Improper Ollie

So I've been researching to help decide on the camera style I want for my own show and, amongst other things, I tripped over this. It's not what I'll be doing, in look or subject matter, but I appreciate the style and content all the same. It's only three minutes, so why not give'er a go.

MUTO

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
From both a street art and a film making standpoint, this impressed the hell out of me.

Onward and upward

So, much to my joy I earned the good faith of of my web collaborator to help shoot and produce a show I've been working on - a show with yours truly hosting. We're looking to shoot five episodes a week today and the remaining five of the first season (so a total of ten) two weeks after that. I've got a right laundry list of things to do in order for this to all work out and I couldn't be happier. A third of the way through this sabbatical and I feel well vindicated in my decision.

More news later, when I'm not constantly checking to see if my arse has fallen off thanks to my having been up for something like 26 hours yesterday/today and then not being able to sleep in thanks to the blind flute guy who likes to play outside my bedroom sometimes. As my pal Ryan, who had to deal with this before he moved out and I moved in, put it "How many times do I have to cure cancer before I can dump a bucket of water on a blind guy?".

Workin' in the park...

...is great when I just need to look at one or two pages at a time, but terrible otherwise (for getting work done). You just don't have the desk space! Sure there's the ground but it is not always the most friendly place for a piece of paper and there's generally a breeze or three that'll snatch it away from you.I've often wanted to just bust out a desk like John Cleese doing a "And now for something completely different" bit, even wearing an old suit to complete the image, and just set down to work like that in the middle of all the greenery and sunshine.

Maybe a breakfast-in-bed tray kind of thing? Any suggestions? These pictures are from Trinity-Bellwood Park, by the by.

Scriptwritin' Fancy-Like: Genre writing and eating your own tail.

So! As I have mentioned, the treatment I've just finished is looking to be in or at least containing elements of the film noir genre - which is a tricky beast in some ways since there is little consensus on any kind of concrete definition. Many of the films considered the height of noir are missing a few or even most of the stylistic and storytelling tropes which are associated with noir.

Meanwhile, I find there is always a danger in consciously working within a genre or applying it to a storyline, like a coat of paint. You can run the risk of forgetting to write a good story underneath all them tropes and just end up working your way through a checklist of semiotic signifiers which resonate with your own perception of what the genre is (or worse yet, what you are reading out of a book at the same time).

But as much as genre can be used as a style substitute for substance, it can spruce up what might otherwise be a less interesting story. Used this way, it's basically steak sauce and like sauce you just need to have the sense to know how much augments the meal and how much can drown it. With noir, some of the tropes (like it's use of lighting) aren't the scriptwriters concern unless he is also the director. But the dialogue, the kinds of character motivations and the tone of the story are all laid out by chumps like yours truly before being filtered through the actors, director, art director, set designer, costume designer etc etc.

The temptation to provide thick, lumbering descriptions is amplified with genre too, since the look is so much a part of what defines any genre. I'm not the first person to say this by any stretch, but if you want to read a good noir script (and a good script, period) then you could do worse than to read the one for Chinatown. Even if you're not fussed about reading the whole thing, I'd say you should check out the opening scene with Gittes in his office. This is a good illustration of why the lines of text which go underneath scene headings and wrap around dialogue are referred to as "action" lines in any script editing software you'll get your hands on. Yes the suits, the office, the background music etc all help make a film "noir" but that's not what Robert Towne was called upon to provide - he was there to provide the corruption, the desperation, the secrecy, the sordidness and the paranoia that also help to make a film fall into that category.

Anyways, I'm starting to ramble and Christ knows that there are volumes and volumes of abstract theory about this sort of thing. Me? What do I do?

While reviewing a post-apocalyptic short that I wrote a while ago, making notes to trim it down to a better length for festivals and to get it into a shape I'd feel comfortable trying to film, I started a practice which came in very useful for my work on the noir treatment. Looking through the action lines I'd ask myself first one question and then, sometimes, one other.

First: "Is this something which would be covered by another member of the crew, somewhere down the line?"

If so, then I like to jot down whose job it would be and then I ask myself...

Second: "Given that, how essential is this thing I'm describing to the plot, tone or characters? Basically, does the this line do anything or does it just add to the background?"

And then I'll remove, change or leave the line based on what answer I give myself. The only place I allow a little leeway is within the one scene which I feel sets the tone for the rest of the story (usually, but not always, the first). However, I'm not entirely sure I can defend that habit.

