This character is yet to be cast. If you're interested please get in touch. These notes are rough and will be tidied up as the character develops within the script and further as an actor fleshes them out.
Early to mid 30s. Paul works in IT and embodies some of the geek cliches. His house is a mess, but it does hold a large collection of consumer electronics. He's stagnating in his current job, but has yet to do anything about moving on.
Good natured but directionless, Paul always tries to do/say the right thing but feels he's not as wise as he wishes he were. Keeps insisting that his relationship with Sarah is just so she can introduce him to her hot friends, though it's obvious there's a lot of (platonic) love in it.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Short Tales- format and names
I'm going to make production of Spinneyhead's next project as interactive as possible. Until I set up forums and stuff the interactivity will be handled through this blog. I'm going to set up an overall label for Short Tales and secondary labels for character sketches, writing, production issues and any other areas that crop up. Please leave suggestions and start conversations in the comments of the relevant post. There will still be a fair amount of work done by email and by getting together. Please don't leave your emails in the comment thread, but get in touch with me and I'll add you in to messages.
This first production post is to raise two important issues- format of episodes and the little matter of a name.
For internet episodes the big constraint is file size. Based upon the experience of compressing for Memory, I think I could produce ten minute episodes and still have them at a suitable quality whilst staying small enough to fit under Revver's maximum size limit (100mb). However, I also remember reading that the average length of a YouTube video is in the region of two and a half minutes, suggesting that aiming at shorter attention spans works better.
Another, offline, factor I've been considering is the lengths of tv shows. I'm not looking at producing half hour episodes, but fifteen minutes would slot easily into many stations schedules. I'm thinking of marketing the first episode as a pilot, showing a local station like Channel M what we can do with nothing and seeing if they'll fund us to give them something for the late evening.
So I'm writing a fifteen minute script. The first draft is a mere nine pages, which roughly equates to nine minutes, but I wrote it before I started thinking of fifteen minute episodes. However, fifteen minutes is a bit long to compress well for the internet. So I'm thinking of splitting one fifteen minute episode into three five minute acts which each serve as webisodes.
Naming is a big deal. This project is currently called "Short Tales About Love and Sex". It's a working title and really, really needs changing before broadcast. Single word titles are popular- Coupling, Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld (though the last two were named for their central character and we can't do that with this project as it's going to involve an ever changing group of characters). I don't think anything longer than three words is going to work, and if we do go for a phrase rather than a word, it has to sum up some key theme of the series- Men Behaving Badly is the best example I can think of for this.
Of course, it'll be hard to name the series until you know a bit more about it. At the moment I know the most about what I want to do with it and the themes I want to explore, and I can't think of a name. So I'm not expecting miracles from you. I'll post the first draft script and some character sketches and you might begin to get some ideas.
Here's to working together.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
This first production post is to raise two important issues- format of episodes and the little matter of a name.
For internet episodes the big constraint is file size. Based upon the experience of compressing for Memory, I think I could produce ten minute episodes and still have them at a suitable quality whilst staying small enough to fit under Revver's maximum size limit (100mb). However, I also remember reading that the average length of a YouTube video is in the region of two and a half minutes, suggesting that aiming at shorter attention spans works better.
Another, offline, factor I've been considering is the lengths of tv shows. I'm not looking at producing half hour episodes, but fifteen minutes would slot easily into many stations schedules. I'm thinking of marketing the first episode as a pilot, showing a local station like Channel M what we can do with nothing and seeing if they'll fund us to give them something for the late evening.
So I'm writing a fifteen minute script. The first draft is a mere nine pages, which roughly equates to nine minutes, but I wrote it before I started thinking of fifteen minute episodes. However, fifteen minutes is a bit long to compress well for the internet. So I'm thinking of splitting one fifteen minute episode into three five minute acts which each serve as webisodes.
Naming is a big deal. This project is currently called "Short Tales About Love and Sex". It's a working title and really, really needs changing before broadcast. Single word titles are popular- Coupling, Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld (though the last two were named for their central character and we can't do that with this project as it's going to involve an ever changing group of characters). I don't think anything longer than three words is going to work, and if we do go for a phrase rather than a word, it has to sum up some key theme of the series- Men Behaving Badly is the best example I can think of for this.
Of course, it'll be hard to name the series until you know a bit more about it. At the moment I know the most about what I want to do with it and the themes I want to explore, and I can't think of a name. So I'm not expecting miracles from you. I'll post the first draft script and some character sketches and you might begin to get some ideas.
Here's to working together.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Backyard FX - Stunt fighting
Indymogul does a regular vidcast on low budget film making. This week- stunt fighting.
Where did I put my nunchuks?
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Where did I put my nunchuks?
