More randoms from the 50mm.

More random photos – out and about in Melbourne.

‘To the Victor’ Trailer Fix

Hey guys, just a quick one to let you know that the ‘To the Victor’ trailer has been updated with better vision / sound etc. Originally when we did it it was during a rough cut and so the grade was a bit off but it’s all fixed now! Hurrah.

False Start!

Well, not entirely, I am still writing (around my job which is tricky, considering at my day job I do a lot of writing) and I got a good fifteen pages in and realised that I didn’t like those fifteen pages. This is a perfectly normal reaction, a first draft is usually just managing to get stuff down but it didn’t feel right.

This made me cranky.

And when I’m cranky the writing doesn’t improve so I stood back… thought some more and have kind of realised the issues. Basically, the characters weren’t bent enough.

I write from the point of view that unusual people are interesting. I mean, successful, well-adjusted people that have no issues or goals make for boring films so while the characters populating my screenplay weren’t boring… they were just too um, well, normal. And that ain’t my style.

I like people with deep-seated psychological baggage that don’t quite know what to do in certain social settings. I also like for the results of interaction with said people to be funny. Because people are funny. Without trying. So this is kind of what I like – interesting characters in interesting situations. Make that unusual interesting situations. I guess as a writer the only gauge I have on ‘interesting’ is what I find interesting. Natch.

So crunch crunch crunch… short version of this story is that I’m still writing, but from the start again. Oh yeah.

Page 1.

I’ve written a page! That’s right, 1 page out of the 90-100 page monster that will form the first draft of my feature film! I’m celebrating with a blog post! Or procrastinating again… whatever.

It’s good though, it means that 70% of writing that happens before starting on my first draft is done. That’s right, the 70% of writing (planning, outlines, characters, more outline drafts etc) that occurs before writing occurs has um, occurred. Which is great because it’s the actual writing that I really dig. So why am I not doing it? Umm, dunno.

So far the film features stuff a bit like this:

And this:

And uh, this:

Just a bit of a rough early taste for ya. Probably not better then say, a trailer but it’s early days yet so google images are what you get! Back soon with exciting page number updates!

My whole life has been leading up to this lead up…

Hey yo readers! So it’s the last couple of days of my holiday (as in, time where I don’t have to go in to my day job, not time spent chillaxing…) and I’ve put in a bit of good writing effort, almost completed the scene outlines for my feature. The way I write means that’s the hardest bit nearly done so that’s pretty exciting. And on that note 2010 is the year where this feature that I often talk about gets going… but there is a lot to do before the cameras roll. Step 1, figure out where to get a camera from (oh yeah, a lot to do….)

It’s not just a feature though, this is the new world! The film is part of a bigger concept, there’s a film, a series, maybe a graphic novel and a whole heap of other mediums to deliver this story. It’s a bit of a monster but it will be worth it!

In the next month or so I will be starting a new blog slash video blog (which will stick unlike my last failed attempt at a vlog!) which will begin to document the long, hard road towards um, featuredom. More details will be spilled then and this ball can start rolling.

Speaking of ball rolling, there are a lot of collaborators needed for this mammoth project which will be a wealth of creative visual material so if you like what I’ve done in the past, you’ve got some skills and want to be involved then get in touch right here at dave@iamdave.com.au

In fact it has been almost one year to the day since I last did a similar call to arms and managed to get the momentum going on To the Victor so I’m hoping to repeat the feat, only on a much, much larger scale.

Here we go!

Let’s talk about glass.

So we’re currently gearing up for our major 2010 project and that is embarking on a real life feature film! It will technically be my first, discounting the one I made in high school which is hugely embarrassing and will never see the light of day. Luckily it’s on VHS so should someone come into possession of it odds are good they won’t be able to play it.

In early anticipation of our glorious achievement (or something like that) Kate and I bought ourselves a digital SLR camera for Christmas – which not only means we can take some fun photos but it means when we finally get a hold of a movie camera we can use one of these and use all the lenses that we get for the stills camera! Hurrah, go Plan A. Of course right now we’ve only got one lens but ya know, baby steps.