Another good way that I help keep myself from getting overly descriptive is to remind myself that if about one page of script equals about one minute of film and that there is a limit to how long the film can be, then do I want to take up valuable page real estate with more gripping or story a description of a chair?

Put that way, the answer is pretty obvious.

That's enough about genre for now, I'm sure I'll come back to it before I die of old age surrounded by golden idols of yours truly.

Finally, I just thought I'd note an odd experience I had while brainstorming on the treatment. The film noir aspect was first suggested by my collaborator. The burlesque side of things has been on my brain since I've met more than one person involved with the scene since I came to Toronto. So it was, with...would you call it serendipity? Well anyways, so it was with no direct intention that I was stirring around a bunch of plot points in a pot when they lined up to form an almost perfect reproduction of the first short film I ever wrote - Trenchcoats & Corsets. For those few who know of it, I'll just let you chew on that. For those who don't, I have to stress that the odds of this have always felt very astronomical to me. Though I do feel that retelling others stories can have merit, I frown the hell on it when authors of any kind begin to repeat their own work. Ah well, it wasn't on purpose and now I suppose I've gotten an interesting warning.

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Addendum: I rather like this contraption.
Also, if you want some additional proof that the great they sometimes do stumble - it's worth noting that Robert Towne also wrote (and had a role in) The Last Woman On Earth. I've got that sucker on VHS and hooooo boy....

marriedtothesea.com

Background....check!

How hot can a 'dang' get?

Well hot dang the noir treatment is done. Now to wait for a response - which might be bothersome if I didn't have ten other projects to occupy myself with! Yesterday I got a nice start on the web show work I need to have done for next week, so I reckon that's the thing to work on through the weekend. But not tonight - tonight I'm going to try and finish a painting I started, if for no other reason than that painting seems to use almost none of the same cuts of my brain as writing does and thus it makes a great way to recharge while still doing something.

I wish I'd done more in this first week, but I've done some comparisons with other things I've worked on since moving to Toronto and I still got shit done quicker and far MORE shit done in a shorter period of time - so I'm not really complaining. Plus I've needed

Meanwhile, for those who are amused by such things, here is the short playlist I listened to over and over to maintain the right mood for working on the noir treatment.

"Fly" by Luscious Jackson
"About Her" by Malcom McLaren
"Diabolus" by The Cinematic Orchestra
"Thread", "Theme to Kill a Dead Man", "Hunter", "Nylon Smile" and "The Rip" all by Portishead

Writing Sabbatical: Day Three

Holy cow and a jumped up Jesus and beans I am having a real live Learning Experience folks. That is to say, my enthusiasm for getting things done has blinded me to something I already should have known and now I'm just clearing the mist from my eyes.

Basically, without the day job to force my mind off the noir treatment I have allowed it to rattle around in my head almost every minute of every day since Friday. I have pages of notes (satisfying) and nine tenths of the story plotted out (very satisfying) but keep finding myself staring holes in my notebook when trying to figure out that last tenth (agonizing). I set myself a deadline for "Some Time Tuesday", feeling it was realistic given the amount of time I had. Setting myself deadlines I know I can meet is something I felt I had a decent handle on. But what I didn't consider is the danger of burnout (frightening - okay I'll stop this) since I haven't had this much time to work non-stop on something since my last semester at Carleton.

So I've popped off what I have to my Mandy.com collaborator and decided to try a few things to rejuvenate.

• Talk through what I have so far with my friend who's coming over for dinner.
• Catch a film noir movie at the Bloor tonight.
• Wake up tomorrow and work on the web show or at least not the treatment for the first half of the day.
  

In the remaining time of this sabbatical I think I'm going to make a point never to spend a full day on something if my deadlines allow. Burn out is burn out, regardless of the precise route you take there.

Addendum: Oh man this kind of thing is scary if you think about it for even a nano-second.

Possible holdover

This treatment is taking a little longer than expected. I'm looking at finishing it today but maybe not early enough to get a post in here before tomorrow. Just in case, I thought I'd provide this to tide you over.I just typed an obscenity into google image search, but if memory serves I think this originally came from KC Green - who is pretty okay.

Writing Sabbatical: Day Two

So here we are, day two of my Self Employed Screenwriter Simulation. So far it is okay! I like the commute but my boss is a jerk haw haw haw. Discipline has not been perfect but then hell I just started. Really, the only trouble has been rule #4 on account of social commitments I made before I knew precisely when this thing would be starting.
Yesterday was mainly research and writing. The current treatment I'm working on, for a producer/director I met through Mandy.com, is looking to be a modern film noir with heavy involvement in the resurgent burlesque scene. This made me feel less of a shit for going out to this last night, since - and I'm only half joking here - it qualified as additional research. Honestly, if I'd not gone I might have forgotten that burlesque is not just dancing and jokes but also singing...which may or not play into the treatment as I finish it up today.