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Saturday, September 01, 2007
FROM SMILERS TO GUTBUSTERS – SCRIPTING FOR COMEDY
FROM SMILERS TO GUTBUSTERS – SCRIPTING FOR COMEDY
A 10wk course beginning 2 October 2007
Beginning with the question ‘What is humour?’ this course will cover the techniques and skills for crafting comedy material for broadcast, performance and publication. We will also look at industry requirements and finding markets for your comedy writing.
o The nature of comedy, what makes people laugh and why
o Comedy writing techniques
o One-liners and sketches for radio, TV and performance
o Stand-up material
o Sourcing markets for comedy material
For more information contact:
Courses for the Public, Ellen Wilkinson Building, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL
Tel: 0161-275 3275
e-mail: cce.reception@manchester.ac.uk
Web: www.manchester.ac.uk/coursespublic
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
One week film challenge
Toshiba have offered to give me a laptop to review for a week or two. The details haven't been finalised yet, but I hope to get it later this month. They've said I can test it in any non-destructive way I can think of, so I'm going to see how good it is for making movies.
The challenge is to plan, shoot, edit and release a short film in a week, with as much work as possible done on the laptop. We'll start by batting around a few ideas now so I can put together a rough script or treatment for the start of the week. Work on the script over an evening, shoot stuff the next couple of days and then edit it all together.
I don't know when I'll be getting the laptop, and it may turn up at short notice, so I can't say when I'll be doing this. If you're interested, would like to be involved and/or can seed the project with ideas of what you'd like to shoot, please get in touch.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
The challenge is to plan, shoot, edit and release a short film in a week, with as much work as possible done on the laptop. We'll start by batting around a few ideas now so I can put together a rough script or treatment for the start of the week. Work on the script over an evening, shoot stuff the next couple of days and then edit it all together.
I don't know when I'll be getting the laptop, and it may turn up at short notice, so I can't say when I'll be doing this. If you're interested, would like to be involved and/or can seed the project with ideas of what you'd like to shoot, please get in touch.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Bluescreen
Today, I noticed some YouTube videos on Chromakey (Blue / Green Screen)
The tutorial can be found Here
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
The tutorial can be found Here
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Saturday, July 28, 2007
"Without you I'm only me."
Screenwriter Ken Levine breaks down the modern romantic comedy formula.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Be sure to include five block comedy scenes. Zany sequences that generally involve destruction, humiliation, emasculation, dogs, and toilets. If they were making SOME LIKE IT HOT today Joe E. Brown would be giving Jack Lemmon a bikini wax. THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH would be Ben-Gay in Marilyn Monroe's panties.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Friday, July 27, 2007
Memory - Part 5
The finale. Hannah learns the truth about her father's death, and is faced with a terrible choice.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Monday, July 23, 2007
Memory - Part 4
Delayed due to my being away from the relevant pc over the weekend. Episode 4 of Memory.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Friday, July 20, 2007
Memory- Episode 4 delayed
Episode 4 of Memory will be uploaded on Monday or Tuesday of next week. I apologise for this, but I am away from the computer holding all the necessary files for a few days.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Friday, July 13, 2007
Memory- on location in the Green Building
Memory- on location in the Green Building
Originally uploaded by spinneyhead.
Part of a photo set from the day we shot in the Green Building. Mary prepares for the final scene.
The rest of the set is here. Tim also has two sets of photos, of filming and of the Green Building location.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Friday, July 06, 2007
Episode 2 of Memory is now online. Hannah brings her friend George in to do some research, and more secrets are revealed.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Friday, June 29, 2007
Memory - Part 1
Part one of the five part series is now online. The remaining episodes will be released every Friday for the next four weeks.
This is our first piece of narrative video, please tell us what you think and ask any questions arising. We look forward to hearing from you.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Memory
Monday, June 25, 2007
Earth shattering kabooms
Detonation Films provide effects footage of gunshots and explosions, ready for chroma keying and other methods of compositing. Some of them are free, some charged for.
via Indy Mogul
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
via Indy Mogul
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Memory is Not Part Of Manchester International Festival
But we are part of Not Manchester International Festival. Memory will premiere on the 29th of June, to coincide with the Festival's fringe, and there will be a get together to plan future projects.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Not Manchester International Festival
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Not Manchester International Festival
The very models of modern indie film makers- Learning from Four Eyed Monsters and We Need Girlfriends
Memory is ready to roll out- episode 1 will premiere on June 29th- and I'm contemplating new projects. What I want to do is a romantic comedy of self contained episodes, something a bit less involved than Memory.
We Need Girlfriends, by Ragtag Productions, is a good model for what I want to do next. Every month there's another seven minute episode featuring the romantic misadventures of geeky, insecure Henry, dumb, arrogant Rod and well meaning, average Tom. Newly single, the three must try to handle the complexities of New York's dating scene. They're hindered by live in exes, bad Myspace profiles and Rod's constant reinventing of the English language. Subplots and story arcs are carried over from episode to episode, and more than one story has generated merchandise.
