Journey of a Storyteller 2: Learning from the professionals, the mentors and the ‘doers’…

Over the years, I’ve attended many filmmaker courses and masterclasses, always searching for the magic ingredients that will give me the template to forge ahead as a screenwriter and someday director. And yes, while I have gathered a wealth of invaluable knowledge and experiential anecdotes from listening to the creatives who have been there and done that…some have been a tad disappointing, unfocused, badly organised, or just not relevant to what it is I am seeking.

Each experience though, has taught me something, and what continually comes to the fore is this; that even the ‘doers’ in this business sometimes struggle, make mistakes, are let down or manage to turn something potentially beautiful into a balls-out mess! And, that while treading your path, you will always encounter your enablers, your mentors, the ones who are secure enough not to pull the ladder up behind them as they carve their own niche, there are also ten more who will shut that door on your unknown, unripened tenderfoot!

Making your way in this business is not easy and it can take a long, long time to see the benefits…nobody knows you while you struggle the lonely road towards developing your voice, coming up with the goods and making the grade…and nobody wants to know you until you do. Therefore, if, like me, you are going to launch yourself into the mire of this weird and wonderful world, it would be wise to seek and find those mentors, and to listen, really listen, to what they have learned…

Most recently,  I encountered two such mentors, both at the top of their game, when I attended a Writer/Director Masterclass with Irish Director, Aisling Walsh (Song for a Raggy Boy, The Daisy Chain, Wallander). The all-day workshop was hosted during the inaugural Fingal Film Festival and there was a double treat for participants when we also got to spend the afternoon with actor Martin McCann (Swansong, Story of Occi Byrne,  Killing Bono, Titanic: Blood and Steel). Martin is not just an amazingly talented actor, he is also a generous one, giving over an entire day to talk about his craft; to share the knowledge, and between the two of these amazing people, they managed to turn the day into an entertaining and insightful experience.

Here are the main points that I took away:

Build relationships: Writers can be shy, directors can be shy, actors can be shy…talk to people…make connections.

Make a short film. Nobody knows your story better than you do. Low budget, no budget, gather your team and just do it.

You don’t have to be technical: Work with the best crew and actors you can get; learn from them.

The energy will come from you: Be a good listener, see things others don’t see, be a decision maker, stay calm.

Three traits you need to have: Concentration. Communication. Stamina.

Learn about Actors. Find out about them, what it is that they do and how they do it. And listen to their instincts.

You can make your film three times: When you write it. When you make it. When you cut it.

Open the door and walk in! Are you going to just think about it? Or are you going to do it?

Right so! Armed now with bundles of notebooks, filled with theory, paradigms and checklists of how it all comes together, it is time…

Whatever you think you can do, or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power…

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Of terrible and splendid things…

In 2016, the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising will take place in Ireland. A rebellion that raged swiftly and momentarily in an era when the First World War was raging on (a war that, under British rule, many Irish men had already signed up for and were fighting in…and dying for) and when ordinary citizens of the time frowned upon, and indeed spat upon the rebels on their capture and surrender.

Only after the execution of so many of those young leaders, Patrick Pearse, Joseph Plunkett and Thomas McDonagh amongst them; teachers, poets and artists, did the general public take heed of what WB Yeats described as the terrible beauty born…and the quest for independence raged on through the youth of the Irish Volunteers…

Through the medium of film and cinematic exploration, there has been little made in the telling of the stories of the male and female insurgents of 1916, Michael Collins being the exception. Interned at the age of 25 in Frongoch in Wales, for his part in the Easter Rising, upon his release, Collins went on to mastermind the guerilla war against British Rule, which resulted in a truce that enabled him to lead a delegation to London to sign the Treaty in December, 1921…a move that divided a nation and culminated in the Civil War of 1922. In August of that year, Collins was dead, and Ireland was changed, changed utterly.

Now, with the centenary beckoning to offer us all a time to reflect on how far we have come as a nation,  it is no surprise, that in the writing world, a plethora of ideas for novels and scripts are circulating already. So, it was interesting for me to go along to an event recently organised by the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, and co-hosted by the Irish Film Board,  to see the five finalists of the UNTITLED Screenwriting Award pitch their film projects.

