My overall goal for the studio ‘Writing for Film’ is to be a better writer. I enjoy writing scripts and working with others to discuss elements of the script and story possibilities. I have worked with others in the past on creative projects, including the short films I produced Gold Diggers and You Used To Bring Me Flowers. While developing those scripts, I worked closely with the writer to develop the script further. I also wrote the short film Mel and Rana after developing the initial story idea. I have found that I am very interested in fixing scripts with problems. I realised this when I was living in the UK and I attended a meeting with Sarah Golding, a script executive. She talked about her time working on The Constant Gardner and how she worked with existing source material, interviewed writers and worked with them to adapt the book into a screenplay. I was inspired by her description of what she does, and I feel an affinity to existing material (not necessarily a fully developed script, but an idea) and understand that a script is a living thing and the problems that occur may affect a chain of events further down the line. I feel the creative juices flowing when I can see the story like it was a big picture, with interconnected parts.
I believe that this course aims to mix media and writing students together, and will attempt to interweave the writing and production process. I hope that this course provides me with a solid background in screenwriting so that I will be able to continue with other creative projects. I think that the course structure is very interesting and interweaving the writing and filmmaking processes will hopefully broaden the creative possibilities. The areas that I would like to strengthen involve understanding the construction of a screenplay and aim to keep an open mind when working on projects. I also hope that the creative writing students can pass on pointers and tips on how to write better.
