Mike Figgis

'I made a decision a couple years ago that I'd start inventing my own golden rules. One is that all film is science fiction, all film is black comedy, and character is plot. And the over-emphasis on plot is a waste of time. Because at the end of the day, people don't really give a fuck about plot. They want it to work, they want to believe that it's believable, but outside of that, what they really want to identify with is character. And they enjoy seeing character development, and a really great actor portraying a really great character can mesmerize an audience for an entire movie, with virtually very little happening: could be just going fishing, telling a few stories, that's what we love. '

On writing Time Code

"So back on that train -- I'm stuck on this train and I love trains; they're very creative. I had abandoned my laptop some months earlier, because I got so pissed off at it, crashing and running out of batteries at times of intellectual orgasm. So I had gone back to my favorite system of fountain pen and huge notebooks. And so I started using this notebook and it's all there on about 4 pages on this train journey -- the entire story structure, what kinds of notation to write the script and so on. "

More from this interview here. I was googling to try and find out more about the Digital Film-Making book he's just written when I came across this.

Furture Shorts Screenings Edinburgh

Thursday 26th April at the Bongo Club

Future Shorts is back this month with another hand-picked selection of short films and music videos from around the world. Highlights include beautiful Thai short, Graceland, which tells the tale of an amateur Elvis impersonator's one-night stand with a beautiful stranger, alongside Miguel Ángel Vivas’ I'll See You In My Dreams, a haunting Portuguese zombie movie which combines action and gore with a personal and intimate story of lost love. Also showing is the animation from 2005, Who I Am And What I Want, directed by David Shrigley and Chris Shepherd.Thursday 26 AprilThe Bongo Club at 6.00pm37 Holyrood RoadEdinburghFor a full programme and tickets please visit: www.futureshorts.com or call the box office on 0131 558 7064.

New Media Directions

is a new free magazine sponsored by Sony to help new talent in the industry. There is an interview with Sabrina Ferro who started it at Netribution. Go here to get a copy.

Rushes Soho Shorts Festival 2007

Call for submissions

Rushes Soho Shorts Festival 2007 (28 July-3 August) is looking for entries. This is the 9th Year the festival is running and between 1500 and 2000 international entries over the six categories are expected. Curzon Soho in London's West End will be hosting the delegate centre. The venue will host screenings, events and receptions every day long with many other screenings in venues across the West End. The competition categories are:- The Documentary Award- The Short Film Award- The Animation Award- The Music Video Award- The Title Sequences & Idents Award- The Newcomers Award Deadline for entries will be 4th May 2007. For more information and to download entry form, please visit http://www.rushes.co.uk/sohoshorts/. Questions can be emailed to info@sohoshorts.co.uk

A different way of making movies

A blog from Mike Figgis about a feature length film he made with 23 filmmakers which has now just come out on DVD. It was designed as a teaching exercise.

Some years ago I saw a fantastic feature film called Mobius which was made by students in film school in Argentina instead of doing their own short. It was a metaphorical take on the 'disapearances' in Argentina and really was very good.

Jim Poole Award

Prizes up to £1500 for a Scottish made short. Info about applying here.

A slight diversion

but I came across this fascinating article about how the box office success doesn't really indicate the revenue that a film might make over its lifetime. Especially with revenue from internet DVD libraries like netfix or Amazon.

Online access to Scottish Short Films

Hooray Scottish Screen/BBC Scotland are making short films available for download. More info here and info about submitting your own. Unfortuantly I can't watch as I don't have sound card on my computer. And I'd love to see Milk again - which as I remember is strangely compelling.

5 ways to find the inspiration for a short film

Ok you want to write a script in fact you are desperate to write a script and you sit down and stare at the computer or notepad and nothing… nada. Here's some ways of accessing the muse.

