write a book/ Angels of Brothels/ Jake Sasseville

 This is from www.badcb.blogspot.ca:

Dec. 15 Write a book: I've been reading a lot of book reviews in the Edmonton Journal, National Post, and the Globe and Mail.  Once a week on the weekend editions, they put out book reviews.  I read it to learn about stories and characters.  As you can see from my blog, I'm a prolific writer. 

I don't know what kind of book I could write.  I did find this blog post by Scott Berkun called "How to Write a book-the short honest truth."  He talks about how it's really hard to write a book, and harder to get it published.  However, self-publishing in the digital age has made it much easier.

http://scottberkun.com/2007/how-to-write-a-book-the-short-honest-truth/

Dec. 20 Microsoft Publisher: I have these computer programs on my new computer.  I decided to study up on Microsoft Excel, Access, Outlook, and PowerPoint.  I did find Publisher really fun. 

There are all these templates to make newsletters, cards, calenders, post cards, business cards, etc.  This reminds me of my graphic design program I took at NAIT.  We didn't use this though.  We used Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Indesign.

Documentaries: I had put this in my "Inspirational quotes (Part 9)."  It was from a Globe and Mail article I read:

“I don’t think I can leave the documentary realm.  Docs keep us on our toes.  It’s more than improvisation.  It’s all about capturing and interpreting reality which is how I define filmmaking.”- Yung Chang

I don't really watch documentaries.  I sometimes did when my brother and dad watches Discovery Channel shows about animals.  I like to watch 20/20 news magazine shows.  It's interesting and informative.

XII Tribes Entertainment: I was told by a producer Michel Zgarka to "like" this on Facebook.  I did and I also found a trailer for a harrowing documentary called Angels of Brothels.

Angels of Brothels: Here's a trailer.  It's about a man who saves women and girls from human trafficking.  He brings his hidden cameras around and risks his life to save them.  Even the trailer is kind of hard to watch. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfjtd6-BwRU

Disks: Today I checked to see if my 3.5 floppy disks all work.  Yeah, they still do even if some are from 10 yrs ago.

The Vertex Fighter: I was reading some feng shui again, and it inspired me to clean my room.  I have The Vertex Fighter drafts 1, 2, and 4 printed out on scrap paper.  They're from 2007 and 2008.  I then emailed those drafts on my fun email account.  Today I emailed them on my professional email account.  I have it saved on 3.5 floppy disks.

Now I have 3 digital copies of it, so I can then recycle the paper drafts because it's clutter.

Dec. 21 Beyond Structure: I was going through my old emails like The Great American Pitchfest newsletter, and it mentioned David Freeman teaching his class "Beyond Structure."  It says he taught screenwriters to write movies like X-Men: First Class.

I checked out a bit of the website, and it seems pretty good about writing stories.  I would have to read more later.

http://www.beyondstructure.com/start.php

Scripter: I also got this email and learned about a business called Scripter.  It's where you send in your script, and professional script readers read it and write a report about it for a fee.  After you get the report, you can improve your script to production companies and there is a higher chance your script will be picked up.  They give you "coverage."

On the FAQ page:

"Coverage" is an industry term for the written analysis of a script. An industry-standard coverage report is 1-3 pages in length and consists of three parts: (1) some basic info about the script (e.g., author, genre, logline); (2) a synopsis of the script; and (3) an analysis of its strengths and weaknesses.

http://www.scripter.us/pages/frontpage

Jake Sasseville: I read about him in Metro newspaper about a month ago.  He was 15 yrs old and he produced a TV show.  Oh that was my dream to produce a TV show while I was still in high school.  He's 27 yrs old just like me. 

According to Wikipedia: Sasseville developed “The Edge with Jake Sasseville” while a fifteen year old in Maine. He aired the show on local Public-access television cable TV and later on the local Fox station. After moving to New York, he began to create syndication deals with individual TV stations. At its peak, “The Edge” aired on at least 37 stations following a guerrilla marketing campaign that encouraged fans to contact TV stations.^[4] Guests included actor Rainn Wilson of The Office, musician and activist Wyclef Jean, and comedian Will Forte of Saturday Night Live.^[5] Repeats continued until the summer of 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Sasseville

Bleeder: I think I found this either in the National Post or Globe and Mail book reviews.  This is a vampire book called Bleeder.  You can read it for free online, chapter by chapter.  It says if you like the story, you can donate.  I guess that means pay.

The author is Monica S. Kuebler who lives in Toronto.  She grew up reading Stephen King.  I haven't read the book, because I read so much already with the newspapers.

However, I just think it's really cool to have your book published online.
http://www.bleederbook.com/

A Filmmaker’s Harvest: A Journey in Distribution

 I got this from the Great American Screenwriter newsletter.  This is a really good and informative article about distribution:

 

 A Filmmaker’s Harvest: A Journey in Distribution

 

by Signe Olynyk

With the fall season on us, ‘harvest’ is an appropriate theme.  For a filmmaker, distribution is the equivalent of reaping a crop.  But how do you ensure that you have a bountiful harvest, and not just a gathering of rotten fruit?

Traditional distribution means many things to a filmmaker.  It means finding an audience for your work.  It means sales of your project, and perhaps pre-sales to trigger financing.  In a nutshell, it means assigning the rights to exhibit your work for a fee, and getting your work into the world.  

But the world has changed, and continues to with spectacular speed.  Today, distribution can mean retaining all – or some – of the rights to your project, and interacting directly with your audience.  Confused about how social media contributes to distributing your film?  Read on.  I’ll give you some quick lessons that I hope will help you with making your own decisions on whether traditional or modern distribution is best for you.

I recently wrote and produced the feature film, BELOW ZERO, which was released on August 28th.  We shot the film for $1.2 million, but that doesn’t mean we had that money in hand to shoot the film.  Instead, we made ‘soft money’ deals that allowed us to raise that budget.  For example, instead of spending money we didn’t have on a RED camera package, we arranged a trade with a DP (Director of Photography) who owned his own gear and who was also looking for his first directing credit.  In exchange for contributing the gear, he had the opportunity to direct his first film, and it allowed us to cover that expense in our budget.  We also worked with others who were looking for ‘step up’ positions (ie an 

Art Director became our Production Designer, a production assistant became an AD, etc).  These crew members helped us out by working at reduced rates in exchange for professional credits that were important to each of their careers.  In turn, we were able to piece-meal our budget together, using the value of each of these line items in our budget.  Combined with approximately $350K hard cash, a ton of favors, and the hard work of everyone on our crew, it allowed us to reach our budget and get the film made.  

