publishing/ Lit Fest/ characters

 This is from www.badcb.blogspot.com:


May 23 Publishing: I was going through my personal email account and I found that I have kept 2 emails about publishing.  However, when I clicked on it, it lead me to this kind of spam search engine site.

http://www.info.com/searchw?qkw=book%20own%20publish&cb=34&affid=4&cmp=4786&affiliate=260946-6630_21734_177196

Short films: I have one producer tell me she is looking for a new project.  She told me I could write a spec script that may or may not be produced about this subject matter.  I did a little research on it, but I couldn't really think of anything.  It's kind of a mystical topic.

Last week I was watching 20/20 on CHCH, and then afterwards they show Cinema Clips.  It's short films.  I have written about some that I have seen from there before on this email/ blog. 

The Sick Sense: I then looked up The Sick Sense on Youtube and found it.  I mentioned it before about how Patch Adams from Patch Adams and Bruce Willis's character from The Sixth Sense team up together.  It's kind of funny.  I saw this the first time way back in 2001 on Hypnotic Films.com. 

I totally remember the beginning where Patch Adams says: "I see sick people."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWG_G6h11P0

May 26 Writer Apps: Maybe it's the law of attraction, but I randomly clicked on an article that was in one of my email folders that I was wanted to read.  It was an article about writing.

Hazel Taylor sent this to me on my blog.  The article is "8 Apps Every Writer Should Have."  There's an app called ScriptWrite which helps format scripts.  It's kind of like the other program First Draft, but the ScriptWrite is cheaper.

Story Tracker keeps track of all your submissions that you sent out.  I do that the old- fashioned way by writing it down on paper.

May 27 Lit Fest: I found this brochure on my desk.  It's about the Lit Fest in  Alberta that seems to happen every October.  The brochure is from 2010.  I think Marty Chan gave it to me.  It was probably when I met him when he was the Writer in Residence at the Edmonton Public Library. 

You can meet and see all these authors talk about writing.  However, the tickets do cost money for certain events.  There is an all-week pass.  If you want more info:

www.litfestalberta.org

I see that the screenwriter/ screenwriting teacher at Grant MacEwan Geo Takach is going to be there.  I spoke with him back in 2007 to get help and learn about screenwriting.  Here's some info on him:

http://www.litfestalberta.org/AuthorDetails.aspx?ID=0b09a9a8-22ff-4f2a-962b-43db236b7c23

Terri Wynnyk: I found this old Job Classified article on my desk.  It's from Apr. 2007.  Terri Wynnyk is a Edmonton- based filmmaker.  Here's an interview with her talking about her film Playing it Safe.  It's about harm reduction of HIV in Edmonton.

http://blog.nfb.ca/playing-it-safe/2009/09/16/qa-with-terri-wynnyk/

National Film Board: I have applied there once a few years ago.  I also sent my resume to them last month.  I was thinking about them because of the above article was on their website.  There are a lot of short films on their site, so you can check it out: 
http://www.nfb.ca/

May 28 Characters: I was thinking about my Rain script and now I'm comparing it to A Walk to Remember.  I remember a long time ago (like 2001?) I saw the trashy reality show called The 5th Wheel and it said: "There's a difference between being a bad boy and being a jerk."

In AWTR, the character Landon is a jerk.  In the beginning of the movie, he gets into some legal problems and then is punished.  He has to be a janitor, tutor kids in school, and be part of the school play.  Landon knows the good church girl Jamie and they don't like each other.  He then falls in love with her and changes for the better.  Jamie doesn't try to change him, he just does for her. 

The Writer in Residence had read my Garret script and said: "If these two fall in love, they have to transform one another."  Landon transforms in the romantic drama AWTR.

My Rain script is an action/ crime/ drama which is not romantic at all.  The character Damon is bad and is way harder and aggressive.  Rain doesn't try to change him.  He just changes.  Now I'm thinking that Damon should be the lead character and Rain is the side kick.

This is what happened to The Vertex Fighter script.  The lead was supposed to be a girl, then I got writer's block so I switched it to a guy and got way more.

