Is this a Good way to break in?

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  • Is this a Good way to break in?

    Is this a good etiquette to follow when trying to break in as a screenwriting/film maker?

    -Practice your writing
    -Write several shorts
    -Direct your own shorts
    -Enter competition dealing with short script/films
    -Write several (4+) feature length scripts
    -Submit them to competitions
    -Get an Agent
    -Market your script
    -Keep going

    this is how I am planning to go about things.

  • #2
    Re: Is this a Good way to break in?

    It sounds reasonable to me. Even if you're going to start by making shorts, I'd suggest writing feature scripts as well as shorts from the very beginning. It usually takes a long time to learn to write features well. Your feature scripts will keep getting better with practice, and your directing skills will keep getting better with practice. By the time you feel ready to direct a feature, you'll also be more skillful at writing them if you've had the most possible practice under your belt.

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    • #3
      Re: Is this a Good way to break in?

      just write please and keep the laundry lists for you mother or your maid.

      vig

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      • #4
        Re: Is this a Good way to break in?

        I personally have the hardest time writing shorts because all the ideas I have I want to keep developing. The one short story I wrote that wound up being shorter than I wanted (it was a comic book I wrote for a creative writing class) came only because the deadline was coming up and I realized that the ending was a cliche ANYWAY, so I just acknowledged what would happen and threw the reader for a loop. Success! The entire class loved it.

        Chris

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        • #5
          Re: Is this a Good way to break in?

          Originally posted by henehsea
          Is this a good etiquette to follow when trying to break in as a screenwriting/film maker?

          -Practice your writing
          -Write several shorts
          -Direct your own shorts
          -Enter competition dealing with short script/films
          -Write several (4+) feature length scripts
          -Submit them to competitions
          -Get an Agent
          -Market your script
          -Keep going

          this is how I am planning to go about things.
          man......so i guess if you are in your early 20's this should take about uh, what, 10 to 15 more years?
          "Making movies is a collaborative process...bend over."

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          • #6
            Re: Is this a Good way to break in?

            Making your own films puts you ahead of about 99% of the rest of us writers. Be ready and willing to adjust your plan as opportunities present themselves.

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            • #7
              Re: Is this a Good way to break in?

              Originally posted by henehsea
              Is this a good etiquette to follow when trying to break in as a screenwriting/film maker?

              -Practice your writing
              -Write several shorts
              -Direct your own shorts
              -Enter competition dealing with short script/films
              -Write several (4+) feature length scripts
              -Submit them to competitions
              -Get an Agent
              -Market your script
              -Keep going

              this is how I am planning to go about things.
              Devil's Advocate here: you're splitting your energies there (imo): Your list works if you're striving to be a filmmaker/director ... but maybe isn't going to expedite becoming a screenwriter?

              Directing short films definitely helps you learn filmmaking and teaches you to direct features. That's apples teaching ya to handle bigger apples. Those skills apply to both shorts and features.

              Writing short screenplays may be counterproductive, in teaching you to write feature screenplays. That may be apples versus oranges, concerning pacing, developing full characters and plots across 10 pages/minutes versus 120.

              It seems to me (again, only imo) WRITING is more likely the better foot in the door (it starts with blank paper and your creativity, costing little ... versus thousands of $$$ to direct)

              I praise your goals and aspirations to BOTH write and direct. Me too. But I wonder if the better plan isn't: write features and learn to write great features. Use the leverage and $$$ from writing success to develop the skillz to direct features.

              Certainly you'll need both skillz and examples of your work directing, to be allowed to direct features (or raise the $$$ yourself) ... But seems to me focus is necessary from the start: put ALL your energy into one thing to do that thing BEST.

              My fear is this: you'll limit your writing just so you can write things you can afford to shoot yourself. You'll limit your directing by only shooting things you yourself have written.
              sigpic
              "As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world -
              that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves."
              -Mahatma Gandhi.

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              • #8
                Re: Is this a Good way to break in?

                Good Devil's advocate points. Good advice. Still, it's based on wanting to be a screenwriter, which, and nothing against people who want to be screenwriters, just isn't as much fun as making movies.

                Writing shorts is excellent experience for feature writers. Excellent. I can't recommend it highly enough. It teaches several skills that many feature writers never realized they needed, not the least of which is that every scene, every line of dialogue, has to count.

                But I agree with everyone in this thread. Because it's important to be flexible, and you never know what skills you're going to need to have next.

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                • #9
                  Re: Is this a Good way to break in?

                  As a guy who wrote and drew his own comics (I still do), I can tell when you direct and write short films the two will start to coalesce and your script will start having lots of staging, blocking, and the like, which isn't a bad thing but it can be a curse if you just want to sell your screenplay without you directing. And of course, if you are directing, you can leave as much off the page as you want as long as it tells the actors and so on what to do.

                  Chris

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                  • #10
                    Re: Is this a Good way to break in?

                    I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing to limit yourself to writing what you can afford to shoot. Necessity is the mother of invention and all that. How to keep it interesting and yet inexpensive can be a very good challenge. Having to figure your way around "can't" can get you to some very interesting material.

                    I think writing and filming a short has improved my writing ability. I'm more sensitive to what actors and others go through, and I've have better ideas on how to clearly communicate the mood of a scene. It's huge when you hand a script to someone and discover that what you thought was clear has been interpreted in a completely different way. I do tend to think more in terms of direction when I write. I'm not particularly dying to direct everything I've written now that I'm making my debut as a director. I think I appreciate more the work that goes into directing and producing. I also appreciate that others can have great ideas that can improve what I've written, even when they like what I already have.

                    I've also found that writing teaches how to write. The more I do it, the easier each new screenplay becomes, as I figure something out each time I do it.

                    Rather than finding an agent, my goal is to connect with someone who believes in me, someone with the power to make things happen (agent, manager, director, producer, etc.).

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Is this a Good way to break in?

                      Well, I'm not disagreeing, others obviously have had other experiences than mine.

                      I wasted time (lotsa time) thinking "hey, I've got the video equipment, I can write some cool little 15-20 minute scripts then shoot them myself!"

                      So what do I do? I start writing ... but things that are limited to 1)the small group of actors I can gather and 2)the small stories I can afford to shoot on my miniscule budget (no car explosions, no fantasy fx, no big locations or props)

                      Were THOSE the sorts of things I wanted to either write or direct? no. Are those the sorts of things that will impress anyone with my writing or visual imagination? no.

                      (Yes, I know someone could write a gripping and amazing script and shoot it, where two characters sit in a room and gut themselves and each other emotionally ... but let's say that's neither my nor someone's passion or forte)

                      So I decided (and again, imo, just my personal path, maybe not yours) to concentrate on writing. No budget or cast restrictions on my imagination, and unlike writing a short portfolio piece, a finished spec feature has the potential to SELL and immediately change ... everything.

                      Now ... THAT for me is a positive, happy choice.

                      Ending on a positive note more to someone else's liking here: I was recently a minor, minor extra in a short film (others can tell ya how minor!) ... no big drama, no big fx ... COOL, EMOTIONAL LITTLE FILM ... and it's been entering in film competitions and showing at fests around the USA ... and IT is winning awards, getting written up, obviously doing exactly what its makers hoped it would do!

                      So, as always, there may be many paths up to the mountain top, and may we all enjoy the view ... both the destination and the journey up!

                      P.S. There's NO QUESTION (imo) that shooting is more fun and immediately gratifying than writing!
                      sigpic
                      "As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world -
                      that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves."
                      -Mahatma Gandhi.

                      Comment

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