For a number of reasons, we chose not to sign a distribution agreement in advance.  We didn’t believe a distributor would support us or the film at this point in our careers, or agree to the terms we felt were necessary to produce the film in the way we wanted.  So we decided to believe in ourselves and move forward making the best decisions we could in order to get the film made, and then sell it as an acquisition once complete.  I don’t recommend this for everyone because it is extremely risky, and the odds are stacked high against you.  We went into this fully aware that we could become like the thousands of indie films that are made each year, that are never seen beyond festival audiences.  We increased our odds by ensuring we had a recognizable cast, a reasonably low budget that we could recover from if we were not successful, and a well crafted, original script that brought something new to a proven genre.  All of these elements were checked against the advice and experience of others who had gone before us – script consultants were hired, and rewrites completed until we felt confident the script was ready.  Casting directors and distributors were consulted with to help maximize the potential of international sales, and production managers were hired to review and prepare a budget to help keep us on track.

Now, you can make a micro or low budget movie (at $1.2M, ours is still 

considered a low budget), and you can get distribution.  Whether you want that or not is a question I will get into further below.  If traditional distribution is your goal, there are a few things you will want to consider:

• Internationally Recognizable Cast: ‘Who is in your film’ is typically the first question any distributor will ask you. 

You can sell a film without stars, but it generally makes it a tougher sell for a distributor.

• Great Artwork with sex appeal: Your artwork for the poster, dvd cover, onesheet, website,  etc, should ‘tell a story’ in the image that is portrayed.  If possible, provide an image that conveys the story of your movie.  (Examples ‘Jaws’, ‘Grace’, ‘Silence of the Lambs’, etc.)
• High Production Values: If your film looks like a low budget movie, that is likely going to reflect in the deal you get from your distributor (unless there is a good story reason for it, ie many of the found footage films of today. ‘Paranormal Activity’, etc.).  We wanted to produce a film that looked like a studio movie, despite the low budget.  That has also proven to make us stand out from the vast number of low budget films that are out there, and has been instrumental in obtaining traditional distribution for our film.  For example, we arranged to cover the cost of fuel with a local helicopter company in order to get some inexpensive but great looking aerial footage that was seen in the first ten minutes of the movie.  That allowed us to make the film look more expensive than it actually was, and command a better deal as a result.
• Thrillers & Horrors: there is a glut of horror movies out there, sure.  But that doesn’t mean that the audiences are going away.  New material in these genres is always sought out by fans and distributors, especially fresh work that brings something new to the genre and has an original voice.  What is scary in Japan is also scary in Germany, Canada, Italy, etc, whereas comedy and drama don’t always translate into other languages or cultures as well.  Fear is king when it comes to internationally successful feature films, second only to action films.  However, those films are generally more expensive to produce because they require more shots and camera setups due to the very nature of action.

Once BELOW ZERO was complete, we then started the daunting task of finding a distributor.  This intimidating process becomes easier the more time you spend educating yourself and talking to others who are open to sharing their lessons.  There are more and more options all the time, but at the time, these were the primary distribution options we were considering:

1. Producer’s Rep

This is essentially an agent who represents you and your movie.  For BELOW ZERO, we decided to sign with a Producer’s Rep because ‘we didn’t know what we didn’t know’.  We felt that as first time producers, we wanted to work with a company who had more experience and connections than we did to help us secure the best distribution options possible for our film.  It was an education we felt was necessary for our first film in particular.

When deciding who to go with, be sure to talk to other producers who have had films represented by the company, and make sure that their experience is recent so that you get the most accurate references possible.  Ask for producer references from potential Producer’s Reps, but also reach out on your own to the producers whose films are listed on the Producer Rep’s website.  Those films have been out for a while and the producers will have a history of what it was like to work with that company on their film.  Also, study the list of films that Producer Rep represents.  You want your title to be in similar company, with a company that has had a direct role in successful releases. Signing with a Producer’s Rep means you tap into a company that understands the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of distribution, and they will send your project to their various contacts to hopefully get the best deal possible for your film.  

For us, giving 7-10% away of our sales, felt like a reasonable trade because that percentage was essentially paying for lessons on how to navigate the intimidating world of distribution.  Although you are able to safely ask questions and confide in your Producer’s Rep, the downside is that you never really know if they are doing exactly what they say they are doing.  Did they really send your project out to the people they claim to have contact with?  Did they really get you the best deal?  Everyone in this business has their own agenda and interests at stake, including you.  Make sure your interests are protected by questioning everything, and weigh all advice against your own experience, and the experience of your fellow filmmakers.

2. Sales Agents

It is easy to get excited when you start being contacted by people who want to represent your film, and they express their excitement and enthusiasm for your film.  Be wary of this – especially if your film hasn’t even gone out into the world yet.  Like many producers, our film was pursued aggressively by a number of sales agents and some of them were adamant that we were “ruining our chances of selling the film if we didn’t sign with them right away so they could pursue sales immediately at the next upcoming market.”  When you are new to the distribution part of the process, that can leave you really questioning yourself and second-guessing all of your decisions.  You can feel very pressured to sign because you might miss out on sales that you so desperately need.  The truth is, there is always another market coming up (although some are bigger than others – AFM, for example).

It is also easy to become confused about what these people really do, and giving into this excitement and pressure from Sales Agents to sign is a huge mistake unless you really understand who they are, what they do, and what they want from you.  This is where hiring a consultant and talking to other producers who have gone through the process is critical.  From our experience, we sometimes found it confusing as to whether a sales agent was really ‘just’ a sales agent who would then take the film to distributors and sell it, or if they were a distributor and would release it themselves.  Many of their company websites describe their services as sales agents and as distributors, which is confusing for the new producer.  Essentially, you have to understand that a Sales Agent is generally NOT the same thing as a distributor.  Through this process, we’ve met many producers who sign with Sales Agents thinking that means they now have distribution for their film.  Not true.  They only have distribution if a Sales Agent then sells the film for them.  You also want to make sure your representative is attending all of the major markets with your film in hand.

Also, many sales agents will claim to LOVE your film, even if they have never even seen it or it’s not quite finished, and they want you to sign with them immediately.  You ego says ‘wow, my film must be really hot if people are chasing me for it already’.  That might be true, but let’s consider again that everyone in this business has an agenda.  What is their primary reason for wanting to sign you and your film?  Hint.  It’s a dirty, five letter word that starts with ‘m’ and rhymes with honey.

Of course they want you to sign with them.  If they sell your film, they get a percentage of that sale.  But there is no obligation for them to sell your film or that it will have any success at all.  Many sales agents want to sign as many properties as possible so that they can increase their chances of selling some of those films.  It’s like throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what will stick.  Hopefully yours will be one of the ones still clinging to the wall.  But making a cautious and well thought out decision is crucial when you consider how hard you have worked to make your film.  You want to give it the best chance possible for success.  Don’t blow it by making a bad decision so close to the finish line.

