Focus Focus Focus
August 24, 2011 by James Morison · Leave a Comment
A problem I run into all the time is that I spread myself too thin over many different projects. I find myself jumping back and forth between each project. In the end, I never finish any of them.
It is only when I take a step back; consider each of my projects, and then make one my top priority that I finish. In the last couple days I’ve come to realize that I’ve fallen into the same trap again. It is time to let go of projects.
I have a bunch of ideas I want to work on.
Feature Scripts and Novellas
I wrote four feature scripts and I’d like to rewrite all of them. I’ve also thought of rewriting them as prose. They’d all end up about novella length. Maybe some day I will get back to them, but right now, there is only one, Then the Phone Rang, that I can see I would ever make as a movie.
Transportation Planning
I want to do a movie about transportation planning. I worked as a transportation planner for 30 years and thought that background would help me write. I still feel strongly about many issues in transportation planning, which would help push me through to completion. A month ago I asked some transportation planners what they thought of my ideas. The feedback I got wasn’t quite what I expected. I think I need to take some time away from the project to absorb what I learnt before I pick it up again.
Articles and Stories
A little over three years ago I started to post my stories and articles on-line at sites like Triond and Bukisa. Generally I’ve noticed that my stories don’t do as well as articles. As a result I’ve done more articles. Right now I have quite a few ideas for articles. In fact I had a new idea this morning and wrote up some notes for it.
While it has been nice to have people read what I wrote, it doesn’t bring in much money. It also distracts me from my stories and movies. I’ve decided not to write anymore articles. I’ve decided that several times, but every so often I do one.
I have started to post my stories on my own website and no longer post them on Triond. I want to use them to build up my “brand” and I think that would be more effective on my own website. Several of the articles I wrote I’ve done as blog posts instead. Again, I think it is better to draw people to my own site, rather than some other site. So far it hasn’t made me much money either.
Blog
My blog does take time away from my other projects, but I plan to keep it up. It allows me to articulate some of the ideas I have and help me focus. In the long term I think it will help promote my work.
Long ago I started to refer to this project as “My Most Difficult Film.” The first draft of the script is dated March 6, 1991 and the film still isn’t finished. I really need to put this project to bed and move on.
Years ago I read a quote from François Truffaut. He said that when he started a film, he wanted to make the best film ever made. As the project progressed, he decided that he’d settle for the best film he ever made. By the end, he just wanted it finished.
I really need to make this project my top priority.
Next year will be the 20th annual $100 Film Festival. Melanie Wilmink at the CSIF would like to see all the film makers from the first festival submit new films. I’ve got a couple of irons in the fire.
Howard Horwitz, who also had a film in the first festival, and I have talked about collaboration. I did some test shots a couple weeks ago. I need to fill out that idea more. It needs to be ready to submit by December 1.
I have another idea I’ve considered for years. I think I can get it done fairly easily. It would be a very short film. Less than a minute long.
I really do want to get this project done this year.
This was originally an idea I had for a movie. It came from a suggestion that I do a film like Before Sunrise. I realized that it was very different from anything I’d done before. As a way to build up my skill, I decided to start with a short story.
I thought that not only would I develop my skills, it would also help me pitch the film. It has been a hard slog to get the story done. I made some good progress on a rewrite yesterday, so I feel much better about the project now.
While I feel good about the story, I do worry that people may not like the ending. It is so built into the structure of the story that if I wanted to change it, I would have to start over from scratch. I want to finish the story I have now, but I also think I will start on a new story in a similar vein.
My Short List
I plan to concentrate my efforts on just three projects for now.
- My Most Difficult Case,
- My $100 Film Festival Film, and
- The Crying Woman
Ideally I should only have one top priority, but I think I can work on all three of these projects at the same time. Each of them will have periods where I have to wait for some one else to do something, which would allow me time to work on the other projects.
How Long is “Then the Phone Rang”?
November 14, 2010 by James Morison · Leave a Comment
Someone who read my script Then the Phone Rang, told me they thought the script was too short to be a feature. I planned to get some actors to do a read through sometime to get a better idea.
This week I decided to try Natural Reader, a text to audio program (http://www.naturalreaders.com/ to time it. The paid version allows you to create an mp3 file, but not the free version I have. After a little trial and error, I found I could record the audio with Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ .
The audio file came in at 83 minutes. I didn’t clean up the script to remove things like the names of which characters were talking, so an actual film based on the script would be somewhat shorter. Still, I think it still comes to about a minute a page. At 71 pages, it is still on the short side for a feature.
One thing that caught my attention was that it was much easier to catch typos while listening. I had a character named Brian, and everyone else in the script kept calling him Brain. I didn’t try to make any corrections this time, but I want to go back to do that.
I would still like to make a trial version of the film with Xtranormal’s text-to-movie software http://www.xtranormal.com . I think that would give me a better idea how my script will translate to the screen. It might also help me come up with a more visual approach to the script.
I feel I should buy the paid versions of Xtranormal and Natural Reader, but I am not quite ready to do that.
Then the Phone Rang – Second Draft Done – Looking for Readers
October 28, 2010 by James Morison · Leave a Comment
I got the second draft of my Then the Phone Rang script done. I didn’t make too many changes and I liked what I had written before. Maybe I am still too close to the material.
My next step is to ask some people to read the script and tell me what they think. If you are interested in reading it, get in touch with me.
I added four pages to bring the total to 71 pages. I added a scene that I realized was missing. I’m not sure how I missed it the first time. I added some dialog and fixed some problems here and there.
At 71 pages, it is on the short side for a feature. However, when I did Line of Taxis and My Most Difficult Case I added more material during pre production, production, and postproduction. I’m sure I can add some flourishes and filigrees to this project.
I am tempted to dive into casting and production right now. Although, it may be better to try some script readings and test scenes before I commit.
Another thought I had was to use Xrtanormal’s text to script software to do a quick animated version. www.xtranormal.com I haven’t looked at it in too much detail yet, so I’m not sure it has the flexibility to do what I want. The actors are rather wooden, but it should at least give me an idea how long the film will run.
Then the Phone Rang
October 17, 2010 by James Morison · Leave a Comment
I set a personal record for writing a feature script this week.
Last Saturday morning before I crawled out of bed, I had an idea for a movie. I wrote some notes and left them for later. Monday I started to organize my notes into an outline. My plan was to go back to it later when I had time. Instead, I had some ideas for the actual script, so I started to write it. I worked on it every day and had the first draft done by Friday evening. It came in at 66.5 pages, which is a little short for a feature, but I think I can develop it further.
After I finished the script, I came up with this description for the story: “He had money, prestige, a beautiful wife, and a bright future in politics. Then the phone rang.” My working title is Then the Phone Rang.
The whole film takes place in one room and only four characters appear on screen. Two others appear only as voices.
I was surprised at how fast it all went. It took me three weeks to do the first draft of The Anger Trap, after a period of preparation. It took me eleven weeks to get the first draft of My Detective Story done, and that was after planning on it for four months before that.
I am going to leave the script for a week or so and do other things. Then I will do a revision before I ask other people to read it. I had the same plan with My Detective Story, and it has been five months since I finished the first draft and I haven’t gone back to it.
When I decided what I wanted to accomplish this year, I planned to finish three feature scripts. I had kind of given up on that, but now I think I might get one more done.
Right now thought, I feel very good about this project. I think it is a very doable project and yet I believe I can make it into a film that people will want to watch.
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