Because I’ve written a few books about screenwriting I sometimes get questions from people just starting out on their careers. One query that has started coming up more often recently is whether it’s better to chase the Hollywood dream or get involved with indie films, including ones made for the web…
You don’t really want totally arbitrary events in your script, but if you need to capture their attention, put it in and then in the next draft work your way backward in the story so it has some motivation…
If you’re writing a script to be read by someone who is possibly going to buy it, you want to make it as easy and entertaining as possible. Yes, it’s easy to overdo the parentheticals, ideally your dialogue itself suggests how it will be delivered. But when it helps, go ahead. A sarcastic remark from an actress is not too high a price to pay.
I’m pretty skeptical about script contests as a way to further your career. There are success stories but I think they’re the exception. So I was interested to read the view of Chad Gervich on the Script website. He says that winning a script rarely gives you the edge
One benefit of shooting with the Canon 7D was at a train station. Normally shooting this scene with another camera, it would catch a lot of attention and we probably would have been run off by security immediately. Knowing that there was no dialogue during this scene, I was able to shoot bare bones with the 7D and probably from a far, it looked like we were just taking pictures. No security ever questioned us and we filmed that entire sequence in under 40 minutes.
For Los Angeles based fimmakers looking to take their show to business, I recommend checking out the next Norman Berns workshop. In this full-day, hands-on instruction, you will gain experience on scheduling, budgeting, business plans, ptiching, fundraising and distribution.