A sales agent is a middle man, and they take your film to the various distributors around the world and negotiate deals on your behalf.  It is very possible to arrange sales without a sales agent, sure.  But in most cases, you will want a sales agent for your foreign sales because it is a massive, time intensive undertaking that is extremely expensive to cultivate and maintain international relationships with foreign buyers.  It means travelling to foreign markets and meeting buyers from all over the world.  It helps to speak multiple languages, and have buckets of money for travel expenses, conference and market fees, long distance, courier and shipping costs, etc, etc.  Since most indie producers don’t have access to that kind of capital, it is my opinion that you must have a foreign sales agent if you want to achieve foreign sales.

3. Distributors

Distributors are companies with the means to get your film into the world.  They often work with Sales Agents or Aggregators, and sell the rights they have to your film to VOD, DVD, cable, etc for a percentage.

Hopefully those definitions help to give you a basic understanding of what traditional distribution involves.  So how do you get distribution?  Or a sales agent?  How do you find your audiences, and the money?

For BELOW ZERO, we were pursuing traditional distribution.  For us that meant attending the American Film Market in Santa Monica, finished film in hand.  We contacted companies prior to the market and requested meetings at the event.  In our email queries, we provided a link to a professionally developed trailer and poster, and made our meeting request as succinct as possible.  It was essentially a written pitch to buyers requesting a meeting at AFM, highlighting our cast and their credentials, a synopsis, links to some of our film festival reviews, and our available meeting dates/times for their convenience.  In addition to this, we arranged for the talented and very recognizable, Michael Berryman (one of the stars in ‘Below Zero’) to join us at the AFM.  Having him present at the event enabled us to not only book meetings in advance because people wanted to meet him, but also opened doors to unscheduled meetings while there. 

We then met with those companies at the AFM, and instead of being desperate for them to buy our film, we interviewed them.  We studied the posters and artwork for the films they represented.  We listened as they pitched buyers to see how well they represented the filmmakers.  We met with other producers in the hallways to seek advice and connect with other resources who could help us to advance the film.  In the actual meetings with these distributors, we were prepared with our trailer on a dvd that we could show on their large screens, and we were also ready to show it on our laptops, tablets, etc (Note: the large screens were always best because it often drew in others on their team to come over and view with us to discuss further).

We also approached each meeting with the objective of finding companies who would be good partners for us - where the chemistry felt strong, the films they represented were solid titles, and who were interested in working with us for the long term.  Because my producing partner and I also run a screenwriting conference, we work with a lot of writers like ourselves who are just trying to get their films made.  We’ve worked with many of these writers to develop a slate of projects, and we wanted to find distributors who would not only be interested in ‘Below Zero’, but in these other projects and writers as well.

As a result, we had an impressive number of meetings and offers.  It also allowed us to develop relationships with a number of companies who we will continue working with on various projects.

Now, all that being said, would we do it this way again?  Would we sign with Sales Agents and Producer’s Reps, and pursue traditional distribution again?  Not sure.  Our film has just been released, so it will depend partly on how that goes.  Overall, we are pleased with the foreign sales agent that we signed with, although it is still too early to tell whether their sales projections will prove accurate.  For domestic, we will probably self-distribute in the future for a number of reasons.  There is no longer the need to partner with distributors in the same way as we have in the past.  Audiences and the means for getting your films out there have changed significantly since our decision to pursue traditional distribution.  Self-distributing will likely become our choice for the future, where we can build the audiences for our films using social media, manage our own marketing efforts, and own 100% of the domestic rights.  We would likely not hire a producer rep again, because we gained the confidence, knowledge, and experience we needed by going through that process once.  Hiring a consultant to advise when necessary will probably be our choice for our next film.

The world is getting smaller all the time, and with grass roots funding options such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, combined with social media such as Twitter and Facebook allow you to connect with global audiences in a way that is unprecedented.  By building an audience, you build a following and an interest in your film that you can sell to directly without giving away a percentage of your hard earned sales.  Independent filmmakers are no longer at the mercy of high powered distributors or studios.  What audiences are watching has changed, and there are so many more options for releasing content into the world.  The market and materials out there have expanded considerably, but the industry has not yet caught up.  As filmmakers, we need to learn and grow with those changes and embrace them if we are to find our audiences, get our work into the world, and make a living doing it.

This article has become much longer than expected, so please email me at info@belowzeromovie.com  if you have questions or want to know more.  I’ll answer as best as I can (and as timely as I can, but please be patient if it takes me a day or so).  I hope you will also seek out your own answers because I can only write from my personal experience and the lessons I’ve learned on my journey.  A forum like this is only great if we all share our collective wisdom and hard learned lessons along the way.

Here is to a successful harvest for us all - may all your hard work and filmmaking efforts be fruitful.  Please consider buying BELOW ZERO from Amazon.com or www.belowzeromovie.com to help support this really great indie film, and please add it to your Netflix Queue.  LA Weekly is calling it the ‘Halloween movie of 2012’ so I hope you’ll check it out.  Thanks everyone!

Cabin Fever/ The A-Team/ The Expendables

This is from www.badcb.blogspot.ca: 

 

Dec. 8: These are the movie reviews published at the Golden Vanguard website.

http://www.thegoldenvanguard.ca/

Cabin Fever movie review

By Tracy Au

The movie is written by Randy Pearlstein and Eli Roth.  Roth also directed it and it his first film.  His name may sound familiar, because he is also an actor in the movie Inglourious Basterds. 

The movie started off with a creepy beginning.  It then focuses on five college friends Paul, Karen, Bert, Marcy, and Jeff (Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, James Debello, Cerina Vincent, and Joey Kern) who rent a cabin in the woods.  It’s a common theme in stories of a cabin being isolated from the world and no technology to communicate.

There is fear as they encounter a man who can either infect them with this disease, or kill them.  It leads to the car being wrecked and the man dying.  The friends experience difficulty in getting help as they can’t find anyone to help them.  Or when they do, they realize they can’t ask this person for help.

Overall, this is a mediocre movie.  The characters aren’t really likable.  It’s not really scary.  There were some moments I jumped.  The theme of a disease infecting one and then others had the potential to terrify you, but it wasn’t pulled off. 

The best part of the movie was the dark humor that was thrown in it.  It was the community locals like the store owner, the deputy, and the farmer woman that made the movie enjoyable.

The A-Team

By Tracy Au

There are multiple explosions, shoot outs, car chases, and fist fights that occur in this action movie called The A-Team.  However, it’s creative and imaginative as they show some things that you don’t see very often in movies like helicopter chase scenes or flying a tank.