May 30 The Listener: Tonight is The Listener season 3 premiere on CTV.  Check it out on your local listings.  The ep is called "The Bank Job."

music video/ Take Down Entertainment/ Twitter

 This is from my personal blog www.badcb.blogspot.com:

May 11 Music video: This is an old music video from 2005.  It's called "Ghost of You" by My Chemical Romance.  I really like the song and video because it had a real cinematic feel to it.  It's where the band performs at a dance during World War II. 

The band is also shown at the bar having fun.  The band also play soldiers on the battlefield of a beach.  It's very much like the opening scene in Saving Private Ryan.  One of the members Mikey gets shot, and Gerald is screaming to get to him.

I really like 1min 30 sec part where the dance floor turns into the war zone.  It's an emotional and powerful video.  By watching the video, I would have thought this was shot for a movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCUpvTMis-Y&ob=av2n

May 14 The Vertex Fighter: The things you find on this desk.  I found a note where I wrote: "Get Giles Panton in The Fighter."  I think I wrote this back in Jan. 2012.  A producer told me that I need to get GP to write down that he is interested in being in it.

Take Down Entertainment: I also found this in my notes.  I also think I wrote this in Jan. 2012.  It turns out I wrote about this in Oct. 2011 on my blog.  I forgot about it.  If you like MMA, you'll like this site:

From the site:

"...we aggregate MMA fights and content from fight promoters, fighters and online publishers, package and distribute it to broadcasters and digital media, develop and license home entertainment and merchandise, sell ad opportunities to brands and sponsors, and market all of it to a global audience of fans."

http://www.takedownentertainment.com/

Frost Fire magazine: I was going through my notes and found "Go to Frost Fire website.  Get published there."  This is a free and good Edmonton magazine I picked up in 2007 when I was in college.  I looked for it on the internet and I only found a writer for it on Myspace.  The post was in 2007:

http://www.myspace.com/in3stees/blog/319318710

I tried to email them, but the email address doesn't work.  I Googled "Frost Fire magazine Edmonton" and I got a Alberta website magazine.  It's pretty safe to say, this magazine doesn't exist anymore.

http://www.mediainalberta.ca/index.php/Lists/magazines-in-alberta.html

Twitter: Another note said: "Set Twitter account for The Vertex Fighter."  I have a blog on blogger about it.  I just set up a Twitter account a few weeks back, and I haven't really used it.

May 15 Nicholas Sparks: It must be the law of attraction.  I was going through my old newspaper clippings and reading writer interviews so I could file it in my manila envelope that's full of it.  I found a 2010 Metro article of Nicholas Sparks.  He wrote the book The Notebook and Dear John that was turned into movies.

He says he doesn't have a Twitter account.  I then check today and he does have one now:

https://twitter.com/#!/sparksnicholas

Here's his official website:

http://www.nicholassparks.com/

I only saw the movie A Walk to Remember and loved it when I was 18 yrs old.  I still have the dvd.

Hot Pants/ Happy video

 This is from my www.badcb.blogspot.com.

May 16 Hot Pants: I was going through FAVA (Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta.)  It then reminded me of this funny short film called Hot Pants.  I saw it way back in 2001 on Hypnotic Films website.  I then found it on Youtube.  I showed this to my brother and sister way back then and they thought it was funny.  


It's about a guy named Ben and he goes on a date with this girl.  They go to a Mexican restaurant and let's just say, Ben ruins his pants.  He has to spend the rest of the date, hiding the fact that he ruined his pants.  There was a funny ending.  You should watch it.  It's 8 min long.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NuQ5eY7KYM


Happy video: I was looking for new projects a producer emailed me this.  It's called "Basic Needs- Extreme Happiness."  It's 3 min. long.  The first min., I was like "What's the point of this?"  It's some guy talking in some language I don't know and he's walking in the winter. 


It's where he finds bags of chips and candy and he starts cheering and acting happy.  He seems genuinely excited about this.  It was fun to watch.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC8gJ0_9o4M

job search/ production companies

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

May 12 Job search: This has been bugging me.  My friend Angela asking why I didn't think of applying for a TV production company job sooner.  I know she didn't ask that to get me angry, it was a plain question.  I do whatever is easiest, and then when I have that done, I get to the hard tasks.