So okay Mr. BigBalls why are you writing a post here if it's within your working hours? Well sir, partially this can be blamed on my spending some time learning CSS and thus my mind being put in the realm of blags. The other is to help find focus on the day's work by discussing it with you lot. My parents are self-employed and have been as long as I can remember. All through the years I've been reminded by them that one of the biggest troubles with working for yourself is discipline and focus - since you don't have a boss to enforce both. They weren't kidding! I've gone into this sabbatical with eleven writing projects at various stages, as well as the challenge of learning enough about Adobe Premiere and CSS to facilitate one of those eleven. It is tempting as hell at times to try and work on most or all of these projects at once!

Luckily, for more than one reason, I am getting paid for the project I'm working on today and that has pushed it right up the priority list. The second on the list is the final manifestation of the monologue style web show - now that I've finally found a decent hook for it - if only because I have someone willing to produce and promote the bloody thing. But the editing and web design are in my modestly capable hands and so we have me learning how to write an entirely different kind of script altogether.

Anyways, when I come out the other side of writing the treatment then a new Scriptin' Fancy-Like post can be expected. I'd like to do more of those in the coming weeks.

The Rules (for making the most of this thing)

The Rules

1) Do up individual task sheets for each project, to be kept in the front of their respective sections in the binder.

2) Morning work starts no later than 9am. Lunch is never more than an hour and never starts later than 12:30pm. PM work never starts later than 1:30pm and ends for dinner at 5:30pm-6pm. It can continue after dinner but this 3^rd period should not be counted on (re: Procrastinating).

3) Friday nights through noon Sunday are sacred. Rest, relaxation and chores must be done. Paint! Read! Go outside on the longboard!

4) Bed by 10:30pm dammit! (Sun-Thurs)

5) Walk around the block mid morning and afternoon. At least stretch legs around apartment.

6) Steady morning exercise regimen (before 9am)

7) Stay comfy! Drink lots of water, bust out the fan and air exchange unit. Also, shower first thing.

8) Lillian cannot use the phone.

9) Because she’s such a smartass, Lillian cannot go outside.

Here we go!

Well!

After some scrabbling and a very kind favor from a friend, I can finally say that my planned writing sabbatical is beginning and it begins at 5pm this Friday. I'm looking at six to eight weeks, depending on how I'm able to stretch my dollars, of getting up and scriptwriting from 9am-5pm (and probably more, but you see what I'm getting at here).

I got so exited over this that I even made an Excel spreadsheet - an EXCEL SPREADSHEET , PEOPLE -trying to plan ahead and draw up a rough schedule for the six weeks. Past the first week I can see this getting blown to hell by assorted circumstances, but as long as I'm wrapping up projects and getting the foundations laid for new ones then I'll be pretty happy. Plus I'll be able to avoid burning out, which I've seen coming at me like a monster truck for the past two weeks, from shoving what I really care about into the margins of my days while also trying to find time to relax, eat, sleep and shit*?

Aside from writing, writing, writing I am hoping to be able to get on the set of a friend's short film , shoot some episodes of a web show and learn enough CSS that I can wrestle a decent looking web page out of Wordpress. I'll doubtless write again at the end of these six weeks to say what the end result of my attempts is. Until then!

*I don't have time to pee! That is also something I look forward to in this sabbatical.
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Addendum: Holy crap this is pretty cool.

Also, here's my moment of punditry: Obama's got it and this seals the deal for me.

ArrrrrrRrrRRrrrRrRRrRrrrrt

It's just as well that I've got a packet of pictures to pony up - any time and energy I have for words is being hungrily devoured by writing projects! So without further ado...

A non-sponsored series of street art
A series that was sponsored and dictated by a Vespa manufacturer (POSSIBLY VESPA).
...something which irked at least one individual.
I'm not sure who made this, but given how long it has been around (at least a few months as I can tell) then I am guessing it was at least sponsored by the TTC or another government body.
Further down into Big Company Towne......we have the always ubiquitous and generally scorned "Corporate Art".
Q: Which art form is more valid?
A: None of this will matter after the Lizard Overlords finally reveal themselves.

Actually, I rather enjoyed Woody Allen's take on art in a book of interviews with him which I am reading: "Art to me has always been entertainment for intellectuals". Not to mention his take on being survived by his works: "...I'm not interested in living on in the hearts of my countrymen. I'd rather live on in my apartment!".

