Stability & Success - 'Only Doubt Me If You Want Something To Be Sorry About'

News good and bad really… Where to begin? Lets get the bad stuff out of the way. As with all unrecognised (… as of yet) filmmakers, I struggle with the one thing that many of us do – Money!

However, its not as if the job for a writer is advertised as well as adverts for a plumber, electrician, secretary, accountant, or my personal favourite; I.T technician. I have stressed many a time to the younger writers; “Embrace other trades within production – Don’t be JUST a writer” by this I mean, try and learn what you can about producing, directing, cinematography, editing even acting. You know, just try and tick more boxes – MAKE yourself more employable. Add more strings to your bow and add to your IMDB credits and showreel after all, people watch more than they read, employers are just the same.

Do you know what really pisses me off? How we’re always expected to work for free with promises of “maybe” being paid if the film is a success further down the line. Fellow filmmakers, it’s a mutual pain we have probably all experienced. It makes you wonder though, would any of the trades and jobs I named above work for free… Why not? You don’t need a reputation to be a sales clerk, team manager as you’re sure to get paid, even minimum wage – Makes you wonder and just hope that this all changes pretty soon.

... Plus, we're the few expected to pay to get job alerts and our festival submissions, I mean, come on!

I wanted to share my latest experience. As part of an undergraduate course, I finally got to understand exploitation at its worst. Whilst some courses only require students to work four weeks others require them to take an entire year. Let me get this straight – this is a GOOD idea “BUT” lets get another thing straight “WORKING FOR FREE” when you’ve got rent to pay ISN’T!

In Bournemouth, the opportunities, even working for free in film are highly constricted but I worked for ‘FONIX’ for a month, told that I was going to be helping out with shoots for some great events like the ‘Bournemouth Air Festival’, ‘Bristol International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta’ & ‘Notting Hill Carnival’ but working for free. The business sells massive screens like the ones you see plastered around X Factor and stuff but the other part of the business seems to take pleasure in exploiting the shit out of students to make trips to London and back, spend their hours locking down ALL the research behind each and every event, doing VoxPops (the silly-named expression to interviewing random people on the street, regarding a subject matter), orchestrating shoots from the ground up, all the way from contacting the client yourself through to the edit. In addition any client that pays for Fonix’s services, lets say £3,500 for a promotional video is also totally down to you to orchestrate, respond to emails and texts into the night, the client putting all the pressure on you (technically the sub-contracted intern) as your employer hardly ever turns up and is renowned by most as annoying and talks till you're blue in the face as well as ‘always expecting rather than asking.’

To nail it down, you’re given some decent equipment to play with and shoot stuff for your showreel and work with some other awesome students who know their stuff BUT you’re expected to take control of clients (paid and unpaid), make trips and cover several shoots…  Just working entirely for free unless you covered a couple of days away, vision mixing for the cricket.

I covered the awkward month I was expected to and then after another email from him having expressed “I’m disappointed” despite the fact at that point he hadn’t even respected all the time he’d gotten out of me for free nor the work and effort I put in, when I’ve got other things to do, I basically told him to go shove it. Especially, as its interns who end up saving this guys ass every year covering these essential events and projects. He needed them far more than these guys needed the placement, they could've done elsewhere.

I think that most students, being aged 18 – 22 still haven’t developed the awareness to know when they’re being exploited and usually tuck their tail between their legs and the other employees in the office, I made good friends with (THEY were really nice, which is what makes it such a shame), were telling me this is exactly what the guy did and the less they were involved with him the better. Anyway, it doesn’t matter what age you are, I’ve never worked for free, since I was 13 years old unless its on my own or other peoples film projects and there is ALWAYS respect – and manners cost nothing.

Onto the good stuff - Straight after I walked out of that joke of a job, I received an email for ‘The Short Film Cinema’ in Leicester, saying that I had made the shortlist to be screened the following month and recently, I have just been given another at ‘5 Lamps Films’ in Derby, which was great… Marking the latest success in the same place I was born.

I have also decided to embark on a few more projects (big surprise) to take some interesting stuff with me to the London Screenwriters Festival this year.