Getting and working at a regular job is easy.  I got the restaurant job.  Getting an office assistant job is harder to get than a regular job.  An office assistant job is an easier task than getting my script produced.  An office assistant job is also easier than getting a writers/ communications job because companies are often looking for someone with years of experience.

Some of my college writing friends got writer jobs, some don't. 

TV industry: Also Angela said it seems like I don't really know a lot about the TV industry.  If you read my www.thevertexfighter.blogspot.com, there were all these posts about me learning.  I had been watching eHow videos like "How to get money for an Independent Film."  I then take notes as I watch the video and put it on my blog.

Production companies: The things you find when you go through your desk.  I found this piece of paper where I wrote down production companies to pitch to:  

Relativity media: I can actually email them.

Focus Features: I was looking for places to pitch my script and I found Focus Features.  However, it said: "Focus Features is free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how, or techniques contained in any communication you send to the Site."  They said they don't accept unsolicited creative materials, so I can't even give them my idea.  I filed copyright for my The Vertex Fighter script.  I didn't email them.

Blumhouse Productions: It turns out it has moved to Paramount Pictures.  Didn't email.

Platinum Dunes Productions: They make horror movie remakes like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  I did learn that there is going to be a Ninja Turtles movie next year.  Here's some more info below.  Didn't email.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_Turtles_%282013_film%29

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1291150/

Why Not Productions: That's a French company.  Didn't email.

Weinstein Company: They made the documentary Bully.  I can't find contact info.

CBS Films: This company was founded in 2007.

Kickstarter/ job interview/ goal

This is from my www.badcb.blogspot.com.  It's relevant to this blog.


May 8 Kickstarter: Roxanne McAnn sent me this article called "8 Tips for Raising Money Through Kickstarter."  I have never heard of this company until today. 

 http://www.businessinsurance.org/8-tips-for-raising-money-through-kickstarter/

It's a "funding platform for creative projects" like making a film.  I went to the Film and Video part and there was a trailer/ interview for the movie Future Weather.  It's about "A Midwestern teen is abandoned by her single mom and decides to take survival into her own hands."

They interviewed the female writer, director, and actors about it.   It looked good.

On the site it says this:

"If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal all backers’ credit cards are charged when time expires. If the project falls short no one is charged."

http://www.kickstarter.com/

TV production company: Today I talked to a producer/ director who gave me a lot of tips.

May 10 Job interview:

TV production company: Today I did a job interview at a TV production company.  It was a nice office.  The interview was okay.  I showed up on time.  I asked questions.  It was interesting because he didn't exactly put a job ad out, I just emailed the company.  It's good that we met and he knows me.  He kept my resume on file.

He told me what he was looking for and what the duties are.  I told him what I was looking for.  I did show I researched the company before I went there because when he asked what I knew about them, I listed some info.

Friends: I was talking to my friend Angela on the phone tonight.  We were talking about me applying to work at TV production companies.) 

Me: So what do you think of my new direction?
Angela: I was thinking why didn't you go into it earlier?
Me: When I graduated out of college in 2008, I was trying to get my script produced.  I put 2008-2009 of constantly pitching my script.  I did apply to work at a couple of TV production companies, but I was mainly trying to get it produced.  I was also looking for an office assistant job.  I thought an office job would be easier to get.  Well which is easier?  Getting an office assistant job or getting your script produced?

Angela: An office assistant job because there are more available.  It's about supply and demand.

Script pitch: I've been asking production companies what they're looking for, and some have emailed me back.  I then pitched my Rain script to them.

May 12 Goal: I've been thinking more about Angela's question: "Why didn't you go into it earlier?"  My dream was to write for TV.  That was my dream since I was 14 yrs old.  Then I was 22, when I finally graduated out of high school and got my Professional Writing diploma, I was anxious to start pitching my script.

My dream isn't to work for a TV production company, my dream is to get my TV script produced.  I was also thinking "Focus on tasks that bring the most results."  I was working full-time at the Soup place.  On my free time I was looking for an office job, but I was mainly trying to get The Vertex Fighter script produced.

Last week, I did talk to someone where I can volunteer on a TV set to get experience.  However, when I got the email later, I had plans to go out with dinner with my family that night.  I called to tell the TV set I couldn't make it.

