story”. I’ve used this book by Jeffrey Alan Schechter since 2014, so I had some fear and nervousness of letting it go. But going into this course, I made a commitment to lean into this new teaching instead. I wanted to be open and present to a different approach. And it’s been going great! That being said, Jeffrey’s book has come in handy a couple of times as a reference point, a translation point, where I said to myself, “Oh, Jeffrey calls that the thematic synthesis. Oh, he calls that a compelling goal. I got it. It makes total sense in terms of what I’m learning now.” It’s like an actor having an established approach and then going into a new school to study. The new school teaches them about “moments” and the actor says, “Oh! A moment is like a beat. Got it.” Or the new school teaches them about “urgency” and the actor says, “Oh! Urgency is like picking up the pace. Got it.” So it’s been cool to hear some things in a different way that still translates and makes sense to me. Keep reading below 🙂

See you all next week. Week 4 will tackle story arcs, beginnings, middles, and ends, and story plot. And at some point, I’ll talk about office hours with our advisor.

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 2.

Chasing The George

Hello, my fellow artists! I am recapping my weekly experiences of the writing course I’m taking at the Sundance Collab. These recaps are a cool insight into the creative process and personal journey of building something from scratch. In this case, a feature film treatment.

Recap: Week 2. This week was a testament and confirmation of what I talked about last week in terms of asking the next question. Week 2 was all about the creation of my main protagonist! My hero! The person the audience will follow and root for from beginning to end. There were three homework assignments for this week. The first homework assignment contained 29 questions to help me create my character and understand who this person is. At first, I was like WTF at some of the questions, but I realized that each question (and answer) painted more of my protagonist’s picture. I discovered things about my character that I would not have thought about or considered if it wasn’t for these questions. And I realized that a few of these discoveries will make their way into my script as dialogue and moments (I see what you’re doing there, Sundance!) The second and third homework assignments continued with the exploration of my protagonist. Some of these things will also make their way into my script. Keep reading below 🙂

I also created a causative routine that set me up for success. I will continue to utilize this routine each week because there’s a lot of homework. I know which day I start my homework, and I use the WHOLE week to carve it out. As I mentioned last week, I took the pressure off myself to have all the answers in one day. Having a routine allows me and my work to breathe. Each day provides an opportunity to know more and push my work further. I gain greater insight into what I’m creating through my causative routine. When I finish my homework for the week, I feel like I have done my best. And just as important, my causative routine keeps me SANE because I’m not scrambling or cramming to get it all in. Keep reading below 🙂

Outside of the assigned homework, I also did research to find real-life prototypes for my protagonist in terms of images and interviews. This research helped me to see and hear my character in three-dimensional form. And in turn, this research informed my homework. I also realized that I suck at creating character names LOL. It’s the reason why I recycle the same names in my writing work LOL. I somewhat agonized over finding names for my protagonist (and the other characters in their universe.) I had to remind myself of the importance of placeholders. Don’t get precious. Pick a name and move on. I can always change them later once I learn more about my characters. Or not. Perhaps Luke is the best name for my protagonist. I mean, names are important, right? It’s a part of their identity. Right? I’m going to be dedicating my entire life to these characters, so I gotta love their names, right? Right? RIGHT? LOL. See you all next week for a recap of week 3!

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 1.

Chasing The George

Hello artists! As mentioned last week, I got accepted into a screenwriting course at the Sundance Collab. This course will help me take an idea for a feature film and create a fully realised treatment for it. Also, as mentioned last week, I am recapping and sharing my personal experiences each week as I build a feature film treatment from scratch.

Recap: Week 1. Two things I wanted to share. 1) Everything really boils down to, “What is this about?” Whether I’m doing a scene in acting class or writing a movie, it’s all about understanding what something is about. That’s the driving force that helps paint the picture (or write the script, in this case) and informs the choices we make. Keep reading below 🙂

2) I also told myself to take the pressure off. Looking at the homework for week one, I felt I needed all the answers to everything in one day. For example, I felt like I needed to clearly and expertly articulate what my movie was about in one day. And when I couldn’t, I started to have a little doubt. “Uh oh, what did I get myself into? Perhaps this is a stupid idea for a movie.” I had to handle myself to remove this pressure and doubt. Once I did that, I allowed my training to kick in. I said that I have to be okay and comfortable with the unknown. I’m starting a journey from scratch. Don’t be afraid of the unknown. Why? Because I can ask the next question. I asked the first question that came to me. Great! I now had either a placeholder or a definitive answer. And from there, I kept asking the next question. Each placeholder or definitive answer allowed me to take another step forward. Each answer provided more clarity. I allowed myself to be patient with the homework and to let the answers come to me. I did what I could to fill in the blanks each day. As the days in week one progressed, I started thinking about other movies and art forms that could help me shape and articulate my answers. I also got on my feet, walked around, and attempted to answer my questions. By the end of the week, I finally arrived at an “a-ha” moment. I knew what my story was about. Keep reading below 🙂

Ask the next question no matter what it is: rehearsals for a scene, an audition, a script you’re writing, etc. See you all next week for my week two recap on developing the protagonist!