The movie is based on the old TV show from the 80s of the same name.  The A-Team is Iraq war veterans that consist of the leader Hannibal (Liam Neeson), the womanizing funny guy Face (Bradley Cooper), tough guy B.A. (Quinton Jackson), and mentally insane guy Murdock (Sharlto Copley). 

Lt. Sosa (Jessica Biel) who also is an ex-flame of Face hires the team to find the plates that are used to print $100 bills.  It has an unpredictable story to go with all the action.  The mission goes sideways and they are framed for murder, and promptly court martial.

CIA agent Lynch (Patrick Wilson) still needs to get the plates.  Black Forces agent Pike (Brian Bloom) complicates matters for the team.

This isn’t just an action movie, but a comedy too where you laugh out loud.  They scheme together to pull off their plans to get the bad guys like Lynch and Pike.  It has good plot twists and a big payoff. 

There is a wild and climatic ending.  You know a movie is good when it’s over, you think: “Is there going to be a sequel to this?”

According to this article, no:

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Joe-Carnahan-Says-We-Won-t-See-An-Team-Sequel-There-Could-Narc-2-28742.html

Go watch it.

The Expendables

By Tracy Au

The Expendables are a team of mercenaries played by actors from every action movie ever made.  Or at least it seems like it when you got Barney (Sylvester Stallone), Lee (Jason Statham), Yin (Jet Li), Gunnar (Dolph Lundgren), Hale (Terry Crews), and Tool (Mickey Rourke).  Even Arnold Schwarzenegger makes an appearance.   

CIA operative Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) hires the Expendables to take down a rogue CIA agent Munroe (Eric Roberts) and the Latin dictator General Garza (David Zayas).

Barney and Lee go to see their contact Sandra (Giselle Itie) in the South American country Vilena Island.  Sandra informs them that ever since General Garza took over, the country became a terrible place to live in. (By the way, that’s a fictional place so no real country would be offended by it and hurt box office sales.) 

It is very violent with shooting, fist fighting, and stabbings.  It is very intense with suspense and tension as the mission becomes more personal for Barney.  He has to do more than take down Munroe and Garza, but also help Sandra.

There are light and fun moments between the guys, and even during a stand off with guns.

If you like action movies, the cast, fun and excitement, then you will enjoy this movie.

Charisma Carpenter: On a side note that's not mentioned in the review, is that Buffy and Angel actor Charisma Carpenter is in this movie.  She played Cordelia on the TV shows.  In the movie, she did some good acting.  She was only in 2 scenes, but I would say the first scene that she was in, showed some dramatic acting.

I think it could be used for her acting reel.  She played Jason Statham's girlfriend.

Dec. 11 The Golden Vanguard: I have added them as my friend on Facebook, and they confirmed me.  They even introduced me as one of their new writers for movie reviews and got their other friends to send me a warm welcome.  I thanked them for it.  They are so nice.

Dec. 13 Writer in residence: I put this on Omar Mouallem's Facebook page:

Me: Hey Omar, I just got a email from Linked In saying you're the new Writer in Residence at the Edmonton Public Library. I was like: "Oh my god, I have sent my writing to those people before and now it's one of my classmates." Congratulations.

Omar "likes" my post and said: "So I'll be seeing you there, then?

lol.

Edmonton Publishing/ entrepreneur quiz/ I got published

This is from www.badcb.blogspot.ca:

Nov. 14 Edmonton publishing: I Google "Edmonton trade publications."  It lead me to this site:  

http://www.relocatecanada.com/edmonton/publish.html

Edmonton Journal: The first one on that list is this.  I did send my resume to them before.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/index.html

Edmonton Sun: I think I did apply there.  I read in the Edmonton Journal business section that the Sun Media Corp is laying off 500 employees.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/

Edmonton Examiner: I applied there too, quite awhile back.  Maybe I should apply again.

http://www.edmontonexaminer.com/

Alberta Farmer: I clicked on it, and the website is a list of other Canadian newspapers and magazines.

http://www.albertafarmer.com/

I Google "Alberta Farmer.ca" and it leads to these agriculture websites:

http://www.countymarket.ca/

http://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/

Alberta Views: This looks like a good website.  It's from Calgary.  In the About section, it writes about: "politics, education, industry, public service and the arts."

http://www.albertaviews.ab.ca/

Edmonton's Child Magazine: I don't believe I've heard of this magazine before.  Maybe saw it in a waiting room.  It could be another parenting magazine in the waiting room.

http://www.edmontonschild.com/

Here's a good article about homelessness in Edmonton and the charities like: Boyle Street, Hope Mission, the Mustard Seed.

http://www.edmontonschild.com/articles/community/edmontons-homeless-community

Greenwoods Bookshoppe: This was also on the list.  Here's an article that the bookstore closed down.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Close+book+Edmonton+Greenwoods+Bookshoppe/7334108/story.html

Edmonton Bookstore: This independent book store is still open though.

http://www.edmontonbookstore.com/ArtInStore.aspx

Alberta Venture: This is Alberta's business magazine.  The website is very organized.

http://albertaventure.com/

Entrepreneur quiz: Alberta Venture has this really good quiz: "What kind of entrepreneur are you?"  Here are a couple questions:

6. If given the choice, you’d rather:
A. Come up with something new
B. Try to do something that people say you can’t
C. Deal with real-life, concrete situations

Me: I would pick C. 

 8. Your legacy will be defined by:
A. What you made
B. Why you made it
C. How much you made in making it

Me: I would pick A.  I was thinking about my blog.  You can look at the blog I made. 

It turns out I picked 4 As and 4 Cs so I am "the visionary" and "the professional."  The B is
"the hero." 

Canada Wide Magazines and Communications Ltd: This is a really big company.  They have 11 self-owned magazines, 30 custom publications for clients, 10 e-newsletters, and 8 websites.

http://www.canadawide.com/cw/our-company

AGWA: It stands for Alberta Game Warden Association.  It's a non-profit by the Alberta Fish and Wildlife Officers Association.

http://www.gamewarden.ab.ca/

Faze magazine: This is a Canadian magazine for teens.  I remember reading this and getting it for free at my school libraries.  I just checked out their website.  I was reading a Ed the Sock (from MuchMusic) and this woman Red who give advice to teens.  I thought the advice was good.

I read a few questions and it's like teens not getting along with their siblings, parents, people, etc.

http://www.fazeteen.com/ed/index.html

http://www.fazeteen.com/

Publishing consultant: I had written this down, but didn't research it until now.  Here's how it's defined:

"Ideally, a publishing consultancy should cover all services to authors from writing classes and assessments through to editing and marketing your work to publishers. We take authors at all stages of their development allowing writers to choose which service they require at a particular time.