Fuck me, the technical constraints I had on getting my pilot webisode for my web series was a nightmare, in editing you’ve got two royal sods known as ‘rendering’ and ‘exporting’ that take hours to tell you if you’ve got a film of the right size with no glitches that can be uploaded to your desired internet platforms… I was going out of my mind and after months and several repeated apologies that really fucked with my reputation, I finally got it up and running and it came out pretty well.

There were two MA groups of filmmaking postgraduates that sought me out to write their scripts as well (not bad, seeing as they’re technically supposed to be two years ahead of me), which should be online for all to see in a couple of months.

New TV Series Project - Psychics

Yes, money has really been torturous but with the latest power of TV, there’s been a few things that has caught my eye and got me thinking in time for me to develop some of my own work, involving a new TV series focussed project depicting on our psychic abilities, being oversaw by an international psychic expert, Heidi Sawyer – turns out I’m chiefly a ‘Clairvoyant’ that explains my occasional ability to see how people need to be spoken to, see a goal and seem to have a strong vision of what goes where to get there and my freakish occasional occurrences of being able to see as well as hear stuff before it happens was well explained. More to come on that one.

INSPIRATIONAL COMPARISONS

New Feature Film Project - REALM

Imagine a world where we’re taken in as refugees, after a desperate voyage into outer space, being the last hope for humanities existence by a new civilisation after the death of Earth. New powers dictated by our birthstones are possible here, battles joining ancient and futuristic weaponry together in a completely new landscape and re-imagined societal structure. My protagonist ahs had his past kept secret from him, whilst living in guilt over the death of his mother around a decade ago and when the ball drops… Oh, boy! By far the most ambitious and high-budgeted project I’ve ever attempted but really like the characters and world I’ve got nailed down so far.

New Media Approach - The Augmented Non-Linear Narrative Film Project


Make Sure You Contribute Your Results: Click Here

This tough bastard, I wanted to explore after absolutely refusing to write another bullshit essay for university. I am shit at academic writing or at best… Borderline! When you’re approaching 30 years old, you don’t want to be ‘average’ at stuff anymore, its not enough… Not for me anyway, so what the hell is this thing?

Okay, well, I used to love those adventure books when I was a kid and I also love video games with a choice you could make that would affect my next objective and alter the end of the story. Imagine watching a brand new film when at certain points it would freeze frame and you would be confronted with a choice of what you did/used/said next? Not only does this engross the viewer within the narrative in a new way, never done before but to be honest, isn’t this where media is headed anyway… Media seeks to deliver more and more choice and power to the viewer, so… Well, yeah, its early stages but the end result should be interesting.

Real Legends - The Brave, The Badass & The Bad Guys – 'Who We Are Is Merely A Stepping Stone To What We Can Become'

As I sit here on another video editing nightmare, as I try and determine this time whether it’s a problem with ‘Final Cut Pro’ or ‘Premier Pro’ that isn’t playing ball as I work on my latest project (editors community topic, you may not get that comment) I thought I’d cease the opportunity for another blog.

Think it came upon me to mention that even given that several years have gone past, my DVD collection really hasn’t expanded much, although my video games have. Since I engage with both industry’s like you (I’d hope!) on almost a daily basis, I had an epiphany of why that may be.

My stories are usually character-led as opposed to being plot-led. I think the secret to a good story is a good character journey. Simple when you think about it; “every” story “MUST” make you understand a character so that the audience can anticipate their next move but to get them “like” a character… Well you do that & you’re singing!

Solid Snake

Why Do I Like Them:

 

Most know my favourite character as being Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid Franchise (although I do wish they’d stuck with David Hayter as the voice actor rather than Hideo Kojima getting too far up his own arse and casting Keifer Sutherland in)He’s a cloned soldier, born for combat. Disciplined, philosophical, wise and as tough as nails with a complicated set of ethics.  Untrusting of others and a no nonsense attitude. Rather than a character who needs to be nursemaided so far before they start kicking into action, Snake has been one of the most unforgettable characters as well as a great role model for those of us who have struggled with a bit of an erratic childhood and having lived so many places, shat on by those closest to us – yet he keeps on going. Not to mention, still at the centre of some of the greatest storylines I’ve ever experienced.