Anyhoo, here’s us mucking around with the camera, nothing terribly exciting yet but soon! Soon!

Bring on 2010.

So 2009 has been an interesting year. It was the best of times and the worst of times so to speak and well, it’s been a hell of a year for learning not only about film and TV in Aussie but also a bit about unemployment and just how far you can be pushed and still survive. The fact that I’m still here is a small miracle. I mean that in a geographical sense… not a despairing one.

Anyhoo, so apart from learning that heading to a new country cold of contacts can be hard work in the media sector I also figured out a lot about the indie film scene and some major lessons in that department. Here’s my top five.

Lesson one: If you’re not online you’re not in film.

And it’s truer now then ever before, while not necessarily a ground breaking revelation (I don’t think any of these personal lessons are but you know, seeing is believing) online seems to be the tool for film making (or storytelling for that matter – check out the next lesson) in the independent sector to succeed. This wasn’t a lesson as such, getting a blog, facebook page, myspace and flicker precence as well as being on youtube and vimeo etc. etc. is a pretty obvious thing to do these days but the major lesson for me this year was while doing all that stuff is well and good, unless you have some kind of reason for people to visit all this material then the whole thing is bunk. There are about a gajillion film makers on the net with good looking stuff and so you still have to get out into the real world to drive traffic to your site(s). To the Victor was a good lesson here and was the first film I’ve gone the whole hog with slick looking press material which really paid off in terms of awareness.

Lesson two: It ain’t just film no more.

One of the most important things I learnt this year is to think outside the screen when it comes to delivering that story. Film is still the ultimate goal but cross-platform is definitely now the way to go. Why have a film when you can have a story that branches out into other mediums and series such as online series, tv stuff, computer games, graphic novels as well as viral and real world material. This stuff is all important to film marketing these days but I am now definitely thinking of them all on the same plain and trying to make the whole story important so these cross-platform elements aren’t things to be tacked on but part of the greater story. To steal the words of Lance Weiler in Moviemaker magazine: “I see my role changing – and I don’t see myself as just a ‘filmmaker’ anymore. I see it as more of a ’story architect.’” A great film to do this was ‘Four Eyed Monsters‘ – an older film now but still indie heroes for diversifying the story game.

Lesson three: Collaborate.

This year I met some awesome people who have a similar mindset to what I do and from these relationships stem collaborators. It’s always good to have people that will help you out with your massive indie film ambitions and there’s a lot of fun in helping back on other projects. While it’s fun it’s also important – by helping other film makers out you are effectively making deposits at the favour bank which you can then draw on and get help back by getting the party down to your production when you need it. Film making is definitely a give and take process. Gear and manpower are both things you’ll need and having people willing to help you out can be the difference between your project being a make or break.

Lesson four: Break some rules.

You can study other films, techniques, websites and film makers until you’re blue in the face and while this is a useful pursuit, using this as your only inspiration will just lead you down the same paths. This might not necessarily be a bad thing but if you want to do something truly different with your story you’ll not only have to learn all this modern film making technique but you’ll have to invent some of it. Time to think laterally. This is very much a recent lesson learned. I recently discovered that I’d felt like I’d wrapped my head around the modern story telling climate but the thing that makes me unique is me and my approach. Ditto for you and your approach.

Lesson five: If you need a day job then something relevant isn’t a bad start.

At the end of the day while I feel like my film making is progressing in leaps and bounds… I’m still not making a living off it (story telling? Yes, but not film yet…) The main point I’m trying to make is that as an indie film maker odds are really good you’ll need to do something else to sustain yourself for a little while. Unless you win the lottery I would recommend a day job, but one that’s relevant. I work in TV but I also tried quite hard to get in with advertising places, smaller production houses as well as gear hire facilities. If your job can help you pay the bills AND aid your film making projects I say power to you.

So those are the main lessons I learnt this year, hit me back with yours, I’d love to hear them. Who knows what 2010 will bring but here’s hoping that if we set our sights firmly on the end prize we’ll make some films to be proud of!