1. 
   Carry a notebook and pen with you at all times. Something which can be shoved into a pocket or a bag easily. The writer Anne Lamott keeps index cards about her person at all time. This way when you are struck by something say an overheard conversation in a bus you can quickly jot down the idea and capture it.
2. 
   Give yourself space for the muse to visit. Ie allow yourself a bit of living and what I call noodling time. Give yourself to walk between appointments, do something you’ve always thought might be interesting or fun to do. Somehow allowing ourselves to play and have fun keeps the imagination alive.
3. 
   Don’t just go to the cinema any thing you write will then be influenced by what you see rather than being original - mix in museums, theatre, music- the off beat. In the same way vary your inputs – don’t just read film books browse the other sections of the library and bookshop. My first film came out of reading a review copy of a non-fiction book in the publisher I worked in.
4. 
   Become known as a screenwriter in your circle. Once people know that you are a writer they will offer you stories – I kid you not. Again take notes (one of my short film scripts was a heavily revised and changed take on a friend’s really weird childhood).
5. 
   Do what writer/director Adrian Meade does - go through newspapers not nationals but local papers tear out all the weird and off beat and intriguing stories. 'Two brothers transport their dead dad in an ice cream van.' He puts them in a large trunk so he knows that if he runs out of ideas that he can always look in it.Strangely enough he never has. (This does't work with online papers as the serediptious factor is taken out - they must be real old fashioned paper papers).

Two interesting but US based writing blogs I've found.

The Screenwriting Life

Andy Coughan

and one in the UK

Danny Stack

Arvon Foundation

They run 4 1/2 day courses across the UK at the various centres they run. All in gorgeous locations. The courses are intense but a great way to get into writing over a concentrated time with likeminded people. Normally a small group and two tutors. Here is a list of the screenwriting courses they run this year. They are pricy but they have a very generous bursary scheme for students, low income, and on benefits.

The Script Factory

The Script Factory was set up to help develop writers and to this end they hold a series of master classes and seminars across the UK and Europe. Its worth surfing over if you are a writer or director/writer to see if there is anything coming which could provide inspiration or help. For example they have pitching sessions coming up to hone your skills.

Edinburgh International Film Festival Submission deadlines

For shorts 17th April

Animation and Mirrorball 8th June

Submission rules and forms here.

Remember if you are a British produced short to enter it into Film UK for FREE.

"If your film is a British production completed between 31 July 2006 and 31 July 2007, and is live action, fiction short or feature, then please register with Film UK when you submit your film. Yes, this means completing an additional form but it's a FREE promotional opportunity for your film. The keystones of Film UK are The Guide to British Film, a directory of all the fiction films made in the UK in the last 12 months, and during the Festival, the Film UK section of the Videotheque where as many of the films in the Guide as we can get our hands on are available to view on VHS or DVD.
No other organisation provides this kind of service for British film."

Paul Abbott's Writers Studio

"The talent base needs to grow," said Paul.

Which is why he's set up his own Writers' Studio, taking up to five new writers at a time, and teaching them how to hone their craft.

"The Writers' Studio is an obscenely expensive experiment that I've put together, a building where people are trained. They don't go home at the end of the day but they stay there for five or six days, so everyone is talking about the project all the time. It's a completely different, unique experiment. I almost staple people into the building, and bring out the best in them!" he explains.

"Writers don't talk to each other, which I don't think is right," adds Paul. "Writing is a really weird job to take on. I work an average of 10 hours a day and usually I'm on my own, although you have to learn to be on your own with 500 voices in your head. And it's one of the toughest jobs in the world.

"You have got to learn to sit on your own and put your heart on paper. You really do have to give a lot of yourself every time you write a script, so you have to be tough with yourself," he explains.

Asked by Lynne McCadden how would-be writers could get involved in the Writers' Studio, Paul's reply was simple. "Write a top-notch script and get it to us," he says. "The ones who are determined to get through, get through."

More at Netribution.

MIMAC - the Moving Image Media Access Centre

based in Fife is going to be reborn as a social enterprise in July. This is great news as we seem to be losing media access centres with their low cost training and cheap hires left right and centre. More info about MIMAC here.

Leith Short Film Festival

is looking for submissions.

More info here.

First Light Movies

opportunties for 13-19 year olds to make their own films.

UK Film council digital shorts schemes

Here is a link to the list of schemes they run in the UK.Well worth checking out if there is a) one in your area b) if you fall with in the remit and c) lengths/deadlines/requirements so you can start crafting a script or finding one to submit.

Shooting People - using the web to network

You either love them or hate them. Shooting People is the daily email which depending on your viewpoint keeps you in touch with what is going on in the ground of the industry or contains deeply annoying repetitious questions or whinging. They can be good for crewing up films and for finding other like minded people near you. Here's some samples of recent issues. Their network has now gone beyond the UK shores with recently US lists started. It costs £30 per year to join and you can sign up to 7 lists in total - covering filmmaking, documentary, pop promos, casting, writing , pitching etc.

writing scripts + coffee = inspiration?