Rocky Balboa

Why Do I Like Them:

Rocky has a refined sense of manners and an all likeable bunch of traits and reminds me of when I worked some pretty shitty jobs myself to keep some of the shithole places I also lived in and after all the trying and failing, unable to shut out his killer instinct to ‘fight’, I’ve tried many things but my ability was to ‘write’ and let me tell you, to be successful… THAT IS… a fight. Against impossible odds but a heart of gold and determined to be ‘not just another bum from the neighbourhood’ – I knew “exactly” what he meant… I know way too many of those people and nothing depresses me more than the thought of becoming one myself. “Every” time I put on a Rocky film, my spirit goes back up and I find myself cheering him on, watching the TV screen. Sylvester Stallone is a great writer and film-maker and people will remember him for many years to come.

Dante

Why I Like Them:

Upon the release of the Playstation 2, I already knew that the guys who’d made the ‘Resident Evil’ stuff was cooking this one up. A Rock ‘n’ Roll devil hunter, half devil, half cocky as hell human. Choice of wielding a sword and dual pistols simultaneously was cool enough as usually its having to choose between the two before as determined by genre. There’s not much of a character arc, its more plot driven than character driven in the first installment but its when you hit the later versions of Dante’s legacy you get into the depths of his character. You’re playing as someone who is shouting out “Woohoo!” as he’s killing demonic creatures & entities sure as hell as that’s what you’re doing on the other side of the screen – It’s gung-ho but cleverly done, great costume, great look, great attitude, great weapons, interesting bad guys and the gameplay goes like water off a ducks back, never really stopping as you start finding your inner demon awakening in glee from the various goth music soundtrack. The fight cutscenes are also highly inventive, one of the many reasons, why video game fights etc are just so much more interesting now than what you’d expect t see on TV or at the cinema.

Altair

Why I Like Them:

One of the first ‘true’ open world games I ever played. Learning some fun historical stuff about my world whilst I wield stealth in new ways and can engage several targets at once in an all-out assault battle. That was great but what really tipped the scale to awesome levels in my opinion was its character; Altair. A top-notch assassin who disgraces himself and the order of his creed by assassinating an innocent, getting disobedient and impatient results in him getting demoted and having to work his way back up the ladder all over again to regain his honour and status. Perfect for the narrative to work as well as being allowed to steadily learn and hone the skills respectively as a player. Later finding out he’s actually been deceived by his own master, whilst protecting a mythical, heavenly artifact. I could kiss the bugger who wrote this out. Great stuff!

 

Darth Vadar

Why Do I Like Them:

Darth Vadar doesn’t send out other minions to get something if he can go do it himself, obsessed with galactic domination and the crushing of his own son – blood terrifying. His presence, his breathing, his costume, his voice, that f*****g awesome red lightsaber and the sound it makes when he uses it. “Everything” key to making one of the most perfect bad guys of all time; you’ve got it right here. One of the earliest characters you’ll see who ends up finally make the ultimate sacrifice for good at one of his last scenes in ‘Return Of The Jedi’ – absolutely sublime (before the prequels came in & really made us want to cry) How awesome are those lightsaber fights between him & Luke? – there’s some pretty good copycats on ‘Youtube’ who’ve made their own over the years – This bad guy is almost unbeatable.

Terminator (T-800)

 

Why do I like them:

Shit a brick, they said it wasn’t going to be possible back in the day but fuck me there wasn’t one person who was overjoyed about James Cameron proving them wrong. The scariest bad ass machine with red eyes and that evil grin embodied by Arnold Schwarzenegger, sent from a post-apocalyptic era of war of man VS machine, sent back to kill the mother of the leader of its enemy in the future, killing countless innocents and any militia in its way. Not to mention its return on the screen in one of the most successful sequels ever when it’s sent back to protect her and her son from ‘another’ terminator. Fucking incredible and made my birth year (1984) all the more meaningful for me to look back on.

Alien

Why I like them:

Proud of all the nightmares I endured after watching this terrifying f****r rip people to shreds in various resourceful fashions, I can’t think of any film that made me s**t myself as much as this. From the second it shows itself – it makes you jump, when it is born from its parasite, after having being stuck on John Hurt’s face for a few hours; IT EXPLODES OUT OF HIS FUCKING CHEST!!! “This” is how horror is supposed to be done and in my opinion – still is… You fill it with black, suspense, noises of dread, claustrophobic spaces then when you finally see the bugger, you give it biggest, ugliest, merciless appearance and presence EVER!!!  I am “extremely” hard to please in horror films but this will always come out as my favourite (only inches ahead of its sequel) just like Terminator, James Cameron delivers a blinder of a 2^nd instalment. More importantly, there’s no silly puzzles, riddles, rules etc to work out to win against this tough muthaf***a. It’s simple: no bullets, no weapon, then run, you friggin’ idiot!

