If we don’t get a firm grasp on the language we use for work, play, and to express our very souls, who will?
Big thanks to YouTube, Mental Floss, Arika Okrent, and all those who aided and abetted this brief but very educational encounter!
Tag: online TV writing workshop
Reacquainting Yourself with Doctor Who
The lesson to be learned here, kids, boils down to “Make sure your work stays accessible!” We’re talking to you, New Showrunners. Because if you don’t keep the audience coming back to the dance floor, you and your band won’t be invited to the next big event.
Jumping in on Doctor Who
by Mindy Newell
The Doctor: “Time is a structure relative to ourselves. Time is the space made by our lives, where we stand together forever. Time and relative dimension in space. It means life… This is the gateway to everything that ever was and ever can be.
Bill: …Can I use the toilet?“The Pilot,” Doctor Who, Second Series 10, Episode 1
How Pixar Makes You Cry
The most successful TV shows, films, books, short stories, paintings, illustrations – OMG! everything artistic, can you believe it? – are those that express the most emotion in the most effective (as in making the audience feel it) way.
One of the ways TV and films manipulate induce guide influence viewer emotions is via music. Ever wonder just how that’s done? Here’s a little insight about how some masters of the subject, those cryin’ angels over at Pixar, get the job done!
(from “sideways“)
Things Writers Should Never Say to H’wood Execs
This is so on the money:
by Ken Miyamoto
Screenwriters are always being told what they should say in Hollywood pitch meetings, meet and greets, and query letters. While there is a plethora of excellent advice in that respect, it’s what screenwriters shouldn’t say that really makes or breaks those first impressions.
Whether it’s in a query letter to agencies/management companies, during a chance elevator pitch with a Hollywood power player, or during first time meetings at studios or production companies, these are the all too common newcomer mistakes that the powers that be hear all too often, and wish they never had to hear again.
Web Series: Production Problems? Nah, Can’t Be…Can It? – @Stareable
So You Want To Make a Web Series – Step 9
by Bri Castellini
Production is probably the most exciting part of filmmaking, and it’s also where a film or series lives or dies. I’m not trying to scare you, but it’s important that you understand how tenuous the success of your project is at this stage. With that in mind, what follows is a list of the most common problems that might arise on your film set and how to deal.
PROBLEM: Cast member is late
SOLUTION: Utilize the extra setup time wisely. Run lines or rehearsals with other actors, test out more ambitious lighting or camera set-ups, or, if possible, film scenes or angles where the missing actor isn’t needed.
PROBLEM: Cast member doesn’t show up
SOLUTION: Already have a second set of scenes that people are prepared to shoot, and cobble together a new shot list based on who is actually on set and available. Depending on the cast member’s eventual excuse and how many scenes you’ve already shot with them, you might need to consider recasting. Everyone can be replaced. Sometimes, you can even replace them with an extra or a crew member.