There is something in it. Some people find writing alone too damn depressing and the life and noise of a cafe is comforting. I have a student who books herself into a lobby of boutique hotel one day a week with her laptop, orders coffee and has a marathon writing session.

The other great proponent of writing in cafes is Natalie Goldberg. Her seminal writing book Writing Down the Bones isn't geared specifically to screenwriters but her basic techniques can be imported over. Basically -practice a lot.

Screen writing courses

Adrian Meade occasionally holds them in Scotland and London. I've done Adrian's course before and so have several of my friends. He's inspirational and motivational. More about making a living as a screenwriter and writing TV more than just short films though.

"These classes give an insight into the business side of things (which I think a lot of writers tend to ignore or not think about). Adrian shares his industry knowledge and expertise, and while giving an honest overview of current trends / demands still manages to encourage his audience. His passion for the industry shines through and is deeply infectious. As such, these events not only provide you with loads of insider knowledge, but inspire and encourage. Even if you decide against trying your hand as a writer for TV, many of the tips are equally applicable to other career aspects! Having done both of these classes I came away fired up and probably bored my friends rigid as I couldn't stop raving about it for weeks! I can't recommend this enough!"Jane Walker, Edinburgh

More info at the MeadeKerr website.

Future Shorts

you can now download some of their shorts here.

Getting down to write that short script

I tend to get myself madly scribbling down stuff by hand at first. I try and use a cheap cartridge pen from woolies. They write fast and your thoughts aren't slowed down by the slowness of getting the words out.

Then when I've got a few pages down and an idea of where I'm going I hit the computer. As I copy type it up I edit as I go - usually loosing verbiage - cutting down speeches. Try not to as one US director said write 'Talkies' they are supposed to be 'Movies' ie there should be action rather than static globs of people standing around talking (or perhaps you should be writing for the theatre?). Then I just carry on writing the first draft at the computer. When its finished I some times put it away for a few weeks come back to it fresh and then rewrite. Or I take it to someone who has a good eye for scripts and get their feedback and rewrite.

A short film script can go through many drafts and changes working with a producer/script editor. The aim is to get out the best version of the story as possible. This means removing assumptions about how the story will pan out. The aim for a first or second draft is to write something good enough to get someone else on board to get your film made.

My first script I wrote at 6am each morning before going to work - it wasn't discipline but enthusiasm which got me up so early writing.

I used a screenwriting template which I downloaded free from the web. Go and get one for your self. Google screenwriting template shareware. Its essential to use some kind of screenwriting template / screenwriting programme as without it you will have no idea the length of the screenplay you are writing. Knowing the length accurately is important because it affects what kind of budget you will need, whether it is eligible for certain competitions. Also after a while you can scan a script without reading it 'properly' and see if its any good. Seriously pick up a script and if you flick through and see vast chunks of half page dialogue it will not be a goer. I once read 120 short scripts over a long weekend and I can attest to this.

Trainees wanted for feature film

Theatre Workshop Edinburgh, is Europe’s leading inclusive Theatre Company, producing ground-breaking work and celebrates 40 years of bold, diverse and inspirational theatre.Always at the vanguard of new and cutting edge work, 2007 will mark a process of change. Under the dynamic leadership of Director Robert Rae, Theatre Workshop will break new and innovative ground, in the production of a feature length drama film. This is your chance to get involved!Trouble Sleeping tells the story of refugees in Edinburgh, whose humour and wit are their only weapons in a hostile world determined to send them home.This will be a co-production between Theatre Workshop and Makar Productions, with an innovative training and mentoring initiative supported by Scottish Screen Academy, creating pathways for people from under represented communities into the industry.

More info about how to apply here

rediscovering

Indiewire - I used to be signed up to their email newsletter which stopped when I changed my email so I've not been to their website in a long time.

Its very US orientated but good if you want to find out what is happening in the independent scene in North America. Lots and lots of festival coverage so you can get a feel for different festivals as well.

Script smart

Found this link at the BBC to free downloadable screenwriting template software.

There is also a blog at the Writers Room which has some info about the open submission process at the BBC if you are interested in writing for TV.

Screenplay format

Article from Netribution with links to free downloadable templates to take the pain out of setting out the script.