Predator

Why I Like Them:

The genious of this ultra terrifying monster was the fact that it was an intergalactic hunter, seeking challenge and trophies but refused to kill anyone that provided neither. In addition it could turn invisible and had advanced weaponry we had never seen before. The real clever part was making sure they cast and made Arnold Schwarzenegger look like a pussy next to this thing to really get that point across. They made the daylight seem just as terrifying as the night, with this creature & as a little cherry on the cake, it competed against being killed by an Alien (above) being much worse as you’d be skinned alive. Unfortunately, the sequels that followed were nowhere near as good but the legacy alike the ones above was well deserved.

 

Nemesis

Why I Like Them:

The ‘Resident Evil’ franchise had already become a big thing for me when someone decided it’d be great to invent the ‘survival horror’ genre and watch our players soil themselves. Two great games had already come and gone. Along came ‘Resident Evil 3 – Nemesis’ and was the first video game bad guy, I was really scared of – about time! It was a bulky 8 foot monster, on occasion armed with a rocket launcher and a god awful roar that if you couldn’t see it, you knew it was stalking you nearby. There was a score written to play in these instances then another written for when it would drop down from a roof, smash through a window or whatever and make you scream: “SSSSSSHHHHIIIIIIIIT!” You’d look for the nearest door and leg it… Even with the best weapons in the game, this bastard was damn near impossible to put down. Absolutely amazing! Unfortunately, when that dork, Paul W.S Anderson completely fucked it all up with the film adaptations, the translation of the Nemesis’s appearance was the only thing that held up.

Sephiroth

Why I Like Them:

Final Fantasy 7 was one of the most addictive Role Playing Games video gamers had ever encountered back then. You know why, not only was there a blinder of a story that asked us to hypothesize “What if when we die, we return to the livestream of our mother Earth, someone found a way to selfishly harness this as an energy that was capable of bringing about the end of days for us all?” In addition they threw a cloned soldier (alike Solid Snake above I suppose) who actually found out he was part of an alien breed sent to use this process to kill us all. Enter a black cloaked, expert swordsman and warrior, with long grey hair, evil eyes and the biggest sword you’ve ever seen as well as his accompanying music every step of the way; his name was Sephiroth. He was cold, had infinite wisdom and went from good guy to bad guy steadily the more truth he learned about his own existence. Totally brilliant and althought the animated film wasn’t as good as it could’ve been (Final Fantasy: Advent Children) – the translation of Sephiroth was beautifully delivered.

Films & Games - When A Story Becomes A Brand! - 'Choose To Believe Anything, You End Up Standing For Nothing'

It's always nice to hear about someone doing well in the industry, whether it's a friend of mine or not. Not only does it help me to an extent but more chiefly, it gives you that extra mile of encouragement, belief and strength for others... Provided it's not one of those people who managed to get where they are of the back off someone else from the word 'Go!'

Tell you what though, doesn't it piss you off when people are completely incapable of 'moving the fuck, ON' being that you REALLY have to work to find something that isn't an adaptation or remake. I have made my feelings on this matter clear in an earlier blog but now it's happening in the other industry I love... Gaming!

I grew up with games, from their simplistic design in the 80's to where it is now... More and more story has become such a fundamental expectation in order to entertain its vastly growing community, in fact I don't like using the word community anymore, I'd say it's probably on par with the attention television fetches... And too bloody right, it's earned it's place.

Older generations, not ALL, but most don't touch games and in fact are only too quick to turn their noses up at it, the same kind (like my mum, funnily enough) that say they're senseless and mindless and a big waste of time... "Rrrrrriiight, but watching shitty daytime TV is better?"

Gaming gives so many of us the escapism we love, we have our favourite interactive stories where we control what happens on screen, we can enjoy stories that were too expensive for TV / Film production and in addition, explore new worlds & lands in our 'own' way that a documentary can't fulfil, we are also forced to learn to make quicker decisions and new ways of problem solving. As bonus, I have learned so many things from games like:

'Assassin's Creed' - about historical figures and locations


'Splinter Cell' - political and international systems
'Devil May Cry' - religious cultured artwork and references
'Metal Gear Solid' - facts from non-fictional warfare & governments from as early as 1945

All this is a benefit, of course - mainly though... They're fun!