For example, a writer may want an assessment from the publishing consultancy but prefers to market their own work to publishers. Another writer may want their work edited but not assessed. Another may request marketing only.

While it is preferable that an author go through all the stages of development on their script for the best results, publishing consultancies should work with authors according to their needs. So find out what the publishing consultancy offers and ask the same kinds of questions as indicated earlier in this text."

http://www.dunsfordpublishing.com/consultancy.html

Mackwood Publishing: I did find this good publishing consultant family.  They say they help and guide writers with their projects.
http://www.mackwoodpublishingconsultants.com/

Nov. 16 Resume: Today I found this writer's ad I cut out a long time ago.  I think I applied for it, but I will again.  I emailed my resume, cover letter, and the two movie reviews of The Fourth Kind and Daybreakers as my writing samples.

Nov. 20 Script flashback: I'm clearing out clutter in my room, and there are drafts of my script The Vertex Fighter.  I have drafts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 printed out.  Draft 5 is really the first completed 90 pages script.  Drafts 1, 2, 3, 4 weren't 90 pages.  I remember that night in March 2009, I pushed myself and completed it.  I felt so happy.

I printed it out on scrap paper.  I see that it was on my old Professional Writing college registration handbook papers.  I then sent Draft 5 to a production company that rejected it, and it was sent back to me.  I have two Draft 5s.  Now I'm going to throw out one of them because it's redundant to have two.

I guess I kept that Draft 5 as a memory and token of that night where I finally completed a full- length screenplay.  Yeah, well I still have that other copy.  I guess I'm writing about it, so I can get over it and move on.

Old me: As a kid and teenager, I was fun, funny, imaginative, and right-brain.  I liked to watch TV instead of do stuff.  I liked to read fiction so I can be transported to a different world.

Now I'm an adult, I'm serious, practical, businesslike, and left-brain.  I do like to watch TV, but I'm more inclined to do stuff.

Nov. 21 Script pitch: Here's something I haven't done in awhile: pitch my script.  I had written down a TV production company on a piece of paper.  I researched it, and it created the TV show Less than Kind.  I think I may have pitched to them before.  I checked my email account to see if I got an email from them.  None.

I checked my blog to see if I had pitched to them.  I didn't find anything.  So I decided to pitch to them.  If I did pitch to them before, it wasn't this year.  It was probably from the past 3 years.

Nov. 24 I got published: I got 2 movie reviews published at The Golden Vanguard.  This time when I wrote the reviews, I found it easier to write.

Here's the review for Cabin Fever:

http://www.thegoldenvanguard.ca/movie-reviews/cabin-fever

Salt:

http://www.thegoldenvanguard.ca/movie-reviews/salt

Litfest/ Eli Roth/ fun business books

This is from www.badcb.blogspot.ca:

Oct. 20 Litfest: I went out to pick up my paycheck and deposit it.  I passed by the Stanley A. Milner library and see a big sign that the Litfest was there.  I went downstairs, and a woman was sitting at a table.  She says there's a film being shown right now, and it just started.  It costs $5.  She told me it was a documentary about writers talking.

I checked out the books she was selling from the authors there like Noah Richler.

AB magazines: There were lots of AB magazines laid out like Template.  It was the same 2006 issue that I still have back when I was in college.

Get Vrse: There's an ad in the Lit Fest brochure for this design company in Edmonton called Get Vrse.  They designed for the festival, and they won for designing a calender.  Here it is.  It has pics and inspirational quotes: 

http://getvrse.com/work/illustration/

Editorial Freelancers Association: I had written this down so I could look it up later.  It's based in New York City.

Oct. 23 Writing tips: I found this through Freelance Writers.  This is a slide show of tips like "Summarize your idea into 3 or 4 sentences" and "Create an outline."  It also said to allow yourself to change the story if you have other ideas.

It was pretty simple, but it's really to help you focus.

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Watch-Dependable-Tips-on-Writing-101577.S.99238811?view=&gid=101577&type=member&item=99238811&trk=eml-anet_dig-b_nd-pst_ttle-cn

Oct. 24 Eli Roth: Last Sat. I saw the scary movie Cabin Fever.  It's about a group of college friends who go to a cabin for a week.  They then get infected with this disease and have to survive it.  It was written and directed by Eli Roth.  I thought the name sounded really familiar.  It turns out I had cut something out of him in the newspaper.

I thought he kind of looked like this guy at my work and I showed the picture I printed of him out to him.  He didn't he looked like ER.  I showed it to some other people and one said the eyes did, and the other said his smile did.  ER is also an actor and you can see him in Inglourious Basterds.

The newspaper clipping I have of him says: "The building next door was under construction, and ripping up the ground dug up all the rats that came with it.  Suddenly they were everywhere.  I'll never forget the day we spend wearing breathing masks and rubber gloves, scrubbing out apartment from head to toe, tossing the rotting carcasses into a trash bag.  At one point I looked at my brother and said, 'I'm 25.  I have $300 in a bank account...I'm cleaning up dead mice in a sweltering walk-up on 25th Street.'"

He didn't give up, and 6 months later he had moved to California and raised enough money to shoot his first film called Cabin Fever.

Oct. 25 Movie reviews: Today I wrote a movie review for an online magazine.  I submitted it.  It took me an hr to write it.  I also wrote it differently.  When I write movie reviews for my blog, it contains spoilers, synopsis, my personal comments.  This time, I wrote it like I am submitting it for an online magazine.  I am more professional about it.  We'll see if it gets published, and I can later put it up on my blog.

Oct. 29: Today was my day off and I submitted another movie review for the same online magazine.  It was kind of a struggle to write it.  For example, what should I put in the review without spoiling it?  I should focus on the characters and what the story is about.  Don't write about specific scenes. 

On Spec: I picked up this ad at the Lit Fest for the Canadian magazine On Spec.  They
publish short stories, poems, and art.  They're not accepting any submissions right now.
It's located in Edmonton.  They sell their own merchandise like bags, hats, and cups.

http://www.onspec.ca/
Uppercase: I also picked up an ad for Uppercase magazine that's from Calgary.  It publishes books and magazines for artists.  The submissions are asking for blog submissions like an event.  It also asks for pictures.

http://uppercasemagazine.com/

Writer-in-exile: I picked this brochure up from the library.  "....Edmonton organizations to understand better the needs of "exiled" immigrant writers living in Canada, and to create opportunities for them to pursue a professional career.

http://www.epl.ca/writer-in-exile

Canadian Literature Centre: On the brochure, it mentioned this.  I researched it, and it was from the University of Alberta in 2006.  It was so that researchers, authors, publishers, and public to promote research of Canadian literature. 
http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/clc/index.php?page_id=2&lang_id=0

Fun business books: Alissa Alvarez sent me this article "The 25 Best Business Novels to Dig into this Summer."  I would have put this in my "job" email, but it was more fun.  Most of these books are fictional like The Godfather.  It's about family business.

