Synopsis:

Ben and Demi match each other on Tinder and get talking. Neither are really looking for a date but they click online so decide to meet at a restaurant.

Ben arrives at the restaurant first. The reservation is under his name and he chose the restaurant based on its reviews on Zomato. He didn’t bother to actually look at the menu. He is seated and waits about 10 minutes for Demi to show up. Her lateness annoys him slightly.

When Ben and Demi first see each other, they are both taken aback. Ben clears his throat and tells Demi she looks lovely. Demi thanks him but offers no compliment in return. They sit and look at the menu. Demi is shocked that Ben would take a Tinder date somewhere so expensive. Ben is shocked the online reviews didn’t mention the price.

The two talk idly about jobs and family and home; things they have already covered online. Ben is talking about his last audition when Demi interrupts him to ask whether his headshots look anything like him at all, or if they are the same misleading ones from his Tinder profile. Ben replies that he has to use misleading photos otherwise people would never swipe right because he looks ‘too Asian’. He then asks about Demi’s photos.

Demi is offended but tries to explain that she doesn’t photograph well and hence only takes one decent photo a year. The five on her Tinder profile range from the ages of 18-23.

The rest of the night Ben makes stupid jokes like ‘I hope the gnocchi looks like it is described as on the menu’, winking at Demi each time. Demi laughs graciously and tries to flirt, terrified that her debit card will be rejected if she has to pay.

Ben offers to pay and Demi half-heartedly tries to argue. Ben walks Demi back to her car and leans in. She turns her head and he kisses her cheek. He says that they should go out again soon and Demi replies that she’s really busy but she’ll see. Ben returns to his own car. Both immediately get out their phones and block the other on Tinder.

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One of the aims of this course is to see how writing is woven through all three stages of production. In general, we see writing as being only the first stage of production. Then the script is passed on, filmed and then edited, never straying far from the original written word. I am interested in seeing how this can be flipped on its head, how we can include writing in all stages of production.

The first film I thought of when I read the studio brief was Boyhood. Shot over 12 years, I assumed the film could not have been written traditionally; there are too many uncontrollable circumstances that can happen over 12 years that would screw up a script. I was right.

Anyone that has seen Boyhood knows that it is a film in which not much happens. It is a portrait of childhood, and in some ways, of parenting. It tracks the process of growing up, there is no real beginning, middle or end. That in itself is a different way of writing; not following the standard conventions of a story.

Richard Linklater, who directed Boyhood, mentions that because he shooting only 10-15 minutes of footage per year, filming took place generally over 2-3 days. This meant Linklater had an entire year to think about what would happen in the next year. He did not have a script, per say, but rather an idea of when his portrait begins, and when it ends. Linklater told IndieWire that  ‘I knew the structure… I knew the last shot of the movie 11 years ago’ (Kiang, 2014). Having not written a script, Linklater had to write the film as it was made, skewing Hollywood conventions and giving him more freedom within his work.

Each segment of the film was shot based on what would naturally happen, helped along by suggestions from the lead actor, who was virtually living the film (Film4Video, 2014). Linklater collaborated with his lead, asking him to write down conversations he had in his real life. This allowed Linklater to truly make his film into something ‘real’. He did not have to follow a script he wrote years ago, he had real input from people who were living the film as he made it.

For me,  Boyhood is the prime example of how a film can be scripted – the film is not purporting to be ‘reality’ – yet still be written in a way other than the traditional script to shooting to editing style. I am intrigued to learn more in this course about how writing can be incorporated into the entire process. Boyhood was unique in that it was shot over such a long period of time, so I hope to see how similar writing practices can be used in a shorter time frame. I also hope to see how writing can be incorporated into editing. I know that the way something is edited can change it’s entire direction, and I want to see what I can do in that way.

Film4Video. (2014). Richard Linklater on Boyhood | Interview Special | Film. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-selLiYt94. Last accessed 29th July 2015.

Kiang, Jessica. (2014). Richard Linklater Discusses His 12-Year Project ‘Boyhood,’ Chronology, Memory & A Movie That Occurs Offscreen.Available: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/richard-linklater-discusses-his-12-year-project-boyhood-chronology-memory-and-a-movie-that-occurs-offscreen-20140218. Last accessed 29th July 2015.

Week one of this new studio. Starting any new class is daunting, but I am especially nervous about this one, having not done any creative writing at uni yet. Getting started straight away helped, though.

The first exercise, writing whatever came to mind, was familiar and calming. The act of typing as fast as I could, getting it all down without worrying bout spelling or grammar or sentence structure helped to get me in the right mind. I am always worried that I don’t have any decent ideas. I always say that my lack of creative thinking holds me back. Writing everything that came to mind helped me see that I can write about interesting things if I just let it happen.

It always helps to have a prompt, so the next exercise was alright. No need to worry about coming up with something exciting. We shared our writing this time. I hate this part, watching how someone reacts as they view your work. I guess if I want to be a media maker I just have to get used to it. Having to share our work around the table reassured me that even if my writing is awful, the worst that can happen is I get some constructive criticism. I am not trying to make a career out of writing, so I guess I can’t really ‘fail’.

Our first class with the Creative Writing students. It’s always a strange dynamic when two courses meet. Why do I always think the students are going to be so different? I always assume they are more advanced that I am, that they understand more of what is going on, that they are more confident. I am always wrong.

We shot two scenes today, a single shot scene, and a scene shot to edit. This was a fairly simple task for the media students, we have done this before. It was interesting seeing the creative writing students work. They were confident in their ideas, but less so in how to go about getting them on camera. I suppose that the media students are the same when it comes to writing.

I chose this course because I have always been interested in writing. It has been something I did well at all throughout school, something that my teachers said I was good at. I have never been confident though. I don’t think I have interesting  ideas, I don’t think I’m a great writer.

I chose this course because I want to get better at writing. I want to do something I enjoy. I want to learn from the creative writing students. I want to learn about the process of scriptwriting, and the process of developing a script into a film.

I read scripts occasionally. I have friends online who are great writers, so I read their work. I read scripts for television pilots, mostly because I love TV. Good scriptwriting is something I envy, something I want to learn more about.

While I attended the studio information session at the end of last semester, I admit that I didn’t really look very far into the studios. I picked this one because I like the sound of it, and because I wanted to write. I imagined that we would work alongside the creative writing students to produce a script or scripts in the first half of the semester, and then in the second half we would develop them into films. I should have know that nothing in the communication school is that simple.

The studio’s aim, to see how writing is woven throughout the film making process, is intriguing. It will be interesting to see how this works, since the students from the two courses will only be together once a week.

I am hoping that at the end of this studio I will have a clear understanding of standard writing and shooting practices for film. I also want to understand how this can be detrimental. I want to have explored how writing and shooting can be done differently, how working in a different way can result in a better outcome. I am also hoping to have improved writing and reflection skills, as well as continuing to work of practical media making skills.

I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree to the content and expectations of the assessment declaration