Anyway, coming back to my point, gaming has become such a money-making machine now & just like a production company, by all means make a strong trilogy if your fans are that way inclined (make DAMN sure you get it right) but for the love of CHRIST - make your mark and then move on!

This is when the ball drops for me that a game has become a brand & story that just gets weaker and lazier all in the name of making-money!

I mentioned Microsoft's 'Lionshead Studios' recently, after I'd been through hell to take an interview with the creators of 'Fable' and there was only one question in my head almost the entire way. 'WOW, these guys have literally done NOTHING else for ten years!'


They have a brilliant game to their name but unfortunately, I think at the end of the day, they're just another one trick pony!
If you consider developers such as 'Rockstar Games' - notoriously famous for 'Grand Theft Auto' - just when they're on the periphery of the same opinion, they released 'Red Dead Redemption', believing in themselves and taking the success they've made from their work, they threw their efforts into an open world exploration into the Wild West arena. THAT'S what I'm talking about... and it's f*****g awesome fun!

Ubisoft has done the same thing, in fact more so with Farcry, (Splinter Cell, Assassin's Creed, two of which I also mentioned earlier), Prince Of Persia etc.
This is NOT "Oh, well that's because they've got more money" - NO, it's because they 'know' how gamers want to be pleased, they respond to the responses of their fans, therefore, making them more money as the gamer has more control - the people who are giving the gamers control are winning, those, which are not and too protective and not "listening" are losing - simple.
This is EXACTLY the same problem in TV right now, which hopefully is starting to fade away.
Kevin Spacey made an effort to urge broadcasters to give control to their viewers on this matter not too long ago, please watch, it's great:


It's the same as the bastards, working in the banks sometimes though, right? So long as they can get away with it, they'll do it... Sure the ship may be sinking but they'll cling onto the rails to make enough and jumping off just in time to save their own skin.

Gaming isn't safe because of a new arising problem though, which I think is quickly going to get worse because of certain greedy-money-grabbing-morons that are now cropping up here over something called 'DLC' - Downloadable Content!

For the last couple of years this has started to get a bit out of hand... Greedy, lazy & silly! A gamer will buy a game; good or bad with parts of the game locked away and can only be unlocked at a financial cost. By all means charge people for a full game but I hardheartedly disagree with where this is going.

In fact the biggest joke just occurred with my most beloved franchise, which goes just beyond this dreaded culture: 'Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes'
Unfortunately, Konami is one of those aforementioned One-Trick pony companies but given that I am such a big fan of the story and the character being such an inspiration in my life, I have been willing to forgive it UNTIL NOW!
Fan's have literally been fucked in the ass, uncertain why they were paying half the usual retail price for the latest installment, for which they didn't know was just going to be an epilogue hour playable demo for the next installment, which is yet to be released... WHY THE FUCK, DO THIS?
a) Why not just release it with the actual game later on, we'll be patient.
b) You've already changed the main voice actor from David Hayter to Keifer Sutherland without good enough reason(s).
c) For something I can complete in an hour by today's standard is ludicrous & unacceptable.
d) Hideo Kojima - Putting yourself in your own game franchise twice is fucking pretentious and stupid.
e) Why fuck your fans over and make them hate you after all the support and money they've made you?

The face of gaming is flourishing but any one of us, NOT looking to get shafted, here's my advice:

Visit the Angry Joe Show

He is the answer to a gaming consumer's prayers, whilst IGN and Gamespot are a hell of a lot less biased than they used to be, they still talk in that same monotonous voice of a reporter, they're way too abbreviated for you to base a cash decision on!

I have watched this show, not just out of enjoyment but I'd work with this guy for free any day of the week, given his level of understanding and respect for the gaming community. Not only does he bring passion but he brings the honesty, pointing out the exact details on what you're expecting as a gamer and does it meet this criteria?

To this day, I'm always of a similar opinion and I base my game purchase decisions off this guy alone. If only I'd found his video on the aforementioned 'MGS: Ground Zeroes' earlier, he'd have saved me £20.



