I took a couple days off from blogging. Had to get some real work done on the couple of screenplays I'm developing. Still, I'm about 15 pages into my own script and feeling pretty good about it. I printed out a copy today -- after a couple of days away from the computer -- and read it with a red pen in hand. Was really able to tighten it up. Trim the dialogue and description. It's really amazing how many unnecessary words you find in your own material when you read it on paper.
If you're writing a script, I have to recommend stopping at every major structure beat (inciting incident, break into act two, b-story establishment, etc.) then printing out your script and going over it with a fine-toothed comb. You'll find all kinds of things to add and subtract, making your script a better read.
That's my advice for the day. I'm off into the wasteland that is the 405 freeway.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Day Two
It's Saturday, so I don't have much time for writing -- either blogs or screenplays. I usually spend this time with my wife, but she's busy reorganizing her closet so I've been able to sneak of and do a little work. I've been at my computer for about an hour, literally writing and rewriting about half a page of description. There is a bit of dialogue, but it's someone reading a letter and "hearing" what's written instead of showing it on screen.
I cannot stress enough the importance of the "readability" of a script. It's a mistake to be thinking about a movie when you're writing. You should instead be thinking about a story. That's what you're telling. Why? Because, when anyone in the business reads your script, they aren't thinking about a movie either. They are wondering if its a piece of material they can sell. Agents worry about selling the material to their clients. Producers worry about selling the material to a studio. Only a studio worries about what the general public will think of the movie. And, for them, its more about the marketing angle of the "property" than it is the specifics of the screenplay.
Also, don't worry about formatting. Buy Final Draft or Movie Magic Screenwriter. They'll take care of that. I know they teach very strict rules in college classes and screenwriting courses, but this is just to give you a solid foundation. In the real world of screenwriting. all that matters is clarity. Let me say that again... clarity. Use whatever format allows your script to be most easily read. If that includes some direction on the page, then do it. If you need to bold your headings, do that to. Ultimately, if the script leaps off the page easily to whomever is reading it, that's what's important. I know this because I tell it to every screenwriter I work with. And, if I didn't believe it, I wouldn't have spent the past hour rewriting a scene over and over that is nothing more than a girl coming out of a bathroom, reading a note, then looking around a living room. Writing is re-writing. Over and over. It's not just what you say, but how you say it.
There's no such thing as the perfect screenplay. But that should always be your goal. I always tell screenwriters I work with they should try to make their script read so wonderful and so poetic that there's no way the film will be able to match the magic on the page.
Don't think movie, think story. Trust me, your script will be better for it.
I've also spent a little time going over titles for this particular opus. I have a few. My first choice was: THE HUNGER. It's the most appropriate title, but feels boring and anyone in the business knows its been previously exploited. Right now, I'm bouncing back and forth between BLUE MOON and HELLSPAWN. Both work. Both are interesting. I have a feeling more women would come to a horror film titled BLUE MOON than a picture titled HELLSPAWN, but we might lose a few of the fanboys along the way. I'm not sure. Would love to hear your thoughts.
I cannot stress enough the importance of the "readability" of a script. It's a mistake to be thinking about a movie when you're writing. You should instead be thinking about a story. That's what you're telling. Why? Because, when anyone in the business reads your script, they aren't thinking about a movie either. They are wondering if its a piece of material they can sell. Agents worry about selling the material to their clients. Producers worry about selling the material to a studio. Only a studio worries about what the general public will think of the movie. And, for them, its more about the marketing angle of the "property" than it is the specifics of the screenplay.
Also, don't worry about formatting. Buy Final Draft or Movie Magic Screenwriter. They'll take care of that. I know they teach very strict rules in college classes and screenwriting courses, but this is just to give you a solid foundation. In the real world of screenwriting. all that matters is clarity. Let me say that again... clarity. Use whatever format allows your script to be most easily read. If that includes some direction on the page, then do it. If you need to bold your headings, do that to. Ultimately, if the script leaps off the page easily to whomever is reading it, that's what's important. I know this because I tell it to every screenwriter I work with. And, if I didn't believe it, I wouldn't have spent the past hour rewriting a scene over and over that is nothing more than a girl coming out of a bathroom, reading a note, then looking around a living room. Writing is re-writing. Over and over. It's not just what you say, but how you say it.
There's no such thing as the perfect screenplay. But that should always be your goal. I always tell screenwriters I work with they should try to make their script read so wonderful and so poetic that there's no way the film will be able to match the magic on the page.
Don't think movie, think story. Trust me, your script will be better for it.