200 Blog Posts!

Chasing The George

WordPress alerted me recently that I have written 200 blog posts on their site!! Wow!! Also, Happy (early) Anniversary to Chasing The George!! I’m celebrating early! On July 15th, 2015, my teacher and mentor, Richard Lawson, encouraged me to write a weekly blog where I would share my artistic journey, advice, stories, and interests with other artists. A “Hollywood 101” if you will that reveals and shares the sustained effort, work, and fun it takes to have a career in this industry. Thank you, Richard! What a journey it has been! Walking the walk as you teach us to do. Fun fact: My blog originally started on Tumblr before I moved it over to WordPress (LOL for anyone who is doing the math and wondering how it’s only 200 blog posts since 2015…I switched platforms and also took a few breaks with my blogging.) Keep reading below 🙂

Thank you to everyone around the world who has supported my blog over the years. Thank you to everyone who has read, shared, commented, and continues to be inspired by this one artist’s bravery to put himself out there and share his artistic life and journey. Thank you for witnessing how I found and strengthened my voice through this blog. Thank you to those who encouraged me to blog again when I stopped for periods of time. I’ve shared wins. I’ve shared lessons. I’ve shared highs and lows. I’ve shared so many things from how to get an agent to how I got my script to James Franco to how I feel I can’t act when I start a new rehearsal process (and how I combat that) to how I outlined a feature screenplay in two weeks to how I booked a national commercial by following my impulse to cry. Keep reading below 🙂

Wow! 200 blog posts!! I am so grateful not only because of the sheer amount of writing I’ve produced, but because I’m still in the game. I achieved 200 blog posts because I’m still in the game. I haven’t given up. I won’t give up because I can’t live without my art. I NEED to be an artist, and I have a healthy, supportive career bus that keeps me going and holds me accountable. I have a wonderful community that I can lean on and grow with. I’m grateful to still be an artist in this industry. I’ll see you all next week! Onward and upward! Keep reading below 🙂

Which Writing Competitions To Submit To.

Chasing The George

For my fellow screenwriters and TV writers out there who are interested in submitting content to writing competitions, but don’t know where to start, I hope that my blog entry will help. I have been submitting to writing competitions this year (and in previous years.) And let me make it clear that because the writers strike is still going on, the information I’m providing is done with respect and support to their cause. The information provided does not go against the writers strike rules.

I read a great interview for pre-WGA writers titled, “Writers Strike Dos and Don’ts for Pre-WGA Writers, Explained by the WGA” that has confirmed and shaped how I’m writing today’s blog entry around writing competitions. Keep reading below 🙂

As with film festivals, there is a PLETHORA of writing competitions. It can feel daunting when looking at the myriad choices out there. For example, when I logged into my Coverfly account today, the dashboard listed 194 writing competitions. 194?! What?! By the way, “Coverfly is the industry’s largest screenwriter talent-discovery platform, connecting emerging screenwriters with literary managers, agents, producers and development executives.” It’s a central, convenient hub that contains a huge listing of different writing competitions. Keep reading below 🙂

Submitting to writing competitions as a way to get your work out there, to get noticed by the industry, and to receive feedback or coverage, can become expensive. Don’t just blindly submit because submission fees add up quickly. The best advice I can give you before you begin your journey is to do your homework and research. Aim for the big ones (because why not?) and aim for the ones geared to the type of script you have written for a more specific, bullseye approach. Not all competitions are equal and built the same way. Some have been around for a while and are highly-regarded and respected. Others are brand new and have only been in the game for a year. Some competitions come and go. Keep reading below 🙂

Some factors to consider: how long the competition has been in existence, its mission statement, its end goals for the writers who enter and win, the judges involved in the competition, the sponsors behind the competition, whether it is a genre-specific/niche competition that matches your script, etc. Do the research and decide for yourself. Listen to your instincts and use your common sense. Also, read the WGA interview at the end so that you understand the do’s and don’ts of writing competitions while they are on strike. Keep reading below 🙂

Below, I have listed 10 established, industry-recognized writing competitions that I have been submitting to this year (and in previous years.) Plus, I included a link to Coverfly. I found these writing competitions based upon industry colleague recommendations and through my own research. There may be a lot more established, industry-recognized writing competitions, but at least this list will get your wheels going. And with the exception of the Academy Nicholl Fellowships which only focuses on screenplays, the other competitions listed below accept both screenplays and TV scripts. If there is an asterisk (*) in front of a particular competition, it indicates that they have put out a written statement that they support the WGA’s strike efforts and will not go against their strike guidelines. For those competitions below (or any not listed here) that haven’t put out a written statement regarding their support of the writers strike, reach out to them directly. And before you submit, read what the WGA recommends in their interview below. Keep reading below 🙂

WGA Interview: https://www.moviemaker.com/writers-strike-rules-pre-wga/

1) Academy Nicholl Fellowships: https://www.oscars.org/nicholl

2) *Austin Film Festival: https://austinfilmfestival.com/submit/screenplay-and-teleplay-submissions-2/

3) *Final Draft Big Break: https://www.finaldraft.com/big-break-screenwriting-contest/

4) Page Awards: https://pageawards.com/

5) *ScreenCraft: https://screencraft.org/screenwriting-contests/

6) Scriptapalooza: https://scriptapalooza.com/

7) Script Pipeline: https://scriptpipeline.com

8) *Shore Scripts: https://www.shorescripts.com

9) *The Black List: https://blcklst.com/

10) Tracking Board Launch Pad: https://tblaunchpad.com/

11) Coverfly: https://www.coverfly.com/ “At Coverfly, we proudly support the rights of writers and the WGA’s efforts to ensure fair compensation for their work. Coverfly stands in solidarity with the WGA and its efforts to ensure fair, livable compensation for the work of writers. For information on how you can stay within the WGA strike rules and procedures while submitting for competitions, please contact the competition organization directly.”