Funnily enough, Angry Joe touches on another thing here, which pisses me off in the same way it does him. 'Movie Franchised Games.'
Nearly every last one destined to disappoint and be a wonder as to why do people bother making this shit but yep, you guessed it... "It's not about the game, it's about making money, predominantly from its fans"
- Movie based or not, it doesn't matter, if your game sucks balls, people will call you on it. Make some money but at the cost of being "branded" yourself - an asshole!

I implore you to notice the views that 'Angry Joe Show' gets in one of his Youtube videos, then compare it with the mainstream corporate 'IGN' or 'Gamespot' focus - YAH, I rest my case!

TV, Films, Games... Everything! 
When I write my stories, there's always the odd element thrown in about the world crying out for more honesty and the hope that one day the bullshit gets left behind.
Here's to hoping! 

Senseless Salaries - 'Never Give Up'

I am at a point in my life where I have been using my foothold to grab only the opportunities that I want and there's been much to get involved with.

There'll always be the odd knock-back in life but hey you just keep going don't you & don't listen to the losers out there who tell you there's nothing out there, in the end you ask enough questions, you'll find they never bothered trying.

I immersed myself into learning much more than writing... I can produce, direct, shoot and edit films but more so - I get off my ass and plug in with chasing down the opportunities out there or simply make my own.

This year alone I have just finished my first web series episode, my name on two new short films, found and joined two new powerful film-makers social media sites 'Talent Manager' & 'Stage 32 ' (I've already got over 200 international followers). In addition, I've applied to work offers with 'Latimer', the 'BBC Writers Room', 'Disney', 'Evolution Entertainment' as well as with 'Zoom' - a deaf community production team with 'Film4' shortlisting one of the projects I had wrote a treatment for, called 'Immutable.' Most recently I have been considered by 'Lionshead Studios (Microsoft)' the guys responsible for the creation of 'FABLE.'


The translation of scriptwriter in film is translated as 'Narrative Designer' in the gaming industry, being as I've been a gamer longer than I have a film-maker, it was quite a rush to have gotten so far in the process with an international award winning franchise, owned by a worldwide renowned company to come on board as a member of the production team.

I had come through five interview stages to get this far at which point I wasn't happy returning somewhere I'd only just left but considering what I'd get out of the year's placement I was offered, was too great to pass up.

TWO PROBLEMS:

The salary is shit, whoever claims to be able to live comfortably on their own on £16,000 is talking crapp. The Lionshead Studios Office is located in Guildford, so naturally you start looking for simple studios for around £500 per month, failing that you take whatever you can get in the surrounding towns, right?

You know how many results I got on the top five different property estate agents on my 'Google' searches?   - ZERO!!!

So we're now saying that despite all my hard work and getting so far in securing a position, there is absolutely nothing in even a 20 mile radius, DARE I think about how far outward this goes?

However, there's always the back up option of becoming a university lecturer on a full-time scriptwriting course, right? - Provided I don;t laugh in the interview upon my consideration for the job, the two immediate jokes being:
a) It being called full-time
b) It being called a course

I'd love to put up a screenshot of one of the students poorly filled (let alone poorly structured) timetables, show it to a bunch of taxpayers and say; "Look... Other than the government finding new ways to fuck you in the ass on a regular basis, this is what you're money's going into, whilst you work 5 days a week for"

Speaking as formerly being one of those people on £15 - £18k salaries for a big part of my life, need it be said, I'd be pretty pissed off.

You've got to wander how and WHY, WHY, WHHYYYYYY, they should be entitled to £35,000 salaries upwards (not to mention the vice chancellor of Bournemouth University, if I told you that you'd die but it enters six figures) and their moaning strikes when they get the most amount of holidays next to any other industry.

I can't say I respect this system at all, can you?

Let me lay the cards on the table and give you a hypothetical scenario as a storyteller!
On one hand you've got a job offer behind one of Britain's finest game franchise, with an international reach but you have to slug it out in shitholes for X amount of years to get anywhere near a respectable salary (especially if you've done enough of that in your life already).
On the other hand, you've got a job offer as a teacher, where you've got a welcoming salary for a decent home, vehicle, holiday allowance and plenty of money left over to spare, only problem is, it may never be much else.

Whatever your choice, what a shit situation after all that hard work, right?