There is a lot of non-fiction like #11 The Greatest Salesman in the World: "...find inspiration to become a good salesperson, find inspiration, and believe in yourself."  #14 is How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Daniel Radcliffe is on the cover.  #16 is Microserfs about working for Microsoft.

#23 is The Goal.  It's analyzing the "theory of constraints."  Wikipedia says: "...adopts the common idiom "A chain is no stronger than its weakest link" as a new management paradigm. This means that processes, organizations, etc., are vulnerable because the weakest person or part can always damage or break them or at least adversely affect the outcome."

So it looks like my thought of bringing down Wal-Mart is not that ludicrous.  The plan is to get a job there and give bad customer service.  It's so minor, but then I would be the weakest link.

http://www.onlinemba.com/blog/the-25-best-business-novels-to-dig-into-this-summer/

Oct. 30 Blogging: I found this through Freelance Writer emails.  It's how to write the "perfect blog post" like use short paragraphs, and a good title to tell you what it's about.

http://www.360tips.org/2012/03/tips-to-write-perfect-blog-post.html

Oct. 31 Publishing: I've been reading this in the newspaper that Random House and Penguin are going to merge together to create this big publishing giant.

Scotiabank Giller Prize: This was on last night.  It was an hr long on CBC, with Canadian stars introducing the Canadian authors.  The finalists are Will Ferguson, Kim Thuy, Victoria Glendinning, Alix Ohlin, and Russel Wangersky.

The winner is Will Ferguson.  He gave a funny speech and a toast to the written word.

Nov. 4 Post Secret: I found this on it today:

"My TV shows have become my salvation."

I can relate.  It's about the writing, story, characters in it.  Escaping into a different world when watching it.

literary agent/ TV production/ I got published

This is from my www.badcb.blogspot.ca: 

Oct. 2 Literary agent: I'm researching careers that I could be good at or interested in.  I found how to become a literary agent.  Ehow says:

1. Major in English, journalism, or business.
2. In the US, NYC, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco are good cities to be one in.
3. Work your way up in a publishing company.  Develop contacts.
4. Join an established agency.
5. Strike out on your own by opening your own agency.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2121717_become-literary-agent.html

Oct. 3 Blog: Hannah Howard sent me this article "How to Handle Negative Feedback on your Blog."  Don't apologize for what you said.  In some cases you should, but mostly people who rant, it's because they just don't like a lot of things.  Just say "I understand." 

Don't take it personally.  "One thing you have to learn when you put yourself out there for the whole online world to see is that you will not always please everyone. As much as you want to make everyone happy, it just doesn’t work all the time."  Yeah, I know.  It also says to stay calm.

http://www.longhornleads.com/blog/2012/how-to-handle-negative-feedback-on-your-blog/

Oct. 4 New direction: I'm going in another direction.  The other week I didn't look for an office assistant job at all.  Instead, I looked for an agent, and went through my Two Bits Linked In group emails.  Last week I was researching careers.  Now I'm going to look into all communications, publishing industry positions.  CPRS send me these emails and I bookmarked some job ads from them.

Communications strategist: I was going through my bookmarks, and I see this job ad.  I Google it, and it says that they look at how:

"...companies use language and the results they achieve, and they've sought out new ways of making language work better for their clients. That may involve introducing new forms of communication (migrating paper-based memos to email, for example) or it may mean running poetry workshops in law firms, to improve personal communication skills."

"Communication strategy always runs to the heart of a company's internal communications and, ultimately, productivity."
The education is human resources and advertising.
http://www.thewriter.co.uk/news/?id=161

Power Point: Here is a really good Power Point presentation about what a communications strategy does.  This would be used in a business class.
http://www.unescap.org/stat/disability/census-ws/Session5-Media.pdf

Community relations coordinator: It says: "who works with a business, corporation, or other organization that wants to have a positive public image in the community."
The duties are: "event planning, marketing, and sponsorship of local programs."  That brings me to a flashback of gr. 8 and 9, when I was on the student council.  You have to plan and run dances and school events.

You prepare and deliver speeches, buy ad space, arrange public appearances, contests, etc.
http://www.mymajors.com/careers-and-jobs/Community-Relations-Coordinator


Public relations: This must be the law of attraction, because I was researching the above careers.  I emailed this young woman from college a few weeks ago and asked about the PR program she took at MacEwan.  She gushed about how much she loved it. 
She got hired at the company she interned at and said it was practical, hands on, and what you need to learn to get the job.

Oct. 13 Ingrid Veninger: I was reading the Globe and Mail and Veninger is a film maker.  She has a production company called Punk Films.  She created a contest $1000 Feature Film Challenge where people make a film for $1000.

IV: You don't have to wait for permission from anyone to do your art.  You can put $1000 on your credit card.  You can make a feature that can play festivals and hit the big screen.  And if we can keep costs low enough, we can make money on these films.
http://www.punkfilms.ca/

Freelance Writers: Today is my day off so I was reading the business section of the newspaper and job articles.  Now I'm going through my Freelance Writer's emails I got from the Linked In group.

Alan Kinsberg: I went through 7 emails and found out the TV writer Alan Kinsberg has a Facebook page.  I liked and subscribed to it.

Shawn MacKenzie: I found this blog post about Shawn MacKenzie.  The blog is by Karen S. Elliot.  Here's a good excerpt:

"....'anyone can write' mentality. And while this is true on a certain level, it leaves the field wide open for people with stories to tell but lacking the craft for the telling. A writer is first a craftsman—a wordsmith. Hone your craft if you want your work to soar. To that end, read great books and write, write, write. "

http://karenselliott.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/editor-spotlight-shawn-mackenzie/?goback=.gde_101577_member_101632075

Oct. 15 TV production: I found these notes I took at a job interview at a TV production company.  It was back in May 2012.  The studio was easy to get to.  It was a nice office, and had like 8 staff members and some contract workers.

It doesn't produce dramas, but corporate videos.  The duties were planning, shooting, editing, and delivery.  The position was a jr. account executive.  The job was commission- based.  The shifts were weekend and evenings to see the clients.

There's a little script writing.  It was mainly a sales role.  The clients will call and want a video made for their company.  You have to follow up leads by making phone calls.  Sell $20,000 video and make commission off that.  The set salary was $1000-1500 a month and a little commission.  Eventually it will be 100% commission.

There was some production and post- production.  I learn from people, and there's no book.
They didn't call me back.  There is so much selling involved, I wasn't really looking for a sales role.  I didn't think I was a fit for it, I didn't tell them that.

