tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10831518.post116480787280150427..comments2023-08-17T11:47:11.821+01:00Comments on James and the Blue Cat: Treatments and OutlinesJames Henryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16604261370633794445noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10831518.post-1165002624666442962006-12-01T19:50:00.000+00:002006-12-01T19:50:00.000+00:00I'm glad you're here, James.CUT TO: Jennifer eatin...I'm glad you're here, James.<BR/><BR/>CUT TO: Jennifer eating a cracker.<BR/><BR/>MIX TO: Jennifer choking on cracker.<BR/>Jennifer reddens slightly. Then goes blue.<BR/><BR/>JENNIFER: HACKK!!!<BR/><BR/>FADE OUT.<BR/><BR/><I>Based on a true story.</I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10831518.post-1164889494815147562006-11-30T12:24:00.000+00:002006-11-30T12:24:00.000+00:00I thought the pilot of Dexter was better than the ...I thought the pilot of Dexter was better than the pilot for Heroes, but then there were less characters to get emotionally invested in so more screen time for them to show a bit of depth. In the end I'm willing to give most shows a chance beyond it's pilot episode if there's something in the story, character and performances to keep me hooked.LMShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12388226110071791631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10831518.post-1164872514472991022006-11-30T07:41:00.000+00:002006-11-30T07:41:00.000+00:00Well pilots are a tricky business, as you have to ...Well pilots are a tricky business, as you have to introduce the main characters, the premise and the world the characters live in, as well as setting up lots of potential storylines, so they have an awful lot of work to do. But also, yes, it's also probably been more fiddled with by outside forces than any other episode. The pilot for 'Heroes', for example, I thought was just confusing and dull - introducing you to eight or nine characters, none of whom seemed remotely interesting, with a pretentious and annoying voiceover. Then I came back to episode three and it was all coming together. Now I'm hooked - although the voiceovers are still pretentious and annoying. Of course the pilot episode isn't usually the one the audience see at home: sometimes by the time the network has seen the pilot, some of the actors have been recast, and the thing often has to be re-shot in its entirety, maybe with events rewritten so that characters who were popular with audiences but died in the pilot got to live (Carol Hathaway in the ER pilot, two of the main street cops in Hill Street Blues, and Jack in Lost, apparently).<BR/>Richard - yes, it's terrifying, isn't it? I got better at meetings when I decided to stop saying things like '... but to be fair, I'm not experienced, so it might be completely shit, so it's up to you really'. Jen - Just learn to use 'CUT TO:' as early in any scene as you possibly can. And put in lots of directions that'll annoy actors like 'Horace reddens slightly', or 'Tabitha wanders across the snake pit in a mysterious way'. LC - you'll be pleased to know that when you're doing this for a job, the proportions change to roughly 50/50.James Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16604261370633794445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10831518.post-1164860638366106892006-11-30T04:23:00.000+00:002006-11-30T04:23:00.000+00:00Seriously though, does this explain why pilots for...Seriously though, does this explain why pilots for series that turn out to be quite good in episodes are often crap? That is, the assembled-by-committee effect?Valerie Policharhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06235536374093188620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10831518.post-1164842131427350162006-11-29T23:15:00.000+00:002006-11-29T23:15:00.000+00:00I'm beginning to major in Moving Image and will ha...I'm beginning to major in Moving Image and will have to start writing scripts and thingymagins and for the first treatment + script I wrote I spent 40% of the time writing and 60% of the time covering up the fact that I have no clue what the hell I am doing. In class I type away making a lot of noise on the keyboard and the tutor thinks I am writing a Great Masterpiece, when I am actually on my blog or Bebo or MySpace writing to my friend "HELP HELP HELP WHAT THE HELL DO I DO???"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10831518.post-1164835653745546402006-11-29T21:27:00.000+00:002006-11-29T21:27:00.000+00:00This has unsettled me. Part of my course I'm about...This has unsettled me. <BR/><BR/>Part of my course I'm about to do involves screenwriting and suchlike; and I must do a few short scripts for my portfolio. And although I don't have the Producery people thinking I may or may not be crap, I have instead the people who will <I>decide for me</I> whether I can do it in the future.<BR/><BR/>Damn it. I only want to edit or direct... I never professed to be a literary genius! I'm a....<I>visionary</I>. Well; taking other folks' ideas and 'seeing them in my creative mind, darlings'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10831518.post-1164827207119163212006-11-29T19:06:00.000+00:002006-11-29T19:06:00.000+00:00That's a horrible truth about Producers knowing wr...That's a horrible truth about Producers knowing writers aren't actually that good. <BR/>I get by on-<BR/>1)Somehow coming across as quite impressive at the first meeting.<BR/>2)The nagging feeling in the Producer's head that though they soon come to realise I'm not that good, there's a possibility, however small, that I might be.<BR/><BR/><BR/>word verification "birxrush': the scrum in a City champagne bar, 6pm, Fridays.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10831518.post-1164823029831422482006-11-29T17:57:00.000+00:002006-11-29T17:57:00.000+00:00I like to think if I've put just one person off wr...I like to think if I've put just one person off writing for television as a career, my work here is done.James Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16604261370633794445noreply@blogger.com