I leave the assholes in charge a quote from a random picture of a cat I found on Google Images that outlines how a lot of us feel!
< to the left

One Writer's Tale Of Why REAL Filmmaker's Are Condemned To Embrace More Than One Discipline - 'The Best Example To Follow Is The One, You Set For Yourself... Others Will Follow'

The worst part of this is that I really don’t want to have to spell it out for people but apparently some people are just too thick to display any manners.

- Yes manners have a lot to do with this, I'll explain, be patient! 

I have lost count of the amount of times I have seen people screw my projects up on the account of the following pathetic excuses:

1)   No communication

2)   Not turning up on time

3)   Detrimentally low self-commitment

 

A long time ago I wanted to stick to being a screenwriter. Soon learning one skill alone, especially without an agent, meant jack-shit, I soon strived to become a director, an editor, a producer, then a cinematographer. Surely that was enough? Nope, in order to save my latest projects ass, I have now had to become an actor as well, any guesses why...?

Lazy students, claiming they're not lazy is one thing but filmmakers and actors pissing a production up the wall that other people have spent preparing is quite another. There is STRONG evidence of it happening on both sides – One I was victim to myself (that one's coming up later, stay tuned!) but usually this is down to disorganised morons who usually respond to a cast call, get an audition slot, don’t turn up, or do then get the part and THEN don’t turn up or even bother making a phone call and doesn’t give the slightest bit of consideration for other cast or crew members.

- The 'DanFam Productions' Ethos -

"EVERY production I’ve ever produced, the call sheets, risk assessments, terms of payment are made clear followed by a copy of the 1^st rough cut of the production followed by the final product delivered to everyone’s address and ALWAYS treated with respect."

-       Why the F**K is this so much to ask?

Do you want people to take you seriously? Do you want someone to hold your hand at all times? Do you expect to be paid from the off? Do you think you can get away without being signed up to a casting site without decent credits and / or showreel? … Speaking of which, can those who are usually nannies or shelf stackers who apply for acting roles with no other experience… Cut it out and stop wasting your time. No self-respecting filmmaker is going to cast you for anything other than an extras role. We serious one’s put a lot of time and money and most of all - “CARE” into doing what we do.

I miss the good old days where it used to just be planning a shoot, getting decent crew and cast together then straight into the edit and tracking down some music.

A SHORT STORY OF DESPAIR

I’ll tell you one (believe me, there's more) experience I had working with the AUB (Arts University Bournemouth) students. I agreed to play a part in their student film, despite the script being monumentally bad, additionally the format was awful, furthermore they hadn’t even met me before so were prepared to accept me without an audition, only given the call sheet at midnight before the predicted 3 day shoot that lay ahead. So WHY did I agree, I hear you ask… Well believe it or not… Because I’m a nice guy and thought I may be judging too harshly.

The meeting location was one of their houses; full of goths, a tip, full of cigarette smoke and looked like a squatter’s haven. Four hours into unit call and no-one was budging, when their callous “producer” arrived, I was asked to get them to their location and point this guy (a new driver) in the right direction and also drive this car uninsured…? My answer was of course 'Why' followed by ‘No’ and just before I hit my limit of pulling out of this circus, I stupidly agreed to help this guy find their location in a full car, where he almost kills us three times (including a moment where he almost went the wrong way round a roundabout). When we arrived at the location, I was both relieved and incredibly angry only to then get told we’re having to skip lunch because of their faffing about… I refused, went to get a sandwich, come back and ask to speak to their producer and production manager, they didn’t know what their roles were and expressing my concerns, the purple-headed goth girl with a weird strand of singular hair winding its way round one of her ears attempted to silence me with “You are not professional, you’ve got to expect things like this to happen on set, I cannot work like this” – All but one of her ridiculous friends (a lovely Japanese girl who was in charge of make-up) supported her. Convinced they were bat-shit crazy, I waltzed off, both in hysterics and disbelief.

-       Wouldn’t surprise me if they’re still trying to turn the camera on right now!

The good news is, since then it can only get better... But my point is it’s the lack of commitment people make to their projects and will use any excuse to defend themselves, no matter how trivial. In order to cover the latest base, I had to train a director so that I could play my own main lead myself because I was so afraid of hiring another screw-up who would set the production even FURTHER behind.

