This studio has been an absolutely fantastic asset to me, both creatively and information-wise. Not only have I gained a greater appreciation for screenwriting itself, but great insight to how my own artistic process works, as well as it altering my favour for dialogue, delineating the importance of action – something which I believe should be greater reinforced and taught in other fields of practice, from basic scriptwriting (keeping it in mind), to directing and cinematography. In that, it has become clear that without any doubt sight is the most important sense. Show, don’t tell. A picture tells a thousand words, so you paint that damn picture instead of an essay. However in saying so, one thing to remember is the importance of being clear and concise for screenwriting (despite it having an artistic flair that is unique in of itself).

However this is an issue I ran into during the writing of my final screenplay; being quite dialogue heavy and in an enclosed environment, so unfortunately I found myself resorting to exposition even though I tried avoiding it.

Another thing I didn’t expect to experience so drastically, was the realisation that ideas can change suddenly. I know it’s a cliché, but damn, when it hits it can hit hard. For so long I had a singular idea in my head, then the entire plot of my piece changed entirely (quite easy to see where it changes too).

Perhaps one of the greatest and most underappreciated aspects that helps with screenplays (or at least I found), is feedback and discussion ; and if you have nothing good to say or no contribution towards its betterment, get out. Non-constructive criticism an negativity won’t help ANY screenplay.
One thing I regret is probably not reaching out more with feedback; it’s good to think outside the box, Hell, it was only once I had my 180 on the project that the ball started rolling – I imagine that’d be an easier point to reach with another person involved. I can see why screenwriters work in teams now.

Overall, 10/10 studio,. Loved every moment, and every person. (except you, Adrian.) PEACE OUT, Y’ALL

Assignment 3, Blog Post 1: script draft

Assignment 3 Blog Post 2; Feedback reflection

Picture This! Assessment 2 Part B

Picture This! Assessment 2 Part C

Picture This! Assignment 2, Part A

Before I begin, I must admit that nerves got the better half of my memory at the time, so reflection will be a tad difficult, but I shall try nonetheless!

One thing I found interesting and rather helpful was that we were able to get feedback from two very different perspectives; not clashing, but more angles which would be overlooked or not considered as much as their counterpart. With Dylan I felt a good sense of reinforcement for ideas that were already present; particularly in the encouragement to go deeper into the character – whether it be in style, quirks, mannerisms, or even environment, create a character with strong grounding – and I hope to do exactly that, taking on said advice. It was already something I was mindful of, but to be pushed to a further extent on the subject will greatly help I feel.
Whilst I appreciated Smiljana’s feedback and saw where she was coming from, I can’t help but disagree with it given the context and style of what I’m after in a screenplay. She was absolutely right; there is power in place, different places will allow for different feelings and create its own context, but that’s the exact opposite of what I was after. Yes, some places certainly do feel unique, but the point I was trying to make in having the location set as ‘suburbs’ was that it could be anywhere. Not every place is going to have a unique feel – I’ve been through dozens of different housing estates and they all look the same, are planned out in a similar manner, and are constructed by a select niche of building companies – of which will only have a few dozen varying models of homes. And that’s what I am trying to accomplish. I want it to be believable that this is a completely bland, unimportant and insignificant environment – reflecting the character of David (protagonist). Whether it was misunderstanding or me not being able to convey this intention I’m not sure, but I appreciated the feedback nonetheless; she brought up aspects of environments such as architectural styles and landmarks that give feel – thus I will take said advice and do the complete opposite, taking it as constructive criticism.

Overall, despite being nervous as hell during the presentation, I loved hearing the feedback that was given, and I cannot wait to use it to help further my works.

Character: David. He is the most beige a person can be. Not a bad person, quite nice, but appearance-wise he is a blank face in the crowd, nothing stands out. He is a medium-built, averaged height, short haired Caucasian male in his late 20’s-early 30’s. whilst this may stand out in some places in the world, this is western society modern day middle class suburban Australia. Not exactly the most unique sight. Like, most people you’re able to judge on face value or guess what they do; you might look at someone and be able to guess “ah yeah, you’re a tradie for a living”, or “they look fairly geeky, I bet they’re into IT or engineering or something”. THIS GUY, has got NOTHING. No body language, no mannerisms, no distinct appearing, Hell, not even any great facial expression. He’s the human equivalent of a tan table cloth – it’s there, there’s nothing wrong with it, you’re just not sure it quite fits in. In that, by being so nothing, I’m hoping that any reader or viewer will be able to project some sort of personality aspect of their own onto him, fill in the blanks if you will, to create a further sense of relatability.

Int. lounge. Night.

Dirty dishes pile up in the sink. Crumbs are strewn across the carpet, and the sound of traffic emanate from the nearby busy street.

Now having finished his cereal dinner David sets down the bowl and  slopes back on his couch. The light from his phone, the only light-source in the room, illuminates his emotionless face. He scrolls through his Facebook feed with disdain, quickly scrolling past pictures of happy couples, over-reaction videos, Farmville, selfies, gym selfies, Trump, food, Farmville, and more couples.
His eyes widen as he comes to stop upon a picture of a smiling woman and her boyfriend announcing their engagement. He sighs heavily, turns off his phone, rests his head back and lays in the darkness.

Int. Doctors’ office. Day

The bleach-white fluorescent lights hum quietly in the background. An old ‘motivational’ poster breaks up egg-white walls, offering patients something other than the doctors graciously displayed ego-boosting accomplishments littering the wall.
David sits opposing the Doctor, with a semi-cluttered desk of papers and health models between them. David is quiet and tense, sitting upright with his hands clasped together awaiting for the doctor, whom is staring at his computer screen and occasionally grumbling, to speak.

Doctor: “whilst it can be and usually is a result of lifestyle, what you have is a natural serotonin deficiency, a simple chemical imbalance in the brain. However you may still find that a change of lifestyle can help too; definitely not a cure-all, but a noticeable difference. In the meantime I’m going to write you a prescription for some anti-depressants. You understand this, and wish to proceed?”

David: “Yeah.” Quietly nodding.

The doctor takes the pages from the printer and scribbles on it for about 10 seconds. David stares at the indecipherable drawings with bewilderment.

Doctor: “Excellent. Just take this to your local pharmacist, and you should be all set”

David: “okay, so is this a temporary thing, like a couple weeks or –

Doctor: “- oh no no, you’ll be taking these for the rest of your life. It’s nothing overly concerning or anything to be stressed out about, just don’t forget a day or skip a day as that it could greatly worsen your state and dramatically affect your moods. Any questions?”

David: “several –”

Doctor: “Well I’m afraid they’ll have to wait sorry, I have many patients and a short amount of time. Do feel free to book another appointment though. You have a nice day now”

 David: now standing, “cheers.” He leaves.

Whilst still in progress, I admit this still has much further to go. Despite me having said that I’ll be going for the more auteur-styled screenplay, adding flair in descriptions, there’s still quite a fair bit I need to cut down on, and otherparts where I need to expand. After completing a first draft, I need to go back throught he entire thing and ask “is this necessary?”, seeing where I can cut unimportant details out or improve on what’s there. In saying that though, I feel that this gives a decent glimpse in what is yet to come; the final result will be a far cry from the screenplay is now, yet it should encompass the same tone and style.