Everyone writes differently. There are definitely no right or wrong ways to get words down on the page – there are certain standards and formats that you can use to your advantage, to present yourself as knowledgable and professional. The most important thing you can do is figure out what works for you – then …
Kill Your Babies
The phrase ‘kill your babies’ is one that often gets thrown around in writing and filmmaking. It basically means that you shouldn’t get too attached to your ideas because every once in awhile, you’ll have the best idea you’ve ever had in your life – your career, even – and you’ll want to keep it. …
Writing Short Films
Hey gang, I’m currently on restricted internet access for the next week, but I promise I’ll finish off my posts about auditions and introduce you to the cast I settled on really soon! For now, I decided to gather together all my posts on writing short films and short film structure in one place, so …
Think About Your Audience…
Rewrites. A word that sends a shiver down the spine of most writers. Not me. But I’m a bit weird like that. I’ve just done what I hope is the final rewrite on With A Little Help From Our Friends. I’m not planning on doing any more until I’ve locked in what’s actually happening with …
Short Film Structure: Pace
The unsung hero of short films is pace. Pace does not mean that everything races along at a million miles per hour. In the instance of film, pace does not mean speed. In the instance of film, pace means the rhythm of the story. You’re watching a horror movie. The main character is watching television. …
You Know What You’re Trying To Say? Say The Opposite.
As Ronan Keating once put it ‘You say it best when you say nothing at all.’ Perhaps not the best way to start off a new blog post, but I’m going to stick with it. The flashback to the nineties aside, I went and saw Thor on Tuesday night. I was looking forward to it …
Short Film Structure: Story Models
When I was at uni and I told a friend and fellow student that I wanted to be a writer, his eyes lit up. ‘I have the perfect book for you,’ he said. It wasn’t until a few months later when we were at his house shooting a short film, that he thrust it into my …
Short Film Structure: The Story
I’ve been thinking about this post for awhile and I could bang on for days and days and days about stories in short films, but it’s easier just to bold it in an attempt to make it stick in your mind. There’s really only one thing you need to know about writing stories for short …
Short Film Structure: The Ending Part II
This week we’re back on short film structure. Still talking about the ending – the twist-less ending. It’s a popular theme in short film (or short stories) to have a twist (spoken about here) at the end of the film. Of course, not every short film has a twist – some have a naturally progressive ending …
Short Film Structure: The Ending, Part 1- The Twist
We’re back on Short Film Structure this week, talking about the (arguably) most important part of ANY film: the ending. It’s often the endings which can make a film fall short. Poorly executed, they can leave your audience confused, annoyed and kind of like the person who misses out on a piece of birthday cake …