I’m all for giving people a chance but when I see them throw it away hiding behind some bullshit excuse, when I know it actually comes down to bone idle laziness, I won’t sit back and ‘keep schtum’ – By the way, those that do this to me, I will name and shame to teach you the lesson you never learned at school and / or by your parents and if you think that’s “harsh” I’ve got a two word response for you and the last words ‘Off.’

To the guilty one's: "If you’ve got someone leading a project you’re a part of, would you rather they be a know-nothing, introverted wimp or someone with competence, someone you can socialise with and have a plan?"

Gaining Traction - 'Find A Way... That's What Winners Do!'

Whilst 2012 had me convinced that I'd finally achieved stability in my life and finally find a foothold, I knew I had to take advantage of the time I had found. It passes quicker than people think.

I remember being told by Jonny Persey (director of Metfilm School) that I was still young and all the time in the world, I was barely 22 at the time an it felt only like a couple of weeks ago.

The film and television industry requires much more than just filling in an application, like you'd expect on the typical job market and because I don't have relatives in there or some rich benefactor spoon feeding me a career, I'd like to think... Believe... that a hard working ethic still works in order to reward you with the attention you need to succeed... I force myself to believe that every day and unlike A LOT of people its not just words with me... It's lights, camera, action... Not forgetting the writing of course.

My Screening Listing

I decided to branch out and start putting my work online, primarily a writer but ask anyone, they'll always watch more than they read and I wanted to "show" people what I could do.

This was a smart move... Although, most of the work was always for free, it kept on coming, making myself known not just as writer but a director, editor, cinematographer really started turning heads. People "really" do think making films is easy until they realise they've actually got no clue, whether that be; writing up a story, securing and negotiating locations and actors, scheduling and planning shots, procuring music, editing, grading... I tell you the biggest sentence that annoys me; "Dan, can I be in one of your films, I can act!"
Usually this is bullshit, they don't know the jargon, understand how to take direction, what a call sheet is but most of all expect to be paid whilst they fail to convince me that they'd turn up on time and be committed to a project rather than just a bit of fun.

Cascade Pictures

Anyway, enough rant, over the past year alone, I have shot two films, two promotional campaigns, had two of my films screened a festival for the 1st time, hired to shoot a film festival, taken a co-writer credit for a independent production company, begun filming a web series, considered for a set designer internship for another production company in the U.S and to round it off, my first pitch for a feature script I wrote earlier this year with 'Cascade Pictures' in Central London through the BBC.


It felt phenomenal and scary at the same time (same as I usually feel when I'm filming) but knowing that this could be... "It!" was a new sensation altogether, my family and friends who think I'm nuts for going into this game for as long as I have started to bite their tongues and wished me the best.
Soon enough I was sat in a room behind two people I recognised from their company website, these were key people with experience in distributing some big projects, like 'What Women Want', 'Apocalypto', 'G.I Jane', 'Woman In Black etc. Then another three people appeared, shaking hands then walked me into a board room and gave me ten minutes to give them the ride of their lives with my idea, knowing that they've already read the first ten pages.

Unfortunately, I didn't succeed in the pitch as I left several holes in it as I went... That's the unforgiving thing, really. They were nice enough people but I think they expected me to be an expert pitcher - I wasn't and found a way of addressing that in my own way but... The feedback was they weren't captivated enough... Incorrect, they were, they read other projects and picked mine and I "know" that stories F*****G good but if ONLY I had the power of Bill Murray from that film 'Groundhog Day' to go back again & again until I perfected it.

However, I'm the only person with as much passion for this beastly writing game I know and now the only one who's come remotely close to succeeding... I'm getting there... I can finally feel it now after all these years of anguish... The light at the end of the tunnel is visible and it feels incredible.

I've thrown myself in as writer for two more films already being shot in the next couple of months, emboldened my showreel and now know where to start in pitching my TV series idea thanks to a Q & A session with Nick Fletcher. Christ knows why more people don't get involved at those things but fine by me, more attention and less competition - to hell with 'em.

Furthermore, I have my ticket for the London Screenwriters Festival this year, you know you're serious when you spend almost 300 hundred quid on something and with more things to show a producer etc than your average writer in terms of what I've done, who knows I may even walk out with an agent.
Can't wait to see what happens next year - Bring it on!