Monday, July 04, 2005

Scattershot

Ah, 4th of July weekend. Nothing like a Holiday Weekend to help me make some headway on my script. Pounding out some crucial scenes for the second half of Act II in my script, I spent any free time I could muster yesterday and today writing out 10 pages of material. The scenes I ended up getting down were some of the more difficult I’ve had to write, including one very intense confrontation scene.
I should add that I’m positive once I go back and rewrite my material I’ll find plenty of mistakes to cramp up over, but for the moment I’m reasonably satisfied enough to push forward at least 10 more pages by tomorrow. Act II is running long…I’ll cut it down in the final draft.

So I called FotoKem and the processing on The Subject is done. All that’s left is the telecine. After the film gets back to me I’ll begin the arduous process of editing. Actually, I’m really looking forward to the editing for this film, as I have a million ideas I want to try and accomplish. One of the things I wanted to make important in this film was the Foley and overall sound. That’s never really been a heavy focus in the past, but I want to get creative with it this time around. I can picture setting an entire mood with some particular sounds. I know that I’ve always ended up just laying down music to my films, in essence making them music videos, but this time I really want to focus on the sound effects.

I added the Criterion Collection and The City on Film Daily to our collection of links on the right hand side of the page. Why? Well, Criterion made it to the list because we’ve been talking very heavily about movies lately, independent, artistic and foreign films in particular, and I’ve realized over time that they have one of the finest collections of cinematically important films. They also publish a number of interesting film articles. The City on Film got a link because, well, that’s a very frequently updated blog. And since I wanted to make sure we keep updating our site with new material, I decided to add that. I should get his new CD and review it.

Speaking of reviews, my next major one:

Going by the trailers and commercials, it isn't going to be anything like I thought it would be, but I've read some surprisingly good reviews. I'll still give it a shot.

4 comments:

Joshua Provost said...

Brock, you are a writing machine. It's not an easy thing, but you seem to be able to commit to it and get it done.

It's a very difficult thing for me to write. So I admire your focus.

That goes for Jeremy as well, but who knows if he's still writing. He was working on a Mason Files screenplay at one point, and possibly a Sans Hands screenplay. That was a long time ago.

Gabe said...

I can't to see this. I hope I can play a part for you.

I'm very much looking forward to Willy Wonka. It was definitely one of my favorite books as a kid.

Anonymous said...

Brock-man.

Never seen Wonka. I know, I know, it's a shame. But I could never stand Gene Wilder in anything, and he looked extra-annoying on that one. But I'll swallow my Wilder-prejudices and give it a try.

I do look forward to the Burton version, though. The teaser trailer left me cold, but the trailer itself looked kind of funny. So I'm just gonna go in and hope for the best.

Now, on to business: I got a few ideas for the 35mm thing. I ignore if there's a limited number of entries one can participate in, but I honestly think there shouldn't be, so if there is, I'll beg Penelope to reconsider. That way we can write solo projects and collaborations.

I look forward to reading this script of yours. The Governor is pseudo done, but I'm awaiting criticism by Kate Herbert. I'll send you and Josh (and I repeat, NOT Gabe cause he's acting in it) the draft that grows out of that.

And as always, I'll remind you that whenever you need feedback, remember I love reading your stuff.

Brock said...

Thanks guys for the kind words.

Josh: I write a generous amount, but not as much as some writers. I definately admire Jeremy's focus. I would still like to write a book one day, but for now, I simply stand in awe at his.

Gabe: I might have confused some people with this post. I was writing two different things entitled "Act II". The one that this post is talking about is Act II of "The Madcap Armament", my full-length screenplay. It'd be nice if you could act in that one, but it'd be nice if the film ever got a chance to be made for that matter.
The other Act II is "His Big Night", my latest short film that I wrote for a project with fellow classmates. We basically created a three-act film, with me writing act two. It's not terribly long or complicated. You can most certainly play a part in that film, since it actually stands a chance of being shot relatively soon.

Ray: I really like the old Willy Wonka, but I understand your dismay. If you don't like Wilder, this version may be perfect for you. As I understand it, Depp's portrayl of the character is in fact far more authentic to the original material then Wilder's ever was. I still enjoy the old one, but I am looking forward to Burton's take.

35mm wise - if we can both write our own stories, and write one together, that would be ideal. At the very least, we can throw some ideas around and see what we come up with.

I really appreciate the offer for feedback. I hate giving my material to other people, not because I fear the feedback, but because most everyone I know has very little time to devote to a wanna-be-writer and his screenplay. And rightly so. I have a couple of things I would be interested in getting you to look at though. I really need the feedback. It's so hard to honestly judge something when you've been "stuck in the eye of the storm" so to speak.