Operation: Better Way of Life - Final edition?

Right!

So it looks like I am going to have to be a responsible adult. Well, I don't have to but I am choosing to be one...somewhat begrudingly.

After crunching the numbers into smaller, more digestible shapes I have determined that the best plan is for me to wipe out the remainder of the debt I accrued from moving to Toronto. This will mean working through the month of May - which, fortunately, is one of those odd months where there are five paydays in four weeks and thus a kind of "bonus" payday sneaks in before having to pay rent - so that I can take all of June off as well as the first week of July. Given that my birthday is in June, this seems a pretty fitting gift to myself. I'll ride into the second week of July pretty broke, but debt free and most likely just in time for my big fat British tax refund.

So for the next four weeks I'll be working hard at making the best use of my spare time as possible. This will be really necesaary since the best way to keep my inner child from throwing a tantrum at being made to do dull office work is to placate it with the knowledge that at least some good writing, relaxation and proper sleeping habits are going on. Sounds exciting, I know! But it should result in a plethora of scripts and script hustling which will provide plenty of fuel for this here blahg. Also photos dammit! NEXT POST THERE WILL BE PHOTOS

CoS BS

So last night, after I finished putting the final polish on a couple of comedy sketches for my web collaborator, I found myself with a small concern I'd never thought I'd have to wrestle with.

It stemmed from a sketch I had written about a fictional "Church of Scientology Babysitting Service". As most people who know me would be sure to say, I'm usually willing to take the piss out of anyone and everything without fear for consequences. I'd even go so far as to say I can be a bit reckless at times. However, the worst this has ever bitten me in the ass is with the inevitable "Oh dear the person you're making a joke about is standing right behind you" scenario.

But man, if there is one* thing that is objectionable about the CoS it is that they have no sense of humor about being mocked and are a very, very litigious bunch. Not only that, but they have been known to harrass the hell out of any journalist who investigates them, put serious pressure on television shows that dare to satirize them (including getting the South Park episode about the CoS pulled - though it's still pretty easy to find on the internet) and have kidnapped the odd person (Go to page 61 of this pdf for an example). The protestors at the three world wide "Anonymous" protests wore and continue to wear masks for good reason.

I'm not looking out the window every ten minutes to try and figure out which of the strangers on my street might be a private investigator hired by the CoS. But that I've even for a second considered asking not to be credited for the sketch really pisses me off. Even further, inspired by some of the material in that pdf I've linked to, I've written a rough outline for a feature film drawing inspiration from several real life incidents involving the CoS. After a joyful, almost feverish spat of putting thoughts to page I wondered if anybody would be willing to fund such a thing, for fear of the good Church's pressure tactics coming to bear on them. The "Jews control the media and entertainment industry" bullshit is just that, but it's fair to say the CoS has a bit of control with the latter.

Or who knows, maybe the publicity from Anonymous' war on the scientologists has - or will, as they certainly haven't stopped - could lead to enough of a spotlight on these heinous shit merchants, thugs and demagogues to prevent them from being able to flex their muscles. Any thoughts? Should I go through with the feature script and try to get it made?

*There are many, many, many, many things that are objectionable about them.

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Addendum: I've added a couple of slideshows on the right-hand side, a new blogger feature I rather appreciate since this thing is generally pretty picture heavy (though not lately!). Feast your peepers on those, if you like.

"Operation: Better way of life" continues

Well, I've done a rough budget and it looks like I could work my last day at my current contract on May 9th (provided that there has been some honesty regarding the length of the contract, which isn't always the case) and live frugally for three weeks to a month before needing employment again. If I'm lucky and my British tax refund arrives in time, I could even nab myself a second month.

However, I had originally planned to use that to cover the main cost of flying to see my friend in Berlin this fall. It would also make for some useful padding in my financial cushion, something that would be wise to fatten if I'm going to be working as little as possible. But maybe I should consider that my time in London (and Athens) could be seen as enough Old Buildings etc and careful saving for the time being. There is something to be said for investing in your career and personal contentment isn't there? That's another trick, of course, to make the time off feel like an investment instead of a purchase - the method being obvious enough (actually getting serious script work done and hustling further work).

Looking forward to all this, it becomes increasingly easy to resent the hell out of the beige coated office where I'm grossly under utilizing myself - but it's the work I do here that will earn the money to facilitate what I hope to be the first in a series of leaps to being able to make a living doing what I love. So yes, maybe I look about and realize that from my seated position the only way I can tell what time of day or which season it is, is by checking my computer and am thus reminded of the practices of certain prisons to disorient their charges - but I don't rabbit on about it to my co-workers or pretend that I've found some profound metaphor to describe office life.