All exploring some aspect or theme of that historic year, the award to the winning project, a first draft development loan from the Irish Film Board, would be €12,000 for a single writer applicant, and €16,000 for a team, ie, writer and director. In my humble opinion, all five shortlisted pitches, each presented to an audience and in front of an industry judging panel, had potential for support towards further development.

Anne Marie Casey pitched a biopic she is writing with her partner, author Joseph O’Connor…Grace 1916: The story of Grace Gifford, woman, artist and icon of a revolution…the only project to look with any real depth at a compelling aspect of a woman’s life during the period, and one I would definitely want to see!

Hugh Travers gave a very entertaining pitch with his project, The Players :  A black comedy about ex-IRA members who join an amateur drama group to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Rising. Jasmina Kallay presented her drama Das Irland: A tale of what if.  What if promised German help had materialised in 1916? and Virginia Gilbert pitched her drama The Boys: Everybody remembers a great teacher but how many are willing to die for one?

The winning pitch came from Jamie Hannigan and Michael Kinirons with their noir thriller Come Monday, We Kill Them All:  April 1916:  A down on his luck smuggler reluctantly agrees to help a wealthy politician find his missing daughter only to become embroiled in murder, conspiracy and rebellion…potentially fascinating…trench coats and tribly hats at the ready!

Each project was very different, and as alluded to earlier, there is a wealth of varied ideas out there that have the potential to create exciting, dramatic insights into the lives of not just the key characters of the rebellion, but also, to be a window into the lives and struggles of the ordinary people who lived through those turbulent times in Dublin, 1916.

Which begs the question…if they could see now what they fought for, what they suffered for, and what they died for, what would those men and women of 1916 think of Ireland, one hundred years on?

Featured Image: The Women of 1916, Cumann Na Mban, sourced from http://saoirse.21.forumer.com/a/

Script Note Hell!

Great blog from screenwriter Doug Richardson, (The Hostage, Bad Boys, Die Harder) which you can check out in its entirety here: http://dougrichardson.com/2011/the-worst-note-ever

While Doug tells it with humour, I can only imagine the frustration he felt at being on the receiving end of such shite-worthy feedback!

So what’s the worst script note/feedback you have ever received?

The Screenwriting Competition Trail!

My personal experience of entering screenwriting competitions has been, for the most part, a positive one. However, I have lately become concerned about the constant bombardment of marketing and sales pitches that seem to arrive through my inbox in a deluge once I have entered or even signed up for more information on the competition in question. My reaction to this?  Delete and unsubscribe!

In 2010, I wrote an article on screenwriting competitions for the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild, which you can read here: http://script.ie/writing/interviews/dont-put-all-your-shelf-puppies-in-one-basket/.  It was also published online by Film Ireland: http://filmireland.net/tag/caroline-farrell/

While I stand by that article and would encourage any newbie screenwriter looking to develop a profile, get a sense of the strength of their writing skills, as well as showcasing their talent, to consider entering some of the better competitions that are currently out there, I do stress that you must do your homework before parting with your hard-earned cash.

Websites such as http://www.moviebytes.com/ and http://www.screenplayers.net/contestinfo.html are good places to source information.

Before you enter though, make sure that your script has developed enough to be up there with the best of them. The most effective way to get a sense of what is working and what isn’t is to give your script to trusted colleagues and writer friends for some honest, and sometimes tough, feedback. And always be prepared to return the favour! If you don’t yet know other writers, join a group, sign up for training courses such as those offered by Filmbase:  http://www.filmbase.ie/training/index.php and Screentraining Ireland: http://www.screentrainingireland.ie/ or go to the many fundraising and film events that happen regularly about town, where you can network with like-minded people.

And do the research! Simply entering each competition that comes your way is a waste of time and money. Figure out what you wish to gain by entering, and what the outcome could be: Is the competition part of a bigger festival, where winners and finalists can go along to pitch and network? Will the script be read by industry professionals? Is there a cash prize? Will there be an opportunity to gain representation from an agent or manager? How much is the entry fee? Are notes provided at no extra cost if you are placed in the finals? And keep in mind, some screenwriting comps appear to be glorified script consultation companies, and while that may help some of you to further develop your storytelling and script formatting skills, always do your homework and be discerning in your choices…and finally, it may take a while to achieve that initial breakthrough…so keep at it and good luck!

Film Ireland's image link to Don't put all your shelf puppies in one basket by Caroline Farrell