I've also spent a little time going over titles for this particular opus. I have a few. My first choice was: THE HUNGER. It's the most appropriate title, but feels boring and anyone in the business knows its been previously exploited. Right now, I'm bouncing back and forth between BLUE MOON and HELLSPAWN. Both work. Both are interesting. I have a feeling more women would come to a horror film titled BLUE MOON than a picture titled HELLSPAWN, but we might lose a few of the fanboys along the way. I'm not sure. Would love to hear your thoughts.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Day One - 10pm
I spent the evening with my wife watching a brilliant BBC series from the 1970's called "Are You Being Served?" She just went to bed, feeling she was coming down with a cold, so I figured I would lock myself away for an hour or two and do a little writing. Just a couple of scenes, nothing major.
If anyone out there is thinking about writing a screenplay, I have some advice... before you set pent to paper (or fingertip to keyboard) go out and buy two books: Save The Cat! and Save The Cat! Goes To The Movies, both by the late Blake Snyder. Many people think Screenplay by Syd Field is the bible for writing scripts, and at one time it was. Not anymore. As a producer, I hold every script I develop up to the rules and beats listed in Save The Cat! Why? Because no matter how great a movie idea you have, it won't matter if you don't have structure. That's right. Without proper structure, your screenplay (and mine) is crap. Now, there are many beat sheets out there and you may have one you prefer over all others. If you're not familiar with Save The Cat!, I suggest reading it anyway. By working on a script in the small segments this book breaks it into, you'll find the process of pacing and story much easier.
So, while I do plan on writing a couple of introductory scenes, I also plan to take some time refining my outline. I also need to crack the all important logline and the title. I have some ideas regarding the title, but the logline has me baffled. I'm going to hop on IMDb and examine loglines from similar films to see if there is anything I can learn. You might think this is less important than the script itself, but you would be wrong. When you try to get someone to read your material, they are naturally going to ask you what it's about. Your answer needs to be: "It's called _________ and its the story of ________." If you fill those blanks in with a brilliant title and one-liner, you'll have someone excited to read your script. If you can't sum it up that easily, chances are the person will take your script, put it in a pile, and there it will sit.
Anyway, enough preaching. I'm going to do my research in IMDb, then do a little writing, and finally do some research of female gymnastics. My protagonist is a gymnast, though this has little to do with the story. Still, I want to be able to talk the talk. She's also a skateboarder, a vegan, and a virgin. Might be too much, so I have to figure out what is absolutely necessary to the story. If I can't at the outline stage, it should become clear as I work out the set-up of my movie.
Okay, this post was my warm up. Now it's time to get down to business.
If anyone out there is thinking about writing a screenplay, I have some advice... before you set pent to paper (or fingertip to keyboard) go out and buy two books: Save The Cat! and Save The Cat! Goes To The Movies, both by the late Blake Snyder. Many people think Screenplay by Syd Field is the bible for writing scripts, and at one time it was. Not anymore. As a producer, I hold every script I develop up to the rules and beats listed in Save The Cat! Why? Because no matter how great a movie idea you have, it won't matter if you don't have structure. That's right. Without proper structure, your screenplay (and mine) is crap. Now, there are many beat sheets out there and you may have one you prefer over all others. If you're not familiar with Save The Cat!, I suggest reading it anyway. By working on a script in the small segments this book breaks it into, you'll find the process of pacing and story much easier.
So, while I do plan on writing a couple of introductory scenes, I also plan to take some time refining my outline. I also need to crack the all important logline and the title. I have some ideas regarding the title, but the logline has me baffled. I'm going to hop on IMDb and examine loglines from similar films to see if there is anything I can learn. You might think this is less important than the script itself, but you would be wrong. When you try to get someone to read your material, they are naturally going to ask you what it's about. Your answer needs to be: "It's called _________ and its the story of ________." If you fill those blanks in with a brilliant title and one-liner, you'll have someone excited to read your script. If you can't sum it up that easily, chances are the person will take your script, put it in a pile, and there it will sit.
Anyway, enough preaching. I'm going to do my research in IMDb, then do a little writing, and finally do some research of female gymnastics. My protagonist is a gymnast, though this has little to do with the story. Still, I want to be able to talk the talk. She's also a skateboarder, a vegan, and a virgin. Might be too much, so I have to figure out what is absolutely necessary to the story. If I can't at the outline stage, it should become clear as I work out the set-up of my movie.
Okay, this post was my warm up. Now it's time to get down to business.
Day One
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Ryan Heppe. Originally, I'm a farm-boy from Illinois who grew up walking beans, baling hay and hauling corn. Now I live in Los Angeles, California and am working as a motion picture producer in Hollywood. I've made several deal, most of which fell apart. Currently, I'm working on my first feature: A remake of "Short Circuit" for Dimension Films. I have a nice home. I have a lovely wife. No kids, but a pup. Life is good.
I work on a lot of scripts, developing them. Some with very prolific writers. I tried my hand at screenwriting several years ago and found it was something I just didn't have the knack for. So, I stuck with producing. Now, that's about to change. Here's why...