I did do a job interview at TV production company back in 2008.  Does anyone remember that email?  Probably not.  I did apply to another one, I think last year.

new direction/ Linked In/ job interview

This is from my www.badcb.blogspot.com, but it's relevant to getting my script produced.

May 2 New direction: Today was my day off and I worked a lot on my TV production company job search.  I have made a lot of progress since Apr. 25, 2012.  In a week, I got production companies rejecting me saying they're not hiring.  However, there have been some that will keep my resume.  I did one job interview and didn't hired.

Networking: I talked to a TV producer today for 45 min on the phone and he gave me a bunch of tips.  I took down notes.  I also went through my old emails and pitched to some TV production companies again.  I sent some Linked In Invitations to them.  I reminded them of my The Vertex Fighter script.  It's networking.

Script pitch: I also sent my script to a couple of people.  One person is in development, but the other one is the TV producer I talked to today.  He will read it and give me feedback.

Rain script: It was also good today because I spent a couple of hours typing up my Rain script.  I haven't done that in months.  I've been writing scenes, but there is a lot of scenes that don't exactly work or fit into the script.

I also managed to put in a car chase scene I wrote back in 2005 into this script.  I wrote the car chase in 2005, but I didn't know where to put it.  I just kept it on a disk.  There were some rewrites of what characters actions are, but I thought it worked.

Comparisons:

Car chases: Here's a tip for writing car chase scenes.  Back in 2001 I was writing a car chase and there were 5 people in one car.  That is way too many people.  There is usually 1-3 people in a car.  I remember watching Four Brothers and in a car chase, 3 of the brothers are in a car.

In The Transporter, if I remember correctly, Jason Statham said to these bank robbers that there are too many people in the car.  You have to lose a person so it won't weigh the car down and make it go slower.

Writing: I haven't been writing scripts too much because I think of the saying "Focus on tasks that bring the most results."  Working at my restaurant brings money, and looking for an office job has the potential to lead me to making more money.  I haven't gotten paid yet for my writing.

I have gotten 2 short stories published from the Poetry Institute of Canada, and there are my 2 blogs that can be read by anyone with internet access.

May 3 Combination: There is kind of a brick wall I hit with this new direction.  I applied to all these TV production companies in Edmonton and I'm done.  There were some that were really far away like I had to take 3 buses, so I didn't apply there.  I applied to the ones I could get to even if I had to take 2 buses to get there.

Yesterday I spent 6hrs with this new job search.  2 hrs I spent writing the Rain script.  I spent 8 days with this new direction.  Maybe I need to combine my office job search with my TV production company job search.  Like spend 1hr looking for an office job, and 1 hr on my TV production search.

Do you have any questions or comments about this?  Am I going in the right direction?

Linked In: Today I sent some more Linked In invitations to my college writing friends.  I'm friends with them on Facebook.  However Facebook is more for fun.  I tried to look at their friends, but it's not all professional.  At least on Linked In, the places the people work at are right there for you to see.  You can then decide if it's relevant to your job search.

I also sent invitations to a couple of teachers from college.  It wouldn't hurt if I had this connection.  I am doing something different.

May 4 Reject: I got an email from a producer.  I pitched her my The Vertex Fighter script back in 2011, and she rejected it.  It's been about a year and a half so I emailed her again about it.  She rejected it because she's developing something else.

Job interview: I met up with another producer today and we talked for about half an hour.  I may get a few days work if they need me.  I got a lot of information and tips.  Go to Film and Video Association (FAVA) to take programs to learn how to make a film.  In a one class, the final project is the film.  Make a short film of my own that could be 5min long.  It's to showcase your work.

She told me that a Mac computer is often used to edit your own films.  A PC editing program is called Premiere.

May 5 New plan: Here's the new plan.  I should spend my 1 day off a week, to look for a TV production company job.  The other 6 days I look for an office job.  I already spent 10 days on my TV production company job search and made a lot of progress. 

Advice: I've talked with 3 producers and they have all said it's really hard to get into the TV industry.  One producer said that since Stephen Harper made all these cuts to the art funds, the producers are losing out getting money for their projects.

One other producer said (paraphrase): "I don't mean to discourage you, but it's hard to get into the TV industry."