Oct. 16 Script doctor: I was reading a Screenwriting Goldmine newsletter about being a script doctor.  I Google it and it's really a script consultant.  He is a screenwriter who polishes and edits the scripts for dialogue, characterization, etc.
I did learn this:

"Under the Writers Guild of America screenwriting credit system, a screenwriter must contribute more than 50 percent of an original screenplay or 33 percent of an adaptation to receive credit.^[6]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Script_doctor

Oct. 18 Linked In: A teacher from college added me on Linked In and I accepted.

Nov. 5 I got published: I put this on my Facebook status update.  I got published in the Golden Vanguard.  Here are two of movie reviews Daybreakers and The Fourth Kind.  I will later put the reviews up on my blog.
http://www.thegoldenvanguard.ca/movie-reviews/daybreakers-review

http://www.thegoldenvanguard.ca/movie-reviews/the-fourth-kind

agents/ Truckstop Bloodsuckers/ script editor

This is from my www.badcb.blogspot.ca:

Sept. 29 Agents: I found this website to get dramatic agents.  I found Association of Aurthor's Representatives through the Linked In Group Two Bits.  I went through it, and this is more for agents and not writers looking for agents.

I then went on the page where there are links of them:

http://aaronline.org/DirDrama

Abrams Artists: This is in LA and NY.
http://www.abramsartists.com/about.html

Curtis Brown: This is in NY and they have made so many books into film and TV like Ella Enchanted.
http://www.curtisbrown.com/film.php

Susan Gurman Agency: This is theatre.
http://gurmanagency.com/

I went through all 9 of them, and most of them I can't send anything to them because they're not looking for what I wrote.

Blogs: There is a page where it has links to all these publisher's blogs.  However, the summaries often talk about publishing for literary and not TV agents.  Still check it out:

http://aaronline.org/blogger

All Freelance Writing: Also from Two Bits, I found this website called All Freelance Writing.  There's a tool called Freelance Writing Rate Calculator.  It's practical.  You put in your salary, days you work a week, days off you need for holidays and vacation.  Then press "calculate" and it will say how much you should charge.

This is a really good and informative website because it has all these articles, writing tips, how to build a portfolio, forums, etc.  I'm going to bookmark this site. 

http://allfreelancewriting.com/freelance-writing-rate-calculator/

Scriptathon: I got this from the Great American Pitchfest.  This is 30 day screenwriting marathon and competition.  The script you write in the contest, you could win $1000, the Final Draft software program, agent consultation.
http://www.thescriptathon.com/prizes.html

Write Brain Workshop: I like the quirky name.  This is also from GAPF.  Anne Norda is a writer/ director/ teacher who gives screenwriting workshops.  There's a blog on it and it gives writing tips.  Her classes are more about being more creative and getting over writer's block.

Here's a description of her class on here site:

"Tap into the flow of your own creativity. Experience different ways to
deepen your relationship to your story, your characters and your imagination.
Learn techniques to explore new perspectives in your own storytelling. "
http://nordawritingworkshop.weebly.com/

Chris Craddock: I also emailed the Writer in Residence 2010 Chris Craddock on Facebook.  He emails back saying he remembers me.

Oct. 1 Linked In: One of my Professional Writing college friends confirmed my invitation on Linked In.  She's using her writing skills as a career.

Inspiration: I was on Two Bits writing group.  I found this inspirational:

Nicole Galloway Miller • I agree I love learning and trying new things. I think it is important for creative people to experience a wide variety of things. I celebrate my curiosity, since it encourages me to expand those horizons. Then when I sit down and write, I feel like I have so much more to say.

Saying: "Opportunities will always surround you if you know where to look."  I look at Two Bits, and there is a lot of self-publishing websites, novelists, and short stories.  There isn't really any TV agents.

Self-publishing: If you want to self-publish your own book, check out these sites.  Or if you want something new to read, then go here.  There's lots of genres.

Infinity publishing: http://www.infinitypublishing.com/book-publishers/we-want-to-be-your-book-publisher.html

Fast Pencil: http://www.fastpencil.com/

Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/

Create Space: https://www.createspace.com/

Book Baby: Book Baby seems more interesting.  You can publish books on an Apple iPad or Amazon Kindle.

http://www.bookbaby.com/

Smash Words: This is more for ebooks.

http://www.smashwords.com/

Hyper Ink: The logo is kind of quirky.  It has a blue octupus with a paintbrush.  It has a "Blog to Book" section.

http://www.hyperink.com/books/Blog%20to%20Book

Truckstop Bloodsuckers: The new Avenue magazine came out today.  There was an article about Truckstop Bloodsuckers.  It's about two waitresses who are vampires as they run Little Hope Diner.  It turns out a EPL writer in residence Chris Craddock mentioned it on Facebook when I was at Bite.ca.

I read the article and tuned into the first ep which is 6min long.  I had called this one person about volunteering and she said they're filming in the Lunch Box Diner back in May 2012.  I had a Mother's Day Dinner so I couldn't go and volunteer.

It's kind of funny and quirky.  This will be aired on bite.ca until it's released as a feature-length film on Bite TV on Oct. 31.

http://www.bite.ca/videos/truckstop-bloodsuckers-ep-1-the-secret/

Script editor: I picked up this work book called Multiple Choices: Planning Your Career for the 21st Century written by alis.alberta.ca.  It was from my career counseling office at MacEwan.  I read it months ago.  There's a section where it goes by industries like entertainment.  It seems like something I would be totally interested in, writing for TV.

On Wikipedia, it says:

A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, ensuring that scripts are suitable for production. The script editor will work closely with the writer at each draft of their script, giving the writer feedback on the quality of their work, suggesting improvements that can be made whilst also ensuring that practical issues like show continuity and correct running time are adhered to. Unlike the writers, script editors will usually be full-time members of the production team, working closely with the producer.^[1]

pitchfests/ Doug Richardson/ Scriptshadow

 This is from www.badcb.blogspot.ca:


Sept. 18 Pitchfests: Great American Pitch Fests emailed this video on how the screenwriters Geof Miller and Troy Hunter got 41 requests to read their scripts at one pitch fest.  They said: "And all day long executives were shoving their business cards into our hands.  It felt like a dream.  But it was very real.  We were sending emails and returning calls for the next week non-stop."

They booked 3 deals in 10 days.  They said they needed the right attitude, expectations, and approach.  Don't leave success to chance.  This is a 12 min. video.  It was very entertaining to watch.  At the end it said one of them is a lawyer and the other is a banker.  They each full-time jobs, but they're screenwriters too.

http://www.sceneplay.net/vid1-tgpitch/

Script pitch: GAPF sent me this great interview with the GAPF president Signe Olynyk.  It talks about how to pitch your script.  When some producer asks a question about your script, don't say: "Read the script."  It's like shutting the door.  Answer the question. 

