New Ideas

I have been doing much writing lately. I could easily spend my days writing and nothing else. I finally feel like a writer. I'm having a dilemma because I have a script due at the end of November, but I also signed up for NaNoWriMo. I have three ideas for a novel. But I also want to just keep working on my fictional blogs. I don't know if I can ring them into a novel status. I'm really focused on them and excited about them.

This post is not so much about film as it is writing. although, these blogs will be turned into scripts/films. I started a blog for my serial killer script, which is fun to pretend to be him and write like him, but challenging since he is a heart surgeon. I also started another set of three blogs, of which I created a new user and listed the three blogs under it; tentively titled Vampire Romance. It is based on the novel and series I want to write about a woman who falls in love with a vampire (surprise!) and his sire (another surprise), but she is also being hunted by a mafia type gang of vamps. (spoiler!)Unlike other vamp stories, she will be allowed to have both of them at the same time.

Anyway, these blogs are of Karlea - hers will be fun, have photos, and be about everything; Jake - his will be all music reviews and journalistic, until he meets Karlea; and Vaughn's will be all music industry related also until he meets Karlea.

I have big plans for these blogs to include photos and videos. Which is a whole project in itself, dressing people up in character. I also want to make facebook, delicious, and twitter accounts. A lot to keep up with!

Need to make a schedule!

I have another blog that is secret, that I need to do some of this stuff with. Not all of it applies.

After watching a short film today, I was inspired with a new idea for short. Its a basic story; guy abuses his girlfriend and his roommate always comes to her rescue. They fall in love and must tell her boyfriend, which does not turn out well. Still working on the kinks and twists.

Also just had another idea for a serial killer script. A woman, after being diagnosed and treated for schizophrenia in a mental hospital, tries to keep her life together after she is released, amidst a city living in fear as a serial killer roams the night streets. As, her life falls apart around her, her only friend and sponsor helps her to keep going, even as she starts to have hallucinations. She eventually realizes that he is the only one in the world that cares about her and her schizoprenzia. She falls for him, even though he is several years older than her and one evening they admit their feelings for each other sharing an intimate night together. She wakes up from horrible dreams, hallucinating, noticing he is missing from the bed. She searches the house for him and sees things that indicate that he is the serial killer plaguing the streets, but she does not know if she is really seeing this or hallucinating. She isn't hallucinating and becomes his next victim; the ultimate prize that he has been planning for - he changed her meds and that's what made her hallucinate, in an attempt to try to get her to kill with him. He was the one that made her life fall apart piece by piece just so she would become closer to him.

Film Challenge

Ended up not doing the 3 day film challenge located in San Francisco. We couldn’t get enough crew to cover it and we had no actors, unless one or two of us was going to act. Plus some of the crew also had to work regular jobs. But we promised ourselves we would do it next year. And I have found other film challenges anyways. I just see as a way to get off our butts and make something (hopefully decent) for our portfolios. Its short and sweet, and then its done. Then we magically have an addition to our portfolios.
It would have been fun though. And crazy to say that some of us had to work or one had to prepare for throwing a party while making this film. We should get a standby crew/cast together for when things like this pop up.

Art Update

So, i am working on many things, which I know isn’t good to work on so many different things, but I cannot help it.

Since moving, I have not really focused too much on photography – sure my kids and some skyline images, but all with my crappy iphone 3gs camera. I just recently picked up my DSLR since the move on Saturday to photograph my son’s first soccer game. I used my telephoto lens and was quite surprised it worked so well because when the 28ft moving truck arrived in Atlanta, the first thing that fell out when opening the door was – you guessed it – my telephoto lens. i watched in horror as it bounced several times on the pavement before catching it. i would have tried it right away, but was too busy moving things, then i forgot it took a tumble. i know, i’m a horrible photographer. however, i am very happy i do not have to purchase another lens – rock on tameron lenses!

So, I was reminded on Saturday on how much i love my telephoto lens – it took beautiful images of the game and of extreme closeups of my kids. I will post these soon.