I had a nightmare last night. Yup. Woke up, completely freaked out by the goofiest of dreams. Most people don't really admit to having nightmares once they hit their teens. In fact, it tends to be a source of embarrassment. But I'm here, admitting it loud and clear. In the dream, I was a student at UCLA (a bit odd at 35, but why not) and was attending a Halloween party at one of the fraternities. I went with a couple of girls. Not dates, but friends. It was a wild party. Dancing. Drinking. Everyone having a good time. Then... BOOM! A giant monster appeared out of nowhere and started killing everybody. We all ran away as fast as we could, but the monster was never far behind. It chased me for block-after-block until, finally, I was so scared (in the dream) that I woke up (in my bed).
I couldn't get back to sleep. I kept thinking about that damned creature. What what is? What did it mean? Did it mean anything? I got up, went to my office and wrote it all down. As I was writing, ideas for a story started to appear. I wrote them down, too. Producers do that. Coming up with movie ideas is what we do. Nine times out of ten you don't have enough material to actually generate a full synopsis but, amazingly, at three in the morning, I did. I had an outline. I had exorcised the monster from my mind and onto the page. I was ready to go to sleep.
Problem was, I couldn't...
The next thing you know, I was at my computer with Final Draft open. I started writing. And, before you knew it, I had the first few pages of a screenplay. I read them over and over. Was it well written? Was the story compelling? I thought so, but who was I? Just the writer. I rewrote the pages, hoping to add some texture and complexity. I did, though not a lot. I rewrote them a third time. Bingo! Now, I felt confident. It was five in the morning, I had an outline for a interesting horror movie, and I had the first few pages of a screenplay. Sounds nice, huh? I went to bed figuring I'd never finish it.
That's where this blog comes in. I'm going to use this forum to talk about my day-to-day process of writing this script. My creative goals. How I go about doing research. Adhering to structure. And, most of all, thinking commercial. Writing this blog will hopefully keep me grounded while forcing me to complete my opus. I won't give away all the stories twists and turns, I do want to sell this beast after all, but I will express what happens every morning while I'm working on the script. Well, maybe not EVERY morning... we'll see.
Love to hear thoughts and comments along the way. And, if there's anything you'd like to ask, I'm but a mouse-click away.
I work on a lot of scripts, developing them. Some with very prolific writers. I tried my hand at screenwriting several years ago and found it was something I just didn't have the knack for. So, I stuck with producing. Now, that's about to change. Here's why...
I had a nightmare last night. Yup. Woke up, completely freaked out by the goofiest of dreams. Most people don't really admit to having nightmares once they hit their teens. In fact, it tends to be a source of embarrassment. But I'm here, admitting it loud and clear. In the dream, I was a student at UCLA (a bit odd at 35, but why not) and was attending a Halloween party at one of the fraternities. I went with a couple of girls. Not dates, but friends. It was a wild party. Dancing. Drinking. Everyone having a good time. Then... BOOM! A giant monster appeared out of nowhere and started killing everybody. We all ran away as fast as we could, but the monster was never far behind. It chased me for block-after-block until, finally, I was so scared (in the dream) that I woke up (in my bed).
I couldn't get back to sleep. I kept thinking about that damned creature. What what is? What did it mean? Did it mean anything? I got up, went to my office and wrote it all down. As I was writing, ideas for a story started to appear. I wrote them down, too. Producers do that. Coming up with movie ideas is what we do. Nine times out of ten you don't have enough material to actually generate a full synopsis but, amazingly, at three in the morning, I did. I had an outline. I had exorcised the monster from my mind and onto the page. I was ready to go to sleep.
Problem was, I couldn't...
The next thing you know, I was at my computer with Final Draft open. I started writing. And, before you knew it, I had the first few pages of a screenplay. I read them over and over. Was it well written? Was the story compelling? I thought so, but who was I? Just the writer. I rewrote the pages, hoping to add some texture and complexity. I did, though not a lot. I rewrote them a third time. Bingo! Now, I felt confident. It was five in the morning, I had an outline for a interesting horror movie, and I had the first few pages of a screenplay. Sounds nice, huh? I went to bed figuring I'd never finish it.
That's where this blog comes in. I'm going to use this forum to talk about my day-to-day process of writing this script. My creative goals. How I go about doing research. Adhering to structure. And, most of all, thinking commercial. Writing this blog will hopefully keep me grounded while forcing me to complete my opus. I won't give away all the stories twists and turns, I do want to sell this beast after all, but I will express what happens every morning while I'm working on the script. Well, maybe not EVERY morning... we'll see.
Love to hear thoughts and comments along the way. And, if there's anything you'd like to ask, I'm but a mouse-click away.
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