If you're afraid of spoiling or giving something away, then say: "I don't want to spoil it for you, but...." then give something away in vague wording.

http://www.markwtravis.com/2012/05/an-interview-with-signe-olynyk-the-great-american-pitchfest/

Day job: GAPF sent this article "The Day Job is the Writer's Best Friend" by Richard Walter.  By having a day job, you get to interact with people and use it in your writing:

"That’s why the day job is the writer’s friend. It keeps him sane and solvent, which are two closely related enterprises. More important, it keeps writers in touch with the more important resource for their writing: the humanity around them."

It mentions Colin Higgins who won 2nd place in a screenwriting contest.  He got some money and worked cleaning pools which is a really good writer/ actor's job.  He met a movie producer who owned the house and convinced him to read his script.

"The producer ended up buying and producing the script. It was called HAROLD AND MAUDE, and it launched Colin’s substantial career.  'Had my dream come true,' Colin told me years ago, “had I won not second but first prize, I’d be cleaning swimming pools today.”

http://pitchfest.com/the-day-job-is-the-writers-best-friend/

Inspiration: Signe Olynyk wrote an article called "Living without a Net." She mentions these big filmmakers: "These giants of filmmaking all made their films using the resources and contacts they had in the places they were from, and developed their careers from there. There is no reason why we can’t all do the same." 

"Like every great chef, cull the ingredients from your life and use them to create your own great story. You probably have more resources than you think."

http://pitchfest.com/living-without-a-net/

LIFT: This stands for Liason of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto.  I get these monthly emails from them.  It's in small Courier new font and all these workshops in Toronto.  I'm going to unsubscribe from them, and like them on Facebook.  I also now follow them on Twitter.

Sept. 21 Doug Richardson: He wrote the action movies Die Hard and Bad Boys.  He also writes books.  I found the interview inspirational because he wrote action movies and that's what I want to do.  Check out his website:


http://dougrichardson.com/

GAPF sent this newsletter with this really good interview with him.  I put it up on my blog.  Here's a good quote from him:

“There are a lot more successful relentless people in Hollywood than there are successful talented people. You need to water and fertilize the grinder side of you as much as your creative side. Grow it. Turn yourself into a grinder because relentless will win over talented every time.”

http://thevertexfighter.blogspot.ca/2012/09/doug-richardson-interview.html

Dialogue: GAPF called this the "most poetic chunk of dialog award for the movie Hugo.
                     HUGO
          Right after my father died, I would
          come up here a lot ... I would
          imagine that the whole world was
          one big machine. Machines never
          have extra parts, you know. 
          They always have the exact number
          they need. So I figured if the
          entire world was a big machine I 
          couldn’t be an extra part, I had to
          be here for some reason ... And
          that means you have to be here for
          some reason, too. 

Sept. 24 TV production companies: I found some old notes like omnitv.ca.  There's OMNI TV channels in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.  I looked for careers on the site, but there weren't any I'm qualified in Edmonton.

I typed in mediajobsearch.ca and found this instead:

http://www.mediajobsearchcanada.com/

There were also 3 positions in Edmonton that I wasn't qualified for like an assistant editor with 3 yrs experience.

Yorkton Film: I had also written down www.yorktonfilm.org and I only got a Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival.   It's held in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkton_Film_Festival

Sept. 25 Inspiration: I was reading my old The Great American Pitchfest newsletter and I found this article called "Inspiration from a Slaughterhouse" by Signe Olynyk.  She talks about how she locked herself in a meat freezer to write her screenplay Below Zero so she could buckle down and write it.

I put up her article on both my blogs.

http://badcb.blogspot.ca/2012/09/inspiration-from-slaughterhouse.html

Scriptshadow: There was also an interview on the same newsletter by someone named Scriptshadow.  He gives really good tips on screenwriting.  I put his interview on my blog:

http://badcb.blogspot.ca/2012/09/scriptshadow-interview.html

Here's his blog:

http://scriptshadow.blogspot.ca/2011/06/scriptshadow-special-how-to-craft-damn.html

Oct. 1 Poetry: Today I submitted two poems to a contest.  I haven't submitted my writing to contests in 2 months, judging from my notes.

Create Your 2012 In Writing

I got this from the Great American Pitchfest.  This is an inspirational article about writing and positive thinking: 

Create Your 2012 In Writing
by Anne Norda

Anne Norda is the co-director of the Script-a-thon and will be speaking on Intuitive screenwriting at this year's Great American PitchFest. Her next screenwriting workshop will begin on February 29th. She is offering a 10% discount for fans of the Great American PitchFest. Just mention the GAPF to get the discount.

Greetings everyone! Wishing you all a fulfilling and fun-filled 2012!
I've practiced a ritual New Year's writing exercise for many years. I'd like to share it with you and hopefully inspire you to try this inspiring exercise for yourself.

CREATE YOUR 2012:
Get a pen and notebook.
Use any notebook to do this. Write long hand with a pen rather than in your computer. This allows a more direct and visceral connection to your unconscious mind.

Pick a place and time.
Make a date with yourself to spend an hour uninterrupted in a quiet location.

Write your year from the future, looking back.
Pretend you are standing in January 1, 2013. Looking back on the year 2012, describe everything that has happened of significance in your life. Write it in the past tense. Let your imagination run away into fantasy. Write the events that seem realistic, that you may expect from this coming year but allow yourself to go a bit beyond the expected and let some wishful thinking seep in. 

It's about creating the year the way you would LIKE it to happen. Include amazing chance encounters and synchronicities. Get offered that perfect job. Let your business take off magically. Meet the love of your life at a friend's party or at the grocery store. You are the creator, so you get to make it all up. Have fun with it. Include all areas of your life. Mention months and dates: "In March, I met a wonderful man at a party." And so on. Make it fun. Go on for at least 3 pages. Until you hit January 1, 2013.

Save it for the future.
Store it somewhere safe. Take a look at it every few months. You may be amazed down the road at the coincidences and seeming clairvoyance of your predictions.

REASONS TO DO IT:
The act of dreaming your future into being in writing allows you to interact with your subconscious mind and see its musing in a material form. You may discover desires and hopes that you hadn't even realized you had. You also get a chance to be guided by your higher consciousness into possible solutions to puzzles that may be lingering in your mind right now.

ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE!
I read my 2011 creation late in the year (I had misplaced it) and was AMAZED by a few of the events that had actually come to pass at the exact times I had envisioned them. May all your dreams come true!!!

If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends!
Peace, Power, and Prosperity in 2012!
Anne