I will also take photos for the next juried exhibition at Image City Photo Gallery due in November and find places here in Atlanta to exhibit my work. And create new images.

As far as the stuff i do have going on: I am trying to dedicate a post a week to all of my blogs (6 in total i think).

Still working on a rewrite of my serial killer script. Finally, working on the thesis script I am writing with my director friend from school. (exciting!) Working on another short script that i am hoping to make my directorial debut with in the next few months. And working on a scriptless experimental film that plays with light and shadow. I signed up for NaNoWriMo, so I’ll be writing my first novel in november. i always wanted to write one, but never had the drive. maybe if it is in a short amount of time, i will accomplish it. I also might be doing a 3 day short film challenge this week.

Lots of film stuff happening, but i think it is what i need. There are so many opportunities here for film.

I am dying to do some traditional arts: drawing, painting, printmaking. and some fashion/costume design. hopefully, soon i can fit it in. it will be my free time from doing film and photo

Spring Break Already

Just finished week #7 on Sunday. It is flying by so much that i have no spare time to update. I shouldn’t even be on here now. Every spare minute I have is spent working on classwork. Anyway, Spring Break is catch up week for me. How fun. Turn in all those missing assignments (there really isn’t that many). And continue working on projects that are due the monday back or the week after.

Absolutely love my Screenwriting II class and working hard on my 1st draft of a feature length script. Editing class is awesome. I went in with the attitude of “I’ll never be an editor”. But this class made me see how cool editing is, how many edting decisions that are made to reflect the sitiry and make the audience feel an emotion. I am interested in it and i love working with fcp. Sound class is cool, but I am more interested in my other two classes, maybe the next 8 weeks we will do more exciting stuff.

So, for this week I have to finish my screenplay, finish my editing narration scene, edit film trailer, edit documentary project, write my editor research paper (6 to 8 pages), editing textbook reading, and two fcp lessons from book. It looks like so much….

I will hopefully check back in soon.

Mini-Treatment for Short Script

Take Your Life

STUART EMERSON, 33, is an intelligent doctor with a hidden secret; when he is not saving lives at the hospital, he is taking them. He is a psychotic killer that preys on women. After a night of torturing and killing his latest victim, Stuart is on the prowl for another young victim. He finds the beautiful Amber running alone in a cemetery. He kidnaps her and brings her back to his basement.

Stuart waits for her to awaken and then begins his game of getting to know her and her pain threshold. Only, to Stuart’s surprise does Amber have a high tolerance for pain and it seems as though she is enjoying it.

Amber talks to Stuart, relating to him, making it hard for Stuart to kill her. Amber convinces Stuart to untie her, and Amber’s game of manipulating him to let her take his own life begins.

Screenwriting

I'm taking three classes this semester, a general studies art history type course, film aesthetics, and screenwriting I. Screenwriting is the only class I really love. i should love my film aesthetics class, but who the hell loves to analyze films down to the bare bones? And we had to write a 25 page thesis. Mine was on the vampire in film. Okay, cool topic, but who enjoys writing a 25 page paper? The class is one that all MFA film students have to take, but other than the thesis, its stuff you learn as an undergrad. Boring, give me the technical stuff; the directing, producing, editing, cinematography. get my hands dirty kind of stuff. I can easily pick up a book and read about how to critique, analyze, and the history of film. I have done it before, reading a book on how to properly critique photographs and how to write articles on gallery exhibits. I have also read about film history on my own. Yes, I am a big girl and I can do it on my own, if I want to really be serious about my craft.

One reason I hate my film aesthetics class, is that the professor seems to talk down to us, like we are undergraduate students. My screenwriting professor makes us feel like writers, not students, but this professor doesn't make me feel like a filmmaker at all.

i have been so busy with my classes that I haven't been able to edit my layout here, nor fix my profile. But I will soon.

Anyway, screenwriting is the class I love and I am about to start writing my 15 minute short that is my final project. I have not started it yet. I have been so busy with my classes that I have not had time to get into my characters and have the scenes play out in my head. This is usually the way I write out scripts. so, I'm going to blog about my process as I go through it. Until then...