Not like an obese twat in a baseball cap that I remember from the group training session at a job I turned down during the days between finishing my degree and hoofing it to London. I'll never forget how, as the trainer left to allow us privacy to fill in some paperwork that involved confidentiality or the like, the twat lifted his flabby chin and - with a big grin - asked everyone in the room if they "felt like robots yet?". Two people gave him dirty looks, one person's features drooped and the rest ignored him completely. I only got as far as "Well then -" when the trainer came back, but what I was trying to say to him was "Well then, why don't you go do something else?".

Sitting in the office two weeks ago and feeling more than a bit pissed off at what I was doing, that's precisely what I ended up saying to myself.

Leveling up...

NERD

Moving on!

So okay already, I've been in Toronto nearly 12 weeks now. I've got a place, I've got some furniture and though I don't have a steady job...I'm no longer entirely sure if I want one. This is related to my desire for something more than working jobs during the day in which I gain nothing but a paycheck, then trying to pursue my scriptwriting career in my spare time - essentially working 60 to 80 hour weeks and, even if I use spare time to relax, feeling at all times like I am doing something wrong if I am not writing.

As I'm sure anyone reading this can imagine, this has become pretty draining after two and a half years. That's how long it's been since I finished my degree and decided to forgo further education to dedicate myself to my career. I'd say I got off to a good start, making my short film and then heading to London...but along the way I think I may have fallen into a bit of a trap. This stems, essentially, from my take on the idea that you have to put up with a certain amount of - let's be poetic here - "shit" in order to earn "the good stuff". This is a pretty fair thing to believe.

But I'm now sure that I've either been putting up with the wrong kind of shit or too much shit in order to really get my mitts on a fair share of "the good stuff" - AKA progression in my struggle to make scriptwriting my full time career. At times, scriptwriting has been so squeezed into the margins of my day that it has begun to feel more like a really passionate hobby than what I really want it to be.

So, in no small part inspired by a daring move by my friend Victor in his own artistic endeavors, I've decided that it's time to either commit or quit. Luckily something has happened which I didn't think would - a third room mate that I could actually tolerate and enjoy living with has come up and shall be moving in at the start of the next month. This will help get my monthly living expenses down to a level which I believe most chartered accountants would define as total bullshit.

Thus!

I am going to try and get myself in the position to work a permanent job for just three days a week and use the other two working days to scriptwrite and hustle. To do that starting fresh instead of hurriedly scribbling during lunch breaks and after long days of punishing mundanity. I will then even be able to, heaven forbid, take a day on the weekend to do nothing but recharge my batteries and not feel like I have fallen victim to the bullshit that is an "opportunity cost".

Until that permanent part-time role becomes mine, I plan to alternate between temping and "not working". The contract I'm on right now goes for another two weeks (I think, maybe a third). After it ends, I'm taking one solid week off to experiment and see if my work ethic can be honed to (or is already at) a sharp enough point to really knuckle down to the grindstone and not look this gift horse in the metaphor until I can come up with a better metaphor for "to see if I'll actually spend the day writing or just wank around".

Chili Willi

It's an odd time for me right now. I have more going on, writing and production-wise, than I think I ever have. BUT it is all in the early, larval stages - steadily developing, but larval nonetheless. It'll probably be at least a couple of months before anything I'm putting to paper and word file gets made into a kaleidoscope of stimuli I can wiggle under the behinds of my friends and loved ones.

So I post a picture of the eleven liters of chili I made! POT LUCK TONIGHT, TIME TO WORK ON THAT POT BELLY.

I attended a group comedy writing "jam" (or whatever the fuck you want to call it) last night. Good times and I think my chops were sufficient. It's always nice to bounce shit off of people, back and forth and let an idea snowball. I find that's often when I'm at my best with comedy, which is certainly why I often wish I could just transcribe conversations with friends and get paid somehow. Though, of course, you always need to make sure any of that shit is actually funny to people who aren't you and your buddy - you and your buddy in that specific circumstance.

Meanwhile, here is something I wish I'd had while in London - but which anybody might enjoy.

I GOT SOME OF THOSE

So yes, it took longer than I expected but the screenprint is finished. For those who'd like to know more about the process, let's work backwards.

When everything goes to hell...

...I'm going to go to South America and live with the other Ewoks.