Burn your children.

I’m pretty sure that’s not the old script writing saying. Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s ‘kill your children’…. ‘Burn your children’ just came out and it was so damn catchy that well. I mean, look it’s pretty hot and it just came up- I certainly don’t meant that you should literally burn your children. Or well, anything for that matter given the fire ban and… right well…

As written previously I am currently working like a madman. In children’s television. I work for children and well, I try not to burn them. As also mentioned previously we are manufacturing seriously high volume television. So when we manufacture high volume television we have to write said television and that’s a lot of writing. I like to think that I have a  pretty volatile creative sense with a high output but this is seriously ridiculous.

It’s interesting because of several reasons. Basically we have to pen about 150 minutes of programming a week in one form or another. Repeats aside it means that it changes a lot of what we all knew and love about script writing for film or drama. Basically there are some things you have to do to keep up the output. Firstly, lower your standards enough to get out the quantity but not enough that your stuff is turd. Crunch the creative process. When I write for film it’s a leisurely experience, thinking at different angles for each creative block. Trying one way, trying another way. There’s no time for that with links, you’ve gotta pick a good way and roll with it.

The trick is to try and prevent it becoming one big sausage factory. Ya know, crap link after crap link. To be honest we can’t even get away with that if we wanted to… why so? Our market is the mass-consuming, image-aware, ADD intensive ‘tween’ market.

Yup, ‘tweens’. If it’s shit to them they’ll switch off.

We are MTV (the 90s, relevant version), we are Hamish and Andy, we are ‘cool’ (without saying it, cause that would kill ya), we are quick and contemporary, we are popular television re-versioned for our younger audience. We are sharp and funny. We have to be edgy within our demographic. And if we’re not… well, we’re off the air.

So maybe, just maybe you could help me out and burn your children.

Off the Radar

I’m flat tack right now working for the ABC on their new kid’s channel, moving house and doing crazy domesticated things like buying couches and hooking up the interwebs… that kind of jazz. Trying to help launch an entirely new channel is keeping me pretty busy. We’re working on the ‘hosted blocks’ which basically means stringing it all together in an entertaining fashion and helping to produce some seriously high volume television. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the high turnover of making television keeps you sharp. Boo to all those that say there’s no worth in working in TV when you’re a filmmaker.

So Dave, speaking of which, how about that filmmaking? Well, ‘To the Victor’ has been fired off to a couple of festivals in Aus, I missed the application round for the Fantastic Planet fest in Sydney which is a shame but I’ll bear it in mind for next year. I’ve learnt a lot after doing festival runs with ‘Junk’ and ‘Bulb’ – particularly in regards to actually getting something out of a festival run. It took me a while but I’ve figured out being in a festival is pretty useless if you can’t make it so I’m limiting the ‘Victor’ send out to mainly Aussie fests. I’ll fire off to some major international sci-fi ones as well but by keeping it local I’m hoping that I’ll be able to do some hustling if I get it in anywhere!

Anyway, that’s enough about me, how about you?

Writing to the train schedule

I honestly thought that after my work in Sydney I was going to maybe work a little closer to where I lived and not have to commute so much. Ah, it’s funny what life thinks is funny.

Back in Melbourne I’m on a full time (omg!) TV producing gig which is great but there is a long way to travel before I can get to and from work everyday. Not only do I now have to train… but tram as well. It seemed a bit of a bummer but I thought I would return to the original (failed) attempt to crank through some serious writing during the daily commute.

Wow, once you get going it’s an extremely efficient way to write. I get more done in two hour long commutes in a day then I ever did when I had a full day to commit. So I guess it’s true what they say about a routine being good for your writing. I’m currently staring at a rough outline for a feature film and it’s taken me two weeks from concept. That’s the best progress I’ve ever had writing scripts.

And that is from true initial concept. My plan for next year is to shoot a feature (maybe Marchish) which will be no-budget, shot on weekends (around my TV gig) and oh, hopefully look awesome. It’s about dreams. I’ll elaborate further soon.