Myspace supplies a lot of WNG's music and extras as well as a plot device. I imagine their friends list gets plundered regularly for help. They've mastered the art of asking for locations as well, filming in local restaurants and laundrettes. I'm only jealous because they're doing so much of the stuff I want to try.
I don't know what the cash flow is like for we Need Girlfriends, but I imagine it's heading toward being self sustaining as the mass of "Don't scam my squirrel" and Team Henry T-shirts start shifting. No doubt there'll be a DVD collection in the future. The ultimate success, up until recently, would have been spinning a tv series out of the concept. Now, however, that would be a retrograde step. Network television would water down the geeky purity of the show then cancel it because a lot of its natural audience lives elsewhere.
The cash flow for Four Eyed Monsters is more transparent. The front page of the film's site asks us to help Arin and Susan out of their $100,000 credit card debt by signing up to Spout or buying their DVDs.
The full film was put up on YouTube briefly and I managed to catch it. Mixing confession and fiction the result is something satisfyingly different. Reality and artifice blur in the film's ending and the acting/ directing team's video blogs about the experience so that it's hard to tell just how biographical the whole project is. But you simply don't care.
I'm not going to steal any of the stories or catchphrases from these projects. (Which is a shame, because there are some bits in We Need Girlfriends that are similar to stuff I'd thought of doing, and I'll have to fight not to claim Squirrel next time I spot a girl I fancy.) But I do want to foster some of their attitude. The internet has allowed them to find an audience and collaborators, as well as making it easier to distribute the finished product. It takes a lot of faith in yourself and your audience, and it won't always pay off big, but its a lot less risky than hoping to find one person in a studio who'll green light your pet project.
Spinneyhead will be working on an unnamed romantic comedy project soon. I'm plotting individual stories and whole arcs at the moment. If you'd like to be a part of it, no matter what you can contribute, please get in touch.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Indie Film
We Need Girlfriends, by Ragtag Productions, is a good model for what I want to do next. Every month there's another seven minute episode featuring the romantic misadventures of geeky, insecure Henry, dumb, arrogant Rod and well meaning, average Tom. Newly single, the three must try to handle the complexities of New York's dating scene. They're hindered by live in exes, bad Myspace profiles and Rod's constant reinventing of the English language. Subplots and story arcs are carried over from episode to episode, and more than one story has generated merchandise.
Myspace supplies a lot of WNG's music and extras as well as a plot device. I imagine their friends list gets plundered regularly for help. They've mastered the art of asking for locations as well, filming in local restaurants and laundrettes. I'm only jealous because they're doing so much of the stuff I want to try.
I don't know what the cash flow is like for we Need Girlfriends, but I imagine it's heading toward being self sustaining as the mass of "Don't scam my squirrel" and Team Henry T-shirts start shifting. No doubt there'll be a DVD collection in the future. The ultimate success, up until recently, would have been spinning a tv series out of the concept. Now, however, that would be a retrograde step. Network television would water down the geeky purity of the show then cancel it because a lot of its natural audience lives elsewhere.
The cash flow for Four Eyed Monsters is more transparent. The front page of the film's site asks us to help Arin and Susan out of their $100,000 credit card debt by signing up to Spout or buying their DVDs.
The full film was put up on YouTube briefly and I managed to catch it. Mixing confession and fiction the result is something satisfyingly different. Reality and artifice blur in the film's ending and the acting/ directing team's video blogs about the experience so that it's hard to tell just how biographical the whole project is. But you simply don't care.
I'm not going to steal any of the stories or catchphrases from these projects. (Which is a shame, because there are some bits in We Need Girlfriends that are similar to stuff I'd thought of doing, and I'll have to fight not to claim Squirrel next time I spot a girl I fancy.) But I do want to foster some of their attitude. The internet has allowed them to find an audience and collaborators, as well as making it easier to distribute the finished product. It takes a lot of faith in yourself and your audience, and it won't always pay off big, but its a lot less risky than hoping to find one person in a studio who'll green light your pet project.
Spinneyhead will be working on an unnamed romantic comedy project soon. I'm plotting individual stories and whole arcs at the moment. If you'd like to be a part of it, no matter what you can contribute, please get in touch.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Indie Film
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Fever Pitch
Got an idea for a film or TV show? Fever Pitch is a competition where you present first a 25 word pitch then a 150 word synopsis. The ten best will have five minutes to convince a panel of professionals and the audience of the genius of their idea at the 2007 Screenwriters' Festival. Closing date is Friday 2nd June.
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead
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